When suspicion turns to certainty, the truth reveals itself.
Adrian was still thinking about that incantation as he searched the house.
"When the sun sets and the moon appears, I shall enjoy drinking the pure blood and offer my dearest possession to the great master of magic."
He repeated the words in his mind, frowning deeply.
"Every segment carries a meaning.
'When the sun sets and the moon appears'… without a doubt, that means midnight when the full moon stands at the center of the sky.
As for 'I shall enjoy drinking the pure blood'… perhaps it doesn't refer to literal blood, but—"
He looked at the faint, dried bloodstains in the middle of the room.
"If this is blood… then what does 'pure' mean? There are many beings in this world, all of them possessing blood. Humans are known to have the finest blood, but even that isn't truly pure."
He clenched his teeth in frustration.
"Damn it… I can't imagine any kind of blood being completely pure. Could it be referring to something else entirely?"
He reached out and touched the dried stains, murmuring in confusion,
"These stains… they look as if—"
Suddenly a thought struck him, his eyes widening.
"No… wait— could it be that the old witch…?!"
He stood up abruptly, heading straight for the last room and pushing the door open with force.
It was a simple room: a bed, a small table in the center, and a tiny wardrobe.
"What's wrong, Your Highness?"
Lucia asked anxiously behind him.
Adrian entered, muttering,
"A normal room? Ridiculous… Something must be hidden here."
He opened the wardrobe first—empty.
He lifted the mattress—nothing.
Checked beneath the bed—useless.
He stood silently for a few seconds, then walked toward the table.
He stared at it as though it were whispering a secret.
"Could it be…?"
He moved the table aside, then pulled away the carpet.
A small square was revealed on the floor… a concealed door leading beneath the room.
"When suspicion becomes certainty, the truth appears."
Adrian was still thinking about that incantation as he searched through the house.
"When the sun sets and the moon rises, I shall savor drinking the pure blood and offer what I hold most dear to the Great Lord of Magic."
He repeated its words in his mind with a deep frown.
"Every part has a meaning.
'When the sun sets and the moon rises'… surely it means midnight, when the full moon stands at the center of the sky.
As for 'I shall savor drinking the pure blood'… perhaps it doesn't mean blood literally, but—"
He looked at the faint bloodstains on the floor.
"If it is blood… then what does pure mean? In this world, many creatures exist, and all of them have blood. Humans are known to have the best quality blood, but it isn't completely pure either."
He clenched his teeth in frustration.
"Damn it… I can't imagine any blood being absolutely pure. Could it be referring to something other than blood?"
He extended his hand and touched the dried stains, murmuring in confusion:
"These stains… look as if—"
A sudden idea made his eyes widen.
"No… wait— could it be that the old witch…?!"
He rose quickly and hurried to the last room, pushing the door open forcefully.
It was a simple room: a bed, a table in the middle, and a small wardrobe.
"Wait… what's wrong, Your Highness?"
Lucia asked anxiously as she followed him.
Adrian entered the room, muttering:
"A normal room? Ridiculous… something must be hidden here."
He opened the wardrobe… empty.
Lifted the mattress… nothing.
Checked under the bed… pointless.
He stood still for a few seconds, then turned toward the table.
He stared at it as if it whispered a secret.
"Could it be…?"
He pushed the table aside and pulled the carpet away.
A small square hatch appeared on the floor… like a hidden door leading beneath the room.
---
"As I expected…"
he whispered with quiet confidence.
Lucia approached, wide-eyed.
"Your Highness… is this a secret door?"
He answered with a faint, mysterious smile:
"Yes. The real play took place somewhere the villagers couldn't find."
He knelt to open it, but his expression tightened.
"Damn… locked."
Lucia stepped forward confidently.
"Your Highness… please step back a little."
He took two steps back.
Lucia straightened her posture before the wooden hatch, raised her hand, and released a small spell—sharp and concentrated like a nail.
The lock burst open without harming the floor or the surrounding wood.
It was an extremely rare skill, like a magical signature only mastered by a few… and historically, those few had all become great Stars.
Adrian stared at her with subtle astonishment, murmuring to himself:
"This girl… I knew she was strong, but not with this level of precision."
Lucia smiled lightly.
"So… shall we go in and explore now?"
He answered with his usual cold calm:
"Yes."
He opened the hatch, revealing stairs descending into the darkness. Adrian went down without hesitation, and Lucia followed him, conjuring a floating sphere of light above her palm.
And there… lay the true catastrophe.
Adrian stopped abruptly, causing Lucia to bump into him.
"Your Highness, why did you suddenly—"
Her words died the moment she saw what lay before them.
Her eyes widened, and she took a shaky step back, gasping in horror and disgust.
"Get out of here."
His voice was cold as a blade.
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye—an eye burning with controlled fury.
"I told you… get out."
he repeated sharply.
Lucia trembled, turned away, and climbed back up, leaving the light sphere floating to illuminate the place for Adrian.
He kept staring ahead.
When doubt turns to certainty, the truth reveals itself.
Adrian was still thinking about that incantation as he searched through the house.
"When the sun sets and the moon appears, I shall relish drinking pure blood, and I shall offer the dearest thing I possess to the great Lord of Magic."
He repeated its words in his mind with a grim focus.
"Every line has a meaning.
'When the sun sets and the moon appears'… without a doubt, it refers to midnight, when the full moon stands at the center of the sky.
As for 'I shall relish drinking pure blood'… perhaps it doesn't literally mean blood, but—"
His gaze fell on the faint bloodstains at the center of the room.
"If this truly is blood… then what does pure mean? In this world, countless creatures exist and all of them possess blood. Humans are considered the best source, but their blood isn't completely pure either."
He clenched his teeth tightly.
"Damn it… I can't imagine anything with perfectly pure blood. Could it mean something other than blood?"
He reached out and touched the dried stains, then murmured with confusion:
"These traces… they look as if—"
Suddenly, a horrifying thought struck him. His eyes widened.
"No… wait— could the old witch have…?!"
He stood abruptly, rushed to the last room, and flung the door open.
It was a simple room— a bed, a small table, and a small wardrobe.
"Wait… what's wrong, Your Highness?" Lucia asked anxiously as she followed him.
Adrian stepped inside, muttering,
"A normal room? Nonsense… something has to be hidden here."
He opened the wardrobe first— empty.
Lifted the mattress— nothing.
Checked under the bed— pointless.
He stood in silence for a few seconds before turning to the table.
He stared at it as if it whispered a secret.
"Could it be…?"
He moved the table aside, then pulled up the rug.
A small square hatch appeared on the floor… a hidden door leading beneath the room.
"Just as I thought…" he whispered with quiet confidence.
Lucia approached, astonished.
"Your Highness… is this a secret door?"
He answered with a faint, mysterious smile:
"Yes. The real performance took place somewhere the villagers could never discover."
He knelt to open it, but stopped with frustration.
"Damn it… locked."
Lucia stepped forward with confidence.
"Your Highness… please step back a little."
He moved two steps away.
Lucia stood straight before the wooden hatch, lifted her hand, and released a small yet focused spell— sharper than a nail.
The lock exploded without harming the floor or the surrounding wood.
It was an extremely rare skill, almost like a magical fingerprint mastered by only a few.
Throughout history, every sorcerer who wielded such precision was recorded as a Great Star.
Adrian stared at Lucia with a concealed astonishment, murmuring inwardly:
"This girl… I knew she was strong, but not with this level of precision."
Lucia smiled lightly.
"So… shall we go in and explore now?"
He answered with his usual coldness:
"Yes."
He opened the hatch. A staircase swallowed in darkness descended below.
Adrian walked down without hesitation, followed by Lucia, who summoned a glowing orb that floated above her palm.
And there… the true catastrophe awaited.
Adrian stopped abruptly, causing Lucia to bump into him.
"Your Highness, why did you suddenly—"
Her voice died the moment her eyes saw what lay before them.
Her eyes widened, she staggered back, gasping in terror and disgust.
"Leave this place."
His voice was sharp and cold as a blade.
He turned toward her slightly— one eye burning with restrained fury.
"I said… leave."
He repeated it with a cutting harshness.
Lucia trembled, turned around, and climbed out, leaving the light orb hanging in midair to illuminate the chamber for him.
Adrian returned his gaze forward.
---
Magic circles covered the floor.
Faded bloodstains climbed the walls.
Rotting corpses and tiny skeletons— all belonging to newborn infants.
Yes… pure blood did exist,
but only in an unborn child.
Adrian walked forward with steady steps, his eyes void of life.
He stopped before one of the pots smeared with dried remains, staring at it with a chilling blankness… then let out a short, icy laugh.
"Ha… hahaha… so that's how it is. Did you enjoy drinking pure blood, old witch?"
The line
"I shall relish drinking pure blood"
was not a riddle… it was a direct statement.
Adrian murmured inwardly with harsh clarity:
"The unborn child is the only being with truly pure blood… but it seems she realized that too late, or discovered it by chance. Her failures over the last ten years were because she experimented on newborns— but the moment a child enters this world… its blood becomes tainted."
He swept his gaze across the corpses, his eyes narrowing with deep irritation.
"The fact that they haven't fully decomposed means they're at most two years old…
But that witch practiced her ritual for ten years.
Which means these… were merely the last batch, and she didn't have time to dispose of them before she died."
He approached the walls saturated with symbols and scribbled notes.
"All these circles… all these writings…
She repeated the same incantation over and over.
How many victims did you sacrifice to complete your plan, damn you?"
He furrowed his brows.
"But one thing bothers me… Leo said people saw a beam of light coming from this house. If that's true… then it means she fulfilled all the conditions successfully.
But… why did she die?"
He knelt and touched the center of the magical circle, where the incantation was written.
"Was there a requirement that demanded her death—"
His eyes widened in sudden realization.
"Now I understand… the final condition.
'I shall offer the dearest thing I possess to the great Lord of Magic.'
She thought blood was enough…
But the dearest thing a human possesses isn't the body…
It's the soul."
---
Minutes later, Adrian emerged from the hidden chamber, his face drained of color.
He looked to the side—
Lucia sat on the floor, her head lowered, tears streaming silently down her cheeks, heartbreaking in their quietness.
He sighed softly and approached her until he stood in front of her.
He spoke in a low voice:
"That's why I didn't want to bring you. No matter how strong you are… you're still a gentle girl raised in a home that knows the meaning of love."
Lucia lifted her face with difficulty, her trembling voice barely holding:
"How could you stay there?
How could you not feel… what I felt?"
He answered calmly and coldly,
"That's enough. Let's go."
She stood up quickly, facing him:
"Answer me, please. Why didn't you feel anything? When Bill and Lily died… we all cried except you. Are… are you devoid of feelings?"
Adrian's eyes narrowed in irritation:
"I told you… that's enough."
But she suddenly raised her voice, choking with anger and shock:
"Are you even human?! No matter the suffering… a person does not lose their emotions!"
At that moment, his patience snapped.
He struck the wall beside her head with restrained force, making the air tremble around them, and looked into her eyes with a gaze as cold as a knife:
"Don't you understand what I'm saying?"
Lucia trembled and took a step back, clutching her shaking hands:
"I'm sorry… I was wrong."
He stared at her face for a long few seconds before whispering in a low, harsh voice:
"I've seen dozens of scenes far worse than this. But, as you know, living in darkness… it trains you to see everything without needing the light."
Then he turned and left, leaving Lucia alone.
—
Night fell, and Adrian sat in the room full of books, examining all kinds in search of a way to end the curse.
He flipped through the pages, thinking to himself:
"I need to organize all the events logically first. Initially, the old woman performed forbidden magic from the Curse of Death book and died, and as a result, a strange plague appeared in the area. The link between the plague and the magic is…"
A memory flashed before him:
"Leo!! I came to tell you that the plague has already reached this area! Be careful with food, wash it thoroughly… I heard the plague spreads through food!"
Adrian's eyes lit up with understanding:
"That's right… Max said the plague spreads through food. This means the plague itself is not a curse on people, but on the food."
He set the book aside and pondered deeply:
"But not all the food is contaminated, only some… So the contaminated food is related to magic?"
He raised an eyebrow with annoyance and sarcasm:
"The curse couldn't have taken hold in a land with potatoes, for instance!"
He closed his eyes in deep thought, then rubbed his head with both hands in frustration:
"Ugh… I can't find the cause…"
Adrian thought inwardly with a question:
"Maybe I overlooked something… perhaps I need to investigate again."