Placing the plate on the floor beside her, Sophia gripped the door handle with both hands and shook it violently.

It wouldn't open at all—it was indeed locked from the inside!

Her bad premonition continued to grow, and Sophia became increasingly anxious, finally unable to resist knocking on the door:

"Lily, Lily, what's wrong? Why did you lock the door?"

The bedroom was deathly silent, with no response whatsoever.

"Lily, if you can hear me, just answer me once, Lily?"

The knocking grew louder, but still receiving no response, Sophia became completely frantic.

Having known her for so many days, Sophia was crystal clear about just how stubborn Celitia could be.

Locking herself alone in the bedroom, not letting anyone see her pain and weakness—this was exactly something Celitia would do.

But hadn't she considered that those who cared about her would worry and feel anxious because of this?

Sophia was both anxious and angry, glaring at the wooden door in front of her, almost wanting to punch it to pieces.

But that would make too much noise and might frighten Celitia.

Moreover, if the door broke and they couldn't find a replacement immediately, Celitia might use that as an excuse to move away.

She should first think if there were other ways...

"Keys, right, there should be spare keys in the house!"

Sophia perked up and hurriedly rushed downstairs, rummaging through boxes and cabinets looking for keys.

But this villa was simply too large—such tiny keys, who knew where they might be?

After searching for a while, Sophia realized that unless she had incredible luck, this plan wouldn't work.

"No, I can't waste any more time looking for keys. Should I just break down that door after all..."

Sophia paced back and forth in front of Celitia's door like an ant on a hot pan, spinning in anxious circles.

Suddenly, inspiration struck—

If she couldn't get through the door, there was still the window!

Celitia wouldn't have locked the window too, would she?

But even if she had, breaking a window would make less noise and cause less damage than breaking down the door.

Without hesitation, Sophia turned and left the house, circling around to the back of the villa.

Gathering all her strength in her legs and unleashing her fighting spirit, the girl leaped up from the ground toward the second floor, grabbing onto the protruding windowsill below the second floor.

Damn it, just a little bit short...!

Next time, she definitely needed to keep some magic scrolls on her person!!

Under the starry night, the elegantly dressed blonde girl completely lost her composure, climbing up the wall and pipes like a gecko. If anyone had passed by and seen this scene, their jaws would have dropped.

If word got out, Her Highness the Princess would have nowhere to hide her face.

Fortunately, it didn't take much time for Sophia to reach the second-floor window.

She tried pulling it outward and successfully opened a crack.

The window really wasn't locked!

Sophia couldn't help but be overjoyed.

Opening the window to its maximum, Sophia nimbly twisted her body and squeezed through the gap.

The girl's body landed on the wooden floor with a muffled thud that sounded particularly clear in the silent room.

By the starlight from outside the window, Sophia could barely make out an oval-shaped lump under the bedding, with even the head completely covered.

"Lily!"

Sophia frantically rushed to the bedside and reached out to pull back half the blanket.

The girl's pale face emerged from under the checkered bedding, her bangs soaked with cold sweat and messily stuck to her face.

"Lily, what's wrong with you?"

Sophia touched her forehead, only feeling a patch of ice-cold skin.

Celitia's body temperature was already naturally low, but now it was several degrees lower than usual.

Healing magic—she should try healing magic!

Sophia attempted to cast a healing spell, but it had no effect whatsoever.

Refusing to give up, she tried casting several more healing spells in succession, but the girl's condition still showed no improvement.

"Lily, don't scare me. I'm very timid and can't handle being frightened!"

Sophia's eyes reddened with anxiety. She wiped the corner of her eyes, brushing away the tears that were about to spill.

"I'll take you to the hospital right now, to find Sister Mahee! You have to hold on!!"

As if responding to Sophia's words, Celitia's long eyelashes trembled, and she finally opened her eyes with difficulty.

"Sophia?"

Her voice was slightly hoarse, carrying an uncontrollable tremor, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

"I'm fine, just... ugh...!"

Another wave of intense pain spread through her, forcing Celitia to cut off her words mid-sentence, a pained whimper escaping from her throat.

She forcefully covered her mouth, her teeth biting her pale fingers until they bled, finally swallowing back that fragile sound.

Struggling to breathe deeply and using all her strength to steady her breathing, Celitia finally spoke again:

"Just... a bit tired... Rest for a while, and it'll be fine... Tomorrow... everything will be okay..."

Her body shrank back, burrowing into the blanket again and covering her entire head tightly.

"Please, Sophia... let me stay alone like this... Don't... come over anymore..."

"Impossible!"

Sophia blurted out, anxiously continuing to pull at the blanket covering Celitia.

"Be good, Lily. When you're sick, you see a doctor. Don't be stubborn, okay?"

"I won't go... Even if I went, it would be useless..."

Celitia showed complete resistance to the suggestion of going to the hospital.

For every inch of blanket Sophia pulled, she retreated an inch, refusing to show her head no matter what.

"When you're sick, you need treatment, or how will you get better? Even if you don't care about your own body, I still care!"

Seeing that Celitia was about to retreat to the edge of the bed, Sophia's patience ran out. She prepared to lift her up along with the blanket and forcibly take her to the hospital.

But Celitia's next words stopped her actions.

"What if... I told you... this isn't an illness?"

"Not an illness?" Sophia asked in confusion. "Then what exactly is going on?"

Celitia remained silent for a very long time.

She didn't know whether it was right or wrong to reveal this matter.

Why did Sophia always have to meddle in her affairs?

Even locking the door and finding excuses to hide couldn't stop Sophia.

She shouldn't have let Sophia get close to her, and definitely shouldn't have given her opportunities to interfere in her matters.

But...

How did things end up like this?

Seeing that Celitia wouldn't speak for a long time, Sophia assumed she was just making excuses to delay.

Carefully getting off the bed, Sophia quietly circled behind the girl and suddenly pounced, pinning her down.

"Stop making things up and come with me to the hospital obediently!"

Just as Sophia was about to wrap Celitia up in the blanket and carry her to the hospital, the girl suddenly spoke slowly.

"It's a curse."

Sophia's movements froze: "What?"

The girl beneath her didn't move, just quietly allowing herself to be restrained in Sophia's embrace.

As if she had lost the strength and will to struggle, she had helplessly resigned herself to fate.

"Not an illness," Celitia repeated. "It's a curse."