Chapter 73: Medicine

The first thing Lathel smelled when he stepped through the door was blood.

Not much, but enough to mix with the scent of splintered wood, stone dust, and the mana still lingering in the air after someone had lost control.

The room in front of him was almost completely destroyed. The table had shattered into several pieces, the two chairs had been reduced to little more than their legs, several large dents marked the opposite wall, and the mirror that had once hung in the corner now lay scattered across the floor in hundreds of fragments.

Catrina stood at the far end of the room.

She was not wearing her mask.

Her black hair, normally kept neat, was now completely disheveled, several strands sticking to her cheeks with sweat. The black curse markings covering one side of her face had spread farther than usual, crawling all the way down her neck like countless roots burrowing beneath her skin, while her right hand was covered in blood from the punches she had driven into the wall.

The moment Lathel stepped through the doorway, Catrina turned around.

Their eyes met.

Her expression changed almost immediately.

But what appeared was not anger.

Nor embarrassment.

It was fear.

"Get out."

Lathel stopped.

Catrina took one step back, her breathing so heavy that her chest rose and fell constantly.

"Lathel. Get out."

He did not move.

Catrina looked at him, her pupils trembling slightly.

"I don’t want you here."

Lathel remained where he was.

"GET OUT!"

BOOM!

Mana suddenly erupted around Catrina, instantly throwing a piece of broken wood near her feet straight toward Lathel.

Catrina’s eyes widened.

The instant she realized where it was flying, she swung her hand.

Whoosh!

The piece of wood changed direction in midair, narrowly missing Lathel before smashing into the wall beside him.

Crack!

A new fracture immediately spread across the wall.

The entire room fell silent.

Catrina stared at the shattered piece of wood, then looked back at Lathel.

Her already pale face became even whiter.

"I..."

She lowered her gaze to her own hand.

Her fingertips were now visibly trembling.

"I told you to leave."

Lathel did not come any closer.

He only watched her for a while before lowering himself, placing the writing board across his knee, and writing.

[I won’t come closer.]

Catrina looked at the words.

Lathel added another line.

[I’ll just stay here.]

"I don’t need you."

He nodded and continued writing.

[I know.]

Catrina froze.

The answer was so simple that the words she had been about to say became trapped in her throat.

Lathel did not tell her that she needed him.

He did not claim he could cure the curse.

Nor did he give himself the right to approach or touch her.

He simply sat down in the middle of the ruined room, kept several meters between them, and quietly stayed.

Catrina turned her face away.

"You’ll regret it."

Lathel did not react.

"You don’t know what I can become."

He continued looking at her.

A self-mocking smile slowly appeared on Catrina’s lips.

"You think this thing only makes my face ugly?"

She raised a hand and touched the curse markings spreading down her neck.

The moment her fingertips touched the skin, they trembled even harder.

"There are times when I can’t control myself. I’ve attacked members of Black Rose before. Sometimes I wake up and don’t even remember how many things I destroyed."

Catrina’s gaze fell toward the broken mirror scattered across the floor.

"I hate being like this."

Her voice gradually turned hoarse.

"I hate this face."

Lathel frowned.

Catrina looked back at him.

"But what I hate most..."

She remained silent for a very long time before continuing.

"...is being seen."

Lathel understood.

Not merely being seen by "other people."

Especially by him.

He lowered his gaze to the board and wrote:

[I’ve already seen it.]

Catrina stared at the sentence.

Lathel wrote again.

[I’m still here.]

Two very simple sentences.

He did not comfort her.

He did not tell her she was still beautiful.

He did not deny how terrible her current state was.

They were only facts.

Catrina looked at him, and her rapid breathing seemed to slow slightly.

Lathel did not notice.

Pandora did.

"Oh?"

Lathel asked inwardly, ’What?’

"Her mana is decreasing."

He paused and observed more carefully.

The black mana that had been continuously swirling around Catrina had indeed weakened.

Not by much, but enough to notice.

Even her tightly clenched jaw had gradually begun to loosen.

Lathel frowned.

’Is the curse calming down on its own?’

"Maybe."

This time, Pandora did not immediately reach a conclusion.

"Or maybe it’s because of you."

Lathel looked at Catrina.

He did not really believe it.

A while later, Lathel tried to stand.

Catrina immediately raised her head.

"Where are you going?"

The question came out too quickly, almost carrying panic.

At the same time, the mana that had just stabilized around her body immediately began fluctuating again.

Lathel stopped.

Catrina seemed to realize her own reaction as well, and her expression changed slightly.

"I..."

Lathel said nothing.

He only slowly sat back down where he had been.

Several seconds later, the mana around Catrina weakened again.

Pandora laughed very softly.

"Interesting."

Lathel did not find it interesting at all.

He only looked at Catrina as a strange thought began forming.

If he really was the reason she was stabilizing...

Then why?

But before Lathel could think any further, Catrina suddenly clutched her head with both hands.

"Don’t..."

She stumbled backward hard enough for her back to strike the wall.

Lathel immediately stood.

Catrina looked up.

Her eyes had changed.

They were no longer merely frightened.

They had become so chaotic that even her gaze could no longer fully focus.

"Don’t come."

Lathel stopped.

Catrina’s breathing once again became rapid.

"Don’t come near me."

He nodded.

But just as Lathel was about to sit back down,

BOOM!

Catrina vanished from where she had been standing.

The sense of danger came so quickly that Lathel had only just begun turning his head when a hand slammed directly into his chest.

THUD!

Agonizing pain exploded through the center of his chest.

Lathel did not even have time to inhale.

The force drove straight through his body, forcing every trace of air from his lungs in a hoarse choking sound.

His entire body was thrown backward before his back crashed violently into the wall.

BOOM!

The impact turned Lathel’s mind completely blank.

The pain in his chest had not even finished spreading when his spine felt as though an iron bar had slammed directly into it.

The two layers of pain overlapped, draining all strength from his body for several seconds.

Then he slid down the wall and collapsed onto the floor.

"Kh...!"

Lathel tried to breathe in, but his chest contracted violently.

Every attempt to pull air into his lungs made the place where he had been struck throb as though something were pressing deep inside.

His ears rang.

His vision trembled slightly.

"Lathel!"

Pandora immediately shouted inside his head.

He planted one hand on the floor and forced himself to sit up.

Even that small movement sent sharp pain through the part of his back that had struck the wall.

Lathel had to grit his teeth just to raise his head.

Catrina was still standing several meters away.

But she had frozen as well.

Her eyes were wide open.

Her gaze slowly dropped to the hand that had struck Lathel, then returned to him.

"...No."

Catrina’s voice immediately began trembling.

"No..."

She rushed toward him.

Lathel instinctively tensed.

His already aching body immediately prepared itself for another blow.

But Catrina did not hit him.

She dropped to her knees in front of him, both trembling hands touching his shoulders.

"Lathel."

He looked at her.

Catrina immediately pulled him into her arms.

"I’m sorry."

She held him tightly, her voice beginning to choke.

"I didn’t want to... I didn’t want to hurt you."

Lathel could feel Catrina’s body trembling.

She was not pretending.

She was truly afraid.

He slowly raised a hand, intending to pat her shoulder.

But at that exact moment, Catrina’s arms tightened again.

Too tightly.

The chest she had just struck was immediately compressed, sending another stab of pain through Lathel’s body.

He frowned slightly, and his breathing stopped for a moment.

"You’re not allowed to leave."