White snow covered the surroundings. The cold was intense despite the stillness.
Adrian stood in the middle of the street, gazing up at the sky. Tears streamed silently down his face, without a sound.
He whispered deep within himself, a sorrowful question on his lips. "Diana… humans are pitiful, aren't they?"
He turned his gaze toward Leo, Lily, and Bill's house behind him and continued, "When humans can die in the most trivial ways…"
He sighed in frustration and walked toward the house with weary steps. He entered and closed the door behind him, then looked at Leo, who was still kneeling on the floor, his head lowered and his body motionless.
He approached him slowly and spoke in a hesitant tone. "Leo… are you going to stay like this? It's been two hours since they passed away…"
Leo shouted in a broken, sharp voice, "And are souls forgotten after two hours?! What does someone like you know, Your Highness?! You've lived in luxury and happiness your entire life… You were so fortunate that you never even got sick—"
Lucia interrupted him angrily. "Watch what you say, commoner! How dare you speak to His Highness like that!"
Adrian gestured toward her with his hand. "It's all right… let him speak."
He turned toward Leo and said calmly, "Leo, I can understand how you feel… but sitting here like this won't change anything."
Leo whispered in a faint voice, "You don't understand, Your Highness… You can't understand what it means to lose your family."
Adrian gritted his teeth, and his voice suddenly rose. "Yes, I don't understand! Then stay here sitting until you die! I'm leaving."
He turned, opened the door, and walked out before slamming it shut behind him.
Lucia clenched her fists angrily and glared at Leo, her eyes burning with indignation.
She stepped toward him and grabbed his clothes roughly. "How dare you! You don't even know anything about Prince Adrian's life! And how ignorant must you be to say that he doesn't understand? He's lost what he holds most dear! His innocent younger sister died because of foolish humans like you!"
Leo stood frozen in shock, unable to move, while Lucia continued shouting at him, her anger mingling with sorrow.
She released his clothes and shoved him, sending him sprawling to the floor. She turned and opened the door, but before leaving, she said sharply, "If you can't bear being separated from Lily and Bill… then go to them! There's no point in a foolish human who doesn't understand the meaning of life anyway."
Then she hurried out after Adrian, leaving Leo alone in the cold house.
~~~
"Your Highness! Wait for me!" Lucia ran after him until Adrian stopped and turned around. She reached him, panting, with her hands resting on her knees.
After a moment, she straightened up and said irritably, "How did you cover this distance so quickly? I struggled to catch up with you!"
Adrian remained silent, staring at her absentmindedly.
She tilted her head and crossed her arms. "What's with that expression? Were you really affected by what Leo said?"
He looked away and spoke in a low voice. "It's not that… I was thinking about the epidemic."
She asked in surprise, "And you're going to investigate it yourself?"
An image of Lily and Bill flashed through his mind, and he replied, "Yes… I have to."
Lucia smiled as she twirled a lock of her hair. "Then… can I accompany you?"
Adrian answered immediately, without giving it a second thought. "No."
Her eyebrows rose in displeasure.
"Heeey? Whyyyy? I might actually be useful to you!"
He replied in a firm tone, "I said no… which means no."
*(Some time later)*
Adrian asked irritably, "Why the hell are you following me?"
Lucia answered with deliberate coolness, "I'm not following you, Your Highness. I'm simply walking along my own path."
Adrian stared at her in annoyance. "And how could your path possibly involve following me?"
She replied with infuriating indifference, "It's not like that."
Adrian stopped walking and shot her a sharp look. "Then, do you know where we are right now? It seems I've lost my way."
Lucia cried out in astonishment, "Heeey!! Does that mean we've been walking around aimlessly?!"
Adrian looked away, unconcerned.
Lucia let out a cry of despair. "You should have swallowed your pride and told me from the beginning! We've been walking for an entire hour in this freezing weather for nothing!"
Adrian shouted in exasperation, "And why should I tell you what I'm doing?!"
"Because you're just wasting time!"
"What are you saying, girl?!"
Their argument continued for a long time before they finally reached an agreement to work together—after Lucia had nearly exhausted all her energy and almost turned into a ghost trying to convince him.
Lucia said firmly, "We've arrived… the old woman's house."
Adrian replied calmly, "Yes, let's go inside and take a look first."
The two entered the old witch's house cautiously. The place was abandoned, covered in layers of dust, with cobwebs filling the corners and dampness evident on the floor, while traces of black magic were scattered everywhere.
Lucia muttered as she rubbed her arm in discomfort, "This house is really strange… I'm getting chills."
Adrian didn't comment. Instead, he continued toward a locked room. He stepped back a few paces, then charged at the door and smashed it open with his shoulder. Thick dust billowed into the air as soon as it broke, so he covered his nose and mouth with his hand and began coughing.
Lucia hurried toward him in concern. "Your Highness! Are you all right?"
He replied after steadying his breathing, "Yes… there seems to be a lot of dust here, and it might be poisonous too. Be careful."
He took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. "Cover your mouth and nose with this before entering."
Lucia exclaimed anxiously, "What about you? Don't you need one too?!"
He stepped into the room as he answered coolly, "Don't worry… a little poison won't kill me."
She placed the handkerchief over her face and followed him inside. Adrian was searching through books scattered haphazardly across the floor when a book with a red cover caught his eye. He picked it up, dusted it off, and began reading its contents.
He muttered to himself, "The Forgotten Truth… Strange. All the books here discuss magic, but this one seems like… something different."
The text discussed humans who had not been granted magic—those known as "Section Zero." It explained how they had gradually become outcasts despite their ability to understand magical equations, although their experiments often ended in disasters.
Adrian whispered to himself in understanding, "I see… This book discusses the history of humans and magic, but I still wonder… why can't I use magic even though I'm a noble?"
He set the book aside and picked up another one titled *Invisible Voices*.
He muttered in surprise, "A strange title…"
He opened the book and began reading. It spoke of creatures from another world that could be summoned through certain methods to obtain instant revenge.
He furrowed his brows, his curiosity growing. "Instant revenge? What exactly does that mean?"
He turned the pages one by one… The explanation was clear: instant revenge meant killing anyone simply by saying their name and pointing at them while declaring their death, even if they were far away. However, the conditions were extremely harsh, as the summoner had to sacrifice ten people to these creatures and then permanently lose both their sight and hearing.
Adrian muttered in disappointment, "I don't think this is the book I'm looking for…" Then he set it aside and picked up another.
He whispered as he examined the title, "By the way… I wonder what kind of magic Diana used. I don't think I'll find it among these books."
Adrian and Lucia continued browsing through the books all day without stopping. After hours of continuous reading, Adrian closed his eyes for a moment, weighed down by the words, symbols, and magical equations.
But his nap didn't last long… Lucia woke him with her loud voice.
Lucia called out in astonishment, waving another book. "Your Highness! I found a book titled *Curse of Death*!"
Adrian stood up and walked toward her, taking the book from her hands. The moment he opened it, his eyes widened in astonishment.
Lucia asked in shock, "Isn't this…"
Adrian began reading, his tension clearly evident.
The book explained how to create magic without a mage—whereby a person incapable of using magic would draw a magic circle containing a triangle and write the following incantation inside it: "When the sun sets and the moon appears, I shall delight in drinking pure blood and offer what I hold most dear to the Great Lord of Magic." The book explained that successful execution would grant the person "the final salvation" and fulfill their wish… while failure would bring an uncontrollable catastrophe.
Adrian whispered to himself anxiously, "I think I understand what happened… but that strange incantation… what does it really mean?"
Adrian continued thinking about the strange incantation, unable to understand its true meaning.
He said with cold determination, "Lucia, let's go to the other rooms. Perhaps we'll find the answer there."
He left the room, and Lucia followed him.
He opened the door to the adjacent room, revealing an almost empty space with a faded magic circle in the center—the very same one associated with the Curse of Death. However, parts of it had disappeared with the passage of time, and faint stains of dried blood marked the floor.
Adrian muttered in shock, "This is probably where the old woman died… but this blood…"
He froze for a few seconds, then a horrifying idea suddenly occurred to him. He gritted his teeth and quickly turned toward the last room. Opening the door, he found a simple room containing a bed, a table, and a small wardrobe.
Lucia asked anxiously, "Wait… what's wrong, Your Highness?"
Adrian entered the room silently and headed straight for the wardrobe. He opened it… but it was empty. He turned and searched the room with his eyes until his gaze stopped at the table.
He moved it aside, then lifted the rug beneath it, revealing a small square that resembled a hidden door leading beneath the room.
Lucia gasped and said, "Your Highness… could this be…?"