Chapter 76: Moonlight for This Moth Drawn to Flame! - 3

"The curse afflicting Sister Isolde is not the kind that harms others."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Yes, you no longer need to remain in the isolation room."

On the morning of her seventh day in isolation, Isolde was finally freed from the isolation room.

I was so stifled. Things will be much better now.

Out of the cramped isolation room at last, Isolde breathed in the outside air and felt a weight lift from her chest.

After spending a week in there, she had genuinely thought she might lose her mind.

But her worries were not over.

"Um, what is going to happen to my curse? It can be cured, right?"

"I am sorry. At present, we have no solution for it."

"B-but Isabelle’s curse was cured too."

"That miracle was possible because there was true love. It is not something just anyone can easily accomplish."

At Vanessa’s answer, Isolde tilted her head.

True love.

It was an unfamiliar phrase to Isolde.

Love is love. What is true love supposed to be?

If you love someone, you love them.

Was there any need to distinguish whether it was true love or whatever?

I don’t know. I should go see Ian first.

Feeling frustrated, Isolde immediately went looking for Ian.

Fortunately, he was waiting outside to pick her up.

"U-um, Ian..."

"It has been a while, Isolde. It is good to see you face-to-face again."

At Ian’s greeting, Isolde pulled her robe’s hood farther over her face.

She did not want him to be repulsed by her hideously altered appearance for no reason.

"Sorry. I’m ugly to look at, aren’t I?"

"Not at all. No matter how much you change, you are still Isolde to me."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Please believe me."

Everyone else loathed her, yet he alone accepted her exactly as she was. Isolde’s heart swelled with emotion.

I don’t think I felt this way before.

Was it because she had fallen all the way to the bottom?

Isolde found herself increasingly drawn to Ian.

Why did I hate this man so much?

The reason she had hated him was simple.

The village chief had suddenly come to her and declared that an ugly man would be her husband.

But the more she got to know this man, the more he revealed himself to be a real catch.

Watching him change with every passing day, Isolde could not help falling for him.

I need to cure this curse soon. Then I’ll officially become his wife.

Isolde wanted to become Ian’s wife.

He was the finest husband material in this village—no, perhaps in this entire country.

Her younger sister Isabelle bothered her, but Isolde intended to take her sister’s place somehow.

"Ian, you know..."

"Yes, go ahead."

"T-the nun said that... t-to cure my curse, I need true love."

"True love... I think I understand what that means."

Unlike herself, who had failed to understand it, Ian seemed to grasp it at once.

That made Isolde rely on him even more.

"You can cure me, right? You can, can’t you?"

"Yes, but first we need to find a man who truly loves you, Isolde."

"T-that..."

You can do it.

Isolde could not bring herself to tell him what was in her heart.

She had received everything men showered upon her before, but she had never been the one to ask first.

"Shall we go find John first?"

"Why John?"

"Because he is your lover. From what I saw before, things were quite passionate between you two."

"N-no. John and I aren’t like that."

"You two even kissed each other. I know all about it, so there is no need to be embarrassed."

At Ian’s words, Isolde could not deny it.

After all, she had kissed John right in front of Ian. And it was true that they had gotten along well until Isabelle married.

"Ah, did the two of you have a fight? I understand. Things like that can happen when you are dating. But do not worry. I will help you two make up somehow."

"Well..."

Isolde felt suffocated by Ian’s attempt to bring her and John back together.

John no longer had any place in her heart.

But she could not tell Ian the truth now.

Besides, she could not bring herself to refuse Ian when he was devoting himself to helping her.

I don’t want to get on Ian’s nerves already.

Now that her appearance had turned hideous, Isolde could not help being cautious. In the end, she followed Ian’s suggestion.

. . .

"Good morning, Village Chief."

"Is that not Ian? Seeing you first thing in the morning, it seems this will be a very pleasant day indeed."

The village chief warmly welcomed Ian.

It showed just how much favor he held for Ian.

"So, what brings you here this time? I believe I have taught you just about everything there is to know about farming."

"I came today because I have business with John."

"John?"

At the mention of his son, the village chief’s expression hardened. John had recently gone around throwing his weight about and ended up a cripple.

As his father, the village chief was ashamed of John.

"Could you tell me what this is about first?"

"It concerns my sister-in-law, Isolde."

"Is this perhaps about her curse?"

"Yes. According to the head nun, only true love can cure Isolde’s curse."

"Like what you did for Isabelle?"

"That is right."

The village chief was not a religious man, but he accepted Ian’s words for the time being.

There was no harm in believing him.

It would not be bad if this made Ian owe me a favor.

The village chief knew better than anyone how devoted Ian was to the village.

But throughout his life, he had seen countless times that people’s hearts could change at any moment.

Just as his first wife had betrayed him.

"John, we have a guest!"

"Yes, Father."

At the village chief’s call, John hurried over, leaning on his crutches.

"I-Ian?"

John’s expression stiffened the moment he saw Ian.

Ian had taken everything that should have been his.

In other words, he was jealous.

Of course, that was merely John’s belief. Ian had simply done what was his to do.

"Hello. How are you feeling?"

"My knee still aches."

John wanted to throw Ian out at once, but he restrained himself in front of his father.

Smiling at John’s demeanor, Ian immediately got to the point.

"We cannot keep an injured man standing for long, so I will be direct. Do you have any intention of getting back together with Isolde?"

"With Isolde?"

John noticed Isolde standing a short distance away.

She had her robe pulled over herself, but it could not conceal her ugly transformed appearance.

"You expect me to marry a monster like that?"

"Were you not her lover?"

"Not anymore. Who would marry such a hideous woman in the first place?"

"A woman is not defined by her appearance alone."

"Only men with strange tastes like yours would think that."

"Hmm. You seem quite resolute, so I will not press the matter any further."

"Yes. Never bring that woman before me again."

"Very well. However, please do not object no matter what man Isolde marries."

"I absolutely will not object, so hurry up and take that bitch away."

"Forgive the intrusion."

After bidding John farewell, Ian left with Isolde.

You fucking bastard.

Isolde cursed inwardly at John, her former lover.

Even the lingering attachment she had felt for him fell away. John was no longer her lover, nor anything else to her.

. . .

Ian went from house to house among the neighbors, searching for a man who would love Isolde.

Naturally, every one of them refused.

"Even if it is a request from you, that is a little..."

"How could anyone love a cursed woman?"

"Get out of my house already!"

Because the village’s hero, Ian, was with her, the refusals were at least somewhat polite. Even so, someone threw a stone at Isolde.

Fortunately, Ian blocked it, and Isolde was unharmed.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, thanks to you..."

Under the villagers’ gazes, Isolde trembled in fear.

What would have happened to her if Ian had not been there? Perhaps she would have been pelted with stones and abandoned in the forest.

I don’t want that.

Overcome by the miserable thought, Isolde clutched tightly at Ian’s clothes.

"That is enough."

"Isolde?"

"Who would ever love someone like me?"

"That is not true. If we keep looking, there will surely be at least one person."

"No. There will not be anyone, no matter how hard we look."

Isolde gripped the edge of her robe.

"Who would ever like a woman with a hideous face like this in the first place? So, Ian, you love me. You are the only one. The only person who will love me."

"Isolde, I understand how you feel. You must be saying this because things are hard right now. But I have Isabelle."

At Ian’s reply, Isolde bit her lip.

"Isolde, before that, how about we go to the lake first?"

"The lake?"

"Yes. True love was necessary, but the reason Isabelle could be cured was also thanks to the power of a lake in the mountains."

"Is it far from here?"

"It is far. But I think it would be good to see it with your own eyes at least once. It will surely help take your mind off things, too."

Isolde sank into thought for a moment at Ian’s suggestion.

If I go home like this, I doubt I will see anything pleasant.

Especially if she saw her younger sister Isabelle, she was not confident she could control her anger.

"All right. Let’s go there."

"Please take my hand. The road will be rough."

"..."

Isolde stared quietly at the hand Ian offered her.

She had held countless men’s hands before, but Ian’s was different.

It is rougher than I expected.

As she took the hand of the first man she had ever come to rely on, Isolde unknowingly blushed.

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