As Marcus stood up, Cedric, who had been tensely standing behind, relaxed and whispered in his ear.
"Be careful with them, especially the woman in black."
"It's not like you to be so wary of someone. Is that person stronger than me?"
"I don't know, but my senses tell me to stay away from that woman as far as possible."
"Strange, I also have good senses, so why didn't I feel that too? Moreover, those guards weren't here earlier, am I right?"
"Yes and no. They were not in the room, but they were definitely keeping an eye on us. Most likely an assassin or stealth unit."
"So, did the count fear this person so much as to bring his elites with him to meet this person and not me?"
"Do you really believe that a noble will interact with a mage without taking any precautions? He might have hidden several artifacts in the sleeves of his luxury clothes which activate upon being attacked."
"That sounds plausible." Marcus, not knowing anything about this world or its nobles, readily believed what Cedric told him.
The count, not expecting Marcus to come at this time, was troubled since he didn't prepare any adulation for him. He just thanked him and moved on. Marcus didn't bother with him; he was intrigued by the newcomers, especially the mage, and wanted to exchange a few words with her. But since the mage had already retired for her room, Marcus thought he could only have a conversation with her the next day.
Climbing up the stairs, Marcus and Cedric reached the topmost floor, where they were pleasantly surprised to see the female mage from earlier waiting for them in the hallway.
Seeing Marcus and Cedric arrive, the girl started by introducing herself.
"I am Isabella von Hansen. Nice to meet you. You can call me Isabel for short."
"Nice to meet you. I am Marcus," Marcus replied courteously.
"If you don't mind, why don't we have a small chat together?" Isabel suggested.
Marcus nodded in agreement.
"Aldrich, why don't you give us some space?" Isabel directed her servant.
Her servant, Aldrich, nodded and stood at the side of the door. After Marcus entered the room, Isabel closed the door.
The room was similar to his own, with not much difference in its layout. Isabel asked Marcus to take a seat as she sat across from him.
Marcus had a lot of questions in his mind but let Isabel take the initiative.
"Did the count send you an invitation too?" Isabel asked.
"Not quite. I was in the village at that time. I had a small confrontation with Knight Cornwell's men, and it was discovered that I was a mage, so I was given an invitation," Marcus explained.
Isabel appeared to be very interested after hearing his story.
"So, you didn't know what the count invited you for. Unless you are completely isolated from what is happening in the noble families, you shouldn't be here in the first place."
Marcus was surprised by her deduction skills. "How did you know that I wasn't aware of it?"
"It's simple. The count had already sent invitations to every single mage possible. All the mages avoid the place like a plague."
"When I say that, I don't mean it in a metaphorical sense. It is exactly what it sounds like. Or else he wouldn't have resorted to calling me here."
"Judging from your words, I guess you don't know much about the matter. How about I fill you in on it?"
"I appreciate it."
"Well, you see, Count Elfied is one of the most infamous household names among the nobility. He even has more mistresses compared to a king of a small kingdom. If it was not for the huge amount of gold he sends to the church every year to buy indulgences, he would have been excommunicated a long time ago."
"So, about the cult that cursed his daughter..."
"I don't know about the cult you speak of, but I can say with absolute guarantee that his daughter is not cursed."
"Eh?"
"It's a disease. Those who have some degree of understanding of curses can tell it's not a curse."
"But then why would he call for mages to cure the curse?"
"Well, on my part, I have never heard Count Elfied telling others about his daughter being cursed. It's something the masses made up. So, tell me, now that you are here, are you going to help the count?"
Marcus considered this. "I will be truthful with you. I don't know any way of curing his daughter."
"Don't worry. I won't be here if I didn't know the cure. So, let me restate my question: are you willing to help, provided the cure is provided?"
"I guess, yes."
The girl finally had a satisfied smile on her face after hearing Marcus' response.
"Excellent. I knew you were a good person. Not everyone is willing to help after being bamboozled. By the way, there seemed to be a misunderstanding. There is indeed someone who is cursed, but that person is not the count's daughter, but the count himself."
Marcus was shocked by this bombshell.
"Wait, so there indeed are curses? So, the story that the count is unable to produce a son is true?"
Finally, it seemed Isabel was no longer able to control her enjoyment as she burst out laughing.
"Yes, there indeed are curses in this world. As for your second question, why else would a small noble like the count pay the church coffers after coffers of gold just to sleep with hundreds of women?"
A shiver passed Marcus' spine as he heard this.
'What does she mean by hundreds?' Marcus didn't want to delve any deeper into this topic, so he decided to change it.
"You looked interested in talking to me. Is there a reason for that?"
"Hehehe, do you think your knight and the count are too shy to spend time with a pretty girl like me? The fact that you agreed to chat with me is amusing in itself. Please continue to entertain me further in the future."
Marcus felt like the latter sentence was just teasing him. He didn't feel anything wrong with this girl, and he would rather trust his own senses than believe someone else's words. One had to know he had survived the labyrinth on his survival senses alone. When you are in a dangerous situation, your senses would naturally sharpen themselves to adapt to it.
Marcus felt like it was getting late. It was already dark outside, but the interior of this room was lit. It was safe to say this world's technology was not as backward and primitive as Marcus had previously thought. Since this place had artificial lighting, there would be other otherworldly technologies he had not seen yet. As for the lights, he was too thin-skinned to ask someone how it worked.
Seeing Marcus looking outside, Isabel decided to end the conversation. She got up and opened the door for Marcus.
"Thank you for joining me in this lively chat. Tomorrow, the count will be taking us to see his daughter. I will meet you then. Good night."
"Thank you for your hospitality, and good night," Marcus replied.
Marcus too got up and exited into the hall, where he saw an uneasy Cedric and a stoic Aldrich.