Ilarion smiled as he looked at Marin: "Did you like what you heard? You know people call him The Cursed One."
Marin tilted her head curiously: "And what happened to him?"
Ilarion replied simply: "He vanished."
Marin raised her eyebrow: "Just like that?"
Ilarion said thoughtfully: "Hmm... My grandfather says he is a good person, but I only met him when I was a child."
Marin felt she had lingered too long on a sensitive topic involving magic and curses, so she tried to lighten the mood: "Ummm... shall we continue our outing then?"
Ilarion smiled: "Lead the way."
They strolled through the streets, visiting various shops and trying everything that caught their attention. But suddenly, Marin stopped when she spotted a familiar person standing amidst the tourists, selling cheap trinkets. She didn't fully grasp what was happening until Ilarion suddenly started running and dragged her behind him.
"What!!! What's going on!!"
Ilarion panted as he dragged her: "The Commander of the Knights! He saw me!"
Marin turned around: "Where?" Then she saw a large man running towards them. "Oh!!!"
She started running with Ilarion until they reached an empty spot.
She paused to catch her breath: "I don't want to know why the Commander of the Knights is chasing us... what I want to know is: what is that scoundrel, Edgar, doing amidst the tourists?"
After confirming the Commander of the Knights was far away, she ran toward Edgar: "You!! What are you doing with foreigners?!"
Edgar smiled confidently: "Earning a living!"
Marin stared at him in shock: "Huh? With junk?!"
Edgar laughed lightly: "I'm selling it to them as antiquities... and they believed it!"
Ilarion froze in place: "That is a clear crime."
Edgar stopped for a few seconds, scrutinizing him, then his eyes suddenly widened: "Heeey!! Your Majesty!!"
Edgar looked at Marin, pleading for help with his eyes. But she simply pretended not to know him.
Edgar hissed between his teeth in suppressed anger: "Damn you..."
Ilarion commented coldly: "Now this has become another crime."
Edgar desperately banged his head against the wall, while Marin was lost in the whirlwind of her thoughts: Lilia... The Musician... Ronak... and the familiar woman in her dream... What is this mess she has fallen into? And where should she begin to understand all of it?
A little later, Ilarion left, returning to the palace, while Marin stayed in the city with Edgar. It wasn't long before Rudy arrived, and Edgar immediately darted off toward a robbery, leaving Marin sitting with Rudy under a large tree.
Marin sighed and said: "Rudy... there are so many things obstructing me. I don't know what to do."
Rudy answered simply: "Start with the easiest."
She thought for a bit, then said: "Hmmm... first, I want to remove the Prince's curse, considering it's my first mission."
Rudy's expression darkened the moment he heard the Prince's name: "It is impossible without a sorcerer."
Marin enthusiastically grabbed his hand: "See?! Finally, someone shares my opinion! I must find that Crazy Musician first... But where can I find him?"
Rudy replied calmly: "In the Sorcerers' Tower... or in the Black Market. That's obvious. Sorcerers usually gather there."