Crest or Curse?

"Wonderful." Ceenia clapped her fingertips against her palm. "Then, once you're freed of that cursed fiend, how about you and I go on a little shopping spree to commemorate your graduation?"

Elenia tried to sidestep the topic. "That's no big deal, Mother. I already own too many dresses–"

"Nonsense! A woman can only have as many dresses as she has days of her life," Ceenia retorted with high-borne wisdom. "It's not every day that my little girl will graduate as an adventurer, and with honors no less!"

"Right… But I don't know about that last part," Elenia chimed in with a hesitant gaze. "With me staying home, I'm missing some of my classes and might not clear those extra credits–"

"That's precisely why your father is trying his hardest, to free you as quickly as His Perfection makes possible." Taking her daughter's hand in hers, Ceenia shared a tightknit smile. 

"We love you, Elenia. And we're so proud of all you've achieved, and of all the things which you'll come to achieve throughout your bright future. You're the shining star that radiates through my life, warming my soul with each accomplishment you acquire." 

Nodding slowly yet surely, Elenia allowed herself one more sip of the strange tea. 

'Hey! You still haven't told me what you want!'

A voice rocketed through Elenia's mind. Her grip stiffened. She nearly spilled some of her tea while recalling her mental link to the supposed goblin in the dungeon. 

"Are you alright, deary? Are you not well?" Ceenia promptly put her cup down and pressed the back of her palm to Elenia's forehead. "You don't have a fever. Perhaps you're facing side effects due to the monster's curse. Oh, I'm sure your father would be able to treat you if he were here–"

"I'm fine, Mother. Though I just remembered a report due at the academy." Elenia stood up and daintily laid the teacup down. "If Father is rushing to help me, then I must finish my report as soon as possible."

Ceenia stood up. Stepping closer to the young woman, Ceenia reached around Elenia and lightly hugged her, keeping her arms scrunched up the entire embrace. "Oh, look at you. So capable and dependable… I can't wait to see you at the graduation ceremony, atop the grand stage." 

"Yes, Mother. But I must go while it's still daylight." Elenia gingerly broke away from the awkward embrace and walked to the door. 

'Hellooo?' Rizz kept calling out via telepathy. 'It shouldn't be that early, right? Or do rich girls all sleep in?'

Ceenia waved to her daughter in the doorway. "Take care, deary. If you need any assistance, I'm sure your father can help as he always does."

"Thank you, Mother."

Thump.

"And I'm sure Father can find time for me. Like he always does…" Elenia sighed behind the closed door. 

'Testing, testing! One, two, three!'

'I can hear you,' Elenia mentally acknowledged the goblin while walking through the mansion. 'I was just a little busy at the moment.'

'So you're not busy now?' Rizz questioned, not waiting for the reply. 'Then get down here and I'll show you how to break this flimsy little curse.'

Elenia furrowed her brow out of reflex. 'I thought you said you weren't a monster?'

'I'm not. Why'd you ask again?'

'Because you called the crest a curse,' reasoned Elenia, 'and only monsters and fiends can create curses.

'... What is it? Why have you gone quiet–'

'BA! Ha, ha, ha!' Rizz rolled in his cell in a fit of laughter. 'Only monsters can make curses? That's a good one!'

Not laughing, Elenia strode toward her bedroom in haste. 'Of course, that's the case. Everyone knows that.'

'Just because everyone believes something doesn't make it true,' Rizz retorted, still snickering in the background. 'If that were the case, I'd have to send Santa to collections.'

'Who… is this Santa?'

'He's not real, don't worry about him. Just like your shitty teachings about curses.'

Elenia sneered and raised her nose in the air. She stomped into her room and locked the door behind her. 'You don't know what you're talking about. You're nothing more than a monster trying to fool me.'

'How am I doing so far?' Rizz's shameless reply left her head spinning. 'Cause if I'm a monster, then I should've made the curse instead of your old man. Instead, I'm the one who knows how to break this crappy curse.'

'You can break it?!' Stiff with shock, Elenia looked at the crest on the back of her hand. 

Rizz was lying on his belly with his feet slowly paddling through the air behind him, lackadaisical as ever. 'Sure. Just bring me some beast blood, an enchanting brush, a mana crystal, and some arcane solvent. Don't forget the mortar and pestle too!'

Elenia replied mentally and verbally, too astonished to not speak her thoughts aloud in the empty room, 'How… do you know about seals?'

'This ain't a seal, it's a curse. Guaranteed,' Rizz replied with a droning tone. 'Just bring that stuff and I'll teach you the difference. Is that what you want in exchange? Knowledge?'

She clenched her hand and placed it over her heart. '... Are you lying to me, fiend?'

'I told you. You can call me whatever you want. But what's my name?'

'... Your name is Rizzio.'

Cheekily grinning, the goblin rolled to his feet. 'Exactly. I don't need to lie. Because the Rizz is undeniable!

'I'll give you a lesson on curses and seals if you bring me all of that stuff. It can be blood from any beast, preferably with water affinity. Any enchanting brush will do, so long as you bring a bunch of them. Expensive ones are best, but it's more important to have spares in our case. The mana crystal should be colorless. If not, then I'll need a water crystal so it blends best with the arcane solvent.

'... Did you get all that?'

Elenia blinked and shook off her astonishment. 'Y-yes. I think so. I have most of those things from my academy kit. But why do you need more than one brush–'

'It's always best to prepare for the worst!' Rizz interjected. 'So get lots of brushes. The more the better. And make sure to get the right beast blood and crystal. Got that? How soon will you be down here?'

Standing in silence, Elenia made sure to think to herself without the crest activating. *... I'm sure Father has tons of extra supplies in the workshop. And Rizzio seems to know a lot of stuff, even if he is… a goblin.*

She soon reached out with telepathy, 'Alright, I'll bring everything you asked for. But only because Father isn't home. And should I find that you're lying to me, I'll roast you alive with fireballs.'

'Great! Then I'll be impatiently waiting with nothing else to do,' snickered Rizz, clapping his feet in boredom.