Chapter 64
The deep dawn.
Kallios was watching Chloe, who had fallen asleep with her body curled up tightly.
“Cold…”
He had stoked the dying embers in the fireplace just moments ago, so the logs were burning brightly again.
The room was warm enough.
On top of that, she had pulled the thick blanket up to her chin.
And yet, faint white breath escaped from her lips.
‘She seemed a little better during the day.’
It appeared that the power of the curse grew stronger at night.
Kallios, full of pity, held her hand. Her hand was icy cold.
He knew very well that even if he called a doctor, there was nothing to be done—it was all because of the curse.
He cupped Chloe’s chilled cheek in his palm.
She couldn’t fall into a deep sleep, constantly tossing and turning.
Kallios, unable to just watch, quietly slipped out of the bed.
‘I have to find a way to break this curse.’
As he moved to leave the room, a rustling sound came from behind him.
“Kallios…?”
Chloe’s small voice called to him.
Rubbing her eyes sleepily, still bundled tightly in the blanket, she sat up and looked at him.
“Where are you going?”
“Dawn is still far away. Please sleep a little longer.”
“And you?”
“I have something I must do…”
Still half-asleep, Chloe looked at him with a pitiful expression and murmured,
“Can’t you stay…?”
She seemed unable to tell if this was a dream or reality.
Chloe lowered her head sadly, looking dejected.
“I don’t want to be alone…”
Then she quietly wriggled back down under the covers.
“Well… it’s fine, I’ll be okay…”
She didn’t beg twice, giving up far too easily—as if she was used to disappointment.
Why did that hurt so much?
Kallios went back to her side and gently patted her shoulder.
“Cold…”
Chloe clutched the blanket tightly to herself.
That was how she drifted back into sleep.
It seemed she only slept in short, restless bursts.
‘She can’t last long like this.’
The sorcerer had been right—Chloe would not live for much longer.
With heavy steps, Kallios left the room behind and headed somewhere.
‘There must be more of my mother’s records somewhere.’
Someone was watching Kallios as he walked down the corridor after leaving the room.
A dark figure hidden completely in the shadows didn’t follow right away.
Instead, they focused on the sound of his footsteps, then trailed after him from a safe distance in the direction he seemed to be headed.
A bright morning.
Kavala reached out her hand toward a crimson bird circling her.
The red bird landed on her hand, then dissolved into shimmering dust when she breathed on it, etching words onto the empty space of her desk.
[As soon as the princess’s curse began, Marquis Rodrian started to move.]
Kavala blew the dust away again, scattering it until it vanished without a trace.
“So slow.”
She clicked her tongue, but smiled, clearly pleased with the report.
She then looked at the ring in her hand with delight.
Sunlight streaming through the window struck the ring, scattering a red glow all around.
It was a ruby ring of the highest quality, gleaming with a vivid scarlet light.
Kavala turned the ring this way and that, then slipped it onto her finger.
“My treasure has returned.”
It was the Dragon’s Eye, the ruby ring.
Kavala caressed it lovingly, as if it were a lost child finally found, then looked up at Dneph, who was standing respectfully before her desk.
“You found this in the North?”
Dneph had gone north in search of Baron Felsus’s whereabouts and had stumbled upon the Dragon’s Eye instead.
Not only had he confirmed Baron Felsus’s disappearance in the North, he had also discovered the ring being put up for auction in the black market.
Kavala showered him with praise for returning with such a great prize, smiling beautifully.
“Who was in possession of it?”
Dneph gestured to the servant at the door.
A servant dragged someone inside.
It was a burly, bearded man, built like a bear.
“P-please, spare me! Spare me!”
He begged with tears streaming down his face.
“I swear I didn’t know it was Her Majesty’s possession! Truly, I didn’t!”
With an almost merciful smile, Kavala spoke softly.
“There’s no need to create such a frightening atmosphere. Release him.”
Hope lit the man’s face as his shackles were removed.
He looked up at Kavala as though she were an angel.
“Thank you! Thank you!”
Kavala stepped closer and asked gently,
“How did you get this?”
The man answered quickly, as though he had no intention of hiding anything.
“A merchant brought it to me recently, asking for an appraisal! He didn’t even know what it was. But I recognized it immediately as the Dragon’s Eye! I’ve always had an interest in gemstones with names, you see! I once read about it in a book—”
Kavala’s smile froze as his rambling went on too long.
Still smiling, she cut him off sharply.
“And?”
Feeling a chill climb his spine despite her smile, the man swallowed nervously.
“S-so I bought the ring from him. The only reason I put it up for auction was because—”
Kavala cut him off again, uninterested in his excuses.
“Do you know where that merchant is now?”
The man’s lips trembled as he shook his head.
He had, after all, been dragged all the way to the palace precisely because he couldn’t answer that question.
“H-he’s just a wandering merchant… They travel all across the North. They appear one day, then vanish the next. I couldn’t possibly say where he is now—”
Suddenly, goosebumps prickled his skin.
Kavala’s eyes were no longer smiling—they were cold as ice.
The man realized something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
‘If I don’t say something useful, I’ll die.’
His instincts screamed at him.
He racked his brain furiously. He had to say something—anything—that might please her, or at least buy him time.
‘What should I say? What? What?’
Describing the merchant’s appearance would be useless. Peddlers all looked alike.
The longer he hesitated, the colder Kavala’s expression grew.
When she let out a small sigh, he nearly wet himself, barely managing to hold it in.
Kavala flicked her hand toward the servant, as though dismissing a nuisance.
The man knew instinctively this was not a good sign.
Trembling like a leaf, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Ronheim!”
Kavala, who had been turning back toward her desk, froze in place.
Only then did the man’s face brighten as he realized, Ah, I should’ve said that earlier!
In his panic, he had completely forgotten the merchant’s one distinct trait, which now burst out of him unconsciously.
“Ronheim?”
Kavala returned to him with elegant, deliberate steps.
“Y-yes! He often sold goods from Ronheim! There aren’t many merchants who trade with Ronheim. Among the peddlers who handle items from there, one of them must be the one who brought the ring!”
“Is that so?”
Kavala’s frosty face softened again into a sweet smile.
‘I’m saved.’
The man finally felt relief wash over him.
But only for a moment.
With the same gentle smile, Kavala gestured to the servant.
“Dispose of him. Cleanly.”
The man’s eyes bulged wide in horror.
“Y-Your Majesty! Please, Your Majesty! Spare me!”
But his pleas did not last long.
The moment he was dragged out of the office, he ceased to belong to this world.
Wrinkling her nose at the stench of sweat he had left behind, Kavala ordered the maids to open the windows and air the room. She habitually spritzed perfume into the air.
Then she turned back to Dneph with a deep smile.
“So… Ronheim, is it? Quite an amusing coincidence, don’t you think?”
