I Became the Cure for the Cursed Prince - Chapter 75

Lucas arrived at the ceremony hall dressed in his full formal uniform, alongside the delegation from the Grand Duchy of Rion.

After completing the formalities, Lucas left the venue, asking Sion to handle the rest of the event smoothly.
He already knew he wouldn’t be able to stay among the crowd for long.

Yesterday, when he told Leon he would watch the ceremony from a distance, Leon had flared up but eventually agreed.
No matter how much Leon wanted it, he couldn’t protect others from the curse that clung to Lucas.

Now, from afar, Lucas gazed at Leon with a strangely peaceful heart.

He knew he should mount the horse waiting for him and cross the border as soon as possible.
But his feet wouldn’t move.

He wanted to imprint Leon’s figure onto his eyes — that proud, dazzling, beautiful figure — because he didn’t know when, or if, he would ever see him again.

Leon, dressed in the white ceremonial uniform of a prince, was radiant.
The crisp white fabric shimmered in the sunlight, and his tall, well-proportioned body stood firm and straight.

Lucas memorized every detail as if he could sketch him at any moment.

The way Leon’s cheeks moved when he smiled, the slight droop at the corner of his eyes, the way his lips parted and closed, the precise angle at which the epaulettes — the same shade as his hair — fluttered in the breeze.
Lucas missed not a single thing.

He closed his eyes and replayed the scene he had just witnessed.
Every detail came to him, vivid and alive.
Only after confirming that the memory was firmly etched in his mind did Lucas finally climb onto his horse.

He did not look back as he set off toward the future.

Once they parted, it would truly be the end.
There would be no more letters written and left to pile up in a cold, empty castle.
No more glimpses of Leon’s smile.

It had started so small — when had these feelings grown so large?
He would return to the frigid North, carrying this love that had unknowingly blossomed in him, even if his body froze and crumbled away.

My young tiger.
My protector.
My…

Murmuring the endless titles he had for Leon, Lucas rode forward, wishing for nothing more than the boy’s happiness and safety.

At that very moment, Leon stood atop the platform, receiving the priest’s blessings.
No prayer could compare to the blessing of Lucas’s touch — but Leon endured it, knowing he could not hold onto Lucas now.

By now… he must have gone.

Leon knew everything. Yet he had not stopped Lucas.
Or perhaps it was better to say that he had allowed Lucas to leave.

Because it would be a truer possession to have Lucas return to him of his own will — rather than by force.

They were destined to spend their lives together, after all.
A brief separation would not change that fate.

Leon tried to comfort himself with those thoughts, but rage still boiled within him at the fact that he couldn’t immediately chase after Lucas.

That rage, naturally, would soon find its target — Vilter, the root of all the trouble.

Just wait a little longer, Lucas.
Before you even reach the North, you’ll be coming back to me.

The priest’s blessing was nearing its end.

The biting wind cut straight through Lucas as he pressed forward.
He had chosen a path few people traveled — nothing but open fields stretched before him.
Though it wasn’t as cold as the North, light sleet fell across the barren land.

Each breath of the icy air stabbed his lungs with pain.

“This kind of place suits me better,” Lucas muttered.

The days he had spent with Leon inside the palace already felt like a distant dream, and the road ahead stretched endlessly before him.
This — this loneliness — was reality.
The days with Leon were the dream.

It was better to think of it that way.
Standing alone in the vast emptiness, Lucas couldn’t stop the torrent of thoughts.

Why had Leon come to feel that way about him?
Had Leon dreamed the same dreams he had?
Would they ever meet again?
And if they did, could they remain unbroken?

Thoughts sharpened his senses, and those sharpened senses summoned the ghost of Leon before him — so vividly it hurt.

The warmth of a hand caressing his skin.
The fierce, almost devouring kiss.
The tremor of release he felt when their bodies pressed together.

The memories came, one after another, relentless and overwhelming.

What was this emotion he was feeling now?

Desire or love?
Just the thought of it made Lucas’s whole-body freeze.
The sudden chill seeped in from the tips of his toes all the way to the crown of his head.
The only way to stop his thoughts was to get as far away as possible.

Lucas yanked on the reins and urged the horse forward with a firm slap.

If what he felt for Leon was truly love, then he had even more reason to stay away.
He might unknowingly pass his own misfortune onto Leon.
The very idea sent a shudder through him, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

“Neigh!”

The horse abruptly stopped in its tracks.

“You don’t want to leave either, huh?
But we have to.”

Lucas gently stroked the horse’s mane and urged it forward, but the animal refused to move.
Beneath his touch, he felt the faint trembling — as if the horse had sensed an approaching disaster.

Feeling a creeping unease, Lucas looked up — and saw the sky cloaked in a dark shadow, formless and ominous.

Moments later, a deafening boom shook the earth behind him.

Startled, Lucas whipped around.

A flash of lightning split the sky, followed by explosions of red and blue flames.
From the direction of the imperial palace, he could hear the screams of people and the howls of beasts, carried by the stench of burning and smoke.

Lucas blinked, unable to process what he was seeing — then realization slammed into him.

“Leon… Leon!”

Barely conscious of what he was doing, Lucas shouted Leon’s name and swung his horse around.

No. This can’t be happening. What was the point of leaving if… if you get hurt because of me? Please. Please, be safe.

Even though no debris could possibly have reached him here, Lucas felt a searing pain tear through his skin — as if Leon’s suffering was his own.

Was this the price he paid for choosing to leave Leon behind?

It was unbearable.

Without another thought, Lucas charged toward the imperial palace.
As he forced his horse through the side gates he had once exited, a vision assaulted him — Leon’s face, dying in his dreams, looming large before his eyes.
The world went black.

Meanwhile, back at the ceremony, Leon’s eyes snapped open — sharp and alert like a predator’s.
It was the manifestation of a new ability Leon had acquired during his hunts: the Predator’s Eye.

This ability heightened his senses to an animalistic extreme, allowing him to pinpoint threats even from great distances.

Though he couldn’t see the enemy yet, Leon knew something far stronger than himself was approaching.
Without hesitation, he gave the order.

“Exer! Evacuate the guests immediately with the knights — now!”

Having anticipated such a situation, Exer moved swiftly, organizing the evacuation with practiced efficiency.
Although the nobles and citizens were confused, they knew of Leon’s heroics during the monster wave — and obeyed without complaint.

Exer quickly approached Leon once more.

“I will stay behind.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Leon ordered, “No. Go. This isn’t an enemy you can handle. You’ll only get in the way.”

“I refuse,” Exer said firmly.
Leon had expected his stubbornness. Rather than waste time arguing, he made a different choice.

In the blink of an eye, Leon transformed into a massive tiger, his golden eyes gleaming with raw authority.

Exer hesitated — his loyalty momentarily battling with fear — but in the end, even he had no choice but to retreat.

And so, Leon was left alone in the grand hall.

Moments later, a tremendous explosion split the air.
One of the palace rooftops came crashing down.

It’s time.

Leon mentally counted down, then lifted his head.

The roars came next — dozens of them.
The shrieks of monsters, winged and reptilian, filled the sky.

Leon didn’t need to see the master yet — he could already tell that some greater force was controlling the swarm.

Which meant he had no choice: he had to take out the underlings first.

The monsters, circling overhead like vultures, began to descend.

With each thundering landing, the palace shook violently.
But Leon didn’t panic.

He gathered his strength, planning to unleash it in one decisive blow. Still, he couldn’t afford to spend all his energy yet — the true enemy had not revealed itself.

“Grrrr… (Just a little closer.)”

The horde of monsters, tearing at the palace and ground, finally rushed at Leon.

In that moment, he leapt high into the air.

With terrifying precision, Leon ripped their wings apart and crushed their throats with his fangs.

It wasn’t a difficult battle — just an annoying one.

Corpses of the monsters piled up on the ground as he tore through them.

But just as he finished off the last of the minions, a massive black shadow loomed over him.

It was so large it swallowed not only Leon, but also the pile of fallen monsters.

Leon tore the final monster’s wings apart and landed heavily on all fours.

In the distance, the swirling black smoke finally coalesced into a shape.

It was Vilter.

Only — something was wrong.

His eyes were no longer human: they had turned entirely black and red.

“Finally… I get to kill you,” Vilter snarled.

He broke into manic laughter as thick black smoke wrapped around him, and then with a bloodcurdling scream, Vilter transformed into a massive dragon.

Support