TCIWTFY - Chapter 6

"Yes. The current King's only sister, who is said to have gathered together with a curse and ate her parents."

"Curse?"

"Was it 10 years ago? The King and his wife died trying to come to see their young daughter. The King died, and the war that was won was in vain. There was a buzz for a while that it was all because of the Princess."

The man snorted.

Although Valdina is small but has a reputation as a brave soldier, he does not seem to be particularly intelligent.

Seeing how they made such a fuss over just a child.

"Do you believe that?"

"Well, not really, but the timing is too odd."

Gallo shrugged.

"I thought idiots only existed in Valdina."

"It's too much."

Gallo placed his hand on his chest and joked as if he was hurt.

"Curse..."

A seal was reflected on the glass window.

The shadow against the sunlight stretched across the floor.

"There's a lot of talk about a topic where I've never even seen a real curse."

The edge of the shadow shook slightly.

"You, no, boss. I am-"

Gallo's mouth, which had been drawing a line, became stiff like a stone statue.

The man lowered his head. His fingertips were dyed bright blue.

"Sir, what should we do?"

Three years ago, Cesare, the first Prince of the Kazen Empire, exterminated the Kequeg people, a tribe on the outskirts of the empire.

They were in the process of annexing the large and small kingdoms that were encroaching on the southern border of the empire.

"Kequeg, these guys are crazy. They slaughtered random people and offered them as sacrifices to summon an evil spirit they had never heard of. These guys even roasted and ate the sacrifices after the ritual was over! You have to absorb the resentment properly."

There was no mercy left to those who had lost even the bare minimum of human dignity.

"Burn everything."

The silver sword and shield were covered in dark red blood. The power of the evil God that the Kequeg people blindly believed in could not escape spears and swords.

Fields, villages, temples. Flames rose in various places where murder and cannibalism were carried out like a meal.

"Ahhhh! You black, evil bastard! Even the devil won't be more vicious than you! The great primordial darkness will not forgive you! Aren't you afraid?"

The tribal leader shouted with bloodshot eyes.

"It's Cesare, not the black, evil guy. Tell your God not to forget the name of the owner of this land."

Cesare snorted on his galloping horse.

His words were extremely arrogant, putting even the evil spirit of Kequeg under him.

But no one could deny it...

That a boy as majestic as the sun would become the master of this vast empire.

"Cesare! The blood in your body will cool as blue as snow, and your heart will turn as black as your hair. Even if your brilliant talent and ambition reach all ends and cut down all enemies."

The black smoke rising from the tribal leader wrapped around Cesare like a whip.

"I won't be able to stop your body from fading away!" 

"Your Highness!"

And when Cesare woke up, the patriarch's curse had come true.

The sword that cut down enemies faster than the wind slowed down. The animal-like aura noticeably dulled.

Sometimes, when he had a seizure where he would vomit blood, his whole body would turn to stone and he would lose consciousness.

When the third seizure occurred... Cesare was finally forced to admit.

Something has changed in him since the day they annihilated the Kequeg people.

The military doctor said.

"Your body is being petrified. If things continue like this, it will be three years at most."

But he didn't believe it.

He found a doctor who was said to be the best on the continent.

"It is a disease in which the whole body gradually cools and hardens. Please kill me, even I, who are called God, have never heard of it."

Everyone shook their heads.

Cesare went to the Holy Kingdom.

And he looked for priests who were said to have the strongest holy power.

"It is a very terrible curse. I can sense the darkness of the beginning. Sorry. Even if you kill me and start a war with the Holy Kingdom, it Is impossible. The path is different. No powerful sacred power can use its power against something from the beginning."

It was an answer obtained with a sword thrust into the Pope's jaw, so it couldn't have been a lie.

While they searched for every possible way to get rid of the primordial darkness, the Curse of the Kequegians progressed slowly but steadily.

"Long live His Highness the First Prince!"

At the return ceremony, another seizure occurred.

"Your Highness!"

"The rumor that the first Prince was terminally ill due to an endemic disease he contracted during the war spread throughout the Empire. The Emperor suspected his son's intentions, whether it was another use. The brothers rejoiced at the fall of their strongest rival. That's pathetic."

At least that's how curses should be.

It had to be at the level of bringing down the infinitely soaring sky before he could dare to name it that way.

"Actually, that's true. There is a reason why Valdina is still like this even with all its outstanding cavalry."

Gallo's face became lively again as if it had never been that way.

"Anyway, it looks like the Princess who was hated both inside and outside has awakened. The momentum is good, but will she be able to hold down the position of head maid to the end?"

Gallo's dark brown eyes were filled with mischievous mischief.

"Boss, should we keep an eye on the Princess's palace as well? For the first time in a while, there's something fun to see."

"I guess you're free?"

Cold question. Gallo shrugged his shoulders without realizing it.

"I guess you found the shaman?"

"Oh, I'm still tracking. But the last place I stopped by was Valdina. The trail was lost near the border."

When all methods to remove the curse failed, a priest left a message.

"If you are a shrine maiden of the Shadeia tribe... Maybe we can find out how to get rid of the primordial darkness. They say they can read old books written in the light of the beginning."

Is this what it feels like to grasp at straws?

But it was the only possibility left.

Cesare traveled the continent disguised as an arms dealer to find Shadeia's shaman.

"That's it?"

"It's too much. Do you think it's easy to find traces of people who disappeared a long time ago? Neither the Pope nor previous Emperors could find it and gave up."

Gallo's cheeks protruded protruding.

"You have a long tongue."

"Damn it, I went through everything starting from the Valdina border, so I'm sure it's inside this castle! I can risk my neck and say it, it's okay?"

He shouted. Cesare's eyes narrowed as if he was being noisy.

"That will have to do. If not... I'll Wipe your neck well."

Cesare's eyes shone coldly. 

"Ah Okay! I got it!"

In response to the grim threat, Gallo stood up as if he was being chased.

"And boss, you know you're entering the palace this week, right? Don't forget to leave when you leave." 

Gallo tapped the table as he left.

On the round table was a silver half-mask.

"Even if it's a hassle, you shouldn't forget it. If Sesair finds out the identity of the boss, he'll try to cut us in half for whatever reason."

Cesare glanced down at the mask. 

"Do you hate covering your face so much?"

"..."

Once the silver iron plate is overlaid, he becomes not the first Prince of Kazen. who is causing tension throughout the continent, but just a mercenary with the facade of a weapons dealer.

Even though he feels a little bit of freedom, why is he not happy about it?

"Boss, you actually think your appearance is the best, right? You need to show off, but you don't want to be covered by a mask."

"It's long. Still..."

"Okay, I'm going! I'm going!"

After finishing his last words, Gallo hurriedly closed the door. With his tongue tightly hidden between his well-shaped lips.

A well-forged dagger flew and stuck on the closed door. It was the height where Gallo's mouth was a moment ago.

The dagger left at the tip of Cesare's finger twirled in an elegant line.

***

The Princess's palace.

"So you just watched the Princess leave?"

A woman's shout resounded throughout the palace.

"Well, you jumped out so suddenly-"

The maids stood in a row, lowered their heads, and listened to her nervousness.

Her flaming crimson hair and her pale, frowning features made him look like a burning twig.

Marieu. She was Medea's closest maid.

Perhaps because of the latest trendy dress that tightened her upper body, she looked more like an aristocratic antelope who had just attended a ball than a Princess's maid.

'How I looked forward to seeing her again! If she's hurt, she's probably lying down, why is she getting up again?'

When she remembered the Princess's immature face, she became even more angry.

"I told you to quickly figure out where I was going and report back, but you didn't!"

An evil hand repeatedly scratched the cheek of the maid with her head down.

"Uh?! You all want to be kicked out?!?!"

The biggest reason why Marieu can act so viciously is because she is the daughter of the nanny who raised the Princess.

When the nanny asked for her daughter when she passed away, the Princess shed tears and said that Marieu was like her own sister, so much so that she personally closed the nanny's eyes.

"What should I do? If something happens to the Princess, she'll find out that we're away."

"Shut up!"

Unable to control her temper, she grabbed the vase and was about to throw it again.

"Your Highness the Princess-!"

The maid, who was on fire, saw the Princess approaching and hurriedly shouted.

"Your Highness, where have you been! The weather is this cold!"

Then Marieu, realizing that the Princess had arrived, changed her face and turned around. As she ran towards the Princess at a frequent pace, she stopped in her tracks and opened her eyes wide at the embarrassing sight of her.

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