She had a point. While he's worked hard to minimise the effect his curse had on his environment, some people still were suspicious of him, and wouldn't trust a word he said. The Court Mage at least tested the hypotheses he suggested, but it was only a matter of time until her opinion of him was poisoned as well. And even if it wasn't a curse, just knowing the truth wouldn't bring about a solution. And Master Linus was bound to figure it out.
Fortunately, they didn't stay mired in somber mood for long, with the next line giving them a chance to change the subject. Val gasped with fake outrage, covering his mouth with his hand. "I'll let you know I'm perfectly capable of pulling on my nightgown! Give me another ten years and I might learn how to button up my doublet!" Provided that he'd survive the next ten years, but that didn't have to ruin the mood.
He could continue joking about nobles, but her next words were not something he could really ignore. What did he want? Did he even know the answer to the question? He remembered having some outlandish fantasies as a child - sometimes he wanted to be a great warrior who could fight off the dragons (who were never part of Astanill's fauna), or a powerful wizard who could conjure a castle even greater and fairer than the one he lived in.
And now? Now he didn't even know what to do with himself. And while he could start thinking about ways to change that, it would never be as simple as finding something he enjoyed. Despite his best efforts, everything around him ended up destroyed, and all his actions - no matter how well-intended - brought about ruin. He suspected that no matter how harmless a hobby he picked, it would quickly be turned to devastation; if he picked up gardening, any plant he tended could release poisonous spores.
But he shouldn't give up and become despondent. It would be betraying their friendship - Kassi has fought so hard to reach her goal, he couldn't just laze about.
"Maybe I should travel abroad" he suggested. "If I am cursed, that would decrease the amount of misfortune here in Astanill - and if I'm not, perhaps someone could identify the real cause." As much as he cared about his small country and its people, he wasn't completely xenophobic - he knew that there was an entire large world outside the island, and it held untold wonders. He would just have to take care not to linger to long, lest the place he'd be hypothetically staying in fell victim to his curse as well. And of course, there was the question of how to finance such a quest...
Spoiler
Thank you! You too