‘Public order is a disgrace.’
Asrahan thought indifferently as he wiped the blood from his sword. It was deeply unpleasant to have run into garbage on an outing he had made to obtain something he needed in secret.
Then he recalled the woman he had just encountered.
A woman with pink hair like cherry blossoms. Her face seemed like one he had seen somewhere before, but he could not quite remember.
Whoever she was, she was plainly a noble young lady at a glance, and yet she had wandered the streets at night without a single escort. Utterly foolish.
“Hic!”
She had been a woman who kept hiccupping, her eyes wide with fright like a rabbit’s. It was a natural reaction. Even seasoned mercenaries who had been through every sort of hardship feared him; there was no way one small woman could withstand his presence.
Asrahan gave a brief, self-mocking laugh at the fact that she feared him even after he had saved her.
‘I’ll probably live like this for the rest of my life.’
As long as that tenacious curse continued to squeeze the life from his body, it would always be so. No one would approach him, and no one would cherish him. Just as it had been until now.
It was something he already knew, and yet when he remembered that pitiful hiccuping, a sharp bitterness stung inside him.
Just then, a strange presence approached him. It was unfamiliar, yet one he had encountered before.
“Hah, hah. Wait, just a moment! Ow, why do you walk so fast……”
The woman with pink hair, Lariette, was panting hard as she grabbed the lapel of Asrahan’s coat. At that small touch, Asrahan, unusually flustered, looked at her.
“Excuse me!”
“……?”
“Do you happen to have a lover?”
Lariette barely caught her breath and lifted her head. Her glassy violet eyes sparkled playfully, and soon a bright smile spread across her face.
“I like your face, so date me for exactly three months!”
This was the first confession Asrahan had ever heard, and the one sentence that would change his entire life.
Lariette gazed at that perfect face with a beaming expression. Even seeing it again, his appearance was truly dazzling.
The man, who looked as though he would only ever wear an indifferent expression, stared at her with pupils that wavered ever so slightly. Even Lariette herself thought it was a statement shocking enough to fluster anyone.
“Ah, should I introduce myself first? I’m Lariette Bl…… Just call me Lariette! A nickname is fine too. Like Lier.”
Her nickname was usually Lari, but because of Marquis Segrev, she no longer wanted to hear that word. Even the surname Blanche, which she had always taken pride in, she omitted for now.
“May I ask what your name is? Actually, I know because I’ve heard it before, but it’s only proper to ask properly before calling you by it.”
But may I call you by your name? Should I call you Your Grace? Lariette murmured, rolling her round rabbit-like eyes this way and that.
Asrahan watched her chatter on and pondered for a long while what sort of situation this was. He simply could not believe he had heard correctly.
“What……”
He unknowingly took one step back and spoke in a low voice. It was a historic moment, considering he had never yielded in spirit even before the king of a nation.
“Oh my, your voice is amazing too.”
Lariette looked at him with shining eyes and exclaimed in admiration. A low voice like a cave reverberating. It was perfectly to her taste.
Meanwhile, Asrahan, who had never received such a compliment before, doubted his ears once again. He even thought he might be so tired that he was imagining something strange.
“Your Grace, what is your name?”
Lariette asked him again. Asrahan answered briefly on reflex, not knowing himself why he was replying.
“……Asrahan. I am Asrahan Candel.”
“I see. I’m Lariette. Nice to meet you, Asrahan.”
Taking it as permission to call him by his name, Lariette smiled brightly and continued speaking. At her greeting of pleasure to meet him, Asrahan’s heart thudded. It had been nearly twenty years since someone had called his name.
“Now that we know each other’s names…… Asrahan, will you date me? Just for three months. Hm?”
Lariette asked in a coaxing tone as she took one step toward him. Asrahan, for his part, merely stood there with his body frozen like ice.
But then a cool spring breeze blew in and brushed past them. Lariette’s bright hair fluttered, and the hem of Asrahan’s long coat billowed with it.
And an all-too-familiar stench of rot rode the wind up and pricked his nose. Through the fluttering bandages, he seemed to glimpse ragged flesh.
Faced with reality, Asrahan’s face returned to an expressionless mask, as though he had never been flustered at all.
“You must have seen me cut down those men.”
“Pardon?”
At the sudden change of topic, Lariette blinked her eyes roundly and asked back. A deep darkness had settled over the face before her.
“Do you think I cannot cut you down?”
With a cold motion, Asrahan brushed away Lariette’s hand from his lapel. Although he struck her as lightly as he could, the delicate woman made a pained face.
A woman who hurt from just this much. Asrahan gave a brief, self-mocking laugh.
“I have no leisure to indulge your games, so step aside.”
He passed Lariette and began walking again. This time, no hand reached out to catch him. Naturally so.
Meanwhile, Lariette watched him leave, then pinched her nose with her fingers.
“He’s completely amazing.”
From his overflowing charisma to how sexy he was, he was precisely her type. She felt as if she might get a nosebleed at any moment.
***
The restaurant on the first floor of the inn where Lariette was staying served meals during the day and sold alcohol at night. After wandering for ages in search of Asrahan but failing to meet him again, she had trudged back to the inn and was now wetting her throat with beer.
‘How am I supposed to meet him again……’
As a mere woman, she could not simply barge into the Candel ducal residence. Even if she leaned on the name of Blanche, she would surely be refused.
She sighed and drank the yellowish beer. The refreshing liquid seemed to ease her frustration a little.
Fortunately, no one leered at her as she drank alone. That was because she had already made an example of one man by hanging him up with magic. Now that they knew she could use elemental magic, no one would dare approach her carelessly anymore.
The area around her bustled with noisy chatter. With no one to talk to, Lariette blankly listened in on the conversations around her.
And by sheer coincidence, she happened upon exactly the information she had been searching for.
“The information guild? That Duke Candel? Why?”
“Doesn’t that mean the rumor’s true after all? You know, that thing.”
“Ah, that rumor? Then the information someone like him would buy would be……”
“A purification mage, obviously.”
Bang! With a loud noise, Lariette set her beer down on the table of the men who were talking. At the sudden appearance of the pretty woman, the eyes of the chattering men focused on her.
“That story. Tell me in detail, won’t you?”
Unlike her sweet smile, a fireball blazed in her hand. At that simple and unmistakable threat, the man beside her sucked in a breath with a squeak.
“Wh-what story…… might you be referring to, miss?”
“The rumor about Duke Candel. What kind of rumor is it that a purification mage comes up?”
“You mean that rumor everyone knows……?”
“I’m not part of that ‘everyone,’ so don’t make me ask twice and just answer.”
The flame in Lariette’s hand swayed threateningly. Without even time to swallow his dry saliva, the man hurriedly opened his mouth.
“It’s a rumor that the War Demon Duke is under a terrible curse. As proof, they say if you get close to him, he reeks of death.”
“The smell of death?”
“Yes, a foul stench, like a corpse rotting.”
Lariette tilted her head and searched her memory. She had gone right up to his nose, and yet she had not smelled any such awful odor at all.
For that reason, she assumed the rumor must have been exaggerated and listened closely to what followed.
“So they say he’s always looking for a purification mage through the information guild to lift the curse…… But since it’s such a severe curse, even most decent purification mages usually run away.”
“A curse……”
“And to begin with, there aren’t many purification mages.”
The man kindly added the explanation in case she did not know.
Just as he said, purification magic was unpopular, and as such, there were few mages who practiced it. It was a completely different situation from healing mages, who were abundant.
The reason purification magic consumed more mana than healing magic was because its effects included the removal of curses. In other words, since it was rare for people to be cursed in the course of life, purification magic was bound to be unpopular.
“……I’ll buy all the alcohol here.”
“Pardon? Wow, are you serious?!”
“However.”
Having obtained useful information, Lariette spoke with an extremely excited expression. The man was overjoyed at the sweet offer, his mouth nearly splitting in a grin, but soon he met a fierce gaze.
“If you go around spreading rumors about Duke Candel one more time, I’ll roast you whole. Keep that in mind.”
The words, spoken like a whisper, were a clear threat. As if to prove it, the flame in her hand flared upward toward the ceiling. The man could only nod madly.
‘I can’t let people gossip about my future lover behind his back.’
Lariette snorted and gathered her magic. At the same time, she recalled the words of the mercenary employment office worker, who had said they were not looking for just any “decent” purification mage. He had clearly underestimated her abilities.
If the other employment offices were no different, there was no need to go out of her way a second time. A well-crafted script swiftly passed through Lariette’s mind.
If one wanted to catch a tiger, one had to enter the tiger’s den.
***
Jingle—
A cheerful bell rang as the well-oiled door opened smoothly. Since there were usually few customers during the daytime, the employees raised their heads and looked toward the entrance.
“Um.”
Wrapped in a large shawl, Lariette stepped lightly inside and spoke cautiously.
“I came to buy information.”
When she lowered the shawl covering her head, a face that had clearly been raised in comfort was revealed. Since noble young ladies were the information guild’s most welcome customers, the employees’ expressions brightened in an instant.
“Oh my, welcome. What information are you looking for?”
An affair, as expected? The employee who had rushed over to greet Lariette muttered quietly.
Ordinary noble young ladies usually visited the information guild to investigate a man who was their lover, or a man they wanted to become their lover. They were easy commissions, and since they were nobles, the pay was quite generous as well.
“I’d like to ask about a man……”
“Yes, yes! Of course. Who might it be?”
The employee kindly took Lariette’s shawl and answered confidently, as if to say she need only name anyone.
The clothes beneath the shawl were particularly shabby for a noble, so a small unease crept in, but noble young ladies sometimes wore maidservants’ clothes to hide their status, so he assumed this was another such case.
“Duke Asrahan Candel. I heard he visits the information guild regularly. When does he usually come?”
But the instant Lariette finished speaking, the employee quickly placed the shawl back over her shoulders. A firm answer followed.
“We don’t sell information about that person.”
“I don’t need detailed information. I only need to know when he comes.”
“No! We absolutely do not sell information about him, no matter how much money you offer. If you value your life, miss, you should simply go back.”
The employee, rather insolently, began pushing Lariette toward the exit. It was only natural, since the War Demon was far more frightening than a single noble young lady.
As she struggled not to be pushed away, Lariette scowled fiercely and cast out her bait.
“A purification mage!”
“……I don’t know what rumor you heard, but.”
“I know the purification mage he’s looking for.”
The employee, who had been about to deny it with a cold face, stopped pushing her at Lariette’s firm answer.
He took the bait. Lariette thought with a grin.
“The greatest purification mage in the empire. Don’t you need information?”
“……”
The employee stared intently at Lariette with wavering pupils. His gaze was trying to discern what her true intention was.
He would not be able to agree easily. If he carelessly gave any sort of answer, it would amount to handing over information about Duke Candel’s curse without permission. Realizing that, Lariette smiled leisurely and adjusted the shawl over her head.
“Would the outside lamps be brightly lit when an important guest is coming?”
Before long, Lariette, her face covered with a shawl, turned away without lingering and headed for the exit. The employee hesitated for a moment, then answered with a short sigh.
“I suppose about three of them would be lit.”
“I see.”
Ding— With the sound of the bell swaying, she stepped out the door. She had heard enough information; all that remained was to wait.
It was about a week later that three of the Information Guild’s outside lamps were brightly lit.
Lariette, who had been watching the empty passage of time with a stifled heart, made preparations the moment she spotted them. She told the inn she would be ending her stay as of today, packed her modest belongings, and hurried to the Information Guild.
Ding!
When she flung the door open in her urgency, the bell rang especially loudly. Having run there in a fluster, Lariette’s hair was tangled every which way.
Hoo, she exhaled roughly and lifted her head to look inside the building. And there, in her field of vision, was the person she had been so desperately searching for.
Asrahan. He was dressed the same as before.
A black coat in the style of a uniform hung down to his ankles and swayed, and beneath his black shirt, bandages were wrapped all the way up to his chin. Even the sword at his waist was pitch-black.
Still wearing an expression devoid of emotion, he slowly turned to look at Lariette. For an instant, his blue pupils seemed to waver when he found her.
“Found you, Asrahan.”
Lariette smiled proudly and panted for breath. After running all the way here, she was still out of breath.
The employee, seeing her call the name of that “Duke Kandel” so freely, gaped and looked back and forth between her and Asrahan. Lariette paid him no mind and walked over to Asrahan.
“Even I think I was a bit too hasty last time. I’m sorry. Lovers without even getting to know each other first! You must have been so flustered.”
Barely catching her breath, she quickly tidied her tangled hair. It was unacceptable for her hair to look like this at such an important moment.
Meanwhile, Asrahan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lariette.
He was certain he had frightened her enough last time, yet this woman kept approaching without fear.
“So, how about we start as employer and employee?”
“It seems my warning last time was insufficient.”
“Haha, you mean you’ll cut me down?”
You won’t be able to, though. Lariette giggled as she added that.
Asrahan frowned, wondering how he ought to deal with this rabbit that kept charging in without knowing any better.
“Let me introduce myself again.”
Sweeping her hair to one side, she opened her mouth.
“Lariette Blanche, the finest purification mage in the Empire.”
“……!”
“I’ll purify your curse for you. In exchange, provide me with room and board. Embarrassing as it is, I don’t have a home right now.”
With a playful smile, Lariette placed a white sheet of paper on the table. On the contract, which she had prepared at some unknown point, Lariette’s signature was drawn elegantly.
“Sign it, please.”
The tiger’s den Lariette had spoken of was not merely the Information Guild.
She had decided to enter the tiger’s true den, and for that purpose, she leisurely waved silvervine in front of the tiger.
Unaware that the tiger’s gaze was fixed not on the silvervine, but on the delicious prey waving it.