“YOU think you can save Laetitia…?”
Laetitia’s older brother, Claude, nodded in response to the desperate Glenreed.
Claude had arrived without any warning, showing neither surprise nor grief at the state of his sister. He joined the king in the room as if nothing was out of the ordinary at all.
“Laetitia’s soul has escaped her body, where it now wanders lost outside of this world. If we can find her soul and bring it back, she should regain consciousness.”
There was no hint of hesitation in Claude’s words. Glenreed found that calm demeanor to be suspicious.
“How can you say that for sure? How do you know all this?”
“Because I’ve been researching this outcome for years now.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Here.” Claude placed a few books he’d been carrying on the desk. Many were scrolls made of parchment and wood, but every last book showed considerable age. “These are books detailing curses. I’ve gathered these texts from around the continent, and they all date back to before the Great Darkness.”
“…These are real?” Glenreed took one and opened it, noting the incredibly outdated words being used inside. They were old enough to require a specialist to understand.
“The existence of curses was thoroughly erased, both by the gods who took the forms of beasts and the people who underwent the Renewal. But it was the curious connoisseurs who collected books detailing curses, now that the topic had become taboo. Some still carry those books to this day.” Claude spoke about the Renewal as if it was common knowledge.
It was at that point that Glenreed could no longer go without questioning this mysterious figure.
“You study and collect taboo knowledge? Just who are you, really?”
“It was all for Letty.” Claude’s eyes, as green as evergreen trees, lowered to look at Laetitia in her bed. “Ever since she was a child, Laetitia would always use strange words or speak about things no one else understood. It made me curious, so I spent some time researching the things she said, and eventually, I discovered information about reincarnations and curses.”
These weren’t just topics one should stumble upon with a bit of research, but there was something about Claude that made it seem like he, of all people, would be able to find a way.
“I read and deciphered ancient books, followed the pieces of evidence that had been left behind, and began to research Emperor Ishnad, who I determined was able to cast curses in present times. That was when I finally uncovered how curses actually work. Letty’s soul was likely to have been unstable ever since she remembered her past life, and with even a little stimulation, she could easily fall into a coma at any moment. First, the curse that came through the Wing Chord disturbed her soul, and it was only intensified when she discussed her reincarnation with Emperor Ishnad, learning that the two were connected many lives ago. It pushed her to her limit, and that’s why she fell into this coma now.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Claude’s words made sense on a logical level. But that only made Glenreed all the more dubious. He couldn’t contain his anger any longer.
“If you knew all that, why didn’t you do anything?” he asked. “Instead of getting Laetitia away from Ishnad or warning her of the dangers, you kept your mouth shut and ran around in the shadows?”
“There was no point in going to all that effort.”
“No point?”
“The soul has a direct relationship with the body. The more her body grew, the more stimulation her soul received, which made it easier for her to recall her past life memories… Once she regained all of them clearly, her soul was knocked out of balance, which would make her fall into a coma within one to two years. It seems Emperor Ishnad’s curse prevented her ego from self-destructing in a way that created outward damage, but I knew there was no way to stop an unstable soul from leaving its body. That’s why I searched for a way to call the soul back…”
Claude removed his gloves and gently brushed Laetitia’s cheek with his knuckles. He stared at her silently, as if trying to memorize those features before they were lost for good.
“…You didn’t find one?” Glenreed asked.
“I did find a method of restoring Letty’s soul, but it’s dangerous, and it also requires Letty’s past life name, or at least a nickname close to her real one. Her unstable soul was pulled backwards toward her previous world by that name, and now, she’s probably lost between this world and that one.”
“Her past life name caused all of this…?”
“Names are very important in the art of curses. They’re a label to distinguish souls, even if they’re not one’s true nature. Someone here must call her past life name to strengthen her connection to this world. That should be enough to draw her soul back to us, but…”
A dark shadow fell over Claude’s eyes.
“It sounds like even Letty couldn’t remember her past life name. She left that memory in the previous world when she reincarnated into ours, and now the memory is pulling her back.”
“To bring her back, someone in this world has to call the name even Laetitia doesn’t remember…”
It was impossible. Utter nonsense.
Before he could shout that, Glenreed realized something. Claude had known those truths better than anyone for years now. But despite the pain he would have felt, he still came to the castle instead of giving in.
“I looked everywhere I possibly could, but it was all useless. I know almost everything there is to know in this world, yet I couldn’t find the one, single name that would save my dear Letty…!” Claude’s voice shook.
He said he knew everything, just not the one piece of information vital to save the life of his beloved sister. How guilty, how powerless must he be feeling in that moment?
Glenreed cast his eyes down to avoid the pain, while Claude bowed his head in what looked like repentance.
Inside that silent bedroom, Lucian bit his lip.
Though he was a man of many mysteries, Claude was an intelligent person who loved Laetitia very deeply. Lucian had held onto hope that he would be able to fix this. But now, reality was crashing down around him.
“…Lady Laetitia…”
He called the name of his mistress—the girl more precious to him than anyone.