◯◯◯
According to Prince Edgar, Sir Elios had said that he was almost finished with removing Lady Mina’s curse, so we could go see him immediately. We decided to take him up on his offer.
“This is rather sudden,” Lord Felix murmured, bewildered.
It really was. I hadn’t expected it to be so easy to meet the great sage! Doing favors for the royal family always paid off.
Also, to think that Sir Elios had taken interest in the disease and offered the royal family his help! Every cloud really did have a silver lining. Well, it definitely would’ve been better if the disease hadn’t spread in the first place, though.
As we walked to the room where Sir Elios was working on Lady Mina’s curse, I tried to conjure an image of the great sage. From his title, I imagined an elderly man with white hair and a long beard.
Tee hee! It reminds me of the “mountain hermits” Hinako once told me about.
If I recalled correctly, the great sage lived alone in a tall structure called the Magic Tower. Perhaps he was a thin, pale, and shadowy man, then? But what if he was actually big and muscular to the point where you’d want to say, “Wouldn’t he excel at using physical strength rather than magic?” Prince Edgar had assured me that I would be surprised, so I couldn’t help but let my fantasies run wild.
Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of someone passing through a distant corridor. I gasped.
That was—
I couldn’t overlook this.
“Prince Edgar, Lord Felix, please go ahead without me,” I said. “And if Sir Elios tries to leave, please hold him back for me!”
“Huh? Miss Lucille?”
“Where are you going, Lucille?!”
Their surprised voices echoed behind me as I gave chase. Naturally, I was followed by the knight Prince Edgar had assigned to guard me.
I’m so lucky I can cut across this garden straight from the castle. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to try to run after her. Actually, I guess I wouldn’t have spotted her in the first place.
Had she come through the garden herself? That beautiful strawberry blonde hair blowing in the wind, that slender frame, and that bright aura, like a flower dancing in the breeze... I’d only spotted her for a brief moment, but it couldn’t be anyone else. Though we’d never met in real life, I’d seen her many times, all while bearing undeniable emotions toward her. She was a special person I would never forget.
That was Elvira Larache! Lord Felix’s fated heroine!
However, when I reached the corridor she had disappeared into, and I turned the corner, I found no one there. Where had she gone?
Though even if I met Elvira now, I wouldn’t be able to do anything...
My prophetic dreams only ever showed me events within a certain time frame, and not just that, but they only showed me them from my future self’s point of view. I had no way of knowing what I didn’t know in the dream.
In other words, I didn’t know where and how Elvira and Lord Felix were to meet.
In my dream, they were already in an intimate relationship. The only clue to their meeting that I have is the anger I felt toward Elvira.
Either way, she was supposed to appear about a year into my marriage, so it couldn’t be happening now. Still, for some reason, I’d felt compelled to chase after her.
But in the end, I lost sight of her...
Well, so be it. Besides, even if I had caught up with her, what would I have done? I knew that without my interference, Elvira would eventually meet Lord Felix and save him—not necessarily from his curse but from his wounded heart, which the curse had weakened and made timid. I had faith that that fate would remain the same even if I lifted Lord Felix’s curse myself.
“I’m very sorry for acting on my own,” I said to the knight. “We can go back now.”
Naturally, the knight looked confused. It really had been wrong of me to run off like that.
I went back the way I came, and the knight guided me to my original destination.
As we approached, I noticed the entire floor before me had been enchanted; a noble was being confined here under special circumstances, after all. I honed my senses and examined the spell.
Soundproofing, shock absorption, intruder detection, and so on... Hmm, nothing particularly complicated here.
Since Lord Felix and Prince Edgar were already inside the room, I hurried in that direction, but the moment I stepped into the area affected by the spell, I felt a powerful force spiral across my skin like an electric shock.
What was that? I frowned. The curse...has already been lifted, hasn’t it? I don’t think this is related to that, anyway.
The knight didn’t seem to feel anything. However, the second he opened the door to the room, an even stronger force blasted out as if from a storm.
“Huh?!”
Lady Mina was crouched in a corner of the room while Prince Edgar knelt at her side. They appeared to be preparing for battle.
Lord Felix had taken a position before them, guarding the two with a magical barrier.
I didn’t know Lord Felix could use protective magic! He looks like he’s struggling, though.
I turned my attention to the source of the force that Lord Felix was fending off and saw a boy cowering in the center of the large room, an enormous amount of mana swirling around him.
A mana outburst.
Umm, what did I just walk into? What happened here? And where did the Great Sage Elios go?!
“N-Ngh...agh...”
The sound of groaning brought me back to my senses.
Save the thinking for later! I need to help that boy! He looks like he’s in a lot of pain!
I rushed toward him.
“Lucille!” Lord Felix shouted.
Meeting his gaze, I gave him a reassuring nod.
I’ll be fine, Lord Felix. If anything, I’m more worried about you, with all that sweat and the way you’re grimacing. There’s so much mana overflowing from that boy that it’s repelling you.
This really won’t be a problem for me, so please hang in there just a bit longer!
I reached the boy, settled onto my knees beside him, and drew him into a soft hug.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “It’ll calm down soon.”
The boy flinched at my touch but didn’t shy away from my embrace. I gently patted him the way my beloved owners had pet me on nights I couldn’t fall asleep.
I’ll continue to live with these memories of being loved, making sure to pass on this happiness to others in my current life as a human being.
Before long, the overflowing mana began to abate. The boy slowly raised his trembling face and looked at me, anxiety reflected in his watery eyes.
Then, he murmured...
“Lilybell?”