Chapter 9

“No. You’re right.”

After a brief silence, Erich affirmed. Naturally, his gaze did not waver.

“As you said, there are no emotions mixed into our relationship. So nothing changes just because we shared bodies. Is that a conclusion you like?”

“Perfectly.”

Beatrice lightly clapped her hands.

“Then, Schwert, let me know if you feel any trembling or paralysis again. I’d like to track the cycle of the curse symptoms.”

“All right.”

“In that sense, next time I want to have s*x just once. I want to verify if the cycle changes depending on the number of times.”

“……”

“Ancient curses like this are rare, so it’s worth researching… Why that face?”

“I’d just like you to remember my life is on the line here.”

“I can do a bit of research at the same time. Data is precious. The curse disappears, but the records last forever.”

Facing the Grand Duke’s disgruntled face, Beatrice grinned mischievously.

“I’ve been crazy for research for far more than enough, haven’t I?”

“That’s hardly something to brag about. Anything else you forgot?”

“No. I’ve said everything.”

Maybe trying to mimic her, Erich grinned mischievously this time. Waving his hand as if to say goodbye, she realized she must have forgotten something.

What did I forget? What was it?

Beatrice stood in place, racking her brain. After much pondering, she gave up, feeling uneasy.

Beatrice realized the answer only when she returned to the Ivory Tower.

Rabbit—!

She screamed silently.

[I’ll definitely bring my rabbit next time.]

To her note,

[That’s already my shoe.]

A maddening reply came back.

He said he ate it for dinner, crazy bastard.

Of course, he could have eaten the meat and made shoes from the leftover hide, but it didn’t seem likely.

Beatrice shook her head.

* * *

Beatrice didn’t dwell on the fact that she had slept with her ex-lover. Perhaps “couldn’t dwell” was more accurate.

After temporarily saving Erich von Schwert’s body, a mad rush of work was chasing her.

The ‘Grand Meeting’ of the Ivory Tower, where the Tower Master, eight elders, and eighteen professors gathered, was fast approaching next week. At the Grand Meeting, they discussed the tower’s status and strategic direction…

Status, huh.

Security department, supply department—every one of them was a mess. Remembering the slacking she’d witnessed, Beatrice wrinkled her nose.

“Ha… I don’t want to attend.”

“You’ve said that seventeen times now.”

“I could say it a hundred more.”

“I hate it. It hurts my ears.”

At Maximine’s dry reaction, Beatrice collapsed onto her desk like a mollusk. She considered slipping off the desk, but Maximine put another pile of papers in front of her.

“These are the accounting ledgers you requested, Tower Master.”

“Ah… Did I ask for them…?”

“You did yesterday.”

“Mm, thanks as always. By the way, could you contact Gunnesbach for me? I think I’ll visit soon and wonder if he’ll be awake then.”

“You mean the Head Dragon?”

“Yes.”

Once a dragon goes into hibernation, they usually stay asleep for at least five years. They rarely wake up—even if you set fire to their own tail, they’d just keep sleeping.

Organizing what she needed to say to the Head Dragon, Beatrice sighed deeply. Before leaving to see Gunnesbach, she had to get through this damned Grand Meeting.

She picked up the ledger with a gloomy face.

Up until the moment she entered the meeting hall, Beatrice reviewed the numbers in the ledger.

“The Tower Master is entering. Everyone, please rise and pay your respects.”

The twenty-six people already present stood up. Beatrice glanced at the round table and took the seat of honor.

“It’s been a month.”

At her nod, they began to sit down.

“Have you all been well?”

“Of course. Peace has finally come to the world, what is there to worry about?”

“We certainly don’t miss war.”

Low laughter sounded around the round table. It was clear mockery, so Beatrice just twisted her lips and hardened her expression.

Tower Master of the Ivory Tower. Great war hero. Genius sorcerer who made a mark in the world of magic. A figure who would leave her name in imperial history forever.

Despite such fame, her position in the Ivory Tower was weak.

The reason was clear.

On the second anniversary of the war’s end, Beatrice Winter had said, “The seal of the Abyss seems incomplete.”

That statement was basically a warning that war could resume.

People who had finally tasted long-desired peace could never accept such words.

So they fiercely attacked her.

“Does the Tower Master want war to resume?”

“Certainly, you gained a lot from the war. Your unclear origins, your current wealth and glory—all thanks to war.”

“But unlike you, Tower Master, most lost everything in the war.”

Driven by endless criticism, Beatrice had to apologize, saying it was a slip of the tongue.

People still treated her as a war hero, but… the Ivory Tower had her weakness firmly in its grasp.

“Clearly you all had a peaceful month. I’m glad.”

“Tower Master, I hope you also had a comfortable month. Now, shall we begin with the first agenda item?”

Beatrice gripped the ledger fiercely in her hand. It contained clear evidence of an elder’s embezzlement.

She was already braced for the Grand Meeting to drag on endlessly.

But—

But she never imagined it would drag on for a completely different reason.

“Sorry, before we begin, may I speak about an urgent matter? May I, Tower Master?”

Professor of puppetry, Adolf Necker, raised his hand and looked at her. Waiting for permission, Beatrice nodded a beat late.

“All right. Speak, Professor Necker.”

“The western reconnaissance unit submitted a report.”

At Adolf Necker’s words, the meeting hall quieted. Everyone realized that if it were an ordinary report, he wouldn’t mention it at the Grand Meeting.

The air cooled. A chill of tension swirled through the room.

A silence so heavy not even a needle could pierce it weighed down on everyone.

“The <Sand Scorpion> has been sighted.”

Professor Necker adjusted his glasses and declared in a dry tone.

* * *

The monster infamous as the “Tyrant of the Desert,” the <Sand Scorpion>. According to records, a single <Sand Scorpion> caused a total of 683 casualties.

To wipe out this dangerous monster, Schwert’s warriors and the Ivory Tower’s sorcerers had scoured the desert. But hearing that the <Sand Scorpion> had been sighted again meant…

Either the scouts made a mistake, the warriors and sorcerers missed one in the past, or a normal scorpion mutated back into a <Sand Scorpion>.

It had to be one of these three.

If a normal scorpion mutated again, it implied the seal was incomplete.

No one else could fail to think what Beatrice was thinking. She held her breath. Someone else seemed to inhale sharply.

And then—

…Chaos swept through the meeting hall.

When the meeting finally ended and she returned to her bedroom in an irritated stride, the clock pointed to three.

Staring blankly at the hands of the clock, Beatrice eventually washed her face and gritted her teeth. She was dissatisfied with the outcome of the Grand Meeting.

“The <Sand Scorpion> has been sighted.”

In the end, the Ivory Tower decided to send a single sorcerer. The problem was, that sorcerer was her sixteen-year-old disciple, Liam.

Beatrice tried her best to send a more experienced sorcerer but failed. Since Liam had declared he’d accept the mission, it couldn’t be reversed.

“Aaaargh! D*mn old men—!”

Unable to contain her anger, she screamed.

“Your curses have improved. Congratulations.”

She never expected to hear that voice.