Chapter 18

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Astrian watched without apparent emotion as the clerics healed the wounded knights while he thought about all these things. Because it was expensive, and because they were in a forest filled with nearly indestructible trees that diminished the power of explosions, they didn't waste energy attacking with cannons and instead had to fight head-on, scenes like these were inevitable.

At least nobody died

The young duke thought, holding back a helpless sigh. The situation was so bad that he felt very depressed, and he didn't even dare leave yet, as the situation itself was too strange to return to the capital and try to live and feign ignorance while waiting for everything to be resolved.

First of all, why did the demonic beasts become undead? The answer wouldn't matter much if it were from somewhere else, but as far as he knew, the Baal Empire was located north of the far side of the Great Forest of Darkness, and the demons didn't have a good relationship with the undead of the Underworld and their Empire to the south.

Is this really the work of the Queen of the Witches' Coven?

Astrian frowned at this thought.

Witches were despicable humans who sacrificed their sanity in exchange for power they normally couldn't have obtained due to their lack of talent. Their powers could come from demons, evil spirits, or the evil energy present in nature itself, and they typically gathered in groups to exchange witchcraft knowledge and materials, as well as to use each other for survival.

That group is known as the Coven.

Among them was a thousand-year-old woman who possessed intelligence superior even to that of a human, while also maintaining a level of witchcraft comparable to a demigod. She was the Queen because she possessed more negative energy than anyone else and mastered witchcraft related to death.

That woman was more than willing to do a wide variety of jobs as if she were a mercenary in exchange for things that interested her, and not just demons and evil spirits, but even other humans.

If there was someone who wanted to ruin the Asworts by cutting off their source of income, she was the only one who could provide the manpower necessary to carry out the task.

It certainly wasn't difficult for Astrian to imagine that old woman and her subordinates killing hundreds of demonic beasts and turning them into undead to attack the cardinal gate long enough for the Aswort to despair and surrender their full power...

If that were the case, then it would be the work of the imperial family.

Although it was only a guess, it wouldn't surprise her if the Emperor had eventually acquired one of the strange objects the former witch was interested in and convinced her to spend months stopping the demonic beasts invading the north in exchange for it. It wasn't unlike a conspiracy theory, but it most likely was one.

Astrian gritted his teeth as he thought about it, but he had no way to prove such a thing. After all, the prophetesses wouldn't be able to see what was happening in the Imperial Palace with [Clairvoyance] thanks to the protective measures against such powers that all sovereigns had in place in their palaces. The duke looked helpless in the face of the situation.

Honestly, other than surrendering and becoming the Emperor's subordinate, Astrian had no idea what to do to resolve all of this.

If he were to abandon his sovereign status and become a nobleman in the service of the imperial family, he might receive the support necessary to survive this calamity. After all, he couldn't allow millions to freeze to death just because he wanted to maintain his status.

That emperor would also be more than happy to have a former equal as his most powerful subordinate, just as many predecessors before him dreamed of, so he would not hesitate for a second to provide aid in exchange for his subservience.

Not only that, but he could also claim all of the pearl mines in northern Cosytus as his own. With the mines and a former sovereign in his service, the Emperor would have more power than the other Dukes, and while focusing the power of the entire empire on the imperial family is still a distant dream for them, they would at least be closer to achieving it.

There was no way the Emperor would refuse when there was so much to gain. In fact, that's why Astrian believed he and his family were primarily to blame for this situation.

And to her chagrin, it truly seemed that she would have to do just that, as many of the powerful prophetesses in her service fell unconscious when they attempted to observe the fate of the duchy. They received some damage to their souls, indicating that the visions they received were too much for their minds to process.

And that didn't give him a good feeling.

However, unless the situation was desperate, Astrian wanted to avoid giving the Emperor the satisfaction of victory as much as possible. It wasn't just a matter of pride, though he wouldn't deny having plenty of that, but the cause of all this remained one of his many assumptions, and what happened to the prophetesses wasn't necessarily due to anything bad.

Nor was it simply a refrain from acting; many had collapsed in the past due to visions they couldn't recall, but in the end, nothing bad happened.

Who knows, this could be resolved in no time without the need for extreme measures like that. Although the chances were pitifully low, he wanted to hold on to them.

On the other hand, if in desperation he told the emperor that he swore loyalty to him as his vassal to save his home and the next day the usual demonic beasts attacked again… Where would Astrian go to cry?

Especially since a sovereign cannot break his oath. Although he would officially no longer be sovereign, the title bestowed by the gods cannot be so easily removed, so he would still be subject to that ability.

I haven't lost hope yet, the duchy still has enough money.

Thinking this, Astrian returned to the cardinal's fortress without saying anything as the knights looked at him reverently. Julius watched his retreating back, wanting to say something, until he sighed and turned to his subordinates, ordering them to leave.

…Nobody knew.

Neither of these knights nor their lord knew that a human being trying to see the future related to a Transcendent is no different than a dove that believes it can fly among the stars.

In fact, they had no way of knowing.

After all, not even the author's reincarnation knew this information. That the existence of transcendents is so powerful that only beings of similar power could look into their possible futures without collapsing.

And the Red Dragon Empress was a transcendent being close in power to the gods, an existence unparalleled under the heavens. So trying to see a destiny involving her, even unknowingly, would bring no other result than what those poor women experienced.

The Duke mistakenly thought that the North could be saved if it chose to serve the Imperial family should the worst happen, but he had no idea that the true disaster would be brought about by a member of that same family in a future that no one should be able to see into.

And there was only one person in this world who could help prevent it.

♦♦♦♦

“Amelia…”

"What's wrong?" The maid casually replied to her younger sister, who suddenly began whispering softly into her ear while subtly looking at her mistress with strange eyes. She could only blink, wondering why she was doing this.

“Why is Lady Bluen… acting like she’s Natha’s mother?”

“I…have no idea…”

That was all Amelia could answer, quickly understanding the issue that was worrying Emma a little.

For a while now, ever since the four of them had started eating the Dorian chicken stew made by the kitchen women, Arisella had been watching over Natha while she ate in place of her sisters, making sure she ate well and cleaning her mouth, among other things.

She couldn't say if this was how she was supposed to act as a mother or not, since both she and Emma herself had acted similarly in the past...however, she had to admit that it was never as loving as her mistress was doing.

Amelia didn't understand why he behaved like that.

Arisella's behavior also caught the attention of the Chef and her assistants, who watched with curiosity and surprise as their prophetess and mistress behaved like a happy mother taking care of her baby.

She seemed more focused on taking care of Natha than eating her stew…not that there was any enthusiasm for the latter, much to Chef's relief.

“This is so delicious~” Natha said while eating a piece of chicken.

“Natha, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Arisella gently reprimanded her, to which Natha replied, “Okay,” completely ignoring the fact that she was still talking with her mouth full, making Arisella laugh at how cute she was.

She really seemed like a loving mom…

After that, the four of them said goodbye to the chef, and Arisella led the satisfied Natha to the gallery room, where ornate statues, exquisite paintings, and precious jewelry were displayed.

The small amount of light coming through the windows made each object sparkle and shine as they walked through the room. The artwork featured various exotic paintings, and behind the gallery was a small storage room with several large chests containing some finely crafted trinkets.

Well…about those last ones…

“Lasy Arisella made them?” Natha looked at Arisella with wide eyes as she held up one of the beautiful crystal and leather trinkets, the latter of which she smiled boastfully. “Yes, they’re one of my many personal works.”

“Amazing…” Emma whispered, not expecting the Prophetess to have such abilities. More than that, “All of these things have magic.”

Although Emma wasn't a mage, since she was young, she could vaguely sense the waves of energy emanating from certain magical objects like the ones Natha held in her hand. While she lacked the necessary skills and knowledge, she could instinctively sense that these were very powerful magical objects.

The two sisters had been so impressed upon seeing the interior of the Art Room, unable to believe they were actually seeing works of art firsthand. Well, Natha was more focused on the fact that they looked "interesting" than on the fact that they were works of art, but you get the idea.

However, compared to knowing that their prophetess could make her own trinkets, everything else was forgotten.

Arisella happily showed off the fruits of her hard work whenever she had free time at two.

There weren't just bracelets like the one Natha had just held, there were also several beautifully crafted rings, bracelets with various pretty jewels, and even necklaces; all of them were made from materials useful for magic that were kept in abundance in the Bluen Manor's storage room.

To Emma, ​​each of these things had magical enchantments that, while as unknown to her as most of the enchantments on the carriage that brought them, still felt almost as powerful.

“Can you tell they have Magic?”

“Y-yes, it’s a skill I’ve had since I was little…” Emma replied timidly in response.

Arisella looked at Emma curiously. As the reincarnation of the Author, she knew Natha had a good amount of magical talent, but she didn't expect it to be as good as her older sister's. Considering Amelia was a warrior of sorts despite acting as a maid, it was quite interesting.

Maybe because they were both redheads? No, first of all, shouldn't they be farmers?

“Lady Bluen really has many talents!” Natha exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement as Amelia nodded smugly to the side.

“Haha, it’s no big deal…” Although she said this with apparent humility, it was evident that Arisella felt proud of her magical craftsmanship, and Emma herself decided to add fuel to the fire of that pride.

“She’s an extremely beautiful woman, a very powerful mage, and the lady of all Taylan…and to top it all off, she can even craft magical items like these as a hobby! Lady Bluen is definitely the most wonderful woman to have been born in our village…so admirable.”

Those slightly exaggerated compliments could easily have made Arisella, a narcissist by nature, feel very happy with herself as she appeared very pleased with those words, despite her efforts to act humble.

“Don’t say that, it’s no big deal…”

“Honestly, it feels like our town is too small for a woman like you.”

“Yeah… Hmmm?” Emma’s next words made Arisella feel inevitably puzzled. She hadn’t expected her to think like that.

“That’s true,” Amelia replied before Arisella could properly respond. “For a woman as exceptional as my Lady, Taylan is simply too small. It would be great if she could show off her brilliance to the rest of the north…”

“But that would put her in danger..”

“I know that well. Still, it’s a shame. Just thinking that my lady, who is so beautiful, so strong, and noble, is a stranger to the rest of the world is truly upsetting. Even though she lives in luxury here, it’s almost like making her settle for being the owner of a small piece of land. She deserves more,” Amelia said in the longest sentence Arisella had heard her say yet, making her blink at both that and the content.

“…H-hmm, Amelia, that’s not a problem for me.”

She commented, wondering if what she had done and what she was capable of truly earned her such loyalty and admiration from him. She may be a powerful mage and a prophetess who can see the future, but this is too much…

No, wait, the people here were already weird anyway. It's kind of sad to think about that…

“No, my lady, I understand that you are satisfied with your current lifestyle. I was simply expressing my opinion, that is all. It is not my will if you decide to spread your wings to the rest of the empire, but your own decision. Still, I truly wish that you would not be content to simply reside in Taylan in silence… especially with that John.”

“….“

"A woman of your caliber deserves a better man than a mere backwoods hunter who only goes around hunting animals for fun. I know you want him for his good looks and all, but to be honest, it's a waste to give yourself a lifetime to a man of his ilk when you deserve so much more simply for his looks."

“Hahaha…when you say it like that…” How do I tell you that I ended my relationship with John today?

…Arisella imagined she might even jump for joy, seeing how she considered John a man unworthy of her and despised him so much. Beside Emma, ​​Natha looked at them with a look of incomprehension as if she didn't understand what the hell they were saying.

“No, I'm sorry for overstepping my bounds. What my Lady does with her relationships is none of my business. I apologize.”

“You don’t have to…” Just as I was about to tell her not to worry so much about expressing herself, the housekeeper, Leonora, appeared, her steps slightly hurried.

“My lady, I am very sorry if I interrupt you, but Lady Lucelle and Lady Alica wish to see you,” Leonora informed with professional calm.

What's Lucelle doing here with her...? John can't have told her we broke up, right? Or was it Aunt Alica?

Ugh…I don’t feel well….

Suddenly, Arisella felt very nervous about facing her friend and ex-sister-in-law right now…..

♦♦♦♦

The Aswort Dukes' office in the Northern Cardinal Fortress was very luxurious, as expected of the highest status in the north.

Every piece of furniture in the room had an elegant, tasteful and dignified design, with the floor having a soft red carpet made from the skin of a demonic beast which made no noise when someone walked on it and the back walls of the room being adorned with various weapons and stuffed animals.

An impressive black wooden table was located inside the room and the owner was sitting naturally majestic in a black leather chair.

At this moment, he was no longer wearing the powerful armor he'd worn on the battlefield an hour ago, but instead a long cloak that seemed to absorb the little light that passed over his body, along with an obsidian-black uniform with crimson accents. To anyone standing in his presence, there would be absolutely no doubt that he was a true ruler.

That's how powerful he felt.

Astrian crossed his arms, the ten or so rings he wore on each finger glowing faintly in the reflection of the magical light released by the magic lamps. He stared with his intimidating golden eyes at the barbaric-looking man with black hair and eyes inside the office, his mouth slowly opening, speaking with chilling calm.

“So, man…I called you because I heard a very interesting story recently from one of your men, which filled me with so much pain and anger.”

“……Is that so?” The man replied, feigning indifference to the Duke’s chilling tone without meeting his gaze. Of course, his body language, however, was evidently anything but “calm.”

He could easily imagine what she was talking about, but he internally prayed that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, the gods had no intention of granting that wish.

“Yes. It’s actually quite funny, haha… I never expected to hear that my wife has been dating her stupid best friend for several months, maintaining an embarrassingly virginal relationship… Pfff, w-while I have no idea about it… because someone ordered it to be hidden from me!… hahaha”

He seemed to laugh humorously at what he was saying... but you didn't have to be a genius to know that behind that facade of his lurked a burning fury.

One where you barely manage to maintain your rationality.

The man, Ershas, ​​did his best to keep his body from trembling at his nephew's intense killing intent as he plastered his best smile on his gruff face, "You seem to be listening to drunken nonsense, then. Don't you know we've been very busy these past few months dealing with some very important business transactions?"

Who was the idiot who spilled the soup in his drunken stupor! I'll be sure to skin him alive for incurring the wrath of this crazy nephew of mine!

…..if I get out alive that is!

The leader of the Silver Lions caravan had many curses he wanted to unleash right now.

“Is that so?” Astrian said with a smile as he rested his chin on his hand, looking at him with narrowed eyes that contained the coldness of the little thing itself, “Then why do my subordinates’ reports seem to contradict your words? You seemed to be visiting Taylan Village regularly these past few months, for example…”

“…Wait, are you tracking us?”

“Stop acting like you didn’t think this was coming, as they took too many precautions against tracking that was clearly abnormal for it not to be obvious, though it was naturally useless… Anyway, you of all people should know that it’s a bad idea to change the subject with me regarding this matter.”

The room seemed to have become extremely cold by the time he finished saying that, which was surprising since magic is supposed to keep it warm.

“….“

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Astrian suddenly smiled, and Ershas had a very, very bad feeling.

“Wait, whatever you’re going to do, stop right there! Let me tell you, even if I had told you, you wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it anyway!” Ershas quickly waved his hands as he watched Astrian draw his sword, cold sweat running down his forehead.

"….And?"

“So what!? So what!? Are you going to make me send other fools to try to kidnap Arisella like that time, just because you can’t stand that she has a partner now?! You do remember that that didn’t work because that spirit of hers killed them all, right!?”

Astrian's expression immediately grew even more somber when Ershas said those words. After all, he knew she was right.

There was a time when Astrian, unable to bear the time apart from his wife, asked Ershas for help in bringing her back to the Duchy quickly, even if it meant kidnapping her.

The reason for doing something as strange as that was quite simple; they were both cursed.

More specifically, neither Astrian nor anyone on his side known to the perpetrator who cursed them can go to Arisella's side by themselves, or she and her children will die. This means that, unless Astrian wanted to kill the family he loved, he couldn't go to Taylan to see Arisella... no, he couldn't even be within a kilometer of that cursed village without ending up killing them, since that was the condition given by that scum.

That was something that had been plaguing him for the past three years since they were separated because of his predecessor using his divine abilities as a Sovereign.

That man erased the existence of Astrian and his children from the minds of both Arisella and all those he came to value in Taylan, taking their children with him and Astrian because they could be useful to continue his lineage.

Fortunately, divine abilities like the ones he used to erase Arisella's memory didn't work at all on his own bloodline, and Astrian and to some extent his youngest daughter were able to retain their precious memories of Arisella.

He had hoped to resolve things after successfully getting rid of that scum. But unfortunately, Astrian couldn't do anything to resolve what that man had done to his family, even after becoming a ruler of the North himself.

He was forced to live with this curse.

Since then, the Duke has been experiencing increasing anxiety and anger that was only calmed by the presence of his babies, but his desire to see his beloved wife was driving him mad as time went on, and Astrian turned himself into a workaholic to deal with it, as doing anything else would only bring him more pain.

However, even that was proving to have its limits, as the growing dreams of holding her in his arms, smelling her hair, and kissing her lips were driving him ever more desperate, as they weren't reality. Those wonderful dreams could very well be nightmares that would lead him to do something stupid if he wasn't careful, so he began to experience insomnia.

A condition that worsened with the unpleasant situation that threatened the North and, by extension, his family.

And then it happened, what Astrian thought was his salvation from this overwhelming situation appeared.

Her troublesome and stingy uncle, Ershas, ​​who had been very busy dealing with various matters in the Silver Lions branch residing in the Eastern Duchy for the past two and a half years, ended up returning to the North and learned of the strange situation surrounding the village where his sister and nephews lived through his subordinates.

Since he was not there and was largely unknown as the leader of this famous caravan, this barbarian (?) was saved from being involved in the curse, so of course he remembered that Astrian was Arisella's husband before becoming Duke but, for some reason, only his children were with him and not only that, no one remembered the existence of the three of them.

Naturally, he immediately contacted Astrian to find out what the hell was going on. He learned the situation from his own lips and nearly went mad with rage. If it weren't for the fact that Astrian had already killed the old Duke himself, Ershas would have gladly tortured that old man to his heart's content.

How dare he mess with the memory of his beloved family, you disgusting, heartless old man!

But Ershas was also confused. They had painstakingly concealed Taylan's existence from the rest of the world. At least the fact that it was rich in many valuable natural resources. How did the previous Duke find out? And why not take advantage of Taylan's fertile soils for the prosperity of the North?

Astrian did not respond at all to these reasonable questions, but immediately asked Ershas to bring Arisella to the Duchy, since the previous Duke was unaware of her existence and he was not cursed.

Ershas refused. Not because he saw any harm in helping kidnap someone, as he had kidnapped people before, like a certain old woman (Leonora) for helping this guy in the past, but because Arisella's contracted spirit, whose name he didn't bother to remember, might betray his identity.

If he kidnapped Arisella and she told her younger sister Selena...a world of suffering awaited them both. Of that he was sure.

To that, Astrian said, “Then hire professional kidnappers to bring her to me, then kill them mercilessly!” and Ershas gleefully replied, “Oh, that’s a good idea!” Nothing coming out of either of their mouths sounded romantic in the least, and it was downright horrible.

But Astrian was desperate to have Arisella in his arms, and Ershas wanted to help his adopted niece (not officially) reunite with her children, those little miracles between the two of them.

Of course, the plan was foiled by the aforementioned air spirit creature, who, upon learning that his master was being kidnapped by unknown individuals, albeit somewhat belatedly, immediately killed them, ruining the forced family reunion.

And the funniest thing is that because of that disgusting old man's 'divine curse,' no one seems to question where the kidnappers came from! Ershas found it genuinely ridiculous to see how the villagers acted as if nothing had happened after that.

There was no panic about the fact that foreigners would try to kidnap her mistress, and she didn't even understand why that was the case. The curse was supposed to simply make them forget about Astrian and his children, right?

“And let me tell you, it was this effort that gave John the courage to confess to Arisella, so yes, it was an excellent idea!”

“¡….!“

Astrian's eyes widened. He didn't expect his plan to lead Arisella into a relationship with a man other than him.

The very idea was absolutely so ridiculous, that I instinctively wanted to reject it.

How could his sincere desire to see the woman he loved end up leading him to a relationship with another man, of all things? Even if she didn't really remember him existing... Going out with someone who wasn't even close to him? Absurd!

Astrian clenched his fists and slammed the black table hard, easily splitting it, “I don’t know if this was really our fault, but there must be a way to separate them….!”

“Ours? It was your idea…” Ershas wisely decided to remain silent under the murderous glare directed at him. It wasn’t worth arguing with this madman who so easily damaged luxury items like that, and he reminded himself that being a fourth-rank martial artist and his uncle wouldn’t keep him safe from his fury.

“Maybe I should poison him with the help of assassins….? No, Arisella would be deeply saddened if she lost that scum like that. I hate it, but it can't be helped…. So, should we drug him with aphrodisiacs and have him rape some random girl? That sounds good….but it would break his heart…Damn it!”

“….You shouldn’t be so toxic…”

“Nonsense. I can’t allow that idiot to be by Arisella’s side for another second. He doesn’t deserve her.” Astrian rolled his eyes. In fact, even if he were on par with her, John Arsher or any other man wouldn’t deserve to be by her side.

Only him, no one else. Ershas also knew that Astrian von Aswort, his beloved biological nephew, thought that way, and he too rolled his eyes for entirely different reasons.

Neither of them, of course, had the slightest idea that Arisella had separated from John of her own free will, so there was nothing to worry about.

Suddenly, Ershas began to blink.

“Yeah? What’s up, Lucelle?”

“Hmmm…” Astrian narrowed his eyes at the name. He never liked that woman in the same way that she never felt much appreciation for his existence, and she just had to be the sister of Arisella’s lover, of all things.

It was unpleasant.

Anyway, Ershas was currently being contacted by Lucelle through a magical artifact that allowed long-distance telepathic communication for a few minutes before losing magical energy. It was a rather valuable item that wasn't used until necessary…

What happened? he wondered.

“Yes… What? Do you want me to escort Arisella to the Duchy capital…?” As Ershas repeated the words he heard in his mind, his expression gradually became more and more dull, as if he could barely understand what he was hearing.

Astrian showed a similar reaction upon hearing this. No, it would be more accurate to say that his eyes conveyed the message, "Do you dare to play with me on this matter?" He also couldn't believe what he was hearing from his uncle.

Arisella wanted to come to the Duchy's capital? Ha!

Knowing her well and having made sure she lived in luxury as they did, both considered that Arisella would only leave Taylan if she somehow broke the divine curse and remembered her beloved children, wanting to see them again….saying this, Astrian felt a little sad to think that she would be in third place…But the thing is that Arisella loved the twins more than her beloved husband.

After all, she gave birth to them.

Either way, Ershas's apparent soliloquy continued as he looked at Astrian with serious eyes.

“You say Arisella had a spiritual awakening and saw a disastrous future for the entire North, so she needs Duke Astrian’s power? She refuses to say what it is…?”

Astrian frowned. Judging by Ershas's expression and tone, he didn't seem to be lying about this matter. What does this mean, Arisella awakening her spiritual potential? And a potentially disastrous prophecy about a threat to the entire north?

What was up with that?

Most importantly, Arisella….Would she really come to him of her own free will?

Could he and his children end up reuniting with her, if only because of a potentially catastrophic prophecy of the future?

Would fate finally be on his side?

As Astrian contemplated all these things with his mind in a mess, nervousness and so expectations bubbling inside him while some doubts still hovered in his mind,

The mental conversation between Ershas and Lucelle ended with a piece of information that was of great interest to both men.

“Wait a minute… Arisella broke up with John… today!?”

“¡….!“

Hearing those shocking yet beautiful words, the Duke of the North trembled uncomfortably with emotion while Ershas looked at him in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what he had just said...

And then, to the displeasure of the eyes of the very healthy Ershas (Hetero)….Astrian began to dance happily and moved while blessing the name of his sister-in-law (?) and thanking all the gods with fervor.

If any of his subordinates saw what he was doing right now, the Duke's dignity would be completely ruined. Not that he'd care.

What could matter more than his reunion with his beautiful and perfect wife!?