It has been two days since Terdeo woke up. Although the dangerous high fever had subsided, he was not fully recovered. He still had a low-grade fever. During this time, Phineas arrived at the mansion on the fastest horse and immediately examined Terdeo without a moment's rest.
"Have you been in this state since you took the pill from Ailet?"
"Yes. My body felt as if it was burning, and it was hard to breathe. It also felt like my body was floating in the air."
Terdeo furrowed his brows, perhaps recalling the memory of when he first took the pill. I looked at him with concern and added,
"Terdeo really suffered from a high fever. No medicine seemed to work."
"……Téo, have you ever had the same symptoms before?"
"No. We all ate the mashed potatoes that contained Ailet's poison before, but Selphy and I were fine then."
"Hmm."
"Oh, and."
Terdeo, who had paused, looked at me with a calm expression.
"……?"
Why is he looking at me? Terdeo's gaze was not just intense but almost burning. His unwavering stare made my throat dry. I gulped down the water I had brought for him.
"Since I woke up after taking the pill, for a few days now, the Duchess keeps appearing in my dreams."
"Cough!"
The water went down the wrong way, and I started to choke. Phineas looked at me with a brazen expression, as if to say, "What's the problem?"
'You can't say anything in front of Uncle Phineas! Are you crazy?'
Phineas, looking back and forth between us, smiled broadly.
"The two of you seem to have grown much closer than before."
"That's not true!"
Phineas nodded as if he understood my vehement reaction. He looked as if he were a grandfather pleased with his youngest grandchild.
"You are loved, Your Highness Ví."
No, I'm not! I glared at Terdeo with all my might. He seemed to recall the dream and frowned, clicking his tongue.
"It's not that kind of dream. The Duchess keeps appearing in my dreams, crying. In the first dream, she was crying, and in the next, she apologized to me, saying she was sorry for making me this way. In another dream, she was crying in a burning fire."
What does 'making me this way' mean? What about the fire? Why do I keep appearing in Terdeo's dreams, crying?
"I mentioned it because I thought it might be a premonition or a sign of something bad, Uncle."
"That's right. The pill was brought by the Countess, so she might have done something to it."
"Yes, that's true. Lady Phineas is right. My stepmother is a despicable person. She must have made you sick, Terdeo."
I quickly supported Phineas's words, hoping Terdeo would shake off his thoughts of death as soon as possible. Phineas, sensing my intention, nodded enthusiastically.
"If I could have examined the pill, it would have been helpful……"
If he could have examined the pill? As soon as Phineas said this, I clapped my hands, remembering something.
"Ah!"
Both of their gazes turned to me. Without further ado, I rushed to the drawer of the vanity and took out the pill wrapped in a handkerchief.
"I have one of those pills from that time."
At that time, my stepmother had taken out two pills. One was taken by Terdeo, and the other, which I had intended to give to my stepmother, I kept after failing to do so.
"Can we find out what she did to this pill with this one?"
"Of course. If Your Highness Ví allows it, can I take this pill back to the Duchy to examine it?"
"To the Duchy?"
"Yes. There are no proper tools here, so it would be better to take it to my laboratory and examine it myself."
"Yes, please do."
Terdeo nodded readily, agreeing. I handed the pill, still wrapped in the handkerchief, to Phineas.
"Actually, I planned to stay until Téo's fever subsided, check on Selphy's condition, and also verify the academy Ailet will attend."
Phineas placed the pill in a glass vial he took from his bag and sealed it tightly with a stopper.
"But it seems better to return to the Duchy as soon as possible to examine the pill."
Phineas picked up his medical bag and stood up without hesitation. However, he still looked worried and hesitated to leave the bedroom. He placed his hand on Terdeo's shoulder again.
"Téo. You said you've tried all the fever-reducing medicines, so I've prescribed a different one. It's the tincture of marshmallow flower, which is used when the family curse flares up."
"Yes, thank you."
"Don't worry too much, and don't have those foolish thoughts like before."
Phineas patted Terdeo's shoulder a few times. When Terdeo nodded, Phineas turned to leave.
"I'll see you to the front door."
I accompanied Phineas out of the bedroom. We walked down the long carpeted hallway in silence. I broke the heavy atmosphere by speaking first.
"How is Ailet doing?"
"Haha, she's doing well. She eats well, sleeps well, and plays well. She was very happy when she received the letter from Your Highness Ví. She even cried because it got wrinkled when she hugged it to sleep."
Phineas's face lit up with a loving smile as he talked about Ailet.
"She's determined to learn all the letters before entering the academy and has been very enthusiastic about her studies. She even said she wanted to help with my research and worked very hard despite her small size."
"That's a relief. I was worried that Ailet, being so young, might not forget the emotional scars and carry them for a long time."
"Sometimes she cries in her sleep, saying she had a scary dream, but she's trying hard to overcome it on her own. By the way, before I came here, she drew a portrait of me, and it turns out she has a talent for art. She's a very capable child."
You really are a doting father, Lord Phineas. The heavy atmosphere quickly dissipated.
Suddenly, Phineas stopped in his tracks.
"Lord Phineas?"
I stopped too and turned to look at him. He turned to face me and bowed his head deeply, his expression filled with guilt.
"Lord Phineas? Why……"
"I heard about Selphy's story. I should have examined her more closely, but I didn't. It must be my inexperience."
"Selphy's story?"
If he's talking about Selphy's story, he must mean the academy incident. How did he know about it, something that wasn't even in the newspapers or rumors? I opened my eyes wide in surprise. Phineas answered as if he could read my thoughts.
"Yes, there are many people in the noble society who serve as Gloria's eyes, ears, and mouth."
Ah, Lady Gloria, who once dominated the social scene, is indeed the eye of the storm in high society. I understood immediately.
"To be honest, I was too harsh on Selphy. She's always been so independent that I was complacent. It's my fault for not recognizing that she was pretending to be fine."
I approached Phineas and smiled bitterly.
"It's not your fault, Lord Phineas."
"……"
"I, as a mother, didn't even realize what Selphy was going through. If anyone is to blame, it's me."
My mouth felt bitter. Thinking about that time still made my brows furrow.
"To prevent the same thing from happening again, I will watch over Selphy and Ailet more carefully."
"……"
"We must properly watch over the path the children are walking and protect them from getting hurt."
Phineas looked up at me with a surprised expression. He asked in a bewildered voice,
"Did you just say you're Selphy's mother?"
"Ah…… Yes. Selphy calls me 'Mom.'"
It seems the word 'Mom' has stuck in my mouth. I must have said it unconsciously. This change felt strangely good. I smiled shyly, and Phineas opened his mouth in amazement.
"Selphy calls you 'Mom'?"
"Yes, it's been quite a while now."
Phineas couldn't hide his admiration and muttered to himself.
"……Wow, Your Highness Ví is truly remarkable."
"What?"
"As you know, 'Mom' is special to Selphy. It's her trauma, the reason she became the sullen and irritable young master she is now."
"……Yes."
Phineas resumed his steps. I followed him down the long hallway again.
"To be honest, I thought Selphy would never be someone's son. Even if Téo married someone, she would only be the Duchess of Laphireon, not Selphy's mother."
Phineas's voice was filled with emotion.
"But I was completely wrong. To be called 'Mom'……"
"I have the fortune to be Selphy's mother."
"I've never felt so good about being wrong."
Phineas looked at me with infinite trust.
"I really have a lot to learn from Your Highness Ví. No, even if I learn, it won't change anything. This is something only Your Highness Ví can do."
Phineas's sparkling eyes made me feel a bit uncomfortable, so I smiled and turned my head, changing the subject naturally.
"By the way, how is your research on the curse going?"
"Ah…… It's always the same. It feels like wandering through a maze with no exit."
Perhaps there is no more accurate description than that.
"Since the second Duke, why the curse has been passed down. We haven't found out if he did anything to deserve the curse."
Terdeo had said the same thing. The first Duke was fine, but the curse began with his son, the second Duke.
'Maybe Phineas knows something about witches and curses.'
I recalled what Dodorea had said during the trial.
"……Is it really the work of a witch? After all, it was around that time that the rumor of witches cursing people was widespread."
"Yes. ……Back then, even innocent people were accused of being witches and burned at the stake."
Phineas smiled bitterly.
"We don't know if real witches who could cast curses existed back then. It's just written in books, and it might not be true."
"……"
"What I learned from my research on curses and witches is that among those who were mistakenly accused and killed as witches, there were no actual witches. So, even that statement could be a contradiction."
Of course, the truth is unknown. The past remains silent. The atmosphere quickly became heavy. Phineas, trying to lighten the mood, smiled and said,
"Oops, there's an interesting piece of information in the records."
"What is it?"
"The witches who cast curses are said to live an immortal life. Of course, assuming they exist."
"An immortal life?"
"That is said to be the curse placed upon them."
The idea that a witch who casts curses is cursed with an immortal life is a strange concept.