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“Lord Kreutz.”  

At Axel’s low voice, the dullness in Eugene’s eyes slowly began to fade.  

“I’m not… Lord Kreutz.”  

“Not?” Axel’s eyebrows twitched as he questioned him.  

Eugene offered a bitter smile and lowered his head slightly.  

“My name is on the family register, but… I’m a bastard, and the Duke never considered me his son.”  

“What?”  

“I didn’t understand at first, but now it’s clear. No father would treat his son ‘that way.’ I’m certainly not his son.”

“Uh…”  

Axel, who had seemed ready to pick a fight, suddenly lost his steam.  

It was well-known that Eugene was the illegitimate son of Duke Kreutz. Axel knew this, of course, but he hadn’t expected Eugene to respond like this.  

The heavy mood wasn’t just felt by Axel. Both Bael and I watched Eugene with a shared sense of unease.

‘I had no idea.’  

I thought Eugene didn’t dwell much on his connection to Kreutz, given how diligently he studied in the Ivory Tower and got along with Leonid.  

‘But thinking about it, that was naive of me.’  

No matter how distant his father might be, the fact remained that Duke Kreutz was still his father.  

Eugene carried Kreutz’s blood, and that tie could never be fully severed.  

He would have to carry that burden for the rest of his life, a burden far too heavy for such a young boy.  

Noticing the somber mood his words had brought, Eugene quickly composed himself and lifted his head. The bitter expression from before vanished, replaced by a bright, pretty smile.

“So just call me Eugene. That’s all I need.”

“…….”  

Axel frowned as he looked at Eugene, then let out a small sigh.  

“A handsome boy with a troubled past, huh? Alright, I can see why Reshia would be concerned about you.”  

“Me?”  

I tilted my head, pointing to myself in confusion, prompting Axel to release another deep sigh.

“Let’s drop this topic.”  

Axel waved his hand dismissively, steering the conversation elsewhere.  

“So, what do you remember? What’s your last memory before you collapsed?”

“My last memory…”

Eugene’s eyes grew distant as he seemed to reach back into the past.  

“I heard… a strange voice.”  

“A strange voice?”  

“Yes. It was telling me to come outside. I’ve been hearing it for some time now, but…”  

As Eugene cautiously continued, he suddenly fell silent, his expression troubled. After a brief pause, he tilted his head in confusion.

“…It’s strange.”  

Strange?  

I watched Eugene with curiosity as he rubbed his forehead.  

“Before, just thinking about ‘this kind of thing’ would give me a terrible headache. But now, I feel nothing.”

His words triggered an old memory. I remembered when I showed him the flute and asked about the “ritual.” At that time, just thinking about it caused Eugene so much pain that I had to drop the subject altogether.

‘There was a strong geas in place.’  

Could that geas… have been lifted?

Given that I had infused Eugene with a significant amount of divine power and Axel had also transferred his magic to him, it was possible that something had changed. Holding onto this hope, I quickly asked Eugene, “Eugene! Do you think you can talk about it now? The ritual you underwent at the temple when you were a child!”

“Ah…”  

Eugene’s eyes widened in surprise at my question, but then he cautiously began to speak.  

“When I was young, the Duke took me to the temple. He said it was for a purification ritual because my health was poor, and I needed it.”

“!”  

Hearing him recount this without hesitation, I looked up sharply at Axel and Bael. They both knew, as I did, that Eugene had been under a geas that prevented him from talking about the ritual.  

‘But if he can speak about it now…’

“It seems the geas has been broken,” Axel said plainly, and Bael nodded in agreement.

“If the geas has been broken, then…” Bael trailed off, looking at me with a slight smile on his lips.

I mirrored his grin, placing my hands confidently on my hips.  

“Then there’s bound to be backlash on the caster!”

As a former black mage, I knew this better than anyone. This was a prime opportunity to track down whoever had cursed Eugene. If we could find the one who cast the curse, the vague shadow lurking in the background might start to take shape.  

‘I might finally catch a tail to pull.’

Heh heh heh.  

The three of us—Axel, Bael, and I—shared a somewhat sinister laugh, leaving Eugene blinking in confusion, unsure of what was going on.

* * *

Tracking a perfectly cast curse was nearly impossible, like plucking a star from the sky. But no matter how flawless a curse might be, when it’s broken, cracks begin to show.

“Let’s start tracking the caster. Just do as I say,” I said, clenching my fists as I looked at Axel, who was seated across from Eugene.

Despite my enthusiastic encouragement, Axel remained unimpressed.  

“Is this the only way?”  

“Yes, there’s no other method,” I replied firmly. “Now, grab his hands.”

“Haa.”  

Axel sighed deeply, clearly reluctant, but Eugene immediately offered his hands without hesitation. I found his willingness endearing and patted his head.  

“See? Eugene is very cooperative.”

Eugene blushed slightly, embarrassed by my praise, and leaned back a little. Watching this, Axel let out an exasperated scoff before finally taking Eugene’s hands.

With the handsome young man and the pretty boy holding hands, the scene before me was quite picturesque.

“Alright, from here on, you need to move your magic along the traces left in Eugene’s body…” I began to instruct Axel quietly, keeping an eye on Eugene. 

Axel and Bael knew I was a former black mage, but Eugene only knew me as ‘Reshia.’ It might seem strange for a saintess to have such in-depth knowledge of magic. However, Eugene didn’t appear to find it odd at all. He simply blinked his eyes and entrusted himself fully to Axel.

‘Why is he so trusting?’  

While his cooperative attitude made the task of tracing the magic easier, it also made me worry.  

‘I’ll have to give him a good lecture later.’  

You can’t go around trusting people so easily!

With that resolution in mind, I continued to whisper instructions to Axel.

“If the geas broke when I infused you with divine power, tracking it now might be a bit tricky since some time has passed. It’s always easier to track right after the geas is broken,” I explained, though I knew that someone as skilled as Axel wouldn’t find it too difficult.

“Is that so?” Axel tilted his head thoughtfully, then flashed a mischievous grin—the kind he always had when he was about to tease me. A sense of dread washed over me, and I instinctively took a step back just as Axel spoke.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to track if you gave me some ‘cheer’ support?”

“Wh-what?” I stammered.

“You know, that cheer. ‘In the name of Love and Justice!’ or something like that?” Axel said, clearly enjoying himself.

Eugene perked up at that. “In the name of Love and Justice?”

“Yeah, in the name of Love and Justice,” Axel encouraged, now fully reveling in it. “Don’t you want to experience Reshia’s cheer too? It’s really energizing.”

“If it’s Reshia’s cheer…” Eugene trailed off, then looked at me with big, innocent eyes, like a kitten pleading for attention. My resolve wavered slightly, but I quickly shot him a stern look, trying to convey a firm ‘No!’ through my expression. Eugene seemed to understand, giving me a reassuring smile and nodding as if to say, “Don’t worry, I get it.”

‘Good old Eugene…’ I thought, grateful for his understanding. Unlike that troublemaker Axel, Eugene was on a whole different level of consideration.

But just as I sighed in relief, Eugene said, “I think I’d feel more energized with Reshia’s cheer.”

“…What?”  

Didn’t he understand what I meant? I looked at Eugene with a mix of disbelief and exasperation, only to see him tilt his head in confusion.

“Weren’t you looking at me like that because you wanted to cheer me on?” he asked innocently.

“No!” I exclaimed. Of course not! 

As I clutched my head in frustration, Axel grinned and gave a little nod, clearly enjoying my misery.

“Come on now, it’s for the sake of the tracking. Let’s be cooperative and think of the greater good.”

“…Axel. Are you really saying that without my cheer, you won’t be able to track it? Are you admitting you’re not confident in your abilities?” I asked, trying to turn the tables on him.

“What?” Axel’s playful demeanor faltered slightly.

“Well, if you’re really that unsure, I suppose I have no choice but to help. Alright then, I’ll cheer you on,” I said, pretending to reluctantly agree while stepping forward, watching as Axel’s eyes lit up with determination.