Zanoba Shirone was entranced as he stroked the Knight's Longsword he had not crushed.
It was as though he were touching a priceless treasure unlike anything he had ever seen.
The simple happiness of losing his monstrous strength left the prince overwhelmed with excitement.
Pax Shirone.
He stood where he was, his radiant, long golden hair as sleek as flowing light.
He had a knight beside him bring out a mirror.
Extending a slender, pale hand, he touched his handsome face in disbelief.
Smooth skin, a straight nose, sharply defined lips...
All of it was utterly different from his former, hideous goblin appearance.
The guards around them watched the earthshaking changes in their two princes.
Every one of them was dumbstruck, almost convinced they were dreaming.
Behind Cui Ciyou, Alice gave a bored yawn, her red hair swaying slightly.
Meanwhile, the half-elf Sylphy stood quietly at Cui Ciyou's side, wearing her usual gentle smile.
After that brief burst of ecstasy, the eleven-year-old Pax displayed composure and perceptiveness far beyond his years.
Clarity returned to his eyes, and he was the first to think of the most crucial question.
He hurried forward and bowed deeply to Cui Ciyou, a hint of urgency and anxiety in his voice:
"Duke Cui Ciyou, please forgive my presumption."
"After this miraculous ability of yours dispels our mana... will it return?"
At those words, Zanoba abruptly snapped out of his lingering joy.
His eyes, too, turned anxiously toward Cui Ciyou.
They knew better than anyone that both a blessed child's "monstrous strength" and a cursed child's "curse" had the same source.
They came from the vast, uncontrollable mana they had been born with.
That mana was their gift, but more than that, it was their shackle.
Cui Ciyou looked at the two utterly different faces before