“Then I’ll take it that you have accepted this engagement with Princess Ninian, Lian.”
Aynias closed the letter he had opened for Lianrius to read.
And after the conversation between the two, Aynias turned to the Duke of Elheim.
“How should I reply to this letter, Father?”
Apart from the engagement, it was up to the Duke whether or not to invite the Crown Prince to Elheim.
After the spirit stone began to shine, the people of Elheim had been silent and refrained from engaging any sort of activities.
The spirit stone had never shone before.
In order to keep it completely as a secret, , it was necessary that they do not attract any attention from outsiders as much as possible.
“Send a reply stating that you are inviting his highness, the Crown Prince to Elheim.”
Unexpectedly, the Duke of Elheim had replied,
“It wouldn’t hurt to have a conversation before deciding on a marriage. We are talking about the person that’s to be Lian’s spouse after all.”
The strict Duke of Elheim was also weak against his youngest son, Lianrius.
Furthermore, Elheim was a family that determined the next duke by their strength with the power of water.
They hadn’t mentioned this yet, but the elders and the duke had internally decided to make Lian the next duke.
“The date will be…”
The Duke of Elheim coldly hardened his face.
“The welcoming date of the Birce’s successor will be a good day.”
An event to greet the distinguished guest who brought the visitor’s note had to be held as it was mandatory.
The custom originated long before and was a form of gesture that meant that there would be no intention of harming the visitor.
It didn’t matter if they didn’t hold a welcoming event, but it would be distasteful to see Elheim become a topic for gossips
“We will be holding an event to welcome Michael Birce in the near future. Hold a banquet during the evening and invite the royal family, Ayn.”
Michael, who came to have his eyes treated, had been quiet.
More than half a month passed since he came, but no water awakener had been sent to clear his curse.
“What kind of event will you be holding during the day, father?”
At Aynias’ question, the Duke twisted his lips viciously.
“Let’s have a hunting contest.”
Birce’s blind successor was to join an event that he could not even properly participate in.
* * *
There were only two layers of the curse left to be removed.
“I really didn’t expect the curse to be lifted.”
Walter told Michael, who untied the strap of the velvet eye patch.
Michael’s blurry eyes were much clearer than before.
Actually, Michael was now able to distinguish the shapes.
And when exposed to light, it was possible to determine what color the object in front of him was.
“Did you think that it was a lie then?”
Walter held his breath.
Michael’s laughter was fascinating and beautiful, but he knew that he shouldn’t be fascinated. That was because it was just a harbinger of the wind hole through his head.
(Tl/n: Lol what he means here that even though Michael was smiling, Walter felt a foreboding of him being shot in the head.)
“No. Even Estella, the Saint, was thrilled to hear that with ‘her’ ability, she was able to solve the problem that she had given up on. ‘She’s’ probably a great person.”
“Yes, because she’s a great person.”
It was a sincere compliment from the inside.
Michael felt good when he heard it.
“If you can see, even with just this much, you won’t have a problem if an assassin were to appear in the hunting contest.”
With a sigh, Walter recalled the insane shriek the Duke of Elheim had made when he first visited with the notice.
‘Totally insane.’
It was known that the Duke of Elheim hated the Birces, but this time, he had crossed the line.
He said that he welcomes the blind Heir of Birce. What would it be if it were not an insult to hold a hunting contest to welcome a guest who was blind?
However, Michael seemed to be having a lot of fun.
He just said, “I will trample on Elheim someday in the future, so think of it as a past entertainment.”
“Any other news?”
“It looks like the Spirit Stone is about to wake up.”
The people of Birce were the kind to not dwell much on the power of Death.
On the other hand, Elheim was a family who maintained the power of water and were obsessed with the first owners and legends.
Whenever he saw Elheim’s direct line of worship surrounding the stone, Walter felt a sense of discomfort.
“This time, I tried to sneak into the first owner’s room. It was fascinating.”
In fact, the spirit stone he saw was overwhelming.
The strong, fluctuating light in the blue crystal was frightening.
“I don’t think it would be strange if something were to be born from it…”
“It has nothing to do with us.”
“It’s because of that attitude! Young Master.”
Whether Elheim was able to revive their power or grew stronger, Birce wasn’t interested in it.
Even the spirit stone was just a stone that wasn’t even worth destroying.
Then, the midnight bell rang.
“Get out.”
At Michael’s order, Walter went out through the window with a look as if he was being treated unfairly.
His face was distorted as if he were crying, but Michael decided to leave Walter alone.
The reason he was generous was because he felt good.
‘I’ll be able to see your face today.’
So far, there had been a total of five curses that had been removed.
Every time a curse was removed, Michael was able to see a bit more clearly.
At first, it was only possible to distinguish the light, then later, it became possible to distinguish shapes even if they were blurry.
Now the colours were visible.
Even a shattered world was like a painting spilled with water, some colours were still distinguishable.
After today, the colours may even be completely evident.
‘You said that you’d give me your name after you have solved all the curses. I wish it were today.’
In the meantime, Michael has become much closer to his ally.
The more they talked, the closer they became.
Now, the other person would come every night at midnight, even if it was not the time to remove the curse on the eye.
“Michael.”
He saw the door open.
A figure approached and looked up at Michael.
Then a clear voice asked him,
“Were you doing something fun?”
“Yes. I was waiting for you to come.”
The eyes which he always confronted looked closer to dark blue rather than sky blue, unlike most water awakens.
Michael looked ahead and thought.
But then he laughed softly.
“Your visit is the most enjoyable thing for me.”
“That’s a relief. “
The other person, who seemed insensitive at first, actually had a very gentle personality.
Michael had realized that even though her facial expression did not change much, every time he reached out carefully for a touch, Liarte always moved closer to Michael.
“Me too. I enjoy meeting you the most.”
Michael loved hearing her whispers.
He was satisfied with the fact that he could keep it to himself without showing it to anyone else.
“Then, I’ll break the curse.”
Liarte, who approached him, looked into Michael’s pupils.
Michael’s pupils, while under the curse, would not react.
But now, the pupils would shrink when exposed to normal light.
“Now, how much are you able to see?”
“I can see relatively well.”
Michael turned his eyes away from her face which was in sight.
At that moment, he could see how close their distance was to each other.
If he pulled her, he would be able to hug her, and if he were to exaggerate his actions for a bit, it wouldn’t be strange if they were to kiss.
“Are you sure you can see that much?”
A white hand fell into Michael’s sight and touched his face.
“Yes. I can see it as long as it has a shape.”
Michael’s red ears were not revealed because it was dark.
“Then wait for a moment, and do not close your eyes.”
Finally, the structure of the curse became more intricate.
‘If I hadn’t read the other forbidden books that Hwi-Amin collected, this curse might not be resolved.’
The energy of the water carefully cut off the joint of the curse.
“I think it will take a little longer today than usual.”
Liarte said, looking into the curse.
“I’d Like that, but for what reason?”
“The level of the curse is higher than I thought. Can I stay here until morning, Michael?”
“Of course. You can stay here as long as you like.”
A drowsy, full smile was spread across Michael’s face.
“Thanks.”
Liarte, who spoke, checked the curse again.
Now, Liarte was certain that she was remarkably stronger when compared to the other Awakeners.
She had reached such a conclusion by going to the library during the day and by observing the other awakeners of water from a distance.
Even the Duke of Elheim, nor those siblings of hers, did not have the power as strong as Liarte’s.
‘It’s more complicated than the previous layers of the curse.’
The last two layers of Michael’s curse were not as easy as before.
She wasn’t saying that she couldn’t resolve it. But it would take some more time and energy than she used previously.
‘How did they even manage to put a curse like this? It’s too strong to be the seven-layer veil that I know of.’
It seemed to have reminded her of something.
She wanted to search the forbidden book again and find the data on the seven-layer veil.
Unfortunately, the books on the curse were burned by Duke Elheim.
Since the ancient books themselves were rare, there was less chance of getting the same book again.
So she had to come up with it herself.
‘Curse. The Seven layers of veil.’
At that moment, a fact about the curse came to Liarte’s mind.
“I remember, Michael.”
“What is it?”
“The power of the curse depends on the offering.”
The offerings could range from inanimate objects to living things.
“It’s a curse made from human sacrifices.”
The abilities of the Awakened and the ancient powers had opposite properties.
In order to be able to influence Michael, Birce’s immediate lineage, many people’s lives would have been sacrificed.
Michael said, who heard all of Liarte’s explanations.
“If it’s a sacrifice, there is one thing to point out.”
Shortly before the curse appeared on his eyes, the small city of Siaroon in the north was completely destroyed.
The external reason was because of an epidemic.
The Royal family restricted access to Siaroon because the epidemic could further spread as it was found to do so easily and it was also deemed to be fatal.
“Now that you mention it, it does seem strange that an entire city was destroyed overnight. I’ll order my escort to investigate Siaroon.”
Michael didn’t even care about Walter’s cry.
“Yes, but you have to be careful.”
Her fine lips rose gently.
It was a thin smile that only Michael saw up close.
‘I can see her?’
Michael looked straight ahead.
The water’s energy was taking off the curse. The blurry vision began to dissipate and became clearer.
At last, the image of his ally was completely captured within Michael’s vision.