Chapter 27 - Zoe Curse
The activity I disliked the most was waiting.
When the day turned into evening, I observed the outdoors of the Royal Palace which was already crowded with horse-drawn carriages from various noble families.
My family had already sat down at the banquet table after cleaning up the small mess that had happened earlier.
The cleaning of the corpses that were stuck with the Marquess Rommel family flag, the small fight when entering the Royal Palace area, and the fight between spirits that had obtained silent eyewitnesses who tried not to bring up the anger of the Marquess Rommel family.
However, the gazes that were directed at my family were Alice, Alyssa, and Hana who were fighting over the seats next to me.
Why did this happen? It was because Alice and Alyssa tried to fulfill their duties by sitting next to me without get interference of the Saintess who was tied to the Aurora Goddess Shrine.
Hana seemed to have arrived earlier than the schedule so she felt lonely while waiting for the royal family party to start and came to the Marquess Rommel family table to meet me.
"Onee-san…" Hana looked at me with sad and teary eyes, when Alice and Alyssa tried hard to keep Hana away from my sight, it attracted more attention from the people around me.
"It feels awkward when the atmosphere has become this crowded," I said trying to stay calm from the center of attention.
"Hey, monster! Release the holy Saintess from the grip of your dirty hands!" shouted one of the little children who stared at me with a sharp gaze.
When we were the center of attention because of Hana's presence who was at odds with Alice and Alyssa, several groups of little children came to me without fear of my father's presence who threatened their parents to immediately withdraw their children.
"Ah, like this again?" I muttered softly after feeling an incident that felt familiar from previous parties.
"Monster!! Huuu!!"
"Your ugly face is disturbing the royal family's party, go home immediately and return to your mother's arms!"
"You bring disaster to this party!"
"Leave the holy Saintess immediately before I beat you up!"
"Meet your dead mother, you ugly monster!"
Sriingg...
My ears suddenly heard a mocking voice that concerned the dignity of my deceased biological mother.
It felt very impolite to my ears and I was forced to use Sakura Dash to approach that uncontrolled mouth. An insult to someone who had died had drawn my anger.
Slashh...
"You seem to be saying something I don't want to hear," I said in a cold tone while pressing the sharp edge of my katana on her neck.
The sudden movement of my body made the atmosphere around me quiet.
The flash of the sharp edge of my katana showed the authenticity of this sharp object and made the atmosphere even more tense.
"I didn't care about this before, but what's your name?" I asked in a cold tone and shook the sharp edge of my katana leaving a thin wound.
"Hiii!! What did you do to me!" The little boy who was hit by the soft touch of my sharp katana suddenly fell and ran away from me towards his family's party table.
Tapp... Tapp...
Srriinnggg...
When I saw him running away from me, I used Sakura Dash again and stopped his running direction with a light kick that made him fall rolling on the ground.
Buuggg... Roolll.. Baammm... Continue your journey with empire
The little boy rolled covered in dirt and dust.
My gaze now rolled to his body which was covered in light bruises after rolling and falling on the ground.
"So lame," my little comment when I saw his pathetic self.
My gaze glanced back at the four remaining little children.
"Hey, you still have a mother, right?" I said with a cold smile at him.
"Hiieekk!!" was the only scream I could hear from his mouth.
When his gaze turned towards me with fear, I suddenly realized my main goal was to spread Zoe's curse that controlled a person's behavior.
I glanced back at the party table that was already filled with his family. They seemed to want to help the little boy but were held back because I was holding a katana that was covered in the child's small blood.
"I want to ask you all a quick question about this. Among all of you, who is the mother?" I asked the group of families in front of me.
Ctasskk...
I could see an adult woman who looked trembling and raised her hands in fear. Our gazes met each other. Like a mouse standing in front of a hungry snake, I looked like I wanted to prey on it.
"Oh, you're the mother?" I said as I put my katana into its sheath and approached her.
Pam...
A cold chill immediately spread around me, it was the magical aura released by Zoe by spreading her butterfly wings.
"Y-Yes, I am her mother," she replied, trembling with fear.
"Do you love your child?"
Gasp...
My question seemed to invite surprise from others.
Braakk...
"Please don't kill my child!" she said while standing and bowing respectfully to me.
"Don't worry, I won't kill his physically but kill him socially," I said with a warm smile.
My statement made Zoe flap her butterfly wings and give birth to two butterflies that flew to the heads of the mother and child.
Booshh...
When the two butterflies exploded at the same time, a circular magical formation in front of my eyes connected.
"Please give the order for your curse, Master Lily," Zoe said in a polite tone.
I smiled happily when I realized Zoe's curse. My main goal in this royal family party was about to be achieved and I was very happy about it.
"From now on, you will treat your son like a daughter!" I said to the little boy's mother and Zoe's curse was planted to correct his behavior.
"W-What are you talking about?" she replied in confusion.
"And you, uhh… you will act like a burnt earthworm when you see the woman you like including all your descendants born from your bloodline," I said to the little boy who had insulted my deceased mother.
The utterance of my curse was complete and a butterfly wing mark was created on their face and disappeared without a trace.
"Kaito! What are you doing!" the adult woman shouted as she called the little boy.
"Why are you wearing clothes like that? Come here and change into a respectable noblewoman's clothes!" she shouted.
I was amazed at such courage. A curse that corrects one's behavior and cannot fight Zoe's curse.
Suddenly the little boy writhed on the ground and shouted, "Hot!! Hot!! My body feels hot like it's burning!"
My gaze suddenly shifted to Hana who was the source of the little boy's attention.
"Heh, so Hana is the woman you like? Too bad she'll feel disgusted after seeing you like this," I said to lower his pride who was acting like a burnt earthworm.
Now I looked at the remaining four children and smiled broadly.
Since the atmosphere of the royal family party was crowded, wouldn't it be better to take advantage of this momentum to spread Zoe's power?
The smile that widened on my face looked like the Demon Queen who wanted to spread a curse to those who dared to offend my pride.
Swiishh...
I used Sakura Dash again and appeared in front of the four boys who were trying to bully me.
"Now... can you show me where your family is before I slam my sharp katana to your eyes?" I said in a friendly tone and a wide, terrifying smile.
The four boys fell and their gazes were fixed on their parents.
I pulled one of the hands of the boy who was wearing luxurious jewelry. When my gaze fell on his parents, I could understand that his family was a large merchant family that did business in the capital of the Aurora Kingdom.
"I don't want to repeat myself, so just cut it short, which one of you is his mother?" I said with a smile filled with the manners of a noble girl.
"..." I waited for a long pause but no woman admitted to being his mother.
"Eh? Could it be that you don't have a mother?" I asked with a smile.
"Yes, this will be an easier curse for your bloodline family. Starting today... you will send 50% of your income to the Marquess Rommel family and 40% to the orphanage managed by the Aurora Goddess Shrine, while the remaining 10% will be yours, this curse will apply to all your descendants," when I said this, a magic formation circle was created above the ceiling of the Aurora Kingdom.
The curse I gave created a butterfly formation from nothingness and left a mark on the entire merchant family in front of me.
I have heard that merchant families have an incredible sense of greed. When I destroy their roots as merchants, it will prevent all their descendants from becoming merchants because all their sales revenue will be given to my family and the orphanage run by the Aurora Goddess Shrine.
Baammm!!
A loud sound rang in my ears as a middle-aged man slammed his fist on the banquet table.
"You guys! Immediately send all 50% of our profits to the Marquess Rommel family!" shouted a middle-aged man who had been sitting quietly enjoying the atmosphere of the royal family party.
My gaze was now fixed on the boy who was wearing a military uniform the same as the military decoration I was wearing.
Swuuusshh...
Using Sakura Dash again, I dragged his body in front of his family who had knelt begging for forgiveness from me.
"We apologize for our son's impudence in mentioning your mother's death, Lily-sama. If you are willing, we will become a military family that swears loyalty to the Marquess Rommel family even though our enemy is this world itself," said an adult man wearing a military uniform containing military awards.
"Oh, you asked for a curse like that? Like don't betray my family as long as your descendants still set foot in this world," I said while throwing Zoe's curse that had been carved into her face.
"Yes, Lily-sama, and if you are willing, please don't erase your curse mark as a reminder of this great mistake. I respect Marquess Rommel and idolize him. By displaying this curse mark, I can feel closer to the Marquess Rommel family with my loyalty."
"Alright, I allow that," I replied with a smile and changed Zoe's curse mark to be visible to all of her family members.
When I turned around, I could see several guards wearing full armor standing guard over the two boys who were trying to bully me using my mother's death.
"Enough! Stop this madness, Lily-sama!" said one of the soldiers while pointing his sword at me.
I immediately turned to the military family who had sworn loyalty to my family and used Zoe's curse to get rid of this problem.
"Carry out your first task," I said to the adult man who had stood holding a sword.
"I am ready to carry out your first order as the family who has become your family's sword, Lily-sama."
I could see the look in her eyes filled with the fire of passion along with her entire family who had gripped their weapons, including the little boy who almost bullied me earlier.
With a small knife in his hand, he seems to have been bound by Zoe's curse which has become an eternal ally of the Marquess Rommel family.
With Zoe's curse mark of butterfly wings, they seem to be taking this heated situation too seriously.