Everything that is happening is a continuous series of surprises, making my spirit feel as if I am falling into a thousand-foot abyss.
“… Giovinetta?”
Why is she here? The unacceptable situation made my head spin. Now I can't even open my eyes properly because of dizziness.
“I also happened to pass by and saw it.”
“…What are you going to say?”
I slowly shook my head. In response, Giovinetta smirked with an expression full of malice.
“I saw that maid risking her life to save Irenea, when she was about to throw herself into the lake.”
Faced with the unreasonable slander that continues to fall, I can only tremble all over. Severe dizziness hit me, causing me to stagger and lose my balance.
“What, what is this nonsense?”
Giovinetta had suddenly appeared and was attacking me.
“Irenea, are you going to say I lied?”
At this moment, Countess Elviva who was monitoring the situation recognized her:
"Ah, so it's Lady Giovinetta! You just met Her Majesty the Queen this morning, and now you're here?"
The surrounding area began to stir again.
"Is it a girl who knows Her Majesty the Queen? It's impossible for someone like that to lie!"
“Lady Giovinetta is the Queen's conversation partner.”
When mentioning the Queen, everyone nodded. Giovinetta was a guest recognized by the Queen. Her words became more weighty. Realizing that, Giovinetta arrogantly raised her head higher, shrugged her shoulders and replied:
"Yes, Countess Elviva. After chatting with Her Majesty in the morning, I was planning to go to the Green Jade Palace to meet my sister, Irenea..."
Giovinetta lowered her head, her body trembling. The whole crowd let out groans of sympathy at her weak appearance.
“Irenea, you… why did you do that stupid thing!”
“Giovinetta? What the hell are you talking about…”
Giovinetta looked up. Two tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Yesterday, I also went to Luc Ngoc Cung to visit my sister. But Irenea seemed upset, which made me very sad. She even sent me away without seeing her, so today I was even more worried and came to find her again."
Giovinetta sobbed, saying she did it because she was worried about her sister. Everyone looked at her and sighed sympathetically. Her pitiful voice and tears covered up the truth with this lie.
Giovinetta raised her head and used a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.
"Irenea, you've always been like that. The fact that you fell and injured your leg was because of your carelessness, but you always blame me and look at the world with distorted eyes, right? What about this marriage..."
I trembled violently. I can't let Giovinetta and Mercedes tell any more lies. But I can't find any way to escape this elaborate trap.
“Your Highness…”
Delfina nervously hugged my arm tightly. She looked at me and shook her head.
I clenched my teeth. It was frustrating, but there were no witnesses who saw Elda push me into the lake. No, even if there was, the situation right now is too unfavorable for me. The words of the three of them are being accepted with more weight than mine.
Most importantly, what I have to escape right now is the reputation of suicide. I must stay away from that label at all costs.
“… I was negligent.”
"What?"
Giovinetta smiled brightly and asked again. I want to spit on that radiant smile. But I have to endure.
"I just wanted to go for a walk alone. I saw a frog by the lake so I approached it, then accidentally fell down."
Finally, I was forced to admit that I had accidentally fallen into the lake. That I couldn't see my surroundings clearly because my feet slipped on the slippery ground.
I have no choice but to admit. Although frustrated, this is the only option to break the current situation.
“Giovinetta and Mercedes colluded.”
No matter how you think about it, that's the situation. I couldn't hide my restlessness and had to bite my nails.
Even though at that time I couldn't do anything else, thinking back I still feel so angry.
“How… how could they do that?”
What made me shudder the most were Mercedes and Giovinetta's casual lies. Both of them didn't blink an eye as they cornered me.
"They intend to kill me. That's for sure."
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Delfina reports that King Richard has come to visit. Cesar also comes along.
“Can I come in for a moment?”
Even though many shocking things happened one after another, it was true that Richard had helped me earlier. Thinking back, I didn't even get to greet him properly.
I took a step forward and bowed.
"May the radiance of the Iron Cross shine on you. Welcome to the Green Jade Palace, Your Majesty."
"May the radiance of the Iron Cross shine. Just call me Richard."
Richard greeted me gently.
"Yes, Sir Richard. It's rude about the afternoon. I've received a lot of help from you, but I haven't been able to thank you yet."
“As long as you're safe, that's enough.”
He quickly turned his gaze to Cesar. Am I wrong? When Cesar smiled, Richard's eyes became softer than before. Furthermore, Cesar seemed very close to him, treating him very closely.
Came to find me, but Richard kept silent and just stared at me.
His purple eyes looked at me with an obsessively searching look, making people feel restless.
After a long silence, I had to speak up:
“Do you have something to say?”
Richard nodded and said:
“Do you know that the Prince's curse has stabilized?”
“Curse… what?”
I opened my eyes wide at the word curse. He nodded with a serious expression.
“This is the first time I have seen the Prince's curse stabilize like this, since it first appeared.”
“You said Cesar is in a stable condition?”
Even if he was a magician, how could he know that just by looking? Furthermore, I don't even know what the stable state of the curse is.
"What is the curse? And how can you know?"
I asked a little excitedly. But Richard just shook his head and looked at me intently.
When I bit my lip because I was nervous, he opened his mouth. It was an amazing thing.
“Have you been seeing hallucinations, hearing hallucinations, or having strange dreams lately?”
I was startled and frightened and asked back:
“Why, how do you know?”
“… As expected.”
Richard, who was still looking at me, who was dazed because what he said was still vague, slowly took off the black leather glove he was wearing and tucked it under his armpit. Long, white fingers were exposed.
“Give me your hand.”
I was a bit hesitant, but this is the person who helped me. I believed he wouldn't hurt me so I reached out my hand. He quietly took my hand and closed his eyes.
It didn't take long for him to speak again.
“… I see that you have magical aptitude.”
“Magic… what?”
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Everything up until now has been so sudden. And now it's magic.
“Flores… you are a descendant of the Great Sage Cosimo, so this is not strange.”
“But I don't know how to use magic.”
If I could use magic, I would have shown my potential very early. To use magic requires talent, and the ability to sense and control magic is called magical induction.
This ability usually emerges from childhood, and most families with mage blood have tested magical touch since childhood.
The number of magicians is very small, so any child with some talent will be managed. I also passed the magic touch test before entering the Flores family, so I know I have no talent for magic.
“About this magic… No, this is a very special case.”
“…Special magic?”
“What do you know about curses?”
I shook my head and tried to remember what I knew about the curse.
“I only know that several hundred years ago, the King suffered a curse as the price for destroying the Crazy Dragon.”
“You could say you don't know anything.”
At that moment, I was a bit resentful, but this was an opportunity to hear about the curse that I had always been curious about. Seeing that the story seemed to be going on for a long time, I suggested having some tea and cakes. A tea party table was quickly placed on the reception table.
Richard took a sip of the tea made by Delfina and put it down. His movements were extremely noble.
“Although further examination is needed, His Highness the Prince's physical condition appears to be very stable.”
“How do you know that?”
Richard claims to be Cesar's healer. Cesar's illness is not something that a normal doctor can intervene in, so someone special is needed.
“Besides magic, I also have other abilities, and one of them is curse research.”
“The curse…”
He began to reveal to me the entity of the Crazy Dragon curse.