episode_0147

The lights were off in the dormitory.

In the darkness where not a single ray of light entered, faint signs of life occasionally echoed.

It was a pained breath.

“Agh…”

Faint heat seeped out.

A thoroughly disheveled appearance.

Her cascading red hair adorned the blanket.

In a scene like fallen petals, a girl lay sprawled on the blanket.

It was none other than Rose.

“Hah, hah…”

Rough, repetitive breathing.

Her leaf-like green eyes held a muddied look.

I was gently stroking the girl’s stomach.

A treatment performed regularly.

It was a process of releasing the mana accumulated in her dantian and loosening the surrounding tense muscles.

My gently extended fingertips caressed her pristine white skin.

Swish-.

“Hmph, ugh…”

Following that.

A low moan escaped between her tightly clenched lips.

Rose exhaled with a mix of heat.

Her gaze wavered.

I asked mischievously.

“Why are you suppressing your sounds? There’s no one else in the room besides us, after all.”

“Don’t, hah, say useless things… just finish it quickly.”

Only the two of us were in the spacious dormitory.

Originally, Elize, Charlotte, and their exclusive maid Tanya lived here together, but the other two had stepped out for the treatment.

They wouldn’t be coming back inside for at least three hours.

In other words, there was no need to suppress her moans as she was doing now.

But for some stubborn reason, Rose maintained her consciousness even while panting.

As if refusing to yield.

“I don’t understand the meaning of that…”

“You’re really annoying.”

The girl’s attire was close to half-naked.

The area she was wearing was that minimal.

It was an ordinary negligee, but her clothes were lifted to expose her stomach.

Obstacles had to be minimized for the treatment.

Naturally, it was difficult to cover her body with such thin fabric.

Because of this, Rose exposed her curved lines and the underside of her breasts, barely concealing only the very tips.

Her pale cheeks were now as red, and even redder, than Rose’s hair and petals.

Was that blush shame?

Or a lingering aftereffect?

I had no way of knowing.

I merely continued the treatment.

“As you commanded.”

My hand touched her lower abdomen.

A shadow slowly seeped through her skin.

Immediately after, Elize’s focus melted away.

It was due to her highly sensitized body. Her sensitivity was nearly twice as high as usual.

As the entangled mana released in response, a pure white tremor pulsed.

The girl twitched her lower body.

“A sharp gasp!?”

Her waist lightly arched.

As I firmly pressed down on her arching dantian, I simultaneously held Rose’s trembling hand.

Each time her abdomen was pressed, a tingling current flowed down Elize’s spine.

Her eyes, unfocused, shimmered.

Was it due to the intense stimulation?

Moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes.

I stroked the girl’s hair as if reassuring her.

As if to say she was enduring well.

“It’s almost over.”

Sweat streamed down.

The damp heat soiled the blanket, and a thick body odor spread throughout the room.

Her faint breathing filled the pitch-black interior.

Her petals trembled as if they would soon shatter.

Was it because I found such a reaction cute?

I found a highly sensitive spot and firmly pressed down on it with my index and middle fingers.

Then Elize’s pupils dilated, and her shoulders twitched.

The girl glared at me as if resentful.

“You again…!”

“Shh.”

I quickly placed my finger on Rose’s lips.

Otherwise, I was sure to get an earful.

My hand pressed on her abdomen before any further chatter could ensue.

The mana tangled within her released, and her tense muscles gently relaxed.

Following that, the stimulation striking her brain became even sharper. All her nerves focused on her lower abdomen, where my fingertips touched.

Something hot and congealed enveloped the girl.

Everything sinking in like that.

“Relax yourself.”

Sliiiide-.

As I lightly traced a circle on her stomach, her waist arched up once more.

I put strength into my palm so her posture wouldn’t break.

Her rising lower abdomen and my pressing hand interlocked, applying even stronger pressure.

“Ugh, haah…”

Had she melted from the repeated stimulation?

Her once sharp eyes were now unfocused again.

Her lips, where my finger still rested.

I gently caressed that soft flesh with my slowly moving index finger.

My thumb pushed into the moist, parted fissure.

“Suck… mmm, ugh, haah…”

The sensation of her fully enveloping my finger.

The hot, moist heat from inside her mouth seemed to be fully transmitted.

At the end of where I’d pushed in, there was a welcoming tongue.

Although it was still somewhat stiff, perhaps she had grown used to it through the treatments, as she seemed to accept the foreign sensation in her mouth.

Her moisture-filled tongue calmly covered my finger.

Though she had glared as if she wanted to kill me at first, now even this kind of contact had become routine.

At times like these, the first moments we had together would inexplicably come to mind.

Rose from the time when she had her thorns fully raised.

-You… I’ll kill you.

-How dare you, after doing something like this…!

Even that day.

Now she was shattered like petals facing winter.

She had lowered her own thorns.

I gently stroked her red hair.

“Hehe, you’re good.”

“Don’t treat me like a child.”

“Shall I stop stroking you then?”

“……You’re really annoying.”

Instead of answering, Elize turned her head.

It was a request for me to continue.

While the treatment progressed, I continued stroking the girl’s stomach and head.

The act ended only after her nightgown was thoroughly soaked in sweat.

***

The treatment had continued for well over two hours.

The tumultuous process had concluded well.

As I was quietly tidying up, Rose, her brow furrowed, suddenly spoke.

Her eyes held a hint of ill-temper.

“Today… wasn’t something excessive?”

“I am always the same.”

“You’re probably the only one who can freely molest a princess of this nation like this.”

“It’s simply a medical procedure. There’s no other meaning to it.”

“Well… if you look at my state, people would believe it if you said it was rape.”

“So, do you dislike it? If Your Highness wishes, I can stop at any time.”

“……You’re cunning.”

The girl mumbled.

Had she suddenly fallen into thought?

Silence descended with her pursed lips.

Soon, Elize uttered a single word with a low breath.

It was a serious voice.

“Do you remember?”

“What are you referring to?”

“I told you before. That I would accept anything you do.”

“I remember. You certainly did say that.”

“Even if… it were rape. If it’s you, I would accept it.”

“You’re saying something dangerous.”

“That means I’m that serious. Because this is never a lie.”

“Indeed. Your will to receive treatment is truly remarkable.”

“Well… I didn’t specify which one I was serious about.”

“Either way, I am simply pleased. It means I am trusted by you.”

“You always manage to wiggle your way out of it.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment, you know?”

The gentle banter continued.

Even amidst that, I tidied up the messy surroundings.

I lightly flicked my fingers, smoothing the blanket.

Rose, perhaps exhausted during the treatment, sat on the bed completely spent.

As I quietly stayed by her side, something suddenly caught my eye.

It was none other than the white bandages wrapped around both her arms and neck.

I carefully took her wrist.

“Have you cut yourself again?”

“……”

“I’ve told you many times that self-harm isn’t good.”

“I just… did it habitually. It also strangely made me feel at ease.”

“You promised me, didn’t you? That you would try.”

“……Sorry.”

When I pressed her firmly, the girl’s complexion darkened.

My gaze, though slight, had cooled.

The atmosphere withered.

Although it made me feel bad, as her attending physician, I couldn’t just indulge her.

Because this was a problem she had to overcome herself.

I slowly unwrapped the bandages and replaced them with new ones.

Rustle-.

Reddish lines and marks revealed themselves beneath the thin fabric.

I applied medicine over the field where the wounds bloomed.

“Um…”

Was it because of my unpleasant expression?

Elize, uncharacteristically, hesitated and clutched my sleeve.

“I’m sorry… I just, I’m so used to pain, sometimes, it’s so hard to bear that…”

A voice lacking confidence.

Normally, she was vicious and tyrannical, but in moments like these, she would act as if she might break at any moment.

Rose simply didn’t show it, but she was quite mindful of my reactions.

Whether she was bothering me, whether she was annoying me, or perhaps if she would be abandoned because of it.

Even with all those sharp thorns outwardly added, her fragile essence remained unchanged.

Even that appearance resembled a rose.

The girl said.

“So… please don’t make that face.”

Elize bit her lip.

Loneliness or a bittersweet ache.

Such things were held within her green eyes.

I couldn’t easily open my mouth.

“……”

I had resolved to be strict.

But I couldn’t ignore those lonely eyes.

A needless bitter taste spread in my mouth.

‘She shouldn’t be sorry to me.’

Indeed.

What fault could this child have?

Her only sin is being born with a twisted fate, so who could blame her no matter how broken she became?

I simply didn’t want to see such a delicate flower wither.

I took the girl’s hand, the atmosphere slightly eased.

Her body temperature was warm.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

“I wish Your Highness would cherish your own body.”

“I know… but I just can’t get used to it.”

“I know Your Highness is trying. I merely said it to encourage you a little. My feelings aren’t hurt at all. So, you don’t need to worry so much.”

“……I wasn’t particularly worried about that, you know?”

A needlessly prickly response in return.

I stroked Elize with a faint burst of laughter.

Afterward, I added a few pieces of news. It seemed like the best time to speak of it now.

I met her quiet green eyes.

“As it happens, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it now?”

“It seems the time has finally come to fulfill the promise I made to Your Highness.”

“A promise…?”

“There is one, isn’t there?”

The very first promise we made.

That I would give hope to your life, and thereby break your curse.

“Surely not…”

“That’s right. The research on the Mana-Stone Sickness just concluded yesterday.”

I smiled faintly.

Perhaps having deduced the true nature of the promise, the girl’s eyes momentarily went blank.

A fleeting spark of vitality shone in her leaf-like pupils.

As if answering that hope, I spoke.

“I will break your curse.”

“……”

“Let’s head to the imperial palace immediately tomorrow. All the keys are there.”

Valkaros Rantana von Stauphen.

That damned emperor bastard.

Because there were many things I needed to hear from him.

About Elize’s curse and all its connections.

[Report on Mana-Stone Sickness]

[Authored by: Medro Andreas]

-The Mana-Stone Sickness is less a disease and more a form of curse.

-Ancient records exist stating that the curse’s inherent properties were utilized to transfer its effects to others.

-This process of Curse Sharing significantly lowers the patient’s mortality rate.

-However, the curse can only be exchanged between blood relatives within two degrees of kinship.

Parts of the report’s contents.

I chewed on those words, muttering as if lamenting.

“All the answers… will be with him.”

A long, long time.

It was time to conclude the curse.