A cold draft began creeping through the corridors of Celestia Magical Tower University on the morning of the third day after that notice. A single sheet of parchment had been posted on the third-floor bulletin board. *"Suspicion of Misconduct Regarding Sealed-Designation Curse Arts — Request for Investigation Cooperation."* No names were named. But the decorative border at the edge of the text, reminiscent of the gold ornamental band bearing the Seraphis family crest, said everything. "[whispers] Did you see it?" "The Vanheim family's—" The hallway murmurs stopped dead at the sound of Vanheim Elise's footsteps. Platinum blonde hair tied up immaculately. Ice-sharp azure eyes. She walked with her usual perfect posture. The first time, she didn't notice. The second time. Students who had been chatting fell silent the moment they saw Elise. Their gazes fled to the walls, footsteps retreating into the distance. The third time. "[cold] I'm not a spectacle." Elise flung the words out without stopping. Everyone truly parted in silence. Pressing themselves against the stone walls, no one meeting her eyes. (*—Ridiculous.*) She muttered it in her heart. She had no choice but to laugh. Lunch break. The popular dining hall "Hungry Gryphon" in the student quarter "Hidamari Alley" was brimming with its usual energy. The owner's shouts, steam, the clatter of dishes. Elise sat at a corner seat, dipping a wooden spoon into her soup. Steam rose softly. At the next table, three students exchanged glances. "…Let's move." They picked up their plates and left for a distant table. Elise's hand stopped. (*So it's come to this.*) She brought the soup to her mouth. It had no taste. The curse's throbbing had been heating up around her collarbone since midday, a dull, searing ache. Her body's disorder and this sense of isolation—the two layered together, and deep in her chest, a chill slowly spread. She set down her spoon and left the dining hall alone. — Three days later, before dawn. The upper district of Star Capital Lux, "Starview Hill." Three shadows stood at the entrance of the chalk-white Vanheim estate. "Gryme, of the Star Guidance Council." A voice devoid of expression. In the investigator's hand, a search warrant gleamed. On the back of the warrant were the words: *"Declarants: Anonymous, Multiple."* "We demand the search and submission of articles and research records related to sealed-designation curse arts." Elise dealt with them alone. Her parents had already left the royal capital. The fingers taking the warrant trembled faintly. (*Sera—you.*) Gathering testimony from multiple students—that woman was undoubtedly behind it. Gryme and two assistants stepped into the mansion. Their footsteps echoed coldly. With shaking hands, Elise picked up her magical communicator and sent an urgent message to Rion. —A reply. *"Leave everything to me. I'll erase anything that could be evidence tonight. You just play dumb."* That was all. After that, communication ceased. (*What are you—how?*) One of the assistants opened the door to Elise's private room. That was the moment. The curse pattern on her collarbone, reacting to anxiety and fear, surfaced faintly. Elise pressed down hard on the collar of her high-necked uniform. Heat transmitted to her fingertips. She couldn't let them notice. (*Please—stay down.*) She desperately steadied her breathing. Her heart pounded like a frantic bell. The search continued for about an hour. The result—nothing was found. Not the research notes, not the powdered curse-sealing stone. Everything was gone. Rion had disposed of it. "We will limit today's proceedings to confirmation of evidence." Gryme stated it without expression. "A hearing will be set for three days from now. Should you fail to appear, you will be automatically subject to expulsion and protective custody." The front door closed. Elise stood alone, frozen in the entrance hall. (*Was I saved?*) (*Or—has the trap simply moved to its next stage?*) She couldn't judge. There was no way she could. — The following day, at noon. Searching for Rion's whereabouts, Elise headed from the academy district to the upper district. The sloping road of Starview Hill. The chalk-white townscape was bathed in sunlight. That was when it happened. A carriage stopped in front of the town villa owned by Seraphis Sera. The door opened. The one who stepped out—was Ashford Rion. Black hair with red streaks. A slovenly school uniform and a gaudy scarf. Golden eyes, laughing. (*Why—*) Sera's maid welcomed him in. Rion passed through the gate with a smile—and didn't look back. The door closed. Elise stood rooted to the cobblestones. (*Rion—why?*) Anger came first. A heat as if all the blood in her body was boiling. (*Were you—threatened into helping Sera?*) Next, jealousy surged over her. Deep in her chest, a tight, crushing grip. (*Or—were the two of you trapping me from the very beginning?*) And finally—the feeling of having trusted him slowly crumbled away. (*I—you…*) A sense of loss, all too vivid. She learned in the worst possible way just how much she had come to trust Rion without even realizing it. The curse's throbbing intensified, reacting to her emotional turmoil. The pattern nearly surfaced on her collarbone. Elise put one hand against a stone wall and desperately suppressed it. Steadying her breath, she stared at her own palm. (*Rion's warmth—I still remember it.*) The heat from that night, when he traced the pattern. That palm—she hated it. — The next day. What awaited Elise, who still went to the university, were students in the hallway who didn't even bother to lower their voices. "That suspicion about sealed curse arts—it's about the Vanheim family, right?" "I hear she'll be expelled at the hearing." "Is it true that once you enter the magical prison, you never come out again?" Elise kept walking down the hallway with a face of stone. "Crap—did she hear?" One of them hastily dropped to a whisper. "[cold] I heard you from the start." She tossed the words out without even looking back. She turned the corner of the hallway. At a deserted bend, Elise leaned her back against the wall. She closed her eyes. Behind her eyelids, it was hot. That afternoon. In the third-floor hallway, Investigator Gryme called out to Elise, stopping her. "I am delivering the formal notice." A single document was held out. "The curse formula pattern engraved upon your body has an extremely high probability of violating Article 12 of the Sealed-Designation Curse Arts regulations. Should you fail to appear at the hearing the day after tomorrow, you will be automatically subject to expulsion and protective custody." Elise accepted the document. Her fingers trembled faintly. — Night. Her private room in the Vanheim estate. She locked the door and threw the document onto her desk. Outside the window, the night of Star Capital Lux deepened. The curse's attacks had become full-blown. From her collarbone to her shoulder blades, a scorching pattern surfaced. Elise fell to her knees on the floor, clenching her teeth and enduring. Hot. Painful. It felt like all the magical power in her body was running wild. (*Rion's—research notes.*) She didn't have them. She didn't have the powdered curse-sealing stone either. Because Rion had disposed of them. Tears overflowed. Stifling her voice, she collapsed in tears. Her platinum blonde hair came undone and spread across the floor. The perfect honor student, caught between the investigator's document, the curse's heat, and the memory of betrayal, was crying like a child. (*When I was little—on Starview Hill.*) A memory suddenly resurfaced: a night spent looking up at the stars alongside a servant. Back then, she still knew nothing. Not about this curse, not about her family's secrets, not about the pain of being betrayed by someone she trusted. How long had she cried? Exhausted from weeping, just as the curse's heat subsided a little, Elise slumped over her desk. Her hand unconsciously touched the cover of Rion's research notes. As if drawn to it, she opened the last page. —Writing. A single line, hastily scrawled, that she had never seen before. *"The key to the Vanheim family curse lies outside the archives. When I get back, we'll go get it together."* The date—it was before Rion had entered Sera's villa. Elise clutched the note. She had no strength. (*Until the hearing—two days left.*) Would Rion come back? Or had he truly been taken in by Sera? She had no way to confirm it. Face the hearing alone, or run. The choice was closing in. Pressing the note to her chest, Elise closed her eyes. Outside the window, the stars flickered quietly.