VOLUME 5: CHAPTER 9

VOLUME 5: CHAPTER 9

Princess Esmeralda was thrilled upon learning that the Lord of Blackstone Town was knowledgeable of curses. With just the few pieces of evidences presented to him, he even managed to come up with the conclusion that His Majesty had an existing contract with a demon. 

But her excitement was short-lived. 

Lark soon revealed that she would not probably find the flower in the Endless Forest. According to him, the Tears of Ubroxia grew only in mana-dense areas – and the Endless Forest was clearly not among those places. 

“Then… we’ve wasted our time coming all the way to this place?” she said in dismay. Just the journey alone toward Blackstone Town took them a month. 

“That’s not true, Princess.” Parzival stared at Lark. “We’ve gained something more valuable by coming to Blackstone Town.”

The Princess understood what Parzival was trying to convey. Indeed, meeting Lark was godsend. Even the Royal Court Magicians didn’t know the way to rid the Royal Family of the curse, but this young man before them had just declared that it would be possible to severe the link entirely. 

She steeled her resolve. If they couldn’t find the flower in this region, then they’d just need to find it somewhere else. It was definitely for the best that they’d learned this early that they couldn’t find the flower in the Endless Forest. 

“Mana-dense places,” she said. “Do you have any places in mind, Lord Lark?”

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the topography and territories of this Kingdom. But what we should be looking for are these three: labyrinths, mana wells, or any areas connected to the Dragon Vein below. Those three would always contain the greatest amount of ambient mana, a place suitable for the growth of the flower. We could also try our luck at the territory near a Dragon’s lair, but I doubt His Majesty will permit an expedition to that land, since it might incite war with the Dwarven Kingdom.”

Parzival frowned. All of the areas mentioned by Lark were terribly dangerous places usually infested with monsters. 

The Princess slowly said, “Parzival, what about the City of Bones?”

“Absolutely not, Princess!” said Parzival, his voice almost a shout. “It’s called a forbidden region for a reason! Even the United Grakas Alliance doesn’t dare go through that territory in fear of annihilation!”

The Princess was surprised at the sudden outburst of her knight. “But there’s a labyrinth at the center of the ruins, right? And it’s one of the two places they told us about. The place where we could potentially find the flower!” 

“Princess, I’m curious,” said Lark. “Who told you that you’ll be able to find the Tears of Ubroxia at the Endless Forest?” 

The Princess looked at Parzival, wordless asking if it’s alright to reveal this information to Lark. After Parzival subtly bobbed his head in confirmation, the Princess said, “The Royal Court Magician, Ropianna. She’s a magician under the direct supervision of the Royal Family. She’d been protecting the crown for several decades now, and she’s also the one who’d been halting the progression of the curse of my father with her magic. If not for her, the curse would have already killed father several years ago.” 

“She’s capable of halting the progression of a curse from a High Demon,” mumbled Lark. “Impressive.” 

Lark pondered for several seconds. “Did she tell you the reason why she considered the Endless Forest?”

Lark had visited the Endless Forest several times before, when he was making the map of the surrounding region, and he did not encounter any mana-dense areas nearby. Based on the story of the Princess, this Royal Court Magician seemed capable. Lark could not understand how someone of her caliber would make this simple mistake. 

The Princess shook her head. “She didn’t tell us the reason…”

Parzival added, “It’s a bit vague… The Lady simply said that we’ll find the cure to His Majesty’s curse in the Endless Forest and at the Forbidden Region. She said this was the revelation of the Water God to her at the temple.”

For some reason, Parzival stared at Lark as though he’d arrived at a realization. As though he finally understood what the Water God’s message to the Royal Court Magician meant.  

Lark remained silent upon the mention of the Water God. Even now, he still did not believe in the existence of Gods. Even back in his past life, he’d never encountered them, nor did they make contact with the humans. Even if they did exist, Lark deemed that they were probably just massive aggregations of mana capable of coherent thoughts, just like the demons. 

“Are there other labyrinths in this Kingdom, aside from the Forbidden Region?” said Lark. 

“There are none,” said Parzival. 

“How about mana wells?”

“There’s only one mana well in the entire continent,” said Parzival. “And it’s located at the center of the Empire’s Capital.”

Lark sighed. “Then the Forbidden Region’s the only remaining option.”

Parzival looked at the Princess, then at Lark. “I believe there’s no need for us to go to that dangerous place ourselves. The leader of the Royal Knights and his men are probably on his way towards that labyrinth as we speak. Before we’d left the Capital, the Royal Knights are already organizing an expedition to find the flower in the Forbidden Region. They finally have a chance to organize an army for expedition now that the Imperial Army had retreated from our land.” 

Parzival was obviously against the Princess going towards such dangerous place. Lark agreed with the knight on this. Even if he went to the Forbidden Region, he wouldn’t take the Princess with him. She’d only be deadweight. 

“An army of knights is already on its way towards the labyrinth to search for the flower, huh?” said Lark. 

Parzival nodded. “It’s an elite unit serving directly under the King. The Captain is the son of Sword Saint Marrozo. I heard that before the Sword Saint became bedridden due to old age, he managed to pass down his sword techniques to the Captain.” 

Lark heard before that there were two Sword Saints in this Kingdom. He’d met Master Alexander several times before, but this was the first time he’d heard the name of the second Sword Saint. Unfortunately, based on Parzival’s story, the Sword Saint was already on his deathbed. 

“Since an elite unit is already on its way to the Forbidden Region to retrieve the flower,” said Lark. “All we could do now is wait. Please send a message to the Capital. List down all the things I’ve told you and have them procure the materials immediately. Also, if by any chance they’d be able to gather a dozen high-grade mana stones, we could also use those as an alternative option.” 

The last part of the statement was probably wishful-thinking, Lark knew. 

“Understood!” Parzival firmly said. “I’ll send out a messenger immediately!”

The Princess frowned. “Parzival, why are you agreeing to what Lord Lark’s saying! Isn’t it better if we also go to the Forbidden Region? What if the Royal Knights couldn’t retrieve the flower!”

Lark stared at the Princess for a moment. He pondered for a moment if he should say what was on his mind to the Princess.

“And what difference will it make, even if you’re there, Princess?” Lark asked. He didn’t hesitate to shatter the Princess’ naïve way of thinking. “You’ll be deadweight. A baggage. It’ll only make it harder for the army to retrieve the flower if they also have to protect you in that labyrinth.”

The Princess’ entire face flushed, probably from anger, or maybe from shame – Lark was not sure. And he didn’t care.

Lark glanced at Parzival. The knight also did not have the slightest intention of brining the Princess to the Forbidden Region, no matter what. He silently stood next to the Princess, not bothering to refute Lark’s statement. 

Lark and Parzival wordlessly agreed that this would be for the Princess’ best interest. 

The Princess couldn’t utter another word. Her entire body trembled as tears started forming at the corner of her eyes. 

Seeing this, Lark sighed. What a sheltered woman, he thought. 

“The best course of action for now is to wait,” Lark repeated. “I promise you that once the army got hold of the flower, we’ll depart for the Capital immediately to cure the curse of his Majesty.” 

The Princess slowly bobbed her heard in acknowledgement but didn’t utter a reply.  

“Parzival,” said Lark. 

“Yes?”

“Would it be possible to get hold of adamantite?” 

“I’m afraid it’ll be near impossible, Lord Lark, even with the help of the Royal Family” said Parzival. “But I could probably procure some mithril for the creation of the phylactery.”

“I see.” 

For a moment, Lark was reminded of the adamantite vein deep within the Lake. But mining those ores as they were right now would be extremely difficult with tens of thousands of monsters spawning in that area. 

“There’s a blacksmith in Lion City capable of forging items using mithril,” said Lark. “We can probably ask him to build us the phylactery, but the process will probably take several weeks. Please prioritize the procurement of the mithril ingots – at least two of them – and the high-grade mana stone.” 

“Of course.” Parziva lightly bowed his head. “I’ll work on it immediately.”

***

After her meeting with Lark, Princess Esmeralda shut herself inside the guest room in the Mansion. She curled her body and silently sobbed. 

She felt powerless. In her entire life, this was the first time someone directly told her that she would be nothing but deadweight. 

Various emotions – frustration, anger, embarrassment and helplessness – filled her heart. Back then, she wanted to slap the Lord of Blackstone Town in the face for blatantly telling her to stay still and to not be a hindrance to the army. But in the end, she couldn’t do it. She knew within herself that all of what Lark Marcus said was correct. She knew that even if she personally went to the Forbidden Region, nothing would change. She’ll just be deadweight. 

Princess Esmeralda’s face contorted as tears freely flowed down her eyes. Snot dripped down her nose as she sobbed. She gripped the pillows tight as she suppressed a shout of frustration from coming out. 

The Princess stayed cooped up in her room, refusing food and audience even from her personal knights. It was only the next day when she finally decided to go out. By then, her eyes were already puffy from crying all night. 

After breakfast, she saw Chryselle practicing magic at the garden of the Mansion. 

To the Princess, the sight was surreal. Chryselle was almost the same age as her, but she was already highly proficient in magic. There was also this indescribable strength seeping through those crimson eyes, the same strength the Princess could see in her knights. 

Chryselle felt a gaze on her. She turned around and was surprised to find the Princess staring at her with wide eyes. 

“Princess?”

The Princess flinched upon realizing that she was discovered. “S-Sorry, did I interrupt your training?” 

Like an elder sister, Chryselle smiled. “Not at all. I was just thinking of taking a break.” 

Chryselle wiped the sweat on her forehead using the back of her hand. 

“What brought you here, Princess?” 

Princess Esmeralda averted her gaze after hearing this question. “I’m… just walking around.” 

Chryselle noticed the Princess’ puffy eyes. She was sure that the Princess must have been crying nonstop before she came here, although she didn’t know why. And she had no intention of prying into the secrets of a Royal. 

“Walking around, I see,” Chryselle was still smiling. “Then would you like to join me for tea? There’s this interesting book I found in the library of Blackstone Town recently. We can read them together if you want, Princess.” 

Beautiful, strong, kind. Chryselle really reminded the Princess of her older sisters. Princess Esmeralda was thrilled at the invitation. She immediately agreed. 

“Of course!” she said. “I’d love to!”

Chryselle chuckled. She began preparing the tea. At the same time, she handed the book to the Princess. 

“This is the book?” 

The Princess was puzzled, particularly at the book’s title. 

“Principles of a Just Sovereign,” mumbled the Princess. “By Evander Alaester.”

As a Royal, the Princess had been exposed to various literatures since she was young. But this was the first time she heard of the book’s title. This was also the first time she heard of the name Evander Alaester.

Chryselle looked at the Princess with eyes filled with understanding. “You probably never heard of him. But that author – Evander Alaester. He’s a prominent figure among the magicians of Wizzert. He’s like a God to us magicians, you see.” 

“God to the magicians?”

“Yes, Princess.” Chryselle placed a cup of tea before Esmeralda. “I was surprised when I saw a book written by that magician sitting in the shelves of this Town’s library. And you know what’s more surprising, Your Highness?”

There was a small pause. 

“That book is clearly written just recently,” said Chryselle. “A mass-produced book. Almost a hundred of them. And it’s mandatory for all soldiers to read it.”

Chryselle looked at the third floor of the Mansion. Particularly at the office of the current Lord.