I would like to say that after having been told such of an unexpected notice, I was able to maintain a calm demeanor, but I don’t like to lie so shamelessly.

—Carmilla, please prepare some water resistant clothes. Sophie, can you call Adrian to come over here? Take a raincoat or an umbrella, and be careful to not slip! —I said, almost hyperventilating, but somehow managing to give the proper instructions.

The doctor had to force me to sit down and breathe deep to avoid fainting, while Eve brought me a cup of tea.

—Mother? —my baby called—, are we going out somewhere?

Her words pierced my chest like a cold blade. I didn’t want Violett to visit a prison at such a young age, but I didn’t want to leave her either. We have been separated before, but not for more than a few hours, and never for such distances. And I knew she would be perfectly safe with Alyssa, but... I still didn’t want to. What I feared most of all, was how she would react to me telling her about that. I had done my best to temper her villainess nature, but the results of my efforts were yet to be seen.

—Violett, listen —I said, taking a moment to clear my throat—, Mommy has to go with Maxwell to a very boring place, and with the climate as it is, it is going to be a really annoying trip. Will you stay here with Alyssa until I return?

She took a long look at me with her inquisitive eyes, and inclined her head a bit to the left as if pondering what to say. I braced for impact.

—Sure.

—Eh? —I spouted after a few seconds, dumbfounded.

—Well, if it is going to be so tedious, I would rather stay here.

—B-but…

—Why does it seem like the one about to throw a tantrum is the adult? —Alyssa suddenly said—, just go and finish your business quickly so you can come back home soon.

—Exactly —Violett added, before turning towards the doctor—, and you’ll be taking care of mother, right?

—As I have until now.

—Then it should be fine. Go already —my baby said, swinging her hand in a dismissive manner.

I threw a glare at Alyssa, whom I suspected had taught her such expressions, I have seen them reading those cheesy romance novels together, but I never thought too much about it before. I would have to have a very stern conversation with her once I returned, probably ban her from reading them for a month or so.

—Madame —Sophie said, she was wearing a raincoat, but it was completely dry—, Mr. Adrian was already waiting for you at the door.

I was a bit puzzled, so I went to meet him. He was, in effect, standing in our backyard, in the middle of the storm. I wanted to let him come inside, but he could barely fit through the door, and would have to be crouched all the time.

—Good Morning, Lady Rosanne —he said with a smile—, are you going to head out?

—Eh, y-yes, but how did you know?

—I saw Lord Maxwell come very early in the middle of this storm. That would usually mean there was an emergency, but you seem healthy and relatively calm.

—Relatively calm? —I murmured, glaring at him. He smiled.

—In any case, I wouldn’t imagine that our dear doctor would be so desperate for a personal visit, so I assume it was an official matter.

—Mmmm, that still doesn’t necessarily point to us having to leave the house.

—You got me there —Adrian said, giggling—, I just had a hunch, I suppose.

I smirk.

—Well, you weren’t wrong. We’ll be visiting the Black Tower.

—Hmmm? The prison? What business might our lady have there?

—It’s… a mess, I’ll tell you later in private —I said, looking back at Violet.

Thankfully she was distracted at that very moment, playing with Eve. Pondering a bit about it, I came to realized that I had not taken my time to have a conversation with Adrian for quite a while. That was troublesome.

—Understood. I’ll be preparing everything for the journey.

—Wait! —I spouted—, before you go… have breakfast with us.

He looked surprised and refused at first, but I insisted. Getting into the house would be a problem for him, and the house in general, but he could get his head inside with no problem. His body would still be under the rain, but considering he had been standing on it for a few minutes, and that he spent most of his time in the river, that also shouldn’t be a problem.

—Are you sure it is safe you can travel in such currents? —the doctor asked while we ate—, not only for us, but for you as well. I had to come aboard a huge and heavy tortoise.

—There is no current that I can’t surpass —Adrian answered—, I was blessed by the goddess of rivers, Abzu.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

—Then, we’ll be in your care —I said—. But if you get tired, we can take as many rest as you need.

He agreed, and less than half an hour later we were departing. It really broke my heart to leave Violett behind, more because she didn’t seem to mind that much. Perhaps I would have felt a bit less anxious if she had thrown a small tantrum. Nora insisted on coming along with us for our security, and Carmila seconded that motion, but with how severe the storm was at that moment, I somehow convinced them to stay at home. Not even bandits would dare to come out with such rain.

—Activate reinforce shielding —I said once the doctor and I were at the pier.

There was a flash of light all around the house, confirming that the spell had been activated. That was a modification I had made on our barrier, which increased its protection at least 50%. Of course, I had only wrote the “code”, it was Neil who had actually transcribed it into the stone, just as he had “uploaded” the other spells I have written. We still haven’t patented this one though, there were some kinks to fix. For once, it only worked for relatively short periods of time. The barrier’s stone would overheat and break apart if it was left activated for more than two days, something that I only figured at the start of a very long and stressful weekend.

Everything was ready by the time we got to the pier, our usual transport should be sturdy enough to survive the currents, but Adrian had added some weights so that it wouldn’t be dragged out of control. This would mean he would be pulling extra weight.

—Are you sure you’ll be fine? —I asked him one last time.

—I’ll make sure you reach your destination safely, my lady.

I was still worried, but there was nothing else I could say. I took a last look at our house, almost wanting to run back to hug my baby one more time, but I forced myself into the carriage. The voyage was, of course, more bumpy than usual, but all things considered, it wasn’t that bad.

—So, about your research… —I said, wanting to keep my mind busy.

—Hmm, yes. As I said before, I still don’t have the full picture, but I did find an account of a myth related to the curse. According to it, a long time ago, there was a war between two armies. The battlefield was near a temple built in honor to Lilith, your supposed mythological ancestor —Maxwell said, faking a gesture of reverence. I gave him a little kick.

—What does that have to do with anything?

—Well, temples are considered sacred, and the priests and priestess had declared themselves to be neutral in the conflict. In fact, they offered to heal the injured, no matter who they were. Both armies had agreed to this, but after a particularly bloody encounter, a general of one of one of the armies saw how many of their enemies were being taken to the temple to be healed, and decided he wanted to finish them. He took the soldiers that would obey him without questioning and surrounded the temple, demanding to be handed the injured.

—I… don’t like where this is going.

—The priests and priestess refused, and fought to protect the injured, but they were outnumbered, and the aggressors even set the temple on fire. It was a massacre, but there was one survivor. A young priestess named Calliope. In more poetic words she said “Whomever may hear my voice shall suffer my curse, those who acted like beasts shall become beast, such is the wrath of Lilith”.

—And? What happened?

—That’s basically it —the doctor said, scratching his neck—, whoever wrote that account just said that the curse came to be, and the infected had to be put down by the rest of the two armies. The war ended right after that, neither army wanting to continue their conflict after what they witnessed. But there was no description of how the curse works, the symptoms, or any possible cure other than “being put down”.

—I might have a clue about the curse too, a small one though —I spoke—, I rem… I had a vision early this morning. It actually was about you.

—Oh, really? —Maxwell said, raising an eyebrow—, so what did our talented Seer see in the future?

I glared at him for a moment, but finally decided to not even comment on it.

—”Something like this happened in the past” is something you will say to the protagonist several years from now.

—The protagonist?

—N-never mind that, focus on what really matters —I hurriedly said, trying to hide my blunder—. There is going to be a second, smaller outbreak of the curse. This one happens by the time Violett is studying at the academy, but it is quickly controlled, and everyone is cured of it.

—How did they do it?

—I have no idea. My mem… My visions lack context.

—Mmmm, then I’m afraid we’ll have to continue with plain old research. Hopefully we can get some useful information out of Iridia.

—Y-yeah.

I looked down, trying to count the marks on the floor's planks. I heard the doctor sigh softly, and then pushed my forehead upwards with his finger until our eyes met.

—I already sent a letter with my discoveries to the royal family, but I think it is for the best if we keep this last vision of yours as a secret. At least until we figure more about it, we don't want to give them false hope that can come to bite us later.

I nodded. I spent the rest of our trip trying to remember what was the context of that scene in particular, but I could only remember that scene where the prince and the protagonist formally met and formed an alliance against the villainess.

Before I noticed, we had arrived at the coastline. In front of us was the immense Nanshe Gulf, and to our left, on top of a rocky cliff, stood the Black Tower. It was a massive building designed to house those who had been labeled as criminals against the nation. I’m not sure what loopholes Erzi had used to get the would-be kidnappers there, but she insisted it was necessary. No other prison was good enough to retain them. Adrian left us at the dock and went to take a well deserved rest at a nearby covered area.

While we walked through the steps towards the entrance of the Black Tower, I looked further into the sea. A couple of kilometers in, there stood another building, or at least the ruins of one. That had once been known as the White Tower, which was used both as a lighthouse and a watchtower. It had been abandoned in the last 30 or so years as the sea levels were rising, engulfing the small island in which it stood and part of its first floor.

After a few but very tiring minutes, we reached the peak of the stairs, and finally stood in front of the door of the Black Tower. I didn’t want to go inside, plain and simple. I didn’t want to see Iridia. Just thinking about it made my stomach twist and turn. I felt a hand holding my own.

—It is ok, I’ll be with you all the time —Maxwell quietly said, but I heard him clearly despite the intense rain.

I nodded, took a deep breath, and walked through the door.

—WELCOME! —a young woman yelled as soon as we entered, and rushed to where we were— Madame Dragonroot, we have been expecting you!

Instinctively, I had raised my hands to my shoulder’s level for protection, still holding the doctor’s hand. Realizing the girl was not a threat, I let go of him, feeling a bit embarrassed. She was wearing a grayish robe, with the symbol of a vertical eye on the side of her shoulder. Her face was also covered with a blank mask, completely devoid of any marks or features.

—G-good morning —I managed to say, still a bit surprised.

—Ah, excuse me, I just got a bit too excited —the woman said, giving a small bow—, the King is already waiting for you, and everything should be ready. Please follow me.

She guided us further into the tower, passing through several sturdy doors. As we did, we came across several people dressed just like her. A few of them wore more elaborated masks, but aside from that, they all looked like the same person. Those were the guards of this prison, and they were all members of the main church of Enki.