Chapter 143: Cursed Correspondence

Hell no.

If Riley had not been distracted by that certain embarrassment, then his initial goal would have been to ask for a magical assessment.

He knew his boss was capable of doing that. And while most people would never come clean about something like this, thinking that maybe they were expendable or that they should not bother others, Riley had learned not to be like that.

After that fiasco over not even having the most basic protections, he realized he needed to advocate for himself.

So, knowing that this was very clearly a workplace hazard, Riley had been meaning to ask about solutions and maybe even compensation.

Therefore, his sudden raising of his hand as if he were asking permission to speak surprised the annoyed dragon lord.

The twig bolted upright before rubbing his temples and saying, “I actually wanted to ask about that, My Lord.”

“Mn?”

“See, I swear I took every possible precaution; I even debated wearing a hazmat suit. I really only interacted with her or touched anything related to the Queen when I had no choice but to take her hand. Then again, if the chair I sat on counted, then really, she was probably too desperate.”

Kael thought about it before saying, “Hand over the invitation.”

“Huh?”

Riley fumbled, then retrieved the tea invitation that had been served earlier on a tray. The dragon lord took it and inspected it carefully. His golden eyes narrowed as he held the broken seal close, tracing over it with his thumb. For a moment, the faint shimmer of mana revealed itself, clinging like residue to the seal.

“It’s like a curse that requires activation,” Kael said at last. “The first step was breaking open this seal. Much like entering a warded tomb, nothing happens at first if you only step inside.”

Riley swallowed.

“But if you start opening the tombs,” Kael continued, “then it marks the start of a possible curse. Leave the place, and it activates.”

His gaze sharpened on the faint mana that glowed across the paper. “In this case, the reason no one felt anything was because that was only the first step.”

“!!!”

Gaaah! So, apparently, even letters were not safe?! No wonder the elites had others open their letters for them. If not anthrax, one could end up getting cursed.

“Then how did it activate, My Lord?” Riley asked, his tone tight with both nerves and irritation.

“Likely by contact with her mana,” Kael replied evenly. “According to her, that was how you would temporarily alleviate the effects, was it not?”

Riley groaned under his breath, dragging a hand through his hair until it stood on end.

Great. Just great. Now he was thinking he should really avoid touching people altogether.

No wonder so many of these so-called refined beings acted like clean freaks. It was not elegance, it was self-preservation.

Across from him, Kael kept observing. The twig ruffled his hair again, more aggressively this time, muttering under his breath. What was even the point of doing that? Was he frustrated again?

For a human, this one was difficult. Too difficult. How come it was nearly impossible to keep him from stumbling into one disaster after another? He only knew how to create trouble, and then later, he would doubt Kael’s ability to be a proper, fair boss.

He could’ve just rejected everything and everyone. So what if they said something? It was not like it would be difficult to permanently silence them.

Would he run back and complain to his parents again?

Tsk.

But then the twig surprised him. When Kael said he would perform an extensive magical assessment, Riley straightened, his expression serious, and said, “My Lord, I don’t think we have a lot of time. So even the most basic one would work. At least enough to check if they attached trackers of any kind.”

Kael’s brows lifted. That was not what he expected. In fact, Riley thought the same; he was planning on having everything checked, including his toenails, but with the sky darkening like that, they wouldn’t have enough time.

So Riley heaved an exasperated sigh, much to Kael’s bewilderment.

“Sir. I don’t really think I’m cursed. But as for trackers, they’re not really offensive spells, so if something like that is—”

Riley’s words cut off when Kael suddenly leaned forward, his eyes sharp, his voice edged with disbelief. “What makes you so sure you are not cursed?”

There was a beat between them as they looked at each other, the air oddly heavy, when out of nowhere, Riley said, “Because there would be no way you’d let something like that happen.”

Kael blinked.

“?”

“???”

The dragon lord heard the words, replayed them, and stared at Riley’s decisive face. He tilted his head slightly, trying to decide if the twig had really said what he thought he had. Because it sounded suspiciously like praise. As if Riley actually believed him reliable.

But Riley’s mind was somewhere else entirely.

To him, Kael would never let such a thing happen because that would make Kael vulnerable. If something happened to Riley, then the golden lizard would be in danger, too. Considering how vigilant his boss was, if there really had been anything wrong, Kael would have fixed it immediately.

Riley, oblivious to the way Kael’s demeanor shifted, went on calmly, “Also, you said that only attacks from beings more powerful than you should be able to reach… so how could I possibly end up being cursed like that?”

Another silence followed.

This time, Kael rolled his eyes, but for some reason, his back straightened. Riley wasn’t sure, but the dragon lord almost seemed proud.

In Kael’s mind, though, it was different. Somehow, the words had twisted into praise again. Was the twig really that certain of his strength? The certainty in Riley’s tone was grating, yet the sentiment refused to leave his head.

Meanwhile, Riley was busy working through his own reasoning. He had heard plenty of stories about curses. Most of the time, the activation was just as bad as the curse itself, sometimes even worse. Yet for him, the only thing he really felt was pain in his ears. That was it.

Or was that it?

But if that were true, it would mean he had been cursed even before he met the Queen privately. That made no sense.

Riley frowned and opened his mouth, ready to ask about pain, only to notice Kael’s hand pressed against his own face.

Huh?

What’s wrong with him? Was Kael the one who had been cursed???

Who knows?

But maybe not? Because do curses result in people looking a bit too smug?

Apparently, Kael was smug enough to demand that Riley sleep it off first.

“Sleep off what? I don’t think I’m in need of that?”

The golden dragon, who wasn’t even looking at him, just insisted. Said that he wouldn’t be awake later if he didn’t sleep now.

“???”

Riley tried asking for an explanation, but instead got, “What, you’re always saying you need this much sleep every day, right? Were you planning on not sleeping and then claiming more compensation later, when I’m telling you to take a break and sleep now?”

Riley puffed his cheeks. Sure, he wanted compensation, but not for sleep. “Sir, I do want compensation for the workplace hazard of almost getting cursed, but more than that, I believe we really should talk about the plan more.”

“Plan?”

Riley nodded, then gave his very opinionated take on the matter.

They spoke about it, and Kael just listened while Riley struggled to control his emotions. But in the end, he wasn’t sure if his boss had understood it all, as he still insisted on the same thing.

“Sleep, then I’ll come up with something.”

What was with this insistence on sleeping? Riley thought something was seriously wrong with this guy.

But just before he dozed off, tucked inside the sleeping bag he’d pulled from storage, Kael’s voice came from where he sat.

“The pain. What caused that pain?”

For some reason, Kael didn’t like the taste the word left in his mouth, but he needed to ask nonetheless. For one, the reason Kael had been able to let Riley go was that he had allowed the sigil to draw as much as possible. Therefore, ideally, Riley should’ve been fine from magical attacks and curses.

But then Kael had lost it, because suddenly he had felt pain that wasn’t his. If this twig was saying it wasn’t from the curse, then what?

“Huh? Pain?”

“Yes. There was pain strong enough that it managed to reach me.”

“Ah! That!”

Riley rubbed his temples and looked away, sheepish. “I’m not entirely sure, but it happened after I spoke with the Queen. I don’t know if it’s the familiar words, but what I know is that her mutterings kept ringing in my ears. Then all of a sudden it was way too sensitive again.”

He gave a wistful little laugh, quiet but strained. “I tried to focus on something like we practiced, but it was hard. She just kept saying things that hurt my ears, over and over. So I probably just… passed out.”

“But thanks to that happening when she was expecting a reaction from me, I think she really believes I’ve been cursed.”

Thankfully, he also claimed that Kael would be sensitive to anyone else’s mana, because maybe if they’d been able to check or get close enough, they’d know he wasn’t exactly cursed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep