Chapter Twenty - Eight
"Here, Your Grace."
Clank!
Vizen pulled back the heavy rusted iron bolts of a hidden structure behind the estate. As the massive doors creaked open, a wall of humid air smacked me in the face like a wet towel.
"This is a greenhouse!?" I shouted, my voice echoing through a space that was basically a small biome. "It is more like a full scale farm under glass."
"I know, right!" Hans piped up, waving his arms around like a madman. "I have been telling Butler Vizen that ever since I arrived! It is a miracle! The First Duke of Halcrest was a respectable man."
I ignored Hans's dramatic flair as his eyes shined upon mentioning The First Duke of Halcrest and stepped inside.
Clink.
My boots clicked against stone that felt warm. Outside, the North was a frozen graveyard, but in here, it was a balmy spring afternoon. I squinted at the dirt. It was pulsing with life.
How is mana flow warm here? It's impossible without a... Don't tell me.
"How is it so warm here, Vizen?" I asked, poking a leaf.
"Ah! It is an artifact the First Duke of Halcrest made," Vizen explained, his voice dropping to a worshipful whisper. "Please come with me, Your Grace."
Clink. Clink. Clink.
We walked quite a bit before we finally reached the heart of the facility. And, my eyes were graced by an obsidian pedestal embedded with purple mana stone the size of a human torso. It glowed with purple light.
Damn...
Vizen and Hans stood there looking like they were at a holy shrine, eyes filled with awe, just like mine at the size of the purple mana stone. But, as soon as I leaned in to look at the carvings on the stone, my eyes narrowed.
What the hell is all this!? This is a disaster!
The mana veins were carved with the grace of a drunken mountain troll. There was a leak in the third junction that was spraying at least fifteen percent of the energy into the floor, and the thermal resonance was so lopsided the plants on the left were basically being steamed while the ones on the right were shivering.
But... considering the absolute lack of basic magic engineering in this world? The guy was absolutely once-in-a-million genius to actually think of mana.
"Interesting," I muttered, my face twisting into a grimace that probably looked like I'd just swallowed a lemon. "He had the right idea with the thermal expansion, but he completely botched the cooling vents. It is a miracle this thing hasn't exploded and turned the fief into a smoking crater yet."
"What are you mumbling about, Your Grace?" Vizen tilted his head, staring at my twitching expression with genuine concern.
"It's nothing. But Vizen, if this exists, why is everyone fighting for moldy grains? Can't the residents just have a plot here and farm for themselves? It's not like we have a massive population. They are just poor people who can't afford to buy residency in other territories."
"That... Your Grace... We can't do that."
"Why not, Vizen? It's literally just sitting here."
"That... I..." Vizen stammered, his face paling.
"It's because of the legend, probably. Am I right, Butler Vizen?" Hans stepped up as a sigh passed his lips.
"Ah... Yes. The curse of the North. That legend."
"What legend?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"It's a very famous legend throughout the Empire, Your Grace." Hans sighed as he shook his head. "You probably don't remember it because of amnesia. Maybe... That's also the reason you've been so active recently. I... Please don't change after hearing it, Your Grace. You must remember it's just a legend."
"Just speak. I don't understand roundabout statements."
What's there to change? It's not like I'm the original Veryon.
"Pardon me, then. The legend says when the Creator formed the world, He didn't just create humans. He created all kinds of creatures... demons, spirits, and monsters. Each had a unique power. It was designed so that if the races stayed friends, the world would be a paradise."
"I don't see the First Duke in this picture yet, Hans. We don't have a lot of time on our hands. Quicker."
"The First Duke was initially the King sent by the Gods who ruled over all the races in equality. But, unlike other creatures humans share a trait of greed. The Duke's human minister stirred discord, whispering lies into the ears of every race, making them believe they were being oppressed by the others which led to a massive war."
"A rebellion sort of?"
"Yes. It is called 'The Great War' in the books. The world tore itself apart. The King witnessed his beloved subjects dying in heaps. Heartbroken, he reached a decision to stop the massacre by dividing the land. It is said all races that weren't human were sent behind the Northern mountains, while the South of the continent was divided among humans."
"How did he go from King to Duke?"
"Humans are fickle by nature, Your Grace. They wanted the other races dead and didn't like the division. Thus, they turned their back on the King who cherished them. Seeing his subjects protest against him, the King took the few humans who still believed in him and retreated to the frozen North before the mountains. Meanwhile, the human minister in his court was crowned the Empress of the New Empire."
Hans sighed, looking at the glowing stone. "The First Duke was a visionary. He wanted to give his followers a paradise even in a snowy, barren wasteland. This is the only masterpiece left made by him. He designed this greenhouse so food could be free for all the humans who followed him into the snow. He wanted to turn this tundra into a sanctuary."
I looked at the massive stone, my inner archmage cringing.
Ugh... So much waste of energy and money.
"So why did he stop? Why is the North still a starving gutter if he had the way to fix it?"
The air in the room seemed to turn cold at my question.
Whirr.
The sound of the mana stone felt like a funeral dirge. Hans and Vizen exchanged a look heavy with collective trauma shared by listening to the legend since their childhood perhaps, before Vizen took over Hans's monologue.
"The records say he died of a sudden illness when he visited the capital to marry the Empress since she claimed to love him. Development stopped the moment he died in Imperial Year 16. A new Duke was appointed by the Empire, and the gates of this greenhouse were locked from the people."
"Ughhh... They never tried to develop it again?"
"No. People who were sent by the Empire as Dukes of Halcrest always died before they could have an heir or even marry so the newer generation of dukes lost complete interest in developing the land. And, it got the nickname 'The Land Of Exile' since then. Being sent here pretty much meant like being told by The Emperor of the Empire to go die in a corner."
A sudden pressure bloomed behind my eyes.
Like something old and buried was pressing against the inside of my skull. I stared at the purple stone as an uneasy feeling began to settle in my marrow.
"What was the name of the First Duke, Vizen?"
"Ugh... Ki... It's a hard to pronounce name. We commoners just call him The First Duke of Halcrest."
"Hans? You're a noble, right? What is it?"
"Kion Yeun Halcrest I."