Amy and Noah set off towards the Black Mountains with a minimal group. It was the two of them, Bradley, Dwayne, a few guards, their servants, and Ethan. Noah was very worried as Amy was the only woman. He even followed her around begging her not to go and to just tell him the location.

But Amy didn’t do that. There could be unexpected situations. If that happened, only she would be able to handle it.

Going a bit north from the Grand Duchy, there’s a small mountain leading to the Black Mountains. The group’s journey began there. So not long after leaving the Grand Duchy.

“It’s not that I’m ignoring you, Lady Attendant… Can’t I just carry that bag for you?”

Amy was exasperated by the words from beside her again, but she tried to reply calmly.

“Alright. I don’t hate you either, Dwayne.”

“…You mean I don’t have to carry it, just go away, right?”

“That’s right. I’ve said it exactly five times now. If you bring it up once more…”

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

“This will have a rather intense encounter with Dwayne’s head. Try it if you’re curious.”

“…There are times when one should restrain their curiosity.”

Dwayne finally backed off. Amy sighed. No, I appreciate the thought, really. But when I say no, you should understand!

Just then, a grumpy voice came from beside her.

“Just give it to him.”

“…”

Amy narrowed her eyes and glared at Noah. He too, like Dwayne, was desperate to carry the bag in Amy’s hand.

‘It’s just one magic tool…’

It wasn’t even that heavy, and she just wanted to carry it herself rather than entrust it to others, but there was so much fuss from those around her. Noah avoided Amy’s gaze and pretended to be distracted.

“The weather is really nice.”

“…Indeed it is.”

Amy looked up at the sky along with him and relaxed her expression. Since Noah activated the magic tool, the weather in the north had been getting warmer day by day. At first, she worried about side effects from arbitrarily changing the natural environment.

So she contacted the lords of each region and influential village elders, earnestly asking them to let her know if anything strange happened. But what they found out was unexpected.

Noah rubbed the ground with his foot, then made a strange expression as he looked at the exposed tree roots.

“This tree originally grows in the central part of the empire?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m certain because I was born and raised there.”

Bradley asserted. Everyone’s expressions changed as if they were seeing something incredible. The roots of a tree that only grows in the mild climate of the central empire were found under the ground of the northern Grand Duchy.

Noah spoke quietly to Amy, who was lost in thought.

“Could it be that this place used to have a mild climate in the past?”

Amy nodded.

“It seems so. Similar phenomena have been observed in other parts of the north. They say that as the ice covering the ground melts, the flowers and plant sprouts that emerge are ones typically seen in the empire.”

It would be clear when spring came, but there was a possibility that the frozen, unusable lands could become granaries. As soon as they confirmed the magic tool was working, they sent people to sweep up various seeds from the empire, so they could find out through experiments.

“I hope we can plant high-yield crops if possible.”

Amy smiled contentedly. If that happens, they could reclaim the food sovereignty that was taken by the empire. There would be no need to bow their heads to the empire anymore.

“I was thinking of something a bit different…”

Noah began with a serious face. Amy’s expression turned equally serious.

“If this place’s original climate was really similar to the empire’s, why did it change to such severe cold?”

“…I’m not sure.”

Amy had thought about it too, but there were too many pressing matters to ponder deeply. Noah lowered his eyes, lost in thought, and muttered.

“What if the magic tool you found doesn’t change the weather?”

“Pardon?”

“If it’s a magic tool that lifts some kind of curse applied to this place, it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Noah’s idea was that someone might have used a magic tool to worsen the weather in the north, and it had continued until now, but the magic tool Amy found might have lifted it.

Amy nodded in agreement. Then she said worriedly,

“That magic tool is still running in Your Highness’s office. If the curse you mentioned really exists, it means it’s still operating now.”

That means it could return to how it was at any time. The two looked around silently. Although it was early winter, green sprouts were visible and winter flower buds could be seen. Thinking that this sight might disappear again made their chests feel tight.

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

“Don’t worry too much, Amy. We’ll figure something out.”

“…You think so?”

Amy tried to relax her tense face. Noah tilted his head and looked at her with warm eyes.

“You came to me, Amy. There’s no greater miracle for me than that, but I think there can be plenty of small miracles.”

“…”

Amy, who had tensed up slightly, relaxed and smiled naturally.

‘I probably don’t need to think too sensitively. He’s just a very kind person.’

If Lady Weaver and Rita had heard this, they would have fainted, but those two weren’t here. As Amy lowered her head in embarrassment, idly patting her skirt, Bradley signaled from the other side that it was time to depart. Noah watched Amy, who stood up eagerly as if she had been waiting for this, and let out a small sigh.

On the seventh day of 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.

The ones going up with her were Noah and Bradley, but Dwayne was so shocked at being left out that he persistently insisted on going along. He was so persistent that Amy, tired of arguing, finally agreed.

After climbing the mountain path for about half a day to reach their destination, they found a sheer cliff blocking their way. Unable to go any further, worry clouded people’s faces.

“Did we take the wrong path?”

Bradley asked, surveying the surrounding terrain. But Amy shook her head. Then she searched the area thoroughly. Seeing her, the others also looked around, checking if there was anything strange.

Then Noah discovered something.

“There’s a gap in the cliff here.”

“!”

Everyone quickly gathered around. Looking where Noah pointed, they saw a gap in the cliff just wide enough for one adult to pass through, hidden by trees and bushes and impossible to notice from afar. The group lined up and passed through it one by one. After walking for a while, they finally came out on the opposite side of the cliff.

“It’s spacious!”

People exclaimed in wonder as they looked around. Spread out before their eyes was a space that had been artificially cleared and flattened for some purpose, surrounded by huge rocks that seemed to have been cut vertically to form walls.

If not for the gap Noah found, it would have been impossible to find this place.

“It looks like a space for children to play.”

Bradley muttered to himself. Everyone agreed. Just then, Dwayne let out a cry.

“There’s something in the middle!”

Startled, they turned to see a large stone. People naturally headed towards it. Coming closer, they saw a rock about waist-high to a child placed before their eyes. It was so flat and wide, as if someone had carefully split and polished it, that it was hard to believe it had formed naturally.

“It’s strangely shaped. What could this be? Wow, you could even lie down on it.”

Dwayne exclaimed as he circled around the rock. Amy grimaced.

“Stop fidgeting, it’s distracting.”

“Yes…”

Dwayne replied halfheartedly, his eyes still fixed on the rock. Amy clicked her tongue, but she couldn’t blame him. Even the others were all fixated on the rock.

“It looks just like an altar.”

Jack cautiously spoke up. Those who had been hesitant to speak due to Amy’s solemn atmosphere all nodded at once.

In the center of the rock was a circular groove, which looked like a place to put offerings or some kind of object. It was no wonder people were calling it an altar.

“Lady Attendant. Did you know something like this was here?”

Dwayne asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. Amy shook her head, uncomfortable with the gazes focused on her.

‘I had some expectations, though.’

There was a record in an old document found in Bigo about offering sacrifices to ancient gods.

At the time, she had dismissed it thinking it wasn’t related to the foreign Viscon tribe, but now it was clearly connected. Just the fact that this altar was included in the Viscon tribe’s invasion route into the duchy made it obvious.

Noah frowned and pressed his lips together as he stared at the altar. He seemed to be considering something. Then, feeling Amy’s gaze, he stepped back slightly. It meant for her to do what needed to be done.

Amy came forward, took off the bag slung over her shoulder, and wiped the top of the altar clean with a handkerchief. Then she carefully took out a statue-like magic tool from the bag.

With a rounded bottom, it was diamond-shaped rising upwards. To others’ eyes, it might just look like a strangely textured sculpture. She lifted it carefully so as not to drop it and placed it in the central groove of the altar.

With a click, it fit perfectly into place as if it belonged there. Bradley and Dwayne, who had been watching breathlessly, clapped their hands in admiration. Amy and Noah waited for a moment, wondering if it would activate on its own like the previous magic tool. But the magic tool remained silent.

“Is that it?”

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

‘Well, we’re not the ones using it anyway. The Viscon tribe will figure it out.’