It wasn’t simply a matter of seeing strange things; everything from the fact that he saw hallucinations related to specific individuals to the fact that these events had never occurred in reality was identical to Louis’s situation.

Even the feeling of having experienced hallucinations he had never actually encountered before, as well as the inability to distinguish between hallucination and reality, was the same.

“Cases like this are very rare. Hallucinations usually distort reality, but a hallucination that has no touchpoint with reality and yet is not contradictory is not something that can be considered a mental disorder.”

Of course, there were minor differences between Louis’s situation and the records.

For example, Louis had suffered greatly the first time he saw a hallucination.

However, no such example was written in the records.

‘I don’t know whether it didn’t happen, or whether it was simply left unrecorded.’

It was more likely due to the scarcity of cases in the first place.

In any case, such minor differences were insufficient to deny the relevance between this record and himself.

Louis felt intuitively that his story was correct as soon as he saw this record.

“Research is still ongoing on how the artifact influences reality and those around it. Initially, it’s not even clear why or how the artifact grants wishes.”

There were a few things that were clear from the records.

Those who used the artifact all harbored some form of regret.

And after fulfilling their wish, within one to two years, their whereabouts would become increasingly obscure.

Zantife commented, saying that it’s ‘a questionable artifact.’

However, another person’s words flashed through Louis’s mind when he heard that explanation.

It’s quite a malicious curse; in cases I know, people have committed suicide.

It’s a curse that makes people go mad enough to die… Thankfully, the Count is not affected.

It was the words of Walter, whom he had met at the banquet of the Count of Xavier.

Now that he knew about the artifact, it felt more apparent.

‘Ertman Duke must have guessed the state I was in.’

It was not something someone who didn’t know about the artifact could say.

‘So, is his word the truth?’

Is Odette really the root cause of all this?

Then what is Walter Ertman’s relation to have told me this?

In the midst of all this confusion.

The mystery was again solved unexpectedly.

Unable to withstand the yearning for Odette, he had attended the royal banquet just to catch a glimpse of her from afar.

Odette and Walter had kissed in front of everyone.

The murmuring crowd and the buzzing atmosphere.

Everything strongly nudged Louis’s intuition.

‘…Something is wrong.’

Is it because of too much exposure to the ‘nightmare’?

He felt overwhelmed by a sense of loss, as if he had lost something that should have been there.

Perhaps he couldn’t come to his senses because Odette, who used to be his wife, was in Walter’s arms.

Pushed by anxiety, Louis inadvertently lunged forward.

That moment.

“…!”

Had he not locked eyes with Walter, who was about to carry Odette away.

His icy gaze seemed to warn me.

‘You are not worthy.’

By the time he regained his senses, Walter had already left with Odette.

At that moment, Louis realized one thing.

The fact that Walter had told him about the curse was not out of goodwill.

And.

‘Duke Ertman is hiding something.’

Maybe he is the very person who pushed me into this abyss.

Was it Walter or Odette who used the artifact?

Is this tormenting ‘nightmare’ truly nothing more than a hallucination?
And how would this ‘nightmare’ come to an end?

‘The certain thing is… neither Duke Ertman nor Odette are free from this phenomenon.’

One of the two was certainly the culprit.

And Valter might know much more than I initially thought.

However, things about Odette were still unclear.

‘The one most likely to have used the relic under current circumstances is Odette.’

If the ‘nightmare’ he was experiencing wasn’t an illusion.

If the Odette who regretted marrying him actually existed, then she had sufficient reason to use the relic.

‘I can understand if she involved Duke Ertman to avoid marrying me.’

In that case, Valter having a sense of Louis’s condition after hearing Odette’s explanation was also understandable.

Of course, there were still questions regarding this hypothesis, but it was the most plausible for now.

‘For one… the illusions I see primarily involve marriage to Odette.’

Valter wasn’t even in those illusions. Naturally, Odette was the first to come to mind as the main cause.

The way to confirm if this hypothesis was true was simple.

Test whether Odette knows about the ‘nightmare.’

However, there was a problem.

“…Has there still been no reply to the letter?”

Odette hadn’t been accepting any of Louis’s approaches.

He had written her several letters, yet Odette gave no reply.

But it wasn’t that there was absolutely no way to meet her.