Seiden’s words weren’t a lie or a promise carelessly made to obtain information. If they succeeded in finding the Demon God Book, they could find a way to solve not only Bellota’s curse but Lady Margaret’s as well.

“Wh-What are you saying? Leave immediately!”

As Van, who had lost his composure after his master’s shame was exposed, exaggerated his anger, Seiden swallowed a troubled sigh while looking at him. If they persisted any further, Van really looked like he’s ready to call for people. That wouldn’t be good for their side either. Having conveyed their intentions fully, they could only wait for Lady Margaret’s choice.

“I’ll wait for your contact.”

Seiden bowed politely and turned around. That’s when it happened.

“How……”

Lady Margaret’s faint voice was heard. When Seiden turned back around, he saw Lady Margaret’s wavering eyes looking at him from behind Van, having barely regained her composure.

“At least tell me how you knew…… At least tell me how you knew all of that……”

As her terribly trembling voice faded away, a heavy silence fell over the room. Even Yevar held his breath and glanced at Seiden, curious about his answer.

After thinking for a moment, Seiden soon answered.

“There is someone in the same situation as you.”

At those words, Lady Margaret’s eyes hardened. Seiden added in a low voice while watching her expression.

“And I must save that person.”

At the end of his quiet and calm voice, there was a desperation that didn’t match his indifferent face. At that voice, Lady Margaret’s gaze slowly fell. Soon, Lady Margaret parted her dry lips and spoke in a calmed voice.

“Please…… give me some time to think.”

It was a fragile voice that seemed about to break. Seiden could only nod in response. Yevar and Seiden left the mansion, almost as if they were being driven out, without getting what they wanted.

“What if you’ve ruined everything! What if the lady runs to that person and tells them everything about our visit? Huh?”

As soon as they were away from the mansion, Yevar angrily questioned Seiden. Seiden threw the old hood to Yevar and said firmly.

“I’ll take responsibility, so find out about the functions of the previous holy relics.”

“Well, aren’t you something! The Demon God Book is right in front of us! It’s not too late now, so we should stop being so proper and try something. How about knocking Lady Margaret unconscious and searching the mansion?”

“Stop talking nonsense and send word as soon as you find out anything.”

Seiden just said what he needed to say and turned around. The sound of Yevar fuming with anger at being ignored came from behind.

“Ha, am I your slave! Just try ruining this! I won’t stand for it either!”

However, the situation flipped in a different direction. On the night after their visit, Lady Margaret’s murderous curse reached its peak. She found a kitchen knife and stabbed her own neck.

Upon hearing the news about Lady Margaret, Seiden immediately went to find Bellota, and the two headed to the lady’s mansion at dawn.

Seiden waited for Bellota in front of Lady Margaret’s room, where she lay in a comatose state. While waiting for her, Seiden watched Van, who sat helplessly beside him with his face in his hands.

“……”

Over that miserable sight flashed the image of Van’s face as he had fallen to his knees as soon as he saw them, begging them to save Lady Margaret. At that moment, the last remaining suspicion in Seiden about him dissolved helplessly.

Van loved Lady Margaret. Just as he loved Bellota. Since Seiden didn’t possess the kind of gentleness needed to pat the suffering man’s shoulder comfortingly and console him, he chose to simply stay by Van’s side in silence. In the corridor where the two men were each immersed in their own despair, only a cold and empty silence flowed for a long time.

After a considerable time had passed, the door opened and Bellota appeared with a pale face. At her appearance, not only Seiden but also Van, who had been sitting in a daze, jumped up and rushed to Bellota. Since Yevar’s ring was concealing Bellota’s true appearance, Van only knew her as a skilled healer.

“How, how is she?”

To Van’s urgent question, Bellota’s dry lips moved slowly.

“For now…… she should be fine.”

For now? Both Seiden and Van understood the implications contained in those words.

“What is the lady’s condition?”

When Seiden asked calmly, Bellota’s gaze moved to him.

“I’ve treated the external wounds, but my holy power isn’t working on the curse that has penetrated deep inside. The lady’s curse has reached its peak, and unless we find a way to break it……”

The quiet voice faded away faintly. Seiden knew what Bellota’s words meant. If they couldn’t find a way to break the curse, Lady Margaret would die.

“Please save my lady. I beg you.”

When Van, who had lost his reason in fear, knelt before Bellota and begged, Bellota quickly knelt down with him and grabbed his clasped hands.

“There’s still time. I’ve treated all the critical external wounds, so if the lady’s will is strong, she’ll endure. She is a strong person. But before that, we need to find a way to break the curse.”

Van’s eyes, red and swollen from crying all night, turned to Bellota. For some reason, all he could see were those deep blue eyes, but the concern within them painfully gripped Van’s crumbling heart.

“Can you tell us anything you know?”

Her voice was more desperate and concerned than his own, who had served Lady Margaret for decades.

“Can you tell us who told the lady how to break the curse?”

At that urgent prompting, Van’s pale trembling lips slowly opened.

“I don’t know that either. My lady didn’t tell me. She only said that person warned her repeatedly never to tell anyone……”

At those words, not only Bellota but also Seiden, who had been watching silently, clenched his fists in frustration. This meant that only Lady Margaret, who lay unconscious in her room as if dead, knew that person’s identity.

“You don’t know where they made contact? They never came to the mansion?”

When Seiden calmly probed, Van shook his head.

“I have no idea. I’ve never seen them. They never visited the mansion, so I thought they must be communicating through some means I don’t know about. They must be someone skilled in magic……”

Whoever they were, they were clearly meticulous to a frightening degree. As far as Seiden knew, Lady Margaret only went between the temple and her mansion. Even more so after being cursed.

“They said they told her how to cleanse the curse. Said she just needed to perform the magic they taught her near the lake every night. I…… I believed it would work…… That’s why I couldn’t stop my lady even when she threatened herself……”

Darkness fell over Seiden’s eyes again.

Van hadn’t heard Seiden and Lady Margaret’s conversation about the holy relic. He had rushed into the room after that discussion was over. And since Lady Margaret had said that even Van didn’t know about the holy relic, they couldn’t readily bring up the topic of the holy relic to him. Everything was back to square one.

After Bellota had given all the treatment and blessings she could, she left the mansion with Seiden when the dark outside began to brighten with a mysterious light.

“I couldn’t save her. Even after knowing everything.”

The quiet and heavy silence broke only when they reached the stable where the horses were tied.

“If this curse isn’t broken…… what will happen?”

Seiden looked into Bellota’s eyes, which had sunk into gloom. Her face, pale from rushing over at dawn and depleting all her holy power, seemed about to crumble at any moment. In Bellota’s blue eyes was fear she couldn’t show in front of Van.

This was why Seiden had tried to save Lady Margaret despite all risks. To prevent Bellota’s hope from being cruelly crushed.

He couldn’t waver in this situation. Seiden carefully and tenderly held Bellota’s slumped shoulders and made her look at him. Her tired and soft eyes met his firm ones without wavering.

“It will be broken. I will make it happen.”

Bellota stared at Seiden for a long while. His voice had the power to make one want to believe anything he said. It would be so. He would make it happen.

It felt as if he was all she had left. Sometimes it was frightening enough to take her breath away, sometimes it hurt to the bone, and sometimes it was an indescribable comfort. And perhaps having such comfort still remaining was God’s final mercy.

Something kept welling up in her chest making it impossible to answer, so Bellota could only nod her head after a long while as she looked at him. Dawn was breaking behind Seiden’s back. It was time to return to the temple.