Carren made a strange expression at Leciel’s words.

“… do you think Father’s actions are because of a curse?”

There seemed to be no other reason for Leciel to suddenly take an interest in curses.

“… yes, that’s right.”

Since Carren already knew about Kael’s condition, there was no need to hide it, so Leciel nodded readily.

“Then it can’t be.”

“Why not?”

Leciel tilted her head, not understanding.

“Because it’s not.”

Carren’s answer was very firm.

“Then what do you think it is, Brother?”

Leciel asked, wondering if he had another idea.

“I think it’s probably the drugs or monster venom.”

Of course, the possibility was very low.

If it were the monster venom, his father would have noticed immediately, and the same went for drugs.

Moreover, there was no one bold enough to tamper with his father’s food or anything else within the Grand Ducal household.

And they didn’t even know if there were drugs or monster venoms that had such effects.

“If it were poison, I would have purified it, so it can’t be that.”

“… you can purify monster venom too?”

Even though he learned yesterday that she could heal wounds, he didn’t expect her to be able to purify monster venom as well.

If that were true, he could understand his father’s words that she would become the treasure of the family.

Purifying monster venom wasn’t an easy task, even for the most skilled healers.

Therefore, monster venom was so dangerous and lethal.

In that sense, it was fortunate that not all monsters carried venom.

“Yes.”

“… that’s quite an impressive ability.”

Carren’s face showed admiration as he said this.

“That’s me.”

Leciel shrugged her shoulders, looking proud.

Seeing this, Carren smiled faintly and patted her head. He felt like he should praise her somehow.

“But… even if it’s not monster venom, both possibilities are still unlikely, right?”

Kael didn’t seem incompetent enough to allow a spy to infiltrate and roam freely within his own household.

“… you’re right.”

“So, it’s probably a curse after all…”

“The only ones who can cast curses on this continent are warlocks. But warlocks no longer exist.”

All the warlocks were killed off hundreds of years ago.

Of course, someone could argue that there might be a warlock who survived by sheer luck, but that possibility was very slim.

They killed off everyone as soon as they showed the slightest suspicion.

In such circumstances, it was almost impossible for a warlock to have survived.

“Still, I’ll look into it just in case.”

To Leciel, no matter how she thought about it, Kael’s symptoms seemed to be caused by a curse.

She knew about future events that Carren did not, which reinforced her belief.

And… if it were drugs, it didn’t make sense that only she could stop him.

If it were a curse, it made more sense.

She might have a special ability as a transmigrator that temporarily suppressed the curse when she called him <Father>.

She didn’t know why it had to be <Father>, though.

“Alright, do as you wish.”

Whether it was a curse or not, it was worth investigating.

Carren got up from his seat and brought the book that Leciel wanted.

“Thank you, Brother.”

Leciel thanked Carren, who had brought an armful of books, and immediately dived into reading.

She read so diligently that she eventually learned something about curses, though not perfectly.

First, as Carren said, only warlocks could cast curses.

And there were various kinds of curses, ranging from making someone submit to their will, to causing nightmares every night, or making them experience hallucinations and hear voices.

However, Kael’s condition seemed different from these types of curses.

She leaned more towards it being a side effect of a curse.

‘Anyway, the important thing is the curse itself.’

Whether it was the curse or its side effects, the cause was the curse.

Of course, Kael’s behavior would vary depending on whether it was the curse or its side effects, but the crucial part was to lift the curse.

That didn’t mean she would stop investigating the nature of the curse, though.

According to the book, whether it was the curse or its side effects, the solution was simple.

Kill the person who cast the curse.

‘Then the one who cast the curse isn’t the emperor, at least.’

Because in the original story, Kael acted like a madman even after killing the emperor.

That meant the curse wasn’t lifted.

Kael’s madness itself was due to the curse.

So, it wasn’t the emperor who cast the curse.

Then, who could it be?

And why did the original work describe Kael’s symptoms as worsening after the emperor died?

Of course, that wasn’t the only question.

She also didn’t know when and how Kael was cursed.

‘Ha…’

Leciel sighed in frustration.

But if there was any consolation, it was that she was certain Kael’s symptoms were due to a curse, and she had a rough idea of when it happened.

According to Kael, it seemed like it hadn’t happened before he knew about it.

So, it must have been around the time after he came out of the monster forest.

‘Come to think of it, is that why?’

As soon as Kael became emperor, he sent knights to subjugate the monster forest.

Even though he killed the most likely suspect, the emperor, the curse didn’t disappear, so he looked for the source and realized it was around the time he left the monster forest.

So, did he think there might be someone who cursed him or some clue there?

‘Anyway, the fact that he was cursed is a very important event in the original work.’

It led to the protagonists being put in danger.

And if it was such an important event, the person who cursed him couldn’t just be a simple extra.

Surely, it must have been mentioned in the original work.

‘The most suspicious person is the original heroine, after all.’

Although she was depicted as a hero who saved the empire from destruction in the original work, Leciel didn’t accept that fact as it was.

Because the original work she knew wasn’t just a simple novel but the original work of a possession novel.

So, it was entirely possible that the original heroine, who was the protagonist, wasn’t a good person at all.

Look at Kael, who turned out to be the main villain. It was because of the curse, wasn’t it?

‘If the original heroine is the one who cursed him with black magic…’

To break the curse, she would have to be killed.

But according to the flow of the original work, she wouldn’t appear for another six years, and at that time, she would appear as a candidate for the crown princess.

In that case, no matter how much of a Grand Duke Kael was, he couldn’t easily kill her.

So, she had to be killed before she appeared as a candidate for the crown princess, but the problem was that before the original work started, they didn’t know where the original heroine was or what she was doing.

Since the timeline of the original work started six years later, Leciel only knew about events from that time.

‘This is troublesome.’

Moreover, even though she was the most suspicious, there was no certainty or evidence that the original heroine had cast the curse.

First, she had to meet her to see if she had the face of someone who would cast a curse or the pure face of the original heroine.

But waiting for the original work to start was also problematic.

That would mean Kael would have to continue suffering from the curse until then.

‘Ugh, my head hurts.’

Maybe because she was thinking too much at once, her head throbbed.

Just then, a cool sensation touched Leciel’s forehead.

Seeing Leciel frown, Carren reached out to check if she was in pain.

“Are you okay?”

Carren asked in a nonchalant tone, but his voice was filled with concern.

It was because Leciel’s expression had been very serious. She even held her head as if she had a headache.

“… yes, I’m not okay, but I am.”

Leciel said that because she couldn’t honestly tell Carren the story she knew.

No matter how much she had become an important person to Carren, it would be hard for him to believe everything she said now.

She also wanted to be cautious.

Of course, she couldn’t hide it forever. The time would come when she had to tell him everything.

So, for that time, she had to get even closer to him.

So that he would believe her no matter how nonsensical it sounded. And so that he wouldn’t doubt or be wary of her.

And one more thing.

She had to lay the groundwork. In preparation for when Carren and the original heroine meet in the future.

Although they had grown closer than she expected, it was still too early to be relieved.

There were times when people blinded by love couldn’t see anything else, including their family.

Although it didn’t seem like Carren would be like that, it was better to be sure.

“Brother.”

“Yes?”

Seeing Leciel’s unusually serious face, Carren tilted his head curiously.

“You’re an important person to me, and I’m an important person to you. So, we’re important to each other, right?”

“… yes.”

Even though he had heard it before, hearing it again made Carren’s heart feel warm, and he nodded.

“So, as people who are important to each other, can you grant me a few requests?”

Leciel initially intended to ask for just one request, but she decided it would be better to prepare more generously.

“Do you have a favor to ask me?”

Considering she was making such grand statements to bring up her request… it didn’t seem like it would be something light.

Carren’s face showed curiosity about what kind of request it was.

“Yes, so can you promise me one thing?”

“What promise?”

“From now on, grant me three requests, no matter what they are.”

“… that seems difficult.”

It wasn’t hard to grant her requests. As she said, she was an important person to him.

But no matter how important she was, he couldn’t agree to grant her requests unconditionally without knowing what they were.

“Are you worried I’ll ask for something ridiculous? Then don’t worry. It will all be for your own good.”

Although she didn’t say it now, Leciel’s requests were simply to not get close to the original heroine and to never kill Kael in the future.

It was all for Carren and Kael’s sake.

“That’s an interesting way to put it.”

A favor that would be for his own good.

What on earth could it be to make her say that?

But it seemed like Leciel wasn’t planning to tell him about the requests yet.

“So, won’t you promise?”

Leciel looked at Carren with clear eyes.

It was a similar look to when she had asked Kael if Mimi could stay with them.