Once they returned to the Baron's mansion, Arthur disappeared to find their host. In the meantime, Catherine and the siblings stayed in the apartment. She was cheerfully combing her hair and giggling happily to herself when Silfa stepped in front of her, an awkward expression on her face..

  "Lady Catherine...", she began, "I wanted to thank you."

  "What for?" She looked at the Human woman and felt how her ears twitched in confusion. "I'm no Lady, Silfa..."

  "I beg to differ... But that's not the point." Silfa chuckled. "Thanks to you, Lord Ives decided to keep me and my brother at his side. I don't care if he needs us as camp decorations or to give the impression that he has an entourage, but he allowed us to participate in his hunts so that we will level up, so if he sets us free we would be able to survive, Lady Catherine."

  "Oh... Don't mention it. This is just how he is..." Catherine smiled, mostly to herself. "I still don't think you should call me Lady, Silfa..."

  "If you insist..." Silfa sighed heavily and shook her head as she returned to the table where her brother was devouring another serving of food.

  Almost half an hour later, Arthur returned followed by two maids.

  "Silfa and Ben." He called them with a voice that was blank. "Please follow the Maids to your temporary quarters."

  "Yes, my Lord." The siblings bowed to him and left the room without a word.

  Catherine noticed that they were scared by his empty stare and foul mood. Once the doors behind the maids closed, she went to him and slightly raised her hand, but he dropped to the couch and buried his face in his hands.

  "I screwed it up, Cate..." He said with a sad voice. "I thought that I was the sharpest knife in the drawer but, in the end, I said too much and revealed too much. I exposed something that should have remained a secret. I... I screwed up big time. I learned many things about the advancement level of Saftia, but at what cost?"

  She was standing near him with her hand still extended, which she slowly lowered to his shoulder.

  "What a terrifying secret have you spilt, my Lord? If you don't mind sharing it with me?" Cate asked softly, feeling an unexpected pang of sadness.

  She wanted to somehow comfort him. He was always so cheerful and she couldn't imagine him becoming gloomy.

  "I... Told them why some of their runes never worked and basically explained to them that materials have different grades and uses." He leaned back into the sofa and put his elbows on the backrest with a sigh. "The Alabaster Trading Company now has the secrets to unlock the highest grade of runes. I don't know how impactful that will be."

  She stood in front of him but put her hands together despite her desire to hug him and comfort him. However, she smiled.

  "I don't know how impactful that might be but what did Sir Benjamin say?"

  "He forced everyone who heard it to sign a confidentiality contract." He sighed. "But I have no idea how such contracts work. I don't believe that we have anything similar in Arcadia."

  "May I see it?" She asked, uncertain if she could help him, but at least she could confirm the genuineness of the contact. After all, merchants used them all the time and her father wasn't an exception.

  "Why not?" He sighed and took it out of his storage space. "Please, sit down, Cate..."

  She sat a handspan’s distance from him and took the contract scroll he was holding. The moment she touched the paper, she knew it was the most real of deals she had ever laid her eyes upon. After unrolling the scroll and reading its contents, she swallowed. Hard. That thing would kill anyone who signed it the moment they even entertained the thought of betraying Arthur's secrets.

  "A magical contract is similar in its nature to a slave contract." Catherine started explaining with her eyes still glued to the paper. "But it would be more accurate to say that the slave contract is a form of a magical contract. They can't be breached without consequences and, as long as you have the contract intact, it is active unless it was specified otherwise. And this contract specifically... I had never seen anything with such weight to it. The highest grade of paper and special ink imbued with magic are rare and, as you can probably guess, they made the contract even more binding. I believe that Sir Benjamin was trying to show you his sincerity, Sir."

  She rolled back the scroll and returned it to him. Arthur took a deep breath and slowly nodded as he took it from her.

  "Thank you, Cate." He tried to smile. "I think I'll take a nap..."

  "What should I do?" She asked, uncertain.

  "Whatever you want..." He furrowed his brow but suddenly he leaned forward with a pang of guilt. "Oh Cate…, I'm so sorry! Whenever we are alone, you can do whatever you want. I would only appreciate that you refrained from wandering alone. While you are protected, I would rather avoid the aftermath."

  "I'm not going anywhere, thank you very much." Cate chuckled while Arthur stood up and went to the bathroom.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "Before I forget..." He stopped at the doors and looked at her. "Use the bed next time you want to sleep. Sleeping on the floor isn't good for you."

  "But..."

  "Something wrong?" The Inquisitor asked with concern, but somehow she could tell that he was very tired.

  "Nothing!" She lowered her gaze. "It's nothing!"

  "All right..."

  ???

  When Arthur woke, it was around five. He felt a little better, but was still a bit worried. The way he acted, how sloppy he was... He was stressed and tired, but he couldn't completely discard the possibility of something more sinister. He sat on the bed and crossed his legs with his hands resting on his knees. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, trying to identify any alignment that might have stuck to him. Why had he assumed that the trap that brought him to Saftia was just a teleport? He felt the warmth and knew that he was glowing with bright, blue light, but right now that wasn't important. He was investigating his body, and just when he was about to give up, he found a strand of darkness where it shouldn't be. Following the etheric thread, he found it. An inconspicuous mark, or more precisely, a cover of some sort, and once he breached it, he found a curse.

  A curse that slowly sapped away his strength; mental, physical, and magical alike. His stamina wasn't regenerating properly, sleep stopped providing relief, and his mana acted weird. Just so little, just a tiny bit, just so unnoticeable... No wonder his mental fortitude already caused him to lower his guard so much.

  "Fucking bastards..." He cursed under his breath and focused.

  His body ached and revolted against his will. He was sweating, and his joints were burning as if someone had covered them in molten metal. However, he endured the pain he knew wasn't real. The curse was a real piece of art. He could willingly admit it as he started analysing the bug that was slowly eating him alive. He had to at least learn who’d made it. The more he tried to unfold the magic formula that made up the curse, the more violently it defended itself. Sweat slowly covered his forehead and started trickling down his face as he put more and more effort and focus into not letting the curse slip away. He felt parts of his body seemingly give up and erupt into flares of pain that drowned his mind in agonal panic.

  However, he endured.

  He wanted to swear and scream, but he was too focused on the curse. Finally, with the last jolt of lightning born out of his mana, the curse ran out of defensive measures and was unveiled before him. Momentarily, he learnt that it wasn't a creation of the Ruinous Powers. It was old; it was already ancient during the Age of Heroes. It was created to combat the abominations from beyond the world. Arthur made a last effort and reached towards the embedded arcane circles with his mind and attempted to learn them. He knew that it was possible, and learning them would increase his resistance, no matter whether he would be able to use the curse or not. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there but, finally, he memorised the curse and realised it was something more. However, now it was time to erase that brand from his mind.

  "Purification." He pressed the tips of his fingers of his right hand to his chest and felt the warmth spreading across his body.

  Like a flame, the Holy Magic purged his soul and body. He felt the curse shred and dissolve into nothingness. He took one more breath, much calmer and confident than before, and opened his eyes.

  "Lord Arthur!" Catherine was kneeling in front of him with tears in her amazing blue eyes. "By heavens! Do you hear me?!"

  He looked around and noticed that Sion Howthorns, Captain Amos, and a few more soldiers were standing in the bedroom with swords in their hands. They looked at him in shock and a little bit of uncertainty.

  "I'm sorry if I worried you. Everything’s fine now." Arthur said as he put his hand on her shoulder and focused his gaze on Sion. "What happened? Are we under attack?"

  "We heard your scream and a very inspiring and educational stream of profanities, Lord Arthur." Sion chuckled as he sheathed his sword. "I thought that someone had attacked you. So honestly, I believe it is I who has the right to ask: what happened?"

  The guards sheathed their swords as well and looked at Arthur in expectant curiosity.

  "Well... Shit." Arthur said under his breath, covering his face and smiling slightly. "It turned out that the trap that transported me here also cursed me."

  "By the Gods! We must take you to the Temple at once! Only a priest can Dispel a curse, Sir Arthur!" Sion paled, but the Inquisitor just laughed dismissively.

  "I've already destroyed it. Don't forget that I'm a Paladin." He nodded at Catherine who sat awkwardly near him and was still shaking. "I don't need a priest to Purify something like that."

  "You don't...?" Sion looked at him for a long moment. "Everyone, get out! And remember, this is also my secret."

  His voice was cold and suddenly impatient. All the soldiers burst out of the room, leaving only Catherine, who was looking at Arthur.

  "I would be very grateful if you could hear me out in private, Lord Ives." He said, surprisingly softly, as he looked at the still shaking Catherine.

  "Wait for me in the next room. I will join you soon." Arthur looked at the Nekomi, who reluctantly nodded and left the bedroom.

  As the doors closed, Baron Sion Howthorns knelt in front of Arthur, whose eyes widened in surprise.

  "I beg you, Lord Ives! Can you try to remove the curse that someone cast on my younger son?"

  "You said that the priests in the Temple can remove curses," Arthur said carefully.

  "They... They couldn't help him. They said that this curse must be a punishment..." He gritted his teeth and only his eyes betrayed how furious he was. "Please tell me, Lord Ives, what could a five-year-old child have done to be punished like that?"

  Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He already fucked up enough, but this was different. He offered his prayers to the Goddesses Hestia and Verka to protect him and opened his eyes.

  "I can't promise you that I will be able to help him," Arthur said quietly.

  "I'm aware of it, Lord Ives," Sion whispered. "But what more do I have to lose? There is nothing I wouldn't do to save my child."

  Arthur stood up from the bed and put on his Inquisitorial uniform from his spatial storage. He had exposed himself in this city enough and, most probably, already gained more attention than he ever intended. However, he had sworn to protect the weak, and who was weaker than a child who had barely started to understand the world?

  "Take me to him."

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to and who edited the chapter!