The journey took about ten minutes.
Drake walked ahead, confidently pushing through the thick undergrowth. He knew this path well and moved so naturally that it almost seemed as if the forest itself parted before him.
Behind him followed Selina, Sir Albert, and the remaining knight.
The group traveled in complete silence.
The forest felt strangely quiet. No birds, no animals. Even the wind barely touched the leaves.
Albert cast several thoughtful gnces at the young man ahead.
Too calm.
Too confident.
As if this forest belonged to him.
Finally, the trees parted.
A small clearing opened before them.
At its center stood a massive ancient tree, with a house built directly into its trunk.
Drake saw the familiar sight.
A beautiful home carefully built into the living wood. Wooden bridges, carved staircases, and nterns hanging from branches swayed gently in the breeze.
Around it stretched a vibrant forest. Flowers. Tall grass. Soft moss covering the ground.
But his companions saw something entirely different.
To them, the pce looked like a rotting cave surrounded by dead branches.
The tree trunk appeared twisted and diseased. The house looked like a dark hollow that seemed to breathe cold and dread.
Then a faint sound echoed.
A soft click.
As if an invisible thread had snapped.
The world before their eyes changed.
The illusion shattered.
Before Selina and the knights now stood the true forest.
Thick green canopies.
Clean air.
Untouched nature.
Selina let out a quiet gasp.
Her eyes sparkled.
“I knew it…” she said softly.
She looked around like a child witnessing something miraculous for the first time.
“There was a spell pced here.”
She even cpped her hands in delight.
“Look… it’s beautiful!”
Albert and the other knight stood stunned.
Moments ago they had seen a cursed wastend.
And now…
The pce resembled a sacred grove.
But their amazement did not st long.
The door of the house creaked open.
A woman stepped outside.
And in that instant the air grew heavy.
Before them stood something closer to a walking corpse than a living person.
Her skin was torn and rotting. Thick pus seeped from her wounds. Chunks of flesh hung from bone.
White worms crawled slowly across her body, feeding on the decaying meat.
The smell of rot filled the air.
Selina immediately tensed.
Holy light gathered in her palms.
The knights drew their swords.
“Purification…” she whispered.
Then a voice cut through the moment.
Cold.
Calm.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The tone alone sent chills down Selina’s spine.
Albert stepped forward.
“That’s a monster!” he said sharply. “Drake, why did you bring us here?!”
The young man slowly turned toward him.
Anger flickered in his eyes.
“Choose your words carefully, knight.”
He had already taken a step forward when a quiet voice came from behind him.
“Drake… dear… don’t.”
He stopped.
The woman lowered her head.
“I’m cursed,” she said softly. “Everyone sees me as a monster.”
Her eyes avoided his gaze.
She looked uncertain.
Vulnerable.
Drake frowned.
He had never seen her like this before.
Weak.
Hesitant.
She took a deep breath.
Then forced herself to speak.
“Look at me… you too.”
At that moment Drake felt magic touch his eyes.
A delicate formation settled over his vision.
His pupils widened.
And he saw.
The same thing.
The rotting corpse.
Decaying flesh.
Worms crawling through ruined skin.
Moraena watched his face carefully.
First came surprise.
Then pain.
Then—
anger.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She had expected anything.
Disgust.
Fear.
Hatred.
But not this.
“Who did this?!”
Drake’s voice erupted with fury.
“I’ll destroy that bastard and break this curse!”
His fists clenched.
He was looking at her not with disgust—
but with rage.
Moraena spoke quietly.
“You… aren’t angry at me?”
Drake frowned in confusion.
“For what?”
He stepped closer.
“I love you.”
She turned away.
“No…” she whispered. “I’m hideous… I’m not worthy…”
Then Drake suddenly stepped forward.
He grabbed her shoulders.
And kissed her.
The knights froze.
Selina forgot to breathe.
The kiss was rough.
Desperate.
And fiercely sincere.
Drake felt everything.
Rot.
Slime.
Decaying flesh.
Worms crawling along her lips and skin.
They brushed against his face, his mouth, even his tongue.
But he didn’t pull away.
Instead, he held her even tighter.
Moraena froze.
Her hands trembled.
Tears began running down her ruined face.
She couldn’t understand.
Why.
Why this boy…
wasn’t afraid.
Wasn’t disgusted.
Slowly, with trembling fingers, she removed the spell from his eyes.
The illusion vanished.
And Drake once again saw the real Moraena.
Beautiful.
Alive.
The woman he loved.
He smiled gently.
“See?”
He brushed his hand through her hair.
“You’re beautiful again.”
Then he added quietly:
“But even if you stayed like that… I wouldn’t care.”
He pulled her into his arms.
“I love you. And nothing will change that.”
Moraena buried her face in his chest.
She cried softly.
Like a child.
“You idiot…” she whispered. “I love you too…”
She hesitated before adding quietly:
“But you… could never belong only to me.”
Drake paused.
Then gently stroked her head.
“You’ll always be my first love.”
He whispered softly.
“And nothing will ever change that.”
She smiled through her tears.
“Womanizer…”
Behind them stood Selina.
And for the first time in her life—
she felt jealousy.
She knew the feeling.
But she had always suppressed it.
Even when she saw happy families.
Even when other children embraced their parents.
But now…
She watched them.
And her chest tightened painfully.
He wasn’t lying.
His words were sincere.
He was ready to love her…
even if she was a monster.
And somehow that hurt.
A lot.
Selina lowered her gaze slightly.
For a moment she wanted to look away.
But she couldn’t.
Then suddenly—
a voice echoed in her mind.
The voice of the goddess.
But this time it sounded different.
Darker.
Deeper.
“Child… at st I feel it.”
Selina froze.
“Hahaha… I understand your surprise.”
The voice continued.
“I chose you not only for your faith.”
“But also for what lies beneath it.”
A chill ran through her body.
“I am the goddess of fertility.”
“And you are my follower.”
“Follow the call of your heart.”
The voice vanished.
“Selina… Selina!”
She flinched.
“Yes?!”
Albert looked at her with concern.
“Can you see the curse pced upon this woman?”
Selina focused.
Holy power fred in her eyes.
She saw it.
A dark and impossibly complex weave of magic.
Thousands of threads twisted around Moraena’s soul.
“I see it…”
She spoke quietly.
“But I cannot break it.”
And suddenly a thought crossed her mind.
And I don’t want to.
She was startled by it.
But her face remained calm.
Moraena sighed.
“It’s fine.”
Drake spoke calmly.
“I’ll fix it.”
Everyone turned to him.
“I think… six months will be enough.”
Moraena snorted.
“My student has become quite arrogant…”
But Drake interrupted her.
He looked directly into her eyes.
“I will do it.”
“No matter what it takes.”
She fell silent.
Then unexpectedly blushed.
A moment ter her usual calm composure returned.
“Tell the king…” she said to Albert. “Actually, tell his mother.”
She smirked slightly.
“For saving her saint, she will grant Drake the title of baron.”
Albert nearly dropped his jaw.
“You… what?!”
“And in six months she will enroll him in the Imperial Academy.”
Albert swallowed.
“That’s impossible…”
“I’m an old friend of that woman.”
She chuckled.
“The one who still looks thirty at fifty.”
Albert turned pale.
“I see…”
He quickly thought something over.
“This territory does belong to a barony whose lord recently died…”
He exhaled.
“I suppose… it might be possible.”
Selina smiled softly.
Warmth filled her heart again.
“Drake…”
He turned to her.
“Thank you again for your help.”
She smiled warmly.
“We’ll meet again at the academy.”
“I’ll repay you someday.”
Drake smiled.
“I hope we become good friends.”
Selina’s heart skipped a beat.
A friend.
Someone like her.
Abandoned by life.
But still standing.
“Well, that’s enough talking.”
Moraena suddenly grabbed Drake’s arm.
“You should leave now.”
And she pulled him toward the house.
Selina watched them walk away.
And a strange emptiness settled in her chest.
