Original subtitles

Your Highness!

Prince Oscar!

This really is too dangerous!

We should go back!

Please, Your Highness!

Quiet, Lazar.

All our efforts to sneak out of the castle

will have been for nothing if we return now.

What if the witch ends up casting another curse on you?

I'll worry about it then.

We don't have any other leads.

I'm sure there must be some other way!

Fifteen years, and I've found nothing.

First, we'll find the Witch of the Azure Moon and ask her how to lift the curse.

If that fails, we'll find the one responsible, the Witch of Silence.

Flawless, right?

A witch residing in an azure tower.

A royal prince struck by a curse.

If they could turn back time, what would they wish for?

This is a story where everything can be rewritten.

~ Cursed Words and the Azure Tower ~

Okay, let's go.

P-Please wait!

I know how you must feel, Your Highness,

but the risk is too great!

To begin with, the Witch of Silence hasn't been spotted in the last fifteen years.

And as for the Witch of the Azure Moon,

no one's ever managed to reach the top of that tower in all those years!

Well, I'm sure it'll work out.

No, it won't!

If something happens to you, how would I ever return to the castle?!

Just put on a grieving face.

You know I can't do that!

Ah, Your Highness!

Don't just open the doors so carelessly!

Please act with a little more caution!

The entrance is pretty much as the records say.

That's true.

And if the records are to be believed,

within these walls await a number of challenges!

And the one who overcomes them to reach the very top

will have his wish granted by the witch.

Let's move quickly here.

Nice and quick.

Ah, please wait up!

It's dangerous, so you just wait here.

I'll be back before sunset.

N-No, I can't let you do that.

Your Highness.

I'm thinking here.

N-No, actually...

We're surrounded by snakes!

I can see that just fine.

We'll be fine. They're not venomous.

This must be the first challenge.

This is a mathematical theory studied about a hundred years ago in a tiny eastern nation.

It was famous for being an unsolvable problem.

It's unsolvable?!

It was, back then.

They figured it out around a decade ago.

I see. So that's how it works.

Are you sure you don't want to go back?

Nuh-uh. It's just getting interesting.

We seem to have our first challengers in a while, Master.

How rare.

I was sure they'd all forgotten this tower existed.

There was another one just a month ago.

They ran out of time after being unable to solve the first tablet.

Right.

These challengers are steadily making their way up the tower.

Would you care to observe them?

I'm not going.

It can wait until they reach the top.

As you wish.

Go on, Litola.

You know what to do when they fail.

Very well.

They may be progressing steadily now,

but most of them don't make it past the first guardian beast.

I thought this thing looked awfully white, but it's not real.

Must be a guardian beast animated by magic.

I'd be scared if a real lion was this huge.

Your fearlessness is just as scary!

It made for a good warm-up.

You think I'd die if I fell down?

Ah! Please don't get so close to the edge!

You should have just waited at the bottom.

I can't let you die all alone here, Your Highness!

I'm not dying.

How far have we come?

We should be past the midway point, at least.

The last person to succeed was my great-grandfather, was it?

Yes, around seventy years ago now.

Back then, ten men embarked on the climb,

but only King Regius, who reigned at the time, reached the top.

I see.

So far, it's been pretty easy.

We really should turn back!

You go back on your own.

It's not like you're helping.

Let's return together!

Your Highness!

Are you listening?

Those are definitely coming to life!

Let's head back!

Seriously, you wait outside.

Whoa there.

Master, the challengers have made it to the stone statue room.

Quite the feat. How many are there?

Two of them.

No, in practice, just one.

One person...

I was making some tea for them, but it seems it'll go to waste.

Should we give them a consolation prize for the effort?

It looks like he'll clear it easily.

What?

These were a real pain.

I'm glad you're unhurt.

One hit from them, and I'd be worse than hurt.

Let's go.

Yes.

What?!

Your Highness!

Hurry, Lazar!

Y-Your Highness...

Wait right there!

You mustn't!

Your Highness.

Please go on ahead.

Don't be stupid!

You'll fall!

No, I'll be fine.

My apologies, but I'll be returning without you.

Your Highness!

Please go ahead.

I greatly await the day that you become king.

Wait, Lazar!

Lazar!

Welcome.

I've brewed us some tea.

Please, take a seat.

Pleasure to meet you.

My name is Tinasha.

Though there are few who call me by my name.

You're the witch?

You don't look it to me.

How foolish to question a witch's appearance.

Your companion is sleeping down at the bottom.

He remains uninjured.

I see.

Did you use magic to alter your appearance?

You ask some rude questions.

This is all natural.

I heard you've lived hundreds of years, but you don't have any wrinkles.

We live many times longer than humans do.

My body has simply stopped aging.

Well?

Isn't it your turn to speak now?

You're the first one to climb this tower practically by yourself.

Please, if you'd at least tell me your name.

Sorry about that.

I am Oscar Lyeth Increatos Loz Farsas.

Farsas?

You're Farsas royalty?

I'm the crown prince.

You're Regius's descendant?

I'm his great-grandson.

What?!

You do look a bit like him.

Maybe?

Regius had a more kindhearted face, though.

Sorry for looking so heartless.

My apologies.

That said, you're manlier than him.

Reg was too pure,

and he had a childish side to him.

Do you live here alone?

I have a familiar with me.

Litola.

Pleased to make your acquaintance.

My name is Litola.

Your companion is sound asleep from my spell.

Ah, thanks for that.

What happens to the challengers who never make it back?

Are they buried in a mass grave or something?

Can you not insinuate that I live by a graveyard?

I don't want to end up with corpses in the tower, so I make sure no one dies.

One hit from those stone statues is more than enough to kill.

The instant that a fatal blow is about to land, you get sent to the ground floor.

Those who fail have their memories altered a bit

and get sent off to random corners of the mainland.

Most of them are just in it to prove themselves or gain fame,

so it's more than a fair price to pay, I think.

But for challengers who come to cure their child's illness or the like,

Master is kind enough to do so even if they fail.

You don't need to tell him that!

You sure are a mystery.

That's the way I like it.

You don't ever go into town?

I hear the other witches show themselves to humans more often.

I don't want to interfere with human lives too much.

My powers are not meant to be wielded on a whim.

I see.

If only the Witch of Silence thought the same way.

Is that related to why you came here?

I've been cursed by the Witch of Silence.

Never again shall you beget an heir.

The same goes for that son of yours.

Your blood will eat away at any womb it touches.

The Farsas bloodline ends with you.

Why did you end up with a curse like that?

My father doesn't wish to speak of it, so I've never directly asked him the cause.

It seems related to my mother, who passed away immediately before.

I see.

Of course, I tried to find a way to break the curse,

but no matter how much I read

or explored ruins that seemed promising,

I couldn't find a single clue to rid myself of this curse.

And so, I came here.

Before we go any further,

there's no guarantee that a curse can be lifted in the first place.

What we call magic is organized and operated using a shared set of rules.

However, curses don't follow any rules.

When you imbue arbitrary words with meaning that you define,

as well as magical power, you end up with a curse.

Which means, of course, that it varies depending on who casts it.

In the most extreme cases,

if breaking the curse is left undefined at the time of casting,

not even the caster can undo it.

They can't undo it?

They can't.

But in turn, curses don't hold overwhelming power.

They can't directly kill people, and they can only act in roundabout ways.

But this curse seems fairly powerful.

Yes.

Your curse seems to go beyond what I described.

That's because what you've been afflicted with is not a curse,

but a variant of what you might call a blessing.

Huh?

What's this?

I've made visible a part of the blessing that's been cast on you.

Fundamentally, blessings are cast the same way as curses,

but they vary in the direction of power.

They magnify the energy that's already present.

Which is why blessings can be quite powerful, depending on the caster's prowess.

The one that's been cast on you subverts the idea,

and tries to protect any unborn child with an extremely powerful force.

It'd be impossible for a normal mother to bear.

If the blessing could be analyzed, you could use magic to alleviate it,

but there are about twenty layers intertwined here.

The Witch of Silence is powerful indeed.

I'm terribly sorry.

So... you can't break it?

Hey.

W-Well...

You came all this way, so I can't have you leave empty-handed.

I'll do what I can here.

So there's a way?

There's a simple answer here.

You just need to find a woman who can withstand the child's protective power.

Does such a woman really exist?

I'm sure there must be one or two on the mainland.

I'll look for someone based on their magical power and magical resistance,

so please overlook any other aspect.

What if it's she's married, elderly, or a child?

If she's married, then morally there's nothing you can do,

but the elderly should be fine with some magic.

If she's a child, you can raise her to be your ideal woman!

You see marriages with gaps of twenty years all the time with royalty.

Anyway, I'll find someone, so keep your chin up!

Anyway?

Hey.

Tinasha.

You scared me.

Why's that scare you?

Practically no one calls me by my name.

You're the one who told me your name.

Sorry.

So? What is it?

Ah, well...

What about you?

Can you withstand the Witch of Silence's magical power?

Sure, I'd have no trouble against that.

Wait.

Then it's settled.

Eh?

Hold it right there.

It's surer than trying to look for a woman who might not even exist.

Let's say my wish as champion is that you leave this tower and become my wife.

I-I can't possibly accept that!

Didn't you say you'd do what you could?

There are limits to that!

Nuh-uh, not happening!

Could it be that you're actually married?

I have no history of marriage.

Do you have a boyfriend?

I've never had one!

Didn't you say the elderly should be fine?

I may be old, but being called elderly ticks me off!

Wait, that's not the point!

You can't be sane, trying to introduce witch blood into the royal family!

The royal council would spit up blood at the idea!

I wouldn't mind seeing that.

I can't tell if you remind me of Reg or not...

You're a real piece of work.

I have a mean streak.

Anyway, no can do.

If I granted wishes like that, I'd be your great-grandmother by now.

My great-grandfather might have backed down,

but I'm my own man, so it's got nothing to do with me.

What are you saying?

Neither is okay!

No exceptions!

It's been seventy years, and you refuse to make any exceptions?

Why don't you be a little more flexible?

There are limits, you know!

If you refuse to listen to me,

I'll alter your memories and return you to the castle!

That's one hell of a thing to say.

I could say the same thing.

Hey, don't make me fight back.

The royal sword Akashia...

That's the only sword in the world boasting full magical resistance.

Why are you walking around with that thing?

Isn't it a royal treasure?

Items like these are best put to practical use.

Ah, this thing is your worst enemy, isn't it?

Let's talk things out a bit more.

I agree.

Calm yourself.

You're so stubborn, it's honestly a bit unusual.

Back down and concede.

I could say the same of you.

Oh yeah, I hear you lived in Farsas Castle for a while seventy years ago.

Only for about half a year.

Teaching magic, raising flowers, and so on.

I had a pretty good time.

Was that my great-grandfather's wish?

No.

Then how about this?

One year.

Leave this place for one year and live with me in Farsas.

That is my request as champion.

Will you accept it?

I understand.

Then I will leave this tower to act as your protector.

Your Highness.

We really should give up.

Lazar.

Lazar! Wake up, Lazar!

Yes!

Huh? Your Highness?

It's night already...

C'mon, let's go home.

Are you okay with returning home?

Yeah, I'm all done here.

Your Highness, who's that?

She's the witch's pupil.

She'll be staying at the castle to help me remove the curse.

Call me Tinasha.

I-I'm Lazar!

Did you meet the witch as well?

Yeah, I did.

She didn't eat you alive?

You're just asking for it now.

Well, she was quite the interesting one.

Ah, Your Highness.

Please wait for me!

Magic, huh?

Pretty nifty.

I can use this whenever you'd like.

Ask me if you need something burnt to a crisp.

That won't be needed.

You just need to stay by my side.

Tinasha.

If you change your mind halfway through,

you can always make your home in Farsas.

That won't happen.

~ The Past Recalled Once Again ~