Naturally, people began to flock to these duchies.

As the number of escapees from other territories increased, the dukes kept a close watch on their subjects and oppressed them, but the number of people heading for the duchies continued to grow.

Even if they escaped their territories, the journey to the duchies was fraught with danger from demonic beasts and bandits, but they still came.

Did the dukes, who were gradually amassing this power, live well?

Not at all. The four dukes lived a life of endless toil, constantly engaged in extermination.

Most of the strong men among the new arrivals had to join the mandatory military service. The dukes and their knights alone could not handle the extermination and security duties.

However, in the duchies, people did not go hungry, and they did not die in their sleep from attacks by demonic beasts or bandits, so they were content to endure.

As this trend continued, the number of abandoned and desolate lands increased. In some areas, the timing for demonic beast extermination was missed, and the regions were abandoned, with people relocating to other areas.

Some regions banded together to survive.

The duchies were no exception.

When the number of demonic beasts increased in Aberdeen, the land also began to deteriorate.

The demonic beasts in this area were mostly desert beasts, and the lands they invaded began to desertify.

Desert beasts were already difficult to exterminate, and once they reached a certain point, some regions were abandoned. This led to an uncontrollable increase in demonic beasts, and the desertification accelerated, spreading to the surrounding areas.

In the end, Duke Aberdeen decided to join forces with Duke Kramer, leading his subjects.

Although it was a humiliating choice, having two Oathkeepers made defense and extermination much better. It was easier to respond to emergencies, and the workload was reduced, making the lives of the two dukes slightly better.

Hearing this, the southern dukes, Francis and Rosedale, also held a meeting and eventually began to operate their duchies together.

The northern and southern alliances. They became two independent duchies, but no duke was happy about it.

Everyone knew it was like pouring water into a bottomless barrel.

Constantine did not try to pass on his position to the next generation, and Duke Aberdeen, although he did not seem to, ultimately did not marry.

Everything was deteriorating over time.

Amidst this era, Yuri steadfastly did his part.

Regardless of the empire’s decline or the crisis in his family.

When it was clear that the empire was on the verge of collapse, the duke gave Yuri a black diamond and said,

“It’s the key to the last ruin.”

“…The key to the ruin?”

“They said it would reveal the location of the keyhole when the empire faced a crisis… but it seems the prophecy was wrong.”

The duke smiled wryly and lightly tossed the gem to Yuri.

“It’s already beyond redemption.”

Yuri caught it reflexively.

So, why is he giving this to me?

The duke’s habit of saying what he had to say remained unchanged.

“Among those around me, only you can interpret Arlesian.”

“…What? Ah, the inscription on the surface… it’s in Arlesian.”

“Who knows? It may be difficult to find the location of the ruin, but it might be of some help to your research.”

Watching the duke’s back as he headed out for another extermination, Yuri was overcome with a strange feeling.

Food gradually became scarce, and the outside world was like a living hell.

Now, he was almost a ducal prince in all but name, what good was it? A world where he had to go out and exterminate demonic beasts every day just to survive. The responsibility was unbearably heavy, and there seemed to be no real benefits.

Yuri thought he couldn’t have lasted a year, yet the duke had been enduring this for over a decade.

However, the duke had never once hinted or criticized Yuri. He had never told him to drop his research and help out outside.

And now, he was even giving him a gem that might be helpful for his research…

Does the duke have some expectations for my research?

‘…No way.’

There’s no way such an indifferent person could have any expectations.

Nevertheless, he never stopped Yuri from doing what he wanted and mostly supported him.

Why he did so was a mystery to Yuri, but it was certainly something to be grateful for.

If it could be called repayment, then doing his best with what he could do right away would be a way to repay the duke.

Yuri returned to his research.

After pouring in three times or more the amount of time Saena had spent on Arlesian, he finally caught a clue.

It was thanks to the child he had taken in.

“…Hamil?”

Of course, he was no longer a child, having grown quite a bit.

“Master. I thought this might be helpful, so I brought it over.”

He’s now a mature young man.

Fortunately, Hamil had grown well and had no issues with his intelligence.

In fact, he was quite clever, learning Arlesian from Yuri and joining in the research.

He started calling Yuri ‘Master.’

Hamil never married. Even though Yuri told him he could go out and start a family if he found a good woman, Hamil just shook his head.

So, the two of them lived alone in the annex until a child started living with them recently, brought in by Hamil.

There were many children who had lost their parents to demonic beasts or bandits, and this was one of them.

It seemed Hamil couldn’t ignore a child crying and without parents while he was out helping with some work.

Was it because of his childhood?

Yuri just let it be without saying anything.

Hamil took good care of the child, playing with him, teaching him letters, and drawing with him.

One day, when Hamil was out, the child found a piece of paper with Arlesian letters Hamil had been researching on his desk.

Remembering how he used to get praised for copying letters or drawing well, the child tried to copy the letters, struggling with the quill, which Hamil usually held for him.

Using a quill instead of a charcoal stick, the child made a mess of the ink.

Hamil looked incredibly cool when he used a quill, but it didn’t work well for the child.

Soon, the child started to frown.

At that moment, Hamil returned to his room.

Worried about getting scolded, the child tensed up but relaxed when Hamil started cleaning the ink without a word and then handed over the paper he had written on, hoping for praise.

Hamil smiled.

The letters the child had tried to copy were wobbly and smudged, with too much ink seeping through to the back due to the quill staying too long on each stroke.

‘Well done.’

While smiling at the happy child, Hamil’s expression suddenly stiffened when he noticed something on the back of the paper.

The ink had seeped through, creating a mirror image of the letters, and he realized something.

That it could be read even when flipped.

He immediately took it to Yuri.

“…Reversed letters! This was the final clue!”

Hamil, as his name suggested, had found the clue.

He was named ‘Hamil’ thinking it meant ‘open,’ but years later, after becoming more proficient in Arlesian, he learned that ‘Hamilunos’ more accurately meant ‘origin’ or ‘clue.’

A child who gave a clue, just like his name.

Saena had called it ‘mirror writing,’ but Yuri referred to it as ‘reversed writing’ and began analyzing it, which provided a significant breakthrough in translation.

* * *

It was winter.

An unprecedented cold spell had hit.

“Your Grace.”

And that winter, Yuri finally managed to roughly translate the black diamond.

“…Hmm?”

Duke Kramer, lounging on a sofa and smoking a pipe, looked as if he had no will to live.

The duke had been staying in Castle Cream for a while, perhaps because the unusually cold weather had slowed the breeding of demonic beasts.

The cold was so severe that even demonic beasts struggled to survive, which was even harsher for people, but the duke, who had been busy hunting demonic beasts every day, found it an unexpected respite.

It was also an opportunity for Yuri, who had something to discuss with the duke.

“Is it possible to access the last ruin in the Kramer duchy now?”

“Why do you ask?”

The duke answered slowly.

“I need to go there.”

“…Why?”

“To see if the translation is correct.”

“…You managed to translate it?”

The duke’s eyes widened in surprise. It might have been the most significant facial expression he had made in years.

“Didn’t you give it to me to translate?”

“…….”

When he gave him the black diamond, the key to the ruins, it didn’t seem like he had any particular expectations.

After all, the empire was as good as fallen…

However, the black diamond was very important in other ways.

Initially, he thought it would have some use as a comparative sentence for translating the previously undeciphered characters from the [Conversations with a Guardian Spirit].

However, thanks to the clue Hamil brought, the grammatical structures from the last book he bought at Bellua Antiquarian Bookstore started unraveling rapidly.

Unlike Saena, who was meticulous and precise in her translations, Yuri had a talent for making assumptions about the big picture and working backward to fit the pieces together. This was one of his strengths.

While he couldn’t figure out the symmetrical grammar like she did, he managed to make a rough guess of the content.

However, the part where the spirit enters the spirit realm and makes a contract with the spirit in the [Conversations with a Guardian Spirit] had to be translated accurately.

The inscriptions on the black diamond were the most significant help in this regard.

As time passed, he concluded that he needed to actually open the ruins, making the black diamond’s importance immeasurable.

According to the dialogue, he needed to find a place where the spirit’s power was concentrated. The only place he could rely on was the ruins.

“Access is impossible.”

“Huh? Oh, the ruins?”

“You’ll die before you even get there.”

“…Because of the demonic beasts?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Yuri’s expression darkened.

Seeing this, the duke slowly exhaled smoke.

Yuri Debov.

What did he say? That he was continuing his sister’s research.

Finding a way to enter the spirit realm? Does he want to become an Oathkeeper?

What benefit could there be in becoming an Oathkeeper in such a bleak era? He would end up hunting demonic beasts day and night like the duke, dying without any purpose…

Yuri Debov. He might be the only one who still holds onto hope in this era.

How he could do that was beyond comprehension, but it wasn’t particularly annoying.

Well, maybe it’s not bad.

It’s not bad to have someone like that in such an era.

“There’s a barrier, so you won’t be able to enter alone even if you manage to get there.”