I happily shook my head.
"No, I was mistaken for a moment. I'll go by myself!"
With that, I briskly climbed the stairs.
Perhaps because I felt I was getting closer to avoiding my death, the gloomy staircase somehow seemed much brighter.
Once I cancel the curse, everything will be solved.
The male lead won't shrink.
I'll get to live peacefully.
I felt a little sorry for Lishid and Seria, but this was a choice between my survival and their romance.
I had to survive first.
From now on, I'll just be a good person.
As long as I stay alive.
I'd survive no matter what and find a way back to my original world.
By the time I'd finished making that promise to myself, I'd already reached the top of the stairs.
I reached out toward the arched doorway covered by a purple curtain.
"Is anyone here?"
The answer came from beside me.
"You've come again, Miss."
I nearly jumped.
Someone who had been standing so still they looked like part of the wall smiled warmly and pulled the curtain aside.
My eyes were naturally drawn inside.
A large altar.
Countless candles.
A crystal ball sitting atop a round table.
Playing cards spread out in a fan.
...I definitely came to the right place!
I pressed a hand against my pounding chest and let out a slow breath.
The woman, who was already seated, gestured for me to sit across from her.
"What brings you here today, Miss?"
Her voice was clear and gentle.
Judging from the wrinkles on her face, she appeared to be middle-aged.
I hurried over and sat down.
"Well... actually, I'd like to cancel something."
Although it was obvious this was where the curse had been cast, I asked vaguely just in case.
"Ah."
The woman nodded immediately.
"You mean the Doll's Curse."
How could things be going this smoothly?
"Yes! I'd like to cancel that curse."
I honestly felt like crying with relief.
But at that moment...
The woman's soft, gentle voice turned eerie.
"Cancel it... cancel it, you say..."
...Huh?
A gust of wind swept through the room, snuffing out every candle on the altar.
W-What's happening?
I instinctively shrank back.
The woman slowly raised both arms toward the ceiling.
"I knew this would happen. I knew it all along! That's why I warned you over and over again!"
Throwing back her head, she burst into delighted laughter.
I stared blankly at the cackling woman.
Why are you acting so scary?!
To be honest, I was about to cry.
But I clenched my fists tightly, refusing to let it show.
It's just a haunted house.
Dying is scarier than this.
I repeated those words to myself.
After what felt like forever, the shrill laughter finally stopped.
So did my own nervous breathing.
"Such a pitiful young lady..."
Cradling a grotesque doll that had somehow appeared in her arms, the woman gently stroked its head.
"Did you truly believe you could so easily undo a curse created by borrowing such wicked power? How arrogant."
She slowly shook her head with pity before delivering the final blow.
"Once a curse has begun, it can never be canceled. Besides... the appointed date has already passed."
"...What?"
What did she mean the date had already passed?
"T-Then...!"
That meant—
The male lead had already shrunk!
Forgetting my fear entirely, I hurriedly asked,
"W-Wait! Then... when does the curse end?"
In the original novel, Lishid succeeded in breaking the curse after about two weeks thanks to Seria's purification.
So I had never known how long the curse itself was supposed to last.
The woman slowly held up three fingers.
What?
"Three years?!"
Bang!
I shot to my feet, shocked by the much longer period than I'd expected.
But the woman shook her head.
"No. Three months."
...Excuse me?
"After that, he'll naturally return to normal."
I slowly blinked while staring at her expressionless face.
"What?"
I was genuinely speechless.
Inside the carriage on the way home.
Staring out the window, I let out a hollow laugh.
The curse only lasts three months?
What kind of curse is that?
Aren't curses supposed to last forever?
The original setting made absolutely no sense.
Still...
The more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn't entirely bad news.
Now that the curse had already begun...
Three months suddenly didn't seem all that long.
Hmm... and Seria is the one who eventually discovers who cursed Lishid...
Wouldn't everything be fine if I simply made sure the two of them never met during those three months?
Sure, the original plot would change.
But wasn't that exactly how these transmigration stories worked?
The harder you tried to force events back onto the original path...
The more tangled everything became.
Like trying to avoid the male lead only to become even more entangled with him.
To be honest...
I had considered running away.
After all, Airel was practically an outcast in her own family.
But no one understood how fortunate it was for someone suddenly dropped into a completely unfamiliar world...
To have a money source that regularly handed her enormous sums every month.
Namely, the Duke's household.
Besides...
Even in the original story, Airel fled to the ends of the earth... and Lishid still found and killed her!
That level of hatred...
I couldn't handle it.
If I died before finding my way home...
I'd regret it forever.
Running away was absolutely not an option.
The curse had already started.
The male lead had already shrunk.
The original story was about to begin.
Which meant...
Lishid should currently be wandering around before heading to the Grand Temple.
The original plot slowly came back to me.
After suddenly being cursed, the male lead left only a single letter for his aide before traveling to the Grand Temple.
He hoped a priest might be able to purify the curse.
However...
The carriage he boarded happened to belong to Seria, who had just been appointed the new Saintess.
Not wanting the Imperial Family to learn about his weakness...
Lishid concealed his identity while asking for help.
So...
What I have to do is stop Lishid from ever boarding Seria's carriage!
Yes.
Maybe this was actually better.
If I kidnapped the male lead before he met the heroine and took good care of him...
Then even if people later discovered I had commissioned the curse...
Maybe it wouldn't become such a huge problem...
...Would that actually work?
Sob...
Even I knew it.
No sane person would ever come up with a plan like this.
But I was that desperate.
I really don't want to die.
Okay...
Expecting there to be no consequences after everything came to light was asking too much.
But...
What if Lishid never found out?
What if he trusted me?
Then all I have to do... is make sure he never learns the truth.
Swallowing the urge to cry, I renewed my determination.
Alright.
If it doesn't work...
I'll make it work.
I'll show them the perseverance of a Korean office worker who survived endless overtime.
If nothing else, confidence in sheer determination was my specialty!
Just wait, Grand Duke.
My survival adventure is only just beginning!
"I'm sorry, but Lady Airel is forbidden from entering the Grand Temple."
...I definitely hadn't expected this.
"W-Why?"
Looking bewildered, I stared at the Holy Knight blocking the entrance.
He sighed.
"Because you once nearly burned down the temple."
"...I did?"
"Is there another ducal lady in the Empire named Airel?"
The Holy Knight looked at me as though I were hopeless.
"You set fire to the temple gardens, slapped another young lady across the face, and even kicked the Holy Knights who tried to stop the fight."
"What? I never—"
Just as I was about to deny it...
A forgotten scene from the original novel suddenly resurfaced.
"Airel chased after Seria intending to confront her, but she was unable to enter the Grand Temple.
She had previously been banned after fighting another noble lady over Lishid and setting fire to the temple gardens."
...Was she insane?
Internally, I sighed and cursed Airel Blandiche.
She had started a fire in the Grand Temple over a man.
She had clearly lost her mind.
"So... there's really no way for me to go inside?"
"Not unless you sincerely reflect on your actions and apologize."
"I-I am reflecting!"
I shouted in panic.
"I deeply regret what I did that day! I'll apologize right now..."
Pressing my hands together and lowering the corners of my eyes pitifully, I looked at him.
The Holy Knight frowned.
"Lady Airel, I'm sorry, but apologizing to me won't accomplish anything. I have no authority over that."
"T-Then who do I apologize to?"
"The High Priest who personally prohibited your entry."
The High Priest?
I frowned slightly.
Ah... I remember now.
The youngest High Priest in history.
The one who had appointed Seria as the new Saintess.
But...
Where was I supposed to find the High Priest now?
Just as despair began to settle in...
A gentle voice reached my ears.
"Lady Blandiche?"
I turned toward the sound.
A man stood there with a warm smile lighting up his face.
Long white hair flowed all the way to his waist.
His appearance was so holy it seemed as though all the light in the world had gathered around him.
"What brings you to the Grand Temple today, my lady?"
No matter how you looked at him...
He was unmistakably the High Priest
