𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄

𝟎𝟑𝟔

a/n; to those who can't remember who john is, he's the guy who works at the bar and offered MC advice in one of the earlier chapters (chapter 28). on that note, sorry for the wait - I've been super busy but I wanted to get this chapter out on christmas! merry christmas everyone!!! this is shorter than normal but slight lore drop + next chapter will be exciting

do comment as it would greatly motivate me!

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[ LETTER FROM JOHN ]

To Y/n,

How have you been? I've heard quite a bit of rumours surrounding the palace butler and the crown prince, so I suppose that it's safe to assume that you and him are getting along well. That's good to hear. Business at the bar has been steady, as per usual, and I've gotten some inquiries to where you left. Little do they know that you're at the palace now, and that you're the one at the centre of the rumors.

I apologise for the time taken for this letter to arrive — I've dug quite deep and it seems that the generational curse surrounding the Imperial Family is quite the rabbit hole. It took a while to discern the truth and the lies, but it's safe to say that I've managed to connect the dots. I saw that you offered me quite a large sum of money to repay me, but there is no need for that. I'm old now — this was quite a pleasant adventure for me.

I've asked several people: Hilda, the previous head maid, Lillie, the old head cook, and I've even reached out to an old official who, under loose lips (and wine), was able to spill confidential information he found once in the Imperial Records Library.  It took a while to get to him, which explains the lateness of the letter. I hope you've been doing well while waiting for it, regardless.

I'll start with the origin of the curse. It came from the first generation Emperor, who was a God. Purple eyes are the sign of divinity and nobility — some Emperors have them, and some don't. Whether you have them or whether you don't doesn't affect the curse (the current Emperor, His Majesty does not have purple eyes) — but it is rumoured that those with purple eyes bear a heavier weight of the curse. The story is said to repeat over and over again: after the butler of the first generation emperor married another person, he invoked the emperor's wrath. As the Emperor was a God, he cursed his butler's bloodline to carry the same fate.

There have been instances where the butler and the Emperor know of the curse, and actively try to prevent it. However, even as they try to fight it, a series of events unfold that destroys their relationship. The Imperial Records stated, and I quote in this letter: as the curse is passed down by bloodline, only when the butler does not have a child, will the curse break. The only way to stop the curse is for the butler not to have children — so as to prevent passing down the curse. The gender of the child or butler does not matter. The third generation butler as well as the sixth generation butler was said to be women, but the curse still applied. No one has broken it yet. Is it a permanent curse?