“I want a fragment of Zephyross’ tombstone, Grand Duke.”
Zephyross’ tombstone fragment—
The curses of this worldview were divided into two types.
The first were curses started by magicians.
These could be solved by destroying the magician who cast the curse or the object containing the power of the curse.
The ‘blind’ that Deborah put on Rixus when he was young was one of them.
And the other…
…Were curses made by Zephyr and Ross, who were witches.
This was called the ‘Zephyross Curse’.
The two witches were lovers, but it was said that they were burned alive during a witch hunt.
However, their aspirations did not burn, leaving traces on the tombstone…
The monument was erected in the village where the witches were killed. However, it was said that all the seeds of that village dried out.
If a woman had a child, he or she would die, and when the woman gave birth to a child, she died.
Eventually, people found the tombstone and broke it, but the powerful curse still remained.
The only way to break the curse was to obtain the ‘Zephyross tombstone fragment’.
‘There is only one in the world.’
The rest were scattered, it was unknown as to where they were buried.
‘And that one, Johann… It’s with him.’
It was placed in the temple of Johann, where expensive and rare artworks, paintings, and holy relics were located.
Johann remained silent and opened his mouth.
“Did you see it the last time you came to my temple?”
“Yes, you don’t seem to remember, but you described it to me yourself.”
“…That’s right.”
Johann said that the tombstone was particularly difficult to obtain, and that most would not even know it existed.
It would have cost a lot of money. It was obvious even if I hadn’t seen it.
‘He won’t give it away for free easily…… What should I bet on?’
As I looked at Johann with such thoughts in mind, a slight uneasiness rose.
He still had his arms crossed, as if he had locked his heart.
Did he lose his temper so easily? While I was contemplating, he said,
“It’s not difficult.”
“……Yes?”
“I’m happy to give it to you.”
I beg your pardon? For free? That precious thing?
My eyes widened. A smile crept across his lips.
“But only if you pay the price.”
“Of course… I thought so.”
It was an absolute secret that until recently, I thought like a takoyaki head who liked freebies.
Understandably, he couldn’t just give me that precious thing.
It would be nice if the ‘price’ he stated was something I was willing to pay.
Or the negotiation would get complicated from then on.
‘Let’s not be surprised.’
He might even want to exchange it for something really rare.
For example, a treasure from the Spinel royal family……
I might have to pay for it with the most valuable thing in my treasury.
I imagined the worst and opened my mouth with a firm promise that I would never be surprised by the crudeness.
“Please speak.”
“Go on a date with me, please.”
“!?”
I rolled my eyes in surprise.
‘……A date with his nephew’s wife……? What kind of shitty drama is this?’
Surprise spread across my face, and he smiled lowly at my expression.
Mild eyes fluttered in delight.
“It’s just a time to talk and eat like we are doing now, Your Majesty.”
“……I was surprised.”
“No way.”
Of course. There was no way such a faithful man could have harbored such a treacherous heart.
Didn’t some god say, ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife’?
But, much more so, if he coveted his ‘nephew’s wife’, then God would come with a sledgehammer and break Johann’s head.
After a moment of disrespectful misunderstanding, I was all embarrassed.
‘No, but the price is too small.’
“…Is that really enough?”
He was surprisingly generous. He smiled and nodded his head.
“Treat it as a gift. Since you came to Aktoum.”
“I’ve already received a lot of gifts.”
“If you continue to decline, I will cancel the offer.”
“Thank you, Archduke.”
He smiled slightly when I said thank you in a flash. But he soon frowned and spoke.
“But there is a small problem.”
‘Please don’t use such an ominous tone.’ Usually, with those words, I had experienced a lot of cases where it was not a small problem, but a pretty big problem, so I raised my eyebrows.
“What’s wrong?”
But it was a really small problem.
“I have placed a curse on the fragment of Zephyross’ tombstone, so I, the owner, will have to perform a ritual for one day to get rid of it. After that, I can give it to you.”
“Does that mean that it will be delivered in just one day?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s not a problem. Please.”
“Isn’t it urgent?”
“I can wait that long.”
I smiled and drank tea. Waiting for a day was really nothing.
I wasn’t planning on going today anyway.
Johann examined my expression and asked.
“May I ask what purpose you plan to use it for?”
“…I can’t tell you that. Please understand.”
I couldn’t bear to say that I was going to Yggdrasil as one who was the monarch of a country and the crown princess of this country.
After all, I was going to make a deal with a man who was stuck in the most rotten part of the country… Even if I died, I couldn’t speak.
Fortunately, Johann didn’t ask further if he had expected me to have an issue.
This was a great deal.
The meal was delicious, and it was decided that I would receive the fragment of Zephyross.
Having accomplished all my goals, I got up from my seat.
“Well, I’ll get going now. Thank you for your hospitality today.”
“You’re going right after you’ve accomplished your purpose.”
There was a sharp rebuke, but I brazenly held on to my attitude.
“Yes, I’m going right away.”
“…Are you not following my butler too much?”
“This is my way of speaking, Archduke.”
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