Strangely, he faced no trouble as he exited through the main gate. No one bothered to stop him; to everyone's eyes, he was just a weak beggar. Oddly enough, the beggar class was a perfect disguise for his pale skin; if anyone asked, he could simply say he was hungry.
Raphiel was walking quite normally along the main road, occasionally sitting in the shade of a tree to cool off. While eating an apple from his bag, he spotted a slave caravan heading toward the capital. The caravan held many slaves, one of whom seemed suitable for the Void. Raphiel set his eyes on a male slave from the Naga race and gave him the Void. The Naga male felt nothing.
After a while, he continued on his way. A few hours later, a merchant's horse-drawn carriage slowed down as it passed right by him. The owner of the carriage, a wolf woman, asked, "Are you going to Vronna, sir?" Raphiel was surprised that a stranger would ask this and curiously replied, "Yes, why do you ask, ma'am?"
The wolf woman said she was heading to the same place and offered him a ride if he wished. Raphiel politely declined, but the woman looked at him like a puppy, pleading, "Please, let me take you." Raphiel refused again, but this time, she looked at him like a wolf eyeing its prey.
The wolf woman grabbed Raphiel by the arm and forcibly pulled him into the carriage. Raphiel trembled slightly; his instincts were telling him to run. Though he was a bit afraid, he did the opposite of what his instincts told him and moved a little closer to her. The wolf woman also moved closer. Internally, Raphiel cursed, thinking, "What the hell is this? Did this woman fall in love with me at first sight?" He regretted not following his instincts.
Suddenly, the wolf woman said, "I want to be your woman." Raphiel felt a chill down his spine and shouted, "We don't even know each other's names yet! Why the rush?!"
The wolf woman replied, "You're right; I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Miya. What's yours, future husband?" Raphiel reflexively gave his name and instantly regretted it. Miya's face lit up with a big smile after he answered her question.
Raphiel was looking for an opportunity to escape from Miya, but she didn't give him a chance throughout the journey. Along the way, Miya asked various questions and talked about different topics, allowing Raphiel to understand why she wouldn't leave him alone. Miya's instincts were very strong, and the moment she saw Raphiel, her instincts shouted, "You must marry this man at any cost!"
Miya's instincts were indeed very powerful, so much so that she could almost perfectly sense Raphiel's thoughts. Raphiel was inclined to believe that Miya had mind-reading abilities.
They arrived in the city of Vronna and entered without any issues. Raphiel begged the guard at the gate to save him, but as soon as Miya said, "He's my husband," the guard smiled and turned his attention to other people.
The carriage arrived at a mansion-like place. The guard at the entrance bowed respectfully before Miya and looked at Raphiel with concealed hostility. After they entered, Miya said, "Did I mention that I was awarded the title of Baroness by the royal council because of my vast wealth?" At that moment, Raphiel muttered, "Words fail me."
Raphiel said to Miya, "Could we talk privately?" Miya happily dismissed all the servants from the room and smiled at Raphiel. Raphiel, looking unhappy, said, "There's no point in hiding it from you, so I'll tell you all the bad things about myself." Miya held his hand and assured him she would never leave him.
"I was cursed by the goddess Eanna, though I have no idea why. I also bear a curse from a god named Eliam, again without any knowledge of the reason. To top it off, I once slept on the street and turned into a half-vampire because of it; I'm still a half-vampire."
With unwavering determination in her eyes, Miya said, "Wait for me." She returned with a ring and a magic scroll. Miya explained, "This ring suppresses all curses; it doesn't eliminate them, but it makes them almost impossible for others to detect. The magic scroll contains a powerful purification spell that will turn you back into a human, but you'll feel very tired for a few days." She handed them to Raphiel.
When Raphiel put the ring on his index finger, Miya immediately objected, insisting he wear it on his ring finger. Raphiel reluctantly agreed and placed the ring on his ring finger. "How do we activate these?" he asked. Miya, saddened by his ignorance, pointed to a symbol in the lower right corner of the scroll. "Scrolls are activated either by adding magic or by tearing them. The symbol shows which one applies." The symbol depicted a piece of paper being torn with both hands.
Raphiel tore the magic scroll, and the purification spell cleansed all the evil from his body. This spell cleansed not only his body but also his soul, granting him 15 VP—a small but meaningful amount. The best part was that the Void remained unaffected by this spell; in the dungeon, only malevolent entities had been affected.
Miya called for the head steward and informed him that she would be getting married tomorrow, instructing him to handle the wedding preparations. A melancholic smile appeared on Raphiel's face.
The rest of the day was spent on wedding preparations. Various tailors took Raphiel's measurements for a groom's outfit and gave him temporary clothes to wear. In a short time, Raphiel transformed from a beggar into a nobleman.
---
When the nobles in the capital heard that Baroness Miya was getting married the next day, they were very surprised. They couldn't understand why her marriage was so sudden, but everyone knew Miya's instincts were incredibly strong, so they believed there must be a reason. In reality, there was no particular reason; she just wanted to get married as soon as possible.
Everyone started searching for a suitable gift; giving a poor gift wouldn't do. Though Miya was only a Baroness, she was as wealthy as a duke, so everyone wanted an excuse to get in her good graces. Even if they ignored her wealth, they'd still want to get close to her because in the past, she had given random advice that increased a barony's annual revenue by fifty percent. That's how appealing Miya was; if she weren't already a queen, even the king would want to marry her.
The young master of the Storm family decided to attend the wedding on behalf of his family, bringing a mermaid as a suitable gift in the absence of anything overly expensive. Giving a slave as a gift was not unheard of; even the king had once received a slave as a gift.
The capital was bustling, and though it was already evening, the place was still lively. When Alice heard that the man marrying the Baroness was named Raphiel, she initially thought it was just a coincidence. But after hearing that two people were curious about how they met, she couldn't help but curse out loud.
"Can you believe it? Today, wealthy Baroness Miya came to the capital in the guise of a common merchant, and on her way back, she found the love of her life on the road."
"Yes, it's unbelievable. Around noon, she finds the love of her life. She recognizes him at a glance and decides to marry him the next day."
Without saying another word, Alice unhappily returned to her secret hideout. Her escape plan for the day was already ruined because escaping was nearly impossible with the city so busy.