Chapter 81 | The Choice
Chapter 81: 81 | The Choice
Natasha moved him to the bed and checked his pulse. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with his body, she let out a sigh of relief.
But a frown formed on her face as she noticed something.
’System, why isn’t his condition improving?’ Her expression slowly twisted into something dangerous. ’Did you LIE to me?’
[Can you PLEASE wait for a moment? Didn’t I tell you his condition is different from yours?]
[It wasn’t caused by a natural defect. It was caused by a curse.]
’A curse? Who would go out of their way to place a curse on a child living in the slums?’ She didn’t quite buy it.
Dante knew a simple explanation wouldn’t be enough to fool his master. But he wasn’t done yet.
The Hollow King’s Mark let him hide his strength however he wanted. Right now, he was only going to reveal his cured body, not his actual realm. So he needed a convincing lie.
[I think it’s time I told you something.]
[Your student isn’t the normal person you think he is.]
[He is destined to become something great in this era. However, he is fated to stand against those with great luck.]
"You mean... someone with great luck placed a curse on him?"
[Exactly. Dante’s body holds secrets that you can’t even begin to imagine. He can’t be killed that easily, so they cursed him instead.]
After hearing those words, Natasha turned to look at Dante lying on the bed. The look in her eyes slowly changed as she saw him in a completely different light.
All this time, she had been thinking Dante was the most ordinary among her students. But if the system was telling the truth, he might actually be the most monstrous of them all. Even more than Hana and Hela.
She still didn’t fully believe everything. But finding two children in the slums, one with extraordinary talent and the other with a condition eerily similar to her own, shouldn’t just be a coincidence.
Moreover, there was someone who shared a similar fate to Dante in the distant past. Someone who clashed with people of great luck.
More importantly, her son was one of those people.
All of this couldn’t just be a coincidence.
"So Dante and Ryan will be enemies in the future." The realization made her heart ache.
One of them was her son. The other was her student and practically an adopted son. Even though she had given up on Ryan, she still couldn’t stomach the thought of the two of them being at each other’s throats.
"And this child is trying to take revenge for the person who is destined to be his enemy." She held her head, feeling a headache coming on.
Now Ryan’s bullying of Dante was starting to make sense.
It seemed like Ryan had subconsciously sensed what Dante was to him all along, even without knowing the reason behind it.
But Dante was the complete opposite. He was still trying to avenge Ryan, still thinking of him as his brother who was taken away from him.
He had no idea the person he was fighting for would one day be the person fighting against him.
Dante was watching everything through the feed and decided to push further. He wanted to see how far the Affection stage would let him go and where Natasha truly stood when it came to Ryan.
[So who are you going to choose? Your son or your love?]
"Don’t think I’m going to believe everything you tell me. I’ll wait and see for myself." Natasha said in a sharp tone. "And if it turns out to be true, then..."
She trailed off. Her eyes moved to Dante lying on the bed and the conflict on her face slowly melted away. She reached out and gently moved the hair off his forehead.
"Then you already know my answer."
Hearing her words, Dante had to use all of his willpower to stop himself from opening his eyes and pulling this woman into his arms right then and there. He wanted to tell her that she would be the happiest woman alive with him by her side.
She didn’t say his name directly. But she had already chosen to chase her own happiness.
And that happiness started with him.
If there was a favorability tab for Dante, it would have shot through the roof just now.
’I’m giving her that hug no matter what!’
[Then let me begin by lifting the curse.]
A black aura formed around Dante’s body the next moment. He used the system special effects to make it look as real as possible.
Natasha watched with intense focus as the dark aura slowly faded from his body. As the last wisp of black disappeared, she rushed to check his pulse again.
’Finally...!’ A smile broke across her face as she sensed his mana circuits. She held his cheek with her hand and tears started forming in her eyes.
A single tear dropped onto Dante’s face and his eyelids fluttered.
A few moment later, he opened his eyes and looked at the crying woman above him with confusion. "M-Master, why are you crying?"
"You..." Natasha wiped her eyes and smiled at him. "You can be an awakener now."
Those words seemed to hit him all at once and his face twisted with anger.
"Master! Why did you use the cure on me?! You should have taken it yourself—" His words stopped the moment she placed her hand on his head.
"I swear on you that I am already cured." She said with a firm expression that left no room for doubt.
Dante stared into her eyes, searching for any sign that she was lying.
A few moments passed before he spoke again in a trembling voice. "A-are you really telling the truth, Master? Both of us are... cured?"
"Mm." Natasha nodded, wiping her eyes.
The moment the word left her lips, Dante shot up from the bed, grabbed her by the waist, and lifted her straight off the bed.
"MASTER!"
"D-Dante, what are you doing?! Put me down!" Natasha’s face flushed instantly as her feet left the floor.
But Dante had no intention of putting her down.
He pulled her into his arms and spun her around the room, laughing with the kind of smile that had no scheming behind it. It was just pure, genuine happiness. Her maxi dress fanned out around them with every spin, the floral fabric swirling through the air.
"Haha, seriously, put me down before I get angry." Natasha tapped his shoulder repeatedly but there wasn’t a hint of anger in her eyes.
Both of them were smiling from ear to ear, each for their own reasons.