Stepping out of the opulent halls of Palais Mermonia, the bustling noise of the outside world hit them like a physical wave.
The wide streets were alive with activity—merchants shouting their wares, adventurers laughing boisterously, and the heavy clatter of carriage wheels against the cobblestones. It was a scene overflowing with vibrant, chaotic life.
Castorice instinctively glued herself to Aiden's side, matching his pace step for step, terrified of being swept away by the current of people.
When she saw the endless, shoulder-to-shoulder throng of pedestrians ahead, she froze. A flicker of deep hesitation and fear surfaced in her beautiful purple eyes.
Aiden instantly understood what she was afraid of.
In a street this crowded, a single accidental brush against a passerby could trigger a catastrophic, irreversible tragedy.
"Don't worry. Follow me."
Aiden's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unshakable steadying weight. Without a second thought, he reached back and firmly grabbed her gloved hand.
The sudden, warm contact against the back of her hand sent a jolt through Castorice's body like a startled deer. Panic seized her, and she immediately tried to rip her hand away.
"My lord, are you alright?! You can't touch me!" she cried out, her voice laced with desperate fear.
"I'm perfectly fine."
Aiden tightened his grip, refusing to let her pull away, and flashed her a comforting smile. "I forgot to mention, one of my skills grants me the absolute highest resistance against curses. So, you never have to worry about hurting me."
With that, he gently towed a stunned Castorice forward. He deliberately positioned his broad frame to act as a shield, smoothly parting the sea of people and carving out a perfectly safe path for her through the crowd.
Enveloped in the warmth of his large, calloused hand, Castorice's struggles gradually ceased.
An unprecedented current of warmth seeped through her palm, traveling up her arm and flowing directly into the depths of her heart, melting away the bitter cold and isolation that had accompanied her for so long.
A faint, rosy blush dusted her pale cheeks. She lowered her head shyly, not daring to look at his profile.
But no matter what, she couldn't bear to let go of the hand holding hers.
This feeling of being protected, of being touched without fear or consequence... it was far too foreign, and far, far too warm.
Still holding her hand, Aiden easily navigated the chaotic first floor of the Guild Headquarters, making a beeline for a very familiar reception desk.
"Eina, I need a favor. We have a new member to register."
The half-elf receptionist, Eina Tulle, looked up. Seeing Aiden, a bright smile bloomed on her face, though she couldn't resist a bit of teasing. "You finally remembered to recruit some new blood! For a prestigious A-Rank Familia, having less than ten members is a bit too elite, don't you think? If you keep this up, you'll have to form alliances with other Familias every time you go on an Expedition."
As she spoke, her gaze shifted to the newcomer standing behind him, ready to deploy her trademark approachability to welcome the new girl.
However, she quickly noticed that the silver-haired girl was standing quietly behind Aiden, deliberately maintaining a subtle but crystal-clear distance from her.
Eina's smile stiffened slightly.
As one of the most popular and highly regarded adventurer advisors in the Guild, her charm was no joke. No matter how rebellious or introverted an adventurer was, she was usually confident she could bridge the gap with just a few words.
But someone like Castorice—someone who exuded such an obvious sense of alienation right from the start, as if she had drawn an invisible, impenetrable boundary around herself—was a first for her.
Aiden noticed Eina's confusion and slight dismay.
Leaning over the counter, he lowered his voice to a whisper meant only for her ears, quickly explaining the terrifying reality of Castorice's [Curse of Bestowed Death].
"What?!"
Eina's eyes went wide with shock. She slapped a hand over her mouth, staring at the painfully quiet, doll-like girl in absolute disbelief.
She couldn't fathom how such a frail, cold exterior could harbor such a horrifyingly tragic skill.
This was... far too cruel a fate for a young girl to bear.
Once the initial shock passed, Eina's professional instincts kicked in, immediately highlighting the severe gravity of the situation. Logically, the safest protocol for an anomaly like Castorice was to publicly disclose her intelligence. If everyone knew to actively avoid her, the risk of a fatal accident would drop to zero.
But...
Even Eina felt that idea was monstrously cruel.
She could easily picture the immediate aftermath. If Castorice's curse was made public, the sheer terror and revulsion she would face from the citizens of Orario would be unbearable. A single touch that stole life? It was the stuff of nightmares.
Eina herself only managed to suppress her fear because she interacted with countless bizarre adventurers daily, combined with Castorice's gentle first impression and the undeniable credibility of Aiden standing right there as her Captain.
But the general public wouldn't share her restraint. Ostracization, fear, and outright hostility were inevitable.
"Eina, please," Aiden said, his tone turning dead serious. "Do not report Castorice's condition to the Guild. I swear to you, we will watch over her. I will never let her harm an innocent person."
He knew exactly how the Guild operated. If the higher-ups caught wind of this, their duty to protect the masses would force them to broadcast her abilities to the city without hesitation.
Eina was torn, caught in an agonizing moral crossfire.
Personally, her heart ached for the tragic girl. She desperately wanted to help her and keep this cruel secret buried. But professionally, she was bound by duty to report high-risk anomalies to the organization.
Her gaze darted back and forth between Aiden's resolute, pleading expression and Castorice's anxious, shifting purple eyes.
Finally, she let out a long, heavy sigh.
"...I understand."
Her voice carried a trace of exhaustion and resignation. "For your sake, I'll keep this off the official records for now. But Aiden, you need to understand that this is a massive violation of protocol. If anything happens, we are both going to be in incredibly deep trouble."
"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Aiden quickly reassured her, seeing the deep conflict etched on her face. "I'll put in a request with 'Versatile' as soon as possible to commission a magic item that completely isolates her touch. That will eliminate any chance of an accident."
He was just as terrified of a mishap as she was. An accident wouldn't just ruin Castorice's life in Orario; it would plunge him into an abyss of guilt and agony. A specialized magic item was the only foolproof solution.
"Speaking of 'Versatile'..." Eina mused, recalling a recent dispatch. "The Hermes Familia recently took on an urgent reconnaissance quest. They've already left Orario."
"Is that so?" Aiden nodded, not particularly surprised. "Then we'll wait until they get back. Until then, I'll keep her isolated from the public as much as possible."
The Hermes Familia were notoriously elusive wanderers to begin with. The only reason they had lingered in Orario for so long recently was likely due to Hermes's intense personal curiosity regarding Aiden. Now that they had overstayed their welcome, taking a quest and leaving was par for the course.
"I heard the quest involves the Great Forest, something about an ancient seal. Quite a few merchant caravans and nearby villagers have already fallen victim to it," Eina sighed as she reorganized her paperwork. "It seems the outside world is far from peaceful these days."
However, the moment the words left her mouth, Aiden's voice sharply cut through the air.
"Wait, what did you just say? What quest?!"
Aiden's sudden alarm and the terrifyingly sharp look in his eyes made Eina jump in her seat.
She had no idea why he was reacting so violently, but she quickly repeated the intelligence she knew.
Listening to her summary, Aiden's brow furrowed into a deep, heavy knot.
The Great Forest... an ancient seal... Those two keywords violently pierced into the deepest recesses of his memories.
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