Edited by: Kuro and Lille
I would like to thank 917brat and the other ko-fi supporter (anon), especially 917brat (who dated a whooping 60 dollars) for completing the ko-fi goal. TWICE. that means, sometime next week, I will update another three chapters! Please enjoy this chapter and the next two after this! Thank you once again for supporting me and my work!
Between the four of them, Noah and Abner decided to check out the Queen’s castle. She wasn’t on the greatest terms with King Maverick, so she opted to have her own castle made. Noah had lived in the Queen’s castle for half of his childhood, so he knew better than the three of them where things were. He was a bit of a meathead, so Abner— the voice of reason— followed along with him.
Grey and Hartley were left to go through Consort Ceanna’s quarters which were in King Maverick’s castle but in a different wing. This would be a lot more challenging, so Grey wanted to do it himself. He was once a Shadow Guard so he knew how to investigate without getting caught.
He was a bit worried about Hartley, who was like Noah, but she promised she would listen to everything he said. He could only hope for the best.
For Ameer, these three people were with him until the very end. They did everything they could to protect him even when he was just as strong, if not, stronger than them. Friends and comrades like this were hard to find, so Grey decided to put his trust in them.
The four agreed to start their investigation when Ameer’s small castle was renovated and fully furnished. Living near their investigation sites made it a lot easier to sneak in. They didn’t have to pass by all the guards keeping watch at the wall surrounding the castle district.
According to the financial department, it would take a month for his small castle to be renovated. It was actually faster than he thought, but he was considered royalty. Even if the government officials and royals were unwilling to see it, the towns folk hired were. They didn’t slack off and made the castle quite sturdy. It was their way of saying thanks to Ameer who protected them on the battlefield for almost a decade.
Grey stayed in the inn with his comrades for about a month before moving into the castle after it was finished airing out.
They weren’t idle during the wait though. Abner and Ameer searched through the libraries for any information on the curse. As for Noah and Hartley, they went looking for witches, alchemists, and the like for information. Some knew about it but didn’t know the specifics, some outright didn’t know it was a thing.
They didn’t find much on his curse though, leading them to believe that it was hidden by Queen Meredith or Consort Ceanna. They had the most influence in the Kingdom, more so than the King himself who was like a figurehead.
At first, Grey thought it was shocking that the Queen and Consort Ceanna teamed up, but according to Noah, the Queen needed an ally when she realized she was infertile. She then realized that she could use Consort Ceanna who also needed more support. With the Queen supporting her sons, Consort Ceanna saw no problems with maintaining peace with the Queen. That was how the two were able to keep their mutual relationship throughout the years. If Queen Meredith wasn’t infertile, the relationship between the two would be drastically different.
Grey felt bad for Noah and Ameer. They didn’t ask to be Princes. If King Maverick wasn’t so lustful, a lot of heartache and bloodshed could have been avoided. The King was not satisfied with just Queen Meredith and Consort Ceanna, he wanted more and more even as he grew older. When he was well, he still took random women to his room and drowned himself in pleasure. That was how Ameer and Noah were born.
There was nothing wrong with women being the central power. The problem was that this society still treated women like objects. They hid behind their sons hoping to live a better life through them. This needed to change.
Grey vowed to change the dynamics of this society when he became King.
*****
When Grey, Noah, Abner, and Hartley arrived at Ameer’s renovated castle, it looked the same, just polished up. This was what he requested. He didn’t want any layout changes or color differences, so the construction crew respected that and did their best to replicate the castle’s former glory.
When they entered the building, a group of servants was lined up in the main hall of the entrance. There were 30 servants, all from young to old. There was an equal amount of maids and butlers.
In front of the group, Justin Leanen, Ceanna’s father, was waiting for Ameer. He had a stiff smile on his face, but he had to be professional. He could only push down his dislike.
“Your Highness, Prince Ameer, everything has been arranged.” Earl Justin Leanen gave a polite bow even if he was unwilling. "Greetings to Your Highness, Prince Noah.”
“Here are the servants that have been assigned to your castle.”
He said castle, but it was a small mansion at best. Even so, it was enough for Grey.
“I don’t need these servants. I already arranged the servants that I want.”
All the servants behind Earl Leanen stiffened, they were still mid-bow and no one wanted to move from that position.
“And why is that? Do you not trust the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor.”
“Obviously not,” Grey said without hesitation, “Why would I trust the people who killed my mother? Do you think I’m stupid?”
Earl Leanen was obviously offended at his statement, “Absurd! Your mother was killed because she gave birth to you, a cursed child.”
Grey stepped up to Earl Leanen so that they were shoulder to shoulder but he was facing in the opposite direction. He tilted his head and whispered, “You think I don’t know what your daughter and the Queen have done to my mother while she was pregnant? Do you think anyone would be so stupid as to believe a random curse came out of nowhere and no high priest can cure it?”
He turned away and said in a low, deep voice filled with anger, “It would be in your best interest to leave with these servants and never come back. Do you think I am a pushover and that I won’t retaliate against you? Tell your daughter this.”
“She best stays out of my business if she does not want to get killed.”
And with that, he motioned his men to escort the Earl and the servants out of the small mansion.
Earl Leanen left the mansion in utter shock. First, he could not believe someone had the audacity to talk to him that way. Second, that other person threatened his daughter! The nerve of him!
“Who does he think he is?! He is nothing but a cursed child with no mother!”
And with that, he stomped away with the servants rushing behind him to catch up.
Once all the unnecessary people were gone, all of Ameer’s and Noah’s trusted subordinates were able to come into his small mansion. Though it was small in comparison to the other mansions, there were a lot of rooms with enough space for 3-4 people in one room. Ameer, Noah, and the two Lieutenant Generals, Abner and Hartley, had their own rooms.
As mentioned before, the servants Grey hired soon arrived. He hired ten servants, the rest would be aided by his men when it came to cleaning. His army already had cooks, so they were also settled in. There was a separate area for servants, but there were a lot of rooms, so some of his men also lived over there.
His place looked like it was invaded by the military. It didn’t seem like the home of a Prince.
All of the people living in his home were screened to make sure they would not betray him. Most of the people living with him were commoners, but they had absolute loyalty toward him.
“There’s nothing hidden in our home right?” Grey asked Abner and Hartley.
The two were currently in his room. Noah was also there but he didn’t participate in checking the mansion.
There was magic in this world, so he had to be careful. Not only was there magic, but there was also alchemy. Regarding the two, it was very rare for someone to use magic or alchemy. About 1% of the population was capable of using either. Most of them stayed in their respective towers as recluses; only a small portion of them would aid nobles or royal families.
Everyone in the military was people who could not use magic, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any tools for detecting magic circulating the market. They were expensive but needed.
“All clear! I made sure to check each room myself,” Abner said with unwavering confidence.
“Hearing you say that makes me relieved.”
Grey, Noah, Abner, and Hartley met up in Grey’s room after searching through each room and hallway for any magical devices. He didn’t have System 225’s help so he needed to use his instincts more than ever to get through this world. Arisa and System 505 could not use all the functions System 225 had, so he had to make do with what he had.
There weren’t any mages that were protecting the Royal Family, but he had to make sure. It was possible for Earl Leanen or Duke Ross, Queen Meredith’s father, to hire someone behind the scenes. It was better to be safe than sorry.
“Now that we have our base in order, we should begin our operations tonight,” Grey said as he took out a map of the castle district.
In the center of the map was the main castle. It was where King Maverick and Consort Ceanna lived with her two sons. To the north of the central castle was Queen Meredith’s residence. She had a lover or two living with her. To the west were the servants' quarters, the training guards, the barracks, and places like that. Lastly, to the east was where Grey and his loyal soldiers lived, as well as the Crown Prince’s castle. The Crown Prince’s castle was empty but well-maintained.
“We can spend the first day scouting the two castles. Do your best not to get caught.”
He wasn’t worried about Hartley, who was going to be with him. The one that worried him the most was his muscle-headed brother, Noah. He trained them for the month the construction was going on, but he didn’t know how well his training was.
The fruits of his training would be shown to him during their operation…
Also, he found out Noah was Kyle, his best friend that has been following him through different worlds. This happened during training. He was excited to meet someone he knew, but he was a little disappointed he didn’t meet his lover, God System.
He could only hope that they could meet soon.
In the meantime, he needed to get rid of this “curse.”
GrandpaMarky: Hello my lovely grandchildren! Sorry I am late. It seems I can't be held to keep promises for things like this lol. Jokes aside, I was supposed to update yesterday (it's around 1 AM right now) but ya boi had to do this HW for my class that was due at 11:59PM (Monday, aka yesterday for me) and I barely made it T_T that was the most stressful shit ever. -10/10 don't want to do that again! Anyway, please thank my ko-fi supporters for completing two ko-fi goals! See you all in the next two chapters :D <3
