Strings of darkness continued to enter and leave the empress' sick body. As I followed the flow of darkness with my eyes, I found where the main source was etched into: The heart.
If what we're dealing with is indeed a curse, then the darkness that's etched into her heart is interfering with her mana, and even damaging the rings around her heart.
Mana is the building block of the human body in this world. The more mana you exhaust, the weaker you will feel and the chances of a critical accident occurring in your body will increase. In turn, if your rings are damaged, then becoming disabled is highly attributed.
"Hmm...?'
I look at the sick empress once more. Trying to find a glimpse of a certain something... but it's not there.
If this was indeed a curse, there should be some traces of a magic insignia in her body. But I cannot find any traces of that on her.
Then does that mean that it is truly poison?
No, that is impossible... Even if there is no magical insignia, the dark mana surrounding her resembles the mana that the women had after she took the pill.
I don't know…
I closed my eyes shut, suddenly remembering the conversation that Leo and Veda had with father about the pill that the women took.
"Even after ingestion, the pill remained solidified within her after we dissected her... Yet, it's easily breakable and able to turn into dust like matter... but will regain its whole form if left untouched. We concluded that it's lethal for people without the dark affinity to consume... Furthermore, the side-effects after consumption strangely indicate a curse, rather than a physical enhancement..."
The only conclusion I can come up with is that the curse was secreted into a liquid state, inhabiting the empress's body upon consumption, displaying signs of poisoning, which might explain the absence of a magic circle.
Obviously, these two things require different approaches to cure. So the scheme is to progressively make the empress' condition worsen as people try to look for ways to treat the poison.
I looked towards Nilo, who was still in a state of disbelief about what I said.
My claim may be a reach, but I find it hard to believe that there is no connection between these two cases, especially because of this strange darkness.
I looked around the room. The maids and doctors are still trying to ascertain the situation before them while juggling multitudes of tasks in their hands. I stroked my chin, contemplating for a moment longer before looking at where the Mage and August were standing.
I quietly walked towards them. Once I could hear their voices, I stopped, standing there in silence to not interrupt their conversation. "... How is she, Lord Marcus?"
The Mage sentimentally shakes his head before looking down at the sick Empress. "... I cannot say for sure what is going to happen here on out... I have never encountered such a vile poison that not even I can figure out..."
"I see..." August takes a deep breath before looking up at the ceiling remorsefully, and then back at the Empress. "Is healing magic not an option?"
"I have tried with multitudes of priests. You know that healing magic is reserved for those with light affinity and strong holy power. For the moment, I requested for priests of the sixth ring or higher... If worse comes to be–"
"We will have to ask the High Priestess of the Holy Empire… The one with the Blessing of the Light."
I flinched at his words. The High Priestess...
But before I could contemplate their conversation, August turned his head around and found me standing behind them.
He immediately turned his body around and hurriedly walked towards me. "Sorry, Lys! I was just preoccupied with the mother's condition that I left you and Sir Nilo standing around…"
I shook my head before looking at him. "I should be more worried about you… it looks like everything is being stacked up against you..."
Upon hearing my words, August chuckled for a bit before bitterly smiling. "True... but I need to stay strong."
Maybe it was because of his bitter smile, but my heart began to ache for him. I slowly looked away from him before my gazing at the sick empress once again.
What can I do to help save the empress?
Curses are not simple things that can be dispelled...
You must figure out its magical structure, analyze it, and then sever the bond between the magic and the bearer. The stronger the curse, the more dangerous and complicated it becomes to dispel it.
But if I'm indeed correct, then maybe I can figure out the structure if I closely analyze the empress and let the Head Mage Marcus do the dispelling.
But… I must inform them of my thought process first to do that.
"... There is no need to contact the High Priestess." I stopped briefly, slowly placing my hand near my chest before speaking once more "I have a possible way of saving her."
Upon my words, both August and the Mage showed a surprised expression. I shifted my gaze from them towards the empress once more.
It's not a lie… yet merely a fraction of what I said is the truth.
The rest will depend on whether I can really find the magical insignia that I could not see before and find a way to dispel it without putting the empress in danger.
I look at them once again. "... Do you have a dosage of the poison given to the Empress...?"
The Mage coughed before talking, trying to regain his thought process. "We were able to find one of the maids with a dosage in her after a wide inspection..."
He reaches for his back pocket, "I took hold of it just in case the true perpetrator wanted to retrieve it." He looked at me hesitantly. "... But what do you need it for?"
He holds out the small bottle of poison in his hand. Colored black with a tint of purple. As I continued to look at it, it bears the same animosity surrounding the empress. Upon closer inspection, tiny pieces of black matter float within the bottle, just like sand in water...
I continued to stare at the bottle before speaking. "... As I expected, this vital liquid is filled with condensed particles." I shifted my gaze from the bottle to August and the Mage. "... This isn't poison, but a type a curse."
They looked surprised once more.
The mage's mouth quivered for a bit before responding. "... So, we were dealing with the symptoms in the wrong direction this whole time...?"
"... I'm afraid so..."
"Wait! How can you be sure?!" August looked at me with a hint of doubt.
I cannot blame him. The symptoms shown are indeed what you will typically see in poisoned patients. That is what is making this matter difficult to deal with.
How exactly can a curse function like this?
"... I have seen this before, back in the estate..." I closed my eyes before looking back at August, his expression showing confusion once more.
"... When I was two, mercenaries and assassins came to our estate to try and assassinate my mother. One of the assassins used the same particles in this liquid to physically enhance themself via curses."
"Wait, this is too much information to handle..." He placed one of his hands near the cabinet that he was standing by while rubbing his forehead in frustration. "You said this was a curse, yet the assassin was able to use that to enhance herself?"
Nilo walked towards us and stood behind me. "It is as the young master said. Though it was reported to the empress in the past, there was no indication of similar cases… until now."
He looks at me for a moment before looking back at August, who was still trying to process the information. "The pill mentioned can be crushed into a dust-like state and can only be used for people with dark affinity. Those who do not possess the affinity will inevitably experience effects such as the empress is experiencing now."
The Mage took a step forward. "If what you say is true... then we have to negate the curse that is dwelling on the Empress..." He closes his eyes, burrowing his brows with frustration. "... But even then, figuring out what type of curse this is will take even longer..." He looks at the empress once again. "... and it may be too late..."
August desperately clenches his hand. "No!" He then looks down at the ground, filled with sorrow. "We need to at least try something..."
"... What about my eye? Do you think it will be able to find the magical structure of the curse?"
The Mage tenses his body before stroking his beard. Thinking for a long moment before meeting my gaze. "The Blessing of the Mana... Yes, it might be possible indeed. Finding and figuring out the structure of the curse can take days, or even weeks depending on the complexity. But we might shorten the process with your help..." He then looks at Nilo. "... That is, if you are willing to help us out..."
Nilo looks at the Mage's worried face before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. "I have no say in this. It is up to the young master to decide how he wishes to proceed."
I look at Nilo before looking back at the Mage. "I came here with the intention of helping the empress. So, I do not mind, if it means that it can help save her."
Once he heard my response, his expression slowly softened, "Thank you, Lord Lysander." He then looks around the room. "I will begin to escort everyone out of the room so we can begin the analysis."
The Mage coughed and looked towards every person in the room before heading out. Soon, all the maids and doctors followed him and exited the room. I look around to see where August is. He sits on one of the couches, emptily looking down at the floor.
I made my way to where he sits. Slowly walking while trying to make the minimal noise that I can make to not disturb him before quietly sitting in the seat next to him.
Despite his frightening keen senses, he does not notice me sitting next to him.
No… maybe he does, but his focus is somewhere else. Many things are piling up against him, that is even surprising how calm he is.
A few minutes passed in silence. August continued to look down on the floor. "... Sorry..."
The words he uttered made me turn my gaze towards him. "Why are you apologizing?"
He fixed his posture, shifting his gaze at me. "For doubting your words."
"Ah..." I scratched my cheek and looked away for a moment before looking back. "You don't have to apologize. It might be even more weird if you were to believe everything that I say..." I placed my hand, slightly touching his hand before smiling. "You don't have to trust everything I say... Knowing when to doubt, that is what makes us human."
He continued to stare at me before bitterly smiling back. "... Even then, everything you tend to say is the truth. So, doubting you, for some reason, makes me feel like I did something wrong..."
As our hands grew closer to each other, I gently interlocked my fingers with his. "I said all those things because I want to save the empress. I want to save her so you don't look sad anymore.."
His eyes slowly widened before a bright smile emerged from his face. He intertwined his fingers more intimately with mine before bringing my hand near him and placing it on his cheek. "... Everything you do is so kind.... that sometimes, I feel like it's not real..."
My whole body froze.
No... My kindness, it's real.
I am not faking it.
I am truly not faking it...
Every action that I am doing is genuine from my heart... Everything I do is to make sure that August remains happy like he always is...
I took a deep breath before slowly responding to his words with a smile. "Just know that it is real... All my actions so far were truly genuine. I will always be by your side, August."
He looked at me with my hand still placed in his cheek with awe, smiling even more warmly, just like his usual self. "Yes... my feelings... they too are genuine..."
I tilted my head at his response. "Your feelings?"
He closed his eyes and gently shook his head with my hands still on his cheek. "It's nothing. I am also content with being by your side as a friend too." He moves his other hand and gently holds my wrist. "Your hand is so warm..."
I let out a small chuckle before smiling. "It may be a sign that you just need to rest."
He chuckled in response before opening his eyes, our gaze interlocking. "Just talking to you is making me feel better..."
Standing near the two boys who continued to talk among each other, Nilo continued his stoic expression as he overheard their conversations.
"... So, one of them knows..."
The doors once again opened as the Mage entered the room in a hurry. "Thank you for waiting, Lord Lysander. Should we proceed with the analysis now?"
August gently removed my hand from his face as he looked at the Mage nervously.
Slightly confused by his nervous expression, I nodded at the Mage before slowly standing up and walking towards the bedridden empress. Once I stood near the bed, August followed behind before standing next to me.
The Mage then began to walk towards us and stood on the opposite side of the bed. "... We shall begin the analysis then..."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Analysis magic.
Just like its name entails, it is used to analyze the structure of magic and its formulation. Though it is simple magic, it becomes versatile as you further understand each magical structure. The more you know, the more this particular magic can help in situations just like this.
It can even help deconstruct or take over another mage's magic, even when it is still being casted.
Still… analyzing an unknown type of magic, just like this curse, will take days or even weeks.
But if we can successfully find out the structure of the curse, then we'll be able to overcome the first hurdle: Time.
I slowly glanced at August. His worried eyes as he looked towards the Empress weighed on my mind. I gently grabbed his hand, trying to ease his worries. He looks at my hand, looking slightly confused.
"... Don't worry. We will definitely save her."
His confused expression soon turned determined as he nodded before looking ahead, gently squeezing back my hand. As I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, the Mage spoke one more time. "... Are you ready?"
I nodded.
I will surely change the plot of this novel.
I will make sure to keep August happy.
But soon before we were about to begin the analysis, heavy footsteps began running through the hallway corridor. Soon, the doors open wide, showing a young girl with wavy, waist-length chestnut hair with hazel eyes.
She pants out of breath, looking around the room before staring at August.
August looked at her with pure shock before hurriedly walking to where she was.
She looks to be around Seraphina age and height.... Those features, it can only be one person...
Summer Rutherford. The younger sister of Augustus Rutherford.
The only Imperial Princess of the Izora Empire, and Seraphina's future best friend.