“……”
A furrow appeared between Nigel’s brows. He jumped up from his seat and walked back to the bookshelf. Then he selected books. If it was related to curses and animals, he pulled it out.
Books with thick leather bindings that made his head throb just from reading the titles piled precariously on the desk.
<Temporary Beastification Phenomenon Due to Mana Backflow>
<Compendium of Failed Ancient Alchemy: The Boundary Between Human and Beast>
<Understanding and Dispelling Amphibian Transformation Magic>
<Considerations on Forced Trait Modification by Poison>
<Records Entangled with Cursed Bloodlines>
Nigel, who had even dragged over a book cart and sat down again, quickly skimmed through the pile of books as well.
But.
…There was nothing.
Nowhere was there a case that exactly matched Nigel’s symptoms. It seemed like a mix of poison and curse, or like a magical backflow. Was it ancient magic not recorded?
Damn, it was when Nigel was irritably turning pages.
“Hmm, the Crown Prince’s taste in books is gloomier than I thought.”
A languid voice dropped from above his head.
He’d been so focused on skimming through books that he hadn’t noticed anyone approaching. Nigel reflexively tried to cover the books spread out on his desk, but his opponent was faster.
He took Nigel’s book before he could do anything.
“Hmm.”
Nigel reached out his hand, but the book was already in someone’s hands atop the tall bookshelf ladder. A red-haired man sitting askew on the ladder, chin propped up, looking down at him.
It was Veil Khalid.
Unlike yesterday’s disheveled and filthy appearance, today he looked neat.
“Give it back.”
Nigel said, tilting his head slightly. He pressed his stiff neck with his hand from having his head down for so long.
“Let me borrow it for a sec. Let’s see…. <On Forced Physical Transformation>?”
Veil’s eyes narrowed as he read the book title. The mischievous expression that had been ready to mock the Crown Prince disappeared in an instant.
Books related to magic weren’t unfamiliar to Veil Khalid, the top student of the Academic Department. But why on earth would Nigel Kaiserion be reading this book?
A curse. It was excessively dangerous and ominous. Moreover, Nigel had actually been missing for three days. Although the Imperial Knights had announced within the academy as they returned to the palace that it wasn’t a big deal, there was something suspicious about it.
That Crown Prince? And something he had to hide even from his old friend Rowen Ashfield? It was hard to believe.
“…Why are you reading a book like this, Nigel?”
Veil closed the book he’d taken arbitrarily with a thud and leaned his body forward. His face came right up to Nigel’s nose.
“Is there some problem right now?”
Nigel answered coldly without avoiding Veil’s gaze.
“It’s none of your business. Just give me the book, Veil Khalid.”
Normally he would have slickly glossed over such a question. But Nigel, who had no such leisure, frowned. Nevertheless, Veil Khalid didn’t obediently back down.
“Liar.”
Veil raised one eyebrow. Then he abruptly reached out and gripped Nigel’s chin. Nigel swung his arm to shake off that hand, but Veil’s fingers were faster. His fingers dug into Nigel’s cheek and nape.
“You have no vitality and you’re even breaking out in cold sweat….”
It was the nape where his pulse was beating. Veil’s voice dropped low.
“Your skin is cold as a corpse.”
It was a direct hit.
Until yesterday he’d focused only on the joy of returning to human form, but after turning back into a frog and dramatically returning this morning, Nigel realized. The fact that his body hadn’t ‘completely’ returned.
That’s why he’d sought out the library as soon as he woke up.
“Be honest. Nigel Kaiserion. Are you under some kind of curse right now?”
Veil Khalid’s bright yellow eyes glared as if they would dissect Nigel’s entire body.
“Tell me. Nigel Kaiserion. Properly.”
All his usual playfulness had disappeared. Nigel shook off Veil’s hand still lingering near his neck and said.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. Remove your hand.”
“Shh, you need to lower your voice. This is a library, Your Highness.”
Veil pressed Nigel’s shoulder and leaned his head down further. A distance so close their noses almost touched.
“The Mardinia festival is coming soon, but can I ignore the motivation that would make you come alone to the library at this dawn to study magic?”
It was a pretext for interference like a play on words. Mardinia, commemorating the day the Kaiserion Royal Family and the Dragon Silvanus made their ancient contract.
On this day, the entire Empire stopped their daily lives and celebrated the contract with the dragon that made the current Empire possible.
Kaiserion Academy also honored the Mardinia period as the biggest event of the year. Because for Kaiserion Academy, which was established when the founding Emperor and Silvanus made their contract, that day was equivalent to its founding anniversary.
“……”
“Is it dangerous? Is it related to your disappearance for three days?”
It was a direct hit.
Nigel said nothing. He didn’t want this arrogant and rude fellow to catch on to his current situation.
“I’ll say it again, but it’s not your concern.”
Nigel tilted his head very slightly, then spoke in a voice mixed with a sigh. Veil stared at those eyes for a long while, then clicked his tongue and stepped back.
Only then did the suffocating pressure disappear.
“…Right, you don’t want to say it with your own mouth.”
Veil shook his head as if disgusted. But his amber eyes were still tenaciously scanning Nigel’s pale complexion.
“You think I won’t know if you keep your mouth shut? Your state is a complete mess right now.”
“……”
“Crawling to the library looking like that. Are you foolish, or are you ignorant?”
Veil’s words were rough, but there wasn’t a single wrong part. Nigel couldn’t find words to refute. He could only maintain an unconcerned face.
Veil looked at such a Nigel with a strange expression, then soon shrugged his shoulders as if he’d lost interest.
“Well, do as you please. I’d be grateful if my rival exhausted himself and self-destructed.”
It was an empty remark.
There was clear displeasure in his voice.
Veil tapped the book Nigel had been reading on the desk with the back of his hand.
“But take this back.”
“What?”
“That translation is a mess. Read the original in the western section on the 3rd floor. It’s more accurate.”
“……”
Nigel looked at Veil with a dazed face.
Veil threw a wink and disappeared leisurely between the bookshelves as if nothing had happened.
Nigel gripped his own nape, which Veil’s hand had touched, cold as ice. It still felt like Veil’s warm body heat remained there. He was a fellow whose actions were impossible to tell whether they were helpful or interfering.
After sitting in his seat for a long while, turning the pages of a book that had been spouting completely wrong things for several pages, Nigel spat out words like a sigh.
“…Damn.”
And Nigel moved his heavy steps to the 3rd floor western section that Veil had indicated. It hurt his pride, but when it came to magic, Veil’s words had never been wrong.
***
But.
“…Useless.”
He’d searched through dozens of books, but there was no clear answer anywhere. There were explanations about ‘mana backflow’ or ‘trait modification’ that Veil had pointed out, but the methods to decode them were either vague or extreme methods like ‘find the caster and kill them.’
It was probably because Veil Khalid had recommended based only on seeing the cover of the book Nigel was looking at. If he’d explained properly, Veil would have found exactly the right book, but for Nigel, confiding in Veil was the worst option he wanted to avoid most among all possible choices.
So in the end, Nigel had returned to square one.
Nigel stood up from his seat.
Hmm?
Then he habitually pressed his temples.
There was one strange thing. Normally, if he looked at books for even a little too long, his head would throb as if it would split. Today his head was suspiciously clear. It wasn’t just his head. His body was also light as a feather.
His condition was at its best. Even though it had been quite a while since he’d skipped the medicine Eden prepared for him, far from withdrawal symptoms, he actually felt invigorated.
‘Well… it’s not bad that I’m not in pain.’
Nigel brushed off the dust that had settled from the old books and exited the library. His steps were more confident and vigorous than usual.
When he left the library building and came out to the academy’s main garden, a familiar figure caught his eye. A blonde man leaning against a statue with his arms crossed, staring intently at something as if searching for it.
“…Rowen?”
When Nigel called his name, Rowen turned his head in surprise.
“Nigel…”
Rowen’s eyes were full of worry.
“Why did you suddenly go back to the dormitory yesterday, and how is your condition now?”
“What’s with your clothes?”
The collar area of Rowen’s shirt was wrinkled. As if someone had grabbed him by the collar. But that couldn’t be. There were almost no students in Kaiserion Academy bold enough to grab Rowen Ashfield by the collar.
“…This is… nothing. More importantly, I asked first.”
Rowen roughly brushed the upper part of his shirt with his palm to smooth the wrinkles, then asked about Nigel’s condition.
“Very good.”
Nigel answered truthfully, but Rowen immediately frowned. Naturally, because he thought it was a lie.
“You’re not going to tell me properly? I thought we agreed you’d be honest with me.”
