At the end of the corridor stood a room secured with dozens of locks. This was the first time Noel had seen a door with so many locks, and it made clear how serious the condition inside truly was.
"This is the place," Sebas explained.
Wendy clutched Carla tightly, trembling. "It's so dark and scary here."
"Be brave," Carla scolded sharply.
But Wendy's entire body continued to shake, clearly terrified of facing something like this for the first time. Noel noticed this keenly.
"It's alright. You just focus on the treatment later. Leave this part to me." Noel took on the most difficult part of the task without hesitation.
Before they realized it, another person had appeared behind them. It was Duke Aurelius, standing silently at the door.
"Master, I thought you didn't wish to see the lady in her current state?" Sebas asked.
"I need to see her. This hellish existence is finally about to end," Duke Aurelius said, with a heaviness in his voice, the weight of long-held sorrow showing in his posture.
"Then please be careful, Master," Sebas replied, pulling out a large ring of keys and unlocking the locks one by one.
The first lock clattered to the ground, then the second, and so on, until the last lock fell, and Sebas pushed open the door to this forbidden room. Inside was pitch black, with the curtains tightly drawn, making it impossible to see what was inside.
"I'll go in first," Noel volunteered, knowing there was no other option now regardless of what lay ahead.
The moment Noel stepped through the door, he felt an intense gaze fixed on him from somewhere in the darkness, a feeling that sent chills down his spine.
Moving cautiously, Noel's eyes slowly adjusted, revealing fragments of the scene: the bed was empty, but covered in claw marks, feathers from the bedding scattered everywhere, and broken bottles of cosmetics littered the floor.
What is this? Noel had never encountered an illness that manifested like this and had no idea how to proceed.
Suddenly, a shadow lunged at his left arm with incredible speed. But Noel sensed the shift in the airflow just in time and dodged, narrowly avoiding the strike, breathing heavily.
Standing in the heavy scent of spilled perfume, the Duke's wife appeared before him, her appearance exactly as the Duke had described.
"What's happening in there?" Sebas called from outside.
"It's complicated. Don't interrupt me," Noel replied coldly.
He could no longer afford to hold back—this situation was dangerous.
The space was entirely unsuitable for combat, leaving Noel at a distinct disadvantage.
The Duke's wife lunged at Noel, claws outstretched. Noel wrapped wind elements around his fist and punched her back.
This technique had been inspired by the Dragon Slayer magic he had seen, but it was the first time he'd used it in actual combat, and his control was still rough.
The punch landed hard enough to make her pause, a low moan escaping her as she hesitated, unwilling to advance further. The two found themselves in a tense standoff.
Yet something felt wrong to Noel. Was this really going to remain a simple deadlock?
Suddenly, the Duke's wife attacked again, this time aiming not at Noel but at the potion bottle in his hand, as if she understood its significance.
"Damn it, I should have seen this coming," Noel cursed under his breath.
"Aaaaah—!" The Duchess let out a piercing, inhuman scream.
This was a full-blown episode now, and it was terrifying. In this state, she was even more dangerous.
But Noel sensed an underlying wrongness. Could this be more than an illness? Was there a curse involved?
He had never seen an illness that could twist a person so thoroughly. If a curse was involved, everything made sense.
The plan had already been difficult enough, aiming to subdue the Duchess without harming her, but now that she had gone berserk, Noel sighed deeply.
She charged him with ferocity, but Noel was not easy prey, dodging each strike.
However, the Duchess's attacks were becoming faster, sharper, more precise, pushing Noel onto the defensive.
"She's relentless," Noel muttered.
Her attacks were coming so quickly that he couldn't risk using larger-scale spells like Wind Cage to restrain her.
Of course, he could simply use Wind Blades to incapacitate her, but if he did, the Duke would never forgive him. It was a dilemma.
Gradually, the Duchess's assault began to slow. Was she tiring? After all, it was still the frail body of a noblewoman. She couldn't maintain this state forever.
An idea struck Noel: a battle of attrition. It would let him avoid harming her while wearing her down until she collapsed.
After a tense standoff, the Duchess finally collapsed into unconsciousness, exhausted. Noel approached cautiously, observing his patient's pitiful state.
Her condition was even worse than the Duke had described—likely due to the progression of the disease.
Outside, hearing the silence, Duke Aureli grew anxious.
"Mr. Noel, what's happening inside?" the Duke called, unable to contain his worry.
"Hold on a moment, there are still things I need to take care of."
Noel instructed everyone to remain outside a little longer. There was still more he had to do.
Noel didn't know how to feel, seeing this once-proud noblewoman now reduced to something like a ghoul.
Taking the potion, he forced it into the Duchess's mouth. It was rough, but necessary.
Her entire body began to tremble, the eerie red glow fading from her eyes as they returned to normal. Slowly, she fell into a deep sleep.
But it wasn't over. Noel could sense it. While he had treated the disease, something else still clung to her—a dark, malevolent curse.
He wasn't a curse-breaker. He had no means of handling such sinister magic. He was just an alchemist of Fairy Tail.
"You can come in now," Noel called out once he had finished.
The door opened, and everyone rushed in. Duke Aureli was the first to reach his wife, embracing her despite the darkness.
Tears streamed down his face, no longer held back. Even Sebas, usually so stern, could not hold back his tears.
Noel pulled the curtains open, letting sunlight flood the room, its brightness harsh to eyes that had grown used to the dark.