‘Ah, why did I act so childishly?’

He was smoking outside while mocking his own recent behavior.

— Master! Don’t you really hate the Imperial City? Why do you keep sitting here? Let’s go take the warp gate quickly!

Puff puff puff.

This tobacco was specially made to calm sensitive nerves.

Listening to Caligo’s endless chatter all day, even during his sleep, it’s amazing he hasn’t gone mad.

“Shut up. Please.”

The place where he was smoking was a blind spot below a terrace.

He often pretended to go to the terrace, cut off people’s line of sight, and then jumped down from there to leave the banquet immediately.

For ordinary people, jumping from a terrace this high would be quite difficult, but for someone like him, it wasn’t even worth considering.

But today, somehow, his feet wouldn’t move. He didn’t know why.

While hesitating like that for a while, someone came in. He sensed movement from above.

‘Did I leave the curtain open when I came down here?’

He usually made sure to close the curtains since leaving it open was considered an invitation and all sorts of women would follow him in, but this time he seemed to have forgotten.

Or was it a woman who knowingly followed him? There were always women who would ignore etiquette just to introduce themselves to him.

Though he didn’t understand why they thought so, many women overconfidently believed that if they could just meet him once, he would fall for them.

“I want to… go home.”

Though it was indeed a woman, this didn’t seem to be such a case. He really must have forgotten to close the curtain.

Moreover, somehow the voice sounded familiar.

“How nice it would be if I could live safely while studying Arlesian…”

Hmm. Saena Debov. It was her.

Arlesian, huh. She was as peculiar as the energy she emitted.

— Aaack. It’s that woman again. That woman!

Caligo started throwing another fit.

Constantine ignored the fuss and held his breath.

Why was he secretly observing her behavior from down here?

Even without seeing with his eyes, he could tell how she moved and where she was just from the faint presence.

He could clearly picture her walking somewhat sluggishly and sitting in the chair on the terrace. After sitting, she relaxed her body and mumbled,

“Yur…. I miss you…”

Yur…? A name that could be either male or female.

However, he instinctively knew it was a man’s name.

‘…She already has a lover?’

Reading the longing in her voice, he felt strangely upset despite having no connection to her.

‘Ah, what’s wrong with me. I don’t seem normal.’

Thinking it must be because he hadn’t slept much these past few days, Constantine shook his head.

‘I should return to my territory.’

He self-deprecatingly thought it was because he was doing things he normally wouldn’t. He should cancel the visit to House Debov too.

In truth, it was an extremely flimsy excuse. What use would knowing another family’s history be to him?

Just as he was about to take a step to leave while mocking himself, that’s when it happened. There was a rustling sound from the railing above, and Lady Debov was doing something dangerous.

‘…What is she doing?’

Surely she’s not trying to climb over this railing?

Though unbelievable, that’s exactly what it looked like.

— Master! This woman really seems strange! Let’s get away quickly, okay?!

She climbed onto the railing with her cumbersome dress fluttering, then turned around. It looked dangerous no matter how you looked at it.

While watching the figure on the railing with somewhat nervous feelings, sure enough—

“Aaah!”

She lost her balance and fell backward.

Constantine felt his heart drop along with her and reflexively moved to catch her.

A delicate body and clear fragrance suddenly enveloped him.

— It stinks! The smell! Aaaargh!

The body he caught with a thud in his arms was indeed her. Surprised herself, her purple eyes were wide open above her pale face.

“Huh, Saena? She’s not here?”

Someone else came in and called for her.

Had she tried to come down here to avoid them and fell?

From what he heard, it wasn’t one person but two. One woman, one man.

Wondering who they were, his gaze naturally went up…

— The smell is too horrible! Master! I feel nauseous…

Small hands suddenly covered his mouth.

‘……?!’

In the process, she seemed to burn herself on the tobacco he had in his mouth, startling and removing her hand.

“My lady, your hand.”

— Aaaaargh! Master! You really…

Though he tried to ask in surprise, those hands covered his mouth again.

The feeling of those soft small hands pressing against his lips was… how to put it… Strange.

Along with the soft sensation, even her hands had a nice scent.

Normally, he would have been very startled by that contact and immediately pushed her away.

But he didn’t.

Someone touched him, and he just let it be…

‘Chillingly cold.’

‘For some reason, I get chills…’

This was how people who touched him usually reacted. Even those who managed not to show it verbally couldn’t control their bodies from shivering.

Though ordinary people envied Oathkeepers and wanted their power, Constantine wished he could transfer this power to those who wanted it if only he could.

The side effects of the Covenant were numerous.

The price of possessing power that exceeded human limits was greater than imagined.

Moreover, unlike other Guardian Spirits, since Caligo had the property of hiding in shadows and craving blood, he often caused accidents when an Oathkeeper’s control on him weakened, and in severe cases even harmed the Oathkeeper.

Therefore, a double control process through sealing was necessary. That method was the array densely engraved on his back. It imprisoned and controlled Caligo.

As a result, his skin always emanated coldness. This chill went beyond simply having low body temperature, inflicting psychological coldness on those who touched him.

Thus, he had always carefully covered all skin except his face that he had to show, and tried not to touch others even by accident.

Yet this lady had suddenly touched him.

‘…Is she alright?’

He was concerned. So concerned that he wanted to immediately question her about it. But instead of opening his mouth to ask, he intently studied her face.

Watching for any trace of discomfort…

But this small woman only focused on the movements of the people who appeared on the terrace, showing no discomfort from the contact no matter how closely he observed.

‘Do you not feel the chill?’

Constantine put her down and, using her injury as a pretext, asked to see her hand again while watching her reaction.

Though his hand was gloved, he thought if she disliked it, some displeasure would flash across her face.

But she only declined, saying it was just a minor wound, showing no signs of discomfort. This despite not seeming particularly skilled at managing her expressions.

Though perhaps he was seeing what he wanted to see.

As he returned to his mansion after parting ways, Caligo’s voice suddenly flooded his mind at some point.

— Master! When are we returning to the territory! The Imperial City is really no fun! Let’s leave quickly, quickly!

A sudden realization came to him.

The fact that his mind had been completely quiet since she covered his mouth.

That quietness…. The feeling was so unfamiliar that it felt unreal.

‘…Was it my imagination?’

Since he could block out the voice by strongly concentrating his mental power, he thought he had imagined it for a moment. But this was different from those times.

The silence and stillness that had seeped in so naturally.

That tranquility that could be described as peace…

‘I must… confirm this.’

Though he usually didn’t sleep well, that night Constantine especially couldn’t fall asleep.

His longing for the sensation of those small hands on his lips and that momentary peace grew stronger as time passed. The more Caligo’s chatter intensified throughout the night, the more that yearning consumed him.

Finally, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

Despite having an appointment to visit in a few days, he didn’t even have the patience to wait those few days. Unable to endure at all, he visited House Debov the very next day.

Using medicine as an excuse.

Naturally, House Debov was very flustered by his sudden visit. He could read confusion and bewilderment on the butler’s face.

When he requested to meet Lady Debov, that confusion and bewilderment grew even more. Though the butler quickly composed his expression.

Led to the reception room, he paced without sitting down.

Though his outward expression appeared emotionless, all sorts of storms were raging inside him.

— Ugh! This house has an even stronger smell of that woman! Master! I feel bad here!

Lady Debov came surprisingly quickly. Even Constantine was surprised, having expected to wait two or three hours.

Moreover, she came in alone. He had naturally assumed someone would accompany her.

‘This works well. I can find out more… clearly.’

While making such calculating thoughts inside, Constantine observed her intently.

Unlike at the banquet, she wore a simple indoor dress without adornments, her hair loosely combed and flowing. She looked much younger in that natural state. Though it somewhat pricked his conscience again, he carefully ignored it.

‘It’s not like I’m going to do anything to her right away.’

His rationalization was excellent.

He told himself that he just wanted to feel again whatever it was he had felt yesterday.