Chapter 61: The Price of a Deal - 1

Things had been pleasant until morning.

"Girls, breakfast is ready."

Perhaps because of the vigorous sex we had last night, Adelia was more energetic than usual.

Was it because she had sucked up all of a man's vitality?

"There are so many delicious things today."

"I put in a little extra effort for my son-in-law."

Adelia looked at me with a lewd smile.

They said a woman's sex drive rose after she entered her thirties. It seemed that was true.

"Mom, this stew is incredible. How did you make it?"

"I used the recipe Ian taught me~"

It was braised short ribs I had taught her as a hobby, but Adelia had truly shown off her skills today.

And so Isabelle, Adelia, and I spent a warm, pleasant time eating braised short ribs together.

After finishing the meal, I told Adelia something important.

"I had Isolde cursed through a witch."

"Huh?"

"I can cure the curse whenever I want, so you don't have to worry about it anymore."

"...What?"

At first, Adelia looked as though she didn't understand. Then, as she processed my words, she asked,

"So you're saying you cursed Isolde?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I don't like her."

"I said, why?!"

Adelia shouted, her eyes reddening with tears.

She looked like a lover who had just been betrayed.

"What did Isolde ever do to you?!"

"She didn't do anything to me. You can just think of it as me doing it because I don't like Isolde."

"How could you do this? I trusted you so much!"

"M-Mom, don't be like that. Let him explain..."

I stopped Isabelle, who was about to defend me, with a gesture.

This wasn't the time for Isabelle to step in.

I spoke to Adelia, who was unable to contain her fury.

"I fully understand your anger, Adelia. You can vent as much as you want. I won't resist."

"You think I can't do it?! Even if you hadn't told me to, I would have hit you!"

With tears in her eyes, Adelia repeatedly slapped my cheeks.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

"How could you do this to me?"

"Is this why you seduced me?"

"Will you take responsibility if something happens to Isolde? Will you?!"

For a while, I took the full force of the anguish poured out by a mother enraged over her daughter's suffering.

"Haa, haa..."

"If you're tired, you can catch your breath before continuing."

"Damn it—why aren't you acting like it hurts?!"

"It hurts me too. I just don't show it because I think you're hurting more, Adelia."

"I'm hurting? What do you know? How could you possibly know how much my heart hurts—"

"Stop!"

Adelia seemed startled by Isabelle's shout.

"Isabelle, why are you stopping me? Ian cursed Isolde, and now look how much she's suffering..."

"My husband did nothing wrong. I asked him to do it. I asked him to curse my sister."

"What?"

Adelia was left speechless by Isabelle's answer.

"What are you talking about? Why would you want to curse your sister? Was Isolde making your life miserable?"

Shocked, Adelia questioned her urgently, while Isabelle's lips trembled and tears streamed down her face.

It didn't seem like this would work, so I had no choice but to explain the situation to Adelia.

"It wasn't like that. Isabelle wanted to get along with Isolde. Cursing Isolde was my decision alone."

"She wanted to get along with her...? What does that have to do with cursing her?!"

"Because Isolde needs to understand Isabelle's position too."

At my answer, Adelia grabbed me by the collar.

"You could all get along without going that far."

"Yes, there may have been a better way than something as extreme as a curse. But I don't like her. I can't forgive her for telling Isabelle she should never have been born."

"You cursed Isolde over something like that? Isolde only said it because she was suffering too. It's because I wasn't good enough to her!"

"Yes, Isolde did nothing wrong. But neither did Isabelle."

"I know! I know that! Isabelle did nothing wrong. Who would choose to be born cursed? Who would choose to have a mother like me—"

"That isn't Adelia's fault either."

For a moment, Adelia seemed at a loss for words, her mouth merely opening and closing.

"To begin with, it's nobody's fault. Ah, I was wrong for casting the curse, but none of you three did anything wrong."

"Y-You, what do you know..."

"I don't know every detail. But as I've been with Isabelle, I naturally came to see it. That Adelia worked so hard for her family."

My words left Adelia looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

"If you want, it's fine to keep venting your anger on me. But don't blame yourself. Adelia did nothing wrong. If anything, you deserve praise."

"..."

"Did that sound presumptuous? If so, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way, but I wanted to make sure I told you this. Adelia, you've worked so hard all this time."

At my answer, Adelia lowered her head deeply, her body trembling.

Then—

Clack.

"M-Mom."

Without saying a word, Adelia ran outside.

I stopped Isabelle as she tried to go after her.

"She'll need some time alone."

"Are you all right, honey?"

Isabelle asked as she caressed my cheek.

"Your cheek is bright red."

"I'm fine. It'll get better on its own with time."

Considering what I had done, I had expected to take at least a few stabs. But because Adelia was so soft-hearted, it ended with just a few slaps.

I wasn't sure whether I should count that as fortunate.

"More importantly, I'm worried about Adelia. Holding in anger isn't good for one's mental health. Being too kind can be a problem too."

"You're too kind too, honey. You didn't have to let her hit you."

"Haha, ordinarily I'd agree with everything Isabelle says, but not this time. I'm absolutely not a good person."

If I had been a good man from the start, I wouldn't have gone about things this way.

I would have tried to make sure no one got hurt as much as possible.

But what else could I do?

This was the way I did things best.

To grant Isabelle's wish, I had to do it this way.

"But you didn't have to tell Mom the truth."

"Then I'd be deceiving Adelia. For the happy family relationship Isabelle dreams of, we needed to address this at least once. So don't resent Adelia either, Isabelle. I was the one at fault, after all."

"Even if she's my mother, I can't forgive her for hitting my husband."

"That just shows how much of a mother she is to her daughter. The fact that she stopped after just a few slaps means she held back a lot."

"If you say so, honey, I won't resent her."

Isabelle pulled me into an embrace, then added,

"Still, I don't think I can help being upset with Mom for a while."

"You've held back more than enough just by stopping there."

I hugged the sulking Isabelle tightly to comfort her as well.

. . .

Having fled to the storage room, Adelia collapsed where she stood.

Right now, she couldn't contain her emotions.

Anger, resentment, regret, and both love and hatred.

That bastard. That awful bastard.

Adelia liked Ian.

He had married the sickly Isabelle and become the head of the household.

On top of that, he sincerely cherished and loved Isabelle in a way even her dead husband never had.

So naturally, Adelia felt deeply betrayed when Ian cursed Isolde.

"How could you do this? How could you curse Isolde..."

Her fury surged all the way to the top of her head.

Even if the curse could be reversed, she couldn't dare imagine the emotional wounds Isolde had suffered.

"I can't forgive you. I'll never forgive you."

What mother could forgive someone who had hurt her daughter?

Adelia wanted to beat Ian to a pulp.

But—

[ "That isn't Adelia's fault either." ]

There was an emotion that shook her heart more than anger did.

"Ugh, what do you know?"

After giving birth to Isabelle, Adelia had been shunned by everyone for bearing a cursed child.

Even by her husband.

[ "That Adelia worked so hard for her family." ]

Because of that, Adelia had come to believe that everything was her fault.

That Isabelle had been born with a cursed body, that their family had fallen apart, that Isolde had grown up selfish and domineering—every bit of it had happened because she was such an inadequate mother.

[ "Don't blame yourself. Adelia did nothing wrong. If anything, you deserve praise." ]

"Sob—"

Ian had denied all of that to her face.

He said Adelia wasn't at fault.

That Isabelle hadn't been cursed because of Adelia.

That she shouldn't blame herself.

"Ugh, you bastard. You're truly awful. Why would you say something like that only now, you coward?!"

[ "Adelia, you've worked so hard all this time." ]

"S-Sob—"

Perhaps they were the words she had wanted to hear her entire life.

Upon hearing them, emotions she could hardly put into words churned inside Adelia.

"Waaah! I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hit you. I'm truly sorry I got angry."

In the end, Adelia burst into tears.

As though pouring out all the resentment she had endured as a mother in front of her daughters, she cried and cried.

"Sob, thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for acknowledging me. And..."

Adelia had not intended to give Ian her heart.

Even though they had shared their bodies, he was still her daughter's husband.

Yet a single word of comfort from him had shattered her heart.

"I love you. I truly love you, Ian."

. . .

"You're here."

Aurora spoke as she looked at the woman standing before her.

"Are you ready to offer up the virgin?"

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