The Mad Princess and the Dying Prince novel Chapter 109

With just a flick of her wrist, the talisman pinched between Lucia's fingers spontaneously burst into roaring flames.

Lady Forrester and Poppy gasped aloud.

By the gods, what was happening? How could Lady Lucia summon fire from thin air?

Lord Roderick and Physician Finch maintained slightly more composure, snapping their jaws shut just before their own exclamations could escape.

"Lady Lucia, be careful..."

Lady Forrester couldn't help but warn her, her heart aching as the vibrant orange flames danced perilously close to Lucia's slender fingers.

Lady Lucia was, after all, only two years older than her own daughter.

"It's fine."

Lucia replied calmly, not even glancing up as she dropped the burning parchment into the bronze basin.

"It's going to reek. Open the windows to let the air out."

Lord Roderick hurried to throw the heavy wooden shutters wide open.

The moment the enchanted fire hit the basin, it flared violently. With a fierce crackling roar, it devoured the Life-Swapping Talisman and the crimson sachet. As the flames struck the lock of hair and fingernails, thick black smoke billowed upward, carrying a stench of rot so vile it twisted the stomach.

Even the seasoned Physician Finch had to stagger back several paces, gagging.

Fortunately, Lucia had placed the basin near the doorway.

The curse had to be destroyed within close proximity to Eleonora, otherwise Lucia would have spared them the foul experience.

In a matter of seconds, the cursed objects were reduced to nothing but a small pile of pale ash.

At that exact moment, in a small cottage on the outskirts of a town hundreds of leagues away from the Royal Capital, a young woman sitting in quiet meditation violently coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

In an instant, her brown hair turned bone-white. Deep, jagged wrinkles carved themselves into her formerly taut face, and her eyelids drooped heavily. Her hands shriveled, the skin turning blackened and dry as parchment, while her smooth nails became ridged and brittle.

"Ah! Who did this? Who destroyed my curse?!" she shrieked, her eyes bloodshot with rage and agony.

"It is not that simple. The Life-Swapping Talisman is destroyed, but Lady Eleonora has been bedridden for weeks. The immense drain on her physical body and the loss of her vitality cannot be ignored. It will take days of profound rest to recover."

Hearing Lucia speak with such practical, grounded logic somehow made Lord Roderick feel even more reassured.

"Should we brew some fortifying medicinal broths?" he asked.

Lucia glanced at Physician Finch.

"When it comes to restorative medicine, Physician Finch is far more skilled than I am. Continue administering his prescriptions. But medicine alone will not be fast enough. I will draw one more talisman to infuse a surge of life force directly into her."

A talisman of this magnitude drained her magical core significantly, which meant she was absolutely going to charge a premium for it!

"We trouble you greatly, Lady Lucia."

Lucia picked up her brush and drew another runic mark on the parchment.

Just as before, the instant the final stroke was completed, a golden shimmer rippled across the ink. Staring at the glowing parchment, a strange, profound sense of yearning washed over everyone in the room.