Chapter 27: 27

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“Chet . ”

I ended up getting thrown into solitary confinement . Being locked in a prison cell meant that for now, I could only stare at Paladin Harman through the iron bars .

“Hey man . What’s my name again?”

“…It’s Allen Olfolse, your highness . ”

“And my status?”

“You’re the seventh grandson of His Majesty the Holy Emperor . ”

I grinned in contentment after hearing that .

Well, it was my first time going on a power trip while relying on my background, after all . And you know what? It felt better than I initially expected .

The end result was a bit unfortunate though, to say the least .

“Why is a personage such as myself rotting inside a prison?”

“Your highness, since you committed a crime, you need to serve your time . Please spend the next seven days in here . ”

“Don’t make me laugh!” I scoffed and addressed Harmon directly, “By the way, is that Mister Eldest Son of Count what’s-his-face still alive?”

“Fortunately, yes . ”

“If I really killed him, what would’ve happened to me?”

“…You’d be locked away in a prison, your highness . ”

“For how long?”

“…Around half a year . ”

Oh, ohhh! Such a short time even though it’s murder? Heh, I might no longer wield any influence as a Holy Empire’s grandson, but I still get to enjoy some benefits, don’t I?

A Count should be ranked pretty high up in the nobility hierarchy, too .

It’s a pretty good deal to relax inside a prison cell for a while, right after getting rid of human trash too . While inside a prison cell, I didn’t have to lug around rotting corpses, I could even read all I want, eat in peace, and exercise whenever I want . I was the Holy Emperor’s grandson, and since the feudal lord was treating me nicely, my standard of living should be guaranteed to be high in this place .

“Still… I should’ve castrated that dumbass . ”

“…If you did, your highness, it’d be me shouldering the full responsibility, instead . ”

Harman removed his helm and wiped the sweat away with a handkerchief .

Indeed, this Paladin would be the one at the chopping block if I really managed to kill that fool for real . He was my ‘guardian’ after all .

I quietly observed Harman . This dude who came across as the Termin*tor was slowly revealing his emotions bit by bit . I was satisfied with this progress . There were very few things in this world as fun as making a fool out of an uptight person .

“No need to get all sweaty, my man . If I truly wanted to kill him, I’d have gone for the head instead . I merely disciplined him a little, that’s all . ”

“But why, your highness?”

“Just because . ”

“Just because?”

Rather than a full answer, I formed a refreshed grin on my face instead .

Harman could only massage his temples . “I see . By the way…” He then stared straight at me and asked, “…When did you learn to use Spirit Speech, your highness?”

“Spirit Speech?”

I tilted my head in confusion, and upon seeing my reaction, Harman’s expression became even more confused than mine .

“It’s nothing, your highness . Please don’t mind it . In the meantime, please cool your head in here for a week . ”

“Alright, I’ll do just that . Ah, I’m feeling kinda peckish, so get me something to eat . Also, something to read too . History books, if you will . It reminds me of reading fantasy novels and that kinda makes me feel good, you see . ”

I nodded my head and waved at Harman as the paladin got further away from the prison .

A week, was it?

An unexpectedly long holiday landed on my lap .

I scanned the interior of the prison . It was tidier than I would’ve expected . As a matter of fact, it wasn’t your run-of-the-mill prison filled with gloomy, soggy atmosphere and an unbearable stench .

I guessed that a disused storage area was cleaned out for my use . Hell, it even had a bed too . Also, there were no other prisoners, either . Other than some indistinct murmurs coming across the wall every now and then, it was rather quiet in here .

It seemed that I was separately ‘imprisoned’ .

Meaning, a location must’ve been specifically emptied out just for my sake . So, although this was nominally a prison cell, it was more like a small one-bedroom flat . It gave off a cozy overall vibe .

Spending a week in this place should be a cinch, then .

Actually, I was in need of some ‘me’ time at the moment . Well, I was deeply engrossed in studying magic lately, you see .

For some reason, it was quite fun learning this kind of stuff .

2

In my past life, I was what you’d call… academically challenged, but now? The sense of accomplishment I’d get after learning magic and successfully using it was nothing to scoff at .

3

Just as I extracted the Necromancer’s grimoire from the item window, someone entered the prison . It was Charlotte . She must’ve gotten permission from the Paladin to enter here .

Because she hardly ever showed any emotions on her face, it was tough to get a bead on what’s in her mind, but at least this time, she seemed troubled from the way her forehead had all wrinkled up .

“I’m truly sorry . Because of me…”

Charlotte lowered her head .

“What are you on about?”

I wasn’t planning on helping her out anyway . From the get-go, this girl had really quick wits about her . Even if I hadn’t done anything, it was pretty obvious that she’d have come out swimmingly from that situation anyway .

“I always end up receiving your aid . ”

I really had no clue what she was saying here .

To be honest, I didn’t think I have been specifically helping her out so far, so… Ah, was she thanking me for our first encounter, back when I saved her life?

I tilted my head but Charlotte just stood there, not saying anything else while simply staring at me .

I muttered with a slight pout, “Fine, fine . Just go and get me something to eat, will ya?”

“…?”

“Not the stuff they distribute in this place . I mean, I’d rather have the food you used to make back in the monastery . They tasted pretty good, you see . ”

Her cooking skill was first-rate . She was so good that even with just the common ingredients found in rural areas, she was able to produce something really delicious . So, with the much higher-class ingredients the feudal lord handed out, her cooking should be even better than before .

“If you tell the feudal lord that I sent you, he should let you use the kitchen as well as some ingredient, too . I’m feeling quite peckish right now, so bring me something appropriate, will ya?”

“…Understood . ”

Charlotte smiled gently and bowed her head .

**

(TL: In 3rd person POV . )

Paladin Harman was currently commanding the convicts outside the walls of the Ronia fortress .

The blizzard was so strong that he was nearly walking blind at the moment . This weather was extremely dangerous – the snow piled up far too high because of the ongoing blizzard .

Ronia’s walls were on the low side, at only twelve meters high . If the fallen snow hardened, it’d basically give the undead access to bridges to cross over the walls . Which was why they needed to work fast and plow the snow away .

2

‘It’s been a week already . ’

After his job was done here, he’d go and free the Imperial Prince .

– Imperial Prince-nim only did those things because of me . Please pardon him .

The girl from the monastery actually came to see Harman first . She explained what happened that day . Of course, he had to doubt his own ears .

According to her, the one to instigate the incident was Heis, the eldest son of Count Hedron, and the Imperial Prince merely tried to dissuade him .

‘Rather than dissuading, it looked more like a simple act of violence to me, but…’

In the process, the Imperial Prince displayed a new side of him . For a brief moment there, he showed to everyone present that he still had the authoritative air and dignity that befitted the descendant of the Imperial Family – he proved to be someone who had indeed inherited the noble bloodline .

No, the boy went even further than that and he ended up using ‘Spirit Speech’ .

He loaded his voice with divinity and caused the surrounding air to become heavier, which gave the sense of sheer pressure to all those listening to him .

‘But it seems that his highness isn’t conscious of it . ’

Only a handful of commanders overflowing with charisma was capable of using Spirit Speech at will . And those who could subconsciously spit it out was even rarer, regardless of whether you were a student of magic, a believer in the divine, or even a possessor of demonic energy .

Harman had a lot of questions he wanted to ask the Imperial Prince . He was really curious about how the boy could even use Spirit Speech, and where he learned to use it in the first place .

Did something in him really change three months ago, after that suicide attempt? However, it was impossible for anyone to change their ways in such a short period of time .

Harman frowned deeply and discarded all the unnecessary thoughts out of his head . He then shifted his gaze back to the convicts busy doing their jobs . They were wielding their shovels and plowing the snow away .

“…It’s too quiet . ”

The violent snowstorm continued to hinder his vision . It was eerily quiet and the only sound present was the noise of the winds angrily howling about . No, there were also the grunts of the convicts and their echoing shoveling noises too .

This was too strange .

The 25th of December . The day the Necromancer King Amon had perished . It was also when demonic energy would become its strongest within the Land of the Dead Spirits .

Even then, the horrifying moans and screams dyed in pain belonging to the undead weren’t reverberating throughout this cursed land .

As a result from these days of relative peace compared to last year, the convicts were all carrying relaxed expressions .

However, Harman was inwardly worried . This was exactly like the calm before the storm . It was too peaceful as a matter of fact . The Ronia fortress should’ve been visited by at least hundreds of undead already . And yet, not even a single one could be seen .

‘…Something is definitely wrong here . An event like this must be its first ever since the death of the Necromancer King . ’

It had already been 50 years since the Great Hero, the current Holy Emperor, Kelt Olfolse, had slain the Necromancer King .

In the ensuing decades, events of the undead repeatedly gathering in the Land of the Dead Spirits and dispersing continued every year .

And on the very day that the Necromancer King died, the 25th of December, the undead should be rampaging about more viciously than ever before . However, everything was so calm that he was getting goosebumps instead .

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