***

Dozens of banquet tables filled the grand hall, each groaning under the weight of lavish dishes.

There was an abundance of herb-seasoned turkey, roasted pigeon, whole roast pig and tender lamb marinated in rich spices.

Dried fruits, creamy puddings and fresh cheeses were served without end, while fine wine was poured into every glass continuously.

The celebration had already lasted for three days and nights.

Calix made sure to reward the knights and soldiers who had fought under his command by allowing them to eat and drink to their hearts’ content.

Yet despite having arrived at Chester Castle, there had been no progress in finding a cure for the curse.

The information guild continued to work tirelessly behind the scenes, but tracking down descendants of the fairy race — a people long believed to have been wiped out — was far from easy.

In the first place, he had never expected the matter to be resolved so easily.

Suppressing the growing boredom gnawing at him, Calix tightened his grip around the wineglass in his hand.

Black energy slowly curled upwards from beneath the glove covering the back of his hand.

As memories of the previous night resurfaced, irritation darkened his eyes.

In the middle of the night, after everyone had fallen asleep, the curse erupted violently once again. The pain was so intense that he briefly lost consciousness.

Even for someone like him — someone who had spent years on the battlefield and had long since grown accustomed to pain — it had been utterly unbearable.

The memory of an unseen hand gripping and crushing his heart mercilessly was still horrifyingly vivid.

The curse’s pain alone was agonizing enough, but if he failed to break it soon, it would eventually cost him his life.

This could happen in a matter of months, weeks, or even days.

No one knew.

It was like carrying a bomb inside his body that could detonate at any moment without warning.

Calix frowned deeply before finally raising the glass to his lips.

He did not get drunk easily, so it was almost laughable that alcohol could ease the pain of the curse, however slightly.

Not even divine power had been able to suppress the curse, yet wine was somehow capable of alleviating the suffering, if only temporarily.

In contrast, his subordinates seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the banquet.

Dark, crimson wine, aged to perfection, swirled inside elegant, curved goblets.

The knights clinked their glasses roughly together as they drank without restraint.

Booming laughter echoed throughout the hall like the roaring cries of soldiers on a battlefield, while the noisy sounds of chewing, conversation and drunken shouting filled the air.

Attendants moved frantically back and forth, clearing away empty plates and bringing out fresh dishes endlessly — even ten pairs of hands would not have been enough to keep up.

Calix lazily swirled his goblet of strong wine.

Inside the glass, the crimson liquid spun in slow circles.

Then Guildford, seated beside him, suddenly spoke.

“How unusual.”

“What is?”

“For once, the Count’s nowhere to be seen.”

Calix cast a glance over the crowd of people enjoying themselves.

Now that he thought about it, it really was strange.

Count Chester had clung to him like a leech throughout the entire banquet, yet he was nowhere to be seen tonight.

“Perhaps he drank too much these past few days and finally collapsed from it. Honestly, I’d be delighted if he stayed out of sight until the banquet ends.”

Guildford shook his head as though already exhausted by the mere thought of the Count.

Then his gaze shifted toward the entrance of the banquet hall.

“Ah, d*mn it. Even goblins show up the moment you mention them.”

At Guildford’s grumbling, Calix turned his head.

Count Chester was approaching the banquet table.

An utterly unwelcome guest.

“My apologies, Your Grace. I’m afraid I’m rather late, aren’t I?”

Count Chester hurried over to them. The sight of him panting for breath as though he had rushed there in haste was almost pitiful.

“You must have had important matters to attend to, Count.”

Though Calix spoke lightly, his tone was closer to mockery.

The Count, however, failed to notice.

“Yes, yes, Your Grace. As a matter of fact, I prepared something special tonight to make the banquet even more enjoyable.”

That, at least, was an unexpected answer.

Calix smiled faintly as he raised his wineglass to his lips, though there was not the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes.

“You’ve gone through unnecessary trouble.”

“Haha, please don’t say such things. How could I possibly neglect an opportunity to serve Your Grace properly?”

It was only then that the Count realized, rather late, that the Grand Duke’s mood had soured. However, it was now too late to back out.

Earning the Grand Duke’s favor was the surest way to advance in central politics.

The time had finally come to leave this insignificant provincial territory behind.

“Come now, all of you, enter!”

The Count clapped his hands loudly.

Women who had been waiting in the corridor connected to the banquet hall entered under the attendants’ guidance.

“I have brought only the most beautiful girls in all of Chester. I sincerely hope they suit Your Grace’s tastes.”

So this is the scheme they prepared.

Calix let out a quiet laugh as he looked at the women gathered before him.

Dressed in lavish gowns, they entered the hall one by one and took their seats beside the knights, who had been eating and drinking for hours. Their makeup was heavy, and their dresses revealed far too much of their chests and backs.

They immediately began smiling sweetly as they poured wine for the knights.

At Count Chester’s signal, one of the women slowly approached Calix.

She stepped forward hesitantly, one hand lightly clutching the deeply cut neckline of her dress.

At first glance, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders immediately caught his attention.

She kept her head lowered, making it difficult to see her face properly. The strands of hair falling along her cheeks concealed most of it anyway.

Perhaps overwhelmed by the countless gazes fixed upon her, she could not bring herself to lift her head once.

Although the banquet hall was filled with suffocating warmth, her slender shoulders trembled faintly.

Standing there with both hands tightly clasped together, she looked completely out of place in such a setting as though she had no idea what she was doing there.

Calix slowly lifted his wineglass.

He had not been in a good mood since arriving, but now he could feel a faint irritation rising within him.

“What are you doing? Hurry and attend to His Grace.”

“Ah…”

When the woman hesitated, the Count grabbed her arm and pushed her down beside Calix.

Calix let out a dry laugh.

Suppressing his irritation at the Count’s obvious plan, he reached for the wine bottle.

At that moment, the woman — who seemed entirely out of place — suddenly moved.

“I-I’ll pour it for you, Your Grace.”

It happened before he could tell her that it wasn’t necessary.

The woman hurriedly began pouring the wine.

Even then, her hand trembled slightly as she tilted the bottle.

Judging by her appearance, she clearly belonged in the tavern as one of the girls, yet she was extremely awkward.

Was this truly her first time doing something like this?

Impossible.

Would the desperate Count Chester really put an inexperienced woman at his side?

Ultimately, this was probably just another calculated performance designed to capture his attention.

If so, it was ridiculous.

Even if a beautiful woman tried to seduce him at this point, he wouldn’t be interested.

‘…No, perhaps that wasn’t entirely true.’

Calix slowly tilted his wineglass.

“A descendant of the fairy race?”

“That is correct, Your Grace.”

The mage from the Magic Tower who examined his curse explained that coming into physical contact with someone who had inherited the powers of the fairy race could weaken it.

The more intimate the contact, the greater the absorption of their purifying energy would be.

“The surest method would be the most intimate form of physical contact possible with them.”

“What exactly are you trying to say? Stop speaking in circles and explain clearly.”

“Ahem… In other words… engaging in s*xual relations with them is, at present, the only way to completely break Your Grace’s curse.”

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

Was physical intimacy really the most reliable way to break the curse?

Finding the descendants of the fairy race was almost impossible, and now he was expected to share something so intimate with a complete stranger?

“What a disgusting thought.”

Without realizing it, Calix muttered the words aloud.

Lianna heard every single one of them clearly.