Upon hearing the news, Count Halstein, who rushed to the Grand Temple, bombarded Helen’s younger sister, Heather, with various questions until late afternoon, but there was little information to be obtained.

The still young girl seemed to know nothing about where she had been held captive, just fearfully trembling and wiping blood splatters from the floor.

According to Heather, during the time she was held captive, Ermond killed over a few hundred people.

What could he be planning to do with all that blood?

Naturally, the Grand Temple was put on high alert to prevent a large-scale curse that might strike Trivian.

However, Felio considered it fortunate that the word “Prianthon” did not come out of Heather’s mouth.

To Felio at the moment, anything other than Ermedlin’s safety felt irrelevant.

If someone were to pry into his inner thoughts, they might question how a proud knight had come to this, but Felio had long stopped feeling shame.

Patriotism and family emotions couldn’t surpass his concern for Ermedlin, and that realization had ended any futile resistance.

After all, hadn’t he decided to become a beast?

Even if Ermond was conspiring against Trivian from the enemy Prianthon, it couldn’t be more critical than Ermedlin’s life and death.

Count Halstein would report that Ermond was simply hiding somewhere near the border.

The fact that Ermedlin’s aura had turned towards the enemy Prianthon was something only Felio knew.

There was no need to make the already uneasy position of Ermedlin known to the noble families of Anjou.

The fact that the son of Duke François, who was present at the banquet, tried to kill his younger sister, the empress, was once again shrouded in secrecy.

Witnesses were only the priests, and in the palace, apart from Henri, Count Halstein, and Louise, no one knew about it.

Following the advice of the clergy, Henri decided to thoroughly search the area around the Grand Temple, in case there were traces of large-scale curse magic that might still be present.

And Ermedlin and Felio, still not fully recovered from their injuries, were given a few more days to stay at the Grand Temple for recovery.

Leopold’s ball was now bustling to the point where there was no room to step.

Although it was held at a mansion near the palace, most nobles thought it was a waste of precious social time to spend it on the mere estate of a deceased noble.

Barely arriving at this place, Valier couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

A hall that felt like a secret garden even though it was indoors.

His inner self still felt like a dried-up desert, but this place seemed to be showing an appearance as if it didn’t care about any concerns from the outside world.

Within this apparent paradise, young men and women, extravagantly adorned, flaunted their elegant figures, accompanied by the living Marquis next to Leopold.

Small monkeys flying between the trees set up inside the hall and parrots of various colors added to the spectacle.

Not to mention the small animals, next to Leopold, a large golden leopard was also present.

An unmistakable enthusiasm and curiosity emanated from everyone present.

“When I lost my child and lived in isolation, no one came to visit. Did they all come here happily?”

As Valier’s heart gradually turned bitter, the food being served at the ballroom also seemed extremely luxurious at a glance.

“Is that caviar?”

On the platter being served by the servants, there were finger foods adorned with caviar.
Valier, in his past life, loved almost all kinds of food, but the favorite dish he couldn’t eat since coming here appeared before him.

Seeing the familiar ingredients, Valier forgot the sinking feeling he had just a while ago and picked up a dish with caviar, savoring the familiar salty taste filling his mouth.

“How long has it been since I had sturgeon?”

He kept reaching for it, forgetting his manners and anger.

As Valier was enjoying the long-awaited taste, a familiar voice reached him.

“Oh, fancy meeting you here.”

Turning his head, Valier saw the lavishly dressed Elion, the Countess.

A woman who turned away from him during his most difficult and lonely moment when he lost his child, or in other words, when he was ostracized.

Actually, Valier wasn’t surprised by her actions, but that didn’t make him feel any better looking at her.

“Yes. Surprising to see you in a place like this.”

The flavor of caviar, which he had been shoving into his mouth absentmindedly, vanished in an instant.

“Do you know that the Emperor and the Grand Duchess are here as well?”

“What does that have to do with the lady?”

“Just curious.”

“A lady who abruptly stopped coming to the palace but shows up here. What’s going on?”

In response to Valier’s pointed question, Elion, the Countess, folded the fan covering her face.

Then, a thick pearl necklace covering her thick neck came into view.

“Our Duke is dealing with jewelry, isn’t he? This time, he’s interested in natural pearls from Valious Mountain.”

“Pearls?”