Chapter 7

I stepped into Lord Albert’s room. The first thing that struck me was the scent—something floral. Maybe he was burning incense or something similar. The second thing I noticed was how neat and tidy the room was.

Back in my old apartment, I never had time to clean. On my days off, all I did was sleep. Honestly, it was a pretty bad mess. I’d gotten so fed up with even putting things into trash bags that I just left empty convenience store bento boxes and cup ramen containers scattered across the floor. Sure, there was space to sleep, but there was nowhere else to even step. Compared to that, Lord Albert’s room was extremely orderly. Or maybe it just looked that way because there wasn't much stuff.

I glanced around. The wallpaper was white, and there was a wooden desk and chair. Stacks of papers covered the desk. A bookshelf lined one wall, filled with books written in characters I didn’t recognize, all of them looking incredibly difficult. Definitely no light novels here. Above me, a pendant light with a distinctly foreign design cast a soft glow over the room. In the front was a luxurious-looking red sofa. Toward the back, there was another door—probably leading to Lord Albert’s bedroom.

"Sit there."

"Yes."

Lord Albert pointed to the sofa, so I took a seat. It was absurdly plush.

"Now then, where should I start?"

Sitting down at the desk chair, Lord Albert rested his chin in his hand, looking thoughtful.

"First, you need to understand a little about me. About my condition."

"Your condition?"

"Yeah. I have something called magic circulation disorder. To put it in terms you’d understand, it’s similar to anemia. Normally, magic flows through a person’s body, but in my case, sometimes it doesn’t circulate properly. For demons, magic is like blood. When it doesn’t flow, I experience dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue—and in the worst cases, I lose consciousness. When you first met me, I was right in the middle of one of those episodes."

"I see."

Anemia, huh? I think it’s caused when the body’s iron levels are too low. I’d often had to look after female coworkers who dealt with it.

"On top of that," he continued, "I’m under a curse that steals my magic once a day. While the magic is being drained, I can't use any spells, and my whole body is wracked with pain. The amount stolen naturally recovers over time, but the real problem is the duration. I can be in agony for several minutes, sometimes even tens of minutes. Combined with my condition, it’s what caused me to collapse when we met. As for who placed the curse, I can't tell you. If I did, the curse would be transferred to you as well."

"A—a curse, huh. Are you sure you’re okay? It sounds... really dangerous. Like, life-threatening..."

"You don’t need to worry that much. The one who cursed me is a pretty nasty piece of work—they know I'd suffer more if they dragged things out instead of killing me outright. So they won't go so far as to take my life. At least, not for now."

"I see..."

That’s a seriously twisted way to go about it. Must’ve been one hell of a grudge. Still, I didn’t get why hugging was necessary. Neither the condition nor the curse sounded like things I could do anything about. I decided to keep listening.

"The reason I told you to hug me is because you have the power to ease the effects of the curse."

"Ease the curse...? What do you mean?"

"This curse can’t be undone by me alone. I need a partner. Specifically, someone who can adapt to my magic—and someone bound to me by 'shukuen,' or a karmic connection. In short, you."

"'Shukuen'...? Um, what exactly is that...?"

I asked, unfamiliar with the term. Lord Albert looked at me intently. What is it?

"'Shukuen' refers to a bond carried over from a past life. In this case, a deep connection like that of a married couple. The conditions to break the curse are twofold: someone who can harmonize with my magic—and someone who was my spouse in a past life, now bound to me again in this life. Which means..."

He paused for a moment.

"Yuka, there are two things I need from you: to work here as a maid—and to become my wife."

He said it just like that.