Only after sobbing into the pillow for a while longer did the woman realize just how awkward her posture was. It was as if Erwin were a doctor examining her rear end for hemorrhoids.

The woman fantasized that Erwin's gaze wasn't currently focused on her body, and she quietly laid herself flat on the bed, but her head was still buried into the pillow in silence, and she didn't dare to turn around.

"I see you've stopped crying," Erwin said with an indifferent expression. "In that case, I'm going to leave now."

It was clear that he no longer had much interest in the woman's body anymore.

"Hey, I still don't know your name yet!" Somehow, the woman was suddenly able to muster up a burst of courage that allowed her to look at Erwin.

Perhaps it was because she had been struck by how handsome he was, and she didn't want this encounter to be their first and last one.

"Is that important?" Erwin asked.

"Of course!" the woman replied with a determined expression in a drastic change from her previous shy demeanor, and completely disregarded the fact that she was naked as she sprang up from the bed before grabbing onto Erwin's hand, refusing to let him go.

Erwin faltered slightly upon seeing this, and he was wondering whether he should tell the woman the truth. His first instinct was to lie and provide a fake name but looking at the genuine expression on her face, he was a little reluctant to do so. At the same time, he was wondering if the woman was planning to use her rudimentary magic to try and keep him.

"My name is Erwin Friar." In the end, he still decided to tell her his real name. As a noble, he still had a sense of pride. If he were to give her a fake name after what he had done today, then he would look down on himself in the future.

"You're... that artist!" the woman exclaimed with an incredulous expression upon hearing this, and she stared blankly at Erwin before falling back onto the bed.

"You've seen the mural as well?" Erwin was rather surprised to hear this. He had only learned from Chahan that his mural had become the talk of the city.

"Of course I have." The woman nodded in response, and it was clear that she had no doubts whatsoever about Erwin's identity. Perhaps this was because she had caught a whiff of the oil paint on his hands earlier, or perhaps in her mind, only a man as handsome as Erwin would be capable of creating such an incredible piece of artwork. In reality, there was no rationality or logic involved, she was merely choosing to trust her own instincts.

The next thought that she was struck by was that she had to be the most fortunate woman in the world to have been able to meet such a brilliant man.

Looking at the undisguised joy and reverence in the woman's eyes, a sense of pride welled up in Erwin's heart, but it only lingered for a few seconds before fading.

This was because he wasn't convinced that the woman would've been able to understand the true meaning behind the mural, just as he wasn't expecting anyone else in the world to fully interpret the mural. How everyone else interpreted the painting was none of Erwin's business, and that was why he couldn't even be bothered to mark the mural with his own signature.

However, in the end, everyone in the city had still discovered his name, after all. Erwin's guess was that either Lia had revealed his name, or Lucidy had been the culprit. Of course, there was also a possibility that it was Chahan who had revealed his identity. Having said that, none of that mattered to him. He didn't care whether everyone in the city knew his name or not.

Erwin knew that the woman was about to launch into a discussion about art with him, so he smiled as he raised a hand to stop her, then indicated for her to put on her clothes first.

Erwin was a very practical man. Of course, he would be more than happy to talk about subjects like art and life with stunning beauties like Onean and Lana, but the same simply didn't apply to the woman standing before him.

However, the more aloof and indifferent Erwin acted toward the woman, the more enamored she became. Thus, a faint blush appeared on her face as she lowered her head and silently put on her clothes.

Unfortunately for Erwin, he was unable to escape a conversation with the woman in the end. During this time, he learned a valuable lesson, which was that women tended to become very talkative after doing the deed, while men were happier to bask in their newfound sense of mental clarity in silence.

As was often the case with men and women in the world, they were complete opposites in this regard. 

His stomach was growling incessantly as he listened to the woman going on and on about her insight into the mural on the cathedral's ceiling. Erwin felt like a student listening to a lecture, unable to leave or interject.

Finally, the woman's mouth was running a little dry from speaking, and taking advantage of this brief pause in her "lecture", Erwin hurriedly interjected, "By the way, I still don't know your name."

Only after asking for the woman's name did he realize just how bizarre this situation was. He didn't even know what her name was, yet he had just done something extremely intimate with her and was now listening to her long-winded critique of his artwork.

Then again, he never had the opportunity to ask for the woman's name because she hadn't stopped talking for even a single second prior to this.

"Oh, please pardon me, Mr. Erwin, I forgot to introduce myself," the woman said in an apologetic manner. "My name is Faya Onen."

Onen? Could it be that she's one of Count Onen's daughters? Erwin thought to himself.

With that in mind, Erwin cast his gaze toward Faya and asked, "Could you be..."

Faya knew what Erwin wanted to ask, and she smiled as she replied, "That's right, my father is Count Onen."

Erwin nodded in response, and his expression remained completely unchanged.

Meanwhile, Faya was looking at him with an intrigued expression. She had thought that Erwin would perhaps try to suck up to her a little after she revealed her own identity, but to her surprise, his expression was as indifferent as ever.

"Pardon me for being rude, but can I go now?" Erwin asked in a polite manner. He truly did feel as if he were about to pass out from hunger.

Faya was rather taken aback to hear this, and she lowered her head in a dejected manner. She had thought that Erwin would've at least been a little inclined to stay with her.

"Then... How about we have some dinner together?" Erwin couldn't bear to see a woman distraught like this, so decided to extend an invitation to her for a meal.

However, Faya shook her head in response, then pretended to look out at the night sky through the window as she replied, "It's already quite late, so I have to go home."

Erwin nodded in response, then rose to his feet and made his way to the entrance of the room before making an inviting hand gesture.

Faya put on a polite smile, passing Erwin with a courteous nod before making her way downstairs, lifting the hem of her own dress slightly as she did so.

As Erwin watched her pass by in front of him, he said in a quiet voice, "Farewell, Miss Faya."

A faint blush reappeared on Faya's face, and she lowered her head as she quickened her footsteps. 

However, she only just left the room before hurriedly rushing back, then cocked her head to the side as she said, "Mr. Erwin, my mother will be holding a tea party in our home this weekend. Would you be able to honor us with your presence?"

Erwin faltered slightly upon hearing this, and after a brief hesitation, he decided to smile and nod in acceptance of the invitation.

Following Faya's departure, Erwin couldn't help but marvel at the unpredictable nature of life once again. Who could've thought that the woman he had encountered under such strange circumstances would be the daughter of Count Onen?

He cast his gaze toward the broken wall, and he presumed that Faya would find someone to repair it. Thus, he returned the same way that he had come, making his way into the neighboring house before emerging onto the street again.

While passing by the house that he had Faya had just been in, he took another glance at it, and he thought to himself with an amused smile, I can't believe the count's daughter would use her father's property like this. Looks like she doesn't lose to me when it comes to absurdity.

At the same time, he couldn't help but think of Larwood, who had frequently brought all types of women to a small mansion under Duke Nandoon's name. He knew that if it weren't a woman that his father would approve of, he would be in for a severe beating if he dared to bring them home.

...

By the time Erwin returned to his hotel room with a few bags of food, the door of Onean's room was still closed.

Is she trying to ascend? She hasn't eaten or drank anything all day, Erwin thought to himself.

Erwin made his way over to Onean's room and knocked on her door while chewing on a piece of bread. "Hey, do you want something to eat?"

A long yawn rang out from inside the room, following which the door was opened to reveal a bleary-eyed Onean.

"You sure went to bed early tonight," Erwin said with a surprised expression.

Instead of answering him, Onean's brows furrowed slightly with suspicion as she took a gentle whiff at his body. "What is that smell?"

"Wh... What smell?" Erwin stammered in response.

"Where did you go just now?" Onean asked as a dark look appeared on her face.

"I... I didn't go anywhere," Erwin replied with a serious expression. "I was home the entire time, and I only went out just now to buy some food."

"Stop lying to me, I remember when you left for food," Onean said as her brows furrowed even tighter.

Only then did Erwin recall that he had knocked on her door on the way out. Unfortunately, he had been hungry for so long that his brain wasn't working properly.

"You went to some places that you shouldn't have gone to, didn't you?" Onean asked as she lowered her gaze, taking an indifferent glance at Erwin's lower body.

She had heard about what Erwin had been like back in Sarus, and given that he was lying to her about where he had been, she automatically began to assume that Erwin had just been to some unscrupulous places.

"No, of course not," Erwin denied, lying to Onean's face with a shameless grin.

"Really? Then why is your face so pale?" Erwin felt chills run down his spine as he looked at the smile on Onean's face.

"Is it?" Erwin asked with a surprised expression. "Maybe it's because I spent too much brain power studying 'Laws of Space and Time' during the afternoon."

"Is that right? I thought you expended too much stamina instead," Onean said as she nodded with a serious expression, but the look in her eyes indicated that she was clearly implying something.

"How could that be?" Erwin replied with the best innocent expression that he could muster up, pretending not to understand what Onean was implying.

"Is there anything else you have to say to me?" Onean asked as she rolled her eyes at him, then yawned to indicate that she wanted to go back to sleep.

"Ah yes, I want you to attend a tea party with me this weekend."

"What tea party?"

"It's a tea party being held at Count Onen's manor."

"Oh? How did you manage to acquaint yourself with Count Onen?" Onean knew that aside from tonight, Erwin hadn't gone out much at all during the past few days.

"Don't worry about it, just come with me this weekend."

Onean thought about it for a moment before nodding in response. She wanted to keep herself away from the public eye as much as possible, but having caught a whiff of the woman's perfume on Erwin's body, she still decided to attend the tea party to see what it was all about. She had actually only been bluffing by asking whether Erwin had gone to some unscrupulous places, but she quickly realized later on that the perfume she was smelling from his body was not one that the average hostess could afford.