As I somehow finally drifted to sleep, still vaguely cursing my luck and the bitter taste of carrots, a soft, sweet voice called my name, causing me to jolt awake.
"D-Darcy!"
"Wh-what the—who are you?" I stammered, heart hammering.
"Shhh!" she hushed quickly, pressing a finger to her lips. "Be quiet, or the guard will wake. Don't be so alarmed. I am Lyra, daughter of Baron Aldric Veynar. I noticed you and your friend being pulled from the underground prison, and I realized you both are not from this town."
"Yes," I managed, still a little disoriented. "We are adventurers from far away."
"And what are you both doing here?" she asked, her voice steady but her eyes betraying a hint of fear. "And you came inside our house... How was my dad looking? Is he... fine?"
Oh, we're here for an adventure guild card, but after looking at the town, we might just change our plan? Like hell I'm gonna say that! No, this is an opportunity. A chance to know what's truly going on. I might as well do what I'm truly good at... lying from my ass.
Looking at her, she seems completely unaffected by the curse. The crown she's wearing is gold, with a large, vibrant green gem embedded—exactly like the many green ones I saw on that big spiritual power manipulator machine. Maybe this is why she looks so healthy and unaffected. And she definitely doesn't seem to be with the adviser, given how scared she is for her father.
"My lady," I began, putting on my most earnest expression. "We are here to help you and your people from that evil guy. It's true that we are adventurers from a faraway land, but we haven't come here knowingly. We were raiding a tomb—" Lying from my ass, part one. "—and we ran into trouble, losing our belongings, which unfortunately included our adventure guild cards. We were thinking of acquiring new ones by confirming our identities from the guild records and recovering here. But the moment we were at the entrance of the town, we realized there was something terribly wrong."
I continued, weaving my tale. "The guards wouldn't allow us in, so we had to do something bad enough to make them angry. Angry enough to put us into jail, so we could indirectly come inside the town and investigate."
She looked at me, a flicker of suspicion, then hope, in her eyes. "And why would you help us?"
I leaned forward, delivering the line I was born to say. "Do we, as human beings, really need a reason to help others in need?" I held her gaze. "You can trust us, My Lady. I promise you, we will save this town."
Believe me! Do you know how hard it is to come up with all these fancy lines on the spot?! Believe me, woman!
"...I... I don't know. It's been a month since I have met someone that isn't affected by the curse," she replied, her initial confidence crumbling slightly.
"No need to act tough, my lady. We are here to help."
She took a deep breath and asked, "So how are you going to help us?"
"Right now, we are planning to follow him and see what he is truly trying to do, and we will try to find a way to break the curse. Speaking of which…am I correct to assume that you are not affected by the curse because of your crown?"
"Yes, my father gave it to me as a present for my 18th birthday to ensure my safety. I got lucky that I was wearing this at the time the curse was put on the town by him. My father was already suspicious of him, but it was too late to do anything when he caught him."
"Why do you know my name?" I asked, suddenly realizing.
A flicker of a smile touched her lips. "I was watching from a window when they dragged you from the prison. You and your friend were... loudly cursing each other's names." Her smile faded as a thought struck her. "Wait. You said you came here to help, but from what I overheard, it sounded like you wanted to run away the first chance you got."
.
.
.
Shit! NO! A logic hole! Think!Darcy!, think!
I forced out a chuckle, as if she'd stumbled on something trivial. "Exactly. That's the whole point—we wanted the guards to think we were desperate idiots. If we look harmless, nobody suspects us. And shouting our names? That was for you, so you'd know who we were." I leaned in, lowering my voice. "Come on, think about it. Two men survive the Forest of Broken Vows, stroll into a cursed town, and stay completely unaffected??" I leaned in conspiratorially. "The adviser thinks we're under his curse by now. The truth is... we're just that strong."
Like hell being strong is Carl's reason for immunity, not mine! My reason is the complete opposite of that grass-brain's!
"It makes sense," she replied, a hint of awe in her voice.
Yep! She believes me now!
"So believe us and stay hidden. We promise to save you and the people of this town. As a righteous person, I can't ignore this crisis. We will be out of town for a few days, so make sure not to get caught."
"Why would you go out now?"
"The adviser ordered us to go find some artifact that we supposedly found in the tomb for him."
"Understood. I will try my best to help you if possible, and thank you very much for helping us."
"No thanking. It's a duty of mine as a righteous person," I declared, trying to look as heroic as possible.
"You really are a hero," she said, a genuine smile gracing her lips. "I'm Lyra. It's nice to meet you, adventurer."
"By the way," I asked, "where did you come in? And how are the guards sleeping? Aren't they supposed to keep eyes on me all night?"
"Oh, I put them to sleep," she replied casually. "I can manipulate people's consciousness to some extent. But due to the curse, the guards were already mentally weak, so it was easy to break inside their brains. And I came from the window."
.
.
.
…Okay, mental note: do not piss off the mind-control lady.
"So why don't you do the same to reach your father and free him?"
"I can't. The adviser is also present with my father, and even if I managed it, we only have one crown that can cancel all curses up to 5 circles."
I don't know the reference of 'level 5,' is it impressive? I have no idea.
"So do you know what the adviser is trying to do?" I asked, getting back to business.
"I believe that he is trying to suck all the townspeople's spiritual power to become stronger and younger. And he is also controlling my dad by putting a mind control spell on him."
"I know how to solve it all, my lady! And the source to save it all also exists in the tomb. That's why we are willingly going to the tomb."
Like hell there's something like that! The tomb itself doesn't even exist! I'm running like a deer that just saw a tiger the moment I get my chance!
"You truly are a noble man, Mr. Darcy. By the way, did you catch some curse in the to—"
"I was born this way, my lady. It's my natural face," I interrupted smoothly.
".....I will be taking my leave then. Have a good sleep, Mr. Darcy."
"And be safe, Miss Lyra."
with a final, grateful look, she slipped out the window and into the night.
I collapsed back onto the bed, my body drenched in a cold sweat.
Thank god she didn't talk to Carl. He'd have blown our cover in five seconds flat. …Now I just need to figure out how not to get us both killed tomorrow.