Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Behind the Darkness
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The royal palace corridor.
Damian stormed toward the king's office, huffing and puffing.
He notified the attendant in front of the office of his visit, but the only response was to wait.
About ten minutes passed. No word came from inside, so in the end, Damian opened the office door himself and strode up to the king.
"What is the meaning of this rudeness!"
A shout followed immediately as the door opened. Someone was there with Carion in front of the king, but Damian didn't notice. Instead, he cried out as if he were the aggrieved one.
"How long are you going to make me wait? It's so hard to even see my father's face."
The king clicked his tongue. He knew why Damian had come but pretended not to. Unable to bear the silence, Damian added,
"Father, some unknown bastard touched my body! This is an insult to me, to the royal family! Find him and punish him severely—"
"Shut your mouth!"
At the king's roar, Damian fell silent. As he turned his head in frustration, his eyes met those of the man who had arrived first in the office. Damian immediately pointed accusingly.
"It's that guy! He stabbed me!"
At Damian's claim, Carion shook his head as if there was no hope for him.
The person in the king's office was Enoch.
Carion muttered softly under his breath as he watched his brother blabber on even after being told to shut up, lowering his eyes.
"If only he were a little wiser..."
"You insolent wretch, how dare you insult me!"
In the end, the king let out another bellow.
"I've heard the story. You pathetic fool, laying hands on a powerless woman! And even after knowing I granted her the title myself, you spout nonsense calling her a chick and an ungrateful bitch?"
When the king had received that report, he nearly collapsed from a migraine.
Not only had he entered a gathering of nobles with a whore on his arm, but he'd beaten a woman and drawn his sword in front of them!
Before the banquet even ended, many nobles had come demanding the third prince be punished.
He'd sent word through an attendant to keep a low profile for a while, but Damian ignored it and showed up anyway.
The king's patience reached its limit, and he unleashed his pent-up anger.
"Do you know what that means? You've openly contradicted my decision in front of the officials! How dare you! Disobey your father? What are you waiting for? Drag the third prince away! You're confined to your palace until I give further orders!"
The knights waiting outside the office dragged Damian away. In the now-quiet office, the king rubbed his temples.
"May I take a look?"
Enoch asked, seeing the king suffering from what seemed like a headache. The king nodded, and Enoch approached, infusing him with divine power.
It was said that divine power could heal wounds but not diseases. But that was wrong.
Some diseases could be healed with divine power. However, for infectious diseases caused by microorganisms or viruses, divine power could stimulate the activity of bacteria and microbes, sometimes worsening the condition when applied.
Even for non-infectious diseases, divine power maximized the body's self-healing, so it didn't work well on those who had suffered long illnesses, eaten poorly, or were physically weak.
That was why it was said divine power couldn't heal diseases.
Enoch's divine power alleviated the king's headache. Feeling his mind calm and the pain vanish, the king found it miraculous.
"Other priests couldn't do this. Amazing."
Enoch smiled faintly. It wasn't that they truly couldn't. Most priests who could use divine power could calm the mind.
It was just that the king disliked priests, so even if he accepted their divine power, his mood didn't improve.
"I've shown you an unsightly scene."
"No. It's fine. I know why he's like that."
"Have you met Damian before yesterday?"
"No, not that. But Rachel, who received her title this time, is my friend."
"Is that so?"
In fact, Carion—not the king—had handled and resolved the Paris Emporus matter. The king had only received a brief report, so he didn't know the details.
"But what does that have to do with Damian?"
"The Baron Emporus whom Rachel reported had been funding him."
"So you're saying he attacked Lady Peristera because the source of his funds disappeared, and she provided the cause?"
"That's my guess."
"Carion, did you know about this?"
"Well, I was looking into it. I planned to report once confirmed, but the youngest beat me to it."
At the king's question, Carion laughed it off vaguely. The king made a stern face, displeased with his son's attitude.
"Investigate thoroughly and report."
"Yes."
"So there's something I'd like to request."
The reason Enoch had come to the king was this request.
"What is it?"
"Please publicly announce that I am your child. You can grant me the grand duchy as scheduled in two years."
"Is this the temple's opinion?"
"No. It's my personal wish. The temple won't protest to the royal family over this."
The king stroked his chin.
"I'll think about it."
"Thank you."
"Both of you, leave."
Enoch and Carion left the king's office. Alone with him, Carion joked around.
"How do you so boldly make such a request to Father? I thought you'd get scolded."
"If the third prince hadn't touched Rachel, I wouldn't have done this."
Carion shook his head at Enoch's cold reply.
"Why on earth is Damian acting like that? He gets plenty of allowance every month to maintain his dignity."
"Investigating that is your job, Lord Carion."
"Do you really think he's involved in black magic?"
"Even if he's not directly involved, he's connected somehow."
Carion's face grew serious at Enoch's answer. Being simply bad-tempered was worlds apart from being involved in black magic.
He let out a deep sigh.
"Ugh, I hate this. Father's already displeased because I'm inferior to my brother, and it's obvious."
"Is that why you haven't named the next heir, with the third prince causing all this trouble?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Honestly, even I thought my brother was perfect. I didn't expect it to turn out like this. By the way, aren't you too ruthless? Damian's your brother. Third prince? So cold."
Carion pointed out the title "third prince," also chiding him for continuing to call his older brother "Lord Carion." But Enoch pretended not to notice and replied calmly.
"What's there to feel affection for? He's someone who might be involved in the demon king summoning. Besides..."
"You suspect Damian killed Prince Harion?"
"Yes. So please be careful, Your Highness."
"Now it's Your Highness? Whatever, titles don't matter. I'll be careful, so come visit often. Father doesn't seem to dislike you either."
"Since when has the royal palace been a place to visit for fun?"
"I just said it that way."
"I see. Before I go, some advice: heavy rain will fall this year. Prepare accordingly."
"What? A prophecy? Did you hear something from the temple?"
Enoch, annoyed by Carion, jumped out the corridor window instead of answering.
"Hey, this is the fourth floor...!"
Carion hurriedly stuck his head out the window Enoch had jumped from. Enoch landed safely on the ground without a scratch and ran toward where the carriage was visible.
Watching Enoch's receding figure, Carion muttered softly.
"Using the window like that... he really is my little brother."
Enoch's figure grew smaller. At the end of the path he headed was a golden-haired girl standing there.
***
A month had passed since Rachel arrived at Harfa Castle. She'd been busy ever since coming down from the royal palace.
It was her first time managing a territory, so she didn't know where to start. Fortunately, some of House Emporus's assets remained, which she'd thought were completely confiscated.
The kingdom had only seized illegally acquired property. The merchant guild operating normally and the sections paying proper taxes were intact.
However, there was such a shortage of talent that she had to hire the existing managers as-is.
Many had gone to trial due to ties with the baron, but those cleared of involvement had been managing the castle and guild without a lord.
They had been Paris Emporus's people, so they couldn't have good feelings toward Rachel, but hands were short.
After agonizing, Rachel decided to watch them for a month and hired them.
Instead of leaving everything to them, she worked alongside, learning. To that end, she moved the office to a large room.
"Doesn't this part seem off?"
"Yes. Comparing purchase volume and price, it's off by about 80 gold."
"Right? Tell them to check this and report back."
Learning had no end. Rachel was still studying now to avoid becoming like Chris from the previous round.
The territory House Emporus had bought wasn't suitable for farming. It was barren land with no advantages other than proximity to the capital, but the previous baron had bought it and built roads.
Then he bought horses, ran carriages, added transport services, and laid the foundation for commerce.
Now, all goods from the southeast to the capital passed through here, making it a commerce-dependent region.
And the king had divided this region into three parts for Rachel, Abyss, and Jester.
With no crops beyond personal kitchen gardens, people were key.
It was the one thing Rachel was grateful to the dead Paris Emporus for. Thanks to the talent he'd nurtured, she was adapting smoothly.
Also, thanks to the military officer and Count Beston sent by Carion, private soldier training was proceeding well.
Count Beston was older and higher-ranked than Rachel, not someone to treat lightly.
But he'd discovered Evelyn's skill and challenged her to a spar. After being thoroughly defeated, he started listening to her well.
'So far, everything's going smoothly.'
Rachel stretched after checking reports. She'd done all the preparation she could.
She'd stockpiled half the planned food amount, levee construction was on schedule, and private soldiers were training for territorial war, so visible results within a year.
Then came a knock.
"Miss, a letter!"
"Thanks, Mary."
Rachel used a paper knife to open the letter the maid brought.
"It's about time."
It was an invitation from the Lady of Nerus.
After arriving at the territory, Rachel had sought info on the Lady of Nerus. But Marquis Nerus had erased his daughter's rumors so thoroughly there was little gain.
In the end, she'd written to Abyss, who replied to judge for herself in person.
'Now that I think about it, it pisses me off.'
He knew Marquis Nerus was sensitive about his daughter but hadn't warned her. And when asked for info, his response was half-hearted.
'You could at least tell me what she likes or hates. Damn guy. Does he not even know properly himself?'
Rachel grumbled inwardly as she checked the invitation. The date Lady Nerus invited her was four days away. Considering travel distance, she needed to leave tomorrow.
"Any urgent matters to handle?"
At Rachel's question, the male clerk at the desk to her left asked.
"What is it?"
"Tea party invitation."
"At this time?"
His question revealed his insolence plainly.
It implied she should restrain herself with the crown prince dead, and mocked her for having time for tea parties amid territory chaos.
Rachel didn't explain at length.
"It's from House Nerus."
"We'll need to prepare urgently."
His attitude flipped the moment she named the sender.
Rachel pretended not to notice and nodded.
"First, I need to tell Enoch."
"Shall I deliver the message?"
Mary, who hadn't left yet, asked. Rachel shook her head.
"No, I haven't exercised much lately, so I'll go myself."
Rachel lightly rolled her neck and shoulders as she stood. She shook out her stiff body with a stretch and headed to the training grounds.