Chapter 108
With rumors this filthy spreading around, avoiding trouble would be difficult.
Especially since the courtesan who could clear up the misunderstanding had been killed long ago.
Cesare had a habit of playing around by tarnishing women’s reputations like this.
There was nothing he was better at than manipulating his overbearing mother to his tastes.
‘I knew it would come to this, but it’s still a bit irritating.’
Rodellia, who had been acting sly and infuriating as if born solely to get under his skin all this time, was now utterly helpless and taking the hit.
It was obvious that Cesare intended to turn the rumors about Rodellia into reality right here tonight.
After all, nothing was more stimulating as a spectacle than a three-way confrontation in front of everyone.
And it happened to be evening, the perfect time to pull off such a scheme. All he had to do was lure Rodellia to a secluded spot when people were gathered.
Nanael felt both relieved and displeased that everything was unfolding exactly as Cesare wanted.
Because if this matter resolved well, he could already imagine how annoyingly smug Cesare would act, and it made his stomach churn just thinking about it.
‘Just go to hell already.’
Nanael averted his gaze from Alferen and Rodellia, who were dancing.
Then he spoke to Jessica, who had been grinding her teeth the whole time.
“Don’t do anything foolish.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, this isn’t your fight to join.”
Jessica blinked at Nanael’s warning.
And soon enough, she understood what his warning meant.
* * *
It was during the height of the fireworks display.
Pierre quietly slipped away from the crowd to find Davin.
Davin was in a spot with a full view of the banquet hall.
He looked remarkably robust for someone who had been bedridden for six years.
His face showed constant fatigue, as if he wasn’t fond of such boisterous gatherings.
Probably because every guest at the banquet had swarmed him to congratulate his recovery.
Taking advantage of the crowd, Pierre drew closer and scrutinized Davin’s condition carefully.
As the Empress had said, Davin appeared utterly fine.
It was strange. The Ice Dragon’s curse was still active, gnawing away at his own life force.
Yet the victim of the curse himself was perfectly healthy.
It was hard to believe this was possible with existing magical technology.
‘It must be that Alferen Ainluk found a way. I had a bad feeling ever since he started mentioning breaking off the engagement!’
Because of this, the Empress had been hounding him every day.
Saying the curse seemed to have gone wrong, so retrieve the Ice Dragon before they catch on.
But the Magic Tower wasn’t a place one could enter easily.
Moreover, the Ice Dragon was presumed to be on the top floor, accessible only to the Tower Master.
If he couldn’t dispel the curse, he could just force it again.
Pierre quietly turned away. Even if the curse was lifted, traces would remain.
Once someone had been a sacrifice, it was easy to curse them again.
At that moment, as he resolved that he had no choice but to recast the curse…
“Oh, isn’t that Sir Pierre?”
Sierra, who happened to be strolling through the garden, called out to him.
Beside her were members of the Magia Club.
Their sudden appearance caused Pierre to miss his timing to cast the curse.
“Ah, Lady Sierra.”
“I heard you were here. Did you know we moved our clubhouse? Come visit sometime.”
As she chattered away, a woman he hadn’t seen before nodded in greeting from behind her.
Their faces were full of curiosity about who he was.
Noticing this, Edwin introduced him.
“This is my master.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
Pierre greeted them with easygoing charm, and one by one, they introduced themselves.
When it came to Summer’s turn, Pierre’s gaze shifted.
‘So this is the one.’
A few days ago, Edwin had blushed like a boy and shared the news of reuniting with his first love.
Thanks to him talking about her every day since, Pierre couldn’t fail to recognize her.
At that moment, Edwin shot him a peculiar look.
“Didn’t you say you had urgent business today?”
His eyes were clearly filled with suspicion.
‘He’s really something else.’
Pierre let out a deep sigh inwardly. Ever since arriving in the capital, Edwin had been watching him constantly.
As if determined to prevent him from doing anything bad.
“Yes, I did. But then this opportunity came up to tour the Ainluk estate.”
“Well, the Ainluk estate is hard to resist!”
Sierra accepted it without suspicion, but Edwin was different.
“Then let’s go together.”
Edwin stuck to him uncharacteristically, clearly intending to block him from the side.
He didn’t seem to know exactly what Pierre was planning, but the kid had good instincts.
‘He was easier to handle when he was young.’
Pierre had grown fond of him because their situations were similar, but now Edwin was trying to interfere with his work.
Knowing it stemmed from concern made Pierre feel a bit uneasy.
After all, he was a body that would die soon anyway. For someone who dreamed of an honorable death for his country, such affection was unnecessary.
‘I gave him too much affection.’
If he died like this, Edwin would be deeply saddened.
Even knowing he should detach the boy from him beforehand, Pierre kept softening.
He grabbed Edwin’s shoulder and whispered in his ear.
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
“……”
“Not yet, anyway.”
Only then did Edwin relax his expression. As Pierre avoided his still wary gaze, Sierra spoke up.
“Sir Pierre, have you seen the lake over there? They say it’s really beautiful! It looks just like a place where fairies would appear.”
“You still haven’t given up on fairies, I see.”
It was a comment born from knowing Sierra’s love for magical flora and fauna, but…
Edwin said with a disgusted expression,
“Don’t even get me started. A few months ago, she blew our clubhouse deposit on something called a Fairy Bloom, made a huge fuss, and ended up killing it anyway?”
“It was real this time! The bud was just about to bloom fully! It even had a hole this big?”
“Whatever, it died, didn’t it?”
As Edwin provoked her, Sierra’s face flushed red and blue with anger.
“A hole? You mean a hole appeared in the Fairy Bloom, and then it suddenly died?”
Pierre interjected abruptly, and Sierra, tamping down her irritation, replied,
“Yes. It opened up just big enough for a small quail egg to fit? So I thought it would bloom soon, but…!”
Sierra’s eyes reddened as if the sorrow from that time resurfaced, and she took a breath to compose herself.
“Rodellia, who discovered it first, said it was like that when she arrived.”
“Jelly might have accidentally killed it and made up an excuse.”
“It’s not Jelly, it’s Delly. You think Rodellia’s like you? You hopeless case.”
Unlike the two who started bickering again, Pierre’s expression turned serious.
When a Fairy Bloom’s door opens, it doesn’t wither no matter what emerges.
Unless the seed and the planter close the door.
By Sierra’s account, the Fairy Bloom’s door had clearly opened, yet…
‘Could it be that a summoner has appeared?’
In that instant, two events connected in his mind.
The appearance of a summoner and Davin Ainluk’s revival.
Pierre’s curse and summoning arts were like water and fire.
Depending on the strength of the two forces, water could overwhelm fire, or fire could overwhelm water.
Six years ago, to kill Davin Ainluk, Pierre had expended a considerable amount of his life force.
To counter such a desperate strike, holy water or ordinary magic wouldn’t suffice.
That’s why the Empress had cleverly used holy water to torment Alferen Ainluk with false hope.
Yet the curse had been completely shattered, leaving him wondering how.
‘If a summoner has appeared, it makes sense.’
Summoning arts were based on purification abilities.
Given that his curse had been perfectly purified, it was clear this power surpassed his own.
Pierre couldn’t help but tense at the emergence of a rival he believed had long vanished.
‘And the one who first discovered the withered Fairy Bloom was Lady Peris.’
At that moment, something flashed in Pierre’s mind.
It was already common knowledge that the lady frequented the Ainluk estate.
If, by any chance, she had awakened as a summoner.
She might not have been the first witness but could have used the Fairy Bloom herself.
To confirm this, he needed to examine the Fairy Bloom directly.
Pierre asked casually,
“By any chance, did you throw away the Fairy Bloom?”
