"Yes," Nian said. "One thing, never ever say anything to anyone. Not even to your closest ones. Because it will affect you. Keep it a secret."
"Then I need to bring it to you?" Milo asked.
"Yes," Nian said. "You can come anytime you want. I can always sense wherever you are."
Milo looked down at the rope in his hands, turning it over one final time before finally nodding slowly. "So, I will come back later. And I don't want to lift my protection right now, because I still need it."
Nian smiled, something knowing in the curve of her mouth. "I know Roderick is a nice person."
Milo rose to his feet carefully, tucking the rope into his pocket. "Thank you so much. At least, I'm not worried that I might bring bad luck."
Nian nodded, rising with him. "Your relative who set the curse might have done it just because of jealousy. But they needed someone to do it. The time you replace yourself, whoever set the agreement with the devil, the one who helped your relative, might die."
