I Became the Cure for the Cursed Prince

“You’ve done well.”

After the examination, Sion took the medicinal herbs handed to him by the physician and stepped outside with Leon. Seated side by side in the carriage on the way back to the castle, the two stared straight ahead as if it were only natural.

It was Sion who eventually broke the long silence.

“Ahem, once we return to the castle, Your Highness should take your medicine immediately and get some rest.”

At those words, Leon folded his arms and pouted. Sion had the distinct feeling that Leon had been expressing dissatisfaction toward him for a while now, though he had no idea why. He merely dismissed it, thinking that all members of the Teian royal family were peculiar.

After some time, Sion felt a gaze on him and turned his head—Leon was staring at him. However, as soon as their eyes met, Leon quickly looked away as if nothing had happened.

What in the world is he doing?

Sion shook his head and silently wished for the carriage to arrive at the castle soon, just to end this awkward atmosphere.

Upon returning to the castle, Leon took the medicine Sion handed him and lay down. The drowsiness brought on by the medicine quickly weighed down his eyelids, pulling him into slumber.

Clang! Clang! The sound of clashing swords and agonized screams rang through the air as Leon sprinted across a snowy field in the body of a tiger. He was too terrified to look back and ran with all his might—until his foot suddenly sank into something soft.

Had he escaped far enough? There were no more screams, not even the presence of others. Trapped in the middle of a swamp, Leon desperately called out for Lucas.

Lucas! Lucas!

Why am I here? Lucas saved me and brought me to his castle… so why am I back in this place? Was it all just a dream?

His breath came in short gasps, and cold sweat drenched his entire body. His throat was raw from shouting Lucas’s name, and now, not even a whimper came out.

Gathering all the strength he had left, he cried out once more.

“Ahhng—!”

And just like that, his eyes snapped open.

It had been a nightmare—one he never wanted to relive. Half-asleep, he pushed himself up and saw that his hands had turned into tiger paws.

“Lucas,” he called out. But the only sound that emerged was the low cry of a tiger.

Was it because of the dream? A deep, aching longing for Lucas welled up inside him.

Leon leaped down from the bed and peered out the window. It was still dark outside, meaning dawn had yet to break. In the pitch-black night, his tiger eyes gleamed sharply.

Lucas had gone out earlier. Maybe he had returned by now.

Leon stepped outside in search of Lucas. Even without any light, he could see everything as clearly as if it were broad daylight.

However, no matter how much he wandered through the castle grounds, Lucas was nowhere to be found.

“Ahhng… (Luca….)”

The mere thought of Lucas being gone made Leon’s eyes well up with tears.

Warm droplets slid down his fluffy fur and fell to the floor. As he sat down and cried, a familiar sweet scent suddenly drifted into the air.

“Ahhng? (Is he back?)”

Excited, Leon flared his nose and trotted toward the source of the scent. But when he arrived, he didn’t find Lucas. Instead, he was standing in front of a wardrobe filled with Lucas’s clothes.

“Ahhng… ahhng. (Luca’s not here… sniff.)”

Disappointed, Leon’s shoulders slumped. Still, the faint scent lingering in the wardrobe made him feel slightly better, preventing him from bursting into another fit of tears.

Longing for Lucas, Leon nudged the wardrobe door open with his paw and climbed inside, curling up tightly.

The warmth he had felt when Lucas carried him to Pretus Castle on the first day enveloped him once more.

I’ll wait here until Luca comes back.

His weary eyes, heavy from waking up in the middle of the night, slowly fluttered shut.

Several hours later, as morning broke, Lucas returned from his patrol—only to be met with a shocking report from the servant.

“His Highness is missing?! What nonsense is that…?”

“I—I have committed an unforgivable sin, Your Highness. I went to wake him for breakfast, but… I had made sure he was asleep last night… yet he was gone…!”

The servant’s face had gone completely pale, his entire body trembling in fear.

“I specifically ordered you to take care of him properly!”

Even under normal circumstances, Lucas’s mere presence was intimidating due to his curse. But now, as his anger flared, a suffocating aura spread throughout the room. The oppressive energy was so overwhelming that everyone nearby began to feel nauseated. Even Sion, who had built up some resistance over time, was gasping for breath as he forced out his words.

“Y-Your Highness… please, c-calm your energy first. Right now, the priority should be searching the entire castle to find him.”

Lucas took a deep breath, forcing himself to regain control. Gradually, the dark energy surrounding him began to fade.

After taking a moment to collect himself, he ascended the spiral staircase to the second floor. He flung open every door, from the prince’s temporary chambers to the rooms at the far end of the corridor. He even pulled out all the furniture, checking every possible hiding place—but there was no sign of the prince.

Could he have left the castle? The thought made his stomach twist with anxiety, but he quickly calmed himself.

Despite his pure and childlike nature, Leon was more intelligent than others his age. He had read books about the northern region’s harsh environment—there was no way he would have wandered outside recklessly. That meant he was still somewhere inside the castle…

Suppressing the unease creeping up his spine, Lucas changed direction and headed toward the greenhouse, where young monsters were raised. The facility housed creatures too young to be culled, and because of that, most servants were reluctant to inspect the area thoroughly.

Just as Lucas stepped onto the third-floor corridor, a familiar scent reached his nose.

“Dark chocolate?”

The smell was coming from his own room. As he approached, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. Lucas quickly rushed inside and pushed the door open. As expected, the scent became stronger.

But even after scanning the room, Leon was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t on the bed, nor at the table. Lucas was about to check under the bed when—

“……!”

A striped tiger tail was peeking out from the crack of the wardrobe door.

“…Ha.”

Lucas let out a sigh and called out, “Your Highness, are you in there?”

At the sound of his voice, the wardrobe suddenly burst open, and a small tiger cub leaped out. As soon as its paws hit the floor, it stretched its front legs and let out a yawn—then immediately pounced into Lucas’s arms.

Lucas hurriedly pushed the tiger away, taking a few steps back.

“Your Highness, do you have any idea how worried I was? If you were going somewhere, you should have informed the servants! No, more importantly… why were you hiding in the wardrobe? Did you transform suddenly and get scared?”

His heart was still pounding from the anxiety. Even after finding Leon safe and sound, his pulse refused to slow. His voice trembled slightly, and he felt the blood drain from his body.

The small tiger lifted a paw and pointed toward the wardrobe.

“You want to go back in there?”

The tiger’s whiskers twitched, and its head bobbed up and down as if answering.

Lucas carried Leon over to the wardrobe and placed him down in front of it. Without hesitation, the cub leaped inside and sniffed at the hanging clothes. Then, his golden eyes gleamed as he looked up at Lucas.

“…I see. So you were in here just to smell my clothes.”

The tiger nodded again.

Lucas studied Leon with a troubled expression. The young prince gazed back at him with innocent, oblivious eyes.

What am I supposed to do with this reckless tiger?

The thought of Leon wandering around the castle in this form while Lucas was away sent a chill down his spine. If someone who didn’t know about his transformation had seen him…

Eventually, people would find out. But Lucas didn’t want the young prince to realize just yet that turning into a tiger was not a blessing, but a curse.

He wanted to wait until Leon was mature enough to face it with resilience. As an adult, that was the least he could do.

Is there another way?

If this transformation kept happening, no matter how much Lucas warned the servants, it would still be dangerous. A small, agile beast like Leon could easily slip away, just like he had this time.

In the end, it might be safest if Lucas kept Leon by his side at all times…

Deep in thought, Lucas finally came to a decision. He would start by explaining his own curse.

Having made up his mind, he turned to Leon and said, “Your Highness, come here.”

Lucas sat on the opposite side of the bed, and Leon immediately hopped up, resting his chin on his front paws while pricking his ears forward, clearly eager to listen.

Without thinking, Lucas reached out and scratched behind the tiger’s ears as he began speaking.

“Your Highness may not realize this, but my body carries a curse.”

Leon shot up in alarm, his fur bristling in shock. Even his tail fluffed out like an overgrown feather duster. Seeing this, Lucas ran a hand through his own hair and continued.

“You must have noticed by now—Sion, the servants, even the knights, they all avoid touching me.”