Chapter 83

After that, it was a continuous series of hardships as expected.

Dozens, hundreds of letters were delivered every day.

The nobles on Leopold’s side sent simple thank-you letters, as if their conversation with the prince had concluded, but Ernst’s side was a bit different.

Letters asking if I was truly neutral or trying to lure me to Ernst’s faction were the norm.

Since my relationship with Leopold was just a simple friendship and I had no intention of outright rejecting Ernst’s faction, I could reply vaguely.

Especially the excuse that I wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with Princess Leonor as a fellow knight turned out to be surprisingly effective.

The real problem was the flood of letters related to political marriages… and the outright love letters from lunatics.

I couldn’t just ignore them.

I had to read them to figure out what kind of letters they were.

Though I could usually tell from the first line.

“Your vibrant eyes made my heart tremble,” or “Your sword gleamed as you saved people, like the incarnation of Elpinel…”

Reading further made me cringe so hard that I crumpled the letters instead.

Still, I could tolerate these love letters.

They were annoying, but bearable.

The political marriage proposals, however, were a complete mess.

Some boasted about their family.

Others rambled on about trade with the eastern regions.

One even suggested reviving the Medean family.

And then there was the guy who pointed out my unstable position and told me to come to him for the sake of the empire’s peace and my own safety.

“Through the union of civilization and barbarism, the harmony of two races…? This guy is seriously out of his mind.”

I was so dumbfounded that I threw it into the ashtray and burned it with a cigarette.

What kind of idiot proposes a political marriage while outright calling the other party barbarians?

Then again, anyone sending me such letters at this point probably isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

If they had any sense, they’d have noticed the atmosphere among the higher-ups and realized this nonsense was pointless.

In conclusion, the guys sending me love letters or marriage proposals are just delusional fools among the nobility.

“Nigel, can you ask the servants to send a blanket reply to these guys?”

“I believe that’s possible. What should the message say?”

“Hmm… ‘Unfortunately, I have no intention of marrying. Ever. To anyone.’ That should do it.”

Not sure if they’ll get the message, though.

“Understood. You must be tired, so it might be good to rest a bit.”

“Yeah… I need a break.”

I lit a cigarette and looked out the window.

In the garden, Freide was enthusiastically beating up Damien. Just as I’d asked.

At least that was a somewhat pleasant sight.

—

Lacey returned to her special quarters.

She hadn’t completely finished her work but had come back for a short break.

Perfect timing. I had some questions for her.

…Though I felt a bit awkward meeting her after that shocking speech of hers.

It’s not like she was wrong about killing the beastmen, but the content of that speech… reminded me of some art school wannabe.

Honestly, is that something a saint candidate should be saying?

Still, if not now, who knows when I’d get another chance to see her? I had to go.

I left my room and headed to the third floor.

The third floor, which had been completely burned down, had somehow been restored to a decent state.

Come to think of it, Lacey’s room must have been destroyed too.

She must have been pretty shocked when she returned.

I knocked on the door with the cross hanging on it.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Hashalleur. Do you have a moment?”

“…Come in.”

The door opened.

Lacey was wearing casual clothes.

Her usual white saintly robes and a few nun outfits were neatly hung on a hook on one side of the wall.

Well, of course, she wouldn’t want to wear those clothes in her private quarters with no one around.

They’re not easily dirtied, but they are a bit cumbersome and uncomfortable.

The room was cleaner than I expected.

Aside from the basic furniture, a cross and a mace hanging on the wall, there were hardly any decorations.

On the desk, there was an open book and a journal with something half-written, and the bookshelf next to it was packed with various books.

Does she enjoy reading?

Curious, I glanced at the titles.

‘Classification of Heresies: Racial Gods, Ancient Gods, and Evil Gods.’

‘Unified Faith: The Significance and Conclusion of Religious Conflicts.’

‘Emperor Carolus and the History of the Great Celestial Religion.’

These are pretty standard titles.

Perhaps she’s diligently studying theology in her spare time to be elected as a saint.

That’s quite a commendable attitude.

‘Racial Phylogeny.’

‘The Threat of Other Races.’

‘Public Speaking Techniques for Mobilizing the Masses.’

Uh…

This is bringing back memories of that speech.

‘The Inefficiency of Burning at the Stake: Preventing Death by Asphyxiation.’

‘Justifiable Interrogations for Apostates.’

‘Degeneration Theory Proven by History.’

…Let’s stop here.

—

Lacey, who had guided me to the table, handed me a glass of water.

“Since your visit is unexpected, I apologize for only having this to offer. So, what brings you here?”

“There are a couple of things I wanted to ask. You’re the only one who can answer them. They’re related to curses.”

This is her area of expertise.

“I’ll take care of it, you know.”

“A curse… you say.”

After taking a sip of water, he placed a case on the table. A metal case about 30 cm wide and 1 m long.

He unlocked it and showed the contents to Lacey. A pale silver gauntlet emitting a faint chill. It was the Ice Blade.

“I’d like to hear an expert’s opinion on the nature of the curse on this item and if there’s any way to resolve it.”

“…An artifact, and a rather deep curse at that. Who did you get this from?”

Lacey’s voice trembled slightly. She seemed quite shocked.

“When I was in the east, I asked for a weapon to be made, and they gave me this. The problem is, whenever I wear it, my condition… doesn’t improve.”

“Well, of course. This was made to kill you. It contains two types of curses.”

“To kill me?”

So this was an assassination tool…? Judging from the original story where he wore it until the end, it seems it failed.

Lacey took out the Ice Blade and began examining it seriously.

“Yes. With the chill of the underworld and the curse of madness added, the wearer would gradually weaken and eventually die in a frenzy. The chill of the underworld is due to the resentment of the material itself… and the other, the curse of madness, was intentionally infused by someone. It seems you had many enemies in the east.”

“Someone… There shouldn’t be any sorcerers left in the east.”

If it’s about sorcerers, Ka`har killed them all, they say. To tamper with something meant for me, it would have to be someone from the royal palace. Could it be one of my so-called brothers?

“I wouldn’t know about that. But it’s clear it wasn’t just one or two. For a curse to break through anti-magic and have such an effect, multiple sorcerers would have had to combine their powers. If activated, it would have been effective, especially when linked with Life Force.”

No wonder. It was strange that the curse affected me despite having anti-magic. It turns out the curse was strong enough to break through anti-magic, and Hersela’s Life Force reacted to it, causing this.

It was a vicious cycle. Every time Life Force was accumulated, the curse grew stronger, and the madness would drive one to accumulate even more Life Force.

Was the madness of Hersela born from this curse?

“By the way… what about the other one? You mentioned the chill of the underworld? That was due to the material itself, right?”

“Yes. This material, this spirit barrier. It seems to be from an Ego Beast. They call them spirit creatures over there, right? I thought they were already extinct.”

If it’s the material of the Ice Blade, it might be the silver serpent from the Frost Valley…? I’ve only read about it in texts, so I’m not sure.

“The vengeful spirit of the slain is still bound to the corpse. It carries the chill of the underworld, weakening everything it touches.”

“Even in death, it’s like that… So, can it be resolved?”

“Hmm…”

Lacey hesitated as she put the Ice Blade down.

“I can weaken the curse of madness, but completely removing it will be difficult. As for the vengeful spirit’s curse, we could incinerate the spirit itself, but are you okay with that? If we do, this weapon will just become a simple scale gauntlet. Its strength will weaken, and it will lose its curse-inflicting effects.”

I’ll have to think about that. If it’s not durable and its attack power weakens, it’s just a piece of junk that drives the wearer insane.

“…Then let’s leave the chill as it is. If we weaken the curse of madness, how much can we reduce it?”

“You’ll still feel violent impulses, but at least you won’t lose your mind. Though if you willingly succumb to the madness, it would be pointless.”

So it’s just a temporary fix. But if I don’t lose my mind or go on another killing spree, it should be usable. I should be grateful for that much.

“It’s ambiguous… Such things always cause problems at the worst times.”

“If you’re that worried, there’s a fundamental solution. Accumulate more deeds. More than you have now.”

“Deeds?”

“Yes. Not Life Force stained with innocent blood, but deeds of protection and warrior’s feats. Deeds are what cling to a person’s soul. The footprints of their life and the proof of their beliefs.”

Lacey smiled slightly, like an adult giving advice to a child.

“Firmly accumulated deeds will grant you an unshakable spirit, no matter the situation. Even the curse of madness won’t be able to touch you.”

Deeds, huh… In simple terms, if I become stronger, I won’t be affected by the curse.

“That’s still a long way off. For now, just suppress it.”

“That’ll be 500 gold.”

Huh? It’s not free?