Assuming that was true, it was possible to guess why Geril had done such a crazy thing. Geril had done this absurd act simply to gain Bellota’s favor.

“What do you think the Saintess would feel if someone defeated the Rockdragon and offered its heart to propose to her?”

Recalling the face that had uttered such presumptuous nonsense, Seiden’s murderous intent towards Geril rose to his throat, but perhaps this turn of events was for the best. That fool who couldn’t even clean up his own mess would no longer harbor any false hopes.

“It seems they even took care to gather the monster’s corpse.”

Kabillon shook his head with a hollow laugh.

“What should we do with these items, Commander?”

“Distribute them to the residents of Rivierto.”

“Yes, understood.”

Since they were stuck here until Bellota awakened, Seiden decided to do something that Bellota would surely want.

Because the orphanage had collapsed, they couldn’t keep the children at the castle indefinitely, so Seiden found a usable abandoned building and renovated it using the magical tools and items Geril had left behind to create a new dwelling. Elise and her son, who were supposed to accompany them to the capital, would also stay here until a separate residence was prepared.

Felton was amazed at how swiftly and efficiently Seiden’s commands were carried out, with all this being accomplished in just five days. Seiden spent his days helping out in the village from dawn till dusk, and in the evenings, he returned to the castle to watch over the sleeping Bellota. Felton found himself deeply moved by Seiden’s actions, though it was hard to explain why.

Felton also gave his all, following Seiden’s example, but as expected, it took the full five days for Bellota to awaken from the deep sleep curse. And finally, on the evening of the fifth day, Bellota’s curse was almost completely lifted.

“The Saintess has awakened!”

Thanks to this, Seiden, who returned to the castle close to midnight, received the joyous news. Seiden, who had been preoccupied with thoughts of Bellota even while outside the castle, sighed in relief at the news.

Seiden and Felton simultaneously looked up at the long window in the hallway. Outside, the full moon had risen high, indifferent to their concerns. With the moon nearing the center of the sky, the curse would soon begin. Thinking about how Bellota would have to face the curse again right after waking up, both men felt a deep sense of despair.

“I will spend the night with the Saintess. Priest, make sure no one comes this way.”

Felton nodded resolutely and turned to leave but then hesitated and turned back to Seiden. Somehow, it felt like now or never to say this.

“Um, Commander. I’m sorry about that day.”

Seiden, who was about to head straight to Bellota, looked back at Felton with a puzzled expression at the unexpected apology.

“What do you mean?”

“About taking the death row inmate to the Saintess.”

Felton swallowed a sigh with an embarrassed face.

“I regret it. I should have opposed it somehow.”

Seiden’s eyebrows, which had been raised in surprise, slowly returned to their place at those words.

“Thinking about that, I feel ashamed to face the Saintess. It’s undeniably the temple’s responsibility for not finding a way to lift the curse.”

“……”

“But I consider it fortunate that you discovered it that day. Thanks to that, we didn’t have to bring the death row inmate to the Saintess. That day was the first and last time a death row inmate was taken to the tower. I promise it will never happen again.”

Seiden, who had been silently listening to Felton’s words without bothering to respond, suddenly furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

“……Did you just say it was the first and last time?”

Felton, who had been bracing himself for a response of either forgiveness or refusal, was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected question and looked at Seiden.

“Yes? Yes.”

“The first time?”

“Yes……?”

Unable to grasp the intent of the question, Felton stared blankly at Seiden’s serious face, then soon realized something and furrowed his brows.

“Don’t tell me…… you didn’t know?”

At Felton’s bewildered voice, Seiden felt a thin string tighten around his neck.

“What are you talking about? The day I entered the tower was the second full moon, wasn’t it?”

“It was the second full moon. But we didn’t use that method during the first full moon.”

What on earth…… Seiden’s face grew increasingly grim.

“We didn’t use that method from the beginning. We tried to find a way to lift the curse or at least deceive it. And we found a clever solution.”

“What do you mean by a clever solution?”

“It’s a method to temporarily lower the holy power. On the days when the full moon rises, we tried to deceive the curse by lowering the Saintess’s holy power.”

Something that had been tightly bound within Seiden was released with a hollow sound at the calm explanation. There were two ways to lower holy power. The method they must have used was…

“We used herbs to lower her holy power. We managed to deceive the curse on the first full moon, but the side effect was that the temporarily suppressed holy power amplified and threatened the Saintess, so we couldn’t use it a second time. If we used that method again and something happened to the Saintess, it would be irreversible.”

“…Then.”

Seiden couldn’t continue speaking and tightly closed his eyes. Felton calmly continued Seiden’s words.

“You were my first, Commander.”

With that clear confirmation, Seiden felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. At the same time, the abusive words he had spat out at Bellota in a moment of lost reason replayed in his ears.

“Have you ever cried out like this under those filthy bastards you don’t even know?”

“Those damn bastards, ha… Surely they’ve all been taken care of, right?”

“To think that those filthy bastards’ d*cks are inside of you, I want to stir up the Lethe River in hell and drag them back to this world.”

Damn it, what a fool…

The words he had regretted all along now weighed down on Seiden’s chest with an unbearable heaviness.

You idiot. Pathetic worm. Seiden clenched his teeth and harshly berated himself before regaining his composure and swallowing a sigh.

“I understand. Right now, the priority is to get through this damn curse.”

At Seiden’s words, Felton turned without further delay. Seiden, also feeling troubled by the news Felton had delivered, headed to Bellota’s room. Creak, as he opened the door and entered, he saw Bellota already sitting on the bed, seemingly having been informed of everything by Felton, waiting for him.

“Saintess.”

Seiden approached Bellota, who was already flushed with fever.

“…The moon has risen as expected.”

Seiden spoke in a calm voice, trying to make it seem like this situation wasn’t particularly shocking, devastating, or despairing. Bellota looked up at Seiden. He gazed quietly into her large, deep eyes. They seemed sad, and also as if she had made a firm resolution.

“Let’s go to the northern tower.”

Though she was feverish, her voice was calm. Seiden furrowed his brows in confusion for a moment. The northern tower?

“That place, ha…”

Bellota, already struggling to speak, lowered her head and continued with difficulty.

“It’s safe…”

With those words, Seiden remembered the small tower located high in the northern part of the castle. As Bellota said, if they went there, they wouldn’t need to go to the trouble of stifling their sounds to avoid others’ eyes. Moreover, it would provide much better mental comfort than this poorly soundproofed room.

Seiden nodded immediately and wrapped Bellota, who was struggling to breathe, in a thin blanket, lifting her up. His long legs quickly closed the distance as he headed north. Having done this once before, it was easier the second time.

Seiden skillfully avoided everyone he might have encountered on the way and climbed up to the high tower. The northern tower was so far removed from the main castle that Seiden instantly understood why Bellota had thought of this place.

Seiden nearly broke down the locked door of the tower with a kick, entered, and laid Bellota on a large bed. Bright moonlight poured in through a large, round window designed to showcase the beautiful view of Selento.

“Saintess.”

When Seiden removed the thin blanket, Bellota, drenched in cold sweat just like the previous night, was revealed. Despite that, Bellota was enduring the severe curse much better than the previous night.

“We’ve arrived at the northern tower.”

Bellota looked at Seiden with feverish eyes, continuing to stifle her groans. Seeing her pitiable state, Seiden knelt before her and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“You don’t have to hold back anymore.”

Having just awakened from the sleep curse, Bellota’s body was completely drained of strength as she faced the full moon. Seiden carefully supported her frail body, laying her down on the bed and then climbed on top of her.

Seiden undressed and gently lifted Bellota’s skirt, about to embrace her when he remembered something and rummaged through the pocket of his discarded clothes. He pulled out the oil he had bought from the Hellers Tower.

As Seiden hesitated for a moment about whether to use it, he heard Bellota’s painful moans in his ears. Remembering how she had suffered every time she accepted him, Seiden’s hesitation vanished.

Seiden opened the oil bottle, recalling the instructions, and poured the oil over his c*ck. Then he lifted Bellota’s feverish body and slowly aligned himself with her.

“Just, hold on for a bit.”