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Even though they had their own reasons for removing me from the palace, everything was going as I planned.

‘I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Even if I am gone, I have someone who will replace my role.’

Right now, we are just keeping an eye on the aristocrats. However, when they see the gift I prepared, the royal palace would become a sea of blood from the endless purges. It would be hard to stop the power dynamics that aristocrats had because they were a cause-oriented group.

Barris and Winley, who were highly likely to be affected by the consequences, would soon return to their original provinces to remain safe from the incident.

“I will follow your order.”

“Good, when will you be able to leave?”

“There is no need to wait. I will leave as soon as I get ready.”

The sooner I made the decision, the better it was. It might have been better to say that I would leave right now, but I needed time to prepare myself before I move.

-You, you are dangerous. Thousands of people might die based on your decision.

‘If the kingdom remains the same even after Barris becomes king, we would be better off without the kingdom. So, before that happens, the changes are for the better.’

I had no intention of handing over the messy reality to my younger brother. It would be better if I get a chance to get rid of the enemies with a bit of effort. This fight wouldn’t cause the doom of Queen Liness or Duke Barrieta at once. However, with my perfect preparation, I was sure that they would gradually lose their power.

Would that be all? Their relationship, which had been tightly tied up, would fall apart instantly. Consequently, severe turmoil will follow. What was going to happen next?

Civil war.

I didn’t want to be involved in the complicated political scene. If I were here, the chances were more likely that I would get involved. So, before Queen Liness initiates her sly plans, I was thinking of leaving this place. The next time I show up would be when they made an irreversible choice.

At that time, I will slice their necks.

“If that is what you want to do, we will follow your decision. We have high expectations for you, so make sure to bring good news to the kingdom soon.”

“I will keep it in mind, Majesty.”

As I said so, I had to hold myself back from laughing.

* * *

When I left the room and returned to the first Prince’s palace, I saw a clean wall greeting me. The first Prince’s palace, which used to look like a haunted house, was now immaculate to this level. Unfortunately, It was now time to leave it behind.

“Amy, go to the Treasury and the Land Department to retrieve all the documents for the land in Hines.”

“Documents? Which ones should I ask for?”

“Everything without missing anything. If you say I sent you, they’ll give the documents to you.”

It may be challenging to understand everything quickly due to the large volume, but it didn’t matter. I was confident I could read a few hundred documents to store in my head.

‘Know your enemy…’

-and know yourself. You will win every single battle. It’s a pretty impressive proverb. Did it come from your previous life?

‘There is a similar phrase here.’

-We had a similar one back in my day.

As for the proverb, it was interesting where they all came from. Perserk, giggling as she found it funny, had a look of excitement on her face.

-Don’t you think it is funny?

“What do you mean?”

After Amy left quietly, bowing her head, I no longer had to have a conversation with my inside voice. At my question, she jumped over my legs. Then, with both legs folded outward, she sat down and looked up.

-I like it when things get interesting, don’t you have a lot of strength and skill?

“Hmm.”

-Nevertheless, you never try to cross the line of arrogance that you set for yourself. This is quite interesting.

I couldn’t understand her taste.

“Vicarious satisfaction? Isn’t it something like that?”

-My life was kind of boring, so maybe I am feeling satisfaction through watching your life.

“I had never thought that I was going to be the subject of somebody’s vicarious satisfaction.”

-Be proud of yourself because I am about to become your fan as a former Demon King.

She grinned and bowed. Then she put her cheeks on my thighs and closed her eyes as if she was going to sleep.

-I am getting a little sleepy…

The phrase ‘beauty sleep’ best suited this woman. It seemed like she spent a lot of time sleeping to maintain her overwhelming beauty. From a positive perspective, it was ultimately her way of taking care of herself.

On the contrary, it was just her being lazy since she’s got a lot of free time.

-Hmm…you seem to have a strangely unpleasant thought.

She was excessively bright. It must have been because of her life, where she had analyzed countless people without using the power of detection.

-I…I’ll sleep a little…don’t move…

“My thighs are expensive.”

-You…um…your legs are firm and fluffy, so it feels good to fall asleep…

She fell asleep after saying that. She didn’t disappear like before, and I didn’t want to wake her up, so I let her sleep.

“Majesty! I brought what you asked!”

It was then. I thought it would take longer, but it didn’t.

“Is this all?”

“Yes, they said this is all the information about the land.”

“I guess this is it since it’s only a remote area of the countryside….”

I laughed at the surprisingly lacking amount of information. I knew it wasn’t going to be a lot, but I didn’t expect it to be this little.

“Great.”

As soon as I took the papers and skimmed them, an irresistible sigh flowed out of my mouth.

“A cursed land? I guess this what I have.”

It was an unbiased evaluation.

* * *

Cursed land. A barren wasteland. A land where the drought never stops. The dying land.

There were many ways of expressing it, but I could simplify the evaluation of the Hines manor. At first, I thought Queen Liness had blocked information about where I was going, but that wasn’t true. The state of the land was so terrible that it wasn’t worth hiding.

“Except for ten percent of the land, all the land dried up due to drought.”

-Hmm…whether it is mine or not is terrible. However, particular areas need some additional research. Since there is no adjacent sea, it seems impossible to have a fishing industry or any sea trade.

Without my attention, Perserk, lying asleep on my leg, yawned and muttered. She was a pretty smart Demon King. She was once the king of an entire species, and she had lived for thousands of years even if she was sealed. My experience wasn’t nearly enough to evaluate her.

“From five years ago, the provinces couldn’t afford to pay taxes, so the country has given them a tax reduction.”

The policy of reducing taxes for poor estates was a bill that my father, King Crianes, promoted when he was young. The reason behind this was that there were no benefits toward the kingdom when he tried to impose excessive taxes on a poor manor that couldn’t even afford to pay it. It was previously aggravating the publics’ sentiment.

That was precisely what the current situation of Hines was. Ten years ago, it had served its purpose as land. However, at present, there were no elements that could be advocated except for it having a significant transportation advantage as a checkpoint on the way to the Mainland.

“It might be better to throw me in the middle of the desert.”

It wasn’t really to that extent, though.

-There’s no way you’ll ever get anything back from such a bare land. How much support can the kingdom provide?

“Looking at it, a handful of slaves and material resources seem to be everything. I refused everything because they could use it as a tool against me.”

-That doesn’t seem enough anyway. We won’t be able to figure out the situation until we re-examine everything first.

“What do you think we should do?”

-Can you see it here? It says it’s a cursed land.

It was five years ago that it stopped raining in the estate. According to the rumor, the specific reason was unknown; it seemed that an unknown curse was placed on the land. It was said that it was caused by the alien races living in the forest, but honestly, the chances of that being true were low. If the curse is limited to just drought and it rained again, a considerable amount of land could be used as farmland.

“The keeper must have died already.”

-You underestimate my potential. What is the use of spiritualism and alchemy?

“That is right, thanks for the advice.”

Perserk was a pretty good talker and consultant. At least she knew what I had to do. I had learned a lot in the Corridor, but I never studied geography. Knowing what to do to survive was different from the knowledge that changed the world. Even in areas that I wasn’t aware of, she had quite an in-depth knowledge. Moreover, the fact that she was someone with whom I could have good communication with also played a part.

-Whatever it is, it’s hard to judge at will unless we actually see it for ourselves. Well, even if it’s not enough, I can lend you a certain amount of foolish wisdom as you have a symbiotic friendship with me.

“Is my leg your compensation?”

-There aren’t many beds that are as comfortable to sleep on as your legs, for sure.

She was smiling cutely.

* * *

A few days passed. The speed at which we processed information together had become so quick that there was no longer a need to confirm with each other. As we talked about the development of the manor, we often ended up staying up all night. She often fell into a deep sleep from which she could not wake up from. Perhaps the reason was that the longer she uses her powers to materialize, the faster she grew tired.

As soon as the sun came up, the royal castle was crowded with processions leaving for Hines. There weren’t that many leaving: me, who would be inaugurated as the lord, and my exclusive maid, Amy, who would assist me, followed by a few attendants and maids. In addition to this, some of the knights would stay with me for a while.

I was a bit poor…

-You must have too much time since you are acting silly.

‘Hmm.’

I had no knights or nobles who pledged allegiance to me. Therefore, this modest procession was also a natural result in some way. When Barris and Winley heard that I was leaving, they immediately came to me and complained. It was apparently because they knew what the Hines land was like. Barris shouted,

‘We’ll go to the Majesty and petition against it!’

“Just believe in your brother.”

Then he became so upset that he left the room immediately. Afterward, Winley, who had wiped her tears with a handkerchief, quietly hugged me.

“Davey, if you have any trouble, don’t hesitate to contact us. We will come and get you no matter what.”

Who were these 14-year-old kids taking care of? Still, I was grateful for them being so thoughtful, so I just stroked Winley’s head, which made her cry out loud even louder.