[A/N: I wrote this chapter while listening to 'Forever Alone' by Martin Czerny to get into the mood so... maybe listen to a sad instrumental while reading this chapter lmao 🤩🤩🤩 writing this chapter broke me, so goodbye.]

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Akira almost flinches as the glass bowl is smashed on the floor, the contents splattered, but she restrains herself from reacting too much. She sees over her shoulder that someone is entering the room, but she only shakes her head, saying that she can manage the mess on her own. She forces a smile that hides a thousand kinds of pain as she takes the cloth from the bedside table, carefully avoiding all the black tendrils pulsing all over the room.

She dutifully wipes the splattered soup on the floor before she tries to pick the smashed glass up, forcing a smile as she says, "If you don't want to eat, just tell me nicely. It's not like I'll scold you for not eating. You don't have to push the bowl away like that," she says, her voice croaking.

Seonghwa only looks at her with emptiness in his eyes before he looks away, as if trying to enjoy the night sky through the barred windows. He doesn't say anything as Akira crouches on the floor, silent sighs escaping her lips as she picks the glass pieces up.

"I'm sorry," she utters. "I'm sorry that I can't do anything much now. I'm just so lost and I don't know what to do." She gives up in trying to clean the pieces of glass as she sits back on the chair beside the bed, looking weakly at the black tendrils all around the room and then to him.

He's still looking away from her, and it takes all her will to not touch him, begging for him to look at her.

She doesn't know what would hurt more; for him to look at her but with no recognition in his eyes, or for him to look away as he stays oblivious to her words.

"Aren't you acting too much like a toddler?" she tries to say it lightly, even though she's smiling with tears in her eyes. "You don't have to throw a tantrum just because you don't want to eat. Say something, Park Seonghwa. I miss-" she sobs, "I miss hearing your voice. Say even one word, so that I can hear your voice."

What would be more painful? To see him lying unconscious that he can't respond to anything, or to see him not responding even as he's awake?

"Do you remember," she tries again, "when you became the first person to tell me that my blood colour was black?" She'd like to think that she sees a reaction from him, even a slight glance as she continues. "You were the first person that was truthful to me, and it opened up so many answers to the lies that I've been told before." She sighs, "But it looks like there's another lie I unearthed..." She trails off as she leans backwards, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I don't know who to trust anymore. If what Jihyun said is true... that I have the blood of Ileara in me... I might be the cure for this curse. But I don't know what to do- does it mean that if I'm gone-"

She stops talking as a grunt comes from Seonghwa, and she quickly attends to him, ignoring the warnings that Yunho gave to her to not touch him.

"Are you alright? Do you- do you need anything?"

She holds his face, her eyes searching for something that could show that he remembers her. Her hands are trembling as she waits for him to say anything or for him to make a sound like he did; she's sure that she didn't mishear him. For a painful second her eyes drop to his lips, seeing them parting, but no sound comes out before he closes it again.

"It's alright," she says. "You can say anything, just- just-" She rubs a thumb over his cheek, feeling his skin that is marred with the black webs. "Anything," she pleads.

But his lips are tight shut, not even a curve up or down to show his emotions. What pains her more is that she can't even tell what he's feeling right now; the colour of his eyes are neutral. Empty... and emotionless.

"I'm sorry," she says through tears, still holding his face. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry because I was too confident in fighting on my own. I'm sorry for focusing too much on Lucida until I lost sight of us. Park Seonghwa, please..." She lets go of his face, wiping her tears as she manages, "There are still a lot of things that we have to do together, hmm? You said that you wanted to bring me to your parents' graves. We- we-" She tilts back her head to stop the tears as she says, "We haven't even built our family yet. We haven't even gone on a honeymoon after we got married. We-"

She gives up as she buries her face in her hands, regretting every single thing that she had done to him, scolding herself for being too fixated on Lucida.

"I never learnt my lesson," she says as she takes a deep breath. "I said that I didn't want to appreciate something only when I've lost them, but I did the same to you. I don't want to lose you."

As Seonghwa only stays quiet, she lets out a sharp breath before wiping her tears again using the back of her palm. His eyes flit towards her but only for a moment, before they go back towards the wall. He moves, but it is only him moving his head to the other side of the bed before he retches, black liquid flowing out of his mouth and spilling to the floor.

She doesn't hesitate to run over to the other side of the bed, quickly patting a hand on his back as he continues vomiting and her other hand snatches a towel from the racks. She waits for him to stop retching before she holds his face in her hands again, calmly wiping his mouth even though she's worried since it's the first time Seonghwa has vomited. When she's done, she helps him to lie down again before she goes outside, asking for help for those outside to get the cleaning supplies.

While waiting for them to get the cleaning supplies, she plops down on the seat, tired but she's not complaining. She had hoped for him to say anything, but it doesn't seem like he will anytime soon. Her eyes travel to the barred windows, catching a glimpse of the night sky and she could only smile weakly as she remembers of the night of their wedding; how they had playfully pointed out shapes from the stars, giving names to them. Then her eyes rest upon Seonghwa; he's lying down but his eyes are only trained on the ceiling, his body looking stiff with both of his arms on his side.

She gets up as they send the cleaning supplies to the room, and she sees it; the hesitance in the maids' eyes as they are about to step into the room. She stops them at the door, smiling as she utters, "It's alright; I'll clean it up."

"But Your Majesty-"

"I know that all of you are scared of the curse," she replies, to which the maids could only look down at the floor as they don't refute it. They quietly leave the cleaning supplies at the door, and she takes them.

She crouches on the floor near the area that Seonghwa had vomited before soaking it up, unflinching even though she could smell something foul; it was like something had died in the room while its carcass was left behind to rot. She goes over to the bathroom to wash the cloth, before filling the pail with water, dumping the mop inside before mopping the floor clean. She's already too used to the black tendrils pulsing all over the room that she pays no attention to them, not even scared of them anymore.

All her mind can think of is how she can bring back Seonghwa... and the only thought she can have is what they told her.

Wooyoung's parents said that the curse is still alive because a royal member of Ileara is still alive... if my mother was indeed a princess from Ileara...

She takes a look at Seonghwa, feeling somewhat eased now that he has closed his eyes, his chest rising up and down slowly.

Does that mean I'll have to die in order for the curse to disappear?

She thinks back to the mysterious person they met on the island; the lone young woman who seems to be living in the palace. If she's a royal member too who somehow avoided the complete destruction over Ileara, would that mean she's related to her? She could only be a normal Ileara citizen who was lucky to have survived it... but there was certainly a reaction when Wooyoung mentioned the name 'Hyunwoo'.

If Hyunwoo was indeed the king of Ileara and that young woman is related to him...

She sighs, contemplating. This is why she'd rather use her body rather than her brain; it hurts to even think.

"I should've just stuck with physical training," she sighs. "I'm not even that smart."

She stands up before gathering all the cleaning supplies, stepping over the black marks like it's second nature to her and puts them aside first. She pulls the blanket over Seonghwa's body, making sure that he's properly covered, even though she doesn't know whether he'll be affected by the cold weather. She stops as she sees their wedding ring on his finger, but she doesn't say anything more as she continues blanketing him. She lowers down her face, brushing the hair away from his face before she presses a light kiss on his forehead.

"I love you," she whispers. "No matter how you look like, you're still my husband."

She doesn't expect any response or reaction so she picks the cleaning supplies up, not having the heart to even turn back as she steels herself, walking forward and out of the room. As she walks out of the room, immediately all the workers do their jobs; the guards lock up the room while the maids take away the cleaning supplies from her. She doesn't look back as she hears the lock clicking together, refusing to have any more of her tears falling down.

She walks slowly through the hallways, mind still reeling on how her existence is related to the curse... Of course, Jihyun could be lying through her teeth, but her heart keeps telling her that it's the truth. Or maybe she just couldn't find the energy to fight it. If that young woman left in Ileara is also related to the royal family... could it mean that the curse would only completely disappear after both of them are gone?

She's frustrated as she doesn't even know where to start; her mind is split into two problems - the curse and the problem with the inheritance of the throne in Lucida. They still haven't figured out who was behind the attack in the residential area, and now her mind is burdened with the knowledge that she could hold the key to curing both San and Seonghwa.

"Your Majesty."

She gets startled as someone calls her, and she relaxes as she sees Jongho making his way over to her.

"Jongho," she utters. "Is there anything that you're looking for?"

He shakes his head. "Not me, but I came bringing a request from San."

"San? Does he have anything to say to me?"

"He said he wanted to tell you about what happened during the attack he initiated."

She frowns, but nods anyway. As she walks to go towards the direction of the cell, Jongho follows her but she stops him. "It's alright, I can go there on my own. You need to rest; I'll ask any of the guards to look over me while I talk to him."

"I'll be looking over you," another voice comes and she turns to see Yunho, who looks like he has just finished showering as his wet hair is brushed back. "Go and rest," he refers to Jongho. "And you," he turns to Akira, "don't even think of declining my offer. I'm accompanying you, no matter what you say."

"Sure general," she says while smiling, not even finding the energy in her to refuse.

Yunho sends off Jongho with a nod before he stands next to Akira, glancing at her as he asks, "Do you want me to protect you from upfront, or from behind?"

She chuckles before slapping a hand to his shoulder. "Protect me from all angles."

"Very well, Your Majesty." He does a mock salute, and she can't help but laugh again. He smiles as he sees her slightly brightening up.

They walk side by side towards the direction of the underground cell, going down the winding stairs before they reach the heavy doors. They step inside as soon as they are granted entry, Akira's eyes subconsciously travelling to Jihyun who is sleeping on the floor, a thin mattress, pillow and blanket provided to her. Then her eyes shift to San in the cell on the furthest right, where she sees that they have modified the cell to make sure that it can withstand if he decides to act out again.

San is sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking out of it at first but smiles when he sees them coming to him. There might be no obvious sign they can pick up to tell whether he's under the influence of the curse or not, but even from his demeanour alone they can tell. There's a prominent softness in his eyes when he isn't overtaken by the curse, and that's how they know that he's still with them.

"You came here faster than I expected," he utters, sitting near the bars. He drags his cuffed hands and legs, and Akira can't help but feel sorry that he had to be locked up this way. Even putting him here is a risk that they have to take. "Yunho came along too."

"Even though you're not under the curse now, I still don't trust you around her," Yunho says. "You can change anytime."

San chuckles. "You're right. It's better to be safe than sorry." Then he looks at Akira, as if expecting her to say something.

She does. "Seonghwa is still the same, but uh-" She feels pain gripping her heart, "-I think he made a little noise but that was it. He's unresponsive after."

"I've been mulling over this," San starts. "Whether or not I want to tell you about what happened in the room when I was facing Seonghwa that day."

Yunho glances over at San, because he's seemingly curious too.

"I feel like you deserve to know everything that happened before he fell unconscious."

---

The day of the attack

San watches as Seonghwa grapples for his life on the floor, staring down at him with no sign of remorse. In fact he smiles as he sees Seonghwa's body experiencing the same as what he did; writhing as extreme pain courses through his body, the black branches starting to pop up under his skin as Seonghwa shouts in agony.

"You didn't even expect it was me, do you?" San sighs. "How are you becoming king when you can't even protect yourself?" He looks over his shoulder at Akira who's still unconscious. "You can't even protect your wife. Tch," he spits, "Only a little bit of the taste of power and you're already so weak."

San ignores Seonghwa who's still fighting the pain as the curse spreads through his body before he turns around, walking towards the bed. He smiles as he places a hand on Akira's cheek, caressing it.

"She's a pretty woman," San comments as Seonghwa drags himself to the bed. "Too bad she has all those ugly scars." He grips the dagger tighter, wiping Seonghwa's crimson blood against her clothes before lifting up his hand, and he's about to drive the blade into Akira's body before he feels someone grabbing onto his leg.

"Please..." Seonghwa says. "Just... leave... her..." he struggles to breathe, "alone... just kill me instead... " He tries to fight whatever's taking over his body. "Not her... please..."

"Even until the end you're protecting her," San says in a melancholic tone. "Do you ever think she'll ever do the same to you? She won't hesitate to throw you away because in the end, she's loyal to Lucida."

Seonghwa slightly hesitates as San feeds him with his insecurities ever since he got married to Akira, slowly letting go of his hold on San.

"See?" San questions him. "Even you realized that. She has only known Lucida all her life, so what makes you think that you're so special to her?" He hums. "You regret it... don't you? Asking the question to her, for her to marry you... now you're just an outsider to a kingdom you're supposed to rule over."

Seonghwa looks at Akira as his mouth twists, fighting the pain coursing through his veins and he feels as if the dark thoughts are consuming him.

"I do. I regret asking the question to her," he utters, tears dropping as he looks at San. "I regret marrying her."

"So it doesn't matter... if I kill her anyway, does it? Just another burden off of you, then you can come back to Nyla, live the life you've liked better." San smiles as he spins the dagger in his hand, before aiming directly at where Akira's heart is.

Seonghwa looks away before he throws his body over Akira's, shouting out in pain as he feels San's blade driven through his back. He grits his teeth in pain from both the curse coursing through his body and the blade being twisted on his back, his trembling arms wrapping themselves around Akira. He has tears in his eyes as he puts his head on the mattress, already too weak to fight, but as he sees Akira's face he tightens his grip around her body, protecting her from harm.

"Not her, please," he repeats. "Just kill me instead."

San bares his teeth in annoyance before pulling the dagger out of Seonghwa's body, black blood spurting on his face. He grunts as he looks at the black blood dripping from the blade and then he chuckles.

"How tragic." He takes a deep breath. "But isn't it amazing," he says as he watches the wound on Seonghwa's back from his attack slowly closing up and healing, leaving behind only trails of black blood. "Once you get taken over by the curse, your blood turns black, you have all the power you can feel and you can't even get hurt physically." He lowers down his voice, "No one can kill us," he chuckles, "except for the curse of course."

Gathering all the energy he has left, Seonghwa turns around, making sure that Akira is behind him before he throws himself towards San, toppling him to the ground. He rips the dagger out of San's hand and throws it with a clang against the floor. Breathing heavily, he grabs San's collar before trying to punch him, but the curse is slowly taking over his system that his target misses and his fist only meets the floor.

"I told you to... leave... her... alone..." he pants. "I'll... kill... you... for doing that... to... her..."

They continue grappling on the floor, with missed punches and their bodies slammed to the ground as Seonghwa desperately tries to drag San away from even laying a finger on Akira. Their shouts echo throughout the whole room as Seonghwa feels his skin burning up, the black tendrils creeping up on him but he tries keeping his mind conscious as he repeats his wife's name in his head, willing for his mind to stay clear.

As they continue fighting, San takes the chance to grab the dagger thrown onto the floor before slashing it blindly, but Seonghwa stops it with his hand.

Seonghwa watches in dismay as the bracelet string snaps, the beads falling to the floor. "No, no, no-" He sweeps his hand across the floor trying to gather all the beads but he feels a sharp blow to his back, and he collapses to the ground, writhing in pain as the curse takes over his body. He watches as San makes his way over to Akira, and using the last bit of his strength, he pushes himself up before dragging San back. He slams San's body against the wall, and the latter feels like he's swimming in and out of consciousness.

San sits on the floor with his back against the wall, knowing that his body is already overloaded with the curse's power that he can't move, and he feels his black blood trickling down his face. The blood came out of the wound he has on the back of his head after having it slammed against the wall. He cannot move anymore, his body already used up to its full capacity. His eyelids feel heavy as he watches Seonghwa dragging himself to the bed through his limited vision.

Seonghwa lies against the bed, his hand reaching out to hold Akira's hand. He grabs it, already feeling like his body is about to burst with the curse overpowering him, but he has managed to keep the dark thoughts out of his mind as he looks at her face.

"I regretted it," he utters as he can feel the curse climbing up to his face, as if trying to choke him. He turns to San, who is only watching him with half-closed eyes. "I had that- feeling- but I would never- leave- her-"

"You're- a fool- for some- woman-" San utters slowly, looking like he himself is in pain.

"She's my wife," he manages. "I wouldn't- trade- her- for anyone else-"

"So- you don't- regret it-"

"No," he says, definite. "It was- my thought- at first- but I realized," he takes a large gulp of breath, fighting the last bit of curse coursing through his body, "it's her who should- be regretting our- marriage- I don't-" he cringes, "-deserve her."

San only chuckles slowly as he thinks with his subconscious mind, you'll forever be protecting her, won't you?

Seonghwa lets out a painful shout as the curse makes him feel as if he's being burnt on an open fire. He lifts himself up, only manages to hold Akira's face as he brushes his lips softly against her temple, whispering, "I'm sorry- I wouldn't be there- when you- wake up-"

He collapses to the floor, falling unconscious before San closes his eyes too, his last image the glint coming from Seonghwa's wedding ring.

---

Akira closes her eyes as she can't stop the tears falling the moment San finishes relaying everything to her, her heart hurting as she wasn't aware of what had happened. She buries her face in her hands, crying loudly on the floor as she sits next to Yunho. She doesn't bother to wipe her tears as she looks at San with her blurry vision.

"So that was Seonghwa's desire," she utters. "He wanted to go back to his normal life in Nyla. He regretted marrying me."

"It was," San replies. "But you do know how strong you'd have to be to fight off the dark thoughts the curse would bring you. Even I couldn't fight it and let it consume me. Everyone has their own dark thoughts... but it's just a matter of you acting on them or not."

San tilts his head back, resting it against the wall as he remembers vividly how Seonghwa fought to protect Akira.

"Akira, you have to understand; Seonghwa fought until the very end to protect you. He didn't let the dark thoughts consume him even when the curse was taking over his body. The curse wanted to make him give you up, but he never did. In his mind, it was only you."