I’m curious about your curse, Count.

That one sentence poured cold water on the atmosphere that had been flowing smoothly.

Sion’s expression immediately hardened, and Ibi’s heart raced even more than when their eyes had met earlier.

And in that fleeting moment, Ibi’s butler made an independent judgment.

As soon as Ibi gasped in surprise, Dies rushed into the tent and snatched her up. Then he began to flee at an impossible speed while holding Ibi.

His movements at that time were so swift that even Sion could not respond, and so Ibi only realized she was being carried by Dies after they had left the tent.

“Dies, wait…!”

Ibi shouted to stop her butler.

But before she could finish speaking, a chilling sensation licked her entire body.

Immediately after they felt the instinctive warning, lightning struck around them with a thunderous roar.

“Kyaak!”

Ibi screamed at the explosive sound and flash, and Dies skidded to a stop while holding Ibi with one arm.

The lightning continued in succession, enveloping Ibi and Dies.

So Dies clicked his tongue while gripping Ibi’s shoulder more tightly.

The survey team members who had been in this tent were sprawled in their respective places without any signs of fighting or resisting.

It seemed like a really strange trace, but this was it.

Sion Laurel had incapacitated the soldiers all at once with lightning he would use to bring down a dragon.

Dies searched for an escape route between the eerily flashing thunderbolts.

But there was no sign of a gap to slip through, and in the meantime, the master of the lightning leisurely caught up to the two of them.

“There’s no need to run away.”

Along with the monotonous voice, the flashes surrounding Ibi and Dies subsided.

Nevertheless, the two could not feel at ease.

“Not that you could escape anyway.”

It was because of the Count’s cold edge as he walked towards them.

As the Count approached, Dies hid Ibi behind him.

And that sight made Sion quite dumbfounded.

Sion hadn’t done anything yet.

Ibi Ariate had gotten scared on her own, and then her butler had intervened on his own and fled.

This alone was absurd enough, but now he was seriously hiding Ibi Ariate like a dog protecting its pup and being wary, which Sion found simply ridiculous and laughable.

“Let’s continue our conversation. Stop pretending to be scared when it doesn’t suit you.”

Sion deliberately ignored Ibi’s butler and spoke to Ibi over his shoulder.

Fortunately, Ibi was wiser than her butler.

Eventually, Ibi came out from behind her butler’s back and faced Sion with a tense expression.

Despite Dies’ quick judgment, they were still inside the survey team’s camp.

In that chaotic place where torches flickered red and soldiers were sprawled here and there, and where lightning had just struck moments ago, Sion asked.

“What do you know about me?”

“I know that a curse has fallen on you too, Count.”

“Why do you have such suspicions?”

“It’s not a suspicion. I’ve already confirmed it.”

“By what means?”

“My butler, with the eyes of Amanesserre.”

Sion furrowed his brow at Ibi’s confession.

The eyes of Amanesserre? Why does a butler have such a thing?

The eyes of Amanesserre are created by embedding fragments of Amanesserre into human eyes to mimic a dragon’s insight.

A dragon’s body is closer to minerals than to humans or animals.

So it doesn’t age or decay, and even if it’s broken into pieces, each part of its body retains its unique abilities.

This was why the tower lord had gone crazy with greed upon seeing Amanesserre’s fragments.

Amanesserre is the dragon of insight that penetrates the essence, and his fragments contain that insight intact.

So Amanesserre’s fragments are mainly used for divination, but rarely, they are embedded in the eyes of slaves to create hunting dogs for high nobles.

Hunting dogs with Amanesserre’s eyes handle various errands with senses superior to real dogs.

Things like espionage, tracking, or even assassination.

So when he heard that Ibi’s butler had the eyes of such a hunting dog, Sion began to find that butler genuinely irritating.

Moreover, Sion recalled what had happened earlier that evening.

When Ibi and that butler had shown interest in his glasses and leaned in close.

A cold sneer crossed Sion’s lips as he recalled this.

That must have been when. When they had discerned Sion’s curse with their meager insight.

No wonder they had acted unnecessarily friendly. With a face that looks like it couldn’t hurt a fly, yet they stab one in the back like this.

Sion’s gaze grew even colder. And Ibi clearly felt the change in his demeanor.

“So what else do you know?”

“That’s all I know about you, Count. The rest is speculation.”

“And what did you speculate?”

“That the Laurel Grand Duke’s family is using the curse. Count, please wait a moment…!”

Ibi, who had spilled her thoughts and was now cornered, cried out urgently.

As Dies tried to intervene again, a flash of light grazed his feet.

The lightning silently scraped the ground, creating smoke, and Sion gave Dies a cold glare as a warning.

As if to say he wouldn’t let it slide if he interfered again like before.

Sion’s gaze towards Dies was ruthless, unlike when he looked at Ibi.

After subduing the hunting dog like this, Sion spoke again.

“Let’s continue talking.”

Perhaps due to Ibi’s plea to wait, his way of speaking changed from questioning to inviting.

Nevertheless, Ibi still felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.

It seems she had touched a nerve.

Stupidly, she should have prepared for this situation too.

But in the midst of just discovering the Count’s curse, Lady Marso had come looking for her, leaving no time to prepare. Of course, this too was Ibi’s mistake.

Ibi bit her lip in frustration but soon collected herself.

There was no use in self-reproach now. The water had already been spilled, and Sion Laurel was not one to be trifled with.

So she had no choice but to pull herself together and respond.

“…I confirmed the existence of the curse, but it didn’t seem likely that there would be someone bold enough to curse you, Count. Then my thoughts turned to the tendencies of past Laurel Counts, and I wondered if perhaps the Grand Duke’s family had been using the curse. Because it seemed difficult to handle Amanesserre’s surveillance duty with a clear mind.”

As Ibi calmly reported, Sion finally let out a sigh.

Unnecessarily clever Ibi Ariate. Why did she have to figure this out?

Curiosity kills the cat.

Moreover, that loose-lipped Ibi Ariate would surely die young if left alone.

When Sion sighed, Ibi asked in a serious voice.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“I won’t kill you.”

Sion answered irritably at the nonsensical question.

So Ibi, after gauging the situation, cautiously asked again.

“Then what about my butler?”

“I’ll think about that.”

Of course, he had no intention of touching him, but Sion deliberately spoke sharply.

Because he was annoyed at Ibi Ariate’s brazen attempt at sweet talk after digging into his secrets using even Amanesserre’s eyes.

So he was tempted to say a few more words, but seeing Ibi’s uncharacteristically hesitant appearance, Sion finally softened his edge.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something, but I have no intention of silencing or burying you for making such speculations.”

“…Then why did you throw lightning?”

“It was reflexive because you ran away.”

At Sion’s answer, Ibi looked at him with incredulous eyes as if she had never been intimidated.

Throwing lightning meant for dragons at people and saying it was reflexive, Ibi, who had nearly fainted, felt extremely wronged.

However, Sion wasn’t sorry at all.

Did you think you wouldn’t suffer even this much after snooping around and playing tricks?

Sion thought this as he rather satisfactorily observed Ibi’s resentful gaze.

At the same time, he quietly clicked his tongue.

Because Ibi Ariate was really unnecessarily clever.

All of Ibi’s speculations were correct.

The righteous Laurel Grand Duke family drove their second sons to the border to fulfill their role. And they used curses in the process.

This is a big secret of the Laurels, but Sion didn’t particularly feel the need to try to hide it.

In the first place, he’s not the kind of person who cares about the safety of his family, and all sorts of rumors are already circulating about the condition of past Counts.

Moreover, even if it became known that the Laurel Grand Duke family used curses, not much would change.

Whether the Laurels curse, bury, or burn their children as sacrifices, the nobles will just quietly watch as long as they benefit from it. Instead, the face of the Laurel Grand Duke family, who pretended to be noble, would just be a bit tarnished.

So Sion’s subsequent warning was for Ibi, not for the Laurels.

“You’re free to speculate, but it’s better not to speak of it. For your own safety as well.”

“I really don’t want to talk about it either….”

But Sion’s advice was not at all valid for Ibi.

Sion belatedly realized this and clicked his tongue again.

Ibi Ariate, quick-witted but unable to keep her mouth shut. She’s really going to cause a big accident at this rate.

‘Should I confine her after all?’

Sion’s mind leaned more towards imprisonment. And as if sensing this, Ibi evasively shifted her body.

“…The conversation suddenly veered this way, but since it’s late, shall we continue talking tomorrow? And please make sure to return home today. Everyone in the village is probably worried. I’ll take care of the situation here.”

Ibi spoke in a tired voice.

Sion too had lost steam and wanted to just go back.

But instead of agreeing, Sion looked at Ibi suspiciously.

Sion, who had fought strong enemies for years, had a keen sense. An instinctive sense of whether the enemy had a final move left or not.

Sion felt a strange intuition, just like when fighting Amanesserre. So, just in case, he asked Ibi.

“Is what you said earlier all of your speculations about me?”

“No, there’s more.”

This is really…

As Sion’s eyes sharpened again, Ibi rather flared up and retorted.

“Count, please respect the freedom of thought!”

“I respect it. So how many more speculations?”

“Three more.”

Not just one or two, but three, I have to admit she’s smart.

Sion smiled at this convenient and honest curse, and Ibi made a sad face at the curse that revealed all her cards.

“Let’s hear them. In order.”

It was his own form of consideration that it was an invitation, not a question.

Of course, that didn’t mean there was a way out.

So Ibi, with a half-resigned heart, slowly opened her mouth.

“First, I speculated that the curse on the past Laurel Counts would be different from your current curse, Count.”

“Why?”

“Because your personality is too unique, Count.”

Sion’s smile deepened at Ibi’s blunt honesty.

She got this right too. But it’s not that surprising. It’s something that can be inferred just by looking at a few things.

So Sion nodded willingly. As if to say, go on.

At that arrogant attitude, Ibi felt a surge of anger and continued speaking.

“So I thought that maybe the old man had lifted your original curse. Because you must have received a curse like the past Counts before entering the border. And it doesn’t seem like you would say you owe a debt unless it was something of that magnitude.”

At these words, Sion’s smile changed its texture.

The lightness disappeared and became a bit more serious. Because Ibi had accurately deduced this as well.

This was a bit surprising, so Sion crossed his arms to avoid showing admiration.

Observing this change in Sion’s demeanor, Ibi continued speaking.

“But since you still have a curse, Count, that’s probably a new curse that came after the old man lifted the curse.”

Fortunately, the last speculation was weak, and Sion felt a little relieved.

But Ibi’s words weren’t over yet.

“But since you wouldn’t leave the curse alone in your right mind, Count, I thought you must be tolerating it. If that’s the case, this must also be a curse placed again by the Laurel Grand Duke family. With the purpose of replacing the previous curse.”

Finally, the smile disappeared from Sion’s face.

He wondered if this was possible.

Without having particularly more information than others, Ibi Ariate had come this far just from knowing that Sion was under a curse.

And what Ibi had just said was a secret that no one but Sion knew, not even the Laurel Grand Duke, his half-brother.

Sion, who had been completely seen through, felt as if he had been toyed with by a demon.

Nevertheless, pretending not to be shaken, he spoke softly.

“…Is that all?”

“No.”

Ibi shook her head lightly. Then she added this.

“So I’m in the process of speculating that the curse you currently have, Count, must be a curse that prevents you from revealing secrets.”

In the end, Sion’s whole body was covered in goosebumps.