Ard and Eva took both of Jolene's hands, then closed their eyes. The room fell silent; the only sound was the trading company staff moving back and forth, working without saying a word. Mirea, Alicia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Adeline, Pyria, Milia, and Claudia watched what Ard and Eva were doing with serious expressions. Meanwhile, Geoffrey sat silent and stiff on the sofa, flanked by Ainsley and Irwin. They also remained quiet, not knowing what to say after hearing the bombshell Jolene had just dropped.

After a few moments, Ard opened his eyes. He immediately turned to look at Mirea, then shifted his gaze to Geoffrey.

"Geoffrey, can I ask you something?" Ard asked.

"Ask away, bro," Geoffrey replied.

"Is your mother still around?" Ard asked, getting straight to the point.

Geoffrey was silent for a moment, then he slowly shook his head to answer Ard's question. Once he had his answer, Ard turned to look at Eva before looking back at Jolene.

"You aren't sick, Mama Jolene... your family is under a curse. Every time a woman in your family has a child, she passes away, leaving her child alone in this world," Eva stated.

The room became deathly quiet; even the trading company staff, who had been working busily before, stopped in their tracks.

"Is that true, Eva?" Mirea asked.

"It's true. Right now, Mama Jolene isn't sick, but she was cursed the moment she gave birth to you. She's only managed to survive this long because she's been fighting that curse. Is that right?" Ard asked.

"That... is true," Jolene answered, looking down.

"This curse comes from the dark elf tribe. Does any member of your family have a connection to the dark elves?" Ard asked.

"Yes... my great-grandfather's first wife was a dark elf... the daughter of a tribal chief. They eloped once, but they were caught. The wife committed suicide because she was being forced to marry someone else and was forced to abort the child in her womb. Her father, the chief, cursed my great-grandfather out of spite; if my great-grandfather had a daughter, she would die in childbirth, or if she survived, she would spend her life suffering in pain," Jolene explained.

After hearing Jolene's explanation, the entire room fell silent once more. Mirea was visibly trembling, knowing she would face the same fate if she ever had children. Then, Ard and Eva gripped both of Jolene's hands. A brilliant light erupted from their palms—a swirling, gray radiance that enveloped Jolene's body, starting from her hands until it covered her from head to toe. Now, the entire room was thick with tension; every person watched them with faces full of hope.

Before long, Jolene's face and body—which had been so thin it looked like skin stretched over bone—began to change. Her pale skin and graying hair slowly transformed. Her body filled out bit by bit, and her complexion began to regain a slight, gradual glow. A black shadow emerged from her body, taking the shape of a terrified, horrific face, looking like something evil being carved out and cast away. Finally, a sweet scent of flowers began to fill the air, and Jolene's body returned to exactly how it was when she was still healthy.

Her cheeks filled out once more and flushed a healthy red, her hair returned to a deep dark blue, and her skin no longer looked like a pale corpse. Ard and Eva released her hands, and Mirea stepped forward. Jolene opened her eyes and turned her head; she saw Mirea and smiled, then she reached out her arms. Mirea immediately jumped to hug Jolene. Both of them were in tears, clearly relieved to be together again in good health. The entire company staff looked relieved and smiled, and some were even moved to tears.

After a few moments, Jolene released the embrace and turned to look at Ard and Eva, who were still standing behind Mirea.

"Thank you for healing me. I will never forget this kindness," Jolene said.

"You're welcome. It was only right for us to help, but... the curse hasn't been lifted yet, and it still binds the Scrodinix family," Ard said.

"True. To release it, we have to meet the one who cast the curse," Eva added.

"R-really? So if I have children with Ard later, I'll die or get sick too?" Mirea asked, terrified.

"Until the curse is dealt with... that's roughly how it goes," Ard said, not knowing how to wrap the news so it wouldn't seem so horrific.

Mirea began to tremble instantly; even though her mother was cured, if the curse haunting her family still remained, then she wasn't free from it either—even though she carried her father's last name from the Kingdom of Ateras. Jolene turned her gaze toward Geoffrey, who sat silently on the sofa, staring down at the coffee table as if that table could somehow provide the answers to the universe.

Jolene climbed down from her bed and walked over to Geoffrey. Ainsley and Irwin immediately stood up and moved aside, giving Jolene space to sit next to him. Her hand reached out and touched Geoffrey's shoulder; he flinched at the contact but kept his head down.

"I'm sorry. I thought I was running out of time, so I told you everything. Your father brought you to this city back when he was seeking the hand of Count Romanov's daughter for your older brother, specifically so you could meet me—your true aunt—after he found out I had returned to this city from the capital," Jolene said.

"So... I'm not my father's son?" Geoffrey asked.

"You are still your father's son... nothing changes regarding that. Your father is my brother-in-law, and he loved my sister deeply until the day she passed away giving birth to your older brother," Jolene answered.

"Dad always told me that Mom died after giving birth to me... all this time, I thought that because I was born, my mother died... turns out it was all a lie. I don't know what I can even believe in anymore in a life full of lies like this," Geoffrey muttered.

"I know this is hard to take, but your father and your real father—created this situation to protect you from a queen who intended to kill you out of greed. None of this is your fault, and you don't need to dwell on what has already happened. What matters now is that you must live your life moving forward, without looking back," Jolene said.

Geoffrey remained silent, continuing to process everything he had just heard; though he wanted to ignore it, he couldn't simply discard what had already reached his ears. Mirea sat down next to Geoffrey, flanking him along with Jolene.

"You're my cousin. We're family," Mirea said, taking Geoffrey's hand.

"That's right. Your brother is also here because he married Count Romanov's daughter, Candice. Even though he doesn't know this story, he surely still considers you his brother, and we all become family in this city," Jolene added.

Geoffrey grew even more bewildered, his hands clenching into fists. After a moment, he turned to look at Jolene and Mirea.

"I'm sorry, but I want to be alone for a little while," Geoffrey said.

Finally, he stood up and walked out of the room. Once the door closed, the atmosphere fell silent again. Irwin turned, intending to follow him, but Ard stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking his head. Irwin understood and went back to being quiet, simply looking down. Not a single person spoke, while Jolene looked so full of regret that she lowered her head and covered her face, as Mirea hugged her from the side. Eva shifted closer to Ard and whispered to him.

"Ard, what if we go meet the dark elf tribal chief after this?" Eva whispered.

"Hmm... it's better not to go today. Let's make it tomorrow. We need to think about how to approach him, since he's the one who cursed this family," Ard answered.

"You're right. We have to be careful dealing with that elder; one wrong move and we might not only lose the lead on the Githiess egg, but also make things even worse for Mirea's family," Eva muttered.

"Let's just rest for today. I had no idea something this big was waiting for us when we came here," Ard replied.

"Same here. I didn't expect it either," Eva replied.

In the end, they just stayed quiet, watching Mirea talk with her mother while surrounded by Alicia, Adeline, Milia, Pyria, Claudia, Beatrice, and Rosalind. Meanwhile, Ainsley and Irwin spoke amongst themselves, occasionally glancing toward the door, waiting for Geoffrey. Not long after, someone tapped Ard and Eva on the shoulder; they turned to see Irina, who had previously disappeared, now standing behind them.

"The dark elf chief just fell ill. It seems a curse has rebounded back into his body. Did you two do something?" Irina asked in a whisper.

"Hmm... so that's how it is. Let me tell you," Ard answered, immediately explaining what had just taken place.

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