Chapter 131

NMRJKM Chapter 131

“…I can’t say much, but that’s how it was.”

“Dorothea will come too. If the three of us work together, I think we can manage somehow.”

“If it’s that kind of problem, I can help.”

“Thank you so much.”

“No, it’s only natural to offer this much help, as the High Priest lent me the holy relic.”

The High Priest and I talked a little more about the cursed objects before getting up.

As we walked down the hallway, our discussion continued.

“Are there really so few records about cursed objects?”

“The cursed objects, known as part of the devil, are so rare that they appear maybe once every 5,000 years, and it has always been an artifact.”

So, it meant that all the cursed objects that had appeared until now were created by humans making contracts with devils.

“But that tree…”

However, the tree I just heard about was naturally created, much like a holy relic. I had never heard of cursed objects being born naturally before. I hesitated and asked the high priest.

“Is there any record of cursed objects being born naturally?”

“…Not a single one.”

“…”

I frowned. This was not an ordinary matter. The high priest took me to the library of the temple.

It seemed many priests were already searching for records about the cursed objects, and the library was very busy.

“Take a look, and leave whenever you wish.”

“Yes, thank you, High Priest.”

I greeted him and stepped into the library. The priests paused momentarily at my arrival, but once they saw I was with the high priest, they resumed their tasks.

“There shouldn’t be anyone to disturb you. If you discover something, be sure to let me know.”

“Got it.”

With that, the High Priest left, and I began to examine the bookshelves carefully.

After searching here, I thought I should also check the place in the basement of the Denaves mansion.

[Exploration and Understanding of Holy Relics]

[Where do Holy Relics Appear?]

[On the Natural Occurrence of Holy Relics]

I slowly took out the last book. The occurrence of holy relics is natural. And this time, the cursed objects also appeared naturally.

‘Perhaps there’s a connection to the process of creating holy relics.’

I opened the book. As I quickly flipped through the pages, I found a research journal regarding the creation of holy relics.

To be precise, it was all theoretical. No one knew where, how, or why holy relics came into existence.

They merely explored the holy relics that had appeared and recorded their theories.

An interesting point was that someone had mentioned, using cursed objects as an example, that holy relics could also be ‘artificially’ created by someone.

‘If that’s the case, does that mean those who can contract with the gods can create holy relics?’

I quickly shook my head. It was not a common-sense notion, and the feasibility was nonexistent.

After all, the cursed objects were directly touched by the power of the devil. Holy relics, on the other hand, were fundamentally based on the indirect emanation of divine power, which made their nature somewhat different.

I flipped through more pages.

‘There are fundamentally too few records about cursed objects.’

An object that appears maybe once every 5,000 years.

The records in history noted that cursed objects had appeared only twice, and it was characteristic that the details of how those two items were handled were not documented, and they had all vanished.

Thud.

I closed the book. After searching through more books for several hours, I still couldn’t find any information regarding the cursed objects.

The priests seemed to have found no substantial information either, as they were engrossed in their books.

To avoid disturbing them, I quietly left the library of the High Priest and soon returned to the mansion with the knights sent by Carlothian.

“Milady, you’re back?”

As the maids welcomed me, I pressed my tired eyes, which had been strained from looking at books for so long, and said, “I need to rest right away.”

“Understood. Ah, just a moment.”

One of the maids brought me a letter.

“A letter has arrived from Marquis Seth Dolorante.”

I frowned. “From that man?”

“He emphasized that it contained very important content and insisted it be delivered directly.”

I took the letter and placed it on the bedside table. It was an urgent letter from Seth Dolorante, which gave me a suspicious feeling.

“I’m fine with a bath. Just help me out of my dress, and everyone else can leave.”

“Of course.”

The maids helped me out of my dress, and I sat on the bed wearing only my nightgown. I tore open the seal on the envelope and frowned as I read the contents of the letter.

The letter seemed to start off normally.

[Greetings, Duchess Denaves.]

The sentence that started with a simple greeting soon shifted to the main topic.

[In a week, I hope you will visit our mansion.]

I almost scoffed at this. Why on earth would I go there, especially after receiving such a suspicious letter?

However.

[There is a very important matter concerning your husband, Duke Denaves.]

I paused my gaze on that line for a moment.

[Don’t you want to know about Deathrotea?]

Ah, I couldn’t help but acknowledge it. It was a sweet temptation. I briefly folded the letter and covered my mouth.

‘What does this man know about Deathrotea that he would write such a letter?’

There didn’t seem to be any connection. I frowned as I carefully folded the letter and placed it in the drawer of the bedside table.

‘I have always had doubts about Deathrotea.’

I first felt this when Carlothian’s father mentioned receiving the sword.

‘No matter how I think about it, it seems like it was given on purpose.’

Of course, it could just be my imagination. The current Deathrotea had returned to being a powerless sword.

So, one might say that while dark magic lingers, the subject of the curse has become a holy relic, rendering it powerless.

‘That means it’s not a cursed object.’

For a moment, while reading about cursed objects, I had wondered if Carlothian’s Deathrotea might be one.

But a cursed object is something that has been directly touched by the devil, and it couldn’t be suppressed as a holy relic. Being suppressed as a holy relic would mean it’s at a lower level.

Oh, I just realized I hadn’t checked the basement yet. Carlothian keeps saying he would set it on fire. Although he talks a lot about burning it down, there’s much to do, and since I didn’t want that, the basement remained intact.

I quietly slipped out of the room, concerned that the maids might worry, and headed to the basement. Soon, I arrived at the room and began to examine the books.

‘Cursed objects, cursed objects…’

I began searching for books about evil species, but there were no books that directly mentioned them.

‘However, there seem to be some discussions about items that can be created by making a contract with a demon…’

I put away the book I was reading and started rummaging through other books. Books related to dark magic often had no titles, making it quite difficult to find something specific.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, I discovered a book that mentioned cursed objects. It was a very thin book with a leather cover.

Without thinking, I opened it and immediately paused at the word “cursed objects” written on the first page.

[Cursed Objects]

[Cursed objects can be created by anyone who uses dark magic.]

The writing began like that and soon started an intriguing story.

[However, the types of cursed objects that can be created vary greatly depending on how deeply one is involved in dark magic.]

I turned the page.

[First, the objects of the highest beings. Cursed objects created by directly contracting with demons and receiving their power.]

My eyes sparkled. Finally, a book that directly discussed cursed objects had appeared. I stared at the book intently.

[Cursed objects have the characteristic of becoming stronger over time.]

‘They become stronger as time passes?’

[For reasons unknown, cursed objects that have existed for a long time do not weaken; instead, they only grow stronger.]

‘Is this person someone who has actually created cursed objects?’

I narrowed my eyes. Yet the book continued to reveal new facts to me.

[Below cursed objects, there are only objects that are commonly referred to as “cursed.”]

There were quite interesting things written there.

[They say that possessing it brings misfortune. That it causes nightmares. Or that it leads to madness.]

Madness!

I lit up at that part. This applied to Carlothian’s Deathrotea.

‘So, Deathrotea isn’t quite a cursed object after all.’

I nodded and continued reading the book. Unfortunately, it only provided a lengthy description of cursed objects.

It didn’t explain how to deal with them or how to handle them.

[Cursed objects are more powerful than you think.]

It merely warned me repeatedly.

‘Huh?’

[In particular, cursed objects…]

The last page of the book was torn out. I closely examined that part. In particular, what was the next statement about evil species?