Chapter 113
“Velia is fine. She woke up before you and is staying at her own mansion for now. The world was far too chaotic for her to remain at the palace while you were asleep.”
“Ah—.”
A short exclamation, but his relief was clear.
“Lie down on the bed. I’ll contact her myself.”
“No, it’s fine—.”
“Lie down.”
Freya met Carlton’s eyes and spoke firmly as he tried to get up, resisting her words.
“If you don’t want to die, you need to stay down for a while. Your body won’t be able to withstand the magical energy.”
“Ah—!”
When Freya pressed her left arm, etched with a sigil, gently against him, Carlton once again collapsed helplessly onto the floor.
She snorted at the sight of the red, trembling back of his head.
Not a bit of pity stirred within her.
All she felt was fear—fear that his heart, about to be shattered by rampaging magic, could destroy this world as well.
If, as she had glimpsed in memory, this was the fourth time, something must be reaching its limit.
Carlton’s body, Vayne’s magic, and Velia’s power—if even one of these broke, the spell would explode.
“I’ll call your friend so you can rest. That friend should be able to help with this sigil.”
Freya gave a cold, sharp command and rose from her place.
Swiftly, her footsteps quickened as she left the room.
At the threshold, the thoughts that had clouded her mind became clear.
“Ah—.”
She was, after all, a servant of the gods.
She had to discern what could and could not be spoken.
Click.
After closing the door, she looked at him, now so familiar by her side.
“Saintess, you’ve come out.”
“Canaria, I need to go to Velia.”
“Yes. This way, please.”
The young lady with deep violet hair greeted Freya naturally.
After Freya left, Carlton, left alone, leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath.
To dull the sharp pain radiating from his heart to the top of his head, he exhaled slowly.
“Haah… Hoo—.”
Rough, heavy breaths repeated in rhythm with the ticking of the clock.
As the pain gradually subsided, Carlton closed his eyes slowly.
As darkness fell, memories that had swirled chaotically in his mind came into sharp focus.
Fragments of a confusing, tangled dream began to take shape.
A fleeting image of Velia… and himself, unable to recognize her.
He could not discern what was real.
Yet somewhere…
That strange memory and déjà vu from the Misty Forest seemed to overlap strangely.
“Perhaps…”
A low, trembling voice escaped between his cracked lips.
Instinctively, Carlton traced the sigil etched on his left arm.
The unsettling déjà vu first felt in the Misty Forest.
The nightmares in which he was swallowed by the sigil.
And for some time, the nameless anxiety that seemed to clutch at the back of his neck.
Perhaps none of this was because of Vayne…
Perhaps it was because of me.
The sudden suspicion made him frown in pain.
When had it started?
In the last moments of the nightmares, the one swallowed by the sigil was no longer himself.
The sigil, writhing and swelling like a serpent, was swallowing… Velia.
“Really, perhaps…”
An absurd thought. Yet a strange certainty pressed on his chest.
What was true? Who began this curse?
But one thing was certain.
Along with this sigil, even I am no good for Velia.
“Velia’s curse…”
Could it be… me?
“From the moment I met her… was that already a curse?”
As Carlton’s sorrowful sigh escaped, rain poured under the dim sky.
As if reflecting the grief he could not shed.
Tap, tap.
Su carefully opened the door to the study after receiving permission.
Scratch, scratch—.
The familiar sound of a pen on paper, and the quiet stillness of the room.
Su hid her conflicted feelings and approached the mistress with the prepared tea.
“Thank you.”
Though the words sounded gentle, there was no warmth or life behind them.
Six months had already passed.
Over two changing seasons, the world had been abuzz with stories of the “Radiant Light” that began in Lebron.
Countless rumors and plots about the Saintess spread.
Some trembled in fear, claiming she had appeared just before a catastrophe struck,
While others praised her for returning to save the Holy Kingdom from corruption.
Even the Arpedi Marquis family had been thrilled upon witnessing that radiant light.
That is, until news came from the palace that “the young lady had collapsed.”
For Su, the exclusive maid, it was a bolt from the blue.
The shock of the young lady collapsing was already great, but the news that she could not return to the mansion made it worse.
Since then, Su could not sleep a single day in peace.
She spent nearly a month awake, waiting for news of Velia.
Sometimes she hoped to hear about Velia from Bedol, but his situation was no different.
According to Bedol, the palace was protecting Velia thoroughly.
So much so that he could not even receive news from his friends who worked there.
The Arpedi Marquis seemed to know something but refused to speak to anyone.
As a father, he quietly drank alone during lonely nights, wishing only for his daughter’s recovery.
Then a cold winter came, and miraculously, Velia awoke and returned to the mansion.
Her face was pale, her eyes hollow.
Red and swollen around the eyes, her frail body looked pitiful.
Yet Su was simply grateful that she had returned safely.
“Miss!!”
Velia smiled at Su, who called out with tears in her eyes.
But after that, she said nothing.
Winter passed, spring passed, and still she remained silent.
The world continued to buzz about the Saintess, but rumors about the noble young lady who collapsed at the palace did not spread.
The palace had tightly controlled information to protect the future crown princess.
Yet quietly, other rumors circulated within the Arpedi Marquis household.
Not about the young lady’s safe return, but about her bodyguard.
“Today?”
“Ah…!”
Snapped out of her thoughts, Su realized Velia had called her and hurried to respond.
Now, reporting on Lud’s condition had become part of Su’s daily routine.
Three times a day, before going to Velia’s room, she had to check on him.
Velia also checked on Lud daily, praying for his recovery, but in the past few months, there had been no change in his condition.
“He… is the same as ever.”
“I see.”
Su naturally felt anxious as she watched Velia quietly nod.
On the day Velia returned to the mansion, her bodyguard Lud had also come back, battered and broken.
Velia mobilized all her connections in the Arpedi Trading Company to summon renowned priests and doctors from across the country.
Yet his condition never improved.
Since her return, Velia had visited Lud every single day.
And each time, she returned with a pained expression.
No matter what questions were asked, she remained silent.
Six months passed.
During the first month, she frequented the palace, but as the entire continent’s attention fell on her whereabouts, her visits were soon blocked.
Velia then naturally confined herself to the study.
Some nights, the lights never went out.
It was impossible to tell if she even slept.
Through these repeated days, Su finally realized the truth.
The young lady had never truly returned “safely.”
On a winter night when snow fell heavily, she had cried alone in solitude.
Su could never forget how her small shoulders had shivered in the darkness.
On a day when the cold wind howled, she had stood in the middle of the courtyard, braving the harsh wind as if punishing herself, remaining there for a long time.
The young lady grieved endlessly, wandered through emptiness, and sometimes seemed consumed by unbearable anger.
