"It's me, Anne," Sebastian replied.
Leaving the others outside, he ducked into the small cottage.
Lynn and Elias remained at the entrance and exchanged a glance.
"Should we follow him?" Lynn asked.
Elias considered it for a moment.
"We probably should."
They turned simultaneously toward Solomon.
He stood beside the doorframe, one hand holding the door open while the other hung at his side, his wand tip resting against the ground.
Solomon withdrew his gaze from the cottage and looked at Lynn and Elias. He neither spoke nor nodded, but he made no attempt to stop them.
That was tacit permission.
Upon entering, Lynn immediately saw Sebastian's sister, Anne Sallow.
She sat at a wooden table in the center of the room with her back to the door.
Even from behind, it was obvious how thin she had become. The outlines of her shoulder blades were visible beneath her clothes, resembling a pair of frail wings folded against her back.
Sebastian sat opposite her on a wooden chair, talking without pause while Anne listened quietly.
Lynn stepped onto the floorboards, producing a faint creak.
Anne slowly turned her head.
Her face was delicate, and her resemblance to Sebastian was unmistakable. They shared the same facial contours, chin, and bridge of the nose. Unlike her brother, however, Anne had no freckles. Her complexion was as clean as a blank sheet of paper.
Unfortunately, illness had left its mark across that blank page.
The curse's prolonged torment had turned her skin unnaturally pale, leaving the veins beneath faintly visible.
Anne's gaze passed over Solomon and then Elias. She knew both of them.
Finally, her eyes settled on Lynn.
She had never seen this black-haired, black-eyed boy before.
Sebastian followed her gaze and looked toward Lynn, who was standing near the doorway.
"Anne, this is the friend I mentioned—the one who may have a way to cure you. His name is..."
Sebastian trailed off.
Only then did he realize that he didn't even know the boy's full name.
From the fortress to the cottage, through the fighting and the journey here, Sebastian had never once asked for it. All he knew was that Elias called him Lynn.
Sebastian's mouth remained half-open as his eyes shifted between Lynn and Elias.
"You can call him Lynn as well," Elias said, immediately understanding the problem.
Sebastian nodded.
"Lynn."
He turned back toward Anne, but before he could continue, a voice erupted from the doorway.
"No! The curse cannot be reversed. I've told you that countless times!"
Solomon stared at Sebastian.
"Besides—"
His gaze shifted to Lynn, studying him from head to toe.
"I don't believe a student who appears to be your age could possibly lift that curse."
There was no ridicule or contempt in Solomon's voice. He was merely stating what he sincerely believed to be true.
Sebastian had heard those words far too many times.
He had heard them since the day Anne was cursed.
Since the night she first writhed in agony upon her bed.
Since the morning she first coughed up blood.
There was no way to save her.
It was impossible.
He couldn't cure her.
Each repetition made Sebastian's heart sink a little further. After all this time, it should have already reached the bottom.
He had thought he was used to hearing it.
But when Solomon said those words in front of Lynn, Sebastian realized he wasn't.
"What gives you the right to say that?!"
His voice rose sharply as he sprang from his chair.
"I've already told you countless times!" Solomon shouted back. "You cannot cure her! When will you finally accept that?!"
His voice echoed through the cramped cottage.
The two stood at opposite ends of the room—Solomon near the entrance and Sebastian beside the table.
Elias was caught between them. He turned slightly, extending one hand toward Sebastian and the other toward Solomon.
His expression was painfully awkward, conveying that although he was standing between them, he had no idea which one he was supposed to restrain.
"Sebastian, stop arguing."
Then he turned toward Solomon.
"Mr. Sallow, please calm down."
He would have been better off saying nothing.
The moment Elias intervened, both men prepared to fight.
Sebastian's right hand darted toward his waist, but Solomon was faster. He had already raised his wand and aimed it at Sebastian.
The air in the cottage froze.
A weak voice cut through the tension.
"Enough."
A cry of pain immediately escaped Anne's lips.
Everyone turned toward her.
Anne was clutching her abdomen, her body hunched like a young tree bent beneath a violent wind. Her fingers gripped the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, while fine beads of sweat covered her forehead.
Black mist poured from her body and swirled around her.
"Anne!"
Sebastian's voice cracked.
He tossed his wand onto the table and rushed to her side. Wrapping one arm around her shoulders, he carefully helped her move around the table.
"Lynn!"
Sebastian turned sharply toward him.
Lynn's wand was already in his hand, its tip glowing with a silver-white light that danced like a burning star.
However, someone stood in his way.
Solomon had positioned himself between Lynn and Anne, completely blocking his path.
Lynn glanced at Sebastian and shrugged.
The meaning was obvious.
It wasn't that he refused to help. Sebastian's uncle simply wouldn't allow him to approach.
Sebastian's eyes reddened.
"Elias!"
His voice thundered through the cottage.
"Coming!"
Elias's wand sprang from his sleeve. With a turn of his wrist, he aimed it at Solomon's back.
"Forgive me, Mr. Sallow."
The Spell shot from his wand before he had even finished speaking.
It moved so quickly that despite being an Auror, Solomon had time only to feel a sudden gust of wind behind him. Before he could turn, the Knockback Jinx struck him squarely in the waist.
"Bang—!!!"
Solomon was hurled through the doorway with both feet off the ground.
His body traced an arc through the air, cleared the threshold, and crashed onto the gravel path outside.
A heavy thud was followed by the scrape of his body rolling across the gravel, then a muffled groan of pain.
Elias withdrew his wand, walked over to the entrance, and slammed the door shut.
Lynn yawned, casually twirled his wand, and pointed it toward Anne.
"Silver Radiance Flow."
A silver-white beam erupted from the tip.
It was thicker than any beam Lynn had used during the battle at the fortress. The pillar of light crossed the room and struck Anne precisely in the chest.
"Hiss—!!!"
The instant the black mist surrounding Anne touched the silver-white radiance, it contracted violently as though scorched by flames.
Then it began to retreat.
Thin black strands were forced out of Anne's body. They twisted and struggled beneath the silver-white light before dissipating into the air one after another, as though an invisible cloth were slowly wiping away every trace of filth.
Anne stopped trembling.
The tension in her brow gradually eased, and her breathing became steady.
"Bang—!!!"
The cottage door was violently thrown open.
The wooden panel struck the wall, rebounded, and was caught by a hand.
Solomon stood in the doorway with his wand raised and his eyes bloodshot.
Yet upon rushing inside, his first reaction wasn't to settle accounts with Elias.
He instinctively looked toward Anne.
She was seated beside the table, leaning against the back of her chair with her head tilted slightly upward.
Her face remained pale.
However, the black mist had disappeared.
Solomon slowly lowered his wand.
He walked to the wall, crouched against it, rested his clasped hands on his knees, and lowered his head without saying a word.
The pillar of silver-white light gradually faded.
Lynn put away his wand and turned toward Sebastian.
"How is she?" Sebastian asked tensely. "Has Anne's curse been removed?"
His eyes remained fixed on Lynn.
Lynn slowly shook his head.
"Not yet."
Sebastian's face instantly turned white, as though someone had poured a basin of water over him and washed away every trace of color.
His lips trembled, and his fingers tightened around the back of Anne's hand.
"It has only been suppressed," Lynn continued calmly.
"To determine whether it can be removed—"
He paused and watched a little color gradually return to Sebastian's face.
"—I'll need to examine her more thoroughly."
Sebastian stared at him, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Why did this bastard insist on pausing so dramatically whenever he spoke?
---
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