“No.”

Ian’s mind felt numb after listening to that endless stream of insanity, but he somehow managed to hold onto the last scraps of his sanity.

Jealous of Luise?

What the hell was that even supposed to mean?

Even after hearing the explanation, none of it made sense. And yet, for some reason, his stomach kept twisting unpleasantly.

“What about everything I do for you every night?!”

“Ever since we returned to the dungeon, you’ve hardly paid me any attention,” Keith replied seriously. “Perhaps the curse has worsened because I haven’t been purified properly. Lately, even in ordinary situations, disturbing thoughts keep surfacing.”

He looked genuinely troubled.

Even Ian—who had personally checked Keith’s status window and confirmed there was supposedly nothing wrong—felt a flicker of unease.

This game is already full of bugs. What if the curse system is bugged too?

Considering reality itself had somehow been patched together with game mechanics, the idea that “the curse gradually distorts the victim’s mind” suddenly didn’t sound impossible anymore.

That would explain why the corruption percentage hadn’t been increasing lately.

Even after battles, it had remained stable. Ian had felt relieved about that, but maybe the curse had simply been festering beneath the surface the entire time.

This might actually be serious.

Ian’s expression hardened as he switched into investigation mode.

“Let’s establish the conditions first. When exactly do these emotions appear? Whenever you see Luise?”

“No. Whenever you treat him as though he matters more than I do.”

What kind of nonsense is that...?

“I don’t treat either of you as more or less important.”

“Then am I not important to you?”

Keith’s eyes widened slightly.

Realizing his wording had come out colder than intended, Ian hurried to correct himself.

“Of course you’re important. I meant I don’t treat either of you differently.”

After all, both of them were essential for clearing the game.

Keith’s grip around Ian’s hand tightened abruptly.

The pressure was strong enough that Ian nearly yelped.

“Lord Ian. It’s happening again.”

“That hurts— what?”

“I just felt another surge of unpleasant emotions.”

“So you lost control of your strength?”

“Yes... my apologies.”

Keith immediately began stroking the back of Ian’s hand, gently channeling healing magic into it.

His touch was absurdly careful, as though Ian were made of fragile glass, and the delicate sensation crawling across Ian’s skin only made the strange twisting in his stomach worse.

The injury wasn’t serious enough to require healing, but Ian let him continue.

Mostly because Keith had previously broken both of his arms.

The bigger issue, however, was the expression on Keith’s face.

He looked genuinely horrified with himself, as though he had committed some unforgivable crime.

No, this really is serious.

Ever since learning about Ian’s durability, Keith had become obsessively careful with his physical strength. For him to suddenly lose control like this was genuinely alarming.

Ian frowned.

“What exactly are the symptoms?”

“It feels like fighting a mamool,” Keith said quietly. “Dark emotions overwhelm me and cloud my judgment.”

“So your instincts become hostile toward the people around you?”

Had the curse evolved into some kind of confusion-type debuff? Those usually caused allies to attack one another.

“No. I could never perceive you as an enemy, no matter what happens. But I become irrational enough to forget I’m even holding onto you.”

“I need more examples.”

Ian’s brow furrowed deeper.

He still couldn’t fully grasp what the curse was supposedly doing.

“For example... when you covered Genea’s ears.”

“......?”

“I suddenly hated her.”

“Uh... right. But have you ever actually liked non-human races in the first place?”

Honestly, Keith already acted like a walking racism debuff.

“Not particularly.”

“Yeah, that tracks.” 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“Normally I simply feel indifferent. But suddenly wanting to slice off an elf’s ears must clearly be the curse, don’t you think?”

No, I’m pretty sure cutting things off is just your default behavior.

Cold sweat trickled down Ian’s back.

Had he seriously been one step away from losing a four-star companion this whole time?

“Looking back, it must have happened because you cared about her.”

“Wait. What are you even talking about? Was I supposed to leave Genea there listening to insults? Does your brain only categorize people as ‘like’ or ‘dislike’?”

“No, of course not. There are also people I feel nothing toward.”

“Exactly! I don’t care about most people either.”

“But not her.” Keith’s gaze sharpened. “You cared about her from the very beginning.”

Before Ian realized what was happening, Keith tugged on his hand and pulled him closer.

Their bodies nearly touched.

At a distance close enough for their breaths to mingle, Keith stared directly into Ian’s eyes with frightening sincerity.

“You treasured her from the start.”

He sounded utterly convinced.

Well... he wasn’t technically wrong.

Ian really had prioritized Genea from the beginning.

But that’s because she’s four-star!

Obviously, he couldn’t say that out loud.

Instead, Ian desperately tried to frame things in reasonable in-universe logic, though why he had to explain himself from this absurdly close distance remained a mystery.

“She escaped from an elven prison while evading pursuit and surveillance. She’s the Guardian of the World Tree, her goals are righteous, and her abilities are exceptional. Of course I wanted to recruit her.”

“So you were fond of her.”

For some reason, Ian instinctively didn’t want to admit that.

It felt less like a conversation and more like an interrogation.

“You really are weak against pretty faces, Lord Ian. I noticed that back when you dealt with that elf merchant...”

When exactly is that cursed reputation going to disappear?

Ian nearly lost his mind.

“What does that have to do with anything?!”

“It matters,” Keith insisted quietly. “Whenever I see you caring for someone else, I become jealous. It feels as though affection and attention that should belong to me are being stolen away, and I begin resenting the other person.”

His voice dropped lower.

Metallic.

Rigid.

Ian could feel Keith’s heartbeat pounding violently where their chests touched.

At this point, Ian genuinely didn’t know what expression he was supposed to make anymore.

It wasn’t as though he had any experience with relationships.

No friends.

No lovers.

No interest in either.

But even with his catastrophically nonexistent social life, this entire situation felt insane.

“Could you... let go of my hand first?”

His stomach was churning so violently his head felt fuzzy.

At Ian’s hesitant request, Keith fell silent for a moment.

“...Do I really have to?”

......

This was getting ridiculous.

Was this seriously still a curse?

For some reason, the phrase physical affection suddenly surfaced in Ian’s head despite being terminology he never normally used.

Ding!

Even in the middle of this disaster, Ian checked the corruption progress.

It hadn’t changed.

Not even by 1%.

There hadn’t been a battle, so logically the curse shouldn’t have advanced at all.

And yet Ian found that impossible to believe now.

How could the percentage stay the same after all this?

Was the actual value secretly 147%, with the hundreds digit hidden by some broken UI bug?

Meanwhile, Keith continued speaking with the solemn devotion of a martyr.

“It feels as though the curse has rooted itself deeply inside me and is slowly destroying me. I can think of only two ways to protect you from it.”

“What are they?”

“The first is for you to strike me down.”

“No.”

There goes my strategy.

Why is this bastard always so extreme?

“The second...” Keith continued gravely, “is for you to stop showing so much care toward others in front of me.”

“What?”

Ian’s thoughts spiraled wildly.

I didn’t cut off Genea’s ears, so doesn’t that prove you’re perfectly capable of self-control? Is this even a curse anymore?

Still, the confusion slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Keith nodded as though Ian had just validated his point.

“But your kindness cannot be restrained, Lord Ian. It’s like sunlight. Like divine mercy. You express it naturally without realizing it. Therefore... after showing kindness to others, please cherish me as well.”

“What?”

“I can think of no other method to manage the curse. I even considered ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) asking for severe punishment, but you would never strike me...”

“Do you LIKE getting hit?!”

Ian finally exploded.

His brain had tolerated enough insanity for one lifetime.

Keith looked genuinely shocked by the accusation.

“Of course not. Why would anyone ask for punishment they enjoy? What kind of person takes pleasure in pain?”

“You.”

“Wh— why would you think that? Don’t tell me...”

A terrible feeling crawled up Ian’s spine.

Keith’s expression darkened with righteous indignation as he stared at him accusingly.

“That foolish mage... was he constantly asking for punishment because he enjoyed your touch?”

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?! You’re the one acting insane here!”