Chapter 229: Breaking the Curse

The darkness was blinding, yet for some reason, it gave Lauren peace.

She could not fathom where she was, but she was sure she couldn’t be anywhere in the living world.

Alec must have loathed her. He must be cursing her in his mind, saying how foolish she was. She felt the urge to smile. If he hated her for what she did, she was glad. It was only right for him to despise her. His hatred should be enough to make him forget about her and start over. Because she simply could not be in his world.

"Forgive me, Alec..." she said in her mind without hoping that it could reach Alec’s ears. She didn’t want him to forgive her. He should think of her as a selfish woman who did not care about her husband’s feelings. That way, he would stop loving her and start a new life.

The darkness surrounding the void she was in suddenly vanished. The next moment, Lauren found herself in the middle of the meadows.

A woman was standing under the shade of an oak tree a few meters away. Her long hair draped down her back, and her long dress danced with the wind.

It was a familiar figure, Lauren thought.

Seeing no one else in the area, Lauren walked to the oak tree. She stopped half a meter away behind the woman.

"Lady Eleanor?"

The woman turned to her and Lauren was right. It was Eleanor, the dead priestess she had talked to a couple of times. The great granddaughter of the caster of Capewell curse, Priestess Luciana.

Eleanor smiled. "It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Queen Lauren."

Lauren was not surprised that she could talk to the dead now. She was a dead person herself.

However, she could not return the smile Eleanor had given her.

"Why does it have to be like this? I don’t understand..."

Tears swelled in Lauren’s eyes. It was a decision she had to make, yes, but did she even have a choice?

"Of all people, why did it have to be me? Why did I have to be a bearer of the curse?" She shook her head, her tears rolling down her cheeks. It was only then that she allowed herself to let her emotions burst because she could no longer keep them to herself.

"I suffered almost my whole life because I am a concubine’s daughter. My ways of achieving my goals were crooked, but was it enough to make me suffer until I die?"

She swore, she hated the deities so much! Or whoever is responsible for the people’s fates!

"All I wanted was a simple life! Have a loving husband and bear children! But because of that damn curse, I have lost everything..." She sobbed and buried her face in her palms.

Lauren felt a hand tapping her back slowly.

"You indeed suffered a lot, child," Eleanor said, sighing. Her face was marred with sadness and sympathy for Lauren.

"I know, I know it must have been a tough battle for you, and you did well. I cannot tell the ways of the universe, it is beyond my comprehension, but things happen for a reason. The fate must have chosen you for this battle because it knew that only you could handle it well."

Lauren’s eyes snapped to Eleanor. "I didn’t want to be chosen! I didn’t want such a burden!"

Eleanor let Lauren weep. She stood by her side and accompanied her in silence.

No matter what explanation was presented in front of her, Lauren could not accept why it had to be her.

After a while, when Lauren’s tears had ceased, Eleanor spoke while looking at the hills far ahead of them.

"You should have at least said goodbye to him."

And Lauren knew who she was referring to.

"If I said goodbye, he would have known what my plan was."

The moment Lauren stepped out of the castle’s secret chamber, she knew how she could stop Mildred’s evil plan.

The way to end the Capewell curse was written in the book. It said that the last generation should die to break the curse. And the moment the curse was broken, all of the descendants’ evil powers would be erased from the surface of the earth.

Lauren knew that Mildred’s power was what made the black mages stronger, and she also used her powers to grow the ancient poisonous plant that could corrupt humans. Once Mildred lost her powers and died, no traces of her magic would remain. The battle would end and people would be saved.

"Telling him was not an option. If I told him, there was no way he would allow me to do it."

Alec could have been capable of defeating Mildred. He also had powerful allies like Vincent, Lauren was aware of that, but even if she lived, she wouldn’t live for long.

There was no other way to break the curse. She also had nothing to offer Alec. She could never bear his children, knowing that she would only pass the curse on to their children. The last generation should end it, and so she did.

He must be furious. But she had faith that he wouldn’t do anything reckless when it came to matters concerning the kingdom. She had sacrificed herself to end the bloodshed and she was certain he would not allow her efforts to be in vain.

She knew him well because he was the man she loved.

Eleanor said, "Although I am not directly responsible for the curse, I feel bad because it was my great-grandmother who did it. She was blinded by her love, she forgot her morals and the laws of the world."

"Love is indeed so powerful, isn’t it?" she continued, "One decision made by a broken heart had resulted in a curse that spanned into a millennia."

Lauren did not say anything. She only stood there, silent, her heart breaking into pieces as reality slowly crept into her.

The reality that she was dead and could no longer fulfill her promise to Alec.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read