After parting ways with Brentian, Granada summoned all the maids from Ronheim Castle who had been with Chloe while she was choosing clothes.
The maids who had been called to Granada without much thought froze upon seeing her fierce expression.
“Did you call, Ma'am?”
Granada rebuked them sternly.
“Where are you going to go and talk nonsense like that!”
The maids didn't ask what was going on or deny that they had done anything.
They knew that if they tried to avoid their mistakes, they would get in even more trouble.
A truly angry Granada was so terrifying that the maids immediately apologized.
"Sorry."
“I made a slip of the tongue.”
Granada opened her eyes wide.
"Whatever my lady spends on, financial matters are none of your concern. That's Mainz's own business. That's why he's in this castle. Does Mainz seem that incompetent to you?"
“Oh, no! That’s not it!”
"Fools. You are the face of the Prince. If you misbehave, you will be a disgrace to his face. As long as I live, I will not tolerate that."
“I was wrong! I’ll be careful!”
The loyal maids blushed in shame when they realized what they had done.
“I hadn't thought of that. I was short-sighted.”
“I didn’t mean to. I was just worried... I’m embarrassed.”
Granada nodded, seeing them sincerely reflecting.
"Yes, that's right. Don't forget that the Prince is working hard for us."
I sat by the window drinking warm tea while waiting for the maids to adjust the clothes I bought from the merchant to fit me.
It was too cold to open the window, but I really liked the view outside the window.
The palace of Arrental was low, and the grounds were wide, so there were no houses visible.
However, Ronheim Castle stood like a fortress on high ground, so the houses outside the castle were clearly visible.
It was so interesting that I carefully looked down the alley and observed the people passing by.
Then I discovered that an alley somewhere was very crowded.
People were crowding in one direction.
I squinted to get a closer look and saw two men sitting on horses.
'It's Callius and Sir Hawick!'
Even though I couldn't see the face clearly, I could recognize it right away.
Strangely enough, Callius stood out no matter where he was mixed in.
'It's strange how I can see that person from so far away.'
As expected, Callius was a lord who was greatly loved by the people of the territory.
As Callius passed by, people would put tightly woven flower necklaces, presumably made of paper, around his neck and hand him bags containing something.
Someone put a ripe apple in his hand, and someone reached out above the people's heads to shake his hand.
Although Callius stubbornly refused the gifts of the people of the realm, the people of the realm kept wanting to give him something or feed him something.
So he was moving a short distance for quite a while, buried in the crowd.
Even from afar, I could see his handsome smile, which made my heart sink.
I put the tea down and rested my chin on the windowsill, watching Callius.
What is this that is so funny?
But then Callius looked this way.
For some reason, I felt like I had made eye contact with him and was startled, as if I had done something wrong.
'No. You must have seen a castle. Or maybe you saw the sky.'
There's no way I could be seen standing behind the window from this far away...
"What, who are you waving at? Is it me?"
Callius was waving his hand in this direction, smiling brightly.
As I stood there, wondering why, Lamia whispered to me, asking how long she had been standing behind me.
“He is waving to the madam.”
“Surprise! You have to make a sound, Lamia!”
“You were so immersed in your master that you didn’t even notice when I called you.”
Lamia was as quick to change her title as she was to change her stance.
“You called me?”
“Yes. I called you three times.”
"No way."
Lamia narrowed her eyes with a meaningful expression and chuckled.
It was strange that my face felt hot even though my body was so cold.
I couldn't stand it anymore, so I lightly slapped Lamia on the shoulder.
“Where do you come up with such naughty tricks?”
“Hehehehe.”
Lamia shrugged, her expression sullen. Her laughter grew louder.
“You have to answer quickly. If you keep doing that, Master's arm will fall off.”
At her words, I looked out the window again and saw that Callius was still waving.
I was embarrassed, so I insisted.
"It might not be for me. It's so far away. How can I even be seen?"
"Madam, you can see him, so how can he not see you? Northerners have excellent eyesight, after all. I'm sure he can see your face turning bright red right now."
"No!"
I denied it and covered both cheeks.
Lamia circled around me, holding her stomach and laughing.
I ended up having no choice but to wave to Callius.
Then, as if he really had greeted me, he smiled happily and lowered his waving arm.
"What..."
Why are you greeting me over there and making a fuss?
When he looked this way and waved his hand, the people gathered around him glanced this way.
Unable to overcome my embarrassment, I quickly hid behind the curtain.
Lamia kept teasing me like that, so I forgot about my pride and ran around the room several times to catch her.
“You’re annoying! Why are you so annoying!”
“Errelli, colelli~! Hahahaha! Hahaha!”
I couldn't stop playing tag with Lamia, my emotions welling up, even though I was confused about what I was doing.
I'm not usually this kind of person, so why do I act so recklessly towards Lamia?
'How fortunate that there are no other maids in the room.'
Lamia was surprisingly quick to avoid me, but Granada happened to come into the room and caught her doing so, and she got a good scolding.
'It's a mess. Huh.'
It was around noon when Callius returned to the castle after a short inspection of the territory.
As soon as he returned, Mainz led him to a secret place in the castle.
“I brought the sorcerer you mentioned. I hear he's quite famous among the nomads.”
The sorcerer brought by Mainz was a middle-aged man with strange tattoos all over his hands and arms.
The man was balding and chubby. His shoulders and back were hunched, making him appear much shorter than he actually was.
In his hand, he held a wooden staff engraved with a snake design, which seemed to be a ceremonial object rather than something of physical use.
His body was adorned with accessories made of thin gold pieces, which made a clinking sound whenever he moved.
As soon as he saw Callius, he bowed his head politely.
The elegant gesture was so excessive that it seemed rather comical.
“Why would a priest’s son call someone as lowly as me?”
The priest he was talking about was a Saint.
Priests and sorcerers may seem similar to those who do not know them, but in fact, they are completely different beings.
Priests are those who convey the will of God and perform miracles, while sorcerers are those who perform mystical feats for their own will and benefit.
While priests sacrificed themselves to help many, sorcerers did not hesitate to sacrifice others for their own benefit.
So Callius had never approached sorcerers before, but this time he felt he had no choice.
“I summoned you because I wanted to know about curses. Curses are the domain of sorcerers.”
The sorcerer asked with great interest.
“The King who inherited the blood of the priests could not have been cursed. Who could have been cursed?”
“Is there any way to know without being told?”
He smiled brightly.
"That's impossible. I can only tell you the information if I see it for myself."
He was just trying to satisfy his curiosity.
If he were truly so capable, he could have found out about the curse just by giving him a single drop of Chloe's blood.
But it was impossible to get Chloe's blood without her noticing.
Callius hoped that Chloe wouldn't notice the evil curse on her body until he found a way to break it.
'Anxiety amplifies the power of the curse.'
Callius pulled a sword from his waistband.
The well-maintained, shiny blade slipped smoothly from its scabbard and rested around the sorcerer's neck.
“If you talk nonsense or reveal this matter, I will not let you off the hook.”
The sorcerer held his staff in his hand and raised both hands leisurely in a surrender pose.
“I wonder if there is any possibility.”
The maids who had been called to Granada without much thought froze upon seeing her fierce expression.
“Did you call, Ma'am?”
Granada rebuked them sternly.
“Where are you going to go and talk nonsense like that!”
The maids didn't ask what was going on or deny that they had done anything.
They knew that if they tried to avoid their mistakes, they would get in even more trouble.
A truly angry Granada was so terrifying that the maids immediately apologized.
"Sorry."
“I made a slip of the tongue.”
Granada opened her eyes wide.
"Whatever my lady spends on, financial matters are none of your concern. That's Mainz's own business. That's why he's in this castle. Does Mainz seem that incompetent to you?"
“Oh, no! That’s not it!”
"Fools. You are the face of the Prince. If you misbehave, you will be a disgrace to his face. As long as I live, I will not tolerate that."
“I was wrong! I’ll be careful!”
The loyal maids blushed in shame when they realized what they had done.
“I hadn't thought of that. I was short-sighted.”
“I didn’t mean to. I was just worried... I’m embarrassed.”
Granada nodded, seeing them sincerely reflecting.
"Yes, that's right. Don't forget that the Prince is working hard for us."
***
I sat by the window drinking warm tea while waiting for the maids to adjust the clothes I bought from the merchant to fit me.
It was too cold to open the window, but I really liked the view outside the window.
The palace of Arrental was low, and the grounds were wide, so there were no houses visible.
However, Ronheim Castle stood like a fortress on high ground, so the houses outside the castle were clearly visible.
It was so interesting that I carefully looked down the alley and observed the people passing by.
Then I discovered that an alley somewhere was very crowded.
People were crowding in one direction.
I squinted to get a closer look and saw two men sitting on horses.
'It's Callius and Sir Hawick!'
Even though I couldn't see the face clearly, I could recognize it right away.
Strangely enough, Callius stood out no matter where he was mixed in.
'It's strange how I can see that person from so far away.'
As expected, Callius was a lord who was greatly loved by the people of the territory.
As Callius passed by, people would put tightly woven flower necklaces, presumably made of paper, around his neck and hand him bags containing something.
Someone put a ripe apple in his hand, and someone reached out above the people's heads to shake his hand.
Although Callius stubbornly refused the gifts of the people of the realm, the people of the realm kept wanting to give him something or feed him something.
So he was moving a short distance for quite a while, buried in the crowd.
Even from afar, I could see his handsome smile, which made my heart sink.
I put the tea down and rested my chin on the windowsill, watching Callius.
What is this that is so funny?
But then Callius looked this way.
For some reason, I felt like I had made eye contact with him and was startled, as if I had done something wrong.
'No. You must have seen a castle. Or maybe you saw the sky.'
There's no way I could be seen standing behind the window from this far away...
"What, who are you waving at? Is it me?"
Callius was waving his hand in this direction, smiling brightly.
As I stood there, wondering why, Lamia whispered to me, asking how long she had been standing behind me.
“He is waving to the madam.”
“Surprise! You have to make a sound, Lamia!”
“You were so immersed in your master that you didn’t even notice when I called you.”
Lamia was as quick to change her title as she was to change her stance.
“You called me?”
“Yes. I called you three times.”
"No way."
Lamia narrowed her eyes with a meaningful expression and chuckled.
It was strange that my face felt hot even though my body was so cold.
I couldn't stand it anymore, so I lightly slapped Lamia on the shoulder.
“Where do you come up with such naughty tricks?”
“Hehehehe.”
Lamia shrugged, her expression sullen. Her laughter grew louder.
“You have to answer quickly. If you keep doing that, Master's arm will fall off.”
At her words, I looked out the window again and saw that Callius was still waving.
I was embarrassed, so I insisted.
"It might not be for me. It's so far away. How can I even be seen?"
"Madam, you can see him, so how can he not see you? Northerners have excellent eyesight, after all. I'm sure he can see your face turning bright red right now."
"No!"
I denied it and covered both cheeks.
Lamia circled around me, holding her stomach and laughing.
I ended up having no choice but to wave to Callius.
Then, as if he really had greeted me, he smiled happily and lowered his waving arm.
"What..."
Why are you greeting me over there and making a fuss?
When he looked this way and waved his hand, the people gathered around him glanced this way.
Unable to overcome my embarrassment, I quickly hid behind the curtain.
Lamia kept teasing me like that, so I forgot about my pride and ran around the room several times to catch her.
“You’re annoying! Why are you so annoying!”
“Errelli, colelli~! Hahahaha! Hahaha!”
I couldn't stop playing tag with Lamia, my emotions welling up, even though I was confused about what I was doing.
I'm not usually this kind of person, so why do I act so recklessly towards Lamia?
'How fortunate that there are no other maids in the room.'
Lamia was surprisingly quick to avoid me, but Granada happened to come into the room and caught her doing so, and she got a good scolding.
'It's a mess. Huh.'
***
It was around noon when Callius returned to the castle after a short inspection of the territory.
As soon as he returned, Mainz led him to a secret place in the castle.
“I brought the sorcerer you mentioned. I hear he's quite famous among the nomads.”
The sorcerer brought by Mainz was a middle-aged man with strange tattoos all over his hands and arms.
The man was balding and chubby. His shoulders and back were hunched, making him appear much shorter than he actually was.
In his hand, he held a wooden staff engraved with a snake design, which seemed to be a ceremonial object rather than something of physical use.
His body was adorned with accessories made of thin gold pieces, which made a clinking sound whenever he moved.
As soon as he saw Callius, he bowed his head politely.
The elegant gesture was so excessive that it seemed rather comical.
“Why would a priest’s son call someone as lowly as me?”
The priest he was talking about was a Saint.
Priests and sorcerers may seem similar to those who do not know them, but in fact, they are completely different beings.
Priests are those who convey the will of God and perform miracles, while sorcerers are those who perform mystical feats for their own will and benefit.
While priests sacrificed themselves to help many, sorcerers did not hesitate to sacrifice others for their own benefit.
So Callius had never approached sorcerers before, but this time he felt he had no choice.
“I summoned you because I wanted to know about curses. Curses are the domain of sorcerers.”
The sorcerer asked with great interest.
“The King who inherited the blood of the priests could not have been cursed. Who could have been cursed?”
“Is there any way to know without being told?”
He smiled brightly.
"That's impossible. I can only tell you the information if I see it for myself."
He was just trying to satisfy his curiosity.
If he were truly so capable, he could have found out about the curse just by giving him a single drop of Chloe's blood.
But it was impossible to get Chloe's blood without her noticing.
Callius hoped that Chloe wouldn't notice the evil curse on her body until he found a way to break it.
'Anxiety amplifies the power of the curse.'
Callius pulled a sword from his waistband.
The well-maintained, shiny blade slipped smoothly from its scabbard and rested around the sorcerer's neck.
“If you talk nonsense or reveal this matter, I will not let you off the hook.”
The sorcerer held his staff in his hand and raised both hands leisurely in a surrender pose.
“I wonder if there is any possibility.”
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