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Chapter 3
“But the god clearly said it was a blessing that makes me loved by everyone.”
“Well, if the lady is happy, I suppose you could call it a blessing.”
“…Is there no way to remove the curse?”
“Well.”
Cassius narrowed his eyes slightly.
He could see something ordinary humans could not—something beyond sight.
The curse surrounding the Duchess Adelhedis was extraordinarily unusual. If he had even a shred of piety, he might have been forced to believe in the existence of gods anew.
But Cassius was, by nature, the embodiment of irreverence.
“If you kill the being called a god, the curse might disappear.”
“Is there no other way?”
“For now, no.”
“Does that mean there might be one later?”
“Depending on research… it might be possible.”
“Then please help me lift the curse, Tower Master.”
Bice clung to his arm as if grasping a lifeline.
“I’ll do anything you ask!”
“Why should I do that?”
“I have money. I’ve invested using information I read in books.”
“So you’re trying to buy me with money?”
“With an amount too large to refuse.”
“That’s convenient.”
A crooked smile twisted Cassius’s lips.
“House Adelhedis buys a bug-repelling artifact once a month, don’t you?”
“W-what?”
Bice flinched.
For ten years, due to the side effects of the blessing, she had been forced to purchase bug-repelling artifacts monthly.
And not just that—
“At one-thousandth of the market price.”
“I told you, bugs are attracted to me because of the curse, so I need constant replacements. Magic Tower goods are just too expensive…”
“You said you had financial freedom.”
“The mages were the ones who agreed to discount it first!”
“That won’t happen anymore.”
“You’re personally going to sell it to me directly?”
Bice looked up at him with her hands neatly folded, like a pitiful baby animal.
Cassius, meeting that gaze, answered coldly.
“That artifact will only be sold at a fixed price.”
His blue eyes were both beautiful and infuriatingly arrogant.
The former Bice might have been offended—but the current one welcomed even that.
So she did not back down.
“Then I’ll buy a room in the Magic Tower. Name your price.”
“Only mages and staff are allowed to live in the tower.”
“Make me a staff member. I’m good at cleaning.”
“We already have more than enough.”
“Then a mage?”
“Can you use magic?”
“I can make everyone fall in love.”
“…Except me.”
As expected of the villain in the original story, he refused every suggestion without hesitation.
Every proposal was cut down like a blade.
Dating the villain was already a complete failure…
Still, this level of cold rejection was—
“Honestly… amazing.”
“I find that unpleasant.”
“Thrilling!”
Cassius’s gaze shifted into something that looked at a disgusting pervert.
But Bice was nearly moved to tears by that disgust.
“I’ve never had a normal conversation like this in my life.”
“I’m not surprised. This is the first time I’ve met someone saying insane things like you.”
“Ah… please… more.”
“I will open a portal for you.”
Realizing that the more he rejected her (normally), the more she enjoyed it, Cassius simply began ignoring her.
“I will not take payment. Return to your estate.”
“Wait! What do I need to do to stay by your side?”
Cassius finally looked at her seriously.
“You must provide what I need.”
“I can do anything.”
“‘Anything’ is—”
His large, elegant hand lifted her chin.
“You should avoid saying that word.”
His whisper was snake-like—clever and dark like the abyss itself.
Bice, as if enchanted, nodded slowly.
“Very well. Then bring me a dragon.”
“…Pardon?”
“Bring me a dragon, and I will help lift the curse.”
“Aren’t dragons extinct? They all left for another world a thousand years ago.”
“Didn’t you also claim to be from another world?”
“Even if I found one, how am I supposed to bring back one of the strongest beings—the origin of magic itself?”
“Try.”
“If you don’t want me around, just say so.”
“I don’t.”
“Could you say that again? Preferably with contempt?”
At Bice’s excited expression, Cassius waved his hand as if swatting away a bug.
“Enough nonsense. Give me a realistic condition.”
“This is a realistic condition.”
With a wave of his hand, a map appeared in midair and landed in Bice’s hands.
“What is this?”
“The location of the last remaining dragon egg.”
“…That mountain range looks… unusual.”
“Because it is the Teneb Mountain Range.”
“Wait, isn’t that—”
“Yes. The territory of monsters.”
Cassius smiled lightly at her shocked reaction.
“So stop thinking foolish thoughts and go home obediently.”
A portal opened beside her.
“You’ll arrive at the ducal estate. Should I call your maid as well?”
“…Are you serious?”
“Pardon?”
“About the dragon egg—you really want it that badly?”
“…If I do?”
“I’ll get it for you.”
Cassius paused.
“Even if it means going into a monster-infested region?”
“You want it badly enough to consider using me yourself.”
“….”
“And I’ve been lonely enough to risk the Teneb Mountain Range too.”
Bice recalled her past life.
Even simple conversations like “The weather is nice today” would only be met with replies like:
“The weather is as beautiful as our lady!”
“Please let me serve her forever, sob sob!”
Lonely days where no normal exchange was possible.
“It’s already a miracle I found someone like the Tower Master who is sane. And if there’s even a chance to escape this cursed situation, I’d risk my life.”
She grabbed the floating map.
“So be prepared. I will bring you that dragon egg no matter what.”
Cassius’s expression twisted unpleasantly.
“The deadline is one week to find the dragon egg. You may bring any items you want, but you must go alone to the Teneb Mountain Range.”
Following Cassius’s conditions, Bice prepared to depart.
But another trial awaited her.
“If you’re going to the Teneb Mountain Range, step over your father first!”
Her father, Duke Benjamin Adelhedis, lay flat on the ground in front of the portal.
He had pressed his hands together dramatically as if offering himself as an obstacle.
“Father, please maintain some dignity as a duke.”
“If it’s to protect my precious Bibi princess, I will crawl if I must!”
Shockingly, this man was the same father who in the original story had resented his daughter.
He had lost his beloved wife during childbirth, which left him with lifelong grief.
So that’s why Beatrice’s original wish was just for her father to smile at her.
Now he was just a doting father willing to roll on the ground for her safety.
“So before you step on your father—urk!”
Bice did not step on him… but instead jumped cleanly into the portal.
FLASH!
When the light faded, Cassius stood there with an irritated expression, looking at Bice bundled up in thick winter clothes.
“So you truly intend to seek the dragon egg.”
“Of course.”
She trembled with delight at his unpleasant attitude.
However—
“What kind of outrageous behavior is this!”
Benjamin had followed through the portal.
“I am Benjamin Adelhedis, head of House Adelhedis. You are the Tower Master?”
“…Yes.”
“You are far younger than I expected.”
He looked Cassius up and down with dissatisfaction.
Unlike when dealing with Bice, Cassius erased all emotion from his face.
“So because of your youthful arrogance, you intend to send my small, fragile daughter to the Teneb Mountain Range?”
“Her decision to enter the Magic Tower was entirely her own.”
“Even so, you should have persuaded her properly.”
“Isn’t that the responsibility of her father?”
“That is true.”
The one who agreed was Bice.
