If it weren’t for Walter’s warning, Louis would have long run to Odette.

And would have knelt down to say he was sorry, sorry for leaving her alone.

The only reason Louis hadn’t—or couldn’t—do that was simple.

He hadn’t yet seen the end of the ‘nightmare.’

‘At some point, the dream is cut off.’

Initially, he couldn’t be sure, but after repeating the same timeframe a few times, now he knew.

The ‘nightmare’ always began the same way.

“I want to marry you, Louis Clovis. More as a form of contract than love,”

Odette said, meeting him at the palace balcony.

From that moment, Louis’ ‘nightmare’ began, and they experienced brief happiness followed by imminent ruin.

“Louis, you should learn from your wife! While she’s so upright, what’s wrong with you?”

“Stepmother, I told you not to interfere in my life!”

“I say this because I pity your wife. How can you live so irresponsibly while having a princess as your wife?”

“Don’t be too hard on him, Duchess. I’ll speak to him about it.”

Whenever Louis and his stepmother quarreled, Odette always became a point of comparison.

Even if she tried to mediate, it only stoked the fire.

Louis was gradually growing tired of Odette. She was too much for him to handle from the beginning.

‘Why did I marry such a woman? Even if I had to marry quickly, I should have just chosen a moderately beautiful girl from a decent family. Why did I marry a princess…’

Such thoughts were bound to manifest in his behavior.
Odette grew increasingly frail, and their relationship gradually worsened.

In the meantime, Cedric, Odette’s brother, died and her only friend, a maid, moved far away to get married, worsening Odette’s condition rapidly.

Then one day, the moment arrived.

“Louis, I have a favor to ask.”

“…What is it?”

“You meet your friends often.”

“Are we talking about this again? I can’t come home early. You know that the conversation usually runs long.”

“…That’s not what I’m asking. Even if you stay out late, just don’t bring them home. My head hurts when there are too many people…”

Whether her head truly hurt or not, Louis knew Odette was uncomfortable with having many people in the house.

His well-bred wife, who was raised in nobility, found it shameful to show her ailing condition to others.

Louis felt sudden sympathy and agreed.

However, no word of thanks came in return.

That marked the end of the “nightmare.”

Thirsting for a story that didn’t continue, Louis suffered.

During the dream, whether she was part of the dream or not, Odette was really annoying and intolerable.

But when he woke up, he felt all those emotions were regrettable.

“What exactly happens after all this?”

To erase this inexplicable regret, Louis had to confirm the ending.

Moreover, if Walter was correct, this curse could drive him mad and lead him to death.

“I cannot meet Odette until the curse is resolved.”

With this thought, Louis traveled throughout the empire, gathering information about the curse.

And recently, he caught a lead in a very unexpected place.

The contact came from Zantifero, a magic professor at Belfort Academy, which Louis initially visited to inquire about the curse.

“I’ve been looking into areas other than curses, as it might not be a curse that you’re under. I caught a clue there. Fortunately, there was a symposium.”

“Areas other than curses?”

“Yes, it wasn’t from the School of Magic. It might really not be a curse.”

The clue came from the School of Divine Studies.

It wasn’t even a matter involving sacred magic rituals.

“…Is this book not about relics?”

“To be precise, it’s about the people who used relics. Take a look. Don’t you find anything similar to your situation?”

The relics that were said to exist only three across the continent and could fulfill wishes.

The legend that they could even bring back the dead was recorded in various ways.

One peculiarity was that most of them were not records of the user of the relic.

“Using the relic seems to affect those related to the user as well.”

And one of the most common symptoms was exactly:

‘Hallucination.’

Louis realized that it matched what he was experiencing.