— Break it?!
I was speechless.
— You already know that not only the Cassius clan is special in this world,» Razor continued, «the Clan Ileas also possesses inhuman abilities.
I nodded slowly. Razor had told a little earlier-that my mother and grandfather ca from that clan. What's more, it turned out that Lloyd Ileas was my grandfather. I certainly couldn't have expected that.
It explained why strange things sotis happened to . For instance, the regeneration of the scar on my face… And yet, apart from that, I found nothing unusual about myself. That's why for a long ti I considered myself an ordinary person.
— That's because your powers are sealed,» said the man. «But your mother didn't have ti to finish the ritual, and there isn't much of it left. She lets you use it sotis.
I was still in shock.
— So it's all true?!
The other prince answered in agreent:
— You can see for yourself.
I touched the pendant around my neck with a trembling hand: I couldn't believe this was happening to . The pendant my father had given for my birthday-which for a long ti I had thought was just a piece of jewelry-appeared to have such great power. No wonder my head was all ssed up in an instant.
— But why-why would I break it? — I couldn't understand.
The boy sighed.
— To release your power.
— What?!
— The Archduke was wrong about one thing. He thought you should wear the pendant as long as possible, so that the power of the Ileas clan would awaken. But… Because of the seal, that would have been impossible.
— So it's the only way? — I sumd up.
— I suppose so.
I sighed.
After what Razor had told about the true legend of the Goddess and the Demon, it all made sense to . I finally understood why the curse of the Bloody Callia had never been ntioned once in the original novel. As it turned out, it was simply unnecessary.
Brisney and Robert, as the main characters were supposed to be, were reincarnations of those ancestors with whom the story began. When the goddess betrayed her lover, and since then the Cassius clan has been haunted by a curse — which has constantly reminded them that they must not trust anyone.
And now, a millennium later, the sa heroes have been reborn in a different guise and this ti sincerely in love with each other. This put an end to the old feud. Brisney and Robert had broken the curse without even knowing it. This explained-why Robert's illness stopped so suddenly.
Why the novel was called that I only now understood.
— I thought it was a piano in the bush,» I remarked, «and it turns out you've got it all figured out.
Razor smiled faintly.
— You're the first one to make sense of that story.
— Of course I am. No one's ever been inside the mother's body before.
He grinned.
I sighed and squeezed the pendant in my hand once more. Either way, there was still no choice. I didn't have the powers of a goddess-but according to Razor, I could heal. The heroine's mother, after all. For the mont, this power was our only hope.
To avoid further bloodshed and prevent Camilla's ascension to the throne, there's only one thing I can do. Return Rachel's mory. I hoped that my returned powers would be enough.
With that thought in mind, I trusted Razor and tossed the pendant to the floor.
Bang!
The fragile piece of jewelry cracked. And at that mont I felt sothing strange and unfamiliar. It was as if my soul, which I hadn't had before, was returning to my body.
The cold breeze was chilling my bones. I even felt dizzy. While the prince watched anxiously-I didn't know exactly how long it lasted. A couple of minutes, or a couple of hours. The world around suddenly didn't matter anymore.
At one point, I opened my eyes as if I'd been asleep for a long ti. I still had the sa room and Razor in front of . But I felt different.
— How was it? — The boy asked excitedly, «Do you feel all right?
— It all happened so suddenly…» I hesitated, «I can't tell yet.
— Then…
The next second Maxie burst into the room without warning. She must have heard a noise outside and wondered what was going on. Stopping her gaze on the two of us she froze in bewildernt.
— What are you doing?
— We…» Razor started to explain, but was interrupted.
— Oh, look at that.» «I've been trying to reach him for ten days,» she quipped. And when he heard that the beauty had returned, he jumped at once.
While the prince was embarrassed and frozen, I suddenly decided to check sothing. I approached Maxie and asked:
— Can you close your eyes for a mont?
— What?» The daughter of the Marquis was surprised.
— I need to make sure of sothing.
— «Make sure?» — she said, «Do you want to kiss ?
I could tell by the angry look on my face that I was in no mood for jokes. The girl quickly realized this and coughed.
— Well, okay… If you say so.
Maxie closed her eyes. I concentrated all the spiritual power I'd had lately on her. My fingertips felt cold as the energy flowed out of my body. It was the first ti I'd ever experienced such a strange sensation in my life.
Sharing my life force with soone else.
This went on for a couple of minutes. Then I knew intuitively that the process was complete.
— You can open your eyes now.
Maxie did as I said, still not understanding what this was about.
— Why did you…? — she asked perplexedly.
— Can you see well? — I suddenly clarified.
— What?
— I'm talking about your eyesight.
The girl snorted.
— As usual. It hasn't changed since I was a kid. Why should anything change…
— Then try to take the blindfold off.
Another unexpected request from , which Maxie no longer questioned her motives. Just did as I said. And at the sa mont she was dumbfounded.
Before, there had been a scar on the girl's left eye. But now it was gone. Maxie's eyesight was like a normal person's again.
She touched her face with a trembling hand. The eye she had lost in an accident years ago could now see again.
— How… How is that possible!
For the first ti Maxie looked so shocked. I smiled and took her hand. The last mories I'd been missing were finally restored.
— I promised I'd be your eyes.
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