The Kishian did not give up on his quest for Elona.
He led his soldiers and relentlessly tried to follow Elona's trail.
However, it was not easy to find a single person in the vast land of the empire.
He had no choice but to focus on tracking, and the time that the Grand Duke's position was vacant became infinitely longer.
Thus, even though Kishian did not intend to, rumors naturally spread.
Rumors have passed that the Grand Duchess has disappeared.
And there are rumors that the Grand Duke is searching all over the empire to find such a monument.
This rumor reached the Emperor's ears immediately.
When the Emperor found out that Elona had escaped, he also issued a wanted order throughout the country to find his daughter.
It was a wanted order issued under the pretext of arresting the heinous people who kidnapped the Grand Duchess, but his true purpose was to get the savior back.
Even if he found Elona, he had no intention of sending her back to the Grand Duke's residence.
He needed Elona, a savior.
Even if it was to break the curse of the imperial family.
Thus, an untimely frenzy swept through the empire.
In order to obtain the huge compensation offered by the imperial family and the Grand Duke, the imperial people eagerly searched for the Grand Duchess.
One month, three months, and half a year passed, but no one came forward to say that they had found the Grand Duchess.
The existence of the Grand Duchess gradually faded from people's memories.
When the fever finally subsided, Elona began her mercenary activities.
She changed her face with magic and wore the pseudonym 'Hilda'.
***
"That's strange."
I peered into my safe and muttered.
Hertha, who had been in my room and was spending time with me, approached me curiously.
"Sister, what's wrong?"
I didn't dare to stop Hertha, who suddenly poked her head in.
When I escaped from the Grand Siege, I received help from Hertha, and we became quite close.
So I showed my the safe where I had put all my possessions without hesitation.
"This Jeweled cube here. I definitely disposed of it last time. I needed cash. But why are you still in the safe?"
The object that I pointed to was a hexagonal cube full of gems.
The body was made of platinum and was the size of an adult's palm, so I sold it as if it would be quite profitable.
Strangely, however, it was casually placed in the safe.
Hertha chuckled when she heard the story.
"Isn't it a cursed thing? Even if you throw away a cursed doll, it will still come back to its owner. Where did it come from?"
"I got it from Baron Baldeck before. As a token of appreciation."
Baron Baldeck had cured the Baron's son, Gert, of contamination.
The Baron was very grateful at that time, and gave it to me as a thank you.
'It was a precious item that was passed down from generation to generation in the family. He said that all the jewels embedded on the surface were of good quality, so if I sold them, I would make money.'
"Items passed down from the family? There are many stories. Maybe there's really a curse on..."
She spoke as if she was afraid, but Hertha's scarlet eyes were full of curiosity.
Hertha, who had a taste for it, came up with a simple solution.
"Shall we tear it apart? If only you don't mind."
"It might be a cursed object..."
"So we need to dismantle them all and neutralize the power of the curse."
Is that how it works? I was bewildered for a moment, and then Hertha added.
"If you tear it apart and sell the jewel first, and then melt the body and sell it, it won't come back to the vault again."
"Hmm."
I pondered for a moment.
Surely, it might have been better to dismantle, as Hertha said.
It wasn't a curse; it was probably an enchanted item, but if it kept coming back even if it was sold like this, it would raise suspicions someday.
For example, they are accused of being scammers who sell things and then steal them back and resell them...
After making a decision, I picked up the cube from the safe.
Then I took a closer look at the gems embedded in the surface of the cube.
"If you want to dismantle it, you should leave it to a professional to be safe, right? If you touch it clumsily, your jewelry might be damaged."
"I'm good at that!"
Hertha shouted excitedly, but I couldn't believe it.
"...You?"
"I used to work in a workshop. I tried a lot at that time."
I had already heard that Hertha had done a lot of things in the past.
If she's actually done this kind of work, I can believe it.
If I hire someone to leave it to him, it will cost me money, so I nodded.
"Yes. Instead, be careful not to damage thr jewelry."
"Leave it to me. I'll bring you the tools for a while."
Hertha rushed to her room and brought some tools to remove the jewels.
It looked more professional than I expected, and I was relieved.
"Now, let's begin?"
Hertha, who was holding a small, pointed chisel and a hammer, tasted it again and told me so.
Later, when she put the bower on the cube and tapped it with a hammer and tapped it delicately.
Crack.
A cracking sound came from the cube.
"..."
"..."
No matter who heard it, it was a sound of splitting.
Hertha and I were silent at the same time.
As if time had stopped, we both stood still and stared at the cube.
A sullen complaint came out of my mouth.
"Gems... I told you not to break it..."
I regretted my complacency in entrusting Hertha with such an important task.
With a thud, the cube spread out in all directions.
"Everything, thank goodness! It must have been an opening thing! The jewel wasn't broken!"
Hertha shouted, looking like she had come back to life.
Certainly, the cube was not broken.
As if it had originally been opened, there were dense letters written on the wide-open inside.
I took a closer look at the cube, which was now flat.
"Ancient language. Approval? There's something written on it."
Hertha, who had done everything and was versatile, also kept his mouth shut, as if he didn't know the ancient language.
I, who was looking at the letters together, shook my head.
"I don't think we should dismantle this. Maybe it's an ancient artifact. If it's as precious as this, it should be preserved intact."
I was no longer a noblewoman, so I could pursue my own interests, but I had not completely abandoned my aristocratic habits.
When I saw a valuable artifact, I thought more about preserving it than selling it.
Hertha showed some regret.
"Really? If you sell it, it will come out quite a bit, but it's a waste... What is it written on it?"
"If it was used for sacrifices, it might have something like a poem dedicated to the gods. It's better to leave it to a scholar to interpret it. It may be a valuable resource for understanding ancient history and culture."
However, among my narrow network, there was no one capable of interpreting the ancient language.
Since I was in hiding, I couldn't contact my past acquaintances.
'Shall we ask Rodrick to recognize a person? I have a story to tell you...'
He would be able to connect me with someone who could be quite useful.
I made up my mind quickly. I promised myself that I would go see Rodrick right after lunch and put the cube back in the safe.
***
I asked him to take a moment, and Rodrick immediately called me to his living room.
I showed him the cube that was spread out in front of him.
"I want you to connect me with someone who can interpret this."
"What is this?"
"I don't know. I received it. However, when I see the ancient words written on it, it seems to be quite important."
Rodrick picked up the cube and glared at the letters inside.
After that, he dared to say something obvious.
"I have no idea what it says."
"Because it's an ancient language..."
For some reason, I felt like being with him was losing the nutritional value of the conversation.
Rodrick nodded casually, as if he didn't care.
"I see. Let's find out. And I'm going to assign you a mission in the Interim, are you okay?"
Ever since I joined the Mercenaries, I've been receiving assignments from him whenever I have time.
This was the first thing I volunteered to do.
I felt a little sore trying to kill time by sitting alone in my room while everyone else was busy.
I didn't want to just squander my possessions.
So I was handling the easy ones that came to the mercenary group, and I had something to tell him about it.
"Speaking of missions, I want you to increase the difficulty a little."
"Yes? I want you to increase the difficulty..."
Rodrick shook his head in embarrassment.
"Do you know that it's a bit dangerous for you to go out and carry out your duties in the first place? You're still being chased. The Grand Duke was searching with a light in his eyes."
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