Episode 20

Entering the village, the chief's wife led them to the largest house, which served as an infirmary. There, the men lay with strange black marks on their arms and necks, among them the chief, all exhibiting the same symptoms: fever and difficulty breathing.

Charlotte approached one of them to examine the marks, raising her hand to create a seal above the person, which serves to detect the type of curse they possess.

"I've got it, it looks like someone angered a very talented magician," Charlotte declared.

"What? But we've never had a magician in this village...what harm did we do to them?"

"Gather everyone; I want to know if anyone here is a magician or if anyone had a problem with one," she ordered.

The guards accompanying her hurried to comply, gathering all the people of the village, who were only women and girls, as the males were the ones afflicted. None understood what was happening at that moment.

Charlotte explained that a magician had cursed the men of the village, whether they were boys or elderly men, and asked if anyone had any altercations with a magician or someone they believed could wield magic. No one knew; those who went to the city for important business always tried not to cause trouble with people from the kingdom. A woman raised her hand.

"A week ago, a young woman passed through to rest in the village, the chief offered her a cabin next to his house, but she left very angrily the next day, claiming the chief was a disgusting man."

"Silence! That's a lie," the chief's wife defended.

But other women agreed with the speaker, some even claiming they'd had uncomfortable encounters with the chief.

"Well, I will heal everyone except for the chief; I refuse to save a potential abuser," Charlotte asserted.

"What? You can't do that, magicians have a duty to protect people," the chief's wife argued.

"And that's what I am doing, protecting these women. Perhaps your husband tried to take advantage of that young woman, and she was a magician, which is why she cursed him and all the males of the village."

"Your Majesty, no...what will I do without my husband? He is a good man."

"It seems he really wasn't," Sigrid interjected, gesturing to the guards.

The guards restrained the wife, and Charlotte entered the house to begin breaking the curse. By evening, everyone had recovered except for the chief, and his wife wept desperately, as he was the only one still bedridden.

"Your Majesty, please...I swear he won't harm anyone again," she pleaded.

"Please mother, you know what he was like, he used to beat us...don't beg for him," a young woman approaching the wife interjected.

"How can you say that about your father?"

"Because my siblings and I suffered at his hands; we had to work while he did nothing," the young woman replied.

The woman continued to weep, but the daughter thanked Charlotte for her help and for not healing their father, who had always been a cruel man and only pretended to be kind in front of others.

Charlotte and Sigrid boarded the carriage to return to the tower.

"Who would have thought, all this because the chief couldn't keep his pants on," Sigrid said, irritated.

"There are many cases like this. I don't blame the magician; I would have done the same."

"Charlotte Leroux, the unforgiving," Sigrid noted.

As night approached and they were still crossing the forest, the carriage suddenly came to a halt and they felt it being struck. Sigrid quickly embraced Charlotte, bracing for the carriage to overturn, but as they fell, it was he who took the impact, while sounds of the guards fighting echoed outside.

Charlotte moved away from Sigrid, noting a small cut on his forehead, yet he was conscious.

"Come on, I'm fine," Sigrid said, covering his wound, yet feeling sore.

Charlotte stood to exit, climbing up to the door. Outside, she saw their guards fighting against giant insects. She knew those creatures did not exist in the forest, nor were they mentioned in any book she had studied.

"What are those things?" Sigrid, now outside as well, wondered.

{They are gamad, insects from the demonic world; they should not be here,} Amira informed.

The demon woman appeared before them, equally surprised to see such creatures.

{Someone must have summoned them; they cannot come forth on their own.}

"We'll figure this out later," Charlotte said.

She disembarked from the carriage and began attacking the gamad with her magic, creating dark, mist-formed daggers that pierced the insects. Sigrid joined the fray, enchanting his sword with magic that released cutting blasts as he swung, slicing the insects in half.

Despite being outnumbered by the gamads, thanks to their guards, they held an advantage. As they fought, someone watched them from not too far, focusing on Charlotte and revealing a malicious smile. Amira noticed the presence but too quickly it vanished, prompting her to join the battle, setting several gamads ablaze. The battle was drawn out, but they triumphed with only minor injuries sustained, though the carriage was ruined. The coachman took one of the horses, and Charlotte shared the other with Sigrid.

She sat sideways in front due to her dress, while Sigrid held the horse's reins.

"It might have been better for you to sit behind me," he sighed.

"If I feel anything against my leg, you'll be walking," she warned.

"It's natural to feel it; it doesn't disappear when I'm not excited," he said with a hint of jest.

"You know what I mean," she retorted.

"You should seize the moment; I'm a good-looking man, with status and I would be faithful. Consider it; I'm the best prospect in the kingdom," he boasted, only to receive an elbow jab from Charlotte. But Sigrid leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I'm also well-endowed; you'd be satisfied..."

"The size doesn't matter; if you don't know how to use it, it's useless," she replied.

"You're so cruel, and that's exciting," he nudged his hip against Charlotte.

She jolted and elbowed him in the stomach again, but Sigrid just laughed. Charlotte surprised herself for tolerating that annoying blond for so many years, yet she could not deny his attractiveness and status, and he had proven to be a loyal ally.

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