Cursed Villainess' Obsession

Chapter 5

“Keeeeen!!”

As soon as I opened the door at the top of the tower, Rafne, who had been sitting down, ran straight toward me.

“Waaaaah...! You really came...! I thought you weren’t going to!”

“I told you I would, didn’t I?”

My legs, already worn out from carrying all the supplies, gave out as soon as Rafne clung to me.

‘Talk about extreme contrasts.’

Not long ago, I was met with Emily’s disgusted gaze, as if I were filth, and now Rafne, the girl who said she couldn’t live without me, was embracing me.

Ironically, the first is the righteous protagonist, and the second was the one who led the bullying.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Sniff... b-but what’s all this?”

“Oh, I said I’d help fix your curse, right? This is for that.”

As I mentioned before, the dormitory and the tower are on opposite ends of the academy. The items I’m going to create to break Rafne’s curse won’t be made in one go.

Since I’d have to come back here every time to test the prototypes, I figured it’d be more efficient to work from her tower. Her room is spacious enough for my equipment, and being here would be good for her too.

“Sniff... thank you... thank you, Ken.”

Rafne buried her face into my round stomach, sobbing as she did.

[Possessed Trait: Despair – Current Value: 56%]

Fortunately, since my visits began, her despair, once at 100%, had dropped by nearly half.

She was crying so much that I was worried she might get dehydrated, but as long as her mental state was stabilizing, it should be okay... right?

“I made this and this, oh, and this too! What do you think? Do you like it?”

After roughly organizing my things and sitting down at the table, Rafne began bringing out the food she had prepared.

Just like at breakfast, the table was filled with an enormous amount of food.

“Rafne... you made all of this?”

“Yeah, hehe. You like it, right? And this, and this too.”

The dishes she presented were filled with all kinds of delicious meats. Just seeing them made my body react, and it hit me instantly.

These were Ken Feinstein’s favorite foods.

Grrrr~

A loud rumble came from my stomach.

“Take your time! Eat slowly! Here, water.”

I dug into the food like a starving man. I tore into a drumstick, sipped on a meat-based soup, and bit into crispy pork.

This place was heaven.

“Chomp, gulp, it’s so good... so good, Rafne!”

“I’m glad...”

And now I understood. The real reason Ken couldn’t lose weight.

To him, food was the only joy in life.

The sensation of filling his mouth with food he loved, savoring the texture, and then swallowing it into his empty stomach.

The satisfaction and pleasure completely dominated his brain.

Sigh, how am I supposed to lose weight?

“Chomp... by the way, Rafne, how did you know the foods I like?”

Satisfied with the meal, a question came to mind.

Sure, Rafne and Ken knew each other, but they weren’t exactly close enough to share meals.

If anything, they had more of a bullying relationship, so it was surprising she knew his favorite foods.

Rafne hesitated, lowering her gaze as her voice trembled.

“Well, uh... last year, I used to steal... your favorite foods... I'm sorry... I’m really sorry.”

“Oh, I see.”

Considering how obsessed Ken was with food, it made sense. Stealing the thing that gave him the most happiness would’ve been more effective than any other form of bullying.

Her expression hardened, probably as she imagined that future.

Then, she smiled at me with a hopeful look.

Her eyes were lifeless, but she was clearly smiling.

“So, I came up with a great idea!”

“...W-what is it?”

Feeling a strange sense of dread, I swallowed nervously.

Her next words were shocking.

“I’ll have your baby!”

“...What?”

She said it with a completely serious face, though it sounded like a joke.

But her eyes showed she wasn’t kidding.

“If you don’t want to come back here, then I’ll just have your baby and raise it. That way, even if you don’t want to come anymore, I won’t be alone. I think it’s a great idea! What do you think, Ken?”

Having a baby together... That’s not something a girl would suggest so casually.

What was scarier was that she didn’t seem to feel any embarrassment, excitement, or romantic feelings about it.

“And if we have a baby, wouldn’t you want to keep coming here? H-hehe.”

She genuinely wanted a baby to avoid being alone.

Her dark eyes were looking at me with greed.

“No, no, hold on—let’s think this through, Rafne!”

I quickly stopped her from rushing ahead.

“Why? Isn’t it a good idea?”

“Well, what about your curse?”

Rushing to deny her outright wasn’t the best approach. There’s a chance she might use her skills to force the issue if I handle this poorly.

She seemed that determined.

So, I needed to approach this rationally and logically.

“Curse? What about the curse?”

“What if the baby is affected by your curse?”

Exactly. The only reason I’m not affected by her curse is because I’m a possessor.

There’s no telling whether a baby would inherit immunity to the curse.

Upon hearing my words, Rafne faltered, realizing the flaw in her plan.

She hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“Well, maybe because it’s our baby, it’ll be immune too...?”

As if that were likely.

“No, Rafne. You need to be realistic. We need to consider the worst-case scenario.”

“Worst... case?”

“Yeah, if the baby is affected by the curse, it wouldn’t be able to stay here. Someone would have to raise it outside.”

It’s impossible to raise a child in an environment filled with extreme stress.

Rafne seemed to understand the implications of my words.

“Then...”

“Right, I wouldn’t be able to visit the tower because I’d have to raise the baby. That means you’d be left here alone again.”

“A-ah... Aaaaaah...”

The thought of being alone again filled Rafne’s eyes with despair.

[Possessed Trait: Despair – Current Value: 74%... 77%... 81%]

“So, that’s just one possible outcome. For now, don’t worry. I’ll keep visiting, okay?”

“Sniff... okay. I’m sorry.”

I never imagined she’d come up with something this insane.