As the sky turned dark and an inky black sky appeared, the furrows between his brows grew deeper, as he sat with anxiety written all over Lord Yong's face.

Lord Yong had decided to disclose the complete truth to Si-ri before it was too late. He bought some gifts for Si-ri and stepped towards the dense forest with a torch.

Standing in front of the mansion Lord Yong knocks on the door. Si-ri rushed towards the door, sensing it must be her father and hastily opened the door. Si-ri was grinning from ear to ear and hugged her father.

"I missed you a lot, didn't you miss me?" asked Si-ri, making a puppy face.

"Do you really think your father could forget you? I missed you so much and prayed for your well-being," Lord Yong cupped her face and said.

"It seems you have brought something for me, come in.'' As soon as they walking, Si-ri gets busy groping Lord Yong's bag. He had bought some of Si-ri's favourite things and his daughter was delighted to see the lovely gifts.

Every time Lord Yong saw Si-ri's smile, he felt like his life was worth living. Her smile was like watching flowers bloom in spring and like watching the glittering stars in the clear sky.

Lord Yong was lost in his thoughts whether to reveal the truth or not? What would be her reaction? "It will surely agonize her, she'll be shattered, ruined. If it was not for the curse I would have never revealed this truth till my last breath."

Lord Yong slowly walked towards Si-ri and sat in front of her, while she was occupied by the charming gifts. He gently caressed the girl's forehead and said, "My child, only five days are left for your eighteenth birthday. As I promised you on your birthday that I'd tell you everything, share the truth behind why you have been prisoned in this dark mansion and the truth behind your curse. But, instead of revealing the truth on your birthday I'll tell you everything right now. This will be really unfortunate and terribly surprising for you. I honestly wish I didn't have to tell you all of this but trust me this is a last resort and I cannot hide this from you anymore."

Looking at her father's dejected eyes and trembling lips while talking, Si-ri knew that the news was worse than she had expected . A storm was waiting to engulf her in its colossal currents. Si-ri looked grim and disquieted but she eventually chose to walk back onto those unturned pages of her life that were forbidden for her in the book of time. It's the time to reminisce about the unopened chapter of her life.

"I have prepared my mind beforehand for this day. I know it can come out as a terrible one, still I am eager to listen to that unfortunate tale of my life. You can speak up father," said Si-ri in a calm voice.

Lord Yong was in a daze, as if he was pondering on the pages of the past. He closed his eyes and began to see some terrible visuals then opened his eyes in panic and fear. Si-ri was sitting on the ground laying her head on his lap waiting for him to speak up.

Lord Yong started to tell the whole story.

"It was the time when our Noam was reeling under the spell of scorching heat. Queen Iseul had seen a weird dream or I should call it a nightmare, that a black shadow entered her belly and called me to check in hope of good news. But again she had to disappoint. Rumours were prevailing in the whole Noam, that the Queen was barren and on the other side, frequent attacks of the enemies in order to conquer Noam, because it was an heirless country was an opportunity for them and that too was dissolving stress in the air of the palace."

"The Queen wanted an heir at any cost. She summoned a Shaman, Mi-sook. The shaman had already been exiled from the Noam as convicted of sinful deeds against the Royal family. Even after many warnings from the King and other officials, she did not pay any heed and eventually summoned Mi-sook in the palace. From here the foundation of an unfortunate event started to set its roots. The heart wrenching saga of misfortune had started, that was being scribbled with the bloody quill of Mi-sook."

"Mi-sook recognized that the Queen was barren, and offered to help her and also ensured that she would give her an heir, if only she would follow her instructions. Hoping for an heir the Queen did everything that she said. She forced an innocent maiden of the palace to sleep with the King after being threatened to have her family killed if she didn't. The poor girl was compelled to follow her orders for the sake of her family. After sometime when she conceived, Mi-sook did something awful to the poor girl."

"With the help of her dark arts Mi-sook made the black shadows enter into the girl's belly and shift the life flourishing under her into the Queen's belly. As soon as the black shadows left her body, an immense and unbearable pain swaddled her, her veins began to turn black. It was not difficult for the poor girl to discern that she had become the scapegoat of the dark arts that had been performed on her."

"Meanwhile, the black shadows made its way to the Queen's belly, Mi-sook congratulated her for finally conceiving. She told the Queen that they needed to kill the maiden so that no one would come to know about the truth, the Queen agreed."

"They both captured her, while she was begging for her life as she was the sole earner of her family. The merciless shaman killed her mother and little brother in front of her eyes. Sobbing in tears for her loved ones the girl cursed Mi-sook to die a draconian death but then the Queen stabbed the girl in the back. With the little life that she had left in her, she saw that the Queen was to conceive twins. She congratulated the Queen before cursing the children. She cursed that the twins to be born would die after they turned eighteen, they would be chased by dark shadows and live in fear."

"A few months later, as predicted by the girl the Queen gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. In fear for her children and of the throne becoming heirless again, the Queen asked the shaman for a solution. The wicked shaman convinced the Queen to sacrifice the princess for the well-being of the prince and for the future of the Kingdom of Noam. The King hearing this furiously declined, refusing to sacrifice his daughter. But going against the King's decision the Queen handed the Princess over to Mi-sook for her to be sacrificed. Mi-sook transferred the Prince's curse also over to the Princess and told the Queen that the girl had to be burnt for the ritual to be complete. The Queen summoned me for this heinous act as it could only be done through pious spells. I assured them that I killed the Princess and the Queen ordered me to leave the Palace forever."

Lord Yong slowly turned his gaze to his daughter again to see her on the verge of tears, with horrified expression.

"Did you really kill the Princess ?" she asked.

Lord Yong shook his head denying before continuing, "The King had overheard their conversation and came to me. He asked me to save the Princess by any means. The moment Mi-sook gave me Princess I took her to the King, he looked at the baby and his expression was priceless. He held her close to his chest and kissed her forehead. He requested me to take care of the Princess, to treat her like my own daughter and to look for the solution to break the curse. When the time comes he'll take her to the palace again. With moist eyes he asked me to name the little Princess... 'Si-ri'." Lord Yong said in a melancholy mood.

The last line passed through her like a storm. Her mind became an icy wasteland, the wind howled in her soul and wrapped icy tentacles around his heart so tightly it almost stopped beating. She could not decide at that moment what was making her more insane, knowing that the King of Noam is her real father or that her own mother disowned her. The curse, her parents, the shaman, everything swirled around her mind. She was not able to utter a single word. All she could do in this situation was crying in a deep grief.

It was more than crying, it was the kind of desolate sobbing that comes from a person whose existence is questionable, who is disowned by her own mother. She sank to her knees on the ground. Her tears were like flood and her gasping wails echoed in the mansion.

Looking at Si-ri in such a state Lord Yong's heart ached. He rushed towards her and tried to console her.

"My child, please don't cry like this, you know really well that seeing you cry makes me weak. Si-ri, I'll always be with you, there is nothing to fear. Everything is going to be alright now as I have a solution to lift your curse. Stop crying I am begging you," requested Lord Yong.

"I think I am a sinister, that's why my own parents disowned me and because of me, you both suffered. I must die," said Si-ri in tears.

"No dear! This is not the truth. You don't know how much happiness you have blessed us with. We didn't have any children. You know, the day I brought you home and showed you to your mother, what her first words were? She took one look at your face and said " She is an angel." Every day I prayed to God to give me a child and here God had given me the most beautiful flower from his garden. You had enlightened our lives."

"Your mother and I knew from the start that she won't be able to live long because of her incurable disease. She always prayed for a child, so that I wouldn't have to live alone after her demise. She always craved a child, whom she can show all her love and compassion. The first word you said with your stammering voice was 'mother', and that crazy lady danced in joy, taking you in her arms like celebrating a festival."

"For your late mother's sake dear, do not call yourself a burden. Always remember one thing my child, you are a blessing," said Lord Yong, as tears slid down his face while holding Si-ri's hands.

Si-ri stopped crying and gently wiped her father's tears.

"Being drowned in our sorrows, we often forget to count the number of blessings we have. For some moment I forgot that I am so fortunate to have you as my father. You and mother gave me so much love and in front of this love all the miseries and that curse is too small. I don't fear the death that is awaiting, as I have gotten something far more precious and priceless in this lifetime. I have gotten mother's and your love," said Si-ri clutching her father's hand in a composed way.

"No dear! You won't die, your father has discovered a way to break the curse," said Lord Yong.

He then gave Si-ri the Book of the Devil and asked her to read about the curse and its every detail related to the curse, as they have to move somewhere else before her birthday for safety and security of Si-ri.

Lord Yong decided to stay there with her daughter and proceeded towards another room to sleep. Meanwhile Si-ri read that page and noticed a small piece of that page was missing or torn out.