It was still unclear how a strict person like the captain became close friends with someone of a light-hearted nature like Edbert.

Nevertheless, since they certainly seemed to be friends, I followed Edbert into his castle without hesitation.

Upon entering, it appeared his earlier words about providing the best night were not mere boasting.

The interior of the castle was far more splendid than it looked from the outside.

The walls were entirely decorated with marble and gold, and numerous expensive-looking paintings hung everywhere.

It was an elegant and luxurious place like the imperial palace, but with a different, exotic feel.

“Please follow us. We’ll first escort you to the bathroom.”

As we arrived at a large hall after passing through a corridor, several maids and servants approached us saying this.

Before I could feel embarrassed by their quite revealing attire, they promptly led me and the captain to the bathroom.

The bathroom we arrived at was also grand and luxurious like the rest of the castle, but that wasn’t the issue.

As the servants started to hastily undress us, I quickly clutched my collar and asked them:

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“We’re here to assist you with bathing.”

“Assist with bathing…”

I muttered in bewilderment and looked at the captain.

He also seemed a bit surprised.

In the North, there was no culture of bathing assistance, nor of men and women entering the bath together.

So while I was feeling flustered, the captain spoke to the servants:

“We don’t need assistance. We’ll bathe on our own, so you may leave.”

Hearing the captain’s words, one of the maids finally seemed to understand the situation and said:

“Ah, you guests are from the North, so you must be uncomfortable with bathing assistance. We apologize for our rudeness. Then, since bathing together might also be uncomfortable for you two, shall we guide one of you to a different bathroom?”

She seemed to think we’d feel awkward with each other since there’s no culture of men and women bathing together in the North.

The captain didn’t respond for a while after hearing the maid’s words, but then shook his head.

“No. That’s fine. You all may leave.”

After saying that, the captain glanced at me once and spoke in an even firmer voice.

“We don’t mind bathing together.”

Finally, the servants and maids bowed their heads and left the bathroom.

Feeling more at ease, I immediately chided the captain.

“Isn’t it a bit embarrassing to openly say we’ll bathe together? It’s like you’re flaunting that we’ll do something here.”

“What’s wrong with bathing together when we’re engaged? No one will think it’s strange, so don’t worry.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, and it’s troublesome if you’re already shy.”

He smiled as he took off his shirt, revealing his body.

“We’ll be doing even more embarrassing things in the bedroom tonight.”

Embarrassing things. It was an expectation-inducing statement.

I also began undressing, following his lead, and asked:

“How embarrassing are we talking?”

“Well, let’s just say that when the maids come to the bedroom in the morning, they’ll blush upon discovering traces of what we did on the bed sheets. Just imagining what happened between us all night will be enough to make them feel embarrassed.”

“Wow, sounds like some incredibly embarrassing stuff. I’m curious, can you show me a little bit here?”

“Why not?”

He grinned and took off the pants he was wearing.

Then he came over to me and began removing my clothes himself.

After completely undressing me, he picked me up and entered the bathtub.

The marble tub was filled with warm, flower-scented water.

As I was held by the captain and immersed my body in the water, the accumulated fatigue immediately melted away.

As my whole body was starting to feel languid, the captain suddenly lowered his lips onto my collarbone.

Despite being in warm water, the heat from his lips was vividly imprinted on my skin.

After rubbing his lips teasingly for a while, he gently bared his teeth and bit my skin.

The vivid stimulation clearly awakened my drowsy mind.

I also ran my fingertips down his spine and whispered to him:

“It is a bit embarrassing after all. Being so exposed right in front of you, Captain.”

As I whispered and lightly bit his earlobe, he responded in a voice seething with heat:

“Don’t worry and just relax. I’ll soon make you forget about feeling embarrassed.”

As if to prove his words weren’t a lie, something large, hot, and enraged below asserted its presence.

As he said, the feeling of embarrassment didn’t last long before it melted away.

“Hmph, I must have dozed off. You’re finally here?”

After finishing our bath and being guided by servants to a small banquet hall, Edbert, who had been nodding off there, greeted us with those words.

It seemed he had fallen asleep, tired of waiting, because we took too long bathing.

The food that must have been prepared for us had already gone cold.

Feeling apologetic, I sat down at the table, and Edbert immediately poured me a drink.

“This is quite a popular fruit wine in Grietflutz. Why don’t you try it? Or should I have prepared regular wine instead?”

“Wine is fine. I don’t really like it much.”

After saying that, I took a sip of the drink Edbert had poured.

The liquid with an exotic and unfamiliar aroma moistened my dry mouth.

“It tastes good.”

“I’m glad you like it. But drinking only alcohol will upset your stomach, so make sure to try some of the side dishes too.”

I thought he was just a frivolous man, but he seemed to be a better person than expected.

He always had a smiling face, and his attitude toward guests was impeccable.

I guess that’s why the captain is close friends with him.

While I was internally revising my evaluation of Edbert, the captain, who had been looking at us somewhat uncomfortably, suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“Why we came to see you.”

Hearing the captain’s words, Edbert asked as if he had just remembered:

“Ah, come to think of it, why did you come?”

“…”

The captain looked at Edbert for a moment as if dumbfounded, then immediately got to the point.

“Actually, I need your help.”

“My help?”

“There’s a curse I’d like you to break.”

Edbert, who was about to bring a piece of fruit to his mouth with a fork, stopped abruptly.

“A curse?”

“Yes, most curses aren’t a problem for your ability, right?”

I thought they had come to Edbert simply because they were too lazy to find lodging elsewhere.

But from what I was hearing, it seemed Edbert himself was the awakened one who possessed that powerful curse-breaking ability.

I had sensed the unique mana of an awakened one, but I never imagined he’d be such an impressive person.

Meanwhile, the captain continued speaking:

“You quickly broke a curse on me in the past too.”

“Ah, yes. I remember it vividly. It was about 10 years ago, wasn’t it? You came to me then, afflicted by a monster’s curse.”

“It was such a terrible curse that I almost died, but you easily broke it with just a wave of your hand. And then you refused even when I offered you money…”

“I didn’t really need money. I was satisfied with gaining a new friend.”

It seemed that Edbert helping the cursed captain 10 years ago was the occasion for them becoming friends.

Edbert, recalling the past, told me about that time with a comfortable expression.

“I was so surprised when some young fellow came to me nearly dead… When I first saw Martin, I didn’t think he was a duke. His weapons were worn out, his clothes were torn, and he was even cursed… Do you know why I still used my ability to help Martin?”

I answered Edbert’s question honestly.

“I don’t know.”

“There was something extraordinary about his aura.”

“Ah…”

“How should I put it? He seemed like someone who would become great someday. I felt that if I helped him, I would surely receive it back several times over in the future.”

After saying that much, Edbert took a sip of his drink and looked at the captain.

“Later, when I heard he was the famous Duke Habicht, I thought my instincts weren’t wrong after all. He’s a hero who saves the world from monsters, isn’t he?”

The captain, who had been quietly listening to Edbert’s story, showed a faint smile.

“Have you ever regretted helping me back then?”

“Regret? It’s easily one of the top three best things I’ve done in my life.”

“Then will you help me this time too?”

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say earlier? That there’s a curse you want me to break?”

“Yes, but this time it’s not me.”

The captain wrapped his arm around my shoulder beside him and continued:

“Someone very dear to me is under a curse. That’s why I need your help.”

Hearing the captain’s words, Edbert didn’t answer immediately and took his time.

Was he a bit annoyed at the sudden request?

While I was worrying about that, he suddenly burst into laughter.

“Should I call this fate…”

“Hm?”

Towards the captain who expressed his confusion, Edbert said with a still smiling face, words whose meaning was hard to grasp:

“As it happens, I also had something I wanted to ask of Yulia.”

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.