Rosie's Games

Chapter 166: Curses 2

The smell of urine and feces assaulted Jeames' senses. He frowned and glanced at the man in the cloak walking a few feet in front of him.

"If you lied, I am going to kill you," Jeames murmured just as the man started guiding him deeper and deeper into the outskirts of the Empire. He held the hilt of his sword, his senses on high alert. One wrong move and he was prepared to kill the man in the cloak.

"Calm down young one… hekhek.." The man responded.

"I am telling you. One wrong move and you will lose your life."

The man only responded with a burst of laughter that sounded more like a frog croaking than that of a man's voice. Jeames shivered, he glared at the man's back wondering if he made the right decision to follow him into this part of the Empire.

The slums were the most depressing part of the Empire. This was the place of criminals, homeless people and orphans and women that sold their flesh. This was not a secret.

What many people did not know was that this was also the place where sorcerers thrived. Its dark and gloomy atmosphere was simply something that sorcerers wanted to be around. This was another reason why Jeames agreed to accompany the man into such a decrepited area.

One would think this was a hasty and somewhat careless decision. After all, this man could be a robber who only wanted to rob him and perhaps even kill him. Yet, Jeames was a knight who was able to survive in the ruins, there was no reason for him to be intimidated by the minimal threat that this man posed.

Moreover, the fact that this man had known about the curse gave him hope that this was not some random fraud who wanted to make money off him.

"We are here," the man stopped in front of a wooden house. Its door was clearly broken and was just forcefully attached by some strings. Its windows were covered with some wooden planks that must have picked up somewhere. The smell of something rotten filled the air.

He frowned.

"Lead the way," he said.

The man said nothing. Instead, he took a step towards the door and knocked three times. The door opened with a loud squeak and a large rat ran out, startling Jeames.

The place was rotten, he thought inwardly. His hand was still tight around the hilt of his sword and he narrowed his eyes as the man walked inside the dark house. It took a few seconds before his eyes adjusted to the gloom, giving him the ability to see the interior of the two-story wooden house.

Just like the outside, the inside was a mess.

An old piano could be seen the moment he walked in. Some stools were made from random wooden planks that were around the house. Some of them only have two legs while others had three. Then there were candles— lots of candles.

His frown grew deeper. He did not see the candles from the outside and only spotted them when he took a step inside.

**BANG**

He turned and glared at the now closed door.

"Sit down…"

Jeames looked at the older woman in front of him, her wrinkly face startled him. The pitted marks on the woman's face were large and frightening, her teeth were yellow, her nose was too large for her face.

"I do not want to say it again," the woman said. She was holding what looked like a teapot and poured its contents into a teacup in her hand. "Sweet tea?" she asked.

"N— No thank you."

"You are not here for tea," the woman made her way to a wooden circular table next to the old piano. Despite her age, her posture was straight. It was as if she Is not an old woman but actually a young lady. This immediately made him suspicious, was the woman wearing a mask to hide her true appearance?

"The smell of a curse is thick on you. How long ago did it start?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"How long?"

"A— A few weeks ago," Jeames blurted out as his eyes widened. Almost immediately, he unsheathed his sword. "What have you done to me!"

"I told you, I am not going to speak again," the woman said as she turned around and smiled at him, revealing her large disgusting yellow teeth.

Jeames swallowed. Earlier, he felt compelled to answer the woman's question. This woman was dangerous, he thought inwardly.

"A few weeks is long enough. Is she dead yet?"

"What?"

"So she is not. She had been in unbearable pain, I presume?"

Jeames said nothing, only glaring at her in response.

"You would not follow an unknown man if you were not desperate."

"Can you heal her?" he asked. This woman knew that the person who had the curse was a 'her'. Again, this gave Jeames hope.

"Not entirely, but I can take away the pain."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The weapon that was used on her was rather sinister. It leaves a strong aftertaste even if the incident happened a few weeks ago. This means that the weapon was used to kill more than a thousand souls."

Jeames gritted his teeth. How could Rosalind use a weapon like that on her sister? What a vile woman!

"And?"

"I cannot entirely remove the curse," the woman sat on the stool in front of the piano. "But I have a way to lessen the pain."

"Lessen the pain?"

*DONG*

The woman pressed a key.

"I have a way to only make her experience the pain once a week."

"Once a week?"

"But that would require a great sacrifice."

"What do you need?" josei

"Ah…" the woman looked at the ceiling, smiling.

*DONG*

"I especially like people who know their place."

"What?"

"Beg me and I will say."

"What?"

The woman gave her a tight-lipped smile.

She leaned forward and whispered. "I do not repeat my words, Young One."

Irritated, Jeames pointed his sword toward the woman. "You will say! And you will say it now!"

"A pity…" the woman leaned back and crossed her legs. "I shall talk to you again when you are ready to beg."

With that, she gestured and an invisible force opened the door and then the same invisible force threw Jeames outside of the house.

...

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Hopefully, I can start releasing chapters around this time. I am thinking of 1 am GMT+8.