"They pray fervently to the Goddess of Life because she can give them blessings that can counteract the curse. But it seems that their blessings are not enough for the family to continue to thrive." Lycan stated.
"They are indeed blessed by the Goddess of Life as she gave special attention to the children because they are innocent after all. Still, the curse that a demigod is not something to look down upon as the Nymph Queen sacrificed part of her divinity. One could say that she casted a divine curse upon the royal family." Adrian replied.
"Where did you get this divine curse information? Did the ghost of the knight tell you?" Solstice asked.
"Nope. Charon found a spirit of a nymph that was slaughtered near the sea. It seems that the royal family and the Nymph Queen engaged in battle after she cursed them. Needless to say, a demigod versus humans do not end well.
The royal family only managed to live because the Nymph Queen of the Western Sea sacrificed some of her power for the curse. In the end, this kingdom declined a lot due to the battle. They only managed to get back on track when the giants started to trade with them." Adrian replied.
"So, did the giants alleviate the curse?" Solstice asked as the giants seemed to help the royal family.
"They did not because giants are not really magic experts. They have tough skin and great curse resistance, but they do not have knowledge to disperse the curse." Adrian replied.
"If that is so then how are we going to climb up the bean stalk? We cannot even try to sneak in because we will be dead as soon as we are found." Solstice stated.
"You do not have to worry about that. All we need to do is walk up the door. I will handle the rest when we get there as curses seem to be doable." Adrian replied as he told the two to accompany him towards the royal castle.
"Are you nuts?" Lycan asked as even a duke's child like him is not allowed to just walk into the castle.
"At this point, let us just go with his thinking. Even if we get killed, we will just respawn anyway." Solstice stated as she also gave up thinking deeply and followed her brother.
Adrian and his companions reached the gates of the castle within a small amount of time. When he reached the gate, the heavy atmosphere of the surrounding could be felt. Castles should be beautiful and vibrant as long as it is kept well but that does not apply to the castle of the Kingdom of Suburiasi.
"Halt! State your name and purpose. If you do not have a prior arrangement to the king, then you must go back, or we will resort to force." One of the guards of the gate stated.
"See. I told you we need to schedule a meeting at least." Lycan stated.
"Will we even get an audience if we tell them we want to climb that?" Solstice stated as she pointed to the bean stalk shooting to the clouds.
"Not really. We have a chance if our reason is good, but we will be turned back if it is nothing." Lycan replied with a soft tone.
"If you are here to sightsee then please turn back." One of the guards of the gate reiterated.
"I can help the third prince." Adrian muttered to which the guard suddenly pointed his sword towards the former's neck.
"You are being blasphemous!" One of the guards of the gate stated as the sword is currently near Adrian's neck.
"If you do not want help then I can just turn back now. The third prince will not live for three more days anyways." Adrian stated.
"Blasphemous!" One of the guards of the gate stated as he swung his sword to go for a chopping motion towards Adrian, but it seems that the guard commander stopped him.
A soldier that could be seen different from the normal ones guarding the gate suddenly appeared. Adrian actually could see him, but he was concealing himself by making his aura vanish. He is definitely one of the best sword masters that the central continent has.
"Are you certain? How can we know that your claim is true? If your claim is false, then we will not let you speak ill of the royal family. Your head will come flying on the spot." The guard commander stated as he unsheathed the sword on his waist.
"Is this enough of a tangible proof?" Adrian stated as he presented a necklace given to him by the elders of the Church of the Twin Gods.
The necklace is an ornament of the tree of life and death. A necklace that can only be given and held by high-ranking members of the Church of the Twin Gods. It is a symbol of authority and authenticity because it can be considered a holy relic.
When the guard commander saw the necklace, he became very respectful towards Adrian and even bowed. The guard commander apologized with deep respect as this is the first time that an official from the Church of the Twin Gods visited their kingdom. They always sent letter of invitation to them but there are only limited human high-ranking members of the Church of Life.
"Come in, Venerable One. I am sorry for my impertinence. We did not know of your identity." The guard commander stated as he escorted them inside of the palace.
"I did not know that you are a priest of the church." Lycan whispered.
"I always thought that he will burn when he steps inside a church." Solstice jokingly muttered.
"I am the Champion of the Twin Gods after all. It just took time before I got this item. To be honest, I did not even know that it will be effective until I heard the rumors from a ghost named Marites.