"Elves, a race that devotes their lives to nature. They are masters of magic and curses alike. The mystical is simply part of their everyday life. Am I wrong?" Gamma asked plainly.
"You're not wrong. That is the truth," Rainhard paused for a moment before continuing, "Perhaps… it could work."
"Then—"
"But it won't be that easy. The elven lands is very far away."
"But they say the elven lands lie to the west."
"You're not wrong. Our territory is indeed the closest. Even so, it's still far, especially since the journey requires passing through the cursed domain left behind by the former Elf Queen."
"A cursed domain?"
"Yeah. The elven kingdom is surrounded by eternal winter. Snow that has piled up for hundreds of years. It's like a sea of snow that will swallow you whole if you take one wrong step."
"But there's no other way, right? This is the safest option."
"I can't deny that. This is indeed the safest path for Beatrice."
Gamma let out a long sigh before speaking again, "Is Beatrice truly impossible to cure through normal method?"
"There are only two ways to lift a soul curse," Rainhard replied. "Kill the caster, or bring the victim to a curse specialist to perform a ritual. And this particular curse is a soul curse. It's impossible to remove it without peering into the victim's soul. That's why Beatrice cannot be treated by ordinary methods."
"Does Father have any trustworthy acquaintances who can keep their mouths shut?"
Rainhard shook his head. "Even if I did, it would still be dangerous. Loyalty within humans is nothing but empty words. Trust between people is, in truth, naïve. To trust someone is to be prepared for betrayal."
"Then the elven kingdom is our only answer!"
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Of course! This is for my family."
Rainhard smiled faintly. "You know she isn't your real sister. Why would you go this far for her? We could simply ignore this and head straight to the capital to save the others."
"What do you mean? Beatrice is my little sister! She even calls me her beloved big brother! This has been my dream since I was a child."
"Ahahaha… a dream, you say. You are still a child, you know?"
Gamma smiled. "Yes. A dream I never thought would come true, though, well, it's a different person."
"What do you mean?"
"It's nothing. So, when do we leave?"
"In two days. I need to search the treasury for a cold-weather artifact."
Gamma blinked in curiosity. "We have something like that?"
"Yeah. Apparently, our ancestors once traveled to the elven kingdom as well."
"For what?"
"I don't know. I wasn't even born yet when that happened."
"Well, that's not important right now. But there's something I've been curious about from the start."
"What is it?"
"Why are Father and I completely fine?"
"I don't know about you, but I possess a blessing from the gods that grants immunity to all curses and poisons."
"Oh! How did you get it?"
"Don't you already have it? Look, you're perfectly fine. Maybe you just don't realize it."
"Hm… maybe you're right."
Rainhard suddenly stood up and headed out. "I'll prepare everything. You should get ready as well during these two days."
"Understood."
Some time later, Charlotte awoke and found Gamma eating beside her, she had been unconscious until then. Gamma immediately explained the plan to her. Charlotte abandoned her reckless intentions and chose to join the journey to the elven lands instead. After that, she went to find Rainhard to apologize for what she did before.
After that, Charlotte spent the entire day in Beatrice's room, doing nothing but staring at Beatrice's frozen body. She didn't eat anything all day, she didn't even touch the food Gamma brought her.
Seeing Rainhard busy with preparations, Gamma decided to take initiative. "Do you want to speak with Beatrice?"
With empty eyes, Charlotte replied, "Young master, I'm not in the mood for your jokes."
"I'm not joking. Do you remember when I said I was training my poison resistance? I lied back then."
"I realized that. You were only testing me, weren't you? You didn't truly trust me at that time, you only trust yourself who is immune to poison."
"Yes, you're right. And there's another reason I did it."
"Another reason?"
"I did it to visit the place where lost souls gather."
"Lost souls?"
"Yes. Souls trapped between life and death. You should be able to speak with Beatrice there."
Charlotte agreed to take part in the plan. She prepared two poisons and two antidotes, then carried out the plan in Gamma's room.
Charlotte was the first to drink the poison, while Gamma stood by, ready to administer the antidote at the predetermined time.
"How will I find the young lady?" Charlotte asked before drinking the poison.
"You just have to think about wanting to meet her."
"Then that's easy for me."
Without hesitation, Charlotte swallowed the poison and lay down, closing her eyes.
Twenty minutes passed, and Gamma gave Charlotte the antidote.
Three hours later, Gamma had fallen asleep. Charlotte eventually woke up, though she still suffered unpleasant side effects from the poison. Her body trembled, and her balance was unstable.
She shook Gamma awake and said, "Your turn."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you want to speak with your family too?"
"Oh! Right... I remember. Did you succeed?"
"Yes, though I couldn't last even half an hour. That place… it wasn't an illusion, was it?"
"Yeah. That place is real."
Charlotte smiled for the first time since Beatrice had frozen. That smile came hand in hand with tears. She lowered her head to hide them and, in a soft yet hysterical voice then said, "The young lady is still alive!"
Seeing that, Gamma smiled as well. "Thank goodness."
"Yes. Thank you so much! Thank you so much!"
She cried for minutes.
After that Following their plan, it was now Gamma's turn. This time, he drank the poison himself.
When Gamma arrived once more at the fog-covered place, he smiled.
I'm sorry, Charlotte. I lied to you about one thing. The one I wish to meet is not my family, but another version of myself.
According to Ray's wish, he walked a little further and met the true, original Gamma once again. Just like before, the real Gamma was confined behind golden bars.
"Yo, the real Gamma. We meet again," Ray greeted.
"What do you want, the fake?" Gamma replied coldly.
"I have a mountain of questions for you. Would you be willing to answer them?"