Into an Otome Game

Fifty: Curiosity [2]

"Good news, you'll be able to see again."

Gillian brightly smile at Shiki who was putting on his eye patch after the examination Gillian did. But in contrast to her expression, Shiki doesn't seem to have shown much of an expression, like always.

"Oh, I see." He answered bluntly as he stood up within the circular chair.

Just by looking at the boy's unchangeable expression made Gillian frown. He really doesn't show much of an expression, he always wear the same one whenever he dislikes or likes something. Although, his tone changes, but not his expression.

"Geez, you remind me of Cylde. How annoying!" She blurt out, fixing her equipment as she set them aside.

Shiki looked at her with a raised brow "Professor Clyde? That's new, everyone else say I look like my father."

"That too," she exclaimed "But at least he express himself a bit unlike the both of you, doesn't Clyde always frown? He was like that since our prime. It never change, I think I only saw him smile once!"

Gillian continued. "Anyway, you won't be going back here for a while, I'll notify you when your eye is done."

Shiki nodded "Yes, of course."

When Shiki started to get his regular check up from Gillian, at first she thought it can be fix, but when she started healing the boy's eye it somehow go back to it's initial state. As if it refuses to be healed.

Gillian only thought that she was exhausted, so she sent Shiki off the first day and tried again the day next, but the same result happened. It was too peculiar.

Why was it rejecting her healing? Rather than regenerating, her magic started to make Shiki's wound worsen, so Gillian decided to stop, for the boy was starting to suffer. Shiki said it felt like the inside of his eye were melting and burning.

What's weirder was that regular healing works but for Healing doesn't, it was just making the wound worse.

Gillian eventually tried to take Shiki's regular check up, as she took a blood sample and— it was quite rude, but she healed it again to get a remnant of his eye.

When she went to the laboratory and asked for Ian's help upon the samples, what they've found horrified them both.

It wasn't just a simple burn or wound, rather— it was a curse.

The curse was meant to counter the magic of a mage with Healing magic, like Gillian, she couldn't use her magic on the boy because of the curse of the person who injured him.

'Contravalescere' was the curse. It's basically a curse that goes against healing or making the victim to not heal or grow stronger despite their will too. It doesn't kill it's victim fortunately, but it's a way to torture them. It's a rare curse, it was said to have originated from a Fairy.

Although, there's one way to let Shiki's eye see again and it was to make him an artificial eye.

As long as the curse isn't lifted, there's no other way to heal that wound in his face. And the only way for the curse to vanish is for him to kill the person who casted it, but that's impossible.

"I'll be going now, professor." Shiki said approaching the door as he bid farewell to Gillian.

Gillian got up from her sit and sat within one of the clinic's bed. Burying her face on to the white pillow.

She was so confident that she could cure the boy's eye and yet she couldn't because of the damn curse. Thinking back on how she had confidently proclaimed her statement a week ago made her flushed. Gosh, how embarrassing! She even thought of herself as a miracle, what a clown was she!

"That darn curse... Who in the world even cast that on that poor child? A fairy is one, but not that powerful. I've encountered people who had been cured from that type of curse by non-healing mages. That's just so odd."

Gillian thought of how heartless can such a person be to do that on a poor child, she couldn't even imagine on how much pain that must've caused Shiki and how old was he then. It was just too painful to even think about it.

She got off of the bed, "Ah right, I have matters to attend to." Gillian soon scurried off the clinic.

While walking away from the clinic, Gillian felt a gaze as she whip her head within the endless hallway on her back and saw that no one's there. She shrugged off the feeling of uneasiness and continued to go left.

Little does she know, someone along the corner of the hallway had been watching her and Shiki along with listening to the conversation they had been having for the last couple of days.

A shadow at the corner creeped out as the silhouette of Gillian had completely disappeared.

"Oh? So even she herself can't cure my curse. How thrilling." Said an ecstatic tone. It was an ominous statically voice, it was changing to a low from high pitched voice, as if trying to sound somebody else. "Oh right, I have to go, I can't have anyone see me loitering around here."

***

"Spill the tea."

Rinalyn persistently keep on saying the same thing over and over again to Rei. Her face was only centimeters away from Rei, as her eyes was widen, making Rei quite uncomfortable.

"...No!" Rei jolted away from Rinalyn who frowned and pouted by her action. "You're being nosy again, just stop." Rei pleaded.

"But I'm curious, like, nothing happened at your so called date with Mr. Happy-go-lucky guy?" Rinalyn teased. "C'mon, what happened with your dinner with Arlo, really?"

Rei was silent, but then sighed and eventually answered "We just ate and chatted like friends, nothing happened really."

Their initial topic was to assume the other reasons about Shiki's odd disappearance and somehow got into the topic with Arlo and to where they are now.

Rinalyn was initially the one who suddenly brought up the topic, she hadn't been engaging on their 'first' topic from the beginning, it was as if she refused to listen and only interrupted in when she found a timing, deliberately changing their topic.

"Argh! Nothing happened alright? I'm over him ages ago, he's like a passerby crush. You know, like 'thanks for making me feel butterflies, goodbye' kind of feeling." Rei tried to shrug off the topic and deliberately trying to change the course of the topic again. "Well, since we're on this topic, is there anybody you guys currently like?"

Everyone went silent. "Except you Remus, we already know you who like him— what about you guys?" Rei said disregarding Remus in the matter, as he just frowned at her and rolled his eyes.

Daryll was the first to give a blurry answer "Hmm, well, I think Elmira's pretty." He said, smiling innocently.

"So do you like like her or just attracted to her?" Rei asked making clear of the thing Daryll had said.

"Err, I don't know. Probably? Not sure. But she's pretty." He again answered vaguely.

Rei groaned in disappointment, and turn to Xavier "What about you?" She asked smiling.

Xavier flinch as he looked away from Rei, flustered. Fiddling with his bright red ear "Uh, I guess?" He muttered softly.

"You have? Oh! Tell us! Tell us! Who is it?" Asked Rei in excitement. Who knew that Xavier would like someone, it was honestly quite unexpected.

On the other hand, Xavier only laughed it off.

"Are you done? Lunch is almost over." Interrupted Remus who was already standing along with Luna. "We're gonna be late, worse is that our first class is Professor Clyde."

"Ugh, you're no fun." Groaned Rei, as she glare at Remus.

The three of them started to head off to their next class, but as soon as they're nearing their classroom, the group saw Zamira looking for something or someone within their room suspiciously.

And when Zamira saw them, she immediately scurried off.

"Bet she was looking for you, probably to confess her love." Mocked Rei in a singsong voice as she nudges Remus.

Remus clucked his tongue "Shut up, red head."