Padre took a sip of tea and looked straight at her.

“What exactly happened?”

“Everything I know is written in the letter. I only wrote about the facts I witnessed, without adding or omitting anything.”

“My goodness. So you’re saying His Highness the Grand Duke really awoke from death? Not just recovered from a fatal wound?”

Adele barely managed to nod. Her innocent face was like a pale, frightened lily. Her sensitive eyes, strained from recalling the past, trembled and crumbled downwards. Adele barely continued speaking.

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, even I wouldn’t have believed it. The dead coming back to life. It’s too distasteful for a joke, and too bizarre for a rumor.”

“……”

“But, Father Padre. You must know as well. All of Denburg was in an uproar with the news of the Grand Duke’s death.”

“It was unprecedented and immense. Even His Highness the Crown Prince expressed condolences for his cousin’s death.”

“From the moment His Highness the Grand Duke was escorted to the north, I accompanied the coffin. Since there were no nails hammered into the coffin, anyone would have noticed if a living person was inside.”

“……Are you certain? Did you properly open the coffin and confirm the corpse?”

“The last time I double-checked, there were no signs of life.”

She raised her trembling hand to her forehead.

“The night His Highness the Grand Duke came back to life. The people who were in the audience chamber all act as if they’ve forgotten the memory of that day. They rejoice at His Highness’s survival, raise toasts, laugh, and chatter as if nothing happened.”

“……”

“The more they do that, the more frightened I become. I constantly doubt myself. Whether I’m truly in my right mind, or if such a thing really happened……”

“……”

“When His Highness grabbed my wrist, the chill is so vivid. It feels like I’m the only one who remembers that night now.”

“……”

“The most terrifying and dreadful thing is, sometimes when I see His Highness the Grand Duke, even I forget that fear. I rejoice as if it’s instinctual. Despite not having such a bond, despite it being the first time experiencing such fickle affection……”

“……”

“How dare I, without knowing my place.”

“Adelheit. Please calm yourself.”

The hands resting on her knees trembled. The emotions she had suppressed, unable to tell anyone, burst out haphazardly as soon as they found an outlet. Even Adele herself, as she spoke, did not know the fear that had grown little by little, feeding on suspicion, had become this immense.

The silence was long. Padre seemed to be in thought the whole time. He soon opened his mouth.

“The Battle of Northoven, where His Highness the Grand Duke fell, was truly the end to a long war. With each victory, the Emperor openly cherished the Grand Duke Ansgar, his nephew and the supreme commander of this war.”

“I heard such rumors circulating in the capital.”

“You must also know that the Emperor repeatedly said, as if jesting, that he would even give up the position of Crown Prince.”

The abruptly changed topic felt out of the blue. But Padre was not someone who acted carelessly. Adele nodded as if agreeing.

“That’s why there were many rumors surrounding His Highness the Grand Duke’s death.”

“Also because he met his death in the final battle. Thanks to that, there were rumors that he died at the hands of allies, not enemies, and rumors that he feigned death out of fear of offending a noble person.”

“I’ve heard them all.”

Although she used a euphemism by saying “noble person,” even to Adele, who was ignorant of political affairs, the target was clear.

‘The Crown Prince kept my husband in check.’

As soon as she thought of the Crown Prince, a light shudder ran through her body. The ambitious Count Lichenau often invited the Crown Prince to the count’s estate for Charlotte’s sake. And each time, Adele was summoned to serve tea.

Although it was Charlotte’s choice out of a desire to shred Adele’s pride, Adele felt her blood run dry in a completely different sense whenever she recalled those times. The greed swarming beneath the Crown Prince’s well-groomed face was rudely blatant.

The persistent gaze that sized her up from head to toe, clinging stubbornly even when averted.

As if looking at something fascinating, or as if looking at something so desirable he couldn’t stand it……

In a way, this felt even more vicious than Oscar. At least Oscar didn’t have a fiancée.

“So.”

Lost in thought, Adele snapped back to attention at Padre’s words. Padre’s face was now as solemn as Adele’s.

“Even when I heard the news of His Highness the Grand Duke’s revival, I thought he had survived a fatal wound, that it was to leave a good impression on the imperial people through a dramatic return. I thought about it so naively.”

“……”

“Adelheit. If everything you wrote in the letter is true, it’s no ordinary problem. Because in the hundreds of years of the Empire’s history, it has never happened before.”

Genuine concern was felt in Padre’s gentle eyes. Adele spoke in a lowered voice.

“I… I fear most of all that some evil power may be involved in this matter.”

“You’re talking about demons.”

“After all, the north is uniquely prone to such things frequently flowing in. Although it’s most likely that I’m being oversensitive.”

“I can only answer that after seeing His Highness the Grand Duke in person. Can you arrange a meeting within a few days?”

“Before that, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Who is it?”

“You must know, Father.”

Adele rose from her seat and opened a door in the corner of the parlor. Padre craned his neck to see who was coming in, then froze with his mouth agape.

“Grita?”

The robust physique of Grita that he remembered was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a shocking, haggard, and shabby appearance. Even in broad daylight, her face was tense and sensitive as if fearing something, looking like she would collapse at the slightest touch……

A sigh unconsciously escaped Padre’s mouth.

“How could this be.”

“Please take a look at this.”

Adele carefully pulled down the cloth Grita had wrapped around her neck. The bruise that had turned purple over time had faded, but the swollen vocal cords showed no signs of subsiding.

Padre looked at Grita’s neck with a subtly stiff gaze. He lightly pressed his index finger just below Grita’s chin.

“……How long has it been like this?”

“A little over a week. It seems like it was caused by a demon, perhaps due to the weakening of the castle’s spiritual power surrounding Ansgar Castle?”

Padre shook his head.

“With just this, it’s difficult to confirm it as the work of a demon… But certainly, an ominous power resides in it. At this rate, even if the swelling in the neck subsides, there’s a high possibility the voice won’t return.”

“Then what should we do?”

“If someone cast a curse, there must be a solution. Either find it or make the one who cast the curse undo it.”

If it was a curse rather than the work of a demon, the scope expanded to include sorcerers. Of course, curses cast by sorcerers were incomparably crude compared to demons.

They were closer to petty malice, like making words run backwards, flying a goat onto the roof, or causing mild seizures. I had never heard of a curse that takes away one’s voice like this.

‘In the first place, sorcerers themselves are rare these days. And I heard they go deep into the mountains to live.’

“For now, I will make a protective amulet to slow the curse’s progression.”

Adele barely escaped her thoughts at Padre’s words.

“Thank you. It will be a great help.”

“And if Her Highness allows it, I think it would be good for me to stay at the castle for about a week and observe His Highness the Grand Duke closely.”

“Padre, are you serious?”

“Of course. We cannot neglect an issue like this.”

Adele sighed with joy and relief at Padre’s answer.

A whole week. If it were a day or two, it could be somehow deceived, but a week was enough time for even the most meticulous demon to get caught on something.

“If you do that, Padre, it will be of great help.”

“Before that, Adele.”

“Yes. Please speak.”

“Has your husband abused you since awakening? Or do you sense murderous intent in his attitude towards you?”

“No, no, it’s not like that. In fact, he was never so brutally inclined to begin with.”

“So you’re saying you can have a proper conversation?”

“Although he’s inarticulate… Yes, he’s diligently learning.”

“Then it’s likely not the work of a demon. Demons do not possess great intellect. Because all demons are byproducts of the ‘Shadow’.”

“Byproducts of the Shadow?”

“Yes. Even if they’re lucky enough to possess a human body, they don’t have the intelligence to learn anything.”

“That’s unbelievable.”

Adele covered her mouth, eyes wide open.

‘All those demons are byproducts of the ‘Shadow’?’

The Shadow, the Dragon of Vitzleben. I had naively thought it would be just a powerful demon, but it was such a grand being that it commanded thousands, tens of thousands of byproducts? As Adele blinked in bewilderment, Padre calmly explained.

“Myths originally tend to have numerous stories derived from a single archetype. Sometimes, rumors or legends hold unexpected truths.”

“Legends…”

“According to an old book I saw at the temple, it goes like this. The supreme god Morig had a shadow that looked just like him.”

“I’ve never heard of such a legend before.”

“If I hadn’t discovered it by chance, I wouldn’t have known of the existence of this legend until now. Anyway, the two were said to be like twins, difficult to distinguish when placed side by side.”

“Twins?”

“Yes. But unlike the god Morig, the ‘Shadow’ was darker than a winter night, more wicked than hellfire, with jealousy-burning green eyes and a snake’s tongue that loved to sow discord.”

“……”

“If His Highness is truly acquiring something, it’s one of two things. Either a true miracle occurred, or……”

The Shadow has taken hold.

At that moment, a thin winter wind brushed past their backs. Even though not only the windows but even the door leading to the corridor was closed.