So, it can't get worse...

"Haaaah~"

"I can't even try to act like a good person?"

Closing his eyes, Bartolomeo asked to no one in particular, as he rubbed his glabella in a frustrated way. He certainly abhorred merely thinking about his new circumstances, but hating it or not, sadly, a plan had to be made...

'Wait... from where do I even start...?'

"..."

"Ahh, I want to escape."

He murmured, already feeling tired...

...

..

.

In the start, he wasn't even sure if it was a curse, but in what different way could he call it?

A fun, mysterious power that made him bleed every time he lied!?

A divine judgment on an unholy being like him?

In the truth, he wasn't sure of why it was affecting him, yet, for now, he only knew one thing...

The 'curse' would judge him every time he acted like a decent human being.

"What a day to be Bartolomeo Di Siracusa..."

And indeed, what a day it was to be him...

His self-deprecating murmurings, wouldn't be heard by a soul, but certainly, if anyone who knew his situation heard that, they would definitively agree.

After all, it wasn't like the 'curse' punished him for measly things like lying... it would be more accurate to say, it only acted every time he did something he wouldn't do in the past.

And so, the punishments on his body varied according to how he behaved.

It didn't matter if they were little things like saying kind words or even showing some type of worry for his subordinates... that 'curse' would make sure he would bleed.

It probably wouldn't hurt... but even so, he still would bleed.

It wasn't the worst curse ever made... maybe this would be what another person in his situation would think.

"Haaaaah~"

But unfortunately for him, he needed to act like a 'good person' to get on the side of some truly powerful people, or maybe he could just wait for his inevitable death...

Or also... maybe, there would be a day he would bring his end sooner himself.

'Nah... I would never do it... would I..?'

"Haah~"

"My god... I really want to escape..."

He wished to escape from the bottom of his heart, but it was simply impossible. After all, what kept him there wasn't an uninteresting thing like loyalty, respect, or even love.

These mundane things didn't exist on his head or heart anymore, he was simply afraid of what the curse would want in 'exchange' for it.

'Exchange' was the right word...

Because he knew better than anyone, that the word 'escape' never existed in his dictionary, from ten years ago, and from his entire life...

And that was not because he bought a defective one.

"Haaaah."

"Fucking family..."

Looking at the wall, slowly remembering about all of them, he murmured despondently, after all, even if he wasn't the brightest person in the world, he was sure of a few things, and one of them was...

The fact that the root of all of his problems would be his own damn family.

Which included, his slightly good at using a sword and trashy eldest brother...

His arrogant and useless second eldest brother...

His bitchy stuck-up younger sister...

His more than useless drunkard father, who only knew to use his dick...

And then...

The true root of all of the shit happening with him... the current patriarch of the family. His crazy, petty, and senile grandfather, that was nothing but a useless man who couldn't stand the humiliation he felt in the past...

Yes the past...

More specifically...

...FORTY years ago...

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~"

Bartolomeo sighed, still looking at the wall.

He was sighing because, even as the old man was the root of his problems, he couldn't be so angry at his grandfather.

Because his motives to plot against the kingdom his family helped to found, more than two hundred years ago, were good ones, right? Yes, of course, it was obvious he had good motiv-

'Yeah, having your love interest 'stolen' by the prince is an extremely reasonable reason to betray the kingdom...'

'And is also an extremely reasonable reason to treat your kids and grandkids as shit, right!? Right!?'

"Haah... that old motherfucker..."

'Yeah, why don't I just try to kill the sole heir of the kingdom, and then with that, I will surely steal her heart...'

'Good plan right?'

'Haha, yeah, and WHILE I'M AT IT, WHY I DON'T JUST FAIL AND GET MY PRESTIGIOUS DUCAL HOUSE DEMOTED!?!?!?!?!?'

"Fucking hell! Dammed be that wrinkled bastard!!"

PAAAK!!!

At that moment he felt so angry, that he wanted to break that desk... foolish him... he only 'broke' his own hand...

"AH! FU- tch, this hurts..."

He murmured rubbing his hand.

'But really, how petty can someone be?? In the first place, I bet the woman didn't even knew him...'

'That bastard probably thought he could use his power to make her marry him...'

"Heh, it sure seems something that shit geezer would do..."

Bartolomeo murmured with a slight smile forming on his lips, but that smile wasn't from being amused, it was from utter disgust.

'Some say you have to respect your elders...'

'And I say that the one who first spouted such bullshit was no one but a shitty old geezer.'

"Respect, huh."

'How I will respect someone who hold grudges on the long dead?'

He thought, now looking at the ceiling.

'I guess I'm the same, but...'

'The one you loved died... and the one you hated also died... so why the hell you're trying to kill their son...?'

"Haaaaaah... I'll never understand this man..."

"I... I also don't want to..."

He didn't want, from the bottom of his heart. He never wanted to be able to understand the feeling of someone like him... Because that could mean he sympathized with a heartless monster.

At moments like these, he felt happy he never got married. At least he didn't end like that damned beast, who sent his grandchildren as mere pawns on the most dangerous part of his 'little' ploy.

And if his grandc- pawns got hurt... or even died... the most the man would say would probably be:

...

..

.

["Disappointing, I thought you would be more useful... huh... well, at the very least you played your part."]

[Looking at his bedridden grandchild, the old man would utter such horrible words coldly.]

["Ah, grandf-"]

[The battered grandchild probably would try to say something, but it would be in vain.]

["Guards! Come forth."]

[The grandfather would call them with an uninterested expression, as if that situation had nothing to do with him.]

[""YES SIR!!!""]

[The always loyal, burly guards would certainly shout in unison]

["Throw this useless spawn of my spawn out."]

[The damned geezer would surely say it with a rather cold tone of voice.]

["What! F- Grandf-"]

[The poor grandchild who helped all of his plans would try to beg... yet not even a chance to talk would come.]

["I don't have time for this..."]

["Guards show him the way out..."]

["Just don't forget to send him together with some money and medicine."]

[The grandfather would mutter in the last act of 'mercy', and then, he would slowly start to leave, hitting his wooden cane on the ground...]

["But grandfather!! I helped you, with everything you asked!"]

["Please grandfathe- Ah!! You two!! Get your filthy hands from me! I'm a member of the Siracusa family!!!"]

["..Fa-"]

[The pleadings of the grandchild would be stopped again, by the old man.]

["Don't embarrass yourself anymore ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐, act like a proper man, and never show yourself on my front again."]

And so, on that same day, the relation of the two would be cut forever...

...

..

.

"Haaah~"

"I wonder..."

"Maybe, If I stay thinking on it as if it isn't a story about me, would I will suffer less..?"

"Haha."

Bartolomeo chuckled without a hint of joy showing on his resigned face.

"I hope you're burning in hell grandf- no, I shouldn't call him like that."

"I hope you're burning in hell, Mericles, you wrinkled fucker."

He muttered with a small, sad smirk on his lips.

"Ah..."

But in that same moment, he remembered something that made his smirk vanish.

'If i'm in the past... doesn't that mean... that the old bastard is alive..?'

"..."

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah."

"My god... I really want to escape..."