Responding with a detached tone, I tried to pull down the coat while avoiding his gaze. However, he gently grabbed my hand, preventing me.

“Keep the coat on your shoulders. It’s chilly. Can you get up?”

I responded by nodding silently as I looked at him. My heart fluttered, and an indescribable emotion began to rise. It was a confusing feeling, like an abstract painting.

Suppressing those emotions, I asked.

“The wizard?”

“Captured.”

Theodore replied while helping me get up. I looked to where his gaze was directed. The wizard was on his knees, wearing restraints. There were five restraints in total: one around the neck, two on both wrists, and the remaining two on the ankles.

The wizard, stripped of all freedom, had eyes devoid of any spirit staring emptily at the ground. The restraints that bound him were under Philist’s control. I approached him and asked.

“Did you find out anything?”

“Duchess Valentino, you’ve finally awakened. I haven’t found anything about this person. He just won’t open his mouth. It’s as if he’s a doll under some kind of brainwashing…”

A doll under brainwashing… Indeed, this wizard might lack self-consciousness. Perhaps Everett’s family turned him into a puppet to obey commands.

“I’m curious about the dark spirit. Was it put to sleep?”

“Yes, it was safely put to sleep.”

Somnia, who had been wandering near me, spat out something proudly.

It was a stone that looked like black obsidian. It was a sealstone created by Somnia’s power, containing the dark spirit.

“Oh, this is…”

Philist, who had picked up the fallen sealstone and examined it, hastily handed it to me.

Accepting the sealstone with a sense of bewilderment, he clapped his hands and said.

“Even though it’s asleep, it’s such an evil being. It’s better for Duchess Valentino to keep this sealstone. That way, there shouldn’t be any problems…”

I gazed down at the sealstone in my hand. The irregularly shaped stone, resembling a black crystal, emitted a faint light.

‘Though undoubtedly an evil being…’

Perhaps it was because I had encountered the souls sacrificed as materials for the dark spirit. Now, instead of fear or disgust, I felt empathy and sadness.

For these souls to rest peacefully, I had to succeed in avenging them on behalf of the Everett family.

Of course, it was also my revenge.

* * *</center<

The captured wizard was confined to a separate warehouse in Duke Valentino’s castle.

Since he remained silent, there was nothing we could immediately learn from him.

Although I could explore his memories with Somnia's power, I was too tired for that, I needed some rest.

‘Moreover…’

I looked at Theodore's injured arm with a sense of discomfort. The wounds were being examined by Philist. The ominous black energy no longer emanated, but the affected area was discolored black.

Maybe because he had experimented with various magic or potions, Philist muttered disapprovingly.

“This… it won't heal easily.”

Hearing those words, my heart sank. With a slightly anxious voice, I asked Philist.

“Is there any way to completely heal it?”

“Well…. wounds caused by the curse of the dead don't heal easily. As long as it doesn't rot, it's fortunate… Thankfully, the spirit’s power is keeping it at bay.”

Philist, who responded somewhat awkwardly, started to bandage Theodore's arm.

Watching that scene in a daze, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.

‘The Coral Bracelet from Arendelle.’

If I had that, could it possibly help heal these wounds?

I grabbed Theodore's shoulders and urgently asked him.

“Where is the Coral Bracelet from Arendelle?”

“That…”

Theodore seemed to realize something, and a faint light flickered in his blue eyes.

After a moment, a maid Theodore had sent on an errand returned with the coral bracelet from his room.

I quickly took the bracelet and approached Philist.

“Could the magic of this bracelet work?”

Philist, surprised when he saw the bracelet, mumbled in a somewhat astonished tone,

“This is… a bracelet made by Lokshvir.”

Examining the bracelet carefully, Philist looked deeply moved.

“Everyone called Lokshvir a genius, but in my eyes, he was more than that. He undoubtedly reached a level beyond human.”

Come to think of it, Lokshvir and Philist were close friends, weren't they?

Perhaps that's why Philist volunteered to become the Crown Prince's master.

“Certainly, having this bracelet should help with recovery. It may be difficult to completely heal.”

Philist said, returning the bracelet to me

I asked with mixed feelings.

"What do I need to do…. To completely heal it?”

Philist, patting my shoulder as if to reassure me, answered.

“The source of the curse is the grudge of the dead. Once that grudge is resolved, the wounds will naturally heal.”

* * *

After taking a short break, I headed to the warehouse with Theodore and the others.

It was to interrogate the strange wizard.

“…Lily, are you sure it’s okay not to rest more?”

“I’m fine.”

I responded indifferently to Theodore’s concern. As I did, I glanced down at his right wrist. The coral bracelet from Arendelle was there.

‘Who is worrying about whom…’

For some reason, my heart felt stifled. Enduring the fatigue, I quickened my pace.

However, as I reached the warehouse, urgent cries were heard from inside the door.

“No!”

It was Derek’s voice, who was watching the wizard.

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