Chapter 18

This is the final chapter. Thank you for reading to the end. I am grateful.

"Then I'll take my leave."

With those words, Luke unbuttoned all the buttons on Gilbert's nightgown. He touched the black necklace with his left hand, channeled magic, and when the black mist appeared, he placed his right hand on Gilbert's chest.

"What's that?"

"It's an artifact that governs curses. It's a state secret, so keep it quiet."

Luke answered Fiona's question casually.

Very few people, including the king and Matthias, knew that Luke possessed the artifact.

He had been skilled at handling curse marks since childhood. And he was an incredibly mischievous boy.

He would cast curse marks on every door in the castle to prevent them from opening, or he would open the box containing the prime minister's secret poems and walk around the castle reading them aloud.

Every time he caused mischief, Matthias would scold him severely, but he never learned his lesson.

One afternoon, he decided to sneak into the castle's treasure room to play a prank.

With his curse-breaking abilities, he easily entered the room.

There, he found a box that was sealed tightly. Naturally, he didn't hesitate to break the seal.

When he opened the lid, a black necklace appeared.

As he gently touched it, the necklace emitted a black mist that wrapped around Luke's neck.

The mist was neither painful nor uncomfortable. Curious, he took the box to the king. There, he learned a shocking truth.

He had been chosen as the owner of the artifact that governed curses, which was sealed away because it was dangerous.

The necklace had the power to break any curse and the ability to instantly curse and kill someone.

Luke's ownership of the artifact became a highly confidential matter, and it was decided that the artifact would not be removed from the treasure room except when necessary.

From the day he was chosen by the artifact, Luke became a completely different person.

The responsibility of owning such a dangerous item made him more serious. He could no longer afford to be mischievous.

From that day on, he was treated like a servant by Matthias, as if to get back at him for all the trouble he had caused. But Luke resigned himself to it and continued to endure.

"Actually, I don't want to do this. But it's my own fault. If anyone else tried to approach you, the king was planning to do the same."

"Normally, I would have torn you to pieces. Consider yourself lucky to still be alive."

Luke didn't like handling the artifact, but he resigned himself to the fact that he had no choice.

"First, let's seal your lips. Don't tell anyone about this necklace, me, or the curse marks on your body. Don't tell anyone that we were here."

The black mist from Luke's right hand was absorbed into Gilbert's body.

"Don't ever approach Fiona, don't call her name, don't touch her, and don't listen to her voice."

Matthias spoke rapidly, his eyes fixed on Gilbert.

"Got it, got it. Don't approach, don't call her name, don't touch her, and...?"

"Don't listen to her voice, don't let her enter your field of vision."

"Did you add more?"

"Shut up. Just do it."

"Alright, alright."

With a lazy response, he continued to absorb the mist into Gilbert's body. Fiona's image in Gilbert's eyes became hazy and dark.

"From now on, don't hurt anyone, don't give orders to anyone. Choose a successor who won't invade other countries and who cares for the people. Of course, someone other than you."

Luke continued to engrave the curse marks into Gilbert's body, one after another, to prevent him from committing any more atrocities.

"That's it, I think. ...Oh, Matthias, you broke the palace roof, so don't send me the repair bill. We're even after all the trouble you've caused me."

After engraving all the curse marks, Luke stopped channeling magic into the necklace.

"Phew, that's done. Even if someone notices the curse marks on you, no one can break them. I've amplified the curse's power several times with the artifact."

Luke placed his hands on his hips and announced proudly.

"Are you done? Let's go home. Don't dawdle."

Matthias was exhausted from moving around all day and activating the artifact multiple times. He was slightly irritated, arms crossed.

"Alright, let's go. Matthias, carry me again. Fiona, can you create a distraction and slow them down?"

"Sure, leave it to me."

Matthias carried Luke on his shoulder, just as he did when they arrived.

Fiona put on her hood and erased the upper part of the earth wall she had created.

The two activated a wind magic circle at their feet, flew up, and landed on the edge of the building.

"Goodbye."

Fiona said a small farewell without turning back, but Gilbert, who was immobilized, couldn't hear or see her. He shed tears, thinking of the woman he could no longer see or hear.

Fiona created magic circles everywhere to create a diversion, blinding the imperial soldiers with light and whirlwinds and blocking their path with earth walls.

They went to get the horse they had left nearby and rode back to the kingdom. Fiona rode in front of Matthias.

They took a short break along the way, but Matthias wanted to get her to a safe place as quickly as possible. They rode without stopping at an inn.

By the time they returned home, it was already late at night.

"Phew... Good night."

Luke rubbed his eyes and headed to his room on the second floor.

"Matthias, it's fine now..."

"No, it's not."

Even though Luke said he could manage on his own, Matthias insisted on taking him to Fiona's room on the fifth floor.

By the time they reached the room, he was so exhausted that he was swaying.

"Good night, Fiona."

He gently patted Fiona's head and tried to leave, but he was wobbly. His room was on the fourth floor of the adjacent knight's quarters.

Fiona pulled Matthias's arm and led him into her room, then pushed him onto her bed.

"Sleep here, Matthias. Good night."

She removed his sword and forced him to lie down, covering him with a blanket.

Matthias's mind stopped for a moment, but after seeing Fiona lie down on the sofa and cover herself with a blanket, he thought, 'Well, that's fine...' and closed his eyes.

Of course, it wasn't fine, but his mind was too exhausted and he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

...

Matthias sat on the bed, dazed and holding his head.

– I messed up...

He had collapsed in Fiona's room and slept soundly until morning. How careless.

He decided to leave the room without waking her or alerting anyone else.

Before leaving, he approached the sofa to take one last look at her sleeping face.

He smiled softly at her peaceful expression, hearing her gentle breathing.

He was relieved to have brought her back safely from the empire.

After driving away the imperial mages in the north, he contacted the east to check if everything was okay. When he learned that Fiona had been taken, he was so angry that he wanted to destroy the entire empire.

He was calmed down and told, 'If you start a war, Fiona will feel responsible!'

According to Graham, Fiona's behavior was clearly abnormal, as if she was being controlled.

In that case, Luke's power was absolutely necessary, so they met in the east and went together.

As expected, Fiona was bound by the empire's secret techniques, and without Luke, they would have had to kill the foolish prince.

"...Matthias?"

Fiona woke up, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

"Good morning."

She was a morning person. Still half-asleep, he waited for her to fully wake up before speaking.

"Sorry, I collapsed here."

"Don't worry about it. Thanks to you and the others, I'm back here."

Fiona stood up from the sofa and approached him.

"Thank you for saving me. I had given up on ever seeing you again. I never thought you would come all the way to the empire. I'm sorry for putting you through so much trouble..."

"I would have come for you no matter where you were. You're an important friend now. Besides, I'm like a mother to you. It's only natural to go and bring back a lost daughter."

Matthias smiled and patted her head, trying to make her feel less guilty.

Indeed, he was like a mother to her, someone she could stay with without any reservations.

She trusted and felt safe with him, but he felt a bit sad that she didn't see him as a man.

Fiona felt a mix of emotions when called a daughter. She had called him mother-like before, but that wasn't the case anymore.

"...Matthias, you're not my mother anymore."

Fiona muttered softly.

"Really? When did I get fired as your mother?"

He was shocked and felt a bit disappointed. However, the next words changed everything.

"You're not my mother, but you're important and special to me."

"...What?"

– Important and special...

What kind of relationship is that? A father? A grandmother?

Or...

"Fiona, what do you mean by that?"

If it meant what he hoped, he would be overjoyed.

But Fiona hesitated to say it out loud. She was too embarrassed.

"Well... it's a secret."

She blushed and looked away, slightly lowering her head.

Matthias couldn't resist pulling her into his arms, feeling overwhelmed by her gesture.

"...Matthias?"

"Ah... I'm about to cry."

"What? Why?"

He held her in his arms, savoring the moment, and felt a deep sense of happiness.

* * *

Matthias returned to his room in the knight's quarters, so Fiona decided to take a shower.

She took off the black robe she had borrowed, revealing a sheer black nightgown underneath.

She had been dressed in that, and Matthias had seen it. Thinking about it made her face heat up. The excitement from being held earlier hadn't fully subsided.

She quickly took a shower and put on a white shirt and black pants.

She wanted to report back to Reyla, the captain, and apologize, but it was still early in the morning, so she decided to do it after breakfast.

She hadn't eaten since breakfast the previous day, and her stomach was growling with hunger.

Luke had offered to report to the king, so she left it to him.

As she headed to the dining hall, Muriel and Nina ran up to her. Nina hugged her tightly.

"Fiona! I'm so glad you're back!"

"Really. I wasn't worried because Matthias went, but still!"

Muriel acted cool, but her eyes were a bit red.

"Welcome back. Sorry for the worry."

While hugging Nina, Reyla arrived.

"Welcome back. I'm glad you're safe. I wasn't worried because Matthias went, but I hope no one died over there?"

"As far as I know, Matthias only shaved off the palace roof, so I don't think anyone died."

"Shaved... Okay, that's fine."

Reyla decided not to think about it too much.

They all headed to the dining hall, where Matthias was waiting at the entrance. Nina went to Jonas.

Matthias sat next to Fiona, Reyla and Muriel across from them, and they all had breakfast together. Fiona was lost in thought, amazed that she was back to her normal routine after being taken by the prince just yesterday. Matthias was truly amazing and handsome.

While eating, Fiona apologized to her teammates from the First Magic Corps. They all said they were worried but trusted that Matthias would bring her back safely.

Graham arrived a little later.

"Hey, glad you're back."

He patted Fiona's head and sat down next to her.

"Graham, sorry for blowing you away."

"Don't worry about it. Did the prince do anything to you?"

"Well, he dressed me in some revealing clothes, but I'm fine."

"Revealing..."

Graham stuttered. Matthias, who had been listening, stood up and placed his hand on his sword, his eyes fixed.

"...You just imagined it, didn't you? Show your head. I'll reset your memory once."

"Hey, that's not fair! I didn't do anything wrong! Don't draw your sword here. Fiona, tell him to stop."

"Sure. Matthias, stop. I'd be sad if Graham died. He's like a big brother to me."

Hearing this, Muriel, who had been watching, stood up and glared.

"What!? Matthias is like a mother, but this guy is like a brother? I can't believe it."

"Hey, why are you calling me a mother? That's hilarious."

"Alright, those are your last words."

"No, they're not!"

"Quiet, all of you."

"Hey, it sounds like fun."

Luke arrived, and amidst the noisy commotion, Fiona felt a deep sense of happiness.

Being surrounded by her beloved friends while having breakfast, she felt grateful to be alive.

"By the way, Matthias is not my mother anymore."

She said it in a relaxed tone and smiled gently.