The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

A few hours have passed since Nair visited Amako and her family during the day.

The sun has already set, and the castle seen from the window of the house in the boundary is dappled with the light of torches.

Eva still lay awake in bed in front of me, and I sat in a chair next to the bed, watching to see if the spells cast on her would be broken.

"......I hope Nair is doing well ......"

She looked pretty bad, so I think she'll be okay, but her tendency to screw up at the most crucial moments makes me nervous.

"Well, this is when you have to trust."

I'll be on my own and stick to her plan.

First, I will rest my body as Nair first instructed.

Next, I'll keep an eye on Eva to make sure that the resistance spell I've cast on her won't disappear by some accident.

Then, if the light of the resistance spell has faded, take her outside the ward and wait for Nair to come back.

When I gave her these three instructions, Nair said, "Even you, with all your brains, can remember this much, can't you? I gave her a healing bump in return, and she cried with joy.

"...... is getting a lot weaker, isn't it?"

The light of the resistant spells protecting Eva as she sleeps on her bed is weaker than it was when I saw her during the day.

"It's about time."

Let's get her out of here as planned.

However, I have to destroy the curse, so Eiri, the butler, will be the one to carry her out.

I thought it would be better to ask Master Lucas for help from the other knights, but Nair refused, so it is just me, Nair, and Eiri who are going to destroy the curse.

Eiri has already offered to help us, so all we have to do is to call him.

"---Mr. Usato, excuse me."

There's a knock at the door.

Hmm?　Is it Eiri?

"Just in time. I was about to go get him. ....... What's going on?　What's going on, Eiri?"

Mr. Eiri had a rather bitter expression on his face when he opened the door.

I wondered about him, but when Mr. Eiri took a step back before the door and shifted to the side, I understood why.

"Hey, I'm here."

"What about ......?　Mr. Lucas?"

Mr. Lucas appeared suddenly from behind Eiri's back.

What?　Why?　I've been trying to do what Nair told me to do quietly, and I didn't tell him about the mission. .......

Why are you here?

"Eiri told me. We're going to break the curse tonight, aren't we?"

I quickly look at Eiri and see that he too has a scowl on his face. From the look on his face, it seems that he had not expected Lucas himself to come here, even though he had reported it.

Eiri-san bows apologetically to me and closes the door.

"Mr. Lucas ......"

"Don't tell everyone, Usato. I am a father before I am a king. I can't stand idly by while I save the life of my precious daughter.

"But what would happen to this country if something happened to Master Lucas?

"I'm sure the good minister will take care of it, no matter what happens to me. They are the ones who have supported me for decades. I trust them enough to take care of me no matter what happens to me.

That's not the point!

Lucas laughed so brightly that I held my head down, not knowing what to say to him.

I felt like I couldn't say anything else. .......

"But Usato, wandering around the castle without permission is not a very good thing. If you had been suspected, you could have been captured by the knights at the worst possible time.

"......I was hoping that the situation could be resolved without anyone making a fuss. ......"

It's not that I didn't think about getting caught. But the curse is a powerful mental attack, and you never know what might happen if you get the wrong people together.

Especially a knight who might have a sword. If their minds can't take it anymore, they might get confused and fight each other.

"...... Mr. Lucas, what about your guards?"

Of course. I have Fognis and four knights with me outside the wards.

Yes, I see.

Mr. Fegnis is here. I hope it doesn't turn out like Nair said.

But if he's here, so be it.

"...... Please stay away from the main source of the curse as much as possible. Let me be the only one to go near it and let the knights protect Eva.

Are you sure you can handle this?

The curse is a powerful psychological attack. I'm probably the only one who can handle it.

Or, more precisely, only Nair, who deals with the magic of resistance.

Now I'm giving magic to Eva, but it has a disadvantage that it can only be given to one target, so when I destroy the curse, Eva's magic must be lifted and I must put on the magic of resistance.

For now, let's move on with Eva."

"...... is it safe to move Eva?"

"If the spell is broken, the curse will come from anywhere. So it's safer to have her near me, where she'll be the priority target.

Once again, if the curse is triggered using Eva as a medium, her existence will surely disappear.

I have a plan in case the curse strikes Eva before it strikes me, but I don't want to do it if I can help it.

Praying inwardly that this will not happen, I put on my coat that was hanging on the chair and get ready.

"---Dad,...... Usato?"

""!?"""

I heard a small voice in my ear as I was getting ready.

I turned around at the same time as Mr. Lucas and saw Eva lying on the bed with her eyes thinly open.

"Eva, are you all right?"

"Uh ...... I'm fine. What the hell happened?

she asked as she slowly sat up, seeing the face of Master Lucas approaching her.

Don't you remember?　Is your memory muddled?

"Oh, and what is your father doing here?　Isn't he busy with his work?"

"...... hahaha, I've already finished my work."

"Oh, really?　Then we're together today."

Eva let out a happy smile.

But when she picked up her hair, which was shaking in her vision, she let out a cry of surprise.

"My hair is turning blue!

Come to think of it, she didn't know that her hair had changed color.

Since I can't upset her by telling her about the curse out of the blue, I'll just say that the color was changed by the magic I used for some reason.

She tilted her head and played with her blue hair, then looked up as if she had just remembered something.

"---Oh, if your father is here, we have to get ready to entertain him right now!"

She moves the futon off and gets up, slowly putting her feet down on the floor.

"...... eh."

"Eva, you don't have to do too much ...... Eva?"

I noticed that her movement stopped unnaturally as she lowered her legs from the bed, and I looked at her with a little self-consciousness.

Her eyes were looking down, and when I looked at the other end of her gaze, I saw..,

"No shadow, no ......?"

"!!!"

Oh shit ......!

The shadow created by the moonlight formed only the dress she was wearing and --- only half of her body remained.

Eva looked up and saw me in the dress that seemed to be floating unnaturally, and she started shaking as if she was hugging her own body.

"Eva, what's wrong? Are you okay?

"Don't touch me!　Don't touch me! Don't touch me!

Eva crawls away from Lucas, who tries to put his hand on her shoulder. She moves to the window, looks at me and mutters in a small voice, ".

From the looks of her, it seems that she was still conscious when she was being controlled by the curse.

It's not surprising that she would end up like this, since her body had been taken over by someone she didn't know and she had heard the vindictive voices of the people of Samariat, just like me.

"Usato, what should I do? ......"

"Master Lucas, I'll take care of it."

I say this to Mr. Lucas, who is upset and unsure of what to do, and take a step forward.

I'm not sure, but I have to calm her down.

"Don't come near me, Usato-san! I'll get another curse. ......

She held her head in her hands as she approached the bed.

I think the curse was triggered by my touching her at that moment.

It's a bad curse, but she seems to think that if I touch her, someone will be hurt badly.

When she sees that I won't come any closer, she looks up.

"I ...... don't want you to go away.　I don't want you to go away with me. ...... believe me, please."

"...... don't worry, I believe in you."

Those skeletons, you don't think she told them that if they made me disappear, we could be together?

I know you're desperate to be free from the curse, but I can't forgive you.

Suppressing my anger, I talk to her calmly.

"You were just taken over by the curse at that time.

"......."

"Now that I've used magic to keep you away from the curse, you don't have to worry about being manipulated. So you don't have to worry. Here."

She holds out her right palm in front of Eva, who is hiding it as if she were holding her hand.

She sees my hand and her eyes and slowly reaches out her trembling hand as if she is frightened.

I pull my hand back in confusion, but a cool hand is placed on my palm.

"Ah ......"

When the curse was triggered, it was because I touched her hand, but now that the curse has been banished by the magic of resistance, nothing happens when I touch her.

Now that ......nea is gone, it's only a matter of time.

"Hey, it's okay, right?"

"...... yes."

She let out a faint breath of relief and squeezed my hand.

Thank God, she seems to have calmed down, but... this is so embarrassing. I'm so embarrassed by my behavior now that I feel the urge to kick myself right here and now.

Usato.

"...... Yes?　Yes?

As I was fainting in agony from the embarrassment inside, I noticed that Master Lucas was standing next to me, looking down at me intently.

I change my gaze from Mr. Lucas to Eva, and my face turns pale.

"Well, this is, uh..."

Holding the hand of the princess of a country, even if it was necessary, was beyond insane.

Even her father, Lucas, had joked about taking a wife, but in a situation like this, he could have said, "Why are you touching my daughter's hand?" ......!

"Do you still don't want to take my daughter?"

"What?"

Are you talking about that?

I was wondering what he was going to say when he looked at me with a blank expression on his face.

Eva and I looked up in surprise, and Lucas-sama, who had just smiled at us, continued to speak.

"Well, it's at times like this that you can see what true feelings are. I am impressed. I must admit that I am impressed. Take care of my daughter, Usato.

"Please don't make it sound like you were reluctant to ......"

I think I was in a ...... mess of a mood.

I was so much in the mood that I couldn't find a single element of a stubborn father in anything I said or did.　

"Well, let's talk about this after I save my daughter.

"...... what?　You're not going to make a joke out of this?"

Something terrible awaited me after I saved Eva.

"Well, father, what ...... do you mean by saving ......?"

"Now Usato is going to break your curse."

"Mr. Usato, you are ......"

"Well, anyway, I'll explain the details as we go."

Master Lucas crouched down in front of Eva, who looked at me dumbfounded, and put his hands on her back and knees and lifted her up.

Shall I hold her up halfway?　I asked him,

"I'll take care of this. ......Maybe we should ...... no, let's get out of here anyway."

"...... Okay. Then please follow behind me.

I knew what Master Lucas was going to say.

Failure to destroy the curse would mean that I would be bound to this castle with my soul, and she would disappear.

"I won't let you be the last!"

I have no intention of failing.

I will do everything in my power to break the curse of Samaritan... I walk out the door with even more determination.