Might & Magic of Emotions - Nijisanji Fantasy

Chapter 12: A Brief Pause

"Sooo, yeah... haha..." Lize trailed off as she sat on a chair beside (Falric's) bed. She had just finished explaining to (Falric) both what medicines and the the amount of it that was being given to him prior to him waking up.

(Falric) was speechless. He didn't expect to receive such an extensive amount of care, let alone an absurd amount of medications, most of which he does not recognize. It surprised him that he is not having any side effects, maybe at least for now, and that's another thing: he doesn't know what side effects he might get later on, although he did feel at ease when Lize did say that they have ways to counter the possible side effects. He can only sigh.

"Well, alright then..." (Falric) murmured, unsure how to react. Not wanting to make the situation awkward, he spoke up. "Why don't we change the subject? Let's go with questions and answers." He offered. Lize perked up and agreed. (Falric) said that she can ask first and she went into thinking for a moment.

"Um, (Falric), I was thinking..." Lize trailed off, thinking for a way to her question without it being offensive in a way. (Falric) listened to Lize attentively and she noticed. She hid her blush for a moment before continuing. "Since you are a Dreadknight, does that mean your parents are–" She said, but she stopped at the last moment, unsure if she's saying it right. (Falric) understood where she was coming and sighed.

"I did tell you before what my parents are like, but only half of what I said are true." (Falric) started and Lize asked what he meant. "It is true that my father was favored by the previous king and he became the heir, but my mother being a tailor was false. She is a Dreadknight too, and I inherited the curse from her." He explained.

"I'm sorry that you had to carry such a terrible curse. It must have been difficult for you and your fellows." Lize said, genuinely sympathetic to him.

"I will only say this once, but you don't have to be sorry." (Falric) assured her. "There was no way for you to truly understand as you are a world away from us and I understand that."

"Still, I can't help but think about it. You and your siblings must have had it hard." Lize replied.

"Not all three of us inherited the curse." (Falric) told her.

"Huh?"

"You know my younger brother, Dale, is a Dreadknight as well. Our older brother, Wrynn, is not a Dreadknight." (Falric) explained to her and Lize was silent. "Incredible, is it not?"

"W-what? How?" Lize questioned, not really understanding. "Not everyone gets it? How does that work?"

"You know, Lize? Sometimes I don't even know myself. Brother Wrynn never became a Dreadknight, and that also meant that he's susceptible to the effects of the curse." (Falric) explained as Lize listened. "It was hard for him when I was born, but he did eventually got past the curse with help from our mother. By the time Dale was born, the curse already had little to no effect on him." He finished. Lize nodded before she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"But... what does the curse do to you? I know it cause everyone who knows to be terrified of you, but does it do something to you internally?" Lize asked curiously. "When we were in the battlefield, you emotions, your expressions... they seemed savage, and bloodthirsty, as if they weren't your emotions but those of your ancestors." She said. (Falric) visibly hesitated, but he sighed before replying.

"... You could say that." He said to her. "When I call forth the curse, I and the other Dreadknights lose part of ourselves and we become erratic in exchange for strength and power. It was... how we and our ancestors fought."

"So whenever you use the curse, your life gets damaged. That's terrible." Lize said with sympathetic eyes. "Is that why you couldn't bring yourself to reason? I'm sorry if I offend you in any way – you don't have to answer that." Lize quickly corrected herself, but (Falric) waved it off.