“If you transfer the curse to one of the children, then the remaining child and the mother will be saved. So either all three will die, or you sacrifice one to save the other two. These are your choices.”
“I can’t believe it...”
“So, which one is it, my old friends? I’ll respect your decision. Will you die together with the two children or save at least one of them? The choice is yours.”
The spouses stayed silent.
“No matter which option you go with, I’ll just say that neither is wrong. After all, there is no right answer when it comes to who lives or dies.” Faust’s expression as she urged them to make a decision was calm and gentle—compassionate, even. However, to the Halsberg couple, she looked just like a devil pressuring them to make a pact with her.
That day, the Halsbergs made a decision. At that time, though, no one could have predicted that this painful choice would influence the fate of countless people a little more than a decade later.
〇 〇 〇
Why do I have to suffer like this?
That was the unanswerable question that ran through his mind again and again, causing immeasurable anguish.
“Hey, the cursed child is here again!”
“Stay away! You’re gonna infect us!”
“Ugh...” Caim Halsberg groaned in pain as a stone thrown by one of the kids struck the back of his head.
Caim was a thirteen-year-old boy with ashen hair and eyes, whose handsome face might make him irresistible to girls in the future. Unfortunately, his looks were tainted by purple bruises on the fair skin of his face and limbs. These bruises were caused by the curse that had afflicted him since birth—the same reason he was persecuted as a cursed child.
“Run! He’s gonna give us his curse!”
“Just get out of our village already, you monster!”
The boys guffawed as they fled.
“Ow...” Caim let out another pained groan as he touched the back of his head, staining his fingers with blood.
Caim lived in a small village in the corner of the Halsberg territory—or more accurately, he lived in a small hut in the forest a little ways away, only ever entering the village proper when he needed to buy food.
“The cursed child is back!”
“The one with the Poison Queen’s... Damn, he’s so disgusting!”
“His filthy presence is so unpleasant. I just hope he leaves quickly.”
While the adults didn’t throw stones like the children did, they certainly didn’t refrain from gossiping about Caim as he passed by.
Caim arrived at the shop he usually went to, only to be welcomed by a glare from the owner.
“You again... How annoying.”
“Um... Food, please...”
“I know. Just take it and get out of here already!” The shopkeeper threw a jute bag at Caim’s feet; bread, fruit, and cheese spilled out from it onto the ground. “I’ll just get the lord to pay for it as usual, so get lost! You’re driving away the other customers!”
Caim grimaced.
“What?” the shopkeeper snapped. “Don’t give me that look. You’re just a cursed child—you have no right to resent me when I’m so generously giving you food!”
Intimidated by the shopkeeper, Caim gulped down his complaints as he picked up the food on the ground and put it back inside the bag. Even if the food was dirty now—it was really just a bunch of moldy leftovers anyway—to Caim, it was precious nutrition that he needed to live.
Caim finished gathering the food and did his best to endure the humiliation before heading out as quickly as he could. Slandered by every villager he passed, Caim left the village and followed the animal trail back into the forest.
As he walked, his body hurting here and there, the usual question crossed his mind: Why...just why am I the only one who suffers like that?
Caim had started living in the forest hut a year ago. An elderly man had been taking care of him, but he had unfortunately died three months ago, leaving Caim alone. Since then, every time Caim went into the village to stock up on food, he was slandered and showered with malice even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Why was I born as a cursed child? What did I do to deserve this?” he complained under his breath, but he knew that it would change nothing. Caim had been born cursed, and he would stay that way for the rest of his life. He had to live alone so that he wouldn’t draw any attention.
Suddenly, pain shot through Caim’s chest, and he let go of the bag to cough violently into his hands. When the fit was over, he looked at his palms and found them stained with blood—so much that it dripped onto the ground, where it sizzled and created a terrible stench. Caim looked down at his feet and saw that the stone there had dissolved, as though it had been drenched in acid.
“The poison curse, huh...?”
Caim had been afflicted with the poison curse since his birth, so he occasionally vomited blood just like he had a moment ago—and because of that curse, his blood was so toxic it could melt stone.
And that’s why I was driven out of the house immediately after Mom died...
Though he currently resided in the forest hut, Caim was actually the son of the local lord. Until his mother’s death last year, he had lived in a large mansion.
It was so much better when Mom was alive. Nobody threw stones at me back then...
Caim’s mother had been one of the rare people who had truly loved him. She had always smiled freely at him, even though his father and twin sister avoided him.