It was a space filled with darkness where you couldn’t see even an inch ahead. The only things that could be felt were your own breathing and the cold air.

In such a place, Vincent knelt on one knee and bowed his head, not moving at all. It was as if he dared not raise his head in the face of the darkness he was facing.

How much time had passed… finally, in the pitch-black darkness, the long-awaited voice flowed out.

“It’s not your fault, Vincent.”

It was a very affectionate tone, but Vincent bowed his head even deeper.

“No. I know that my sin is not light. I ask for forgiveness.”

With Marquis Grieg dead, the financial resources he had worked so hard to secure were practically cut off. In addition, he had failed to win over Count Stadler, and although it was unavoidable, he had also lost the magic stone mine.

“We’d like to give you what you want, but unfortunately we don’t have that kind of time.”

In the darkness, a voice whispered as if it was soothing a child… and soon, a cold presence silently approached Vincent.

In the pitch darkness, an invisible hand lightly stroked Vincent’s hair and then disappeared.

Only then did Vincent raise his head.

In a place where all signs of the voice had suddenly disappeared, a single round jewel was left emitting a soft light.

A large smile spread across Vincent’s lips, revealed beneath his mask.

The salary of an imperial knight was by no means small. Arendt’s pockets were enriched even more when he received two months’ salary each from Arthur and Richt.

Besides, he sold the jewels he took from the sword for a decent price, so he thought he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of money for a while.

However, the two people who were the ones who were ripped off could not smile.

Arthur grumbled softly.

“Why did that well-raised kid get so fat?”

“Why? If you want your money back, just sell the stone. You’ll get more than what you paid me for it.”

“Who, who is feeling sorry?”

“Just stay still. You won’t get your principal back anyway.”

Even Richt, who gave such advice, could not hide his bitter expression.

Arendt walked into the middle of the training ground swinging his sword, leaving behind his seniors who were glaring at him as if they were going to kill him.

Although it was a clumsily equipped magic stone, the effect was clear. Since the circulation of magic power was immediately improved, fatigue was relieved quickly, and even if he trained longer than usual, he didn’t get tired easily.

It seemed that these two had also seen the effects, as they grumbled about not having money but did not leave the training ground all afternoon.

He held the sword with both hands and assumed a striking stance.

When he glanced over, he saw that the other two were also slowly loosening up, as if they were going to focus on their training. When Arendt also concentrated and strengthened his body, he heard a cheerful voice from behind him.

“Lord Arendt von Eckhart. Are you here?”

Arendt paused and looked back.

At the entrance to the training ground, Seton was waving his hands with a happy face.

“Seton?”

“I’m running an errand! I’m delivering some letters to Lord Arendt.”

“Huh? Isn’t delivering letters another guy’s job?”

Seton smiled shyly at Arthur’s curious question.

“I insisted on coming, so I swapped places with my friend for a bit.”

The reason he went to such lengths to come to the Third Knights’ dormitory was obvious. Even as he was talking to Arthur, he couldn’t take his eyes off Arendt.

“Give them to me.”

“Yes!”

When Arendt held out his hand, Seton handed him a handful of letters.

One was a statement from a jeweler he had recently traded with.

And the remaining one…

The outer envelope bore the Neumann seal.

A deep smile appeared on Arendt’s lips. It seemed that the news he had been waiting for had arrived.

That evening, at Arendt’s request, a small meeting was called. The attendees were Laius, Arthur, and Richt.

“A pretty interesting gem has appeared.”

Everyone who gathered was bewildered by the words that came out of nowhere. Among them, only Laius was the one who understood the topic properly.

“Is it about the things you asked His Highness the Crown Prince to investigate?”

“Yes, that’s right. Lord Neumann was a bit faster though.”

Jewels or accessories with a story have been a beloved subject matter in both classic and modern days.

The item that Neumann found this time was exactly that kind of item. It was a cursed jewel that would bring an unfortunate death to its owner.

Arthur immediately made a disgusted expression.

“What? Is there such a thing?”

“Yes, I heard it belongs to a noble who lives on the outskirts of the empire…”

Neumann’s letter contained quite an interesting story.

The owner of the jewel was Baron Cromwell.

Baron Cromwell, who inherited a vast land in the granary region from his ancestors, managed the estate, took good care of his family, and lived a life worthy of others.

He also had good relationships with the farmers who farmed his land, and because of his gentle personality, he never had any major conflicts with others.

Moreover, since it was a region far from the center of the country, there were no other nobles who could be called competitors, so it was literally a flat rural life.

In the meantime.

“Baron Cromwell went abroad and bought the jewel. After that, the Baron’s family was turned upside down.”

Arendt continued his story with his arms folded.

“It started with a fire. They managed to put it out, but it spread to the grain storage and caused a lot of damage. Then part of the castle collapsed… well, things just kept happening.”

“What a surprise.”

“At first, they wouldn’t have guessed that it was because of the jewel. Then one day, the Baron found his young son playing with the jewel.”

Before they knew it, Richt and Arthur were completely absorbed in Arendt’s story.

Arthur urged him to continue.

“And then?”

“It’s strange. The jewel must have been put in the safe. The Baron thought so, but first, he took the jewel from his son and put it back where it belonged.”

Arendt added, taking a brief pause.

“But a few days later, his son suddenly collapsed from an unknown illness.”

On that day, the foreign merchant who had sold the jewel to the Baron happened to be staying at the castle while on a grain trade.

In addition to the Baron’s son’s collapse, the merchant, who had heard of the strange events that had occurred in the Cromwell household, eventually confessed the story of the jewel.

It’s said that owning it would make you unlucky.

“Even so, the jewel must have been quite attractive, so the previous owner bought it and it seems like it ended badly. Anyway, the Baron secretly looked around to get rid of the jewel. Of course, he couldn’t say it out loud to avoid the dishonor of the nobles. In the process, he came into contact with the Neumann Group head, who was looking for a similar item.”

“…Is that the end?”

“That’s the end, what else would there be?”

Richt, who had been absentmindedly asking questions without realizing it, became a little embarrassed by the subsequent criticism and his expression hardened. Arthur also coughed for no reason.

Why did he have to tell useless stories so realistically?

Laius also changed the subject by wiping his face once.

“So, there’s an auction? It looks like there are quite a few buyers.”

“Yes, I heard that even Baron Cromwell didn’t expect that. He’s been asking around a bit, and it seems like there are quite a few people who want to see it even if they wouldn’t buy it. There are quite a few people who want it.”

“The owner will definitely be unlucky, but are there still people who want to buy it?”

“It’s not just because of that story, but the jewel work is also very beautiful. The necklace with the jewel set on it is also said to be of high collection value because it was made by a famous foreign craftsman.”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders in response to Arthur’s subsequent question.

“So, for the time being, they will stop by the big cities and exhibit the jewels one by one, and then when they arrive at the territory ruled by Count Letel, they will hold an auction.”

Baron Cromwell’s lands were so far away, and it had not been that long since they had been visited publicly, so it was not surprising that Cantares had not heard of them until now.

“The auction site will be provided by Lord Neumann. It hasn’t spread widely yet, but it seems that word is starting to spread around the places where Baron Cromwell held his exhibitions.”

“I see. Lord Neumann will also be able to see the effects of promoting the upper class.”

Besides, Neumann was a person who would immediately jump on board if Arendt asked him to do so.

As Laius nodded, Arthur spoke from the side.

“If it was Lord Neumann, he would have already verified whether or not they are scammers, right?”

“First of all, the jewel is real. It’s also true that there were a few accidents at Baron Cromwell’s castle. Anyway, that’s not the point.”

Arendt’s voice lowered.

Attention, which had naturally been scattered, gathered back to him.

“Why did I talk about the jewel for so long? Do you really think that the curse is that interesting?”

“That’s… that’s right.”

Arthur, who had been mumbling blankly, soon nodded in agreement.

Even though Arendt sometimes upsets people, he’s not the type of person to talk nonsense.

His voice continued, still in a light tone, but one that could never be taken lightly.

“There are people who are interested in this kind of thing, not just collectors, wealthy people, or people who just like spooky stories.”

“No way…”

Richt, who guessed what would follow, licked his lips.

Laius, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

“Curses are ultimately a form of magic or alchemy. If that’s the case… then maybe that jewel is an artifact.”

“Correct. They are desperate to find the artifact.”

That’s what the East Safe incident proved.

Only then did Arthur and Richt nod their heads.

“They can’t possibly miss that one possibility. They must be that desperate, and the one with the highest probability of showing up at that scene is…”

Arendt paused for a moment and then added slyly.

“Isn’t it a type of guy who made some mistakes recently and needs to make up for them by getting credit, even if it means pushing himself a little?”

“Wait a minute. Could it be… that masked guy?”

Arendt nodded slightly at Arthur’s question, which seemed to indicate that he had no choice but to ask.

“It’s only a one in a million case, but shouldn’t we be on guard?”

“…Right, it certainly seems like it would be difficult to just let this situation go.”

“I think so too. If we ignore even a small possibility, you never know what might happen later.”

When Laius, who had been silent for a moment, slowly nodded, Richt also agreed.

Arendt let out a short sigh as he watched the knights discussing this and that.

‘What if it’s just one in ten thousand?’

Vincent was definitely going to show up. His goal would be that jewel, and he would commit slaughter in a brutal manner to leave a strong impression on people’s minds about how terrifying his group is.

In the novel, everyone who gathered to see the jewel met a terrible ending. Thinking about that, it wasn’t entirely wrong to say that it was a jewel that brought misfortune.

In the novel, after a persistent pursuit, the protagonist, Laius, finally encountered Vincent.

Vincent appeared before his adversaries who were after his neck, protected by his own ghouls and golems, like the king of the dead.

The Eyes of the Ruler.

It was an artifact that could control ghouls, golems, and even people at will.

As of now, it was unclear whether the cursed jewel was the artifact itself or something else.

But one thing was certain.

This was the last chance to get Vincent off the stage.

Unlike when Arendt was helpless and just stood there with no information, now he had enough time to prepare.

‘What to do next is…’

Arendt’s eyes sparkled with intelligence.