At first glance, there was a very faint pattern that could easily be overlooked.
Calisto had engraved the mark of the curse on Dietrian’s wrist.
“As I mentioned, the curse can be suppressed with the energy of a dragon. But there are limits. There’s only one way to break the limit.”
It meant that Dietrian would die in place of Leticia.
“But the saintess would never want that. So, for now, we have to endure. Until a miracle happens, and someone appears who can neutralize the curse.”
Someone new to neutralize the curse.
Neither Calisto, who said it, nor Dietrian, who heard it, had any expectations.
A new dragon’s bloodline was needed, and that seemed impossible.
“Also, Your Highness, you must always keep in mind. The mark can awaken at any time and become a new conduit for the curse. If you feel any changes, you must inform me immediately.”
Nevertheless, Dietrian felt relieved.
Now Leticia was completely safe.
The curse could no longer harm her.
Even though he knew this was just a temporary measure, he was happy just to maintain the status quo for now.
He was grateful that the curse’s power had weakened and that the blood flowing in his veins could suppress it.
However, it wasn’t always happiness.
Anxiety still lurked in his heart.
Especially when he thought of the fragments of an unrealized future.
In the fragments, he had clearly left Leticia’s side.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know when that time would come.
It might be just before Leticia gave birth.
As a husband, as a father.
The fact that he might leave his wife at the most important time made him the most anxious.
Still, Calisto finding a clue to break the curse was comforting.
“In fact, there is no perfect way to break the curse. Unless you turn back time, you can’t completely erase the marks left by fate. But you can render it powerless. To exist as if it doesn’t exist.”
Just as his child, with Sigmund’s help, had turned the fire that tried to consume his mother into embers.
Many shared the corrupt power to make the curse meaningless.
That was the method Calisto had found to break the curse. Strangely, listening to those words reminded him of something Sigmund had said before.
“I have been preparing for years to reverse that child’s fate.”
Someone who had to save their strength for a while to protect someone, Sigmund had said.
‘Who could it be?’
Dietrian couldn’t even begin to guess who was so important that Sigmund would go to such lengths to reverse their fate.
In any case, time passed in a mix of happiness, anxiety, and curiosity.
Luckily, Rehir remained calm.
The traces of the curse appeared completely extinguished, like ashes.
Several weeks had passed.
During that time, Leticia had enjoyed a remarkably peaceful period.
She was elated ever since Calisto assured her that she could safely give birth.
Leticia’s main concern was the baby’s gender.
“Dietrian, do you think it will be a girl or a boy? I hope it’s both. Is that too much to wish for?”
Leticia, who was so happy, was incredibly lovely.
At that moment, all crises seemed to be forgotten.
While Leticia enjoyed her happiness, her wings were busily working beneath the surface.
Under the command of the princess, all of Josephina’s forces entrenched in the empire were eradicated.
The forces that had followed Josephina for decades were deeply and widely rooted throughout the empire, like tree roots.
Eradicating all of them at once was nearly impossible, but Leticia’s wings made the impossible possible.
While dealing with the corrupt nobles, the wings also tracked Rehir.
Unfortunately, tracking Rehir was not as easy as purging the nobles.
Rehir’s traces vanished completely, like smoke.
Therefore, the wings mobilized all the spirits to monitor the entire empire.
People were both in awe and reassured by the sudden appearance of numerous spirits.
When the situation was roughly settled, the princess put an end to it all.
In front of everyone, she showed her submission to Leticia.
“As the representative of the imperial family, I pledge the eternal loyalty of the empire’s imperial family to the new saintess. Additionally, we express our apologies for all the wrongs the empire has committed against the saintess.”
This event caused a major upheaval among the nobles.
Though the princess was the saintess’s wing, she was also destined to become the emperor of the empire. Yet she showed submission to the saintess.
Moreover, the princess referred to herself as the representative of the imperial family.
This despite the emperor being alive and well.
While the nobles loyal to the emperor were in shock, the princess dropped an even bigger bombshell.
“As an act of apology, we propose a peace agreement between the Principality of Xenos and the Holy Empire.”
A peace agreement. It sounded wonderful. The problem was that the peace agreement prepared by the princess was biased in name only.
“This agreement is invalid! There is not a single clause favorable to the empire! How can this be allowed?”
“Even considering the saintess, we cannot treat the principality as our superior! The Principality of Xenos! It’s the land of the evil dragon!”
“Moreover, the empire cannot interfere with the saintess’s residence? What if the saintess decides to stay in the principality forever? What will become of the empire?”
“If the saintess doesn’t return, what about the desertification of the empire? How will we stop the monsters? This is outrageous!”
“We must see the emperor! There is no way His Majesty will allow this!”
Nobles, who were about to trade their pride for survival, fortunately came to their senses before acting.
For some reason, the emperor, whom they believed would support them, turned them away.
With the emperor’s rejection, the nobles reluctantly signed the peace agreement.
Of course, the princess, who had witnessed everything, expelled the nobles who most vehemently opposed the treaty.
The chaos gradually subsided. Time passed, and the day came for Leticia to return to the Principality.
The child in Leticia’s womb was also growing steadily.
And so, when everyone had relaxed.
That’s when it happened.
* * *
It was a day when warm sunlight filled the room.
Leticia savored the warm sunlight with her eyes closed for a long time. She was alone in the room.
Dietrian had been particularly busy lately. As a Prince and as Leticia’s husband, he had many responsibilities.
‘It seems like he’s been meeting with the imperial prince quite often lately.’
At first, she found the unlikely combination puzzling, but surprisingly, they seemed to get along quite well.
‘What could it be about?’
She was curious about what the two were discussing, but Leticia didn’t ask. She had a rough idea without having to inquire.
‘It must be something for my sake.’
So, at first, she tried to find out more details. But soon, she gave up.
‘Let’s just wait until things stabilize for now.’
Although the child was growing healthily, it was still early in the pregnancy.
She had to be careful, very careful.
Thanks to carrying a being more precious than her own life, Leticia abandoned her stubbornness for the first time since her regression.
The stubbornness that said she would sacrifice her own life to protect her people.
Her people were still precious to her, but now, the child in her womb was the most important.
Feeling a surge of wonder in her chest, Leticia gently wrapped her hands around her belly.
“Baby, do you want to go for a walk with mom?”
Even though there was no reply, Leticia, who had held her breath for a moment, burst into laughter. It was quite funny to talk to a child who couldn’t yet feel movement.
“Let’s go for a walk. The flowers in the garden are blooming beautifully.”
Although it was the middle of winter, the weather in the palace had recently been perfect for walks.
Thanks to the spirits being excited, an early spring had arrived at the palace.
Snow melted as soon as it fell, and green shoots sprouted on the ground. The bare branches were now lush with leaves and even had buds.
This change occurred only in the palace where Leticia was.
“Lady Leticia!”
As soon as she left the palace, Noel ran over. She held a whip made of water in her hand. Her eyes sparkled in a way that didn’t match the formidable weapon, making Leticia laugh.
“Are you going for a walk with the baby?”
“Yes.”
Leticia nodded.
“Are you sparring again today, Noel?”
“Not sparring, but training.”
Noel grinned. In the distance, Banessa’s scream could be heard.
“Aaaah!”
Leticia burst into laughter as she watched Banessa flying over the pond, tangled in a rope made of water.
“Take it easy, take it easy.”
“He asked me to do this!”
Restless from being in the palace all the time, Banessa had recently started requesting duels with other Wings. He wanted to practice properly handling his spirit. However, there weren’t many suitable sparring partners for him.
Calisto was still busy with Leticia’s curse, Kailas, who used healing powers, wasn’t in the combat category, the princess was preoccupied with dealing with the imperial nobles, and Irene was too young to be asked to duel.
Although Julia was still around, Banessa didn’t want to spar with someone he had fought countless times back in the Principality. This left only Noel and Ahwin.
Luckily, both were senior Wings to Banessa and were familiar with handling spirits from the start. They were the exact sparring partners Banessa wanted. Especially Noel, who used water, was a perfect opposite to Banessa, who controlled fire. Despite losing every time, Banessa eagerly pursued Noel for another duel.
“Aaah! Sister! Let me go!”
“I’ll go deal with that fool now, Lady Leticia!”
“Alright, be careful.”
With Banessa’s screams and Noel’s scolding behind her, Leticia walked slowly through the garden. Each day felt like a miracle, just like the spring that had come to the garden in the middle of winter.
Of course, she knew the curse still remained.
She knew that after the child was born, the curse might attack her again.
Even so, she was content.
At this moment, she wanted to fully enjoy the time with her child.
In her happiness, Leticia often imagined who the child might resemble.
It was at that exact moment, when she was vividly picturing her child’s face in her mind and smiling.
Whistle―.
Leticia pricked her ears at the bird-like whistling sound.
Then she turned her head.
“What?”
Leticia’s eyes widened as she saw a small bird perched on a branch.
“Blue?”
To her surprise, the bird that called out to Leticia was made of blue flames.
Leticia stared at the bird, entranced.
For some reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off the clear blue color, like a crystal-clear lake.
