Diana hesitated to speak. Despite the newfound vitality in her body, her thoughts deepened.
Death and return. A castle bound by high magic, waking up imprisoned. A half-brother with no previous connection.
An ominous premonition swirled in her mind amidst these questions.
How did this boy know? Why was he trapped here to begin with? Had he been here even before her death?
"Big sister?"
When Diana gazed suspiciously at him, Noel blinked his large eyes and tilted his head in confusion.
"Burp. Big sister, why are you doing that?"
Diana pressed the boy's chubby cheeks, and his lips protruded like a goldfish.
His unchildlike mannerisms and speech were annoying, but it seemed endless to dwell on it.
Although this world was a novel, it was reality for her.
She released the boy's cheeks and stroked his grey, curly hair.
"Thanks to you, I've found a clue to regain my health. Thank you, Noel."
As she smiled faintly, Noel, who had been staring blankly, burst into a joyful laugh, genuinely happy. Only then did Noel seem like a child.
"Do you see it too?"
"Yes, I see it!"
Noel's ruby-like red eyes followed the magic dissipating like smoke. They strangely glittered.
"This is my cure, right?"
"Um, not the doll, but the curse channeled through magic is the remedy. You need to absorb the curse. Even poison is beneficial if it's filled with a wish."
Absorbing curses and poisons, Diana found it creepy.
"How do you know so much?"
"You're like a magician, huh? Haha." Diana chuckled sarcastically but swallowed dryly at Noel's intense gaze.
"Really?"
"A magician is someone who can use magic, right?"
"That's true."
"Then I guess I'm a magician!"
Noel spread his small hand, conjuring a round light in his palm. The light, initially tiny like a firefly, grew larger.
Diana was speechless. In this era, magicians used magic stones to perform magic.
Generations ago, magicians used their own magic power, but now, without magic stones, even simple magic couldn't be used.
And those who could were revered.
"Noel!"
Diana hugged him tightly, overwhelmed. A lifeline had appeared before her.
Having such a valuable being by her side, she wasn't entirely unlucky.
She had to embrace everything to survive, that desperate she was.
She had tried every possible remedy, taken every action to live.
She didn't want to die again in agony, like a living corpse.
Cursed dolls? She would absorb them all.
"Are there many cursed objects here?"
"Yes! There are a lot in the storeroom!"
She should have realized then. The implications of having so many cursed objects.
How futile her plan to recover and escape was.
On the way to the storeroom, amid damp and musty unease, Diana instinctively turned and ran upon encountering a twisted, distorted thing.
"Aaaah!"
Who knew she'd end up in a horror survival story with her young half-brother?
"Haaah! What is this!"
Barely recovered, Diana ran down the corridor with the five-year-old in her arms.
The monstrous creature chased them at a terrifying speed.
After running to her limits, Diana, reaching a safe zone, put down Noel and collapsed.
"Big sister, are you okay?"
No, I feel like dying. Leaning on the wall, gasping for breath, Diana was drenched in sweat.
Her heart felt like bursting out of her chest.
Wasn't this supposed to be a tragic romance novel? When did the genre switch to horror?!
On the way to the storeroom, Diana accidentally triggered a magic circle, and a ghost with melting skin and disheveled hair charged at them.
Luckily, the ghost seemed to be blocked by a wall at a certain point and couldn't follow them any further.
"That ghost chases you more if you run away."
Why didn't you tell me that sooner, kid? Diana's hands trembled.
If there was anything she feared in this world, it was undoubtedly intangible ghosts.
Noel seemed carefree, just chuckling away.
"Noel, from now on, you have to tell me these things in advance, okay? I'm not exactly in peak physical condition."
"What's 'peak physical condition'?"
Oh no, I should use nicer words in front of a child. Diana frowned without realizing it.
"Are you angry, big sister?"
Diana, befitting the youngest of a villainous family, had sharp eyes that made her look angry when she was expressionless or frowning.
"No? I'm not angry."
Seeing Noel about to cry, Diana hurriedly comforted him. Then, as if never upset, he smiled brightly again. Diana laughed helplessly at his fake crying.
Cunning and adorable. She ruffled Noel's hair and continued exploring.
The magician's castle was as full of trap spells as it was of strong barriers. What was the purpose of all these traps? They were beyond imagination.
There were ghosts popping out, and various weapons threatened their lives.
They cautiously surveyed the inside of the castle, avoiding traps as much as possible.
As Noel had said, there was no way out. Every door leading outside was securely locked.
Noel's magic, not being all-powerful, couldn't break the barriers.