Who Brought the Head Maid Back? - Chapter 47

Amy and Noah set out toward the Black Mountains with only a skeleton crew. The group consisted of the two of them, Bradley, Dwayne, a few guards, their squires, and Ethan. Since Amy was the only woman, Noah worried a lot. He had gone so far as to follow her around, begging her to just tell him the location and stay behind.

Amy, however, did not give in. There was no telling what unexpected situations might arise. If something happened, she was likely the only one capable of responding.

A short distance north of the Grand Duke’s castle, there is a small mountain that leads to the Black Mountains. The group’s journey began there. It had not been long since they left the castle.

“It is not that I am looking down on you, Head Maid. Could you just let me carry that bag for you?”

Amy shuddered at the words coming from her side yet again, but she managed to respond calmly.

“I know. I do not hate you either, Dwayne.”

“Does that mean you want me to just go away because you won’t let me carry it?”

“Exactly. This is the fifth time I am saying this. If you bring it up one more time.”

Amy raised the bag in her hand to eye level and shook it threateningly.

“This bag will have a very intense encounter with your head. If you are curious to see how that goes, try me.”

“I have learned that there are times when one must suppress their curiosity.”

Dwayne finally backed off. Amy let out a sigh. She appreciated the sentiment, she really did. But if a person says they are fine, he should listen.

Then, a grumpy voice spoke up from the other side.

“You should have just given it to him.”

“.”

Amy narrowed her eyes and glared at Noah. Like Dwayne, he was also dying to carry the bag Amy held.

‘I am only carrying a single magic tool.’

It was not particularly heavy, and she only carried it herself because she felt uneasy entrusting it to someone else, yet everyone around her had so much to say. Noah avoided Amy’s gaze and pretended to look elsewhere.

“The weather is quite nice.”

“It is.”

Amy followed his lead and looked at the sky, her expression softening. Ever since Noah activated the magic tool, the weather in the North had been growing warmer by the day. At first, she worried about potential side effects from changing the natural environment so abruptly.

Consequently, she had contacted the lords and influential figures of each region, strictly instructing them to report even the slightest anomaly. However, what they discovered was an unexpected fact.

Noah rubbed the ground with his foot and made a strange face as he looked at an exposed tree root.

“You say this is a tree that originally grows only in the central part of the Empire?”

“Yes. That is correct. I was born and raised there, so I know for certain.”

Bradley spoke with conviction. Everyone’s expression shifted as if they were looking at something miraculous. The root of a tree that only grew in the central Empire, a region with a temperate climate, had been found beneath the soil of the Northern Grand Duchy.

Noah spoke softly to the deep in thought Amy.

“Could it be that this place originally had a mild climate?”

Amy nodded.

“It appears so. Similar phenomena are being witnessed in other parts of the North as well. They say that once the ice covering the land melts, the new flowers and plant sprouts that appear are types usually seen only in the Empire.”

They would have to wait until spring to know for sure, but there was a possibility that the frozen, unusable lands could become a breadbasket. As soon as she confirmed the magic tool was working, she had sent people out to sweep up all kinds of seeds from the Empire, so they would be able to find out through experimentation.

“It would be wonderful if we could plant grains with high yields.”

Amy smiled happily. If that became a reality, they could reclaim the food sovereignty they had lost to the Empire. They would no longer need to bow their heads to them.

“I was thinking of something a bit different.”

Noah began with a serious face. Amy’s expression turned grave in turn.

“If the original weather here was truly similar to the Empire, why did it change to extreme cold?”

“I am not sure.”

Amy had considered that thought as well. However, she had been too busy with immediate matters to ponder it deeply. Noah looked down, lost in thought, and muttered.

“What if that magic tool Amy found is not actually changing the weather?”

“Pardon?”

“If it is a magic tool that lifts a kind of curse placed on this land, it would make sense, wouldn’t it?”

Noah’s idea was that someone had used a magic tool to make the weather in the North turn foul, which had continued until now, and the tool Amy found was simply dispelling it.

Amy nodded as if in agreement. Then she spoke worriedly.

“That magic tool is still running in your office, Your Grace. If a curse truly exists as you say, it means it is still active now.”

That meant things could return to how they were at any time. The two fell silent and looked around. Though it was early winter, they could see green sprouts and the buds of winter flowers. The thought that this sight might disappear again made their hearts feel heavy.

While Amy stared blankly at a pink flower bud, Noah spoke as if to comfort her.

“Do not worry too much, Amy. We will find a way.”

“Do you think so?”

Amy forced her stiffened face to relax. Noah tilted his head and looked at her with a warm gaze.

“After all, Amy came to me. To me, there is no miracle greater than that, so I believe small miracles can happen anytime.”

“.”

Amy, who had been slightly tense, relaxed and smiled naturally.

‘There is no need to be so sensitive. He is a very kind person, after all.’

If Mrs. Weaver or Rita had heard that, they would have been appalled, but neither of them was here. Amy bowed her head in embarrassment and fidgeted with her skirt when Bradley signaled that it was time to move on. Noah watched Amy as she stood up immediately as if she had been waiting, and he let out a small sigh.

A week after they began climbing the mountain, they finally arrived near their destination. Amy divided the group into those who would go up to the destination with her and those who would wait below.

Those going up were Noah and Bradley, but Dwayne was so shocked at being left out that he acted as if the sky were falling and stubbornly insisted on coming along. He was so persistent that Amy, exhausted by the argument, eventually allowed it.

After climbing the mountain path for about half a day, they reached their destination, where a sheer cliff blocked their path. Seeing no way forward, anxiety clouded the group’s faces.

“Could we have taken the wrong path?”

Bradley asked while surveying the surrounding terrain. Amy, however, shook her head. She then began to search the area thoroughly. Seeing her, the others also looked around to see if there was anything strange.

Then, Noah found something.

“There is a crack here in the cliff.”

“!”

Everyone gathered quickly. Looking where Noah pointed, there was a gap hidden by trees and bushes that could not be noticed from a distance. It was just wide enough for one adult to pass through, leading into the cliff side. The group lined up and passed through one by one. After walking for a long time, they finally came out on the other side of the cliff.

“It is quite spacious.”

The people let out exclamations as they looked around. Spread out before them was a space that had been artificially cleared and leveled for some purpose, surrounded by a giant rock that acted as a wall as if it had been cut vertically.

It was a place they never would have found if not for the crack Noah discovered.

“It looks like a place where children might play.”

Bradley muttered to himself. Everyone agreed with him. Just then, Dwayne let out a shout.

“There is something in the center!”

Startled, they turned to see a large stone. The people naturally headed toward it. As they drew closer, a rock about the height of a child’s waist stood before them. It was so flat and wide that it was hard to believe it had formed naturally, looking as if someone had painstakingly split and ground it down.

“This looks fascinating. What is it? Wow, one could even lie down on this.”

Dwayne made a fuss as he circled the rock. Amy looked at him with disgust.

“Be still, you are making me dizzy.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Dwayne answered dismissively, his eyes still fixed on the rock. Amy clicked her tongue, though she could understand why. Everyone else was equally captivated by the rock.

“It looks exactly like an altar, does it not?”

Jack spoke up cautiously. The others, who had been hesitant to speak because of Amy’s solemn aura, nodded in unison.

In the very center of the rock, a circular groove was carved, looking like a place to set an offering or some specific object. It was no wonder people were calling it an altar.

“Head Maid. Did you know this was here?”

Dwayne asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. Amy felt uncomfortable with all the eyes on her and shook her head.

‘I expected something like this, though.’

There had been a record in an old official document she found in the secret treasury about making offerings to an ancient god.

At the time, she didn’t think it was related to the Viscon tribe, so she had moved past it, but now it was clearly connected. The fact that this altar was located on the route the Viscon tribe used to invade the Duchy was proof enough.

Noah frowned and looked at the altar with a firm mouth. He seemed to be weighing something in his mind. Then, sensing Amy’s gaze, he stepped back slightly. It was a gesture for her to do what she came to do.

Amy stepped forward, set down the bag she had been carrying on her shoulder, and wiped the top of the altar clean with a handkerchief. Then, she carefully took a statue like magic tool out of the bag.

The object had a rounded base and a diamond shape that rose upward. To others, it would look like nothing more than a sculpture made of a strange material, but she held it carefully, ensuring she did not drop it, and placed it into the groove at the center of the altar.

With a click, it fit perfectly into place as if it belonged there. Bradley and Dwayne, who had been watching with bated breath, clapped and marveled at the sight. Amy and Noah waited for a moment, wondering if it would activate on its own like the previous magic tool. However, the magic tool remained silent.

“Is this the end of it?”

Noah asked, blinking in confusion. Amy shrugged and stepped back, thinking to herself.

‘Well, we are not the ones meant to use it anyway. The Viscon tribe will handle the rest.’

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