“Gunter, how is your body?”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Thanks to you, I was able to return without crossing the Stygian River.”
Gunter, who had just come down from his sickbed, expressed gratitude and apologies to the Emperor. He felt that it was no minor mistake to have harmed Livio due to his failure to recognize him.
“Your Majesty, I have come to realize that I am not worthy of being the Emperor.”
Gunter’s trembling fingers did not stop as he knelt. The aftereffects of the recent incident weighed heavily on him.
“What do you want to do?”
“For the future of the Empire, please depose me. I believe that sending me into exile would be the best course of action.”
“I will repair it.”
The defeated Gunter hung his head low. With that, he was officially deposed and eliminated from the succession.
He couldn’t bear to face the secretaries, knights, attendants, attending physician, and all the courtiers of the Sun Palace who had supported him thus far.
“Gunter.”
The Emperor ordered a servant to bring a liquor bottle.
“Take this cup.”
Gunter’s heart swelled with emotion at this final gift from the Emperor.
*
I entered the briefing room with Hugo’s team. Chloe and Falkenhayn were also called in.
Hugo began his presentation with a strong voice, displaying data using a crystal ball.
“To get straight to the point, the curse that Her Highness Princess Acella bears is of the highest grade.”
“Highest grade! To put it bluntly, that’s the result of a 7th-tier black magic, isn’t it?”
“Camilla did express that she put everything she had into making it. It seems quite a hefty price was paid.”
Hugo presented his evidence. It was irrefutable data, solid enough to be published as a thesis.
“The effect is soul erosion. Casting requires three components: caster, medium, and target. Once cast, it operates independently of the caster’s life or mana.”
“That means the medium is the power source. That’s the soul of the Grand Witch, right?”
“Indeed. This curse transmits the characteristics of the soul medium to the target’s soul and ultimately fuses them. That includes mana, divine power, and specific emotions or thoughts.”
“Oh my gosh. In a way, isn’t that resurrection?”
Falkenhayn’s jaw dropped in shock.
It’s a cruel effect that sacrifices the body and soul of the target to manifest the medium’s soul.
“It’s a bit different. With the two souls fused, they will clash and neither can be fully retained, leading to madness.”
“That’s truly a spell that a black magician would make…”
“That’s why black magic is called magic. Compared to the miracle-making magic, black magic consists only of spells that have absolutely no reason to be used when considering the price.”
I added for Chloe.
Seymour had described black magic as a subpar form of magic.
“The Grand Witch’s medium soul is also not in a complete state. It has been simplified for the sake of formalization.”
“What do you mean by simplified?”
“It has been compressed to this size in order to inject it into a human body. It means unnecessary memories or humanity have been cut away. The caster likely left only the parts needed for his purpose.”
“Stuff like the anger or hatred needed to spread black magic, right?”
I explained nonchalantly.
The team’s atmosphere notably darkened.
“And Camilla is stimulating it, causing it to expand.”
“Yes. Fusion or surge is likely to occur soon.”
“Why is everyone so tense? We’re here for a reason. We’re going to perform the surgery. What’s the time limit?”
“Uh, based on my observations, about three months… I suspect by the year’s end.”
“Let’s set a surgery date before the end of this year. Next is the procedure.”
I stood up and pointed at the MRI data with my pointer.
“From the size and position, the location filled with the curse seems to be the gallbladder.”
In simpler terms, it’s the gallbladder. It’s the organ attached next to the duct leading from the liver to the small intestine.
Acella’s occasional abdominal pain would likely resemble acute cholecystitis. That’s a symptom that occurs when small stones form in the gallbladder.
When gallstones randomly move through the internal organs and block the duct, it causes an excruciating pain.
When the stones return to the gallbladder, absurdly, the pain vanishes, and normal life can continue indefinitely.
The remnants of the curse are likely blocking the duct from time to time.
The pain level is considerable, and at its worst, it can be comparable to childbirth.
Finding the source of abdominal pain is always difficult, and distinguishing other diseases like appendicitis, lymphadenitis, and cholecystitis based solely on the patient’s testimony is challenging.
“Even though the gallbladder isn’t necessary, it’s only a bit inconvenient. We’ll perform a cholecystectomy. The difficulty itself is very easy. With laparoscopy, it’s just four holes to make. How about that?”
“They said they couldn’t produce it due to the need for rare materials. Consult with the dwarven artisan.”
“Understood. The problem lies in the Haeju part during removal. What happens if we take this out?”
“Since it’s the soul of a Grand Witch, I think the worst-case scenario is that she’ll unleash magic rampantly.”
“Right? By that time, the Royal Princess will be lying on the operating table under general anesthesia. Imagine if 5th or 6th-tier magic suddenly goes off and wrecks her immediately.”
“Eek! Please stop with those scary stories.”
Chloe gripped the chart tightly, frightened.
“In your Majesty’s previous surgery, the amulet you lent helped control the high-grade curse to some extent.”
“Certainly, it was obedient until we made the initial removal. If we can have it under perfect control until the removal, there shouldn’t be a significant difference from before.”
The problem is that this time, it’s not high-grade but the highest grade.
The current amulet would be of no use.
I opened the status window.
―――――――――――
· Amulet of the Dark Avatar
– Legendary-grade artifact
– Usage effect: Generates or controls curses of high grade or lower.
– Related artifact: Eternal Storm Stone
―――――――――――
‘If I combine it with the Eternal Storm Stone…’
―――――――――――
· Amulet of the Storming Dark Avatar
– Mythical-grade artifact
– Usage effect: Generates or controls curses of the highest grade or lower.
―――――――――――
Becoming a mythical-grade artifact allows me to control the highest-grade curses as well.
‘The Eternal Storm Stone was a legendary-grade artifact held by the chieftain of the Thunder Tribe among the barbarian tribes.’
I have three months until the deadline.
I need to obtain the Storm Stone within that period.
‘The barbarian tribes operate in the north.’
The Thunder Tribe can communicate fairly well compared to the Rock Tribe, but time is of the essence.
It would be best if negotiations go smoothly, but…
I should be prepared to force my way through with military power.
But the problem is.
‘Acella won’t let me go out to the outside world.’
Not long ago, she barely prevented me from participating in the mock battle.
If she hears I’m going out to fight the barbarian tribes, she’ll surely try to confine me again.
Even if she permits an expedition, she’ll likely insist on accompanying me like before.
Right now, Acella needs to stabilize. Using magic increases the risk of a magic explosion.
We should assume that there’s no support from the Moonlight Palace.
I should contact the main house first to prepare for the expedition, composed mainly of knights and adventurers.
‘I can’t back out because I’m the only one who knows what the artifact looks like.’
Fortunately, the chieftain of the Thunder Tribe is a person I have some connection with, having negotiated several times in the future.
It might turn out well for me.
“The surgery will be conducted as soon as the highest-grade curse countermeasure is in place. Everyone, prepare in the meantime.”
The doctors replied energetically and dispersed.
*
After the afternoon examination, Acella strongly requested a walk in the courtyard of the Moonlight Palace.
Since it’s important to receive sunlight, I granted her permission.
Acella, throwing a frisbee to Max, seemed to enjoy herself quite a bit but still appeared dissatisfied.
“I want to use magic.”
“Absolutely not. It’s forbidden until I heal you, Your Highness.”
Beep!
Even now, Acella’s curse is growing little by little, trying to consume her.
I flipped through the chart and explained to her.
“I’ve found a method. It won’t take long. Do you remember the precautions you need to follow?”
“Ban on going out, ban on vigorous activities, ban on magic, ban on anger, ban on destructive acts. It’s so boring.”
“What about the emergency medication?”
“The yellow painkillers I usually take. If that doesn’t work, I’ll take a red one. The blue one is a sleeping pill.”
“That’s right. You must take only one at a time, especially don’t take the red one for two consecutive days. To prevent accidents, I won’t allow you to open it by yourself.”
“Why is that necessary? The prince can manage it himself.”
“I might be sleeping, you know.”
“During an emergency, the lord should wake up by himself.”
“Haha. That’s also true.”
Well, I’m just reminding her to be cautious in case I’m not around.
Acella is smart, so she’d manage things well.
Max was running after a frisbee and wagging his tail, but eventually, he fell on his face without catching it.
Seeing this, Acella muttered ‘fool’ and squinted one eye, pretending to aim a spell at him.
“You really love magic, don’t you?”
“Of course. Ah, it’s so frustrating! Prince, you didn’t give me a ban just because you don’t want to go out with me, did you?”
“Come on, I’m not that clever.”
“Were you? No, never mind. It’s fine then. I needed the preparation anyway.”
I guess it would be trivial to go out for a light stroll around commoner neighborhoods.
She probably has a list of cafes she wants to visit.
A brief silence passed as the autumn breeze swept between us.
This marks the third autumn I’ve spent with Acella.
And the fourth winter is approaching as well.
Whether we can get through that rests in my hands.
“Prince. I heard about the treatment from the nurse.”
That was confidential. Chloe must have caved under Acella’s pressure.
“Do you plan to put a knife to my body?”
Seeing Acella’s nonchalant attitude, it appeared she was quite accepting of the surgery.
After all, she was the first to experience my medical expertise.
She had even witnessed the results of the direct surgery.
At this point, it would be beneficial to discuss it with the patient beforehand.
“I won’t be opening your entire abdomen. Just a few holes.”
“Mm-hmm.”
After hearing my response, Acella suddenly turned to look at me.
In doing so, her long blonde hair flew up into the air before slowly settling down.
Acella moved her small lips, sending her voice along with the wind.
“Lars. If you heal me, I’ll recognize that achievement and then…”
As dignified as a royal princess usually is.
“I’ll fulfill our contract.”
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