I sat down to eat breakfast, but even after waiting for a while, Ilion didn’t come down. Normally, he would have arrived first and chided me for being so late.

The maids bustled about, setting down warm soup and bread. As I stared blankly at the rising steam, Spinel, who was sitting across from me, asked curiously.

“Why are you just looking at it instead of eating?”

“Do you think the Duke is running late?”

“I think I saw him leaving earlier.”

“Leaving?”

Without saying anything? Of course, he’s not obligated to report everything to me, but somehow I felt a little hurt. I had gone through all that trouble to try and reduce my puffy eyes this morning…

“Yeah. With that white-haired woman.”

If it’s white hair, did he leave with the Saintess? What could they be doing so early in the morning…

Somehow, an inexplicable subtle feeling arose. It’s natural for the two of them to be together, so why am I suddenly feeling uncomfortable?

“Do you happen to know where they went?”

“Well, I wasn’t interested enough to ask.”

At Spinel’s words, I looked out the window, but the carriage had already left, and not even the sound of hoofbeats could be heard.

“More importantly, how long do you plan to stay here?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Have you finished everything you wanted to do?”

“……”

I kept my mouth shut like a mute at Spinel’s question. If it’s about what I wanted to do, I’ve already accomplished everything.

Now that Klaus is dead, Ilion won’t commit treason. Artia has also safely escaped the Imperial Palace, and now all that’s left is for the two of them to be together…

“Spinel, how much can I ask for in return for giving freedom?”

“What?”

Still stirring the already cold soup, I pondered about Ilion and Artia.

Ilion wouldn’t have any memories, but Artia retained memories of the past.

Asking her to cure Ilion and then planning to snatch him away midway — no matter how I thought about it, it pricked my conscience.

I wasn’t particularly kind to begin with, but I felt like I would truly become a villainess the moment I uttered those words.

“I guess I can’t just take the sweet part and spit out the rest, can I?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“It’s… nothing.”

***

The seizure started around dawn. Recently, the word ‘cycle’ had become meaningless as the seizures came without regard for time.

Just when I thought things had calmed down a bit, it tormented me again like this. It seemed that, as Spinel said, my days were indeed numbered.

He thought he heard Sebastian’s voice, and then there was a bit of commotion around him. Amidst the buzzing sounds ringing in his ears, Ilion strained to listen for a familiar voice.

“Your Grace, are you alright?”

The voices around became clearer, and a warm sensation spread throughout his body. As the pain gradually subsided, Ilion slowly opened his eyes.

He expected warm beige hair and green eyes, but unfortunately, it wasn’t Ravenne.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

Artia was looking at him with concern. While thinking it was perhaps fortunate that Ravenne didn’t see him in this state, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment. Ilion slowly sat up in bed.

“Please lie down a bit longer. Your body is still…”

“I’m fine.”

It seemed that the title of Saintess wasn’t just for show. To think she could so quickly calm a seizure that doctors and priests had all shaken their heads at.

Even though the seizure had subsided, Artia’s expression was still not good.

“Your holy power has weakened significantly. I took emergency measures, but…”

“Are you saying I won’t last long?”

At Ilion’s question, Artia lowered her head.

“I’m not sure why, but the curse is progressing much faster than last time.”

“Last time…?”

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Artia hurriedly shook her head.

“No, please ignore what I just said. For now, it would be best for you to rest.”

Even without a diagnosis, it was easy to guess that Ilion’s physical condition was dangerous. What was surprising, however, was Ilion’s reaction. He seemed to accept it calmly, as if he already knew about his condition.

“Do you perhaps know about the curse? I was thinking there might be a way to resolve it.”

“It’s probably… not a curse.”

Artia looked at Ilion with a puzzled expression. If this wasn’t a curse, then what could it be?

“I was thinking of visiting the temple anyway. Would you like to come with me?”

Ilion suggested to Artia as he got up from his seat.

“Me?”

“Yes. If it’s alright with you, I’d like you to come along.”

The words he added seemed clearly intentional for what might have been a casual suggestion.

“Isn’t Miss Ravenne going with you?”

“Ravenne is probably still sleeping.”

Nodding at Ilion’s words, which implied he didn’t want to wake her, Artia agreed. It seemed he didn’t want to let Ravenne know about this.

Early morning. Despite the unannounced visit, Pope Alberto welcomed the two without any sign of discomfort.

“I heard the news from the Imperial Palace. His Majesty has passed away, they say.”

“Yes. We’re currently sorting out the situation. Soon, we’ll be holding the coronation ceremony for the new Emperor.”

It hadn’t even been ten days since the news of the Duke’s fiancée being arrested for treason at the Imperial Palace when news of the Emperor’s death arrived.

Although he didn’t know the exact details, Alberto couldn’t help but think that the man before him must have done something. It seemed there would be a major shake-up among the pro-Emperor nobles. Along with that, he would likely further solidify his own position.

Knowing better than anyone what attitude he should take, Alberto observed Ilion’s mood and asked,

“Does that mean the next Emperor has already been decided?”

“Let’s discuss that matter later. That’s not why I came here today.”

“Then what brings you here?”

“I came to ask about what happened 22 years ago.”

Alberto hesitated. It was something he completely didn’t expected.

“The previous Duke said I was under a curse. And he gathered priests to seal that curse.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I want to know about that curse.”

“Well, it was such a long time ago, and I was just a priest at the time, so I’m not sure exactly what request the previous Duke made…”

Somehow seeming reluctant to talk about that time, Alberto avoided Ilion’s eyes and equivocated.

“Is the reason you can’t tell me because you truly don’t know? Or because you’re afraid of me finding out?”

Ilion coldly cut through his transparent excuse.

“Do you remember the witch who was executed in the Selvas region 22 years ago?”

At that story, Alberto’s expression noticeably darkened.

“The public called her a witch, but she wasn’t. What do you think she was?”

Feeling as if the red eyes were choking him, Alberto unconsciously cleared his throat.

“Well… if not a witch, then what could she have been?”

“She was a dragon.”

“……”

“Judging by your lack of surprise, it seems you already knew.”

There was no surprise or shock on his face at learning this new fact.

He only became increasingly rigid. Only Artia was looking at Ilion as if she couldn’t believe the shocking fact.

“Then you must also know that she had a young child. And that the previous Duke took that child and raised him.”

“Your Grace, what exactly are you saying…”

Alberto licked his lips once as if his mouth was dry and asked.

“The previous Duke must have known about the child’s power. He also knew that if the child realized his mother had been killed by his own hands, he wouldn’t be safe either. So he decided to erase the child’s memories and seal his powers. Using the power of this temple.”

Artia looked back and forth between Alberto and Ilion. It was a strange sight, with the roles of victim and perpetrator seemingly reversed.

“I’ve been thinking all along. What could a 5-year-old child have done to suffer such a terrible curse? Was it really a witch that the child killed? Why are none of my memories from before the age of 5 remaining?”

The red eyes were piercing through Alberto. He seemed to have almost reached the truth.

“I think His Holiness might be able to provide an answer to that.”

Ilion leaned back in his chair and looked at Alberto. It was an expression that he wouldn’t easily get up until he got an answer.

Faced with Ilion’s firm attitude, Alberto, who had remained silent for a while, nodded with difficulty.

“Most of what you know, Your Grace, is true. After that incident in Selvas, the previous Duke summoned priests to his home. There was a child at the mansion we had never seen before, and we were asked to seal the child’s mana.”

Alberto continued, recalling the past. He spoke of how the sealing process was so complex that they had to visit the Duke’s mansion dozens of times over the course of a year.

“Is the lack of childhood memories also because of you?”

“We didn’t touch the memories.”

Alberto hurriedly shook his head and denied it.

“It’s true. Please believe me.”

“But I don’t remember the priests coming to the mansion…”

“That’s because, worried about potential accidents, the previous Duke put you to sleep.”

“Put me to sleep?”

“He mixed sleeping pills into your snacks. You probably don’t remember anything before and after eating those snacks.”

“……”

So that’s why his memories from that time were so patchy. It also somewhat explained why he had come to dislike sweet foods.

“Then what happened in Selvas…”

“We don’t know much about that either. The previous Duke didn’t tell us about that incident. Even the identity of the witch, we could only guess based on the size of your mana. It was too vast to be human.”

The curse, finally revealed, was merely a shackle created by the previous Duke’s greed and fear. A shackle to raise his only blood relative as an obedient doll.

However, what remained questionable was whether there was a need to be so obsessed with blood ties to go to such lengths.

What could be the reason for keeping such a ticking time bomb around, using such a troublesome method? The reason for his lack of memories before the age of 5 also remained a mystery.

“I’m not sure how you’ll think about this, Your Grace, but we had no choice. At that time, we thought it was the best option.”

Worried that they might be blamed, Alberto hurriedly added.

“You don’t need to worry. I didn’t come here to place blame.”

Saying that, Ilion rose from his seat without any lingering attachment. There probably wasn’t anything more to hear anyway.

On the way out of the temple, Artia watched Ilion’s back as he walked in silence for a while. While Ilion’s secret was indeed shocking, she was more concerned about his condition.

“Aren’t you going to ask about a solution?”

“If there was such a solution, he would have told me already.”

Ilion answered in his characteristically calm voice, as if talking about someone else.

“The fact that he didn’t tell me means he doesn’t have a solution either.”

Recalling Alberto’s defensive posture, worried they might blame them, Ilion continued.

“What do you think would happen if we were to remove the holy power that has been sealing the mana now?”