Christine’s eyes were full of displeasure as she stared at Adeline’s pale hand, firmly placed atop Maxime’s. The way Adeline held his hand, as if it were something precious, carefully yet with clear intent, did not sit well with Christine. Adeline, however, had no way of knowing Christine’s discomfort and simply raised her head toward the source of Christine’s voice.

“Are you Arsen’s lover?”

Adeline’s voice was timid, but her question hit the mark. Christine grimaced, feeling cornered, and took a step back.

“…No.”

The implication behind Adeline’s question was clear: If you’re not his lover, why should it matter if I hold his hand or even touch his face? Christine clenched her fists, but then, as if making a decision, she spoke up.

“But Senior Arsen is—ah!”

Maxime, sensing what Christine was about to say, quickly poked her in the side. Christine’s face turned bright red, and she shot him an angry glare. Maxime’s eyes pleaded with her, silently saying, Please, don’t make this any more complicated than it already is. Christine sighed and gave up on continuing her sentence.

“Anyway! I need you to let go of his hand so I can examine you and see what condition you’re in. Just for a moment, please.”

Christine grabbed both Maxime’s and Adeline’s wrists, forcibly pulling them apart. Adeline’s fingers spread out reluctantly before folding back, and Christine’s face soured again as she watched.

“Senior, could you step aside for a moment?”

Maxime nodded and rose from the chair, stepping away. Christine took his place, sitting across from Adeline, who flinched slightly, sensing Christine’s gaze on her.

‘…She’s beautiful.’

Even with the blindfold covering her eyes, Christine could imagine the rest of her features. A delicate chin, a sharp nose, lips that formed a graceful line. If anything, the black cloth over her eyes only added an air of mystery to her beauty.

‘It feels like beautiful women keep gathering around Senior. The former commander was the same… I bet his fiancée, who I haven’t even met yet, must be gorgeous too.’

Suppressing her irritation, Christine took a deep breath and began her examination.

“You said it was your eyes, correct?”

Adeline nodded. Christine thought back to the time when she healed Maxime’s wounds as she carefully made her request.

“Could you take off your blindfold for a moment?”

Adeline reached behind her head and untied the knot. The black cloth slid silently down her face, revealing her closed eyes. Christine saw her long eyelashes resting against her pale skin before Adeline slowly opened her eyes.

“…How is it?”

Adeline asked quietly, but Christine couldn’t immediately respond. Adeline’s eyes did not see; her irises were grotesquely distorted to the point where it was impossible to tell what their original color had been. The sight made Christine’s heart tremble. Given the severity of the damage, Christine thought it was fortunate that Adeline’s memories weren’t fully intact.

“As you probably guessed, it doesn’t look good. I’ll need to examine it more closely.”

Christine kept her voice calm, hiding her internal turmoil. Maxime’s wounds were the kind one could expect from battle, but Adeline’s eyes were filled with nothing but pain. Pain for the sake of pain.

“Would you mind if I took a closer look?”

“Please.”

Christine raised her hand, sending a flow of mana toward Adeline’s eyes to assess the curse’s effects. As she had done when healing Maxime, Christine’s hand glowed with a soft, golden light.

“Hold still.”

Christine’s hand brushed against Adeline’s cheek. She furrowed her brow as she examined the damage, sighing occasionally as she worked.

The examination took longer than expected. Finally, Christine withdrew her hand and crossed her arms.

“I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

Adeline blinked, her expression stiff as if she felt awkward facing someone without her blindfold. She shifted uncomfortably.

“…Let’s hear the good news first.”

“The curse hasn’t fully settled into your body yet. More accurately, it was about to, but something external disrupted it. To put it simply, while I can’t remove the curse entirely, I can reduce its effects over time. It’ll require regular care from me, but… I don’t even see that as a penalty, honestly. That’s the good news.”

Adeline tilted her head, wondering what kind of bad news could follow such a positive outlook.

“And the bad news?”

“Your eyes… They might never recover. In fact, I’m almost certain they won’t.”

Adeline’s eyes widened momentarily, then returned to her usual stoic expression. Christine, on the other hand, looked sorrowful, as if wrestling with her own guilt over the situation.

“The damage is separate from the curse. Whatever Count Benning did to implant the curse in your eyes, the physical trauma is too severe. It’s like…”

Christine stopped herself before finishing the sentence. She didn’t want to describe it as though someone had burned Adeline’s eyes with fire, fearing it might trigger painful memories.

“I don’t remember much. Why I was so loyal to Count Benning, why I followed his orders so faithfully, why I lost my sight…”

“…It’s probably for the best that you don’t remember,” Christine replied with a sigh.

“Well then, let’s begin reversing the curse.”

Christine placed her hand gently on Adeline’s cheek. Luckily, it didn’t seem softer than her own.

Not that it matters if her skin is softer…

Scolding herself internally for the ridiculous comparison, Christine focused as her hand moved toward Adeline’s eyes. Just then, Adeline spoke.

“Once this curse is lifted…”

Christine paused to listen.

“…I won’t ever raise my sword against Arsen again, will I?”

Adeline’s voice was filled with a deep, genuine concern. Would she ever again see Arsen as an enemy, feel the need to aim her blade at him? Christine nodded firmly.

“No. The Count’s curse won’t control your thoughts or actions any longer. Of course, your lost memories won’t come back immediately once the curse is lifted, but…”

“That’s a relief. I don’t need to recover my memories right away, but… I’d hate to have to face Arsen as an enemy again.”

Adeline’s voice and expression softened with relief. As Christine watched, she returned to a slightly displeased look, reminding herself not to let her guard down.

“It’s going to take some time. Senior, are you okay with that?”

Christine asked, turning to Maxime, who stood a few steps away. He nodded in response.

“I’ve told you this before—don’t overwork yourself, Christine.”

At Maxime’s concerned words, Christine’s frustration seemed to melt away, and her expression softened. She quickly turned her head to hide the smile creeping onto her face, speaking in a slightly haughty tone.

“Overwork? This isn’t the kind of thing that requires me to push myself. Besides…”

She added in a quieter voice.

“I’m only doing this because it’s you, Senior. Don’t expect it to happen again.”

Christine trailed off. Maxime smiled bitterly.

“Right. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Christine, relieved that her back was turned to Maxime, blushed as she tried to suppress the smile threatening to spread across her face. Feeling lighter, she turned to Adeline and spoke with renewed energy.

“Let’s get started.”

Christine’s hand glowed once more, a warm light enveloping Adeline’s eyes like the gentle sunshine of late spring. Adeline’s expression shifted in surprise.

“…Ah.”

A breath of amazement escaped Adeline’s lips. Maxime, watching from behind, recalled his own reaction when Christine had first healed him. He wondered if he had looked as surprised as she did. Christine’s magic was truly remarkable. It had saved him from the agonizing pain that felt like razors scraping against his heart.

More than anything, Christine’s magic was kind. It was a hand that reached out to the heart, offering gentle understanding.

“…It’s so warm,” Adeline said in a joyful voice. Christine, caught off guard, coughed awkwardly. She hadn’t expected such an honest reaction from Adeline, and in response to her sincerity, Christine fumbled a bit with her words.

“Even if it feels strange, please endure it. It’s necessary to break the curse.”

But Adeline shook her head, her lips moving in soft protest.

“It doesn’t feel strange at all. If anything… I could stay like this forever.”

“…Thank you.”

Christine, unable to deny the sincerity of the compliment, quietly accepted it. The sun shifted in the sky, casting a deeper glow as the afternoon progressed. The light in Christine’s hands finally faded, and she let go of Adeline’s face with a faint smile of satisfaction.

“That’s enough for today. It’ll take time to fully remove the curse, but… things seem to be progressing more smoothly than I expected.”

Christine handed the fallen cloth back to Adeline.

“I’ll do everything I can to find a way to help with your eyes.”

“Just removing the curse is more than enough. I’m not sure how I’ll ever repay you…”

Christine quickly withdrew, uncomfortable with such words of gratitude.

“No, I don’t see it as repaying a debt. Please don’t feel like you owe me anything.”

She waved her hand in front of her face, clearly uneasy with the warm and sentimental atmosphere.

“Senior, I’m going back to the carriage first. You can finish whatever conversation you were having.”

Before Maxime could stop her, Christine swiftly exited the room. Maxime, left behind, sighed and turned back to Adeline.

“My junior can be quite headstrong. I apologize.”

Adeline shook her head.

“She’s a wonderful junior. I’m almost envious.”

“…She’s too good for me, really.”

Maxime chuckled as he sat back down across from Adeline. Now that the weight on his heart had lifted, his expression was much more at ease than when he first entered the room.

“There’s one thing I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“I heard that I was only able to survive and meet with you because His Majesty granted your request. What exactly did you ask of him?”

Maxime shrugged.

“It wasn’t anything grand. I simply asked him to rescue a knight cursed by the Count’s dark magic.”

Adeline lowered her head. Whether she felt overwhelmed by such treatment or simply couldn’t understand it, her normally expressionless face showed a slight tremble in her lips.

“Why did you save me?”

The question she had always carried but never voiced due to fear of the truth finally came out. It was the heart of a knight who had resolved not to see herself as an enemy anymore.

“I don’t doubt your intentions, but no matter how I think about it, I can’t figure out why you would save me. You could’ve just left me to die in that dungeon.”

Her voice wavered with uncertainty, and Maxime let out a hearty laugh. Adeline’s mouth tightened, but Maxime didn’t provide a proper answer.

“There is a reason. A very clear one.”

He couldn’t tell her yet—that he had been trapped in a similar curse, that he had almost ended up in the same situation as her. He wanted her to know that he understood how painful and terrifying the curse was, and that was why he had to save her.

But that explanation would have to wait until the day he could stand before her not as Arsen Bern, but as Maxime Apart.

“But for now, I can’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“When the time is right, I’ll tell you first. So, don’t worry. We’ll never be enemies again.”

Adeline seemed to accept his words but showed some dissatisfaction at his final remark.

“…I wasn’t worried.”

Of course, that was a blatant lie. But Maxime decided to play along and let out a soft chuckle.

“How are your eyes? Will you be okay?”

Maxime asked, concerned about her potentially permanent blindness. Adeline nodded, as if it didn’t bother her.

“I may not see, but there are things I can understand. My daily life isn’t too difficult. So, even if I remain blind, I don’t think I’ll be too upset.”

As a blind person, she could sense things that those who could see couldn’t, and it gave her a different perspective on the world.

“There’s no need to worry about me. But…”

“But?” Maxime wondered if there was something else troubling her, looking at her with concern.

“If I never regain my sight, I won’t be able to see your face, Arsen. I think I would regret that.”

Adeline spoke in a sorrowful voice. Maxime raised his eyebrows in surprise at her unexpected words.

“My… face?”

“Yes. I want to know what you look like, what expression you wear.”

Before Maxime could respond, Adeline’s fingertips gently brushed against his chin. He looked down at her, meeting her upturned face.

“Right now, I want to understand your face—what shape it takes, how it expresses itself.”

Maxime froze for a moment before nodding his consent.

“…Alright.”

“Then…”

Adeline’s fingers began to move, tracing Maxime’s features. She carefully explored his face, committing the shape of his jawline, the scar across his nose, the dry texture of his lips, the contours of his forehead, his hair, his ears, and his gently closed eyes to memory.

For a long time, Adeline “saw” Arsen’s face with her hands. When she finally lowered her hand from his chin, she nodded, her mind now full of the image of his face.

“…You have sharp features.”

“I hear that a lot. Was my face unpleasant?”

Maxime asked playfully, but Adeline shook her head.

“Not at all. Even if it had been unpleasant, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Maxime gave an awkward laugh. Listening to his laughter, Adeline quietly spoke.

“So, that’s what you look like.”

Her voice trembled slightly, as if she had just fulfilled a long-held wish.

“And now, even if I can’t see, I’ll know it’s you, Arsen.”

For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Adeline’s lips. Maxime could only stare at her in wonder. Adeline, with her blindfold removed and smiling, was breathtakingly beautiful.

“I’ll always remember this moment.”