Erwin was rather deflated upon hearing this. He was a very pragmatic person, so he was naturally well aware that what Aglea had said was correct.

Onean and Lana were giggling incessantly after hearing what Aglea had to say, and Theresa was also looking at Erwin with an amused expression.

"You really are a lucky man to have so many beautiful women around you," Aglea jibed with a suggestive smile.

Erwin looked around to find that Lana and Onean were both stoically ignoring him, and he didn't know how to reply.

"Indeed, you're incredible, Mr. Erwin..." Yuho said in a raspy voice, not forgetting to flatter Erwin even though he was in great pain.

Erwin was unable to suppress his amusement at the sight of Yuho's pitiful display, and he burst into laughter.

"You have no empathy at all, do you?" Faya grumbled as she glared at Erwin.

This was something that no one had expected. Faya very rarely displayed any hostility toward Erwin, yet even she was piling onto him.

"Looks like it's best for me to just keep my mouth shut," Erwin sighed with a resigned expression.

Right at this moment, Turan came walking in just in time to hear what Erwin had said, and he chuckled, "You've got that right. I reckon you should come and drink with me tonight instead."

"Where were you just now? I didn't see you at all," Erwin asked.

"You think I'd stay here with all of you monsters battling it out? I can say goodbye to this life if any of your attacks even graze me! As soon as I saw the first sign of danger, I immediately ran out as fast as I could," Turan said in a justified manner.

"Your wisdom is truly unmatched," Erwin praised in a facetious voice.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Everyone, have a few drinks and settle down. In the meantime, I'll get them to prepare an extra golden deer. The way they cook their venison is very similar to how they do it in the imperial palace, and it's an exceptional dish," Turan said with a wide smile.

"How exceptional could it possibly be?" Erwin asked with an unconvinced expression. After all, he was staying in this hotel, so he had thought that he had tasted all of the top dishes that the establishment had to offer.

"Prior to roasting the venison, it's first marinated using saffron, cardamom, and cinnamon. Once the roasting process begins, the smell is absolutely heavenly. It's not something that you can taste in any other restaurant," Turan said with a blissful expression.

"Why haven't I heard you mention it before?" Erwin asked.

"I'm only mentioning it now because today is a grand occasion," Turan said. "With so many of your soulmates here, we can't have them be served anything less than the best that the hotel has to offer."

Aglea couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this, which Erwin forced a smile onto his own face as he said, "If it isn't for the fact that this masked senior is here, I'd be stuffing that entire golden deer up your rear end!"

Turan immediately rushed into the kitchen to escape from Erwin's wrath.

"You still don't know my name yet, right?" the masked woman asked with a faint smile. "My name is Aglea."

Erwin carefully sifted through his memories to see if he had heard this name before, but that did not appear to be the case. However, that was hardly a cause for concern as the Lodais Organization would never have information on her. For some reason, just hearing the name "Aglea" was enough to send chills running down his spine. It was clear that this was a name that had a lot of history attached to it.

"Senior Aglea, why does it seem to me like you share a very close relationship with His Majesty?" Erwin asked in a careful manner.

"Don't try to coax information out of me. I can tell you that I'm already supposed to be dead. As for His Majesty, he merely fears me," Aglea replied with a smile.

Erwin's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but wonder what exactly Aglea had meant when she said that she was supposed to be dead.

"You think far too much for your own good. You're still a young man, yet you're already acting like those major conspirators. If you're worried about me, then I suggest you save your energy," Aglea said with a faint smile. "Prince Xar, Prime Minister Henry, and His Majesty could all be potential enemies for you in the future, but I won't ever oppose whatever objectives you have. I'm just bored and want to see if any remarkable young people have emerged in the empire during my 20-year absence. As for your plot to overthrow the nobility or whatever, I have no interest in that at all. I'm a very simple person. In my eyes, any problem that can be resolved using the sword in my hand can't be considered to be a problem."

Erwin could only nod in admiration upon hearing this.

...

The dinner feast proved to be a very lively and joyous affair.

Erwin discovered that when Aglea wasn't making threats on other people's lives, she was a very direct and enthusiastic person, and after having a few drinks, Erwin was beginning to open up to her.

Aglea was also quite surprised to see that despite all his cunning and wiles, Erwin was also a very straightforward and boisterous character after having some alcohol.

"It's a real pity, Senior Aglea," Erwin sighed as he shook his head with a forlorn expression while looking at Aglea's half-masked face.

"A pity about what?" Aglea asked.

"If you were a little more beautiful, I would definitely be targeting you as a new romantic interest," Erwin said as he looked straight into Aglea's gray eyes, and it was unclear whether he was actually enraptured by her or if he simply appeared dazed due to the effects of the alcohol. "If only..."

When it came to courage as a pervert, Erwin was truly unmatched in this world.

Onean and Lana couldn't help but tense up after hearing what Erwin had just said.

Lana even went as far as to drag Erwin slightly further away from Aglea for fear that Aglea's temper would flare up, leading to an instant demise for Erwin.

To their surprise, not only was Aglea not enraged at all to hear this, she burst into laughter instead.

"I've been pondering something for the past 20 years without being able to find an answer, but I think I finally know the answer now after meeting you," Aglea said with a smile.

"What is it?" Erwin asked with a curious expression.

"A man who has no love for women is not necessarily destined for great things, and it's not necessarily the case that someone infatuated with women can't become a hero," Aglea said with a faint smile. "It's no wonder that you were able to swindle so many beautiful women to your side."

"Hey, how could you call it swindling?" Erwin protested in an indignant manner. "I love them with all my heart, and I'm willing to die for them. How could you call that swindling?"

After that, he encircled his arms around the waists of Lana and Onean like a bold drunkard before giving each of them a kiss. The first one that he kissed was Onean, so Lana was naturally very displeased, and when it came time for her turn, she pushed Erwin's face away vigorously to deny him a kiss.

The two women were very disgruntled by his drunken display, but they decided to let him off the hook, seeing as he had been quite good to both of them in the past. Thinking back to everything they had gone through on their journey from the south to the north, Onean was more than willing to forgive these minor transgressions. As for Lana, her heart felt on the verge of melting into a puddle whenever she thought of how Erwin had risked everything to save her at the imperial palace.

Spurred on by the effects of the alcohol, Erwin rose to his feet before tapping his glass with his fork as he declared, "I propose a toast!"

"Cheers!"

...

That night, Erwin had to be helped back to his own bedroom by Onean and the others. He was already black-out drunk, and if there had been no one around to help him to bed, then he would've curled up in a corner and stayed the night there.

Prior to her departure, Lana took a long glance back at the man laying on the bed.

If it weren't for the fact that Aglea had already cleared her throat outside several times, she would've definitely been unwilling to leave.

Around midnight, Erwin woke up in Theresa's arms. Thankfully, all of the wine that they had drunk was top-quality produce, so he was only feeling a little thirsty and hadn't developed much of a headache.

Theresa was laying on the bed in a light slumber, only to be woken up by Erwin's movement, and looking at his bright red cheesk, she asked in a gentle voice, "Are you alright?"

"'I'm really thirsty," Erwin replied in a raspy voice. "It's alright, you can stay in bed. I'll go get some water myself."

Erwin could see that Theresa was looking quite wary, so he didn't want to trouble her.

"Stay put. I'll get you some water." Theresa pressed Erwin back down onto the bed, then poured a large glass of lemon-infused water, which she had already prepared in advance.

"You really are taking good care of me," Erwin said with an amused expression as he looked up at Theresa's delicate features under the moonlight.

"Is my service satisfactory, Master?" Theresa asked in a spiteful voice, the handed Erwin the glass of water before immediately diving into his arms and sinking her teeth viciously into his chest.

"Ow!" Erwin grimaced, and he seemed to realize something as he caught sight of the faint tear streaks on her face.

"I know I can't compare with those two," Theresa said in a dejected voice as she held onto Erwin with all her might. "I just hope that you won't abandon me someday."

"Since when did you become so pitiful and unconfident?" Erwin asked as his brows furrowed slightly. "Don't be like this. The Theresa that I met for the first time wasn't like this."

"What was I like when you first met me?" Theresa asked with a curious expression as she raised her head, and her blue eyes were particularly clear and inquisitive under the moonlight.

"We met for the first time during that tea party," Erwin said. "As soon as I saw you, I immediately came to the conclusion that you were not a good person."

An amused smile appeared on his face as he thought back to the tea party at Count Onen's manor.

"What are you smirking about?" Theresa asked before sinking her teeth into Erwin's arm with an indignant expression. "How do I not look like a good person?"

"Not only did you turn your personal guard into a human puppet, you attacked me from behind while I was in my most vulnerable position. Does that sound like something a good person does?" Erwin jibed.

"I just didn't want to lose," Theresa said with an indignant pout. "How was I supposed to know that you and the princess were so powerful?"

"You see? Competitiveness has always been an integral part of your character," Erwin said as he looked down at Theresa. "Don't ever forget that."

"So you said all of that just to try and enlighten me?" A deep blush immediately appeared on Theresa's face, and it was as if she were the one who had had too much to drink.

"I just feel like both of them are so powerful and beautiful. Am I not redundant compared to them?" Theresa asked as she looked up at Erwin with a pitiful expression. "As you know, with my body, I won't be able to make any further advancements in magic..."

"So you're saying only powerful women can stay by my side?" Erwin asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Is that not the case? You're one of the most pragmatic people I know," Theresa replied.

"You have to realize that even a beautiful woman who doesn't know any magic is still useful to me," Erwin said as a lewd grin appeared on his face.

"Get your hands off me!" Theresa protested as she grabbed onto the hands that were holding onto her waist. "You can't get intimate with them, so you turn to me? I'm not just some outlet for your pent-up frustration."

However, Erwin refused to let her go and locked her in a tight embrace from behind.

The blush on her face deepened even further as she felt the scorching heat of Erwin's body against her back, and she was at a temporary loss for what to do.

In the past, she had always been very averse to physical intimacy with other men, but on this night, she no longer wanted to resist.

It was rather pitiful that this was the only thing that she could offer to him, but in this moment, she was only glad that she at least had this much to offer. On this night, all she wanted was to keep Erwin to herself.

With that in mind, she suckled frantically on his lips as she dug her nails vigorously into his back.

...