36
Leopold tossed Luo into the air and caught it as he made his way toward his tent. The sight of him treating an object more expensive than a jewel so carelessly drew horrified looks from those around him.
Once inside his tent, Leopold took off his shirt. His body, tightly wrapped in bandages to keep his skin from being exposed, was revealed.
It was not to conceal wounds or anything of the sort. It was to hide the pitch-black shadows that accumulated on his body with every battle he fought.
“This is getting troublesome, too. Holy power, huh.”
The skin around his abdomen had turned black. Not only that, but black feathers were sprouting all over his upper body.
Every time he plucked out a grown feather with an irritated hand, a sharp pain shot through his spine.
Ever since the moment his memories had begun to exist, the power injected into him had been running rampant of its own accord, having lost the one who controlled it.
Whenever his life was hanging by a thread, that power would devour Leopold’s reason and move on its own, refusing to lose its host.
On such days, indescribable pain always followed. Sometimes his skin would sting even when air merely brushed against it, while on other days, his entire body would tremble as though ice had blocked his veins.
Not only was the physical pain bothersome, but the pressure of never allowing anyone else, especially an inquisitor, to discover this was suffocating as well, so Leopold had been thinking that he needed to find a way to deal with it.
“Well, they said I just have to break it, right?”
He curled Luo into his palm and squeezed it. The weak stone trembled before easily cracking with a sharp snap.
The light that leaked from within rushed toward Leopold’s body as though searching for prey.
“Ghk, this…….”
The power of the curse rooted within him and the holy power collided, creating a searing heat. Feeling as though his skin were burning away, Leopold clenched his teeth.
‘Is this really helping?’
Even though he had grown accustomed to pain over the years, nausea surged up and cold sweat trickled down his body.
“Phew, huff…….”
As the light faded, Leopold ran a hand down his abdominal muscles. The skin that had turned black had returned, at least somewhat, to its original color.
‘Horribly unpleasant, but it does help.’
Without realizing it, Leopold looked down at the fragment of Luo he had been clutching tightly in his hand. The rough stone, having lost its light and returned to its previous opacity, glimmered faintly.
There was only one thing Leopold thought of whenever he saw that glimmer.
“I don’t like the name. Can’t be helped, I suppose? Eli.”
What kind of idiot had such terrible naming skills? It sounds like my name.
Fatigue washed over him. Leopold slumped into a chair and counted the days ahead.
Tomorrow was the subjugation of Spider Swamp. The day after that was reconnaissance of Red Mountain. If he kept fighting and fighting every day like that…….
“I need to make sure no one can lay a hand on her while I am gone.”
“You dare make a request of me while you bear the status of a criminal?”
“A criminal? Your Highness the Crown Prince, please call me an internal whistleblower.”
“How absurd.”
“Five years.”
Time passes. As the longing rooted in his weary heart deepened, Leopold’s resolve only grew firmer.
“Five years will be enough. I will return. To her side.”
We will be together again. Just as the wait has been arduous, there will be a reward at the end of it.
When that day comes, let us be together again. I will leave my parents and help you leave yours as well.
“Less than four years left now. Eli…….”
Out of habit, Leopold felt around his waist and opened his canteen. Finding it empty, he clicked his tongue.
He clenched and unclenched his hand for no reason, calming the emptiness inside him, then crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
‘I hope she’ll be happy to see me. I’ve been enduring this so well.’
The brief sleep he managed while sitting in the chair was neither sweet nor comfortable.
It only deepened his yearning for the rest that awaited him in the future.
***
It had been more than a year since Helreos had last been in contact with Eliza, yet his habits had not improved in the slightest during that time.
With Eliza’s help, Helreos had safely obtained his academy diploma and was gradually beginning his formal training as the heir.
But what kind of proper education could he possibly receive with that mind and personality? As someone who enjoyed taking advantage of Eliza, his convenient little cheat, all he could think was that he wished she were by his side so he could make use of her quickly and easily.
And Eliza diligently continued to serve as his adviser, receiving payment every time.
It was more enjoyable than he had expected. Having the heir who would one day move the family act according to his wishes, one by one…….
‘He’ll be so easy to ruin.’
There was no need to worry about the Waluer side anymore. Even as Count and Countess Waluer constantly sent messages urging Eliza to return, they were completely unable to find her.
‘My parents really are incompetent. Or perhaps……. This village is secretly being protected thanks to the circumstances.’
When Luo first appeared, opinions had been divided for quite some time over what to call it.
It was a sacred stone, so perhaps it should be called a holy stone. How about Divine Holy Stone? Holy Power Stone? That sounded strange. Then Divine Stone? That sounded too grand.
In the midst of this, a small merchant company suddenly began distributing it.
The merchant company called the stone ‘Luo.’
“We simply receive the goods ourselves……. Where do we get them from? I’m afraid we can’t tell you. It’s a trade secret. Besides, they said they would cut off the supply if the source were revealed.”
The merchant company that brought Luo all the way to the capital was so small that everyone assumed it was merely a means of laundering someone’s identity and tried to dig into its background.
Some even managed to trace it as far as the office of Harper Bennett, who had only just given the merchant company a name, but once they did, the supply of Luo really stopped.
The amount that had been publicly available was already extremely limited, making it nearly impossible to secure it.
It was an item that had only just appeared in the world and had limitless potential uses. Securing the goods was more important than uncovering their source.
Those who had pressured the Bennett Company were criticized for ruining great potential development out of personal greed and stopped their investigations, while the powerful factions tacitly agreed not to investigate its origins until research on it was complete.
Thanks to this, Ruben Village was being secretly protected almost like a neutral territory simply because it was home to the Bennett Company.
Now a member of Ruben Village herself, Eliza gently touched the ends of her hair, which had faded from the dye to the color of red plum blossoms, while keeping hidden from everyone the fact that she was the owner of a fortune.
“There’s only one thing left.”
Leopold. Because he was fighting far too well, Eliza had diligently gathered every rumor about him that reached her ears.
In fact, she could now obtain detailed information about him if she wished.
Because she had originally been donating to the unit he belonged to, but had now decided to sponsor him personally.
‘It seems you still haven’t learned how to cooperate, Leopold.’
Eliza placed some grain in front of the blue bird and swallowed a sigh.
The Golden Ghost now tore through enemies like lightning and swept across the battlefield like a sandstorm, yet, much like those natural disasters, he had no idea how to get along with his allies either.
Because of that, the infamy attached to Leopold simply would not fade.
His superiors, who desperately tried to trample Leopold down in fear that, being originally of noble birth, he might climb back up by using their status.
And his comrades, who feared him, hated him as someone abandoned by God, or darkly delighted in and mocked the once-promising knight being cast into the gutter.
If at least your material circumstances could improve, even just a little, among those people.
‘I hope God watches over you, even if it is only through the holy power contained in Luo.’
Eliza clasped her hands and prayed before the glittering Luo. The hymn that had become a habit flowed softly from her lips.
***
“Oh my, you recognized me? Oh-ho-ho-ho! That’s right! I’m Jenia of Bennett!”
Xenia was more capable than one might expect. To be precise, she was good at dealing with people.
Whenever an outsider occasionally appeared to test her, Jenia would boast in an extremely excited voice. Then they would believe her act as a country bumpkin and often look down on her.
Today as well, Jenia fluttered the fan she had recently purchased and imitated a young lady whose mannerisms she had picked up, while the visitor from the capital became so overwhelmed by her chatter that he fled.
‘Why does everyone have so many questions? No, no, this won’t do. Miss Eli belongs to Jenia. Ohoho.’
Jenia truly adored Eliza to death. She had always liked her appearance, and since Eliza had changed the circumstances of her family, Jenia now cherished her more than a treasure.
