So fragrant.
The scent drifting from Roxia made Kurose Akira's heartbeat quicken slightly—like a bee drawn to sweet blossoms, desperate to plunge in and harvest nectar without restraint.In fact, he'd already caught a faint trace of that fragrance when he first arrived at the Yerman Castle, but Roxia's presence made it noticeably richer, denser.
"Mr. Su—Kurose Akira, the banquet is about to begin," Roxia reminded him softly. She had come specifically to make sure Akira and the others wouldn't miss this important moment.
And also…
Her gaze shifted to Loserine, seated on the sofa. Since Roxia's parents could no longer return to her side, she hoped Aunt Loserine would attend and bear witness to this special occasion.
"All right. We'll head over now," Akira replied.
"Mm." Roxia nodded lightly, then turned and left.
"Let's go."
"Okay~"
Akira led Ivsha and the others toward the banquet hall to join the grand celebration.
At this moment, nearly a hundred guests had gathered inside the Yerman Castle's reception hall, raising their glasses to commemorate the occasion. As the central figure of the evening, Roxia naturally became the focus of everyone's attention, surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd, her ears filled with constant congratulations and praise.
Yet in the midst of all this bustle, there were always a few… distinctly different presences. For example—
"Hey there, handsome knight! Care to consider buying a set of silver-scale armor? Only five gold coins per piece—an absolute steal!"
"Miss, you're gorgeous! Put on this silver-scale armor and you'll have countless men falling at your feet! Don't believe me? Try it!"
"What? Five gold is too expensive?"
"How is that possible! I bought it wholesale for four gold a piece!"
...
"This guy…?"
Akira sat in a corner, calmly observing the entire banquet hall. He didn't spot anyone trying to cause trouble.
But Xia Yu… that guy was something else entirely—abstract in a way that defied explanation.
"Mr. Akira~ this cream cake is really delicious~ You should try it too~" Ivsha said, offering him a bite of the cake she'd already taken a nibble from.
Akira didn't mind in the slightest that she'd already bitten it, taking a mouthful without hesitation.
"Is it good~?"
Ivsha extended her slender fingertip and gently wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth. Then, she brought that finger to her lips and softly sucked on it, every movement steeped in seduction.
Akira's heart skipped a beat.
This was Ivsha, all right.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Princess Vivian entered Akira's field of view.
After offering her congratulations to Roxia, she distanced herself from the crowd. At the same time, Princess Vivian caught Akira's gaze as well. A faint, almost imperceptible trace of resentment flickered in her eyes, as though she still harbored lingering feelings about what had happened before.
She merely glanced at Akira indifferently, then looked away, lowering her voice as she spoke with several royal knights beside her.
Akira chose to ignore it.
"Mr. Akira~"
At that moment, Natasha approached him with light, graceful steps.
"Is something the matter?" Akira asked, puzzled.
"Could you come with me for a moment? I'd like to speak with you privately about something… regarding Roxia."A hint of worry flashed through Natasha's eyes.
"All right."
Akira nodded and quietly followed her away.
They passed through the bustling crowd and headed toward Natasha's room. She led him inside, closed the door, and gently locked it, unwilling to let any outside noise disturb the calm.
"Mr. Akira, I want to discuss Roxia's curse with you." Natasha turned to face him, her eyes filled with concern.
At this point, most of the Yerman family's senior knights were already aware of Roxia's curse—information that had come entirely from her uncle, Mero.
"You only discovered Roxia's curse recently?" Akira asked, frowning slightly.
Logically speaking, if Roxia's mother had also been affected by the curse, the Yerman family should have noticed long ago. The delay made Akira suspect there was more to the story.
Natasha nodded. "Yes. We only recently discovered that both Roxia and her mother carry this curse, and Roxia's seems even stronger. As for the details, it appears her father and Loserine know something, but they've never shared it with us."
Akira's brows knit together as he considered her words.
"And Roxia's father deciding to go to sea…" Natasha continued, "also seems to be related to this curse."
"You mean Loserine and the others went to sea to find a way to lift it?" Akira confirmed.
"Yes. Roxia's mother didn't know she was cursed at first. She believed it was simply a special fragrance her body produced—and we all believed the same. It was only recently that the truth began to surface."
Her voice grew more urgent as her anxiety showed.
"Under intense interrogation, Roxia's uncle Mero finally admitted the curse's effect. The scent it produces attracts monsters from within a hundred-li radius." Natasha took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "As for why Roxia's mother never caused large-scale monster disturbances, it seems Mero used some kind of drug to temporarily suppress the curse."
Akira frowned deeply. "Can a scent really draw monsters from that far away? That sounds… excessive."
Natasha shook her head. "It hasn't been definitively proven. But given the recent monster outbreaks, it's the only explanation that fits. We still don't know the curse's true power. Its range might not be that vast—but we can't rule it out either."
"..."
Akira narrowed his eyes. Something about this whole matter felt off.
"If Loserine really went to find a way to lift the curse," he asked, "did she succeed?"
"It seems she did… but on the way back…" Natasha's eyes shimmered with tears as painful memories resurfaced.
Akira rubbed his chin, deep in thought. If Loserine truly found a solution, then she should know how to remove Roxia's curse.
But that knowledge was likely sealed within the final fragment of memory Loserine had yet to recover.
The question was—where was that last memory fragment?
"If Loserine could fully recover her memories, we might find a way to break the curse. But that final fragment…" Akira murmured. He still had no clue where the fourth fragment might be.
"Mr. Akira! Are you saying that if we find Loserine's last memory fragment, she could recover her memories?" Natasha's face lit up with sudden hope.
"Yes. Do you have any leads?"
"Have you forgotten? Last time, I summoned one of Loserine's memory fragments using soul secret arts. I think I can try again—use the soul secret art to search for the final fragment. I can't guarantee success, though."
"Really? Natasha! How confident are you?"
"About seventy percent." Worry flickered across her face before she straightened, resolute. "But if I have your help, Mr. Akira, I'm confident I can raise that chance to one hundred percent!"
"What do you need me to do?" Akira didn't hesitate for even a second. He was determined to obtain Loserine's final memory fragment.
"Please don't worry—the soul secret art won't cause any harm to your body~ It just requires…"
As she spoke, Natasha gently brushed aside her chestnut-brown hair and deftly undid the first few buttons of her blouse.
A vision of snow-white skin nearly emerged, instantly capturing Akira's attention. Yet what drew his focus even more was the sapphire necklace hanging at her pale neck—the gemstone deep and radiant, shimmering like a star-filled night sky.
[Soul Necklace (Epic): A necklace capable of housing souls.Current Soul Count: (1)]
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