Please Support Revenge

In Ferrado’s dukedom in the north stood a magnificent castle where enormous towers rose on all sides and extravagant ornaments hung over the entrance to portray his lordship. Lobelia surveyed her surroundings calmly. This was Jade’s memory of the events that occurred prior to his arrival in the capital this year. In the Original, the progress of the early stages of treatment was also covered in detail, so she knew that the Duke of Ferrado would immediately make an appearance in the first dream.

Originally, it was Aina who crept into Jade’s dreams, and like a true heroine, she purified Jade’s heart with her innocent smile and warm comfort. Lobelia, on the other hand, lacked such talent, so she decided to use the physical method. She would find every individual instance of the curse that lurked throughout Jade’s unconsciousness and eliminate them one by one. The location where the curse is remembered is typically deep within the memory, or close to the time of day of a significant occurrence.

With knowledge of the Original still fresh in her mind, Lobelia entered the castle slowly. She was dressed in maid’s clothes, so the people in the castle paid much attention to her. When a person enters a dream of another, they naturally assimilate to the environment of the dream.

Lobelia kept moving forward until she found a maid pushing a tray of refreshments along the corridor on the third floor.

“Are you headed to the Duke’s office?” she asked the maid.

“Yes,” the maid nodded unsuspectingly, “that’s right.”

“I’ll do that. You are needed in the kitchen,” Lobelia said, pretending to be as casual as possible. The people embodied in Jade’s dreams were real, and she was a little worried that she might be caught lying. Fortunately, the maid believed Lobelia’s words without question.

“Will you do that?” she asked as she breathed a sigh of relief and handed Lobelia the tray. “I’m afraid to go because the Duke has been agitated lately. It wasn’t like this four years ago.”

It was four years ago when Jade Ferrado first became aware of the symptoms of the curse. Was it much different back then? Lobelia wondered.

When she arrived at the duke’s office and entered after a knock, she found Jade Ferrado sitting at his desk immersed in paperwork with his back against the window where the sun shone through. His sleek hair, broad shoulders, sharp jawline, crisp suit, restrained hand movements—everything was the same as the present Jade Ferrado.

Lobelia carefully pushed the tray and approached the desk. She glanced at the grandfather clock across the room; it was still two o’clock in the afternoon. Tens of minutes were left before the ‘key event’ took place.

I’ve come at the wrong time, Lobelia thought, will I have an excuse to come back to the office later?

She set the teacup, kettle, and sweets on the desk, when Jade spoke up.

“I’ve never seen your face before,” he said. Lobelia froze. “I haven’t seen a maid like you in the castle. Are you a newcomer?”

Lobelia looked at Jade blankly, breaking into a cold sweat. Even in his dreams, he memorized each and every one of the servants’ faces and recognized someone new even though she blended naturally into the dream. How elaborate were his dreams?

However, realizing that this was merely his dream anyway, Lobelia regained her composure. What happens here remains only in his memories, so she only needs to make an appropriate and credible excuse that generally fit the circumstances. In any case, she doesn’t have to worry too much.

“I’m a new maid, who just entered yesterday,” she said, bowing her head, “I’m honored to be working for the Duke of Ferrado.”

“Ah, a new maid,” Jade nodded his head, “I’ll check with the chief maid later.” He was a thorough character, but he did not appear to have any intention of interrogating Lobelia right now.

Lobelia, feeling relieved, took a step back and headed towards the door to leave when an idea crossed her mind. “I will be organizing the shelf,” she suddenly announced.

“Yes?” Jade asked, tearing his eyes off the piles of documents.

“I was instructed to bring the Duke refreshments and arrange the books,” reasoned Lobelia. Fortunately, she thought of an excuse to remain in the office until the ‘key event’ occured.

“Then, I’ll get right to it,” Lobelia said. She feared this opportunity would be lost, so she immediately began to tidy the bookshelf.

“I don’t care,” Jade muttered as he diverted his attention to the paperwork again, “Just don’t disturb me.”

Lobelia walked around the office and pretended to organize the books that had been carelessly strewn on the shelf. The office was fortunately spacious, and Lobelia didn’t seem to be inside Jade’s line of vision.