The Extra's Regressor Wives

The next day, a black carriage slowly came to a stop in front of a massive building in the eastern district of the city.

Lathel stepped down first. The moment he looked up at the structure before him, he stood still for several seconds to take it in, because the place was larger than any merchant guild he had ever seen.

The entire exterior was built from black stone with golden decorative lines running across it. Above the entrance hung an emblem of a coin pierced through by a sword, while two rows of towering stone pillars stretched from the plaza all the way to the main doors.

Dozens of luxurious carriages were stopping outside one after another to drop off guests. Most of the people arriving were dressed extremely well, ranging from nobles and merchants to mercenaries carrying expensive equipment. A few even concealed their faces beneath cloaks.

The guards stationed around the entrance did not inspect identities too strictly, but judging from their equipment and the aura they gave off, it was obvious that ordinary people absolutely should not cause trouble here.

Lathel turned toward Catrina.

She was still wearing her familiar silver mask, while a long cloak covered most of the black dress beneath it. Seeing him look at her, Catrina calmly asked,

"Don’t like it?"

Lathel shook his head and signed.

Where is this?

This time, Catrina did not pretend not to understand. She glanced at the building and answered, "An auction house. Some fairly rare medicinal ingredients and magical artifacts are being auctioned today. I was already planning to come take a look, so I thought I might as well bring you out for a walk."

Lathel nodded.

But after the two of them passed through the main entrance, he quickly realized that this place was not merely an auction house.

The upper floors were indeed used for trading and auctions. Magical boards positioned throughout the main hall continuously displayed lists of upcoming items, including high-grade medicinal ingredients, magic cores, weapons, ancient magical artifacts, and even several objects whose origins were not clearly stated.

The lower floor was completely different.

A very wide corridor stretched deep underground. From below came constant cheers mixed with the clash of metal and excited shouting.

Lathel frowned the moment he heard it.

Pandora, inside his soul, also quickly sensed the large number of people gathered there.

"There are a lot of people downstairs."

Catrina noticed Lathel’s expression and explained, "It’s an arena. People don’t only come here to buy things. There are beast fights, gladiator matches, and some battles between slaves. Spectators can place bets on the results."

Lathel’s steps immediately slowed.

Catrina noticed at once, but she did not tell him that such things were normal, nor did she say he needed to get used to this world.

She simply said,

"If you don’t like it, we don’t have to go down there. We can just stay in the auction area."

Lathel nodded and continued walking beside her.

At the same time, on the highest floor of the building, a female fox demon was reclining lazily on a wide, soft sofa.

Her black-and-purple hair was tied to one side, with several strands falling over her chest. Two tall fox ears, faintly purple on the inside, occasionally twitched in response to the sounds outside.

Her golden-orange eyes carried both allure and danger. Even while lying there lazily, she still made it difficult for anyone facing her to completely lower their guard.

The dress she wore was mostly black, fitted closely to her body with red accents around the collar and waist. Soft white fur wrapped around both arms, while golden ornaments and red gemstones gave her an appearance that combined noble luxury with the distinct Eastern style of the fox demon race.

She was Kiyome.

One of the four Saintess candidates.

A female subordinate stood in front of the sofa with her head lowered.

"My Lady, Duchess Catrina Veyr has just arrived."

Kiyome showed no reaction.

The fox tail behind her continued swaying lazily.

The subordinate continued,

"There is also a man beside her."

The tail stopped instantly.

Kiyome opened her eyes slightly.

"A man?"

"Yes."

"Identity?"

"We haven’t confirmed it yet, but..." The woman hesitated briefly before continuing. "He cannot speak."

Kiyome’s eyes immediately opened fully.

The laziness on her face disappeared almost at once.

"Mute?"

"Yes."

"Age?"

"Around twenty."

"What does he look like?"

The subordinate briefly described Lathel’s appearance.

The more Kiyome listened, the clearer the smile on her lips became.

By the time the woman finished, Kiyome slowly sat up, picked up the folding fan from the table, covered half of her face with it, and let out a very soft laugh.

"Ha..."

The subordinate did not understand why her attitude had suddenly changed.

Kiyome raised her head.

Her smile was still beautiful, but her eyes had become so cold that the woman in front of her instinctively lowered her head even further.

"There was a road to Heaven, yet you refused to take it. Hell had no gate, yet you came knocking on your own."

The subordinate became even more confused, but Kiyome had no intention of explaining.

She stood, picked up the thin cloak beside her, draped it over her shoulders, and walked toward the door.

"My Lady?"

"An honored guest has arrived."

Kiyome opened the door, the smile still lingering on her lips.

"Of course I have to welcome him personally."

Lathel and Catrina had just crossed the first-floor hall when a woman’s voice suddenly sounded ahead.

"What a rare sight."

Catrina stopped immediately.

Lathel also raised his head toward the staircase by reflex.

A female fox demon was slowly walking down.

Her appearance quickly drew the attention of many people around them, not only because of her race, but because her presence was simply too striking.

Her fox ears moved faintly with every step, black-and-purple hair falling over one shoulder, while her golden eyes curved with a smile friendly enough to make most people unconsciously lower their guard.

Kiyome stepped down from the final stair and opened her fan.

"I thought I was seeing things."

Her gaze settled first on Catrina rather than Lathel.

Catrina noticed immediately.

Kiyome knew that she had noticed.

It took only an instant for both women to understand that the other was deliberately acting as though Lathel were not the most important person in this meeting.

Kiyome smiled.

"To think Duchess Veyr would appear somewhere like this. If word gets out, I imagine the nobles will have plenty of interesting things to discuss tomorrow."

Catrina replied coldly,

"Do I need to report where I go to you?"

"Of course not."

Kiyome laughed.

Only then did her golden eyes seem to casually sweep over Lathel once before quickly returning to Catrina.

On the surface, she remained calm.

Inside, countless thoughts were already running through her mind.

’It really is Lathel.’

There was no mistaking him.

That face.

Those eyes.

Even the habit of standing slightly off to the side whenever someone else was speaking was almost exactly the same as she remembered.

Only one thing was completely wrong.

Catrina.

’Why are the two of them already together?’

According to Kiyome’s memories, Catrina and Lathel’s connection should still have been extremely weak at this point.

Many important events between them had not even happened yet.

And yet Catrina had already brought him here herself.

Clearly, this was another deviation.

An unpleasant feeling immediately rose inside Kiyome.

She did not want to call it jealousy.

At least, that was what she told herself for now.

What truly made her wary was the increasing number of changes appearing around Lathel.

In her previous life, he had been like a stone blocking the road, one that no one truly noticed until everything was already too late.

Now, that stone had begun moving much earlier than it should have.

Kiyome needed to know why.

But she absolutely could not reveal too much interest in Lathel.

So she quickly returned her attention to Catrina and covered her lips with her fan.

"Still... I’m even more curious about the person beside you, Duchess."

Catrina’s expression did not change.

Lathel turned toward her.

Kiyome tilted her head slightly, pretending as though she had only just truly noticed him.

"A man?"

Catrina calmly asked,

"Is there a problem?"

"No."

Kiyome’s smile deepened.

"It’s simply common knowledge that Duchess Veyr rarely allows men near her. Yet now, not only do you keep one beside you, you even personally bring him out..."

She deliberately let the final words trail off.

Catrina naturally understood what she meant.

A moment later, she reached out and took hold of Lathel’s arm.

"My man."

Lathel’s body immediately stiffened.

Pandora also made an interested sound inside his soul.

"Oh?"

Kiyome paused slightly.

Catrina continued as naturally as ever.

"I brought my man out to have some fun. What’s strange about that?"

Lathel immediately turned toward her, his face quickly heating up as his hands moved in rapid signs.

I’m not—

Catrina understood perfectly.

Her expression did not change in the slightest.

Kiyome, however, did not understand sign language.

She only saw Lathel suddenly turn red, then looked at Catrina’s hand holding his arm.

Another unpleasant feeling immediately rose inside her.

Still, Kiyome concealed it almost instantly.

She only laughed.

"So that’s how it is. Duchess Veyr certainly moves quickly."

Catrina looked at her and replied calmly,

"At least I know what should be kept close."

Kiyome’s smile stiffened slightly.

The two women stared at each other for several seconds.

Lathel stood between them, completely unable to understand why the atmosphere had suddenly become colder.

Pandora, meanwhile, sounded much more cheerful.

"I think these two want to fight."

Lathel had the same feeling.

He immediately pulled his arm away from Catrina.

The moment Kiyome saw that, her eyes curved with amusement.

"Looks like this gentleman is a little shy."

She stepped closer.

For the first time, she looked directly at Lathel and smiled.

"I’m Kiyome."

Lathel gave a slight nod and was about to take out his writing board when she spoke first.

"No need to be so formal. I know speaking is inconvenient for you."

Lathel’s hand immediately stopped.

Catrina narrowed her eyes slightly.

Kiyome also realized that she had spoken a little too quickly, so she immediately added in a natural tone,

"Information travels quickly in a merchant guild like this. If someone is important enough for Duchess Veyr to personally bring here, of course I would look into him a little."

The explanation was reasonable enough.

Catrina did not expose her.

Kiyome looked at Lathel again.

Her smile was so gentle that she seemed like a completely different woman from the one who had spoken about Hell only a few minutes earlier.

"Since you’re already here, let me play the host and show the two of you around."

Catrina did not immediately agree.

Lathel had also intended to refuse.

But Kiyome turned toward Catrina and deliberately smiled.

"Or is the Duchess afraid I might steal your man?"

Catrina remained silent for several seconds.

Then the corner of her lips beneath the mask curved faintly upward.

"You can try."

Kiyome paused for the briefest moment.

Catrina ignored it and turned toward Lathel.

"Want to look around for a while?"

He hesitated.

In the end, he nodded.

Lathel had no idea that in that exact moment, Catrina had already made a decision in silence.

She wanted to verify her theory one more time.

If her suspicion about the Dark Curse was truly correct—

then the woman in front of her was the perfect person to test it on.

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