"Vizet's beard?" Michael blinked, his gaze falling on Vizet's face. Then a mischievous smile curled across his lips. "Or something else, like Vizet's..."
Realizing what Michael was about to say, Vizet waved a hand to cut him off. "I think we'd better not. I only hope Mr. Merlin can keep holding on."
At Vizet's words, everyone laughed. The somewhat heavy atmosphere from earlier also lightened considerably.
"But I still have a few questions..." Chris steered the conversation back. "Vizet, you said before that this was only a hypothesis. How did you verify it afterward?"
"Because I really did meet such a lady," Vizet said. "She was a victim of the Paris Region Incident and was later admitted to Saint-Landry."
"Saint-Landry?" Chris paused. "Why does that sound like a... um... Magical Injuries and Diseases Hospital?"
Vizet nodded. "Yes. You can think of it as France's St. Mungo's."
"Oh! St. Mungo's!" Chris nodded. "Now I understand when you put it that way."
Vizet continued, "That lady originally suffered from Anorexia. After experiencing the Paris Region Incident, her Anorexia rapidly worsened, and her symptoms bore a strong resemblance to the Family Hereditary Curse."
After recounting Laurence Chirac's treatment, he returned to the Ritual Magic from two days ago. "The timing happened to be right then, so I gave it a try while I was at it."
Chris opened his mouth, his voice a little hoarse. "And it worked? Those Muggle High-level officials—you made them all capable of casting magic?"
"Probably... not all Muggle High-level officials..." Anthony took over, his tone carrying a cautious hint of probing. "Could gain the ability to cast magic, right? It can't be like that, can it?"
His eyes flickered with a trace of avoidance. Clearly, he did not want his words to become prophecy.
"It wasn't quite that