‘Curse.’
The moment she heard that word, her face froze.
Nathan continued to speak.
“Furthermore, because of the high level of danger, it was classified as forbidden magic and was banned long ago. As a mage, I have a duty to prevent the misuse of any magic.”
It certainly wasn’t something that she didn’t already understand. That was the curse that had made a witch go crazy. If the curse was that powerful, there’s no way he wouldn’t be concerned.
But…
“Even so, the conditions of our transaction were clearly the ‘information’ of the magic circle. Are you alright with not obtaining the Saturan?”
“That’s…”
Just as Nathan was about to speak, Elaine cut him off and continued.
“And though the reason I am investigating the magic circle can not be disclosed, as you know, I am not proficient enough in the use of magic to use it even if I wanted to.”
“…”
“There may not be a way to prove it, but I assure you, you have nothing to worry about.”
In fact, Nathan already knew that. If she had intended to abuse the magic in the first place, she would have never entrusted this investigation to him. At this point, he was just being extra cautious.
“All right. You are correct, I just needed to make sure, but after all, a deal is a deal.”
In the end, Nathan nodded then paused, as if he was choosing his next words carefully. He then began talking in a very serious tone.
“So, this magic is particularly vicious curse that is used to control someone’s mind.”
“…”
“The problem is that the target is not only limited to humans. In particular, the main purpose of this magic is to control powerful and dangerous beings, such as monsters or demons.”
Mind control. When she heard those words, a memory began to vividly replay in her mind.
Seveka on fire. The insane Bella. A curse that controls the mind. When Elaine recalled these things, she felt a chill travel through her body.
No way. It couldn’t be. Who could do such a terrible thing, and why?
After that nightmarish day, Elaine, who had woken up in Seveka, thought that there was no one in their right mind who would intentionally make a witch go crazy. She had speculated that the reason Bella had gone crazy could have been the result of a spell cast on her that had gone wrong.
But what if that wasn’t really the case?
‘The reason Bella went crazy… Someone intentionally made her go mad.’
So, does that mean that hellish night, the screams of horror of countless people, the deaths and the burning city were all planned by someone?
A chill ran down her spine and goosebumps formed all over. Who on earth could plan something so crazy, and for what purpose? Her stomach was turning, vision becoming red. Her mind was spinning with fury, her anger close to boiling over.
Nathan, sensing something was amiss, looked up at her. When he saw Elaine’s expression his eyes widened.
“Dame Elaine? Are you alright?”
He spoke cautiously, watching her every move closely. Perhaps if it wasn’t for his voice interrupting her thoughts, she may have jumped right out of her seat. But, thanks to that, she managed to suppress her anger and regain reason. She slowly calmed her breathing. Her mind was still spinning and she was still angry, but now was the time to sort out all of the important information.
Nathan asked again.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Is there something wrong…”
“No. It’s fine. I just needed a moment to think. Can you finish what you were saying?”
Elaine’s facial expression returned to normal and she nodded for him to continue. Nathan, who was surprised when he saw her usually calm expression distorted in anger before, was unsure of the reason for her change. Even though he was concerned for her he continued.
“Sure. Currently, there is not much information available on this magic circle. As you can see, there is a portion that has been torn off and lost long ago.”
He said this as he pointed to the parchment.
“The only thing that is known is that the material needed for the curse is the blood of a strong monster.”
“Monster’s blood?”
“Yes. The stronger the victim you would like to curse, the more powerful and dark the blood must be.”
“The stronger the target of the curse was, the stronger the sacrifice must be.
Elaine replayed Nathans words in her head again. As her anger subsided, she calmed down. A witch is an immortal being who lived for hundreds of years, so strong that she is able to destroy a city by herself.
A being who could have easily destroyed, not just a city, but a whole kingdom if she had not given up her own life. In order to place a curse on such a being, the sacrifice used for the curse must not have been ordinary. It would have to at least be a top tier monster.
‘Before the Seveka incident, was there any news of a monster of that level being defeated?’
From what she remembered, that kind of thing…
Elaine muttered under her breath.
“The dragon subjugation…”
The thought suddenly had occurred to her. Nathan heard her muttering and immediately nodded his head, understanding what she meant by her statement.
“An evil dragon could easily have been used as a sacrifice, although it is a monster that disappeared long ago.”
That was it. There was no monster that would be more suitable to curse a witch.
The ‘evil dragon’ that had ruled the northern mountain range. A few months before the Seveka incident, the royal family dispatched a large-scale force to subdue the evil dragon. Several members of the royal family, including the crown prince, were sent as representatives of the royal family. The triumphant return of the expedition turned them into heroes celebrated by the entire nation.
There was no one who would be able to defeat a top monster silently. According to her memory, the only high-level monster that had been subdued around that time was the dragon. If the dragon defeated at that time was used as the sacrifice…
‘There may be someone involved among those who had participated in the expedition.’
The first thing that came to mind was the pitch-black magic circle that covered the grounds of the royal palace and the somewhat sudden subjugation ordered by the royal family.
There had been a question floating around in her mind the whole time. How could it be that the mages and the knights guarding the royal family didn’t know that such a powerful and gigantic magic circle was drawn in the palace? And what about the royal family?
Maybe it was just her imagination, but she had a feeling that the royal family was involved. If that is the case…
“Nathan.”
“Yes?”
He looked at her when he heard her emotionless voice. The parchment in her hand was crumpled even more. Her light green eyes were burning.
“Why don’t we make another deal?”
***
After completing her business with Nathan, Elaine parted ways with him and returned to the dutchy. The whole way back, she was lost in thought.
‘If the royal family really is behind this, who could it be?’
At that time, there were a total of four members of the royal family who had participated in the battle to subdue the evil dragon. Lloyd, the crown prince, Bella, the crown princess, as well as the second and third princes. In her opinion, the most suspicious person at that time was Hasidium I, the king at the time. The reason for her suspicion was that he was the one who had ordered the subjugation back then.
But, he had died a long time ago. As a result of the Seveka incident, many people had gone missing and their bodies were unable to be recovered. They were assumed to be dead. Hasidium I and Lloyd were also assumed to be dead. Therefore, excluding them as well as Bella, only two of the royal family members who participated in the subjugation battle had survived.
The second and third princes.
‘If someone had deliberately destroyed Seveka, there is a high probability they are still alive.’
Moreover, they would have had high authority as representatives of the subjugation. If they wanted, it wouldn’t have been difficult to steal the evil dragon’s corpse.
‘Then, which one? The second or the third prince?’
The second prince, Chelsea de Philion, naturally took over the throne after the death of the previous king of Seveka and the death of Lloyd, the previous successor. The third prince, the current Duke of Diallo, had held a strong dislike for Bella, who was not human, since long ago. If you were looking for a motive, they both had one, but a conclusion could not be drawn hastily.
‘Maybe they were working together.’
Personally, she wanted to punish whoever was responsible for the incident right away. However, the most important thing now was not revenge, but clearing Bella’s name. This was important in order to prevent any more danger from finding Ash.
‘There must be some knights in the subjugation team who were moving according to orders that had been made from behind the scenes.’
Elaine closed her eyes as she continued to think things through. If she were to investigate them, she may be able to come up with something.
‘To do that, I will need to know the list of the people who had participated in the subjugation.’
Where would she be able to obtain that?
The list of knights was kept in the royal palace archives in Seveka. On the day Seveka was destroyed, they would have turned to ash along with everything else.
As she continued walking, she opened her eyes slightly and turned her head to see the setting sun dying the mountain ridge red.
‘Northern Mountains… Subjugation team.’
As she continued to look, a thought crossed her mind.
‘Yes, there!’
“Then please keep us informed. I apologize for being unable to give you a satisfactory answer.”
“Oh, no. That is due to our shortcomings.”
At the moment, she heard someone’s voice coming from nearby.
Several wagons and carts were parked in front of the main gate of the Duke’s residence. Some distance away, Lowell was seeing two men off.
“Although the results were unfortunate this time, we have many other good products available.”
“If you call on us again next time, we promise to bring the best products we have that will be sure to satisfy you.”
“I hope we have that opportunity as well.”
“Alright then. We will be on our way now.”
The men then bowed deeply and turned around to head toward where their carts and wagons were stationed.
‘Who are they?’
She tilted her head in curiosity, watching as the men passed by her. She soon lost interest and continued walking when she heard a low sigh behind her.
“He’s quite picky. Just because he’s a duke, does that mean he has to be so nitpicky about everything?”
