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**EPIDOSE 23 **
“I’ll follow him, so you all stay here.”
Edel slowly got up from her seat and followed Cassian. He had gone into his office, and the door was shut tight.
“Dwellsen Duke, are you all right?”
She knocked on the door, but there was no reply.
“Do not… come in.”
The answer came only after a long time. It was similar to before—not a loud scream like the last time, but still filled with fear.
Edel wanted to kick down the door and see what was going on, but she knew it would not be wise.
So she leaned against the door calmly and waited for Cassian to settle down.
With some time to think, Edel tried to figure out why Cassian was in pain.
Could it be a side effect of her return to the past, spreading like a butterfly effect?
But that didn’t make sense. Everyone else was fine.
“Dwellsen Duke, you cannot keep the meeting participants waiting too long, can you?”
Since it was taking too long, Edel spoke again.
Click.
Finally, the door opened and Cassian appeared.
“……”
His face was shockingly pale, almost like a corpse, even for Edel. He was sweating with a fever.
“Are you sick again?”
“Yes. I thought I had fully recovered, but I must have pushed myself and the illness came back.”
“What did the doctor say? What disease is it?”
“It must be rare. They couldn’t even name it.”
“……”
Edel closed her eyes in thought, then grabbed Cassian’s wrist.
His body was so weak and hot that he didn’t even have the strength to push her away.
She knew checking his pulse was a cheap trick after last time, but there was no other way. If she didn’t, she would never uncover the truth.
As she stood there, one thought crossed her mind.
Cassian, who was always healthy, having a rare disease? Edel didn’t believe that for a second.
Magic. Someone might have cursed him. Since unbelievable things had already happened to her, it was natural to suspect a mystical force.
Of course, she knew it might be just fantasy. Magic was nearly gone from the world.
Besides, the Empire hated magic. Only in Warvel did some people still practice it, and everyone knew how the Empire looked at them.
Long ago, even the Imperial Family used magic. Their powers were based on it.
But now those powers were forgotten by most people.
Even so, Edel sometimes wondered if her own return was connected to magic. After all, how else could a miracle like that happen?
“Dwellsen Duke.”
So, it might be worth testing him once. Since Cassian was connected to Warvel, maybe he was tied to magic too.
Edel looked him straight in the eye and asked,
“Could it be magic? Since the illness has no name, shouldn’t we at least consider that possibility?”
“……”
His face didn’t react. Maybe he was too shocked, or too tired to move.
But his pulse was honest. The moment he heard her question, his heartbeat raced wildly.
She couldn’t believe it—but clearly, something was there.
“If that’s true, then tell me. We must catch whoever cursed you, mustn’t we?”
“…You are certain of this, aren’t you?”
“If it’s not, then why don’t you deny it?”
Cassian never denied it. Instead, he chose silence.
Edel was startled and asked,
“Who is it? Who cursed you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do know.”
“……”
Cassian gave Edel, who knew him too well, a resentful look.
Edel let out a short laugh of disbelief, then calmly pressed her hand against his chest, over his heart. Both his pulse and his heart were racing.
His breathing grew harsher. His lips opened and closed but no words came out.
And then—
“Even if I knew, neither I nor Your Highness could do anything about that person.”
Cassian’s voice was so cold that even Edel was shocked.
As she stared at him wide-eyed, he pushed her hand away. His pale face looked like he could snarl at any moment.
“I will continue the meeting.”
Leaving only that, Cassian walked off.
When Edel touched his shoulder to stop him, he turned with such a cold, empty gaze that she almost couldn’t bear to look.
Left alone, Edel stood in a daze. She couldn’t think straight from the shock.
And then—
“Ha ha ha!”
She burst into laughter.
That crazy bastard! No one in the world could be worse than him!
Fury surged to the top of her head as she slammed the desk. Papers scattered everywhere.
She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, which even dripped down her chin.
“You, you dare reject me?”
No matter what anyone said, Cassian had no right.
Edel slammed the desk again and again. If she didn’t vent her anger, she felt like she would suffocate.
—
“Damn it.”
Cassian cursed loudly as he punched the wall in the hallway.
Hearing the sound, Jim rushed over, but Cassian stayed there frozen.
Cassian rarely lost control like this, but Jim could already guess why. So he waited patiently until Cassian calmed down.
When he finally pulled away, Cassian’s face was burning red.
\[Are you all right, my lord?]
\[No, not at all. I don’t even know what I’ve done.]
Cassian’s face twisted with guilt.
He had promised himself. He had vowed to never let that nightmare become real, to protect Edel until the end.
Yet somehow, reality was following the dream.
He had never understood why he acted that way in his nightmare. But now, for the first time, he realized.
He thought it was gone. He thought it was buried. But the truth was, he still held anger toward Edel.
\[Please don’t torture yourself too much. That was all Princess Edel’s fault—]
\[It was not Princess Edel’s fault!]
Jim’s eyes widened at his rare outburst.
Cassian clenched his teeth in agony. His red eyes revealed nothing but pain.
No, it wasn’t Edel’s fault. It wasn’t. It was simply…
\[My fault. It was my fault.]
Jim knew his words would provoke him further, but he couldn’t stay silent.
\[But we cannot deny that Princess Edel was the cause.]
\[…]
\[If not for her, you would not have been forced to make that decision, my lord.]
There was sharpness in Jim’s tone—not just toward Edel, but toward Cassian too.
Cassian had no reply. His mind was foggy as dizziness took over.
Jim waited until his master regained strength, then quietly guided him back to the meeting.
Cassian adjusted his clothes, trying to compose himself.
\[Jim.]
\[Yes, my lord?]
Cassian suddenly stopped. Jim calmly faced him.
\[If someday, my parents—the rulers of Warvel—are harmed… even then, do you think I should forgive Princess Edel?]
If, like in the dream, two years later his parents were killed by Edel.
\[That is for you to decide. If you can forgive her, then forgive. If not, then don’t. But since you asked my opinion—if it were me, I would never forgive her.]
\[…I see.]
Cassian felt oddly relieved at Jim’s steady answer.
\[In fact, I already despise her for keeping silent, despite knowing the Warvel tongue.]
\[…]
Cassian could say nothing, watching Jim beat his own chest in frustration.
—
The meeting was completed without further problems once Edel and Cassian rejoined.
But the atmosphere between them was still icy. Their retainers noticed and quickly left after the meeting.
Cassian soon returned to his office, while Edel went to her own room.
Kia rushed over when she saw Edel’s dark face.
“Are you all right?”
“No, I am not.”
As Edel spoke, she searched her clothes. Soon she revealed something shocking.
“This, this is…!”
“I found it in the room where Dwellsen Duke ran off.”
It was a gray hair.
Kia went pale. It wasn’t that she thought Rowen had come here—but another possibility she had feared.
“What could this mean? It looks like Rowen’s, but he’s not here right now.”
“M-Maybe it belongs to another servant in the castle?”
“Maybe. But why was it stuck on the Duke’s shoulder, then?”
“……”
“His hair isn’t gray. If it was stuck on his shoulder, it must have been from someone very close to him—or his own.”
Edel leaned back on the sofa with her arms crossed, tapping her arm as she thought.
“Could it really be his?”
“……”
Kia gave no answer, only muttering blankly.
“Anyway, Kia.”
Edel stood up and asked. Kia was trembling pitifully.
Normally Edel would comfort her, but not now. Clearly, Kia knew something.
“They say Dwellsen Duke’s illness is caused by magic.”
“What?”
“Someone cursed him. But he says neither he nor I can do anything about it.”
“……”
“I don’t know much about magic. Do you know anything you can tell me?”
At Edel’s question, Kia flinched nervously and fiddled with her hands.
“Your Highness.”
She finally spoke. Edel softened her expression, making it easier for Kia to confess.
“I don’t like magic.”
“Neither do I.”
“But…”
Kia bit her lip before continuing.
“Kia.”
At Edel’s gentle call, Kia couldn’t hold back anymore.
“I’ve heard that in the old Warvel lands, magic still exists.”
“And?”
“I’m sorry to say this, but… I think maybe Your Highness’s return to the past is also related to magic.”
“…Is that so.”
As expected.
She didn’t know how, but it was clear her return was tied to magic.
“I also heard that unstable magic can sometimes be broken if it collides with other magic. Or that it can fade with time.”
“I see.”
“So maybe the Duke got sick earlier because the curse on him clashed with other magic here. Somehow, it worked badly.”
That made sense. It might be unlikely, but like Edel’s case, strange things could always happen.
“Well done, Kia.”
“No… not really.”
Even after the praise, Kia fidgeted with her hands, still uneasy.
Seeing Edel’s face grow serious, Kia quickly changed the subject.
“Oh?”
“What is it?”
Edel gave her a puzzled look.
Kia pointed carefully at her ear.
“Your earrings, Your Highness. The color has faded.”
“Really? Earrings can fade?”
Edel reached to remove them for a closer look.
“Ugh!”
But at that moment, a wave of nausea and dizziness hit her. Her vision spun, dark shadows crawled before her eyes, and her stomach churned as if everything would come back up.
“Your Highness!”
In an instant, Edel fainted as Kia screamed.
—
