Early in the morning, even before dawn, the day after meeting the parents, Daphne stood in Victor's arms, upset and slightly trembling.
Yesterday had seemed like the happiest day of her life. Her parents had accepted Victor—yes, things hadn't gone smoothly at first, but the result was what mattered! However, after Victor left, Daphne returned home and immediately noticed the tired look on her sister's face. Remembering Victor's words, she went over to talk to her, and Astoria confessed that lately she had been feeling a strange, persistent weakness. Sitting nearby, their mother overheard the conversation and suddenly panicked: jumping up abruptly, she grabbed Astoria by the hand, snapped a strict "Come with me!", and instantly disapparated with her with the help of their house-elf.
Daphne and her father waited for them all day, burning with anxiety. They returned late in the evening. Her mother explained nothing, but Daphne could see perfectly well: Vesperia was not herself and was literally forcing herself to smile.
After dinner, everyone went to their rooms, but Daphne couldn't fall asleep. She got up and quietly headed to her sister's bedroom. Astoria was sleeping peacefully, and nothing about her appearance suggested anything was wrong. Stepping into the hallway, Daphne suddenly heard quiet, heart-wrenching sounds. Approaching, she realized it was sobbing coming from her parents' bedroom. Peeking through the slightly open door, she saw her mother weeping, incoherently blaming herself for everything, and her father holding her tightly, comforting her, and repeating that she wasn't to blame for anything.
Daphne frowned. Something very serious had happened to Astoria, but her mother didn't seem planning to tell her anything. Overcome with deep anxiety, Daphne began desperately thinking about what to do. And then she remembered: it all started because Victor was the one who sensed something strange in Astoria. Deciding to talk to him immediately, she also thought of Nicolas Flamel. It was a mistake to underestimate him just because he was considered an alchemist—over six hundred years of life, Nicolas had become a grandmaster in many branches of magic.
Having made up her mind, Daphne wrote a letter to Victor and sent it off with an owl. Four hours later, Missy appeared near their house. Seeing the house-elf, Daphne woke her annoyed sister, and together they disapparated.
And now Nicolas was in the workshop with Astoria, while Daphne, clinging to Victor, waited for the results of the examination with a sinking heart.
When Astoria came up from the workshop, followed by Flamel, the girl looked visibly displeased. She was already beginning to suspect something, and it infuriated her to her core that nobody seemed about to explain anything to her.
— Can someone finally explain to me what's going on?! — Astoria shouted, clenching her small fists. — First Mum took me to some old witch who kept me all day! Now you drag me here in the middle of the night... Am I sick?! Is all of this because of my tiredness?! Am I dying?
She looked at her sister demanding answers—she hated being kept completely in the dark.
— No, of course not... We're just worried about you, — Daphne lied, pulling herself together and offering a soft smile.
However, Victor merely sighed heavily and shook his head. Releasing Daphne from his embrace, he unhurriedly walked over to Astoria:
— She's lying. Something is clearly wrong with you—I can feel it distinctly.
He took her by the hand, pulled her along, and they both sat down on a soft sofa.
— Victor!.. — Daphne frowned warningly.
But the young man didn't let her finish, raising his hand:
— She's a big girl now. And if something is happening to her, she has every right to know the truth. Nick, please: what did you find out?
Nicolas nodded gravely and turned his gaze to the older sister:
— Well... Let's put it this way: you didn't worry for nothing, Daphne. Your sister is indeed ill. More precisely—cursed. It's a very powerful bloodline curse that has seeped deep into her blood. Perhaps your distant ancestors offended someone so fatally that the person sacrificed their own life to lay this blight upon your entire lineage. Because of it, this little girl will feel weaker and weaker with every passing year—until she completely loses her strength and fades away. In the best-case scenario, if she takes care of herself and avoids any physical or magical strain entirely, she will live to be about forty or forty-five.
Daphne began to tremble even more violently. Astoria, although trying her absolute best to appear serene, couldn't hide how red her eyes had become. Naturally, somewhere deep in her soul, she had already anticipated such an outcome, but hearing the cruel truth out loud made her feel as if the ground were slipping from under her feet.
— Victor, were you really able to feel the curse right in her blood? — Nicolas stared at him obsessively, completely ignoring the heavy grief hanging in the room. — Damn, I want to study your body so badly! Let's run a couple of experiments and figure out what else you're capable of! Man, I literally can't wait for you to die so I can dissect and research you properly!
Victor could only roll his eyes exhaustedly:
— Nick, do you not know how to read the room at all? Now is really not the time. You just informed a little girl that her life is basically over.
— It's fine, Victor... Forty years is a very long time too! I might even get bored living that long, — Astoria said, forcing a smile, but tears still burst from her eyes, which she hurriedly wiped away with her fist.
Daphne, barely able to catch her breath from the oncoming panic attack, looked at her weeping sister. In the next moment, tears poured down her own cheeks in streams. Unable to hold back, she rushed to Astoria and embraced her tightly. Comforting each other, both girls sobbed aloud, shuddering quietly.
Nicolas frowned in confusion:
— What are you two getting upset for? It's just a curse! I know about it—read about it somewhere in a book in the library—and I can easily lift it.
The girls, still sniffling, suddenly froze and stared at the alchemist in absolute shock.
— Ha-a-ah... Nick, are you serious right now?! — Victor's eye even twitched. — Why didn't you start with that?! What, do you enjoy making children cry? Do you hate them, or is this some kind of twisted sadism?
— But... didn't you come to me so I could lift it? — Flamel asked, surprised.
Victor merely shook his head in astonishment:
— No! We didn't even know she was cursed! And besides, can a blood curse really be lifted just like that?
Nicolas looked at him as if he were insane:
— Well, naturally! It's just an ordinary curse. If you know exactly how it was cast, getting rid of it is child's play.
It was starting to genuinely annoy Victor that Flamel was looking at him like he was a complete fool:
— Don't look at me like that! You're the one who should leave his house once in a while and talk to ordinary mortals. In our world, it's actually believed that blood curses cannot be lifted!
— Is that so? I had no idea... Ah well. You girls calm down for now, and I'll go prepare everything.
Unwilling to remain any longer in a room where Astoria and Daphne were still crying due to his lack of awareness regarding the modern world, Flamel quickly turned around and went back to the workshop.
Victor could only shake his head. Turning to the sisters, he said softly:
— There, there, stop crying. You heard him, Nick is going to rid Astoria of this curse right now.
Only now did Daphne fully come to her senses. Clasping her sister even tighter in her arms, she then quickly moved to the other side of Victor and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing against him:
— Thank you... Thank you, thank you so much!
— What are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything.
— No, this is all thanks to you! If not for you, we would have never ended up in Nicolas Flamel's house... So thank you.
Astoria quickly wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks:
— So... can I really be cured?
Victor looked down at her, and at the sight of that tear-stained, cute little face, his heart squeezed painfully. Damn Nick! Why couldn't he just start by saying that lifting the curse was an easy task for him?!
— Yes, you'll be completely fine, don't worry, — he pulled the girl closer to himself and wrapped an arm around her, affectionately patting her on the head.
Astoria, feeling his warmth, followed her sister's lead and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest, nodding with a happy smile.
Daphne, feeling Astoria settle on the other side of Victor, suddenly opened her eyes. Seeing her sister's contented smile, she immediately frowned:
— Astoria! Don't even think about falling in love with Victor!
Astoria snapped out of it instantly, gasped, and leaped away from him, sitting as far back as possible.
— W-what are you even talking about?! — she shouted, blushing deeply and turning away. — Only you could like a lunatic like him!
Daphne nodded approvingly at her retort:
— Good. The last thing I need is to fight with you for his attention too! He's already got a bunch of bitches gathering around him. Hermione is one thing—she met him first. But now there's Adele, who'll grow up soon and start acting much more boldly... And then that cursed temptress Abigail!
Victor was genuinely outraged:
— Hey, what does my sister have to do with this?! Ew, Daphne, no! I mean, I like that you're jealous of other girls, but hey—she's my sister! Even if not by blood.
Daphne merely rolled her eyes. In their circle, everyone had long understood that Adele would soon no longer be satisfied with just the status of a sister.
However, as she pondered this, her face suddenly contorted: something clicked in her mind. Victor hadn't said a single word in response about Abigail! Her fingers tightened around his waist:
— And where is Abigail right now?
— Mmm... Oh, after last night, she still hasn't recovered, — Victor replied with a slight smile.
— What?! — Daphne pulled back a little, staring at him wide-eyed. — What happened last night?! Did you... you and her... did you?!
She couldn't even finish her sentence. Daphne herself didn't understand what was overwhelming her more right now: anger, shock, wild jealousy, or panic. Astoria looked at Victor with unhidden curiosity as well.
Realizing how ambiguous his words sounded, Victor burst out laughing:
— Ha-ha-ha! No, calm down, we didn't sleep together! I'm still a virgin, — he gave her a brief, tender kiss on the lips. — So you still have every chance to make a man out of me.
Daphne and Astoria flushed simultaneously. How could he speak about such things so easily? To hide her burning embarrassment, Daphne buried her nose back into his chest.
— Wait a couple more years... — she whispered softly.
Victor nodded, but then said thoughtfully:
— Well, I'll certainly try to hold out, but I'm not promising anything. You know yourself how sexy Abigail is...
After those words, no trace of Daphne's embarrassment remained—it was replaced by pure irritation:
— You annoy me!
— Ha-ha-ha! I'm just being honest with you!