A light spray of water arose. Was it because the water was hot? Heat quickly spread throughout his body. Cedric reached out urgently, but droplets of water had already rolled down Arne’s hair due to the splash.

Droplets flowed down Cedric’s hair, past his tightly closed jaw, and continued down his neck. As her gaze landed on his sharply defined abs, heat spread across Arne’s face.

Arne’s eyelashes moved slowly. There was nowhere else to look. Arne tried to step back, but her feet couldn’t find a surface. All she felt was the scalding hot water and the current.

Losing her balance, Arne placed her hand on Cedric’s shoulder. Cedric’s tense shoulder flinched. At the same time, a suffocating tension flowed from their locked gazes.

His eyes lingered on Arne’s red pupils and lips. The gaze, lingering intently, was intensely sensual. Cedric’s grip on Arne tightened.

In an instant, red mana enveloped Cedric. Soon, blue holy power, diluted in the holy water, tingled as it wrapped around Cedric. His previously hazy mind cleared in an instant.

Cedric’s low voice, seemingly displeased, came through his furrowed brows.

“You.”

“…Yes.”

Arne mulled over the sight she had just seen of Cedric. What was that? Did she see it wrong? It was only for a very brief moment, but didn’t red mana appear? She had seen it in Vivian as well.

“That just now…”

“What is it?”

But Cedric finished speaking a little faster. As his furrowed brows deepened, his gaze on Arne’s mana core grew more intense.

“I’m really curious as to why the mana that was full during the day is almost depleted again today.”

He raised one eyebrow as he asked. Complex emotions were evident in that question.

“Ah…”

For now, she had to explain the situation. Arne’s feet hadn’t touched the ground, and instead, she felt the scalding hot water. Seeing Cedric in just a robe, it seemed this was his private hot spring.

“I’m sorry for the trouble. It was really an unexpected accident.”

“…….”

Cedric, whose gaze had been lingering on Arne’s lips, seemed to come to his senses as she spoke.

‘This is quite troublesome.’

Of all days, today was the night of the full moon when the demonic energy was at its peak. Moreover, it was late at night, making it the worst time to encounter her in the hot spring.

“What kind of accident made you come to find me so urgently?”

“This. Will you accept it?”

Arne held out the letter she had been holding dearly. It seemed to have a high-level preservation spell since it didn’t get wet from the water.

“It’s for you, Cedric.”

“For me…”

Cedric, puzzled, looked at Arne. His gaze fell on her lips again. This was troublesome. Indeed, the night of the full moon was troublesome. His tightly clenched jaw was filled with tension.

Cedric swept back his hair and immediately took the letter. At that moment, disbelief spread across his face.

[Cedric Schopendha de Renigrad
Judith Holycrossen de Renigrad]

The powerful and elegant handwriting was indeed that of his grandmother, whom Cedric remembered. The seal on the back was unmistakably that of Renigrad. It was genuine.

“How does the lady have this?”

Cedric’s eyes wavered like incoming waves.

“Grandmother has already passed away.”

How could he forget her? She was the one who warmly embraced him in the cold, frigid Grand Duchy of Renigrad.

“I visited the Imperial Honorary Cemetery today. When I placed flowers on the gravestone, the spirit’s mana flowed in, revealing the letter. It seems it was left for you, Cedric.”

“…….”

“I thought it was right to return it to its owner. I didn’t expect it to consume this much mana, though.”

Arne watched Cedric’s expression. She could feel his agitation. It was understandable. His grandmother meant a lot to Cedric, not just to him, but to Grand Duke Calon and everyone at the Grand Duchy.

“It seems the letter was set to reveal itself only in response to your spirit’s mana. Perhaps she wanted you to see it.”

Cedric couldn’t take his eyes off the letter for a long time. He was confused and found it hard to hide his surprise. The lady always managed to do the unexpected. Not just with the letter.

Did she know that no one else had ever been allowed into this hot spring?

“…It was indeed an unexpected accident. Thank you. I will reward you.”

“No need for a reward. I’ve also received a lot of help.”

“No, it’s a keepsake of the Grand Duchess of Renigrad. You were in danger. A reward is appropriate.”

Cedric’s gaze fell again on Arne’s mana core, which was now filled to the brim. It seemed to be refilling faster than usual.

He had a guess, but if it was correct, it would be a bit troublesome.

“But as you can see, the situation is like this today. I will restore the mana and finish our conversation tomorrow.”

His firm voice continued quickly. For some reason, there was a tense feeling in his briefly clenched jaw.

“If you go into the log cabin you see over there, the top drawer of the cupboard has a teleportation scroll. You can write or say the desired location while tearing it.”

Arne nodded. It was indeed a bit troublesome to fully restore her mana here. Cedric was only wearing a robe, and Arne was more than half-submerged in the hot spring.

Even a slight movement made her feel the sensation of wet skin brushing against hers, sharpening all her senses. As Cedric lifted Arne, water droplets continuously fell from the soaked hem of her dress.

Although it was summer, the cold night air of the high mountains made Arne shiver.

Achoo.

When Arne’s sneeze, Cedric’s steps halted.

“There are spare clothes in the lower drawer. You can at least change into a shirt. There should also be a light coat. I will… stay here.”

Cedric carefully set Arne down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Cedric immediately stepped back.

“Then.”

Returning to the hot spring, Cedric sat with his back turned. Whether it was due to the hot steam or not, he felt feverish. Tension ran through his taut back muscles.

“Thank you.”

Only after Arne’s short farewell and her steps receded did Cedric’s stiff back muscles relax.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Cedric pressed his temples and leaned back. He was overly conscious, excessively so. It was troublesome. He needed to quickly change his thoughts.

Cedric’s gaze fell on the letter.

‘A letter left by grandmother…’

Cedric couldn’t easily open the letter.

His grandmother had been a holy knight who had achieved great feats in the Great Demon War, just like the Grand Duke of Renigrad. She had also purified the Grand Duke’s demonic energy with her holy power when it grew too strong.

However, as her human holy power weakened over time, the demonic energy of the Grand Duke grew stronger, eventually becoming uncontrollable.

The end of demonic energy possession is the loss of the soul and becoming a minion of the demon. As a holy knight, she begged to die as a human.

In the end, Grand Duke Calon Schopendha de Renigrad personally ended the life of the woman he loved most, Judith Holycrossen de Renigrad.

That day, the Grand Duchy of Renigrad was a living hell.

‘The cursed land of Renigrad.’

Cedric stared at the letter. Immersing himself in holy water on the night of the full moon, when his demonic energy was at its peak, was also due to Renigrad’s curse.

When the demonic energy intensified, one or more of the seven deadly sins, also known as the demon’s mischief, would manifest.

‘Wrath, pride, greed, envy, gluttony, sloth, and lust.’

Cedric’s lips twisted.

The heir of Renigrad undergoes rigorous training from a young age to withstand the demon’s mischief if they are unexpectedly engulfed by demonic energy. The demon’s mischief that manifested in Cedric was lust.

As he slowly rose, his well-toned muscles moved. Despite the holy water, his appearance was excessively sensual. His gaze, as dark as the night sky, turned towards the log cabin.

‘She must have returned by now.’

As Cedric moved, water dripped from his wet robe. Even though he had deliberately stayed in the holy water for a long time, his excited mood did not subside.

Ever since she appeared under the pouring moonlight.

‘Such a promiscuous body. It’s fitting for the cursed lineage of the Grand Duchy of Renigrad.’

He thought that perhaps the words of the Holy Knight commander might be right. Due to his picky preferences, he had never been particularly swayed by lust.

But constantly, in his mind, there was the sight of skin turning red, the lingering faint scent of lilac, the sweet fragrance, and those mesmerizing gazes as enchanting as Reta that occasionally captivated his senses.

‘Damn it.’

It was clear that the temple priests had diluted the holy water. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so ineffective.

Cedric frowned as he opened the door to the log cabin. It clicked, something was caught.

The wet dress was still on the floor. As Cedric slowly lifted his head, he saw that Arne, who should have already returned to the mansion, was still there.

She was struggling to open a high drawer, having placed her coat on the chair. Cedric’s shirt fluttered with her every movement. Due to the difference in their physiques, it looked almost like a chemise, which was problematic.

Arne stood on tiptoe, reaching for the high drawer. It was a space only Cedric could use, so the drawers were adjusted to his height.

‘Damn it.’

It was truly maddening. It was overly stimulating.