Lorelaia is very attentive and can always see problems from details that ordinary people overlook, and this time is no exception.
In her mind, she quickly recalled the scenes from Shinji's appearance to the present, analyzing various possibilities.
He walked into the house without any disorder in his steps, proving that there was nothing wrong with his legs and feet.
The first thing he did after entering the living room was to lean heavily on the sofa. Although it looked very ungraceful, he probably didn't have any injuries on his upper body, otherwise he wouldn't have leaned in such a bold posture.
He touched Sakura's head with his left hand, and when Sakura pounced on him and lifted his cloak, he also used his left hand to counter Sakura's moves. He didn't look like he was injured.
After eliminating all the options, the remaining one is basically certain to be the correct answer - right hand. The problem must be with the right hand.
After reaching a preliminary conclusion, Lorelaia began to look for other evidence. She thought of her brief but impressive relationship with Shinji before she returned home.
Although this boy, who is a few years younger than her, is ambidextrous, he usually uses his right hand more often, for writing, eating, and even playing games. But now he has been using his left hand and has never moved his right hand even once.
The evidence is sufficient, Loreleija thought, and pointed with her finger.
A tiny amount of magic power was amplified by a huge magic circuit that had accumulated for more than a thousand years, activating the airflow in the room.
The change in airflow was not drastic, and would not affect the furnishings in the house or the human senses. The scope of its impact was also very small, originating from Shinji's feet, sweeping upwards, and pushing the cloak open along the middle seam of the collar.
Because the magic power released was extremely weak and Lorelaia did not chant, when Shinji felt something was wrong and wanted to dodge, it was too late.
The gray cloak fluttered in the wind, revealing a shirt woven with special material underneath.
The shirt wrapped around Shinji's upper body was not complete. The right sleeve was missing, and instead it was wrapped tightly with a bandage. The bandage was stained with black bloodstains, which looked terrifying.
"Loreleija, you!"
Without giving Shinji a chance to speak, Lorelaia held down the cloak that was about to fall with one hand, and with the other hand, she extended the index finger and ran the outer edge of the nail down along the top of the bandage.
The nails were ordinary nails, without any nail polish or maintenance, just regular trimming to maintain the most basic dignity of a noble. But such nails cut through the three layers of bandages inside and outside without any hindrance. There was no doubt that this was the work of magic.
As soon as the bandage tore open, a pungent smell hit me in the face, a bit like the odor of a rotting animal corpse, or the smell of some over-fermented dairy products.
"This is-"
Lorelaia held her breath and looked directly at the source of the odor—Shinji's right arm was covered with black lines like plant branches, and ugly black spots grew in places where the black lines were dense.
"—The Curse of Ottenroche!"
The shock in her eyes affected Lorelaia's body, and the huge shake in her heart affected her magic seal, which had not yet been completely stabilized. Visible green power was released from her body, and the terrifying momentum seemed to completely destroy the living room of the Matou family.
Tsuruya, an amateur, was so shocked by this scene that he was speechless. Kariya, who no longer focused on magic after the Holy Grail War, was also confused. Even Shinji, who was experienced in combat, was a little surprised - how could he be so strong
The only one who reacted in time was Sakura, who stayed by her brother's side and drew a string of runes in the air at the fastest speed.
Scathach took various issues into consideration when building the workshop, including how to deal with magic power getting out of control, and it was this mechanism that Sakura activated.
Under the floor, the ancient runes originating from the Age of Gods flashed with light. Although it was only for a moment, it was enough to dissolve Loreleija's violent magic.
At the same time, Shinji stretched out his intact left hand, passed through the turbulent magic flow, and rudely flicked Lorelaia's forehead: "Calm down, do you want to destroy my house?"
"I'm sorry." Loreleija subconsciously covered her forehead, and the roaring magic power in the magic circuit gradually calmed down. "That abominable monster, Ottenroche, actually cast such a vicious curse on you. I, I—"
I want to promise something, but I find that I can't make any promises.
She obtained Barthelmero's Origin Seal, and her strength increased by leaps and bounds, but even so she was not sure she could defeat the oldest Dead Apostle.
The Barthelmero family has a long history, but the thousands of years of accumulation of Ottenroche is not much shorter than that of Barthelmero, and because of the special nature of vampires' development of followers, their loyalty is more guaranteed.
If the two sides fought, not only would the outcome be unpredictable, but it would also give other enemies an opportunity to take advantage. As long as Lorelaia showed the slightest idea of escalating the battle, the other members of the Barthelmero family and even the other nobles of the Clock Tower would not agree. All she could do was to find an opportunity to kill a group of the White Wings' followers to vent her anger, causing the latter some irrelevant losses.
Lorelaia is very smart and rational, she knows what to do and what not to do, so she can't make a promise. But it is precisely because of this that she will be upset and discouraged.
Her negative emotions also affected Sakura, Tsuruya and Kariya, and the three looked at Shinji with more worry.
Shinji guessed what his family was thinking and smiled peacefully, indicating that he was fine. He then said to the depressed girl, "It's enough that you have this heart. I don't take a mere curse to heart."
"This is the most vicious curse developed by Ottenroche against magicians. It..." Lorelaia thought Shinji was comforting her, and the annoyance on her face became even more severe.
Shinji raised his hand and interrupted the girl's explanation: "I know, I have read all the information you gave me, so I said I didn't take it seriously. Let me ask you, what month and date is it now? What month and date was my battle with Ottenroche?"
"It's March—wait, you're telling me you've been cursed for a month?"
Lorelaia understood what Shinji meant instantly. In fact, with her intelligence, she should have figured it out on her own. The reason she needed Shinji to remind her was purely because she was too concerned. She had been a little confused since the first time this boy said he wanted to knock her out.
"That's right." Shinji nodded with a smile. "According to your family's records, no magician has ever lasted more than half a month under this curse, and I have lasted for a month. More importantly, this curse has not only not worsened, but is gradually getting weaker."
"Really?" Loreleija still had some doubts. After all, the horror of this curse was deeply rooted in the Barthelmero family.
"Of course it's true. Well, let me show you how to break this curse, and you'll believe me."
Shinji nudged his sister with his elbow, signaling her to stay away, then sat cross-legged, clasped his hands together, and chanted Buddhist mantras.
"There is the Supreme Hua Wuliang, who casts Huaguang, the master of heaven and earth."