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The ​cause ​of ​the ​madness ​passed ​down through generations ​of ​the ​Spioren ​family ​lay in a contract ​made ​by the first ​Duke.

At the time, ​Paltreon, ​which ​was ​nothing ​more ​than a small ​kingdom, ​was ​suffering from constant ​wars, both large and ​small, with ​the nations ​sharing its ​borders.

This was ​not ​only ​the case for ​Paltreon, but ​for the other neighboring ​countries as well. Because ​their military strengths were ​evenly matched, ​they ​were constantly locked in a seesaw ​struggle, repeating a cycle ​of ​seizing ​and ​losing ​adjacent territories.

Consequently, the ​King of ​Paltreon ​decided to end ​this ​wretched war and establish a ​single empire. ​Standing ​at the vanguard ​of ​that ​plan ​was ​the captain ​of ​the royal ​guard, Carlton Spiorene.

Carlton, who would later become ​the first Duke ​of Spioren, judged ​that overwhelming power was ​necessary to ​end this war.

Thus, ​he ​began searching for ​a dragon lair ​in order ​to ​make a ​contract ​with a ​dragon. ​In truth, ​this ​was ​little more than ​chasing ​clouds.

The existence ​of ​dragons ​had ​never been confirmed; they appeared only in ancient texts or fairy tales. They were practically creatures of fantasy that no one believed in anymore, yet Carlton eventually found a dragon lair.

However, finding a dragon and making a contract with one were two different matters. A dragon, who had absolutely no interest in humans or their wars, had no reason whatsoever to enter a contract with Carlton.

At this point, Carlton came up with a clever idea to persuade the dragon. He promised [Read on Read BL Novels]that, as payment for the contract, his descendants would [visit our site]become servants who would serve the dragon for generations.

While dragons were omnipotent beings nearly equal to gods, they enjoyed polymorphing to stave off boredom during their long lives.

Polymorphing was known as the ‘dragon’s pastime,’ referring to the act of living while pretending to be human. One might call it a sort of human trial version. It was the act of intentionally placing restrictions on one’s life to enjoy the existence of a creature they considered insignificant.

The dragon apparently judged that if Carlton could guarantee his identity when he polymorphed into a human life, he would be able to experience a much wider variety of groups and experiences.

In reality, this was something the dragon could have easily solved with his own magic. In other words, from the dragon’s perspective, what Carlton offered as payment for the contract actually held very little merit.

Yet, for some whim, the dragon accepted Carlton’s proposal and entered into a contract with him. Afterward, using the sword received from the dragon, Carlton led all wars to victory, became a founding contributor to the empire, was granted Silon—the most fertile land—and became the empire’s one and only Duke.

It would have been fine if the story ended there, but the problem was that, for some reason, Carlton’s heart changed.

Carlton intentionally corrupted the dragon sword, which was the token of the contract, and then sealed it in the basement without passing it on to his son, the next Duke, before drawing his final breath.

Enraged, the dragon appeared at the Dukedom after Carlton’s death and spoke to his son.

He declared that every member of the Spioren family would die young around the age of thirty, and their end would be miserable, plagued by madness.

That curse lasted for a staggering 300 [unauthorized copy]years, and the Spioren Dukedom became the most cursed unauthorized copyhumans in the most blessed land.

“In the end, the only way to break the curse is to find that dragon.”

Euro nodded as he looked at his notebook. Until now, every Duke had searched for the dragon in various ways to break the curse, but no one had succeeded.

Carlton, the only being who knew the location of the dragon lair, was already dead. They had tried breaking the seal of the dragon sword and purifying the corruption, but the curse remained.

This was because it was a curse that could only be broken if the dragon granted forgiveness.

But Euro was different. He knew where the dragon was right now.

“He won’t easily grant a request to break the curse, but it’s not like there’s no way at all.”

Euro muttered to himself. Judging by the information gathered so far, the dragon was a being who moved solely for the sake of amusement. Therefore, if he could stimulate that amusement, persuasion might be possible.

What remained was to somehow keep Melione, who had been weakened by the curse, alive until then. In his current state, it was obvious that even if the dragon broke the curse, he wouldn’t live long before dying.

Melione needed to stay alive for at least another 30 years. This was because the curse placed upon them also applied to any spouse who became a member of the Spioren family.

Since Euro would also be destined to die young the moment he married Read on Read BL Novelsthe Duke, it was [stolen content]visit our sitecrucial to break the curse as soon as possible.

Euro picked up his pen and began writing the tasks he needed to accomplish on a blank page of the notebook.

ꕥ ꕥ ꕥ

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

At the sound of Raymond’s voice accompanying a knock, Euro let out a groan.

With the blanket pulled up over his head and his brow furrowed, Euro had only managed to fall asleep in the early hours of the dawn after organizing the plan to resolve the Duke’s madness.

Forcing his eyelids open with difficulty, Euro pushed back the fluffy blanket, sat up, and let out a yawn that nearly split his mouth. Hearing this, Raymond entered the room and opened the thick curtains while greeting him.

“Did you have a pleasant night?”

“…What time is it right now?”

“It is past noon.”

“Oh, no…”

Perhaps it was because physical fatigue had overlapped with mental exhaustion. He had woken up much later than expected. Squinting at the pouring sunlight, Euro spoke in a raspy voice.

“I woke up too late.”

“His Grace told me not to wake you as you must be tired, but I thought it wouldn’t be right for you to skip lunch as well.”

Raymond smiled with a benevolent expression, as if saying it was fine if he wanted to sleep more. However, Euro waved his hand.

“No, I should get up. Thank you.”

“Shall I bring your meal to the room? For your information, His Grace only eats in the dining hall during lunch.”

“Really? Then I’ll eat in the dining hall too.”

“How would you like to handle your bath?”

“Ah… I’ll do it myself.”

“Understood.”

Raymond bowed and left, saying he would prepare warm water. He seemed to remember Euro saying last night that he didn’t need assistance with his bath.

How should he put it—perhaps it was because he served the extremely sensitive Melione. Raymond moved without making a sound. He was also quick-witted and never asked things multiple times, making him the epitome of a competent butler.

Having spent more of his life as a modern person, Euro found it more comfortable to wash alone. Of course, he had received bathing assistance since being possessed, but he could never get used to it.

Perhaps it was because life in Norden had been uncomfortable. The servants were not kind to Euro Leches, the illegitimate son, and they looked like they were dying of boredom regardless of what he asked for.

The palace assigned to Euro Leches, the Third Prince, was quite far from the main palace; it was an old detached palace that hadn’t been properly maintained, and the allocated budget was extremely small.

Since even that small amount of money vanished whenever he had to purchase luxury goods for the occasional official appearance, the detached palace—where not a single crumb fell—was a place the servants avoided.

After all, the position of the master one served was essentially the same as the servant’s own position. Treatment and pay that were worse than serving the King’s mistress were enough to strip away even professional kindness.

Since he knew the sorrow of living in poverty, Kim Euro had let it slide, but Euro Leches, who likely hadn’t entered the palace by choice, must have had a very harsh life.

Euro guessed that the way his personality had become increasingly willful and stubborn was linked to that sense of victimhood.

Soon, upon being told that everything was ready, Euro entered the bathroom and was unauthorized copyonce again moved by the fragrance of the [Read on Read BL Novels]aromatic bath salts in the giant tub.

This was a luxury he wouldn’t be able to enjoy even if he returned to Norden, so he had to enjoy it fully before being kicked out of the Dukedom.

Still, he couldn’t be late for the meal, so while he enjoyed it, Euro finished his bath as quickly as possible.

His body and mind had been exhausted from the arduous journey, and he had lost quite a bit of weight, so his appearance had been a mess. Still, after scrubbing and polishing himself again today, he was relieved that he wasn’t completely unbearable to look at.

It was one thing to look a mess yesterday because it was late and he was exhausted from the long journey, but it would be problematic if he were still hard to look at after washing up and grooming himself neatly.

Before the possession, Euro had been an idol—albeit from a failed group. While his looks weren’t overwhelmingly superior compared to others, he certainly didn’t have an ugly face.

It would have been very unfair if he had the same name as Euro Leches but looked completely different, but fortunately, he had a face far more handsome than his own. Strangely, if one looked closely, there were quite a few odd similarities.

Gathering his various thoughts, he put on a bathrobe and stepped out of the bathroom. There, on the side table next to the door, a set of clean clothes was prepared, just like yesterday.

Since ready-to-wear clothing didn’t exist in this world, how were they prepared? It remained a mystery, but since he couldn’t call someone while naked to ask, he quietly began to dress.

It was then. He heard the sound of the door creaking open, and Euro, with his head down while adjusting the waist of his trousers, spoke nonchalantly.

“I’ll dress myself, so you don’t have to worry.”

However, for some reason, he didn’t hear the sound of the person leaving. Looking up with a puzzled expression, Euro fell back onto his buttocks and screamed.

“Aaagh! A-A tiger!”