Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 91: The Worst Thing About The Witch’s Curse Is...

Chapter 91: The Worst Thing About The Witch’s Curse Is...

"... Once you can get a stronger hold of your mana flow, you will be able to manipulate it in many different ways. For example, you can use it to lift the objects in the air or..."

Ahspid paced back and forth in front of the desk, carefully selecting his words as he explained the basic principles of mana manipulation to Aideen who, on the other hand, was immersed in her own inner contemplations, paying no attention to her teacher.

The mage stopped and fixed his purple eyes on the princess. She had an empty, absent gaze while her heavy head was resting on her left elbow, completely lost in her thoughts.

Tired of such an audacious display, Ahspid released a long sigh, then walked quietly to her seat, brought his face closer to the woman’s, and poked her soft cheek with his long index finger.

"What are you thinking about, My Lady? Your upcoming wedding with the Duke?"

Startled by such an unexpected appearance of someone else’s face right next to hers and their loud voice flowing straight into her ear, Aideen winced and recoiled, nearly falling off her chair which made her teacher burst into laughter.

Regaining both balance and composure, the princess awkwardly fixed her clothes, then cleared her throat, and finally responded, shaking her head in a dismissive manner,

"Oh... No, I wasn’t thinking about that at all! Bella has taken over all the preparations, leaving me nothing to do, so I don’t really get to think about that..."

"Then?"

Ahspid took a seat next to the lady and, too, leaned against his elbow as if mirroring her pose would help him understand her better.

"To be completely honest with you, Ahspid, I fell... Very strange."

"Strange? What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

Aideen hesitated as she was unsure of her bizarre state herself. Trying to gather all her frantic thoughts to come up with a comprehensive response, she began,

"Well, something unprecedented happened the other day and I ended up touching His Majesty King Yuraon’s body... My mana interacted with the writings on his body but what I saw was not my mana... Well, some of the runes on his body reacted to my touch with a different color, not the one I’m used to."

The mage arched his thin eyebrows, his face beaming with a blend of excitement and bewilderment as he asked,

"Really? What exactly did you see, My Lady?"

"I’m not really sure, Ahspid... You said my mana has white and light blue colors but that was something entirely different... It felt hot, like fire, maybe? I am told the red and orange are the colors of fire, perhaps this is what I saw, then?"

"The colors of fire, huh? Interesting..."

Ahspid leaned back in his chair, scratching his chin in a contemplative manner. The princess, too, took a moment to think more about her own words before continuing,

"Ahspid... Do you really not know what afflicts the royal family of Davoor?"

"Well," The man attempted to instantly recollect all the knowledge he possessed about Davoor, then shrugged his shoulders and continued, "Having the royal bloodline die prematurely of an unknown cause and with confirmed certainty is definitely a reason to keep everything related to such an incident a secret. It is a great political weakness after all.

People outside Davoor think that this is the price the ruling family has to pay for the blessing bestowed upon them by their gods, however... If that were true, their spouses would still live, don’t you think so?"

Aideen agreed with a confirming nod. She, too, found it strange that every time that tragedy happened, the only remaining carrier of Davoor’s blood was their only offspring, the next king.

Ahspid resumed his musings,

"Each generation of Davoor has only one son who is bound to become a king, and when he does, he dies together with his wife, leaving only his son behind... There have been no exceptions to this rule ever since it has become known to others.

I have tried to tackle that thing for many years in the past, just like the Davoorian sages have, but nothing worked. Even the runes on their bodies cannot be deciphered. My only guess is that the curse was placed on them by a witch and can only be lifted by the very same witch. However, since it’s been so long, that witch must be long dead now and there is nothing that can be done. Whatever they did in the past to cross the one who placed their curse on them, the price of that mistake is being paid in full."

"A curse placed by a witch... Do you really think this can be true? I could have never imagined that a witch’s curse could be so powerful."

Ahspid smiled in a rather patronizing manner, opting to explain some more,

"You have no idea, My Lady! Do not underestimate the power of the witches. Their curses can be very strong, too! And the worst thing about them is... They can only be lifted by the very same witch who placed it upon the person."

Aideen could not help but feel sad. The entire lineage was afflicted by a powerful curse that had only one objective stored for it –– its doom. Was there truly nothing that could be done to stop it? With all the powers and magic existing in the world, it seemed like a tragic occurrence and the princess was not ready to accept the devastating thought of Yuraon’s case being utterly hopeless.

’I cannot get rid of this nagging feeling that I saw something there... Something so unsettling yet so strangely familiar... The writings on his body definitely spoke to me.’

She tried to think back on that moment when her hands touched Yuraon’s chest simply to see if the memories of that range interaction would tell her something else; something entirely new. But she felt nothing.

’Perhaps I should do it again... Properly this time. Maybe then I can see more. I don’t think I can live on knowing I’ve never tried.’