Rosie's Games

Chapter 167: Curses 3

"I am stating the truth! The woman said that she could take away the pain." Jeames insisted.

"How could someone treat a curse like that? Even the Blessed— "

"Are you still going to think about those people?" Jeames asked Victoria. josei

"How dare you cut me off! Have you lost your mind?" Victoria hissed, her foxy eyes narrowed. Almost immediately, Loren appeared behind Jeames, a dagger glinted in his hand.

"I have seen Dorothy suffer because of the curse, all I want is for her to feel better." Jeames was not planning on backing down. He looked at Dorothy was who lying on the bed.

It was already night and the pain was once again wreaking havoc inside her body. She had fainted and then had been woken up from the pain again. "Let us accept it, the Lux Family has long abandoned you and Dorothy," Jeames added.

"You dare say that in front of me!?" Victoria slammed her hand on the table, the teacup resting on it broke from the force. It shattered into hundreds of small, little pieces that immediately cut her hand. Despite this, she continued glaring at Jeames.

"I am still someone from the Lux Family!" she insisted.

"Then when was the last time you have seen your own husband? Or maybe even talked to him?"

"You—"

"Federico and your husband abandoned Dorothy like a dirty rag. All I want is to help her. If you think maintaining etiquette is more important than your own daughter, then feel free to stay here. I am going to take Dorothy to see that woman."

"Are you out of your mind!?" Victoria screeched. "Dorothy is someone from the Lux Family! How dare you take her to see some random woman from the slums! Do you think—"

"Dorothy is going to die," Jeames said. His words somehow calmed Victoria down. It had been a very stressful week. Everything from Dorothy's wedding to the rumors hiding the real situation had been handled by Victoria. She had not had any decent sleep for the past few days! Victoria looked at her daughter.

Hopelessness surrounded her heart.

Dorothy was no longer the Dorothy that Victoria raised. Right now, the woman only had a blank gaze. She no longer spoke a word or seemed to care about anything else. She was but a shell of a person.

Again, hate and fury filled her heart.

How could the Goddess do this to her Dorothy?

"Are you saying that this woman is a sorceress?" she asked.

"That is the only possible explanation that I could come up with. She used something to throw me out of the house. She could open the doors even without touching them. I believe she is a sorceress who has been hiding in the slums."

"And she wanted you to beg her?"

"Yes."

"What else?"

"I— nothing else. She just wanted me to beg her before she would tell me the method to help Dorothy."

Victoria's eyes narrowed. She looked at Jeames' pitiful appearance. She knew the man well enough to know that he would never lie, especially when it came to Dorothy.

"I will see her."

"What?" Jeames looked surprised before relief flashed in his eyes. "Then… we should do it tonight before the sun rises."

Victoria gave him a concerned look.

Jeames' love for Dorothy was undeniable, but how could one love someone like this? No. The question was… how could a love like this exist? Was it because they were younger? Was it because Dorothy was more beautiful than Victoria when she was younger? Was this the reason why Dorothy found a man who would never leave her despite everything that had happened?

Again, she looked at her daughter. The Dorothy right now was nothing but a bag of breathing bones. She looked pitiful on her wedding night, yet someone was still willing to do everything to save her.

Victoria then looked up. Perhaps, the Goddess was still blessing them. Perhaps, this was her way of showing them that She still existed.

With that in mind, Victoria, along with Loren and Jeames, secretly left the bridal chambers and went straight to the slums. After about an hour, they finally arrived at the same house where the strange woman lived. This time, Jeames knocked three times, and again, the door opened.

He looked at Victoria who seemed to be visibly shaken. After all, this was the same thing that Jeames told her earlier. They walked inside. However, just as Loren was about to follow them, the door closed.

Victoria let out a surprise squeak and quickly moved behind Jeames, fear apparent in her eyes.

"You are back," the same voice as before welcomed Jeames. Again, the woman was standing at the spot where she stood earlier. She was holding the same teapot and teacup. Again, the woman poured the contents of the tea before she said, "Sweet tea?"

It was the same exact voice, the same exact creepy smile.

"W— We are here to ask you what you want. We will pay you anything as long as you tell us the method to help her."

"Oh? Anything?"

"Anything," it was Victoria who answered her.

"Ah… you brought guests," the woman said. She was acting as if she did not see Victoria walk through the door. "Another one with the smell of the curse."

"I— I am her mother and—" Victoria swallowed, the poise and grace that she always had were no longer there. In front of a sorceress like this Victoria could only swallow her pride. After all, it was no secret that every sorcerer harnessed the powers of the Dark Lord. Sorcerers could easily kill someone like her if they wanted to. "And Jeames told me about everything. I am willing to give you anything."

"Anything?" the woman repeated. Then she started walking towards the old piano.

"Anything at all. Gold, lands, houses, businesses."

*DONG*

"Foolish human," the woman said after she pressed the same key that she pressed the last time that Jeames was here. The similarity in her posture and everything else did not sit well with him. For some reason, he felt like he was watching a play instead of talking to someone… real.

"I— I will give anything," Victoria said.

"Then beg me," the woman gave a tight-lipped smile. "And I will say."

...

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