Chapter 30

Joshua was lying on the ground.

Balzac and I became serious and ran to him.

As we got closer, Joshua's condition seemed even more severe.

His face was pale, and the veins on his neck were prominent.

Balzac quickly took off his shirt.

“……!”

“……!”

His body was stained with black spots.

The veins were all prominently blue, and it seemed his breath was about to be cut off.

Balzac muttered in a very flustered voice.

“W, what is this…….”

“Curse.”

“What?”

“It’s a curse. (It’s a curse symbol.)”

It meant that someone had cursed Joshua.

* * *

As soon as the news that Joshua Astra had been cursed spread, the castle was in an uproar.

All the doctors and magicians in the castle were summoned, and a letter was sent to the duke's castle requesting healers.

Daemond walked down the corridor with a stern face.

He strode forward and opened the door.

The officials who had already been called were gathered there.

“General.”

“Abaumi.”

Balzac and Eryllot, who were by the bedside, turned their heads toward Daemond.

Daemond approached the bed without a word.

Joshua was deathly pale, and his breathing sounded like metal being scratched.

Daemond looked at the magician.

“What happened?”

“He fainted due to the curse.”

“Who did this?”

“It seems to be a curse from someone with strong protection, as we failed to trace it.”

“Not what I already know!”

Daemond roared.

The magicians, taken aback, wiped their cold sweat and replied.

“Since we are not healers, we cannot completely dispel the curse, so we have weakened it with a spell. He will wake up soon.”

The officials were indignant.

“Who would dare to do such an outrageous thing to a member of the Astra family!”

“It’s obvious. It must be one of the other two heirs (the duke’s children).”

“How could they do such a thing to a child……!”

“We must inform the main castle and punish the one who dared to do this to young Master Joshua.”

Daemond’s expression turned cold.

The officials’ eyes also became very sharp.

Joshua is officially adopted by Daemond.

Touching Joshua is like declaring war on Daemond’s territory.

Just then,

“Master.”

Miguelan entered the room.

“What is it?”

“The gardener has something important to say. It seems to be related to young Master Joshua, so I brought him in.”

Daemond nodded slightly.

When Miguelan said, “Come in,” a middle-aged man timidly entered the room.

He was the gardener who had been kicked by Lord Zahaveng earlier that day.

“I... I felt something was wrong these past few days, so I thought I had to tell you...”

“What is it?”

“Lord Zahaveng... He suddenly ordered me to dig up the garden, saying it was on young Master Joshua’s command...”

“...”

“He said if I didn’t, I would have to report to the master, but he just beat me up...!”

The gardener glared at Eryllot.

“Miss, you saw it, right?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Eryllot.

Daemond knelt down to meet Eryllot’s eyes and asked.

“Is what the gardener says true?”

“...Yes.”

Encouraged by Eryllot’s testimony, the gardener continued confidently.

“I was so upset and complained to people around me, and then I realized that young Master Joshua had been acting strangely...”

“What do you mean?”

“He met Lord Zahaveng late last night, and it seemed like he was being threatened...”

The people in the room frowned and said, “Threatened?”

“Yes. Deni, who works in the laundry, heard that Lord Zahaveng was threatening young Master Joshua, saying he had to do as he was told if he wanted to live...”

Enzo, who was in the room, frowned and said,

“If this is true, it’s definitely strange. How dare someone threaten a member of the Astra family.”

Everyone knew that Lord Zahaveng had risen to power through Decons, so it was even stranger.

“What will you do?”

“We need to verify. Bring Lord Zahaveng here.”

The soldiers immediately headed to the evaluators’ quarters.

It took less than 20 minutes for Lord Zahaveng, who was in his room, to be brought in.

Lord Zahaveng was made to kneel by the soldiers.

“W, what is this about!”

“Joshua has been cursed.”

“...What?”

“Was it you?”

Lord Zahaveng, still kneeling, jumped up and said,

“What are you talking about! If I touch a direct descendant of Astra, not only will I die, but my family will be wiped out!”

“Then why did you order the garden to be dug up?”

Lord Zahaveng’s shoulders twitched.

He looked flustered and stammered, “W, well, it...!”

“It was on young Master Joshua’s command.”

“What command?”

“He said he didn’t like the roses...”

Laughter erupted from various corners.

It was too absurd.

Joshua, who had never complained about the roses before, suddenly, especially when he was cursed, said he didn’t like them?

That doesn’t make sense.

The officials frowned.

“Then what about the claim that you threatened young Master Joshua! Our employee heard everything you said!”

“It was because he was unwell. I said he needed treatment to survive!”

No one believed his words.

Daemond, who had been observing the situation, looked at the gardener standing timidly.

“You.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Bring the servant who saw Lord Zahaveng threatening Joshua.”

“Yes, sir...!”

The gardener quickly left the room.

He strode down the dark corridor.

The laundry room of the jurisdiction was in the basement.

Deni, though young, was smart and would testify well to what he heard.

Now, Lord Zahaveng would have no way out.

Just then,

“Where are you going?”

A young voice came from behind.

Startled, he turned around to see Eryllot following him.

“I’m going to the laundry room to bring Deni.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, Miss, you were surprised too? Now that the bad guy is caught, you can rest easy.”

“It’s all bad. Subtle.”

“Yes. Even if Decons and his brother don’t get along, how could he lay a hand on his nephew...”

The child grabbed the gardener’s collar.

“Who are you?”

“...What?”

“How could a mere gardener know that Decons would do such a thing?”

“Well, I heard the masters talking...!”

“No one mentioned Decons after you came in.”

The gardener’s expression froze.

* * *

I glared at the gardener.

The gardener, with a stiff expression, fidgeted and then laughed awkwardly.

“Everyone thinks one of the other heirs cursed him. Also, it’s said that Decons and our general had a fight at the duke’s birthday party...”

I smirked.

“Right.”

“Huh?”

“The accent, it’s foreign.”

He flinched.

“Where are you from?”

“...”

“Let me guess. Eastern region? The Buzes Manor in the east.”

I had heard from rumors that my grandfather and the Buzes Marquis had a conflict.

The Buzes side was winning the favor of the nobles by selling ancient stones.

‘I have Conrad, a good information gatherer.’

When my grandfather gave him the enhancement stone, Conrad said to me,

“You’ve done a great job. The Buzes Marquis was acting suspiciously.”

“Buzes?”

“Yes. They were using ancient stones to win over the nobles, so something to devalue them was needed.”

“Enhancement stone?”

“Yes. With enhancement stones, the value of ancient stones would plummet.”

So, the Buzes side, enraged by the enhancement stones, tried to split the Astra Manor.

Daemond Astra, who gave the enhancement stone to the duke, and Decons, who had a bad relationship with him.

They were trying to make them fight.

‘Now I understand why you used the Buzes Manor’s dialect.’

The Astra Manor has many foreigners.

Since the accents are very diverse, no one would find it strange if someone used an eastern accent.

So, he must have deliberately used the dialect to act like a simple gardener.

‘Using the eastern dialect he was familiar with.’

The gardener’s expression turned cold in an instant.

“Really...”

The face of the kind middle-aged man was gone.

He glanced around and twisted his lips.

“You’re clever, but you’re arrogant.”

His tone completely changed.

He grabbed my arm firmly and said,

“To the point where a child would challenge an adult alone.”

“...”

“Stupid girl. Instead of chasing after me, you should have told your father.”

“Why?”

“If you had, you wouldn’t have died...”

Crack!!

With a loud noise, the gardener fell over.

Someone had kicked him.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Get lost, you!”

I frowned and looked up at him.

It was Han Jihyuk, whom I had hired as a messenger at the barracks.

“How long does it take to get from the barracks to here?”

Han Jihyuk grumbled and kicked the gardener, who was still on the ground.

The gardener, lying on the ground, gritted his teeth.

“These guys...!”

“Are you an idiot?”

Decons is a coward.

Just seeing him tremble when he saw my father at my grandfather’s birthday party was enough to tell.

Would such a person curse Joshua, knowing he would clearly be the suspect?

‘And it was strange that Joshua defended Lord Zahaveng.’

What reason could he have to defend someone he disliked?

Moreover, Lord Zahaveng was a master of balancing.

He wouldn’t do anything to draw the ire of the Astra direct line.

But when I hit the gardener, he didn’t react.

‘It’s because he had Joshua as a solid shield.’

Putting everything together, the conclusion is this.

‘Someone is trying to drive a wedge between my father and Uncle Decons.’

If someone wants the Astra to split, the answer is clear.

‘The Buzes Marquis.’

So, I prepared.

I prepared to create solid evidence.

No one would believe a three-year-old’s guess.

Footsteps came from behind.

Turning my head, I saw a giant soldier, Mosko.

‘Han Jihyuk, who would you kick with such confidence?’

Mosko gritted his teeth and said,

“I heard everything from ‘stupid girl’ on. You bastard.”

Naturally, the gardener’s face turned pale at the sight of the giant Mosko.

I took this opportunity to make a sad face.

“Mosko, I’m scared...!”

Mosko’s face twisted nastily.

His fists clenched so hard they made a sound as he approached the gardener.

The beating began.

* * *

Lord Zahaveng, tears and snot streaming down his face, said,

“So, young Master Joshua made me lie to cover it up!”

He was trembling like a leaf, showing how much he had been threatened by my father.

He began to sob and explain the truth.

“As soon as I arrived in this jurisdiction, young Master Joshua was not well. He immediately recognized it as a curse and ordered me to find the medium.”

“Medium?”

“Yes. He successfully traced the curse with magic...”

“Our magicians couldn’t find it. How did he?”

“Well, it... it...”

Lord Zahaveng glanced at my father nervously.

He hesitated, swallowed, and then spoke.

“He saw the notes of Duke Lysian (the twins’ biological father)... and used the magic written there...”

“Notes?”

“Yes, young Master came to the castle this time to steal the notes from the general...”

People sighed.

I sighed too.

‘I wondered why he didn’t tell my father about the curse.’

Curses usually manifest through objects.

If my father had known Joshua was cursed, he would have searched the luggage thoroughly.

‘If the notes of Uncle Lysian were found, it would have been bad.’

Now I understand why Joshua lit the fireplace.

He wasn’t burning a letter but a paper with magic symbols.

Lord Zahaveng said in a low voice,

“Anyway, the curse originated from the garden.”

“So you tried to dig up all the flowers?”

People frowned.

“Why didn’t you say this before!”

“How could this happen?”

“First, we need to inform the duke’s castle...”

As the officials argued, my father said in a low voice,

“Everyone, leave.”

“Huh?”

“Do I need to say it again?”

“O...kay.”

The officials and Lord Zahaveng left the room, glancing at each other.

Left in the room were my father, me, Balzac, and the unconscious Joshua.

My father was silently looking at Joshua.

Balzac hesitated for a moment and then spoke to my father.

“General, Joshua...”

“Probably didn’t trust me.”

“...”

“So he tried to save himself by stealing the book. To have any weapon at all.”

Balzac bowed his head deeply. He seemed to agree.

I gently placed my hand on my father’s arm.

“Joshua is just a child.”

“...”

“He was just scared.”

My father and Balzac looked at me.

“Right. Joshua is very smart.”

“...”

“He knew that if he told my father, others would be punished. Since Joshua is smart, he knew.”

“...”

“That’s why he didn’t tell about the curse. Because my father would be angry even at Uncle.”

In any case, Joshua’s guardian was my father.

If he was cursed, it would have affected my father due to negligence.

He might have even been forced to disown the twins.

‘Joshua must have seen my father as the only trustworthy relative.’

My father stared at the unconscious Joshua.

The wet towel on Joshua’s forehead fell off when he moved.

My father slowly placed the towel back on Joshua’s forehead.

“Why don’t you open your eyes if you’re awake?”

Joshua’s eyelashes trembled at my father’s words.

‘Ah, he was awake.’

Joshua stubbornly kept his eyes closed.

I ran to the child and patted his small chest.

“You were scared.”

“...”

“It was hard for you alone.”

Balzac reacted first.

He bit his lip hard, and tears welled up in his red eyes.

Joshua turned his head to the opposite side, pretending to move.

“Don’t touch me.”

Balzac finally burst into tears.

A muffled sob could be heard from Joshua’s lips.

* * *

The garden was completely dismantled.

My father used his protection to turn