Chapter 34: A Cure Beyond the Mountains

[CASSIAN’S POV — ASHCROFT MANOR — MEDICAL CHAMBER]

The first thing I noticed was the silence.

Ashcroft Manor was never silent after Luceille’s active participation in everything.

There were always footsteps in the corridors, servants speaking in hushed voices, knights moving through the courtyard, or the occasional sound of Luceille complaining about something that, according to her, was an attack on her human rights.

Today, there was none of that, only the crackling of the fire and the weak breathing of the creatures lying before us. I stood beside the examination table, my eyes fixed on the white fox.

Its body trembled beneath its fur, and a low whimper escaped its throat.

Luceille flinched at the sound.

She had been sitting beside it for nearly an hour, her arms wrapped carefully around its small body. She hadn’t left its side even once.

Aurelius stood opposite her; for once, the archmage wasn’t smiling. He had several vials arranged across the table, along with herbs, mana crystals, and scrolls covered in complicated magical inscriptions.

The Ashcroft healer stood beside him, looking increasingly pale.

Aurelius lifted his hand and a faint blue glow spread from his fingertips and entered the fox’s body. The fox immediately jerked, and Luceille’s fingers tightened around it. "Careful."

Aurelius withdrew his magic as his voice came low. "I am."

I looked at him. "What did you find?"

He didn’t answer. Instead, he stared at the fox, and we waited. Aurelius finally lowered his hand.

"Nothing."

My expression hardened. "Nothing?"

"I can sense its mana, but I cannot understand what is interfering with it."

I glanced toward the healer, and the healer immediately straightened. "Your Grace."

"What have you administered?"

"We started with ordinary restorative medicine. When that failed, we used purification medicine, but there was no reaction. Not from mana recovery, anti-poison, and even anti-corruption."

Luceille looked at us with fear, and seeing her looking at me with ache in my eyes, my jaw tightened. "Then try something else."

"We have." His voice became quieter. "We have tried everything available in Ashcroft."

The room fell silent. Luceille slowly looked up, and then she looked down at the fox in her arms, and the healer continued. "But it isn’t getting better."

Her fingers moved gently through its fur. "Then give it something stronger."

"We have no stronger medicine."

"Then make something."

The healer’s face tightened. "We don’t know what to make."

Luceille stared at him; for a moment, I thought she might become angry. Instead, her expression simply crumbled.

"Oh."

That single word was worse than shouting; she looked down again, and the fox made another weak sound.

"Urrr..."

Luceille immediately pulled it closer; her voice was barely audible. "It’s okay. I’m here."

The creature’s eyes remained closed. Luceille stroked its head. "You’ll feel better soon."

The healer and Aurelius hesitated, and that hesitation told me everything, and the healer lowered his head, saying, "We cannot guarantee anything, Your Grace."

Luceille went still; I saw her lips part, but no words came. Aurelius suddenly moved toward another fox lying near the fireplace; he examined it, then looked toward the first one, and his expression became darker.

"They’re all showing the same symptoms."

"How many?"

"Twenty-three."

My eyes narrowed.

"Twenty-three?"

"Twenty-three are currently displaying signs of illness."

"And the rest?"

"Healthy for now."

Aurelius looked at me; those two words settled heavily inside the room. I looked toward the healthy cubs; they were huddled together, watching. They didn’t understand what was happening, and neither did we...and that was the problem.

I could fight something I could see. I could kill an enemy standing before me. I could destroy an army. I could send soldiers across the empire with a single command, but this—this had no face.

It simply entered the bodies of these creatures and made them suffer, and I could do nothing. I looked toward Luceille again; she was still holding the fox as her eyes had become red.

She tried to hide it, but she wasn’t very good at hiding things from me anymore.

"Perhaps..." Aurelius spoke slowly. I turned as he was staring at one of the mana crystals. "Their mana isn’t being destroyed. It’s being suppressed."

He placed the crystal beside the fox as a faint pulse of mana appeared, then disappeared. Aurelius frowned. "Something is preventing their mana from circulating properly."

"Can you remove it?"

Aurelius didn’t answer immediately as his gaze shifted toward the fox curled in Luceille’s arms. His voice had changed. There was no excitement in it now, only careful consideration.

"They are divine beasts; their bodies are naturally connected to the flow of mana within the land. They hunt, they consume magical creatures, and they absorb traces of mana from their surroundings. That is how they maintain their strength."

He crouched beside the fox.

"But after being tamed..." His fingers gently moved over its fur. "...their behavior changed."

Luceille looked up. "Because they’re not hunting anymore?"

Aurelius nodded.

"Partially. They hunt far less than they did in the wild. Their diet has changed. Their dependence on humans has increased." He glanced toward the other sick foxes. "But that alone should not cause this."

"Then what did?"

"I don’t know."

Luceille’s expression fell again. Aurelius continued before she could lose hope as he looked at the mana crystal. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"But I believe something has changed within their bodies. Something connected to nature itself."

Luceille frowned. "Nature?"

Aurelius nodded. "There are healers who specialize in such things."

She stared at him. "What kind of healers?"

The Ashcroft healer finally spoke. "Archmage Aurelius is referring to the nature healers, Your Grace...the elves."

Silence settled over the chamber.

Luceille looked down at the fox in her arms. Its little body trembled as her fingers immediately began stroking its head again.

Aurelius continued.

"The elves are said to be deeply connected to the roots of Mother Nature. Their magic isn’t merely drawn from mana crystals or magical formations. It flows through living things—the forests, rivers, plants, beasts...and the ancient life force beneath the earth."

Luceille listened without interrupting.

"Their healers possess knowledge that human healers abandoned centuries ago. They can sense disturbances within the natural flow of mana. If this disease is interfering with the fox beasts’ connection to nature..." He looked directly at her. "...they may be able to identify it."

"May?"

Aurelius nodded. "I cannot promise they have a cure."

Luceille’s fingers stopped; for a moment, she said nothing. Then she looked down at the fox again; the tiny creature made a weak sound. Her expression changed, and I knew that look.

She had made a decision.

"What do we need to do?"

Aurelius blinked.

"Your Grace?"

"To find them." Her voice was quiet but firm. "The elves. Where can I exactly find the elves?"

Aurelius stared at her. "The Northern Forest."

"How far?"

"Several days from here, depending on the route."

"Then we’ll go."

I stepped forward.

"Luceille."

She looked at me. I could see the fear in her eyes, but beneath it was something stronger, determination.

"You don’t know what awaits you there. The elves may not welcome humans, the forest is dangerous, and there may be magical beasts."

Aurelius blinked as she said, "Cassian, I understand the risks, but look at them; they’re suffering."

I said nothing. She raised her eyes to mine. "They don’t understand why. They can’t tell us where it hurts. They can’t ask us for medicine. They can’t even tell us what happened."

She held the fox closer.

"They only know that they’re hurting."

My chest tightened.

"And if the elves can help them...then I have to find them."

I looked at her for a long moment.

This was the same woman who had once complained about leaving her chamber, the same woman who had declared that adventure was a terrible invention, and the same woman who had proudly chosen pastries and tea over legendary quests.

Now she was willing to cross an unknown forest simply because a few creatures were in pain.

I couldn’t tell her no, not to this. I stepped closer and placed my hand gently over hers. "Then we will go; I will not let you go alone."

Aurelius immediately raised a hand. "I’ll accompany—"

"No."

He stopped as I looked at him. "You will prepare the route and you will remain with the healers because you are the only person here who understands the nature of their mana."

Aurelius went silent. "Until we return, you will continue examining them."

He nodded, saying, "I shall be waiting."

Luceille looked at him. "Can you keep them alive until we find the elves?"

Aurelius’s expression became serious. "I will do everything within my power."

She nodded. "Then that’s enough."

She looked down at the fox. I watched her stroke its head; her eyes were still wet, but she wasn’t crying anymore. Instead, she whispered, "Hold on a little longer, okay? Mumma will be back soon."

The fox’s ear twitched as Luceille smiled faintly. "I’ll find someone who can help you."

Luceille looked at me as she reached for my hand. Her fingers slipped between mine, and her fingers tightened around mine, and that was it.

The decision and determination had been made.

Yesterday, Luceille had laughed at the idea of searching for elves; today, she was willing to cross an entire wilderness to find them because somewhere beyond those frozen mountains was a hidden people who might possess the knowledge we needed.

And if the elves truly were connected to the roots of Mother Nature...then perhaps they were our only hope.

I looked down at the sick white fox and then at my wife.

There would be no delay, no hesitation, and no matter what waited within that forest...we would find the elves.

Because this time, Luceille was chasing a cure for her fox beast.