I Became the Cure for the Cursed Prince - Chapter 140 (R19)

It was early morning, before the sun had even risen. Lucas woke up suddenly, startled. The quiet palace was filled with a sharp scream that seemed loud enough to tear through the air.

Leon also sat up, no longer able to sleep.

“I think I just heard someone scream…”

It wasn’t a mistake. The sound had definitely been real. The two of them looked at each other with wide eyes, then quickly got out of bed and headed outside.

They saw several attendants running toward the dining hall.

“What’s going on? Did a monster get in or something?”

“Leon, this is the imperial palace. The security here is extremely tight.”

“Then maybe Coco, with her big appetite, broke into the kitchen?”

Before seeing it for himself, Lucas never would have imagined anything serious. Ermon came out a little later and suggested they return to their room, saying he would report back soon, but something didn’t feel right.

Lucas hurried to the dining hall, only to find a scene that left him speechless.

The three children were sitting on the floor, completely covered in flour.

“What happened here?”

None of them answered. They just sat there, completely silent.

One of the attendants, his face pale, stepped forward and spoke with a stammer.

“I’m very sorry for the noise. I didn’t know the children were here. I thought I saw a ghost…”

“No, you were just doing your job. You didn’t do anything wrong. The ones who need to explain themselves are these children.”

At Lucas’s words, the three stood up and brushed off their hands. The flour in the air made its way into Lucas’s mouth, and he started coughing. He covered his mouth with his hand, then walked over and knelt down in front of them.

“I think it’s time you stopped playing these kinds of pranks, don’t you? I won’t scold you, so Dea, you can tell me what happened.”

With soft cheeks still dusted in flour, Dea spoke up carefully.

“W-well… we were trying to make a cake. We wanted to bake a pretty cake ourselves…”

“A cake?”

“Yes. To celebrate your tenth wedding anniversary.”

Lucas stared at them in silence. He looked at Dea, who was nervously wiping her hands on her pants, at Elisha, who was trying to smile her way out of trouble, and at Andrea, who stood quietly beside Leon while holding Lucas’s hand tightly.

They were all so full of love that it almost brought tears to his eyes.

How did I ever end up with children this precious?

Lucas laughed. Seeing Lucas laugh, Leon also laughed, and soon the children joined in. They had looked so nervous earlier, even placing their hands on their chests and taking deep breaths, clearly worried that Lucas might get angry.

After laughing for a while, Lucas gently reminded them, without forgetting that guidance still mattered.

“If you ever feel like cooking again, make sure you do it with an adult. You’re not ready to handle fire and knives by yourselves yet.”

The children quietly replied, “Yes.” Their soft voices and flour-covered faces made them look as pure and gentle as the morning snow.

Ermon, who had been watching from the side, smiled warmly and instructed the attendants to begin cleaning the dining hall.

The early morning chaos ended on a light and heartwarming note.

At the time, Lucas thought it was nothing more than a sweet prank. But with only two days left until the tenth wedding anniversary ceremony, things quickly spiraled. The children almost hurt themselves rolling in the grass while decorating the garden, and later nearly set the lawn on fire while trying to light candles for atmosphere. After that, Lucas had no choice but to ban them from going outside.

They were truly impossible to manage.

And there was someone else who could not be stopped.

Ever since the night of their intense reconciliation, Leon had grown more affectionate than ever, reaching for Lucas without much regard for time or place. While Lucas didn’t dislike being close to Leon, the real issue was how little restraint he showed.

If they were alone, Leon would express his affection anywhere — not just in the bedroom, but in the office, or even in the greenhouse. It left Lucas constantly tired, struggling to keep up with his partner’s energy.

It was no different two days before the ceremony.

A kiss that started while searching for an old book in the library gradually deepened. Lucas, insisting they could not do this there, escaped to the bedroom. Leon followed close behind, breathless and eager.

As soon as the door closed, Leon pressed Lucas gently against it, unable to hide his desire any longer. Things moved quickly between them, and although Lucas tried to regain control of the situation, Leon was lost in the moment.

“The scent in the greenhouse… it was driving me crazy,” Leon murmured, his breath heavy. “Lately, your scent feels even stronger.”

Lucas pushed at his shoulder with a sigh. “That’s impossible. The cycle’s over. You’re imagining things. Let’s just go to bed.”

But Leon wouldn’t back down. The moment became overwhelming, their closeness too intense, and Lucas had to pause, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Leon… I feel like I might be sick.”

Leon stopped, concern flickering briefly in his eyes. “Was it dinner? Did something upset your stomach?”

When Lucas assured him, it wasn’t that, Leon gently lifted him and carried him to the bed.

“If you’re not unwell… I’ll try to make it quick.”

Lucas’s body still bore the marks of Leon’s affection from the past few nights. Sleep had been scarce, and exhaustion was starting to show, but even in that tired state, Lucas met Leon’s gaze without complaint.

Afterward, when it was over, Leon carried him to the bathroom, insisting on helping him wash up. There, in the warmth of the bath, he held Lucas once more, unable to resist showing how deeply he loved him.

After slipping in and out of consciousness several times while trying to endure him, Lucas finally managed to fall into a proper sleep. His whole body was drained of strength, and he spoke in a tired voice.

“At this rate, I might have to attend the anniversary ceremony lying down.”

“That’s fine with me,” Leon replied softly.

To Leon, anything was fine as long as he was with Lucas. Just remembering the few days, they had been apart still made his vision blur and his chest tighten.

Maybe one more time would be too much. Leon swallowed that desire and quietly looked down at the sleeping Lucas. His hand moved on its own, brushing gently over Lucas’s chest, then sliding down to his stomach. When it reached lower and touched a sensitive spot, Leon froze. He realized that if he stayed any longer, he might lose control and do something to Lucas while he slept.

It would be better to leave the room for now.

Leon carefully pulled the blanket up over Lucas and stepped down from the bed. He planned to go to the office and read a book to calm himself.

Lulu sat on the floor and stared at Leon, who was reading. Watching him reminded her of Lucas reading a book, and that memory naturally led her to thoughts of her past life.

“You are the most beautiful and sweetest thing in the world. You look like white snow, so I’ll name you Snowy.”

That was the name given to her by Kim Woo-jin, who was now Lucas.

From the moment she met Kim Woo-jin in her previous life, through her death and rebirth as Lulu, she had never once forgotten the connection between them.

She had first met Kim Woo-jin in front of an old bookstore filled with worn books. How many days had she gone without eating? She had kept track for the first day or two, but after that, even counting became too hard.

Holding her aching stomach, she had wandered the streets when someone kicked in her direction. She barely managed to avoid it and ended up crouching near the front of the bookstore. That was when a warm, careful hand touched her back.

Do not trust people.

She tried to curl up and run away, remembering something her mother had once told her. But just then, she heard Kim Woo-jin’s gentle and kind voice.

“This pretty cat is so skinny.”

She looked up at him and couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh. He was so beautiful that it felt like he, not her, was the one who looked too thin.

“Wait here for just a moment. I have some sweet potatoes and water I was saving for myself. It should be okay to share a little.”

His body looked so frail, and his voice so soft. He didn’t seem to have much for himself, yet he was offering food to her. Lulu couldn’t tell if this was a dream or real life. Once, she had dreamed of sleeping somewhere warm, under soft blankets, with plenty of food and clean water. But every time she woke, all she found was bitter cold and hunger.

If this wasn’t a dream, she didn’t want it to end. And if it was a dream, she hoped she would never wake up.

From that day on, Lulu kept going back to find Kim Woo-jin.

Every time she visited, he would share a little cat food or a can of something soft with her.

If you give it all to me, what will you eat? What do humans eat anyway? Is it different from what cats need?

Wanting to give him something in return, she pushed past her fear and went to a busy park full of people. She carefully watched what they were eating and what seemed to make them happy. Then one day, she got lucky. She found some leftover food someone had dropped. It smelled delicious, and she almost ate it herself, but she held back and ran all the way to the secondhand bookstore.

She dropped the food in front of him.

“You really thought of all this? Snowy, you’re so sweet.”

When Kim Woo-jin whispered those kind words and gently held her in his arms, her heart began to pound wildly. Was it because she had run all the way there and was out of breath?

Not long after, she began to understand what that feeling really was. It was a deep ache, a longing, and sadness all mixed together.

Because for the next few days, Kim Woo-jin didn’t appear.

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