* * *
Raizen doubted his own ears. It felt like he had just heard an absurdly bad joke.
To say that divine power no longer existed in this world—did that mean everything had merely been a tool for seizing power?
But holy relics undeniably existed, and historical records acknowledged that saints had appeared in times of crisis to save the world.
Even if history was written by the victors, was that all a lie too?
A short phrase popped into Raizen’s mind, breaking through his sluggish thoughts like a sudden spark.
“In times of crisis.”
The saints who supposedly appeared whenever the world was in peril.
“…Could it be that divine power, unlike mana, is a force possessed only by a select few?”
“Exactly. That’s why the temple is so obsessed with holy relics.”
Come to think of it, every grand event hosted by the temple always featured a demonstration of a holy relic’s power.
If the priests truly possessed divine power, they could have simply wielded it themselves.
Which meant…
“…There are no priests in the temple right now who can use divine power.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Arthur Sothes confirmed Raizen’s murmured realization.
Then, the duchess spoke up.
“That’s why… we couldn’t take you to the temple. We couldn’t bear to see how devastated you’d be if you found out there were no priests who could use divine power…”
Raizen wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. Because it was true.
Even after finding the key known as Sean, those words still felt unbelievable.
If Sean hadn’t existed, then…
‘I might have gone completely insane.’
A dry chuckle escaped his lips.
Watching him, the duchess bit her lower lip before releasing it.
She couldn’t even bring herself to frown.
No matter the reason, the method they had chosen had ended up hurting their beloved son.
“…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Even though I knew you’d be hurt, I couldn’t bring myself to tell you the truth.”
“I’m sorry. We should have found a better way…”
Seeing his parents act as if everything was their fault, Raizen thought absentmindedly.
‘That’s not right.’
The situation had turned out this way, but… it wasn’t his parents’ fault.
At that moment, Raizen felt as if something that had blinded him for so long had finally lifted.
His vision cleared, and for the first time, he saw his parents without distortion.
Faces filled with sadness, guilt, and relief, all tangled together.
There was no resentment toward him, no irritation—nothing like that at all.
‘Ah…’
A sharp, gut-wrenching pain gripped his heart.
What was this feeling?
He was smart, sensitive even—but after years of suffering from a wretched curse, emotions had become something distant, unfamiliar.
As if offering him a hint, a single tear slipped from one of his eyes.
“Rai…?!”
Raizen quickly wiped at his eyes.
Staring at the clear droplet on his fingertips, he wondered.
‘Am I… sad?’
Sadness. He had always thought of it as something that had nothing to do with him.
To feel sad was to be weak.
And if he became weak, that would be the end.
No one wanted a fragile heir.
Drip. Drip.
Before he could even think to stop them, more tears kept falling.
He didn’t even consider pulling out a handkerchief—he simply covered his face with both hands.
And then, someone pulled him into an embrace.
A scent both familiar and long forgotten washed over him.
“I’m so sorry… Mommy is so sorry…”
Hearing the voice, thick with tears, Raizen unconsciously held his breath.
His mother, a woman who sometimes felt even stronger than his father, was crying because of how much she regretted hurting him.
‘What do I do in a moment like this?’
Raizen knew countless ways to comfort someone who was crying.
But right now, he couldn’t say a single thing.
After hesitating for a long while, he finally reached out and awkwardly patted his mother’s back.
It was a clumsy gesture, but for the duchess, it was more than enough.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Divine power seems to be more specialized in weakening curses rather than dispelling them completely. Or, there might be a specific purification method required. That’s just my assumption.”
…What the hell? Give me back my emotional moment.
As if they had never just been holding each other and crying, Raizen, the duke, the duchess, and Arthur Sothes had already moved on to discussing the curse in depth.
It was nice that they could finally talk about curses openly, unlike before when the subject had been taboo, but…
‘This isn’t just being comfortable—this is turning into a full-blown research symposium.’
Was this still the duke’s mansion, or had it somehow become a graduate school conference?
Raizen would share what he had experienced, Arthur would analyze it, and then the duke and duchess would suggest possible solutions.
Raizen and Arthur would then discuss the feasibility of those solutions.
‘…Is this really how it’s supposed to be?’
What was even funnier was that, despite explaining his experiences with the curse, Raizen didn’t go into detail about what had actually happened to him.
Sure, he skimmed over the disturbing things the curse had whispered to him for his parents’ sake, but why was he avoiding the rest…?
“A special purification method, huh…”
“To figure that out, we’d need to uncover the purpose of the curse or identify the mastermind behind it.”
The moment Raizen muttered that, the atmosphere shifted.
It was hard to pinpoint exactly how—was it just a little colder?
Or maybe a bit more awkward?
‘It couldn’t be that they’re hiding something… right?’
But then, another thought crossed his mind.
The reason Raizen had been cursed—something not even mentioned in Raizen: Bonus Chapter.
Did the duke and duchess have any clues about it?
‘Ugh… but this isn’t the time for me to step in.’
I glanced at Raizen.
He wasn’t someone who would say something like that without thinking.
No, this was a test—he was gauging whether he could truly trust his parents.
‘What a needlessly meticulous bastard.’
What sent chills down my spine was that the quest completion message still hadn’t appeared.
Even if some of the emotional burden had lifted, it meant his doubts still lingered.
Honestly, I doubted the duke and duchess hadn’t looked into the culprit.
Raizen wasn’t just anyone—he was the sole heir to the Pantheon Duchy.
The first suspects would be their political rivals—like Duke Luavis, another ducal family, or even the imperial family.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but please, at least say something!’
If they tried to hide things again, Raizen’s misunderstanding would never fully clear.
The quest had no penalties or time limits, so failing it wasn’t a big deal.
But if this misunderstanding wasn’t resolved here, who knew what might happen in the future?
‘Please, please…!’
I stared at the duke and duchess, praying internally.
The duchess took a sip of tea, then lowered her gaze.
“We investigated extensively… but we failed to pinpoint the mastermind. At the very least, they weren’t someone you would suspect, Raizen. In fact, we’re not even sure there is a mastermind at all.”
‘Phew…’
I almost let out an audible sigh of relief.
“…Honestly, I thought the same. If there really was a group behind this, they would’ve tried to make contact at some point to monitor the curse’s progress—but they didn’t.”
[Quest completed!]
As soon as Raizen finished speaking, a quest completion message popped up.
Just in case, I pressed my lips together tightly to keep my expression in check.
“…Yeah. Embarrassingly enough, I haven’t uncovered anything substantial.”
“That’s not true.”
Raizen hesitated for a moment before adding,
“Thank you for being honest with me.”
“No, this isn’t… something you need to thank me for. It’s entirely my fault for not being able to speak honestly.”
Ah, at this rate, the Duke might just dig himself into the ground.
But there was no need to worry too much—surely the Duchess would pull him back out.
After that, the discussion shifted to how we should handle today’s events.
The Duke and Duchess seemed intent on downplaying it as much as possible.
It was clear they were concerned that even a whisper of the word “curse” would stir unfavorable opinions toward Raizen.
‘But if they try to cover it up too much, that’ll only make people more suspicious.’
Of course, the Duke and Duchess were well aware of that.
Their expressions weren’t exactly bright as they spoke.
Still, from their perspective, they had little choice.
Even if they’d been open about the curse, that didn’t change the fact that it remained Raizen’s deepest wound.
“Do you really think that’s the best course of action?”
It was Raizen who asked, his voice calm.
The Duke and Duchess hesitated briefly before cautiously replying,
“Can we ask what you think?”
Raizen gave a small nod.
“For now… I think we should leave things as they are. Without taking any further action.”
“And why is that?”
His gaze suddenly turned to me.
“I believe Sei handled the situation well enough. Most people will assume that the hostile faction attempted to use some underhanded trick against us but that we managed to overcome it on our own. Or, as you fear, some may recall the old rumors about me being cursed.”
At that, Raizen shifted his focus to the Duke, Duchess, and Arthur Sothes.
They seemed to have come to the same conclusion, their faces troubled as they let out small sighs.
“…Really, our little one has grown up so much,” the Duchess murmured softly.
She gave a faint smile before continuing,
“But soon, people will dismiss those thoughts. They’ll remember the brilliant light you showed them tonight. And they’ll think—ah, so those rumors really were nonsense after all.”
“But not everyone will,” the Duke added.
* * *
