“Now then. Would you care to explain yourself, Noah?”
“Y-Your Highness.”
Claudia had been carried through the palace watched by countless onlookers. Now, within the royal bedchamber, she had him cornered against a wall, a smile playing at her lips.
Noah’s brows furrowed in distress as he was caught between the wall and Claudia. Yet she paid no mind, steadily closing the distance between them.
“I can sense a curse on you. What exactly happened?” Claudia asked.
“I will explain everything. Please, grant me your patience.”
She laced her fingers through his, staring at his hand. “This is where it’s coming from, isn’t it?”
It didn’t seem as though the curse had begun to spread. Still, it was clear that Noah had touched something he should not have. There was no wound, and he didn’t seem to be in pain. Nonetheless, that her dear manservant had come into contact with a foul curse at all was utterly unacceptable.
“A cursed artifact exists within the palace. It was carefully concealed within a barrier, one so powerful that even I did not sense it until I had already touched it.”
“Tell me everything.” Claudia’s tone softened. “I have matters to discuss with you as well, along with a request.”
Noah sighed again, quieter now, before gesturing toward the door. A flicker of magic unlocked it, revealing the man waiting beyond.
“Oh?” The visitor chuckled, stepping inside. “Spotted me even through a concealment spell, did you?”
“Do come in, good man,” Claudia prompted.
The man who entered was none other than Faraz, Ashbal’s trusted retainer. He stopped at the sight of Claudia pressing Noah against the wall.
“My apologies. Am I intruding?”
“Lord Faraz, kindly shut the door.” Noah’s expression, so plainly irritated, was a rare sight indeed.
Claudia, amused, reached up to lightly tap the tip of his nose in reprimand.
“As I had hoped, you’ve chosen to side with my dear Noah. That pleases me greatly. Now then...” She turned, summoning a table and chairs into existence with a flick of magic. “Shall we begin our strategy meeting?”
Claudia took her seat across from Faraz, while Noah stood behind her, close enough to shield her if the need were to arise.
They began exchanging information, laying out their findings piece by piece.
“So, the goddess statue that Ashbal’s mother treasured had a cursed artifact hanging from its neck...” Claudia murmured.
“If Her Highness’s deduction that Lady Samira herself cast the harem’s barrier is correct, then her mastery of such magic is undeniable,” Noah said. “It stands to reason that she also possessed the skill to conceal a curse beneath another barrier entirely. What do you think, Lord Faraz?”
“Lady Samira was a princess from a royal lineage. I’ve also heard that she was a prodigious conjurer.”
A barrier powerful enough to keep even Claudia from detecting the curse. Such magic would rival even that of Prince Stuart, the heir of another kingdom whom Claudia had once encountered.
Claudia tilted her head in contemplation.
“But for what reason would Lady Samira go to such lengths to hide a curse?”
“Hold on, you two. When you say that thing is a cursed artifact, do you mean the Golden Falcon?” Faraz asked, running a hand over his stubbled jaw. A dark expression crossed his face. “Then this necklace is the Golden Falcon? If that’s the case, then why would Lady Samira hide it?”
My theory is not one I can voice lightly.
Claudia kept her thoughts to herself for the moment. Instead, she asked a different question.
“Lord Faraz, how often does Ashbal visit the harem?”
“The harem?” Faraz looked puzzled. “I’m afraid His Majesty has never shown much interest in it.”
Claudia’s gaze sharpened. “Do you mean to say he isn’t frequently visiting his betrothed?”
“Only once that I know of. He’s not unlike his father, who rarely visited his own consort. The ministers gossip about it constantly.”
That was a stark contrast to what people thought within the harem.
Claudia remembered Naila’s words.
“For the past year, he’s only visited me on nights of the full moon. I thought, perhaps, he might come again tonight.”
Naila’s words had been spoken with certainty. Every woman in the harem spoke as if Ashbal and Naila were deeply devoted to one another. If he had truly visited her only a single time, then surely, his affection would have been called into question. Naila would have had no allies in the harem.
But outside the harem, no one knows this. For when Ashbal visits Naila the harem’s main gate remains shut.
Faraz seemed unaware of why Claudia was asking such questions. Claudia turned to Noah and gave him a command.
“Noah. I need you to analyze the harem’s barrier. Ensure that my findings are correct.”
“It is not my place to question your findings, Your Highness, but I will do as you command.” Noah hesitated for only a moment before inclining his head. “One last thing, regarding the matter of the lunar eclipse...”
“Yes. It is becoming clear that the curse has something to do with the interaction between the sun and the moon.”
Faraz’s confusion deepened. The subject had yet to be brought up with him, after all. Because both Claudia and Noah had witnessed it firsthand, there had been no reason to discuss it yet.
“Lord Faraz, the night Noah fought the firedrake was the night of the full moon.”
She remembered the way the moonlight had shone upon Noah’s obsidian eyes as she watched him out the window. Yet, she had been unable to see his eyes moments before that.
That was because the full moon had been hidden behind the clouds.
“The curse of gold had surged forth while the moon was hidden behind the clouds. Then the moon showed itself, shining its light on the firedrake.”
“The transformation occurred after I defeated the firedrake,” Noah clarified. “The moon vanished behind the clouds, leaving the curse to spread.”
And once again, the cursed light had spread through the desert.
“Under the full moon’s light, the curse did not spread,” Claudia explained. “But the moment the moon disappeared from sight, the firedrake turned to solid gold.”
“I see,” Faraz muttered, his voice unusually somber.
And there was one final truth they had yet to reveal.
“Time is running short,” Claudia said quietly. “The reach of the curse is expanding with each passing day.”
Faraz stiffened. “Wait, it’s expanding?”
Claudia nodded. “That’s our greatest fear. If left unchecked, the curse will consume every living thing in the world. This is no longer merely a matter of this kingdom—it is a threat to the survival of all life.”
For the first time, Faraz looked truly shaken. Claudia sympathized, but there was no time to soften the blow.
“Thanks to this discussion, I can say with confidence that the possibility I feared most is all but certain,” Claudia said. “Unfortunately, we now have no choice but to act.”
“Your Highness,” Noah said.
Claudia rested her chin against her palm and lowered her eyes in sorrow.
“We must capture Ashbal.”