The Duchess had a slender figure and a dignified face. The evil dragon guessed she wasn't yet forty.
The Duchess sat in a low armchair carved from black wood, lost in prolonged contemplation. The room was dead silent except for the "tick-tock" of the wall clock, until the cigar stub burned her hand.
"You have many things to tell me, don't you?" Patunasankus said.
The Duchess was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Princess, you surely remember Evelyn, my precious daughter. You were very good playmates when you were little, and even though you were separated for a time, your relationship remained close."
Who is Evelyn? Patunasankus wondered.
The evil dragon had never heard of this person at all.
"...Mm." Patunasankus could only nod woodenly.
"But my precious daughter Evelyn has disappeared. She's been missing for an entire year. I am willing to pay three thousand gold galleons—no, I am willing to spend everything I have to find her," Duchess Pascal said loudly, then fell silent again.
Then, she seemed to take a long time to organize her words. After drinking an entire goblet of wine, the Duchess finally looked up.
"Let me be direct and honest with you. The ferocious beast, Princess, is the ferocious beast. Let's dispense with formalities. That thing is my daughter. She was transformed by a curse, and that's what I've come to discuss."
The Duchess turned her gaze toward Loranhir, whose skin crawled under the heavy stare.
"Hero, please tell me privately, concisely, and clearly. Can you do it, or not? Don't try to fool me with excuses. I just want an accurate answer."
Loranhir didn't speak. She had no idea what to say.
She was merely a coward who didn't even know how to draw the holy sword again, whose legs would go weak with fear when facing fierce monsters.
She had no idea how to handle this.
The hero glanced out the window, thinking she definitely needed to flee with the princess tonight.
Without looking back, that kind of fleeing.
The Duchess's tone turned sorrowful, "If you think she can't be saved, please kill her. If you find a way to break the spell, but she doesn't... become normal, or if you can't be certain she's one hundred percent restored, please kill her as well. Don't worry, I won't do anything extreme. I'll just scream at you like a normal mother would, then drive you out of Silver City like a madwoman, but that's all."
Curse?
"How did it happen? Curses, magic? Have you tried to remove it?"
Upon hearing this word, Patunasankus's eyes lit up with excitement. The flush of excitement made her face somewhat rosy, her blue eyes brightening.
In the Duchess's eyes, this was undoubtedly the princess's concern for her childhood playmate.
"Removing a curse is much more difficult than killing the creature. That's why people tend to let the fanatics from the Eternal Flame handle it; few people want to remove curses. Usually, people just want to protect themselves. If the monster has killed someone, then revenge becomes another motive."
At this point, a petite young woman slowly approached. She wore black-framed glasses, with skin so white it looked cold. Her nearly silver-white long hair was braided, then tied up in a bun on top of her head, revealing her long neck. Her entire being was as colorless as an ice sculpture.
"But the Duchess obviously wouldn't agree directly."
"Elaphia, the special advisor to the Pascal family, specializing in curse studies," Elaphia stepped forward, curtsying slightly, her crimson eyes flashing behind the black frames. "Greetings to the Princess."
She was Elaphia, Grand Duke Dreka's thrall, who had recently been ordered to infiltrate the hero's group.
To complete the Grand Duke's mission, Elaphia's preparations were thorough. She used alchemical attire to conceal her aura, applied elaborate sunscreen to shield from the sun, and had disguised herself.
Elaphia knew that with the hero's brave and fearless character, upon hearing news of a ferocious beast terrorizing the region, she would certainly intervene in such matters. She just needed to set up in advance, wait for the opportunity, and could easily complete the task assigned by the Duke.
After all, what identity could be more suitable for approaching the hero's group than as the Duchess's special advisor?
Elaphia looked calmly at the princess's defenseless face. Pure white flawless skin, azure eyes gazing at her, hair trimmed along the curves of her face, accentuating her slender neck.
Look how fragile the princess is.
She thought.
At this moment, Elaphia only needed to step forward to pluck out a burning heart.
But...
She hesitated to act.
For no other reason.
Elaphia's gaze turned cold as she glanced slightly at Loranhir, who had been sitting next to Patunasankus the whole time.
She had no confidence that her actions wouldn't be detected by the hero.
Earlier, when the hero encountered the ferocious beast, she had been present.
As a vampire, Elaphia sensed more deeply than the simple pressure felt by ordinary people. Under the powerful beating of the Heart of the Red Queen, a suffocating pressure radiated from the hero at its center.
If not for her strong psychological fortitude, Elaphia, observing from the shadows, might have fallen to her knees.
That feeling was like facing a creature at the top of the food chain.
And that was merely a simple display of presence.
What would it be like if she engaged in combat?
Elaphia shook her head.
She needed to find an opportunity to be alone with the princess.
Because...
The hero was just too terrifying!