Chapter 33

It seemed that the boys were frustrated because they would soon have to return to where they originally came from.

'This palace is also leaving like this.'

-It's not as if we're leaving forever, in fact, I'm already looking forward to it.

'How miserable will it be?'

The girl who had been sitting on my thigh like a horse turned her head and smiled.

-Isn't it interesting? I'm also curious about what you will do.

I don't know what to do with such high expectations.

"Your Highness."

I was preparing to leave the palace quietly.

When I raised my head at the unexpected voice, an elderly man, guided by Amy, slowly walked in.

He was around 70 years old.

However, despite his age being considered very old by the continent's standards, he was a stern man who exuded an immense pressure.

"Sir Paletris, I greet the small sun of the kingdom."

"Please rise. Duke Paletris."

Under normal circumstances, he would use informal speech, but he was not that kind of person.

He was one of the mere three Swordmasters in the Laun Kingdom, and among them, he was the one with the highest skills and experience.

He was a true knight, respected by name alone by the knights of the Laun Kingdom and many others across the continent.

That wasn't all.

He was also a crucial figure in toppling the noble faction I had chosen.

A Swordmaster is considered a strategic weapon.

Although he didn't have a large number of troops, his personal might alone made him a significant force in the country. With the troops he possessed and the power of his ancient family, he held a considerable position.

He usually proclaimed neutrality and appropriately restrained the noble faction, but now he could no longer remain neutral.

A few days after thoroughly raiding the information guild, I infiltrated his bedroom and left all the information the noble faction wanted to hide.

Given his upright character and immense loyalty, he would immediately start to strongly restrain the noble faction once he verified the authenticity of the information.

"I heard you are leaving."

"That's right. All royal family members except the crown prince must leave the palace."

"You might become the crown prince in the future."

"That will be a matter for then."

I smiled, and he adjusted his monocle and laughed wistfully.

"Truly, you have grown a lot. The late queen would have been very proud if she saw you."

"To my mother, I am just a disobedient son."

At my calm words, he shook his head.

"If you say that, then I, who failed to protect the queen, should have bitten my tongue and died long ago."

I smiled at his words.

Unlike my father, who gave up everything after my mother's death, he had secretly investigated and gathered evidence on the masterminds behind her assassination.

In fact, I only learned this after infiltrating his house, but I couldn't help but feel grateful.

'So, I entrust this to you. Shake up the noble faction that is eating away at the country.'

I looked at him without speaking, and he watched me as if I were his grandson.

'I'll deliver the final blow.'

I'll show you the dignity of a former professional final-blow expert.

"If you need help, please contact me. I will assist you to the best of my ability."

"If a neutral duke supports me, the noble faction will cause a commotion. You don't want this young nephew to die, do you?"

I said playfully, and he laughed heartily.

"Hehe, if I don't, then the life and oath of this sinful old man would be a lie."

As if whipping himself with the guilt he felt, he spoke bitterly.

"I will turn that place into a place where people can live. It won't be difficult."

"Your Highness."

"So, Duke, please do your part here."

"..."

I smiled at him, who remained silent.

"You will be very busy now."

He remained silent for a long time, as if he didn't understand my words.

* * *

After flying to the adjacent territory through the mana gate, I rode for a whole day. Haines territory is relatively close to the capital, so it took this long; otherwise, it would have taken several more days.

-You thought only your enemies were in the palace, but that's not the case.

When did you wake up?

While reading a book in the carriage heading to Haines territory, Perseus floated up in front of me.

Dressed in a revealing outfit typical of a demon, she looked down at me from a height that was dangerously close to showing her underwear, giggling.

-There are also such excellent strong people.

"Duke Paletris was my mother's knight. I only recently got involved with him, so I don't know much about him."

-But you managed to pass on such information.

"At least I'm sure he is one of the few loyalists left in this country."

At my words, she chuckled and lightly waved her hand.

The carriage window opened smoothly, and the withered land came into view.

-It feels as if something is blocking the atmosphere here.

"Yeah, I can sense it too."

Haines territory is quite vast.

However, the reason this territory has been abandoned is that over 90% of the land is suffering from a curse-like drought.

-Although the nature of it is still unknown, if it continues, everything will erode and turn into a desert.

There is hardly any fertile land in the inland area.

Since it is the only land in the Laun Kingdom suffering from a drought, it's no wonder.

The wasteland outside the window was originally farmland, but due to the strange power of a curse, the drought has continued, causing the land to crack.

Fortunately, the kingdom has employed mages several times to sprinkle water, or the situation would have been even worse.

Moreover, employing mages to sprinkle water over a large area of land is not something that can be done with a small amount of funds.

"Your Highness, I think we should rest in this area tonight and then continue moving."

I nodded quietly at the butler Ferum's words.

"There are no houses nearby, so there's no choice. Prepare a campsite."

"Understood, Your Highness."

After saying that, I watched the busy butlers, maids, and guards and got out of the carriage, leaving Amy behind.

-Dry air, sandstorm.

I slowly walked, looking at the land that resembled a desert, even though it wasn't one.

It was a vast plain, but there was no usable land.

After moving away from the carriage and the only paved road, I saw the withered land stretching in all directions.

I silently stretched out my hand and swept over the cracked earth.

Then I closed my eyes and slowly opened them, muttering.

-Information check.

Perseus's detection ability is a unique power imbued with the will of a god.

The target is not limited to living beings.

Brr!

As a mechanical sound echoed in the air, a faint light swirled in my eyes.

At the same time, a strange, semi-transparent status window appeared in the air where nothing had been visible before.

-Region: Haines Territory.

-Status: Lowest.

-Notes:

Due to prolonged drought and a strange power, the land is dry and the qi has diminished.

Curse (?) manifestation. Qi consumption, climate adjustment.

Cleansing (?) seems possible.

-So it's a curse.

"I need to get rid of it. But why does this god's status window like question marks so much?"

I felt a strange sensation.

16. The Lord Cleans Up

-You won't get an answer by asking the goddess.

"But it's your ability, isn't it?"

-The goddess's ability is just to show. The content is not the goddess's will but the will of the cheap-taste god.

As expected of someone of demon origin, you have no faith in gods.

-So you don't like it?

"Well... I can't deny that the god Priya, whose divine power I'm using, has a bit of a peculiar taste."

-Anyway, as expected, it's a curse, but not quite a curse.

Ignoring Perseus's playful words, I quietly swept my hand over the cracked earth.

This is the current state of most of Haines territory.

Except for about 10% of the land, the rest is in the same condition as the status window in front of me.

'The entire territory is covered by a curse...'

-Just to clarify, there is a type of curse called a spreading curse in the curse system. It starts with a small medium and eventually spreads endlessly, a particularly nasty curse.

"I didn't expect remnants of dark magic to be here."

-It seems one of the residents touched the medium.

In other words, one of the residents inadvertently triggered a dormant curse.

Haines territory has suffered from this unfortunate event.

Silently placing my hand on the ground, I drew up divine power.

It was a purification spell of the third tier.

Pang!

While it might be possible to cleanse it as the status window suggests, it certainly won't be easy.

"Look at this."

An interesting smile appeared on my face.

I used the purification spell without any particular meaning, but it was not just absorbed; it was repelled by a strong counterforce.

5th Tier [Purification]

One of the pillars of divine magic, the purification spell can be used by priests of the 1st rank and above. Depending on the individual's ability, its influence can be increased up to the 8th tier.

If a regular 3rd-tier purification spell doesn't work, the only option is to increase the tier.

Kang!

A refreshing sound of something breaking was heard again.

This time, the spell was also repelled, but the result was different.

Psssh...

Colorless and odorless smoke began to slowly seep out from where my hand touched.

For a moment, the curse seemed to dissipate and then recover.

-A long-lasting curse cannot be easily cleansed.

"That's true."

I need to find and destroy the medium; otherwise, trying to cleanse it this way is like trying to clear snow in the middle of a blizzard.

Silently returning to the carriage, I lay down on the soft sofa and closed my eyes.

"Most of the territory is in this state."

Large-scale, indiscriminate curses are mostly relics from long ago.

Currently, most of the large-scale dark magic remnants in the continent are of this kind.

To be precise, the continent has very little information about other races, and it's safe to say that the dark mages who once shook the continent are almost non-existent.

-Whether in the past or now, the world hasn't changed much.

Listening to Perseus's cheerful voice, I slowly closed my eyes and pondered.