episode_0183

“ㅡHow long will it take?”

dump. Grimoire, who was sitting on the floor, recalled his conversation with Lilith.

‘Then, you guard it and then come back after eating.’

‘Are you protecting it?’

The answer that seemed to have been expected came back to Grimoire’s words.

‘If you put this in, it will become a totem.’

As she gestured, a pickaxe fell in front of the grimoire.

‘It’s a contract. You must watch that soul until the end and take that soul.’

“Hmm… But why is it a pickaxe?”

Grimoire, who had finished recalling, tilted his head.

It was then. The statue’s eyes turned red and its mouth opened.

A strong wind blows, and the space splits.

“Oh?”

The grimoire exclaimed in admiration and took a step back.

An evil energy that even the devil himself admired began to swirl and gather around the statue.

Eventually, the statue that absorbed all of it blinks repeatedly.

still. You can’t even hear the sound of grasshoppers. Only the light from the statue illuminated the dark cave interior.

However, the demon Grimoire heard the cry of the soul.

“Kwaaak! Oh my…! Kill me… please kill me…!”

The grimoire looked at the center of the statue in silence.

‘Did you use the soul… as a core?’

The core rotated rapidly. Until the pitch black energy is purified to pure white.

Grimoire, who had been examining the scene for a while, shuddered involuntarily.

‘You shouldn’t mess with that lady…’

One cleanse. With that alone, the torn soul seemed as if it would just disappear.

“Is this the end?”

The moment the grimoire thought about taking out the core, the statue began to glow.

The sight of the pitch-black black dragon shining was so majestic that it looked like it was about to take off at any moment.

Just the energy that flowed out made the greenery thicker and nature came to life.

A clear miracle that occurred in a rocky place where it was difficult for even a single blade of grass to grow due to the depletion of the dragon vein.

Miracles come at a price. The moment the soul that was used as a filter, wasted, and cracked, it began to be repaired with a sparkling debt.

“Hoo. How did they do it? What is the automatic repair function? Well, for permanent purification, of course… No wait?!”

Grimoire clicked his tongue.

“I got hit.”

The emperor’s soul has become a purifying device that absorbs all the darkness and filth from this world.

“Hmm… Still, since it is a human soul, no matter how much you restore it, the limit is… a thousand years. No… if you look at that state… it will take 10,000 years…”

It would take a long time for the purification to be completed, but as a demon, it would not be a problem.

“What happened?”

For him, who had a lot of time and loved the evil human soul, waiting for the emperor’s soul to mature for a long time was also a pleasure.

“Anyway… 10,000 years is a bit long… Should I ask that lady to shave it off… ”

* * *

From then on, the same days were repeated without any special changes.

The good news is that

“Is the climate returning to normal?”

“Yes.”

After hearing the report, Marian made a mysterious expression.

‘What happened?’

The empire’s abnormal weather was never an issue that could be easily solved. The method using magic stones is only a temporary solution.

The emperor used everything he could.

Maybe it was to make up for the lack of magical power, but even the natural mana in the dragon vein.

result. The area around the capital became a land of death where it was difficult to grow even a single potato, and what filled it was murky fraud.

“The appearance of monsters is noticeably decreasing.”

“Mana concentration is also recovering.”

But does it get better? So easy?

“Good job, if anything goes wrong, report it right away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

It was like a world polluted by radiation.

‘-Well, there must be a god in this world too.’

Marian thought of Lilith and laughed.

“I should try a little harder too.”

I used to think that way.

“Your Majesty, here is the report!”

“Your Majesty, they say pirates are rampant in the eastern seas!”

“Your Majesty, we have greatly increased trade taxes in the Hectare Empire. This is disrespectful to our empire, so protest immediately!”

I felt like I wanted to yell at him to stop coming.

That was the moment Marian, who had engraved the seal of patience, raised her head.

“Can’t you be quiet!”

A loud voice rang out.

It was Marquis Hermann, who had gray hair and a silver monocle, and had just become chancellor.

“What I am saying is that you should handle what you can do on your own!”

“Ha, I do…”

How dare you bother our golden girl!

“You mean to bother His Majesty by not being able to handle even one thing like that!”

“Ha, but… His Majesty… said he would personally check the last part…”

The vassals protested in their own way.

“That’s because you guys aren’t trustworthy in how you handle things! No progress! Progress!”

“…”

They said one thing, but were bombarded with nagging comments and kept their mouths shut.

Hermann’s eyes turned to Marian.

A simple dress with a cardigan covering her shoulders was a comfortable outfit, but its elegance was emphasized when combined with her silver hair.

Naturally, his gaze widened.

‘this! ‘My lady, one of her eyelashes is missing, right?’

Because of these guys!

The moment when his vassals cringed due to his momentum.

“Grandpa, what’s going on?”

Marian tilted her head.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty… If you call me grandfather now…”

Hermann said as if he were troubled. However, anyone could see that the relaxed mouth and shaking shoulders looked happy.

“I don’t like it?”

“ㅡIt’s not that I don’t like it…”

“So what’s going on?”

Marian smiled and tilted her head.

“The South is stable, but the rest of the region… No, I’ll take care of it.”

At his vague words, Marian’s eyes turned to the bundle of documents he was holding.

“Isn’t that what you meant to give me?”

“Young lady, you need to get some rest.”

“ㅡHmm.”

Hermann, seeing Marian smiling awkwardly, smiled brightly and turned around.

“Do it in moderation.”

“Yes.”

*

“If everyone has something to say, say it.”

Marian asked curiously.

This was because the officials who had been chattering just a moment ago kept their mouths shut.

They recalled what Count Hermann had said before leaving.

‘If even a single hair of His Majesty’s hair were to be damaged, then you can look forward to it.’

“Speak comfortably.”

Her innocently blinking pink eyes and silver hair sparkling in the light were as beautiful as a work of art.

She put down her pen and twisted her hair.

“That… is… Huh?!”

“Umm…?”

Marian tilted her head again.

‘what?’

Did I do something?

All you just did was grab my hair and lightly braid it?

Marian twisted the hair on her shoulders with her fingers.

“Hiik!?”

The screams of the officials grew louder.

“If you don’t have anything to say, why don’t you go out?”

Marian frowned slightly, then put her hands together neatly.

This is the command of a solemn emperor. But they had their own things to say.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty… That is.”

Only then did the officials speak out.

The empire’s finances and debt relations with other countries. There was a lot of talk about post-event handling due to extreme weather events.

‘In the end, there is a shortage of workers.’

Most of them were neutral nobles who had confined themselves to their fiefdoms during the previous emperor’s reign.

I thought you weren’t interested in the state of the empire.

‘Why do you look so interested?’

As if he sensed her concern, a man spoke.

“Your Majesty. What’s going on?”

It was a voice so sweet that any woman’s heart would flutter.

Angled horn-rimmed glasses, straight parted hair.

He was Viscount Blaine, the representative of the young officials.

Notification has already been received from the empress and other concubines.

‘There is no need for idle nobles in our empire.’

Since you are a noble, do your duty.

Of course, there were not only disadvantages. As you accumulate merit, your rank increases and you receive rewards.

‘This is an opportunity.’

He intended to contribute to the empire in his own way.

‘Furthermore.’

If, while working by His Majesty’s side, I might even get noticed.

“Your Majesty, I have a good plan, if you don’t mind, the two of us.”

Suddenly. The door opened.

“How dare a bird…! Oh, disturb His Majesty’s Sacred Heart…”

“Miss, are you okay?”

It was Count Herman, who I thought had gone back, and Elaine, who followed him.

Marian looked at them with blurry eyes as they spoke hurriedly, then opened her mouth.

“Too much work.”

My true feelings came out inadvertently.

As Marian tilted her head, the ministers also began to whisper quietly.

‘but. ‘The workload your Majesty has handled is not normal.’

‘You did a great job… .’

‘We relied too much on Your Majesty!’

Hermann looked at Viscount Blaine with a serious expression.

‘You look like a gisaeng brother.’

The moment Viscount Blaine, who had been interrupted, was about to open his mouth again, his eyes met with Count Herman, who had finished assessing the situation.

“Well, my lungs…”

“You look at me.”

Viscount Blaine was embarrassed. A force so strong that it was hard to believe he was an old man grabbed my shoulder.

“Yes…? Um, over there?”

“Follow me.”

Viscount Blaine’s face grew paler.

‘no way.’

Come to think of it…

I remember what my senior said.

‘If anything, don’t even think about taunting His Majesty.’

‘If you want your social life to become hell, I won’t stop you.’

I thought it was jealousy of people who were uglier than me.

Did you mean this?

Meanwhile, Count Hermann’s gaze became more harsh.