"Right? If they tried to stir up the people's anxiety and win the Zelcan Empire over to their side, they should've blamed Phillip. They should've denied the fact that Phillip was chosen by the Goddess."

I looked carefully at the inscriptions on the stone plate.

"It's only them, the Roums, who had been chosen by the Heavens, and Phillip was an impostor. The people were being deceived by him. Shouldn't they have written it like that? But the stone plate did not deny that Phillip had been chosen by the Goddess. Instead, they were giving him the credit."

"Are you saying that Emperor Phillip himself made this stone tablet?"

Eunhan was smart. With this conversation alone, he understood my thoughts.

"Yes, it was probably King Phillip, not Rakshul or the Roums who built this stone plate."

Everything was strange.

"It contains a warning for the people. But this is inside of the Imperial Palace, which is also the deepest part of Tenlarn Palace. It's strange to put up a stone plate in a place where even the nobles can't come easily."

"Wasn't it just to show off his power?"

"Even so, it doesn't make sense that Phillip hadn't gotten rid of these plates. I heard that the Zelcan revival movement was strong at the time, but he eventually wiped out all the rebels and executed Rakshul."

Phillip was forced to move the Capital because the damage to Khan and Tenlarn Palace was so devastating and the land was polluted with black magic.

"Phillip was the winner, but why would he leave the stone plate built by Rakshul here?"

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that Phillip had built the stone plate. I touched the stone plate that did not have any traces of being burnt.

At that moment, the mana stone in my necklace shone and my whole body felt as if I had been electrocuted. Then, came the darkness.

I could still see the huge stone plate in front of me, but in that moment, the stone plate had changed.

The stone plate was now clean. There was no trace of time at all as if it had only been made recently.

[Phillip, what is this stone plate?! Are you crazy? You're out of your mind!! How could you do this!]

I heard a woman shouting in front of the stone plate.

As she vented her anger, the crimson eyes of the man standing on the opposite side flashed fiercely.

[Don't talk nonsense. I am the Emperor of the Empire. If you disrespect me again, I will not forgive you.]

So that guy was Phillip?

The first Emperor of the Asteric Empire and the one who betrayed the Goddess and created the Heir to the Curse?

I looked at the man who had silver hair and crimson eyes. As soon as I tried to take a closer look at his figure, my vision blurred, and I heard Eunhan calling me urgently, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

The moment I heard him shout, the illusion disappeared. As I slowly blinked, a dilapidated stone plate and a panicked Eunhan appeared before me.

"Eunhan."

"Your Highness, are you all right?"

"Yes, just a little dizzy."

Once again, things from a thousand years ago were appearing before my eyes. Why on earth did this keep happening?

"It seems to be the influence of black magic. Let's go back now."

"No, I'll look for it a little more."

Maybe this was a gift from the Goddess of Light. Maybe she was showing me a hint to lift the curse because I was struggling to heal Blake.

This was a clue to lift Blake's curse, and the Goddess of Light was leading me to it. I was convinced.

"No. His Majesty has ordered me to return to the Palace immediately if it becomes dangerous."

Eunhan spoke politely and firmly.

"I'm fine."

"You look pale."

"Wait, just a second."

There was a clue here. I might find a way to lift the curse. I couldn't leave like this when the clue was right in front of me. Eunhan, however, was worried and did not budge.

"Your safety comes first. Let's go back to the Palace and then come back....."

Eunhan had been persuading me in a soft tone, when suddenly, he stared up at the sky.

"Eunhan...?"

"It's a demon."

"Is it a monster? I heard that Tenlarn Palace couldn't even become a monster's lair because it was too polluted..."

Unexpectedly, I followed Eunhan's gaze and looked up at the sky, but I didn't see anything.

"Excuse me, Your Highness."

"What? Ow!"

Eunhan suddenly picked me up in a princess carry, so I shouted in surprise. The moment I put my arms around his neck reflexively in order to not fall, white monsters appeared from the sky.

That monster that resembles a giant bean sprout...

"It's a Macul!"

How come a demon that only lived in the Valley of Chaos appeared here?

"Hold on tight."

As Eunhan ran with me in his arms, the Macul followed quickly as if it had aimed for us from the start.

Dozens of Macul flew in quickly, their long bodies shaking. Eunhan moved with an unbelievable speed.

But the Macul outnumbered us greatly, and it wasn't long before Eunhan was driven into a corner.

"Please drop me off, Eunhan."

If he was alone, he'd be able to beat the Macul easily. I didn't want to hold him back.

"Hold on tightly."

"I was the one who insisted on coming here. Just run away, Eunhan..."

"I will enter the Palace. There will be a lot of dust."

A massive flow of mana rushed into the narrow corridor, and the building that was already in a precarious situation began to shake. The front was blocked by a wall, and the back was blocked with Macul. There was no way left to escape. Eventually, Eunhan put me down on the floor.

"I will make a way. Your Highness, flee to the place where we first came."

He pulled out his sword with a grim expression. No matter how much magic he used, it would be difficult for him to deal with so many monsters. Suddenly, a Macul flew to us at a breakneck speed.

Eunhan extended his sword toward the Macul as he pulled me into his arms, but the Macul went past us and hit the wall.

Clang!

The other Macul just flew towards the wall, and did not attack us.

Eunhan observed the Macul's movements as he grasped his sword firmly in his hand.

Clang! Clang!

As the Macul hit themselves one after another, cracks began to appear on the hard wall.

And one wall collapsed completely.

".....!"

And the space beyond it was revealed. The Macul entered it. Eunhan and I stood there fixedly. Then, the Macul that were about to enter the space, turned and looked at us.

"I guess it wants us to follow it."

"You can't go in. The demons have stopped their attack, so you must take advantage of this gap and return to the Palace."

"No, I should go in."

"Your Highness, it's dangerous."

"It's not dangerous. Come to think of it, they never attacked us."

"They showed up to bring us here from the start."

"That is even more of a reason to run away."

"These demons are only said to exist in the Valley of Chaos, so there must be a reason why they're here."

As if to agree with me, the Macul gave off a white glow. At the same time, the mana stone of light in my necklace began to shine.

I was lured away by the light and walked towards it as if I was possessed. Eunhan couldn't stop it anymore.

There were still traces of fire in this corridor. After the fire broke, the wall seemed to have blocked the entrance.

The corridor did not have a window, but it wasn't dark because of the Macul's light.

Not long after, another wall blocked our path. Then, the Macul once again thumped against the wall.

Didn't it hurt?

Perhaps because I was convinced that they would not attack us, I started to worry about them.

Before long, the wall broke and the hidden stairs beyond it was revealed.

As I was about to go down the stairs, Eunhan dissuaded me again.

"It's dangerous."

"I can't give up here."

"Maybe it's a trap. Let's go."

"Don't worry."

The light that filled the hallway flickered at the same time. The Macul were agreeing with my words. At first, they looked like scary, enlarged bean sprouts, but now I found them to be rather cute.

"Look, the Macul says it's okay."

"They are evil creatures. I can't believe them. Let's go back."

But Eunhan was stubborn. I understood what he was worried about, but I couldn't go back. I stared straight into his eyes.

"Eunhan, I really want to lift Blake's curse. I can take any risk if it means I can lift the curse. Even though it's really dangerous, I can't give up on the fact that it's possible."

"But, Your Highness..."

"I'm sorry for forcing you. But please follow my will this time. Please."

I asked Eunhan for a favor as I bowed deeply. Eunhan was at a loss and he felt panicked.