I Became the Cure for the Cursed Prince - Chapter 133

Leon had never been good at handling his emotions. When something became too difficult for him emotionally, he buried himself in work, trying to forget the pain.
He did not realize how much that was harming him inside.

Even though Lucas had spent far more of his life alone than with Leon, just a few days apart from him had left him unable to eat or sleep properly.
It felt as if something had gone hollow inside his chest.

“Leon…”

He missed him so much it became unbearable.
There was a foolish part of him that wanted to believe, once again, that all of Leon’s obsession was simply love.
That maybe he could look past it one more time.

But the truth was clear.
Leon was still trapped in his obsession.
He still had not overcome the illness of clinging love.
He was still living a love that was incomplete.

If someone lives their life in constant fear of the future, unsure of what even tomorrow might bring, and they rely only on obsession with one person to keep going, what happens when that person is gone?

Leon now had an empire to protect and children to raise.
Lucas shook his head quickly. The thought alone was terrifying.

If he gave in to his loneliness and went running back into Leon’s arms now, he could already picture how unstable their future would be.
He didn’t know how much longer they needed to stay apart, but he had decided to wait.
He would wait until Leon found the right answer on his own.

Lucas walked over to the table and sat in front of the porridge the attendant had left.
He took a spoonful of the steaming food, drank some water, and forced himself to swallow.

Then he sat at his desk and began to write a short letter.

“I’m not angry. I’m waiting. Until you find the answer.”

When Asili heard from Ermon about Leon’s condition, she knew she could not stay silent.
Even though she had stepped away from court life, she was still the mother of the current emperor.

She had watched her son and his partner closely for years and had long expected something like this to happen.
In a way, it was surprising they had made it this far without breaking.

When lunchtime came and Leon had still not left his room, Asili went to see him.

Leon was sitting quietly in the middle of a pile of books and papers.
His hands were turning pages, but his eyes were unfocused and empty.

Asili was reminded of Frederick in his final days.

When the nobles had blamed an ancient royal curse and demanded he take Layla as his empress,
When her own father passed away and she had to leave the palace,
When they had no choice but to send Leon to the North,
Frederick had locked himself in his room and buried himself in work each time.

Like father, like son.

It was no wonder Lucas had felt suffocated.

Asili did not need to ask what caused the fight. She already understood.
They loved each other deeply. That much had never been in question.

“Your Majesty.”

Leon’s eyes, which had been fixed on the documents, slowly turned to her.
His gaze wavered as if he had just realized someone was there.

Asili gently continued.

“Do you really think staring at those papers will solve anything?”

His eyes were red and tired. He looked like he had not slept in days.

“I’m fine,” Leon said quietly.

He turned his eyes away and looked back at the documents.

“I’m doing my job. That’s what matters. You don’t need to worry.”

Asili walked forward and calmly took the papers from his hands.

“If Lucas is just waiting like this, even though he is not the type to sit and do nothing, then it is clear what this means.”

“…I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t,” Leon said quietly.

“That makes sense. You carry the blood of the former emperor, after all,” Asili replied.

Leon looked at her, still confused. He truly didn’t understand.

Asili softened her voice and spoke with warmth.

“My son, you know better than anyone what kind of person Lucas is. He is thoughtful, and he is kind.”

“I know.”

“If someone like him isn’t coming to see you right now, even though he knows you are struggling, then it means he believes staying away is what you need. He is doing it for your sake.”

Leon, who had been swallowed by sadness and frustration, let out a breath that sounded like a quiet release of everything he had been holding in.

“For me? He doesn’t even tell me what upset him. He just leaves me like this. And that’s supposed to be for my sake?”

“It hurts, doesn’t it? You wish he would just say what’s wrong. I understand. But you know, I once did the same thing to your father.”

Leon looked up at her, surprised by what she had said.

Asili gave a small, gentle smile and continued.

“When I was young and inexperienced, I didn’t know how to balance my weak family background with the overwhelming power of the imperial palace. I let myself rely completely on your father’s love. Even when I was caught up in the politics and schemes of the court, I believed that was my destiny.

Then you were born. And later, when Vilter was born and became a threat to your place, I finally came to my senses.”

Leon already knew about his mother’s painful past.
He had always understood how much she had gone through after becoming empress at such a young age.

“I truly believed I had to protect you no matter what. All my thoughts were focused on you.
And while I was so consumed by that, your father began to think that my heart had changed.
He became overwhelmed by fear, and that fear turned into obsession and constant stress.”

“…But maybe, if you had just told him, it wasn’t true, he would have been alright.”

Asili looked at him gently and smiled.

“If it had only been the two of us, maybe things would have been different. If the role of emperor or father could belong entirely to one woman, then yes, it might have worked. But, my son…”

Leon stayed silent.

“The emperor’s role is lonely. A father’s role means carrying responsibility, even when it costs you the most precious things. You must never give everything to one person. If I had only tried to soothe your father’s obsession without challenging it, you might not have grown up as strong and whole as you are now. Because to protect something, you need strength.”

Was Lucas the same?

As the former Grand Duke of Rion, had he thought not only about Rion but also, like Asili, about his child and the future of the empire?

If that was true, then what had Leon done to him?

How could he have been so blind, so immature until the very end?

Asili’s words slowly sank into Leon’s heart, and with them, a new clarity began to spread through his mind.
But along with that clarity came a cold chill, as though something sharp was cutting into his skin.

“No matter how strong Lucas may seem, he must be struggling now. But this is the same Lucas who once carried the weight of a nation. This is the same man who raised you. Whatever he chose to do, I believe he did so with full understanding.”

Leon felt his throat tighten. He could not speak.
He simply lowered his head and stared at the messy, stained surface of his desk.

After a moment, Asili placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Now that you’ve found your answer, isn’t it time to slowly begin finding balance?”

“How did you know?” Leon asked in a quiet voice.

“How could I not know what’s in the heart of the son I gave birth to?”

Leon looked into his mother’s warm eyes.
She must have felt so frustrated watching her son, consumed by obsession, unable to see the bigger picture.
She must have thought he was still far too young and unready compared to Lucas.

What had she felt when she sent her little boy to the North?

It must have felt like tearing her own flesh apart.
But she had endured it all in silence.

Love was not just about controlling, interfering, or holding on tightly.
Like Asili, loving someone could also mean understanding everything and quietly waiting while watching over them.

Asili gently embraced Leon and whispered,

“You will do well.”

“…Thank you, Mother.”

After that, Asili left the room.
Now that Leon had found his answer, all that was left was to share his heart with Lucas.

Since Lucas had given him a hint through a letter, Leon decided he would respond in the same way, with a letter of his own.

Elisha suddenly grabbed Ermon’s hand and pulled him along.
One of the attendants hurried behind them, trying to keep up.

Elisha was still young, but she was fast like a tiger, and the attendants were always left chasing after her.

Ermon looked back, gave a quick gesture to the attendant to say everything was fine, and crouched down to face Elisha.

“Your Highness, is there something important you would like to tell me?”

Elisha nodded, still catching her breath.

“Take a moment to breathe, then tell me slowly.”

“W-we want to help. We’re going to do Their Majesties’ work for them!”

Ermon thought she might be joking, but he still responded with care.

“You will need to grow a bit more before that. Once your education is complete, you will be ready to take on official duties.”

“That’s not what I mean. Right now, both Their Majesties are so busy that they don’t even have time to make up. So we’re going to help with their work instead.”

“That’s right!” Andrea added, arriving with Dea just behind her. “We’re not going anywhere until you teach us how to help.”

Ermon looked at the three of them with quiet affection.

Our young royals… how thoughtful they are.

Ermon had already been struggling with how to handle the ongoing tension between Their Majesties.
Of course, the children knew their fathers were not getting along.

He looked at the three young royals, their eyes shining with anticipation as they waited for his answer.
He gave them a warm smile.

“Alright. I think they would be very happy if you helped.”

The palace had no shortage of paper, so all he needed was to have three official-looking seals made.
Ermon led the children to his office. He instructed a servant to quickly make stamps with each of their names, then began piling discarded documents on his desk.

The children’s eyes widened.

“Wow… there’s this much?”

“This is a mountain of work!”

“No wonder they’re always busy.”

Smiling, Ermon spread one sheet across the desk and pointed to the signature space.

“You’ll be stamping here, but it will take a little time for the seals to be made. In the meantime, how about attending your lessons first?”

Only then did the children calm down and leave the office.
They had insisted they wouldn’t leave unless they were given real work, so Ermon had promised to make them stamps.
To keep them busy, he planned to give them toy stamps instead.

Still, it was too early to relax.
These children were Leon’s in both blood and spirit.
There was no telling what kind of mischief they might cause next.

Ermon sighed and made up his mind. He would need to speak with Lucas and convince him, before anything happened.

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