And that was what Queen Eugenie feared the most.

“As you know, the current Empress will do everything she can to stop the saint from becoming the 1st prince’s consort. So before announcing the marriage, I have to bring her secretly to the empire and protect her. Otherwise, if this leaks out before she comes, the saint will die before she even sets foot on the land of the Legnator Empire.”

Valige, who had been silent for a moment, nodded his head.

“I will go.”

“I’m sorry to you, who are soon to be engaged, and to the young lady of Dina Mis.”

“Is it…… dangerous?”

“Perhaps.”

At Alex’s answer, Lina’s expression noticeably sank.

‘Even if I tell him not to go, the Duke will go.’

Even if it weren’t for the witness, Valige would have left for Festius for the 1st prince.

“I returned safely from the battlefield, going to Festius is not a big deal. It’s just a bit annoying.”

At the Duke’s reassuring attitude, Lina merely smiled.

Alex, who had been watching the two, chanted,

“Rather, the young lady of Dina Mis must now go to the imperial palace.”

“The imperial palace?”

“All noble young ladies must pay their respects to the highestranking woman in the empire after their debutante. They all pay their respects together on one day of the year, but Lina, since you haven’t had your debutante, you must go separately.”

“I see…….”

She was worried that going to the imperial palace so suddenly was too abrupt.

“But, young lady of Dina Mis. There won’t be any problem, so don’t worry too much.”

Lina didn’t understand the words of the 1st prince, who had been dubious until then.

(This is a time divider.)

“Another nonexistent person.”

Lawrence exhaled heavily, ruffling his hair with one hand. It had been four days since he received the order to investigate a woman named Jane.

He had met more than twenty women named Jane on the way.

“She was supposed to have silver hair and purple eyes.”

But the Jane he was looking for had only ordinary brown hair.

It was as if the woman the Duke was looking for did not exist, with no traces to be found. It felt tightly blocked, just like when he was investigating Lina.

“Why is it so difficult to identify the women our master tells us to investigate?”

Lawrence, who had thought he had an excellent talent for this kind of back investigation, had been keenly feeling his ineptitude lately.

“The women involved with the Duke are all unidentifiable.”

Feeling somehow frustrated, he carelessly kicked a pebble on the road.
Near the place where the stone had rolled, children were gathered around, listening intently to the storyteller.

“A long time ago, there was a white wolf cherished by the gods.”

‘A white wolf?’

Lawrence moved closer and began to listen carefully to the storyteller.

“That wolf was strong, righteous, and with a kind heart, it won the admiration of all humans. But one day, the wolf broke a taboo that should never have been broken.”

“What’s a taboo?”

“Fool! You don’t know? It’s something terribly wrong.”

The storyteller nodded, looking pleased at the confidently speaking child.

“Yes, it’s something very wrong. That’s why, when the gods became angry and shouted at the white wolf, its fur, as white as snow in winter, turned black.”

“Then did the white wolf die?!”

“Idiot! The fur just turned black, why would it die?”

“Didn’t it die because it was burnt black?”

“……Maybe?”

“So what?! What happened to the white wolf? Did it die?”

The storyteller, who had been patting the impatient child’s head, recited.

“Well, it might die soon.”

Although it seemed like the children in front didn’t hear because he spoke in such a soft voice, Lawrence saw his lips clearly.

‘It’s going to die soon?’

Ha.

A brief, cold light appeared in Lawrence’s eyes.

“Now, that’s enough for today. I’ll tell you the rest next time.”

“Yes[Dash]!”

With that, the children scattered in all directions. Watching their retreating figures and waving, the storyteller turned his head and looked at Lawrence.

“You seem to have something to say.”

“You know well.”

Lawrence spoke in a low voice.

“To talk so lightly of the white wolf. It seems you’re mad enough to want to die.”

The white wolf.

It was synonymous with the Permanence family symbol.

Moreover, to spread malicious rumors about the curse of the Permanence family. He couldn’t just let it pass as a person from the Duke’s family.

“I just told the children a folk tale that’s passed down in our village. What’s the problem with that?”

“I don’t know where you came from, but it’s best not to talk about that damned folk tale in the capital anymore. I’ll let it slide this time, but next time, you might not be able to move that clever tongue of yours.”

Since every citizen of the empire knew not to gossip about the curse of the Permanence family, he was about to turn away with just a simple warning.

A single word from the man caught Lawrence’s ankle.

“Then, do you know the rest of the story?”

“The rest of the story?”

“I couldn’t say it all in front of the children earlier, but actually, the rest of the story has been passed down. The merciful god did not completely abandon the wolf he once loved. He left a single hope.”

“……Hope?”

Lawrence looked at the man, hearing this story for the first time. Only the scarred edge of his mouth was visible under his deeply pulleddown robe.

“Have you heard? Of the existence of a cursed witch. In this world, there is a witch cursed never to die or age, wandering and living.”

Listening quietly to the man’s words, Lawrence clicked his tongue in astonishment.

“I’m not idle enough to listen to the babbling of someone talking nonsense, so excuse me.”

Regretting having dealt with the storyteller, who continued to babble nonsense, Lawrence moved on.

But, as if he didn’t care about Lawrence’s attitude, the man continued to speak.

“Well, believe it or not. But don’t forget this one thing.”

“To break the curse of the white wolf, you must take the heart of that witch.”