Lord of Rot

The steward, Lidun, led the way with a torch.

The treasury of Iron Wall Castle was in a similar location to the one at Longship Castle. But as they rounded a corner, a spiderweb suddenly brushed against Leech’s face.

He raised a hand, pulled the web from his face, and said, "It seems the Black King never came in here."

Leech didn’t need the torchlight to clearly make out the layers of cobwebs in the corners, or the desiccated moths caught within them.

As Lidun walked by with the torch, the flame instantly burned a large hole through the webs.

The two of them stopped before an iron door.

Lidun tilted his torch to light a sconce by the treasury door, then handed the torch to Leech. "Yes, my lord. I don’t think anyone has been here for at least a year."

Holding the torch in one hand, Leech used the other to push open the treasury’s heavy doors.

The flickering torchlight seized the opportunity, spilling into the treasury and illuminating a room that had been sealed for at least a year.

Pushing the doors open stirred up a cloud of dust.

Leech covered his mouth and nose with one hand, squinting as he peered into the treasury.

A small pile of Jinri, perhaps a hundred coins.

And that was it.

"Pathetic!"

Leech walked inside. While there was little in the way of treasure, quite a few other items were on display.

One was a massive blanket stitched together from seven or eight different colored fabrics, now covered in a gentle layer of dust.

Beside it lay a book.

Leech picked up the book and shook it. Dust rained down in a flurry. Judging by the sheer amount of it, the book hadn’t been touched in at least five or six years.

He flipped open a page and was stunned. "A hot-air balloon?"

The diagram was simple, but it was unmistakably a hot-air balloon.

’Could this belong to the one who fell to his death?’

Leech closed the book and smacked it against his boot a couple of times to knock off the rest of the dust.

The motion made him cough a few times himself.

Once he was sure most of the dust was gone, he tucked the book under his arm.

’I’ll save this and have someone look into it later.’

Hot-air balloons had many potential uses. For example, you could cast a Magic spell from one to create a fixed observation point, or use it to send messages. It would be quite useful, especially since there weren’t many Ostrich Eagle Knights yet.

Once large-scale flight became more common, the hot-air balloon would lose all its military value.

’As for large-scale transportation of people, forget it. Traveling by land or sea is just slow. In the sky, there are no guarantees. You’ll just get yourself killed.’

Leech clearly wasn’t the first person to visit the treasury. He didn’t find much of use. Besides the book on how to build a hot-air balloon and the hundred or so Jinri, there were only a few sets of armor and some pieces of coral and jade that looked somewhat valuable.

’Well, as long as it can be sold for money, it’s not a total loss.’

As they left the treasury, Leech stressed, "Don’t let anyone near here without permission."

"Yes, my lord!"

’It would be best to post a guard, but Iron Wall Castle is too short-staffed for that. I might as well just carry the money with me.’

And so, the treasury was now, in fact, completely empty. Not a single copper star remained.

He hadn’t gone far when a head peeking around caught his attention.

"What are you doing?" Leech recognized the young woman he had saved from the Mercenaries. She was holding a cup and standing at a junction, looking lost.

Hearing his voice, the young woman turned. "M-My lord!"

"Miss Alice," Lidun said, hurrying over. "I believe you must be lost. Please turn around and follow that path straight ahead."

"But, I..." Alice stammered.

"No ’buts’," Lidun said, a little tense.

"Don’t be so tense, Lidun," Leech said. "I’m sure Miss Alice has an important reason for being here."

He understood why the steward was on edge.

Unless given permission, male and female servants could only operate in designated areas during specific times. For example, laundry maids weren’t allowed upstairs, and the cooks couldn’t leave the kitchen. Only the steward and a lord’s personal valet had far-reaching access within the castle.

This particular path, the one leading to the treasury, was off-limits to everyone—even now that it was empty.

"My lord, please forgive Miss Alice," Lidun said. "She’s never worked as a maid before. Today is her first day since being hired; there is still much she doesn’t understand."

"That’s enough, Lidun. I told you not to be so tense," Leech said. He then turned to the young woman. "So, Miss Alice, what is it you’re looking for in the castle?"

"I’ve prepared a restorative broth for you."

Alice said quietly, "It’s a type of broth that helps people feel more energetic. I saw that you seemed very tired today, so..."

"Thank you," Leech nodded. "Perhaps you could bring the broth to the council hall for me? And right, could you also bring a mug of beer? Mr. Lidun will show you where the ale is."

"Yes," the steward Lidun nodded quickly. "Come with me, you reckless Miss Alice."

Alice nodded eagerly and followed the steward away.

Leech, meanwhile, communicated directly with his Corpse Ghost. The Black King’s body was already in its coffin, just waiting to make its fresh debut tomorrow.

Back in the council hall, Leech flipped through the manual on building a hot-air balloon. It was clearly from an exploratory phase.

But the basic concept was sound.

"My lord." Lacy was standing at the door, knocking gently.

"Come in." Leech put the book down. "What’s the situation?"

"The situation isn’t optimistic," Lacy said, shaking his head as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "At most, the grain stores in the castle can feed three thousand people for half a month."

"They had no reserves?"

"They have some," Lacy said, "but even if they ration it strictly, it will only last a month at most."

Iron Wall Castle had been sealed for a long time. It was only to be expected that every household had eaten through their private stores. Otherwise, Leech wouldn’t have sent Lacy to check on the food situation in the first place.

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