Calix did not suddenly feel guilty for not treating an inexperienced woman more gently.

Even if he had known from the beginning…

Would anything have truly changed?

Calix pushed himself upright.

The moment he moved away, Lianna hurriedly pulled the sheets over her exposed body and clutched them tightly around herself.

Having already seen every inch of her, what was the point in hiding now?

A faint sneer flickered through Calix’s eyes.

Unfazed by his gaze, Lianna wrapped the sheets around herself more tightly and moved further away from him.

“I don’t understand it. If no man has touched you until now, are all the men in this territory impotent?”

Lianna, who had been slowly steadying her breathing to endure the throbbing ache throughout her body, found herself momentarily speechless.

“How can you say something like that?”

“What exactly?”

“You’re a prince. And yet the way you speak is…”

“Like a common thug from the streets?”

“…I didn’t say it that harshly.”

“What a shame. I suppose your fantasies have been shattered.”

Calix let out a short, low laugh.

Completely n*ked, he crossed the room and leaned back against the sofa with a lazy air. Crossing one leg over the other, he reached for the cigarette case on the table.

Lianna panicked, wondering where to direct her gaze, before eventually lowering her head.

She had always imagined royalty to be refined and elegant.

But this man…

He was nothing like she had expected.

With slightly dazed eyes, Lianna stared at the man as he smoked his cigar leisurely.

“Please… make sure you keep your promise.”

The agreement had been clear.

He would help Count Chester enter the world of central politics.

Calix slowly exhaled a long stream of smoke into the air.

“I don’t go back on my word.”

Gray smoke drifted through the air, obscuring his face.

Lianna could not tell what expression was hidden behind it.

Nor could she tell whether she should believe his words.

For someone like Calix, granting Count Chester a position was probably easy.

Nevertheless, opposition would inevitably follow.

Many would undoubtedly resent the sudden elevation of a provincial noble to such a position.

Despite the backlash and inconvenience that such a decision would cause, Calix still intended to grant her request.

After all, even if he chose to ignore it, there was no one capable of holding him accountable.

Count Chester did not have the status to question a royal such as Calix.

‘For now… all I can do is trust him.’

Lianna watched Calix smoke his cigar; his expression remained as cold and indifferent as before. Then she slowly rolled onto her side.

She had expected him to throw her out the moment it was over, but he didn’t seem cruel enough to do that.

Once she had calmed down somewhat, she finally got up and started to get dressed.

After offering Calix a respectful farewell, she quietly left the room.

Fortunately, he did not stop her.

Relieved by this, Lianna hurried her steps, desperate to put as much distance as possible between herself and the man.

***

The following afternoon, Lianna was summoned by Count Chester.

When she entered the drawing room, she found that a selection of luxurious desserts and tea had already been laid out.

Although she felt slightly hesitant about such excessive hospitality, Lianna eventually accepted the tea that the Count offered her.

As she lifted the teacup to her lips, she glanced at him cautiously.

“Um… Count Chester. You said you had something to discuss with me…?”

As though he had been waiting for that very question, the Count’s lips curled upwards.

He reached into his coat and placed something on the table.

The sound of metal clinking inside the bulging leather pouch was loud.

Seeing Lianna’s puzzled expression, the Count stroked his moustache and spoke proudly.

“Open it.”

Lianna loosened the string tied around the pouch.

The moment she did, a brilliant gleam flashed before her eyes.

The bag was filled to the brim with gold coins.

These were the purest gold coins, bearing the likeness of Saint King Yulike, and they reflected the sunlight brilliantly.

“Count Chester… what is this?”

“What else would it be? It’s your reward for what you accomplished.”

The Count grinned widely.

“You mean…”

“Yes. His Grace said he intends to entrust me with an important position very soon.”

Lianna’s eyes widened slightly with surprise.

She slowly wrapped both hands around her teacup.

So, it seemed that Calix had kept his promise after all.

“Lianna, you did wonderfully! Without you, how could I ever have seized such fortune?”

Count Chester laughed loudly, his mouth nearly splitting from delight as he praised her enthusiastically.

Now the Count was even calling her his benefactor.

‘A benefactor.’

In truth, all they had done was strike a deal.

The Count needed status.

Lianna needed money to save her younger brother.

Lianna stared quietly at the pouch filled with gold.

With this money, Joel would no longer have to suffer.

Yet her mouth still felt unbearably dry, as though it were filled with sand.

‘…Did I really do the right thing?’

She suppressed the bitter self-mockery welling up inside her.

Pride wouldn’t keep her alive.

The purity she had sold was no longer important.

Losing the only family she had left would be far worse.

Besides, just as that man had said, hadn’t she sold her virginity for a high price?

The face of the man who had taken her virginity appeared quietly in her mind.

She would probably never see him again.

“Is His Grace returning to the royal capital?”

“Ah, yes.”

“When is he leaving?”

“He’ll depart at dawn tomorrow.”

‘That soon…’

The thought escaped her before Lianna abruptly regained her senses.

This startled her, too.

There had been nothing tender about last night at all.

He was a man who cared nothing for her feelings and spoke only in cold, cruel words.

So what exactly was there for her to miss?

In fact, she should have felt relieved that he would soon be leaving.

It was simply…

It was the first time she had ever been touched by a man like that.

Every place his hands had touched awakened unfamiliar sensations within her.

The memory of that overwhelming heat consuming her body remained painfully vivid.

Lianna quietly shook her head, trying to drive away the memories of last night.

After all, he was a man she would never see again.

What reason would a mere commoner like her ever have to cross paths with a noble prince again?

Once the man who had suddenly intruded upon her ordinary life had disappeared, everything would simply return to how it had always been.

Caring for the sick Joel.

Struggling day by day just to survive.

Nothing would truly change.

Yes.

That was all.

***

Even during the daytime, the heavy curtains across the windows of Calix’s bedroom remained drawn.

All traces of the woman had been erased from the room, in which Calix now sat lazily in a low-backed chair.

A shirt with several buttons undone hung loosely over his body.

This appearance was utterly unbefitting of royalty, yet no one in the room was bold enough to comment on his attire.

His adjutant, Guildford, stood silently by his side.

The third person present was a man in robes who had just arrived in response to Calix’s summons.

He dropped to one knee and offered a flawless, respectful bow.

“Your Highness. It has been far too long since I last saw you.”

The elderly mage from the Magic Tower greeted the Second Prince of the Gloucester Kingdom with an overly formal bow. His long white beard flowed down across his chest. It was so precise that it did not deviate from proper etiquette in the slightest.

Judging by his appearance, he would probably have continued rambling tediously if he had been left alone.

Calix abruptly cut him off.

“That’s enough of the pointless greetings. You already know why I summoned you, don’t you?”

“Oh my, of course, Your Highness.”

Calix took off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body.

The black markings that had once covered almost his entire torso had now faded, leaving only faint traces on his arms and chest.

Seeing how much the curse had diminished, the mage’s wrinkled eyes widened dramatically.

“Oh…! This…!”

The elderly mage gasped repeatedly in disbelief.

Carefully examining Calix’s body, he hurriedly asked,

“Your Highness, what happened? Have you found a descendant of the fairy race? What sort of woman was she? Or perhaps… though unlikely, it could even have been a ma—”

“She’s a woman.”

The oppressive force behind Calix’s gaze made the mage quickly clear his throat awkwardly.

“In that case, this is a blessing beyond words. Had the search for the descendant of the fairy race been delayed even slightly, who knows what might have happened to Your Highness? Just imagining such a possibility makes this old man tremble with fear.”

“Fortunate?”

One corner of Calix’s lips twisted upward.

Even after finding the key to breaking the curse, this damned situation still continued.

“You clearly said that sleeping with a descendant of the fairy race would break the curse. Then explain this.”

He had undoubtedly taken that woman last night.

What had happened while he thrust inside her repeatedly, like a starving man?

It wasn’t just pleasure that she gave him.

A refreshing energy flowed into his body, weakening the curse that constantly strangled the breath from his lungs.

The sensation was almost indescribable.

The curse should have disappeared the moment he took her. Yet it remained inside him like a parasite, continuing to gnaw away at his life.

“If you fed me lies, I won’t let you live.”

Calix delivered the threat in a low voice, but it was still harsh.

The situation was so tense that it would not have been surprising if the prince had grabbed the mage by the collar at any moment. The old man broke out in cold sweat immediately.

“Please calm yourself, Your Highness. I will explain everything.”

Calix crossed his arms, silently signaling for the mage to continue.

The old man looked visibly relieved.

Had the notoriously hot-tempered prince truly grabbed him by the collar, his ageing spine might genuinely have snapped in half.

“The curse placed upon Your Highness is undoubtedly far more powerful and ancient than we originally anticipated. Its force is simply too overwhelming to disappear so easily.”

“Then what exactly am I supposed to do?”

“There is no doubt that the woman who inherited the power of the fairy race weakened the curse affecting you. The effect was clearly real. Therefore, Your Highness must maintain contact with her until the curse is completely eradicated. It may take time, but eventually the curse will disappear entirely.”

That was the full extent of the mage’s explanation.

Irritation darkened Calix’s eyes.

After summoning him all this way, the old man had merely gone round in circles, ultimately concluding that there was no other method.

“Ha.”

Calix let out a dry laugh and pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose.

He had thought he would never have to see that woman again.

In fact, he had even felt relieved at the prospect of no longer coming face to face with someone who reminded him so vividly of the girl who died long ago.

“Guildford.”

Long after the mage had left, Calix finally broke the silence.

The adjutant standing nearby immediately stepped forward and bowed his head.

Complicated emotions flashed briefly through his golden eyes before vanishing again.

“Bring me that woman.”