“If you tell such a scary story, what if…!”

“Sister, I’ll come visit every day. Don’t be bored, I’ll come every day to see you.”

While Ru scolded Hayden, Bella was already blinking her eyes, and with her new beak-like lips, she sobbed hard.

“I’ll draw you a lot of pictures, and, um, sing songs for you.”

“Really? I’m so happy.”

“I’ll give you a kiss.”

Sia, looking sulky, reached out to her sister with a murmured question.

“Can I hold your hand?”

“Yeah. Okay. You can hold my hand. It’s okay.”

Ru’s chubby hand quickly grabbed her sister’s hand. Ru was the only one trying to smile, and the others didn’t look good.

“How about your meals? Are you eating well?”

At Dad’s question, Ru smiled broadly and nodded.

“Of course.”

“I only eat liquid food.”

Ru immediately glared at Hayden. But he boldly spoke only the truth.

“I barely eat half a bowl.”

Mom’s sigh was loud enough to shake the ground.

“The organs are not damaged, so you’ll recover as the bones heal.”

“It’s fortunate. It seems the bones didn’t pierce the organs.”

Hayden nodded at Milene’s words.

“At the end, I barely managed to use my hand.”

It was a quite meaningful statement for Ru. Even if she was angry enough to have lightning strike the entire Shalea continent, she didn’t just stand by. It meant he didn’t leave her, the one he could never let go, even if he had to leave her with a broken leg.

At the same time, she felt Hayden’s severe obsession embedded in it. The restraint toward her, who couldn’t be separated, was clearly and very strongly marked.

Didn’t they say that you become alike when you are together? Ru secretly rejoiced in that obsession of Hayden. She was pleased to have the exclusive right to everything about Hayden, showing him the bottom and even the dark side that had to be hidden, only to her.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Sensing a subtle energy in her mother’s voice, Ru suddenly woke up. She turned her head not only to Hayden but also to the one who worried about her too much.

“Sorry for making you worry so much…….”

As if she had done something wrong, Milene sighed again. Any parent would feel upset seeing their brave daughter who used to walk around boldly end up badly injured.

“How did you get hurt like this, huh?”

What should she say to that?

“Because of Emperor Caletta.”
Hayden answered briefly. It wasn’t a lie. Part of it was true. He glanced at the maids.

Seeing Milene’s gaze indicating that she would spare her words in front of the children, Hayden wasn’t asked any further. After all, she had heard about Ru’s injury and knew it was because of the curse.

Most of the misfortunes that the Genesis family experienced were due to Emperor Caletta. It was getting tiresome.

Ru quickly grew tired. She would briefly wake up, thanks to Hayden she wouldn’t feel the pain, but soon she would tire and fall asleep. It was evident that her normal life was barely maintained by Hayden’s strength. For a patient with such injuries, survival was on the line.

“How long will it take for her to fully recover, Your Majesty?”

Milene whispered, looking at Ru who had eventually fallen asleep.

“That would depend on her will. I can’t give a definite answer.”

“Because of the curse?”

“Because of the curse.”

Milene sighed once again.

“Then we should temporarily stop the engagement, and the wedding should be postponed. Maybe it could be possible in the second half of next year. We can’t do anything for the time being.”

The eyes of the mother looking at her daughter were deeply pitiful.

“Well…”

Hayden felt an immense amount of power flowing out to Carlos through Ru. Ru was not absorbing that power at all, merely acting as an intermediary and passing it to Carlos.

Carlos would probably use that power to easily deal with the monster wave that had occurred again in the south, then turn his attention to Perseta.

“Even if she’s lying down, I don’t think she’ll stay still.”

He smiled with a loving look at Ru.

The mausoleum standing alone on the desolate wasteland that monsters had swept through was gradually regaining its former grandeur. Once the Mausoleum Lord came out of the room again and turned that place into a livable space.

The western land warmly welcomed the return of the philosopher to his duties.

“…Really…”

A sigh came out. Ophelia looked at the empty library, which had become empty even if she tried to swallow words that were useless to say.

Carlos Arthur Ingram had taken away all the magic in this land. Wise wizards and scholars were murdered, knowledge went up in flames, and the Mausoleum, which had been a warehouse of magic and knowledge, burned down.

There was nothing left in the mausoleum that had stored vast knowledge for thousands of years.

Thinking about filling the empty shelves again, she honestly couldn’t muster the courage. The huge scale of this place, which was once proud, now made people tired in an empty space.

‘I have to live for a long time.’

Ophelia tried not to think about it anymore and turned her body again. The disciples, who were left behind, were diligently recording and learning the knowledge that remained in their heads, and Ophelia was also researching what she had tried and failed many times over a long time.

That is, cursing herself. It was something she didn’t want to try again, as it was something that had failed so many times that she was sick of it, but Ophelia mechanically moved.

Wake up early, prepare meals, move the body, work. And go to bed early. Just moving the body was enough to dispel distracting thoughts and lessen helplessness and depression.

‘If I live for a long time and keep repeating, there will surely be an end.’

Would it be possible to be peaceful and free then? Well, a third of the curse that had clung to her body flew away.

“Greedy desires are endless.”

Now she had started doing it little by little, and thinking that it was daunting to continue, Ophelia moved her steps to go record again today.

“Master, everything is ready.”

Just as she was worried about being stuck, Garnet, one of her disciples, approached her and said. Ophelia suddenly stood upright. She looked down at the curse that coiled around her entire body like a giant snake.
An issue arose with the second ring, from which the young Southern Sage had barely managed to remove some beads with beads of sweat rolling down.

“Master?”

The emerald-colored curse was deeply concave. It was as if a portion had disappeared, much like when the young sage struck it. However, unlike that time, Ophelia did not struggle, and the curse did not torment her.

Without any hesitation or noisy sounds, the curse gradually melted away and disappeared. Another amount, about the size of an adult man’s fist, vanished.

She took a deep breath.

“Are you okay, Master?”

“…Yes.”

Ophelia smiled brightly.

“It seems our young Southern Sage has taken another step forward.”