Ch.148For Elise (2)

“It doesn’t feel real yet.”

In the carriage heading toward the imperial palace.

Rose, who had been looking out the window, suddenly muttered those words.

Her calm eyes resembled the verdant greenery of the salt river.

I question the girl’s voice.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

Elise responds as if it’s nothing special.

Yet the atmosphere remained quiet.

She had been in this state ever since we finished our conversation yesterday.

She seemed to be lost in thought about something.

Rose answers softly.

“The curse I’ve been carrying.”

“To be precise, it’s an illness.”

“Right, illness. Now that I’m told it can be cured, I guess it doesn’t feel real.”

Treatment.

Perhaps such a concept was unfamiliar to the girl.

Her expression was particularly confused.

“I understand.”

I nodded.

Having suffered through pain her entire life, a few words wouldn’t be enough to make it sink in.

For now, the feeling of unreality would outweigh any joy.

Elise speaks with an awkward smile.

“It just makes my head complicated.”

“It’s alright. Time will solve this problem soon enough.”

The conversation continues briefly.

As we pass the time back and forth, the two people sitting across from us join in.

None other than Sharlotte Little von Staufen and Tanya, Rose’s personal maid.

“I never thought this day would come…”

“Is it true? Finally, Her Highness Elise…?”

Sharlotte’s characteristically blank eyes sparkle, while Tanya’s emotions seem to be welling up as she begins to tear up.

A painful and lonely life.

The two of them were the only family who stayed by Elise’s side.

Having lived through her most painful times together, they naturally became emotional at the hope that now stood before them.

I smile at them in response.

“Of course.”

Their joy becomes even more evident.

Elise shakes her head as if she can’t stand their reactions.

“Everyone’s making such a fuss.”

“You’re enjoying it while pretending not to.”

“…No, I’m not?”

“Your Highness, you have no talent for lying.”

“You must be pleased, unlike me, with your excellent talent for lying.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

Though she grumbles, the conversation continues.

Rose was leaning against my shoulder as usual.

As I stroke her flowing red hair, a casual question suddenly drops.

“But… is there a reason we have to go to the imperial palace?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Do you find it uncomfortable?”

“It would be a lie to say no. It’s where I was imprisoned my whole life. And I’ll have to see the face of the man who’s supposedly my birth father.”

“By birth father… you mean His Majesty?”

“There’s no one else, is there?”

Her voice returns gradually subdued.

Her deliberate choice of the term “birth father” must reflect her resentment toward the emperor.

After all, he was the one who confined her to such a lonely cage.

I carefully ask.

“Do you resent him?”

“Well… honestly, his face is even hazy to me. The memories are from when I was so young.”

“You said you haven’t seen His Majesty since you were confined to the separate palace, correct?”

“I guess he couldn’t stand the sight of his cursed child. He seemed like a decent person before, but he completely changed as soon as I got sick.”

“Changed…”

I quietly repeat her last word.

Elise mutters with a bitter smile.

“If it was going to be like this, he shouldn’t have had me at all.”

“Your Highness.”

“It’s a thought I had often when I was young. Living was too painful back then.”

“As your physician, those words break my heart.”

“It’s not like that anymore, so don’t make that face.”

“How could I smile when I understand your pain?”

“I’m fine. I don’t think negatively about life anymore. In fact, I’m glad to be alive.”

And for good reason.

“Because I met you.”

Elise tilts her head.

Our gazes briefly cross.

There wasn’t even a hint of wavering in her green eyes.

By now, our hands had intertwined, melting into each other’s warmth.

The girl gently curves the corners of her eyes.

“So, I’m fine.”

Words that became her only reason for living.

A voice that bloomed with sincerity.

Only after a moment passed did I nod.

With a faint smile on my lips.

“I’ll strive to live up to those expectations.”

Anyway.

She was becoming more and more bewitching by the day, which was troublesome.

I soon recite a line of poetry.

“For you, a happy ending without fail.”

“Hehe. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The carriage continued on its way.

Toward the grave where all truths awaited.

***

The imperial palace after nearly four months.

Despite the time that had passed, the scenery of the cage remained unchanged.

It was exactly as it had been, as if untouched by human hands.

We stayed briefly at Rose’s former quarters, waiting for permission for an audience.

If my hypothesis was correct… the Emperor would have no reason to refuse an audience.

I wasn’t worried, as I was fairly confident in my theory.

“Hehe… it feels like it’s been so long!”

“It has been long. More than a whole season has passed.”

“Your Highness, can you believe you’ve left this place?”

“It still feels like a dream. I rotted in this room for almost my entire life.”

“Me too!”

“…Aren’t you a bit too excited?”

“Am I? It just feels like I’m reminiscing…”

“What memories could a little squirt like you have?”

“I-I’m not a little squirt!”

Tanya puffs her cheeks.

Elise maintains an indifferent gaze, yet strokes the small girl before her.

Behind them, Sharlotte held the wheelchair with a gentle smile.

The scene unfolding was so peaceful.

Meanwhile.

“……”

Silence fell upon me.

I was organizing my thoughts alone.

[Report on Mana Stone Disease]

[Author: Medro Andreas]

My attention was entirely focused on the report from a few days ago.

Perhaps because the contents were so shocking, each sentence seemed to float before my eyes.

I quietly contemplate it.

‘A curse.’

The research was based on ancient texts.

Modern medicine couldn’t find a solution for the disease.

As such, I sought new possibilities from the unknown world… from the mysterious.

I thought I might find clues if I searched through various records.

Byproducts collected from hunting cultists, research materials, and evil texts were also helpful.

The priests of Liszt, including Medro, were especially helpful in translating the evil texts.

They were reliable, as expected of veterans who had been in the field.

‘Anyway.’

Work that continued for almost three months.

After continued cultist hunting and with the help of priests, we were able to find records related to the disease.

The relevant text was discovered in a frontier branch where spoils were stored.

It was barely two pages in length, with only two documented cases, but the mere fact that it existed was a miracle.

Mana Stone Disease was that rare.

Looking at the compiled records, they were as follows:

[Mana Stone Disease]

-Mana Stone Disease is more akin to a curse than a disease.

-Using the chronic characteristics of curses, there are ancient records of transferring the disease’s influence to others.

-This process of ‘Curse sharing’ dramatically lowers the patient’s mortality rate.

-However, curses can only be exchanged between blood relatives within second cousins.

-I will describe this concept separately.

Up to here, it might seem ordinary.

But the next part was the core of my hypothesis.

[‘Curse sharing’]

-Curse sharing refers to the state of transferring or sharing a curse.

-To activate this spell, two people must fulfill the condition of being ‘blood relatives.’

-This condition is due to the curse’s sensitivity to blood, and the closer the blood connection, the more powerful the effect.

Of course.

As a spell that defies natural law, there were also side effects.

According to the records, severe mental deterioration or loss of emotions were typical examples.

Moreover.

‘The side effects only appeared in the recipient of the sharing…’

In other words.

The recipient would bear both the curse and its side effects.

At this point, I could understand why such records were tightly sealed.

‘It was forbidden knowledge.’

Forbidden knowledge.

Some disciplines and knowledge that were reportedly suppressed by the first Emperor.

It must have been part of the concepts that were swept away in those ancient times.

Because it was an excessively inhumane spell.

‘But.’

Isn’t it strange?

Forbidden knowledge.

In other words, it wasn’t completely eradicated.

It had maintained its existence for hundreds of years, kept in the imperial archives.

Why did the first Emperor leave such a possibility?

The answer was simple.

‘There are many stars, but only one sun.’