“You’re thinking too much. I’ll act as your walking stick, so please continue our conversation.”

The man let out a gentle laugh and carefully extended his arm to the woman. Yerena flinched at the approaching warmth but soon firmly grasped the arm he offered and said.

“Where did we leave off?”

“You were about to tell me about the education passed down to the princesses of Sedas when you stopped.”

“Ah……”

Yerena hesitated for a moment. The secret education passed down to the princesses of Sedas. It wasn’t particularly a secret, but she had deliberately cut off the conversation because it was a story she didn’t want to tell.

“……Do you remember the legend of the radiant princess and the blind mage I mentioned yesterday?”

“Yes. If you’re referring to the legend where the mage, betrayed by the princess, became blind and cast a curse, I remember.”

“That story…… can’t be dismissed as just a legend.”

But she soon opened her mouth and began the story. At the same time, the man who had been firmly holding her hand slowly moved his foot downward. Following his lead, Yerena naturally descended the stairs.

“The radiant princess in the legend was my ancestor from about 800 years ago. Though she was a dethroned unfortunate king, she was once called the radiant queen.”

“……”

“In that era when dragons, elves, and various other races existed, there were also many powerful mages. The blind mage was one of them.”

“……”

“The curse of such a blind mage was severe, and it didn’t target only the radiant princess. His curse also targeted her descendants. More specifically, the princesses of Sedas, like the radiant princess.”

The blind mage cursed the princess as he was dying. That she would be blinded like him and die miserably. And as his curse foretold, the radiant princess lost her position, her family, and met a miserable end. But for such a terrible curse to also afflict her descendants. The man, who had been attentively listening to Yerena’s story, sincerely lamented and asked.

“So did the princesses of Sedas truly lose their sight?”

“……Yes. Quite many of them.”

“If such a thing happened in the royal family, they would have tried to find a solution…… It could be something like a hereditary condition passed down only to the women of the royal family. For example, I heard that in the Darita Kingdom to the southwest, more than half of the male royalty have trouble with blood clotting, which is a serious issue. They used to call it the curse of the demon living in the desert, but recently it was revealed to be a hereditary condition passed down among the royalty, and I heard the clerics and physicians of the Darita Kingdom are working hard to research a cure.”

“I also think that’s highly likely. But the Sedas royal family couldn’t properly research whether this curse or disease passed down to the princesses like the Darita Kingdom did.”

“Why……”

“Because at some point, princesses almost stopped being born into the Sedas royal family. Looking at just the last 500 years of history before me, there weren’t even seven direct female royalty, including those who passed away as infants.”

“……”

“There’s also a saying that the radiant princess, unable to bear witnessing the miserable deaths of her descendants any longer, placed another curse on the Sedas royal family to prevent female royalty from being born…… Well, this too is close to a far-fetched legend. It’s written only in the corner of an old history book written by an unnamed chronicler.”

“……”

“And not all princesses of the Sedas royal family went blind. I heard that some lived with perfectly good eyesight and passed away peacefully.”

“That means everyone except those few all went blind, doesn’t it?”

Kian found a loophole in Yerena’s words. She affirmed by not responding to his statement. Then after descending the stairs in silence for a while, she spoke with a bitter face.

“That must be why. Father was particularly attentive to the education exclusively for princesses.”

“……”

“Sedas princesses spend one period each year, ranging from as short as a week to as long as nearly a month, living with their eyes covered by blindfolds. Since they could lose their sight at any time, it was an education created to help them adapt in advance.”

“……”

“It was something that had almost been abandoned by the time I was born. I was the first princess born into the royal family in nearly 200 years. So for over 100 years before that, there had been no need to educate a princess.”

This was a story Frederick had already told him. But Kian spoke as if hearing it for the first time, feigning complete ignorance.

“So that’s how it was. I did find it strange before. You move and live so naturally despite having lost your sight only recently.”

“Not really. Just look at me now. I’m still afraid of climbing stairs.”

“……”

“I wish I had worked harder back then. Father, who was usually lenient with me, strictly ordered that education, so I diligently covered my eyes in his presence…… But truthfully, I removed the blindfold when he wasn’t around. If I had followed his instructions then, I might have been able to climb these stairs easily now.”

While speaking, Yerena slowed her pace down the stairs, seemingly anxious. Her already careful step-by-step descent became noticeably slower. However, instead of growing impatient, the man matched her pace and scanned ahead for any broken steps.

“It was bothersome at the time. I even resented him for being so strict about what seemed like just a legend. And it didn’t feel real that I, with perfectly good eyesight, would go blind.”

As she spoke, Yerena recalled those days long ago. The dark green dress with golden bird decorations her father had gifted her, the comfortable shoes her mother had personally embroidered, and the flower crowns and rings her brothers had hung all over her as she ran around.

“……Once, Father caught me with my blindfold off and severely scolded me. I was about twelve. That was probably the first time I ever felt the rod.”

How frightening her father looked holding the rod. Why was he going this far? When the first strike landed on her palm, she even thought perhaps he actually hated her.

“The wooden rod hurt terribly…… But I didn’t hate Father that day.”

“Why not?”

“Because after striking my palm a couple of times, he hugged me tightly and said that even if—though it wouldn’t happen—I were to go blind, if I could no longer see, I shouldn’t worry at all.”

“……”

“He said he would personally take care of all my needs. That he would make me just as happy without sight as I was with it, that he would let me fully enjoy the life God had given me. As he spoke through tears…… It was the first time I’d seen Father’s vulnerable side. But strangely, that image couldn’t have felt more reassuring.”

Yerena pictured falling asleep while sniffling in her father’s tight embrace. The soft lullaby from that day lingered in her ears. The pleasant voice and the always warm embrace. Tears welled up in her eyes.

‘……Huh?’

But just before the tears could fall, she recovered a fragment of memory from much earlier.

‘Father. I can’t see. Waaaaaah. My eyes, my eyes……’

‘No, Yerena, my treasure. You can’t see because of the blindfold. Just endure for a week. My child. When the education ends, you’ll be able to see again. Okay?’

The crying child’s voice was clearly her own. But something was strange. During that time when she could see, her memories were dark. Just like now.

Another fragment of memory attached to the one in her hand. This time she could see. Tall marble columns, various gods and mythical fairies carved in relief, smoky haze flowing……

‘The princess…… curse…… at the age of ten……’

And the faint silhouette of an unfamiliar woman. Yerena tried to picture the woman’s silhouette, which was as blurry as her voice, and suddenly thought of someone.

‘Alicia?’

Though the hair color, appearance, and even the deity they served were different, was it because they were both priestesses? Strangely, she thought of Alicia, whom she had never seen.

“Ah!”

The continuing thoughts disrupted her footing. Yerena, who had been maintaining her balance well, suddenly lost concentration and misstepped. For an instant, she felt as if falling from a height, her heart sinking. However, before she could completely fall and tumble down the dangerous stairs, someone caught her.

“Be careful.”

The man practically embraced her. On the narrow stairs, he maintained his balance while supporting the princess. Yerena, with flushed cheeks, stammered.

“Th-thank you.”

Her heart raced at the fact that she had nearly fallen. But compared to the first time she fell while practicing descending the stairs, it was a minor flutter.

The fear of climbing and descending stairs without sight remained, but its magnitude had significantly diminished long ago. More precisely, she wasn’t as afraid as before because the man was by her side. She expected that even if she fell, he would catch her.

But another kind of heartbeat grew faster than before. Yerena pushed the man away slightly and lowered her head. With trembling legs, she continued downward and resumed speaking.

“A-anyway, I think I worked a bit harder after that. Though that just meant enduring for a day or two at my young age…… Now that I’ve actually lost my sight, I find that even that little bit of training helps. At least I can manage to eat soup without difficulty.”

“……”

“And I think after that, I unconsciously prepared myself for the possibility of going blind someday. People say that suddenly losing sight makes one feel so suffocated they want to die, but it wasn’t unbearably painful to the point where I wanted to die immediately.”

“……”

“Of course, it might have been because I had more painful things to deal with, so I didn’t have time to think about such matters…… Ah!”

Speaking rapidly with her heart pounding loudly, Yerena suddenly choked up thinking about her family and lost concentration again, collapsing. The man swiftly caught her again, preventing her fall.

“I’m sorry. I’m not improving at all. It’s been over four days already, and I feel like I’m just wasting your time.”

After two mistakes in quick succession, Yerena lost confidence and muttered in a deflated voice. The man looked at her, then noticed sunlight reflecting on her pale face and spoke.

“Don’t you feel it?”

At this unexpected question, Yerena made a puzzled face. Feel what?