Chapter 59 : Just by Looking at the Falling Leaves

Usher involuntarily recalled the feeling of embarrassment at the sound that came from his own mouth.

The moment his index finger touched the small of his back, a chilling sensation of itchiness swept through his entire body.

Really, he didn’t want to express it that way, but the sound, which matched the sensations that had risen, was undoubtedly an expression of some shameful state.

Because of that, it felt as though his heart sank.

His mouth quickly came up with an excuse.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that…”

“I know. It’s probably because of the oral mark.”

Bersia sighed.

Her expression became quite serious.

But there was nothing the two of them could do for now.

Before doing anything, further investigation into the oral mark was needed.

So, for the time being, they disbanded.

The next day, they sought out someone who might have the answer.

It was none other than Judith.

“…Ah, this is something new.”

Judith let out a hollow laugh and repeatedly scanned Usher’s back.

Usher couldn’t help but feel tense.

Beyond the embarrassment of showing his bare skin to someone, the anxiety about the immediate situation and the atmosphere in the lab were all pressuring him.

‘Why is there dried blood on the wall?’

There was dried blood on the wall of the lab that appeared to be human.

What’s that? A dying message? It looked like someone had written something on the wall with blood.

As his body trembled, Melvin explained what it was.

“Ah, I was going to clean it up… Hehe, don’t worry, it’s my blood!”

Did he not realize that it only made things worse?

It was then that Usher let out a hiccup.

“I think I roughly understand.”

As she spoke, Judith poked at the tattoo.

Usher’s body jolted.

“Huh?!”

A sharp sensation returned, and it felt as though something hot was filling him up, causing his toes to curl.

The trembling inside his thighs rose, and when Usher bit his lip tightly, Judith spoke.

“Don’t touch this tattoo with your hands.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You see it, right? The snake’s gotten a bit longer. This tattoo is stimulated by physical shock. As you guessed, it’s an oral mark, and if it reaches your nape, what will happen… I’d rather not imagine.”

Judith said this and then took out a few needles to disinfect in boiling water.

Her gaze grew sharp.

“It’s a relief that it turned into a dormant form. At least now there’s something we can do about it.”

“How are we going to handle it?”

“We’ll seal it. Although there are so few cases of the Curse of Desire, I can’t guarantee how effective this will be. And even if the sealing succeeds, there will be aftereffects.”

Usher’s expression soured.

At that moment, Judith silently poked a needle into his spine.

“Aftereffects… Ugh?!”

“I’ll minimize the direct effects, but I can’t stop the increase in lust the longer the oral mark is. It might be similar to how just looking at falling leaves makes you think of lewd things?”

Before Usher could even begin to refute this absurd statement…

Chi-i-i-iick!

“Ugh?!”

The needles dug in deeper, and his back grew hot.

Judith grabbed Usher’s shoulder.

“Tie him down.”

At those words, Bersia came over and grabbed Usher’s arm.

A few more needles were stabbed in.

“For now, let’s try the physical approach. We’ll numb the pleasure center around the spine. If we mix magic and medicine…”

“Ugh! Ugh?!”

Usher couldn’t keep his composure.

It was a pain unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life.

“I’ll approach this curse cautiously since it’s my first time dealing with it. Tsk, come to me once a week. I’ll look for other methods too.”

“Nghhhh?!”

Usher screamed, but Judith didn’t stop.

And so, whatever it was—sealing or torture—came to an end.

“H… 2H…!”

After everything was over, Usher glared at Bersia, who hadn’t helped, with resentment in his eyes, but her reply was as follows.

“…We can’t just leave the curse alone, can we?”

He had no words to refute.

Usher felt a bit forlorn.

Anyway, Judith’s treatment had been completed successfully.

As a result, there were no immediate problems.

As long as the tattoo wasn’t touched, there was no major disruption in daily life, and now there were treatments and safety measures in place, so Usher could relax somewhat.

It seemed that Bersia felt the same way.

It was expressed in a peculiar way.

“How does it feel? Is something different like Judith said?”

“…It’s the same.”

“When you look at falling leaves, does it feel like something is falling? Like maybe your personality? Your purity…?”

“It’s not falling!”

Bersia’s mischievous side flared up again.

Usher grumbled inwardly.

Just when he thought he could relax, she quickly returned to her teasing self.

The frequency of these playful moments, which had been decreasing, was now on the rise again, giving him a headache.

But on the other hand, it was somewhat of a relief.

It was a sad thing, but he actually felt comforted by the playful Bersia, because occasionally, he felt a deep shadow from her.

He had mixed feelings about this.

“But…”

“…If you’re going to keep saying nonsense, don’t.”

“No, I’m seriously thinking about it.”

Usher glared at Bersia with eyes full of suspicion.

He gestured as if daring her to continue.

And then the answer came.

“You said you temporarily blocked the pleasure response, right?”

“…That’s true.”

“Then, if you feel pleasure during this time, will it just accumulate? And when the block is lifted, that pleasure will all come at once…?”

“That’s impossible!”

“There’s such a thing as sensory blocking, you know. Sir.”

“I don’t want to know! No, where on earth did you learn something like that?!”

“Well, somehow.”

Usher let out a hollow laugh.

At the same time, he made up his mind. There must be some sinister book with a bad influence hidden somewhere in Bersia’s room.

He would find it and burn it all.

Usher, resolved, sat down at the floral tea table and, with a thoroughly sulky face, spoke.

“Anyway, now that we know the mechanism, we just have to be careful about that. We’ll go about our usual lives and try to find a complete solution.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“First, contact with others will be difficult. I’ll have to stop having Darlin give me baths…”

For now, the strange sensation only arose when the tattoo was touched, but who knows what might happen later?

The Curse of Desire was a curse with little known other than its documented cruelty.

He couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

What if, at some point, the curse suddenly grew stronger? That would be disastrous.

Lost in those thoughts, Usher’s expression became serious.

It was then.

“Certainly, it is dangerous. After all, the whole body becomes an erogenous zone…”

“Ell!”

“Ouch.”

Usher scolded her sternly and slapped the back of Bersia’s hand.

His eyes flashed with fire.

Bersia briefly muttered under her breath.

Usher gave her an even sterner look.

Then, Bersia cautiously touched his fingertips and said.

“I just wanted to relax. I’m sorry.”

“W-when you say it like that…!”

“I was worried.”

A shadow fell over Bersia’s face.

Usher felt a sinking feeling in his chest.

“If the curse gets worse, we won’t even be able to hold hands anymore.”

Usher flinched at her words, then sighed deeply.

It was cruel of her to act so pitiful at times like this, yet he couldn’t help but be moved by it.

His tone softened.

“…This is a serious matter, so no more jokes.”

Bersia nodded.

As she gently stroked his fingertips, there was a slight unease in her movements, just as he had said.

When Usher brushed his finger against her index finger, she smiled a little more comfortably.

He idly thought to himself.

At times like this, she reminded him of a child.

And if she hadn’t undergone these changes, would she have acted the same way?

‘…Maybe, cute?’

At that moment.

Zziing—

“…?!”

Usher froze.

It was the sensation of a tingling feeling in his chest.

Along with the confusion, a rush of heat surged.

Usher, startled by the sudden reaction, let out a gasp and hiccupped.

With a dazed expression and pursed lips, he quickly turned his head when he noticed Bersia looking at him.

“Ah, it’s nothing!”

“Your face is all red. Are you alright?”

“I-I’m really fine!”

Usher jumped up from his seat.

His eyes spun around as if he had thought of something sinister.

Bersia narrowed her brow.

She reached out and touched Usher’s forehead.

“W-wait…!”

“You’re burning up. Come here. I’ll take you to Judith right away.”

“N-no, it’s not that!”

He couldn’t say it.

There was no way he could tell someone that his heart was racing because he imagined Bersia leaning against him, curse or no curse.

Not knowing what to say, Usher became flustered, and Bersia, growing more serious, tried to pull him into her arms to take him to the lab.

In that moment, Usher realized it was too late to turn back, and before he knew it, he shouted.

“Hey, I had dirty thoughts!”

Thud—

Bersia stopped moving.

She froze and stared at Usher.

Usher covered his face with his hands and confessed.

“I… I thought holding your hand might be… a dirty thing…!”

Usher’s voice trembled as he spoke, his body shaking.

He wanted to hide in a rat hole.

“……”

“S-sorry….”

A silence filled the garden.