Delair Dukedom, Augertine, Duke Silon's manor.

There was a luxurious rug extending all the way from the spacious front hall onto the staircase leading to the second floor, and the heels of Countess Retola's high-heeled shoes were currently piercing gently into the soft rug.

Right at this moment, two expressionless servants carried a lifeless male body down from the second floor. Judging from how well-rehearsed they seemed to be and the indifferent looks on their faces, it was as if they were merely carrying out an abandoned ornament.

Countess Retola took a quick glance at the body that was being carried past her, and as a result, she saw that the man's handsome face was already twisted with horror and agony. His eyes were wide with alarm and fear, and his bare chest was riddled with bite marks, bruises, and even a series of clear whip lashes. Countess Retola couldn't help but shudder slightly at the horrific sight, even though she had already witnessed similar scenes countless times here.

After making her way upstairs, Countess Retola carefully pushed open the door of the bedroom at the end of the corridor.

Inside the room, a gorgeous woman was lying in a reclining chair, resting with her eyes closed. It was clear that she was exhausted after a night of toil. There was only a thin silken gown draped over her bare body, and the smooth and delicate skin of her legs was fully exposed, basking in the lecherous atmosphere in the room. Even though there was a gown over her body, it was somehow even more scandalous a sight than if she had been completely naked.

Countess Retola was quite renowned for her promiscuity, but even she couldn't help but concede her inferiority at the sight of the woman on the reclining chair.

Even though Countess Retola harbored both disdain and fear toward Duchess Silon, as a woman, she was very much envious of Duchess Silon as well.

"Welcome, Felimta." Duchess Silon had one arm resting lazily over her eyes, while her other arm was draped over her own chest to prevent the soft silken gown from slipping off her body. She opened her eyes as she cast her gaze toward Countess Retola, displaying no intention to get up.

In the Delair Dukedom, the only person who dared to refer to Countess Retola directly by her first name was Duchess Silon.

"Have you been up all night?" Felimta took a glance at the room around her, and it was truly a chaotic mess. There was almost no place for her to stand. Female undergarments were strewn all over the room. Some of them were hanging from easels, some had fallen onto the cabinets, and there was also a massive puddle of spilled wine that had soaked through the sheep wool carpet in the room. In addition to that, there were all types of torture instruments littered around the reclining chair and the sofa, and it was quite a harrowing sight to behold. 

It was clear that the man that had just been carried out had perished to these torture instruments.

Felimta naturally didn't dare to allow any of her disdain to show on her face, and she sat down casually onto the sofa next to the reclining chair. She was fully aware that Sanfesa and the man who had just been carried out had most likely been entangled together in intercourse on the very spot where she was sitting not long ago, but there wasn't much that she could do about that. She was well aware of just how cruel and ruthless Sanfesa was.

"That guy was a real let-down. I was only able to play with him for a short while before he died," Safesa said as she casually swatted a pear of anguish off the reclining chair, then sat up straight in a lazy manner.

The pear of anguish fell onto the ground with a dull thud, and it seemed to be quite heavy.

Felimta snuck a glance toward the pear of anguish to find that it was in its opened state, and that it was still stained with the blood of its most recent victim, and she couldn't help but be struck by the urge to throw up. She hurriedly brought her own handkerchief to her nose so that she could breathe more evenly and stop herself from making any sounds of nausea.

Sanfesa had noticed all of these subtle gestures from Felimta, but she didn't really care. She was only keeping Felimta by her side because she felt Felimta to be a useful tool for her.

"I'm sorry to hear that he was a disappointment, but I'm sure what I'm about to show you won't disappoint," Felimta said as she opened the art tube that she was carrying with her, then pulled out a portrait inside before spreading it open on the easel, making sure to pull off the undergarments hanging off the easel before she did so.

Sanfesa couldn't help but heave a faint sigh as she realized what Felimta was doing. "I'm just a hobbyist when it comes to art. Do you really think I'm some kind of expert art critic?"

In reality, Sanfesa was actually extremely knowledgeable when it came to art. However, she thought that Felimta had brought another piece of artwork from some "master artist" here to appease her. She was growing rather exasperated with Felimta's efforts to appease her with art, and that was why she was playing off her own artistic knowledge. 

The one who was actually a complete novice when it came to art was actually Felimta. Most of the artworks that she collected were very mediocre, and they certainly weren't masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination, so Sanfesa was never very impressed with them.

Sanfesa had always put on a pleasant facade, pretending to accept the art that Felimta offered to her with glee, but in reality, she was throwing the artwork in the trash as soon as Felimta left.

However, once this piece of artwork was fully spread open on the easel, Sanfesa was completely rooted to the spot.

Even though it was a very simple portrait, it had perfectly captured the seduction and enticement in Felimta's eyes, and it felt as if her soul had been captured in the artwork.

"Where did you find this artist from? It feels like this piece of artwork could spring to life at any moment," Sanfesa remarked after staring at the piece of artwork for a long while. "It's completely captured how lecherous you always look."

"It sure has," Felimta said with a pleased expression, but at the same time, she was thinking to herself, I can't even begin to compare with you when it comes to lechery and degeneracy.

"Do you know who created this piece of artwork?" Felimta asked, and the smug look on her face was becoming more and more pronounced.

"Who is it?"

"Erwin Friar," Felimta revealed with a pleased smile.

"Erwin Friar? The artist that has recently become the talk of the entire city of Zans?" Sanfesa asked with a surprised expression. "It's no wonder that he was able to make such a name for himself in such a short time. He really does have some skills."

Sanfesa was originally inspecting the artwork while leaning back against her reclining chair, but the more she looked at it, the more captivated by it she became. Thus, she put on her gown, paying no heed to the fact that her chest was still completely exposed down the center, then made her way directly over to the easel to inspect the soulful portrait.

Meanwhile, Felimta was standing off to the side in silence, not daring to interrupt Sanfesa.

"How old is this Erwin? He's not some old geezer, is he?" Sanfesa suddenly asked as she turned to Felimta.

Felimta shook her head with a smile, then replied, "He's a very young man, and he's utterly gorgeous."

"Oh? Is that true?" Sanfesa was very much intrigued to hear this.

"Honestly, I would say he has no match in the city of Zans," Felimta replied, sparing no praise in her appraisal of Erwin.

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating?" Sanfesa asked with a hint of disbelief in her eyes, clearly doubting Felimta's taste when it came to men.

Sanfesa had always felt like Felimta's taste when it came to men was rather lackluster. She had seen all of Felimta's past lovers, and in her eyes, none of them were all that handsome at all.

Looking at Sanfesa's skeptical expression, a resigned look appeared on Felimta's face as she said, "You can doubt me, but I'm not the only one who saw him during that tea party at Count Onen's manor. You can ask other people about him as well, I'm sure they'll give you the same answer."

"Don't get mad, I'm just teasing you," Sanfesa chuckled. "I believe you, alright?"

"Tch." A displeased pout appeared on Felimta's face. "You'll know whether I'm right or not when you see him."

"No matter how handsome he is, he's just an artist. Where's the fun in that?" A woman's mood truly was as fickle as the weather. Sanfesa had seemed extremely interested in Erwin just a moment ago, yet all of a sudden, her interest seemed to have completely faded. "Regardless of how good-looking someone is, you'll inevitably get sick of looking at them after a few days."

Presumably, the man who had just been carried out was the most recent man she had gotten sick of looking at.

"It's the same for men, isn't it? No matter how beautiful a woman is, men will inevitably grow sick of them after playing with them for a while. There are no relationships that truly last forever," Sanfesa said with a derisive tone in her voice.

"That's where you're wrong. Erwin is not just an artist, he's also an extremely powerful magician," Felimta said.

"Oh? How powerful is he?" Sanfesa asked with a curious expression.

"That daughter of your cousin, Theresa, she has a guard called... was it Cheren? Anyway, her guard challenged Erwin to a battle during the tea party. Guess what happened?" Felimta said. "Her guard was beaten to within an inch of his life by Erwin!"

Felimta didn't mention to Sanfesa what had happened to Baron Teffrey. After all, Baron Teffrey was a subordinate to Sanfesa, so the fact that he had been utterly humiliated at the tea party was also indirect humiliation to Sanfesa. Thus, she didn't dare to mention that incident at all.

"Did that really happen? I know a thing or two about Cheren's abilities. You're telling me Erwin managed to beat him to within an inch of his life?" A hint of intrigue reappeared in Sanfesa's eyes as she spoke.

Before Felimta had a chance to reply, Sanfesa asked, "What about Theresa? Was she there as well?"

"She was there for sure. Not only was she there, she even tried to sneak attack Erwin from behind," Felimta replied with an amused smile.

"What happened?" Sanfesa knew that niece of hers quite well, so she wasn't surprised at all that Theresa would do something like that.

"Her spell ended up being blocked by Erwin's wife," Felimta replied.

Sanfesa couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this. She could already imagine the furious look on her niece's face at the time. After her laughter subsided, she asked, "Did you say his wife? So he's staying in Zans with his wife, is he?"

"That's right, and that wife of his is also a stunning beauty," Felimta said as she thought back to the events that had transpired during the tea party. She then immediately realized what she had just said and hurriedly added, "Of course, she still can't compare with your beauty."

Sanfesa paid no heed to Felimta's rigid flattery, and she asked, "So you're saying that this is a very good-looking couple, is that right?"

"Indeed, they are. They look like they're made for each other, and they're both excellent magicians as well," Felimta replied.

Sanfesa was silent for a moment before asking with slightly furrowed brows, "What are their backgrounds?"

"I wasn't able to find out much information about them, but the first time I met them was back in Belama," Felimta replied as she glanced at Sanfesa.

"Belama? Why did they go there?" Sanfesa asked with a curious expression.

Felimta shook her head in response, indicating that she didn't know the answer to that question. "All I know is that they were looking very abject at the time. Their clothes were in tatters, and they looked like a pair of beggars. Who could've imagined that he would earn himself such a massive reputation in Zans in such a short time?"

"Now that I think about it, that mural of his in the Holy Jade Cathedral has been widely acclaimed as a miraculous work of art. Given what you've said about him, I think I should find an opportunity to pay Zans a visit and have a look at both the mural and its artist," Sanfesa said.

On the subject of the Universal Church's Holy Jade Cathedral, a person sprang into Sanfesa's mind. "By the way, do you know of Pastor Lia from Zans?"

Felimta shook her head in response, then asked with a perplexed expression, "Aren't you an atheist? Is Pastor Lia supposed to be a pastor from the Holy World Church?"

Sanfesa's brows furrowed slightly, and she was silent for a moment before replying, "Lia is a pastor of the Universal Church, and he's always been living in the Holy Jade Cathedral."

"The Universal Church? How could you possibly have any ties with them?" Felimta asked with a surprised expression. In her eyes, Sanfesa was someone with a very strict view when it came to social classes. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so casual about killing young men who were outside of the nobility system.

"I don't have any ties with the Universal Church, of course," Sanfesa replied with an amused smile. "It's just that Pastor Lia has always been someone I've been unable to get a good grasp on, and now, there's this brilliant artist and magician who made his name from the Holy Jade Cathedral. With that in mind, I can't help but wonder if there's some type of connection between the two."