Grita let out a miserable groan.

‘It already recognized me. It perceived me as its own…’

Where did it start hearing from? How much does it know? Has their entire plan been exposed?

If the being before her eyes was truly the “Shadow” or the “Dragon”, she wouldn’t have dared. The “sleep” it enjoyed while recovering its strength was on a different level from the slumber humans knew. It should have been detached from its surroundings, unable to be aware of anything.

…But. On the off chance. If from the beginning, it wasn’t “sleep” but a trap.

“Hic, sob…”

Creak, crack. Beneath their movements, sounds that shouldn’t be audible were heard. If her neck was broken, she should be dead. Yet the suffocating pain persisted. Several incomprehensible twists followed. What happened to the bones?

She would rather die. If that was impossible, at least go insane.

Gradually, strength drained from her flailing limbs. Her choked breath was agonizing. As breathing changed, her thoughts soon turned sluggish.

Before long, her consciousness sank into deep darkness.

* * *

“His Grace is recovering very smoothly.”

The healing mage who had been passionately examining Valentin, even flipping his eyelids, finally straightened up and spoke. Adelheit, who had been clasping her hands together and clutching her chest, finally exhaled the deep breath she had been holding.

“Thank goodness.”

“Of course, he was within the normal range even before, but now it’s like…”

The healer stroked his chin a few times, searching for the right words.

“He would not lose even if he were to cross swords with well-trained knights. From today onwards, there is no need to limit his movements to this extent.”

“Then I don’t have to stay by his side day and night like now?”

“Until now, I advised not to leave him alone even for a moment and to pay close attention, as his condition could worsen at any time… Yes, it seems you no longer need to do so.”

Adel let out another sigh of relief. From the moment the Grand Duke woke up, she had kept vigil at his bedside every night. At first, she took turns with Hermann, but as His Grace showed aversion to attendants, at some point she took on the task alone.

After all, she couldn’t leave someone who might “freeze” again alone at night.

She had been exhausted from spending several nights wide awake, worried his condition might deteriorate. Sometimes she would faint from sleep while sitting in a chair. Whenever she opened her eyes, she was always on the Grand Duke’s bed.

Each time, Adel climbed out of bed in a panic. It was a problem whether she had gotten on it herself, and it was also a problem if her husband had put her there.

She didn’t want to experience such an awkward situation ever again. Moreover, Valentin…

Adel cut off her lengthening thoughts at an appropriate point and carefully asked,

“Then. When will His Highness’s memories return?”

“His memories?”

At that moment, Valentin, who had been sitting in a chair, jumped up and wrapped his arms around Adel’s waist from behind. At that intimate contact, Adel’s face flushed as red as a tomato.

He had been acting like this frequently these days, but to do it even in front of the healer!

She glanced at the healer and stammered an excuse.

“La-lately… he’s been doing things he ne-never would have done before. Surely he’ll regret it once his memories return…”

However, the healer didn’t even seem to mind. Without raising an eyebrow, he stroked his chin and replied,

“Who knows. No one can tell when His Highness’s memories will return.”

“But…”

“You’ve been watching him closely, so wouldn’t you know better than I do, Your Grace the Grand Duchess?”

Adel was about to answer, but bit her lip instead.

Because Valentin, who had been resting his chin on top of her head, gradually moved and started gently biting her nape. As if protesting her looking at someone else. As if asking if she would really continue conversing with someone else and not look at him despite this.

As Adel’s face flushed so red it couldn’t get any redder, he released her with a stifled laugh.

“He doesn’t recognize even the butler who has served him his whole life, and his speech, manners… As you can see, it seems he’s completely forgotten.”

“Hmm.”

The healer pondered for a while before opening his mouth.

“In that case, how about starting with words?”

“Starting with words, you say?”

“Memory is closely linked to language, so wouldn’t his memories gradually return as he regains his speech?”

She carefully mulled over the healer’s words. It made sense. If there were no physical problems, it was likely a psychological issue. After all, war tended to leave invisible scars on people’s souls…

Adel suddenly realized the healer was wearing a robe and leaning on a staff. His attire was the same as when he first entered the castle, led by the guards.

“Ah, come to think of it. You said you were leaving today, right? I’ve been so distracted today…”

“Yes. I’ve stayed in Vitzleben long enough, so I plan to return to Falkenheim via Bayern and Velo.”

Adel nodded. It was regrettable, but he had already stayed over a week when she initially asked him to examine for only two days.

The healer scratched the back of his head and added,

“I’d like to stay longer if I could, but I only have a year left in my pilgrimage period now.”

Healing mages from the Falkenheim Dawn Tower embarked on a “pilgrimage,” traveling to various regions of the continent, upon reaching a certain level. Afterwards, it was common for them to return to the tower and devote themselves to studies.

Unless they were personally employed by a lord who paid a huge sum annually, they could never leave Falkenheim again. So they couldn’t stay too long in one place.

“Then I can’t hold you back. You’ve been a tremendous help.”

“It was a good experience for me as well.”

Adel hesitated for a moment. She clenched her trembling fingertips tightly and opened her mouth.

“By the way, I promised to give you money, right? I was so distracted today that I… forgot and left it in my room.”

“Ah, well. Since I gained experience thanks to you, it’s alright even if you don’t give me any.”

“N-No, that won’t do!”

Adel cried out urgently, then added like an excuse upon seeing the healer’s widened eyes.

“You, you can’t break a promise. Look, it’s not far from here. It’s also on the way out of the castle… It’ll only take a moment.”

“If you insist that much. Let’s do that then.”

The healer readily agreed without much suspicion. Valentin narrowed his golden eyes slightly as if a little displeased, but he didn’t stop Adel. It was different from before, when he would even resort to self-harm if she wasn’t in front of him.

Were his memories gradually returning? If so, that would be fortunate. Despite his recovery being overly smooth, Adel sometimes felt an inexplicable anxiety whenever she faced Valentin.

She tried to avoid Valentin’s gaze that persistently followed her.

“Then, Your Highness. Please rest. I’ll be right back.”

* * *

“This way.”

The Grand Duchess hurried across the dim corridor. At first she at least pretended to be calm, but gradually sped up until it was almost a run in the end. The healer followed behind Adel in a fluster, not knowing what was going on.

“Your Grace?”

“There’s someone you must see before you leave. It’s urgent.”

The Grand Duchess whispered in a hushed voice without even glancing to the side. Her lips were bloodless. He scratched the back of his head.

“…I don’t know what’s happening, but as long as you pay the right price, I’m at your service.”

They crossed the banquet hall and kitchen, descending to the ground floor where the servants stayed.

The maids walking along the corridor bowed their heads familiarly upon seeing the Grand Duchess. Everyone seemed to take it for granted that the lady of the household would come all the way down to the ground floor.

‘Well. There were many rumors about the marriage in the North.’

Eventually the Grand Duchess stopped in front of an old door. Before opening it, she glanced around. After confirming no one was passing by, she carefully unlocked the latch.

The door opened with a creaking noise.

It was a dim room with not a single ray of light entering. The healer was startled. A strange sound was coming from inside. It sounded like air leaking out, and also like fingernails scraping against iron.

Just as he was about to hesitate at that spookiness, the Grand Duchess looked back at him from beyond the door.

“Come in.”

The healer barely pulled himself together and crossed the threshold. There was a bed on one side of the room, and on it, a figure was shivering under a blanket. As the Grand Duchess pulled open the curtain covering the window, light poured brightly into the room.

While he blinked his dazzled eyes slowly, the Grand Duchess picked up a shawl that had fallen to the floor and dusted it off. Wrapping it around the shoulders of the trembling old woman with concern, she asked,

“Grita. How are you feeling?”

“Heu… Hic…”

“Oh my… Your neck is more swollen than this morning. Hurry.”

At the Grand Duchess’s anxious urging, the healer finally seemed to come to his senses and approached the bed.

“Let’s have a look.”

The maid retreated to the corner of the bed with watchful eyes, being wary even of the healer. Bloodshot eyes, scabbed lips, disheveled hair, and groans in all colors. And the neck…

The moment he checked the neck, he unknowingly let out a moan.

“Dear God.”

The entire neck had turned not just blue, but purple. As if something had pressed down on it hard. The mark wasn’t all that unfamiliar to the healer. It was a trace usually seen on corpses who had hanged themselves.

“What in the world… What happened?”

“I don’t know either. When I came to check in the morning, she was like this. Please examine thoroughly what happened. As for money, I’ll give you everything I can use…”

The healer took out his medical tools from his bag, pressed down on Grita’s tongue, and examined the inside of her neck. Soon, he shook his head repeatedly and straightened his bent back.

“This is a problem I can’t solve.”

“Can’t solve it, you say? I-If even a healer finds it difficult, then what kind of…”

“It’s not physical damage, but a curse.”

“A curse?”

“It stole her voice.”

Adel blinked with a dumbfounded face. The implication of those words was singular. It meant a demon powerful enough to steal voices was boldly rampaging through Ansgar Castle.

But it made no sense at all. Ansgar’s main castle was protected by an exceptionally powerful barrier of Morig.

Even those expensive glass windows in the audience chamber…

‘Dear God.’

Come to think of it, recently all the glass windows in the audience chamber had been shattered. She had completely forgotten about it, her mind preoccupied with the Grand Duke’s revival. Adel barely suppressed her shock.

‘So it really is related to a demon.’

At that moment, Grita’s desperate face from a few days ago came to mind. How she had uncharacteristically begged in agitation. So, that was definitely it.

‘The Dragon of Vitzleben.’

A streak of fear flashed in Adel’s light green eyes. Could it really be true?

“I’ve never seen a curse this powerful, but demon attacks aren’t uncommon in the North. Every season, there are two or three victims.”

“…”

“They all get scratched by cursed claws and bleed or have seizures. Well, one or two people show up every year without fail. Usually… With this extent, it wouldn’t be strange even if she had died.”

Adel quickly raised her head.

“How do you know so much about the situation in the North?”

“Ah. Linzingen is my hometown. My family has been farming there for generations.”

“Linzingen… It’s not far from Ansgar territory.”

If it was a family that had lived in Vitzleben for generations, they would know about “that” too. At least more than herself… Adel hesitated a little before speaking.

Perhaps she would be labeled a madwoman just for mentioning this legend. Even in the North, where demons attacked all the time, no one seriously believed in “that”. A god worshipped by soulless demons.

However.

“Then, have you ever heard of the ‘Shadow’?”

“…The Shadow?”

“I was wondering if this incident might have some connection to that demon…”

As her words grew longer, the healer’s expression turned peculiar. Adel prematurely felt stung and hurriedly waved her hand.

“F-Forget it. With so many suspicious things happening in a row, I was worried about baseless rumors…”

“Don’t tell me, Your Grace. Are you referring to the Dragon of Vitzleben?”

The moment the healer uttered that word, there was a reaction from the side. Grita, who had been huddled on the bed, covered her ears with her hands, trembling. The sound of leaking air grew loud enough to be grating.

Adel was startled and hurriedly stroked Grita’s back. Watching the sight, the healer slowly opened his mouth.

“…Actually, I haven’t experienced it myself, but.”