Chapter 95

The next day, Blake’s curse was lifted. He couldn’t believe it. He felt like it was all a dream.

I can stay with Ancia forever. That was the only thought that came to his mind clearly.

But the joy didn’t last long.

Once the curse was lifted, many things began to change. After preparing for the ball, he left the palace and moved to a palace in the center.

People said that Blake looked more handsome now.

He didn’t care. He only wanted to be with Ancia. Just having Ancia by his side was enough for him. He thought he’d be able to spend the rest of his life with Ancia when his curse was gone.

But reality wasn’t that simple. Many people attempted to drive a wedge between them.

Now that the curse had been lifted, the Crown Prince should carry out his duties. Blake knew that, but he still hated it.

He wanted to look mature in front of Ancia, however, he couldn’t stand it and ended up complaining, “All I need is Ancia. I only want to stay here with you. I don’t like other places. I like it here. I don’t want to leave…”

He didn’t want to leave Amoria Palace and only wanted to be with Ancia at Amoria Palace. He knew that he was being childish, but Ancia didn’t scold him.

“If we move to the Foren Palace, this place won’t disappear. We’ll come here often.”

“Are we going to come often?”

“Yes, let’s make this our own secret castle.”

Our own world.

He thought he was the only one who wanted that.

Ancia shone brightly and everyone liked her.

Ancia was the only one in Blake’s world but there were many people around her. He was happy when she thought of him. She was thinking the same thing as him.

The sentences of the curse had gone away but it’s power had not. His pain got worse after the door of darkness opened.

He was nervous. It wasn’t because he was afraid of being cursed again, but he was afraid that Ancia’s smile would disappear if the curse came back again.

Unfortunately, his fears came true and the curse that had disappeared resurfaced once more.

The pain engulfed his whole body.

Then, a bright light appeared. And he could see Ancia was about to disappear into the light.

“Ancia, no. Don’t go…”

“I’m going to lift the curse completely this time.”

“Don’t go. You can’t go.”

Ancia couldn’t leave. He felt that he’d never see her again if she disappeared like this.

Blake tried to stop her but the pain held him back.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be right back after I lift the curse, so please wait for me.”

Eventually, Ancia disappeared with the light.

Not long after she left, Blake’s curse lifted. His fever went down, and the dreary cursed sentences engraved in his body also disappeared completely.

The curse had really been lifted.

Blake could feel it. The curse of the goddess had disappeared. This time, it had been lifted for good. It wouldn’t reoccur ever again.

However, he wasn’t happy.

The curse was lifted, but Ancia hadn’t come back. Tenstheon had gone to seal the door of darkness and hadn’t returned yet either.

A few days later, several palace knights came back from their search around the door of darkness.

They said Ancia went into the door of darkness and that Macul flew out and took her, and shortly after that, the door of the darkness closed.

A massive search began for Ancia, but it was of no use. The door of darkness had already closed and it showed no signs of opening any time soon. Furthermore, not a trace of Ancia could be found even after they scoured through the entire valley of chaos.

Three months later, Tenstheon came back.

“I’m sorry, Blake. I couldn’t protect Ancia.”

Tenstheon bowed down to Blake and apologized. His expression was rife with grief at the loss of Ancia and guilt towards his son.

Blake saw that his father had become very thin in just three months. Blake told him, “No, it’s not your fault.”

It wasn’t Tenstheon’s fault. This was all Blake’s fault. He was cursed, and wasn’t able to stop Ancia.

Ancia tried to leave him. Every time she did that, he tried desperately to stop her. He didn’t want to lose her, so he held dearly on to Ancia just because of his greed.

If he had let her go earlier, she wouldn’t have gone away.

Blake blamed himself over and over again.

Even when Ancia was missing, the world continued to move forward. A grand ball was held to celebrate Blake’s liberation from the goddess’s curse.

Many people were very curious about whether or not his curse had really gone away. In addition to the aristocrats of the Asteric Empire, foreign envoys also flocked to see the Crown Prince.

And finally, Blake showed up. The crowd buzzed with admiration at his appearance.

Blake was beautiful. His brilliant silver hair and crimson eyes radiated the charisma of the imperial family, and there was no sign of any curse on his fair skin.

Moreover, it was incredible that even though he had been abandoned for so many years, his charisma hadn’t diminished in the least bit. They couldn’t sense any contempt nor desperation from him.

The curse of Goddess has been lifted after a thousand years and there was a strong successor to Tenstheon. The nobles cheered in celebration.

However, Blake was unaffected by this merry atmosphere.

The Crown Princess, who was loved by all, had disappeared. In fact, everyone thought Ancia was dead.

She went into the door of darkness so there was little chance of her being alive. However, as the emperor was still desperately looking for her, people were careful with their words.

Blake sat still in his chair, not speaking to anyone. Tenstheon also could not hide his sorrow.

The Crown Prince’s curse had been lifted, and the door of darkness was closed. Yet, the biggest celebration party in the empire was filled with an air of melancholy.

Suddenly, the Duke of Cassil’s loyal followers launched their attack in the ballroom.

Tenstheon had been away from the palace for three months because of Ancia, and many soldiers from the palace had been deployed into the valley of chaos. The Duke of Cassil used this opportunity to launch his rebellion.

After turning off the lights in the ballroom, they immediately aimed for the emperor and the crown prince.

But Tenstheon was the most exemplary emperor in the history of the empire and his ability wasn’t to be taken lightly. Even though he was distracted due to grieving over Ancia, he didn’t drink so much that he would be crushed by them.

Tenstheon and the Knights of the Imperial Palace immediately suppressed them.

The ballroom quickly descended into a scene of chaos. Several aristocrats, servants, and foreign envoys were injured and screamed.

Even in the midst of this chaotic situation, Blake was still expressionless as he approached the wounded people.

A white light flowed from Blake’s hand. Their wounds healed the moment Blake’s light reached the injured person.

He did not use any tools, such as mana stones, but with just the power of light he treated all of the people in the ballroom.

“This is the power of goddess!” shouted the high priest, who had been treated by Blake.

Just like Philip a thousand years ago, a light flowed directly from Blake.

Everyone in the crowd was surprised. Before, many of them doubted him because they believed he was still a fallen soul.

But from the moment it became known that Blake had the power of a goddess, all their negative thoughts about him disappeared.

Rather, they began to adore him for being chosen by the goddess.

After the curse was lifted, everyone loved Blake and the nobles struggled to impress him. Their sudden change of attitude disgusted Blake.

Blake lost Ancia, and then gained everything. Yet, at the same time, he felt that he had lost everything.

***

“Where’s my sister? Where’s my sister!? My sister protected you. She even healed your curse, but why didn’t you protect her!? I trusted you! I trusted you!!”

Diana was inconsolable when she heard that Ancia was missing.

“Lady Diana, please calm down first.”

“It’s alright, Melissa.”

Melissa knew how much Blake blamed himself and stepped up to mediate. However, Blake stopped her and silently accepted all of Diana’s anger instead.

Diana headed to the valley of chaos alone, saying she would find Ancia.

However, a young girl couldn’t get into a place where most people had a hard time getting permission to enter.

Diana was blocked by the valley’s guards and forced to return to the capital. After that, she still tried to visit the valley of chaos several times. She even took a break from the academy.

Two years passed like that. No matter how much the Emperor and Crown Prince tried to persuade her, she never stopped looking for her sister.

“If you don’t go back this semester, you’ll be expelled. Return to the academy.”

Blake tried to persuade Diana again, but she refused.

“No. Who else is going to look for her if I don’t go?”

Diana’s gaze was filled with resentment. Blake wasn’t mad at her. In fact, he was honestly relieved.