Chapter 148
"It doesn't feel real."
In the carriage heading to the imperial palace.
The rose, looking out the window, suddenly muttered like that.
Her calm eyes resembled the greenery of the salt fields.
I asked in response to the girl's voice.
"What do you mean?"
"Just."
Elise responded as if it was nothing.
Yet the atmosphere remained quiet.
She had been in this state constantly since finishing the conversation yesterday.
She wavered as if lost in thought about something.
The rose answered quietly.
"The curse I carry."
"To be precise, it's a disease."
"Right, disease. I guess I should say it doesn't feel real now that you say it can be cured."
Cure.
Was such a resonance unfamiliar to the girl?
Her expression was particularly confused.
"I understand."
I nodded.
Having lived her whole life suffering in pain, a few words wouldn't be enough to sink in.
For now, the feeling of unreality would precede joy.
Elise spoke with a clumsy smile.
"My head's just getting complicated for nothing."
"It's alright. It's a problem time will soon solve."
Brief conversation continuing.
As we passed time going back and forth, the two people listening from across also chimed in.
None other than Charlotte. And Tanya, the rose's dedicated maid.
"I didn't know such a day would come..."
"Is it true? Finally, Her Highness Elise...?"
Charlotte's characteristically blank eyes sparkled, and Tanya already started tearing up, perhaps overcome with emotion.
A painful and lonely life.
The two were the only family who had stayed by Elise's side.
Having lived through the most painful times together, they naturally choked up at the hope that had approached before their eyes.
I smiled as if answering them.
"Of course."
Joy became even clearer.
Elise shook her head at such reactions as if she couldn't stand it.
"Everyone's making too much fuss."
"You're just pretending even though you're happy."
"...I'm not?"
"Your Highness has no talent for lying."
"You must be pleased. Unlike me, you have excellent talent for lying."
"Thank you."
"That's not a compliment."
Though grumbling, conversation continued.
The rose was leaning her body on this side's shoulder as usual.
As I stroked her flowing red hair, a question suddenly dropped carelessly.
"But... is there a reason we have to go to the imperial palace?"
"Regrettably, yes. Do you perhaps dislike it?"
"It would be a lie if I said no. It's a place I was confined in for my whole life. Plus I'll have to see the face of the person called my birth father."
"By birth father... you mean His Majesty?"
"There's no one else besides him."
Her voice returned gradually sinking.
Deliberately choosing the expression 'birth father' must be due to antipathy towards the emperor.
Because he was the very person who had confined her in such a lonely cage.
I carefully asked.
"Do you resent him?"
"Well... actually his face is even hazy. Because it's such an early childhood memory."
"You said you certainly hadn't seen His Majesty since being confined in the separate palace, right?"
"I guess he didn't even want to see the cursed child. He seemed like a decent person until then, but he completely changed as soon as I got sick."
"Changed..."
Chewing over the last words quietly.
Elise muttered with a bitter smile.
"If it was going to be like this, he shouldn't have given birth to me."
"Your Highness."
"It's a thought I often had when I was young. Living was too hard back then."
"As your personal physician, those words break my heart."
"Don't make that expression since it's not like that now."
"I understand your pain, but how could I smile?"
"I'm fine. I don't think of life only negatively now, rather I even think it's fortunate I'm alive."
That's because.
"Thanks to meeting you."
Elise tilted her head.
Gazes crossing briefly.
Not even a trace of wavering remained in her green eyes.
Our hands resting on each other were interlocked as if melting into that body heat.
The girl gently curved the corners of her eyes.
"So, I'm fine."
Words saying you became her only life.
A voice blooming straight.
I nodded only after a brief moment passed.
With a faint smile on my lips.
"I'll live up to those expectations."
Anyway,
It was troublesome how she became more bewitching with each passing day.
I soon recited one verse.
"For you, a happy ending for sure."
"Fufu. I'll be looking forward to it."
The carriage advanced like that.
Until reaching the grave where all truth awaited.
***
The imperial palace after nearly 4 months.
Though quite some time had passed, the scenery of the cage remained unchanged.
It was exactly the same as if untouched by human hands.
We stayed briefly at the rose's former residence, waiting for permission for an audience to be granted.
If my pieced-together hypothesis was correct... there would be no reason for the emperor's side to refuse an audience.
I wasn't worried as I was fairly confident.
"Hehe... it feels like it's been so long!"
"It has been long. It was time that passed even after a whole season."
"Can Your Highness believe you've left this place?"
"It still feels like a dream. I rotted in this room for nearly my whole life."
"Me too!"
"...Aren't you too excited?"
"Is that so? It feels like I'm reminiscing..."
"What memories does a little kid have?"
"I-I'm not a little kid!"
Tanya puffing her cheeks.
Though Elise had an indifferent gaze, she stroked the small girl before her eyes.
Charlotte behind held the wheelchair with a quiet smile.
The scene spreading inside for a moment was so leisurely.
Meanwhile,
"......"
Silence flowed for me.
It was organizing thoughts alone.
[Report on Mana Stone Disease]
[Written by: Medro Andreas]
My nerves were fully directed towards the report from a few days ago.
Perhaps because the content was so shocking, each sentence shimmered in my vision.
I quietly chewed it over.
'A curse.'
The research was conducted based on ancient texts.
Modern medicine couldn't find a way for the disease.
To that extent, they tried to find new possibilities from an uncertain world... the unknown.
They thought they could find clues if they searched through various records.
Byproducts collected while hunting heretics, research materials, and evil books were also helpful.
Especially for translating evil books, Medro and Risit's priests were of great help.
As expected of veterans who had rolled in the field, they were reliable.
'Anyway.'
Work that continued for nearly 3 months.
After continued heretic hunting and help from priests, we were able to find records related to the disease.
It's said the relevant text was discovered in a frontier branch storing spoils of war.
Though it was an amount that would barely fill 2 pages, with only 2 recorded cases, the fact that it existed was a miracle in itself.
Because mana stone disease was that rare of an illness.
Looking at the organized records, it was as follows:
[Mana Stone Disease]
-Mana stone disease takes a form closer to a curse than a disease.
-There are records in ancient times of utilizing the chronic characteristics of curses to transfer the disease's influence to others.
-This process of 'curse sharing' dramatically lowers the patient's mortality rate.
-However, curses can only be given and received in blood relationships within second cousins.
-I will describe this concept separately.
Up to here might seem ordinary.
But the content that came next was the core of my hypothesis.
['Curse Sharing']
-Curse sharing refers to the state of transferring or sharing a curse.
-To activate this magic, two people must fulfill the condition of being 'blood relatives'.
-This condition is due to the characteristic of curses being sensitive to blood, and the effect becomes stronger the closer the blood connection.
Of course.
As it was magic that went against providence, there were also side effects that followed.
According to the records, severe mental wear or losing emotions were representative cases.
Moreover,
'Side effects only appeared on the receiving side...'
In short.
It meant the receiving side would embrace both the curse and side effects.
At this point, I could understand why related records were tightly hidden.
'It was sealed knowledge.'
Sealed knowledge.
Some studies and knowledge were known to have been suppressed by the first emperor.
It must have been part of concepts swept away in those ancient times.
Because it was excessively inhumane magic.
'But.'
Isn't it strange?
Sealed knowledge.
In other words, it means it wasn't exterminated.
It maintained its existence for hundreds of years while stored in the imperial archives.
Why did the first emperor deliberately leave such a room?
The answer was simple.
'There are many stars, but only one sun.'