Eleanor wanted to walk forward but I stopped her.
"Why are you stopping me?"
"Why are you approaching the flower?"
"Because, because... I don't know."
"And that's why I stopped you. The reason you approached the flower is due to its influence. Had you walked there and touched it you would have died and turned into a vengeful spirit. Touching it will immediately put you under the grudge's direct influence so it's hard to remove."
"So what do we do?"
"While it's dangerous to you it should be unable to do anything to me."
"Are you that powerful?"
"This isn't about power. The grudge can easily go past any defenses and directly attack a certain part of your mind. To protect against it you either need to be able to forgive the grudge or have a bigger grudge."
"Forgive the grudge?"
"Your subconsciousness will be put into the situation where the grudge was born and if you can't put it past you, you die. Only a select few known as saints can do that so don't try it."
Before she could do anything else I stepped forward and plucked the black spider lily from the pot. Upon touching it a terrifying grudge rushed into a certain part of my mind. Only to drown in the pure blackness that already occupied that place. Like a bucket of water poured into the ocean the change couldn't be noticed unless the action of adding it had been observed.
Now to deal with the flower itself. I could use it to create a weapon but after last time I did that... Better not to. Instead, I chose to destroy it. It was squashed in my hand until the flower was completely unrecognizable and I couldn't feel the grudge anymore.
Admittedly, this was a waste of a potent and unusually rare material. However, grudges were the closest thing to hatred. Hatred fostered blackness and once black magic got involved true disaster would usually follow.
With the destruction of the black spider lily, all the remaining black vapor began to sizzle away while all the vengeful spirits that I hadn't taken out, burst into white flames.
The oppressive atmosphere that had surrounded the area was cleared away and it seemed like a cloud that had been covering up the sun all along finally moved aside.
"Eleanor, you wouldn't have any idea where this flower came from, would you?"
"I wasn't even aware of its existence so how could I know its origin. One of the owners must have found or bought it somewhere and brought it here."
"Since when have there been rumors of this place being haunted?"
"I'm not sure but it was already like this when I became queen so it must be a while now."
In conclusion, we knew nothing of the flower's origin or whoever placed it inside the mansion. I could try messing with time to find out but it didn't seem worth the effort.
"Abel, can we leave this place now. I know the mansion is safe now but I still get a bad feeling from being here."
"You are probably sensing some of the residual energies. They will dissipate naturally over time so we can leave for now. I'd also like to ask for your help in order to acquire both this and the former merchant guild's building."
"I'll gladly act as your proxy during the negotiations with that noble. Though I cannot promise you a good price since the old fool is quite stubborn. Is there anything else you need my help with?"
"Since you're offering, we'll need some employees for the branch guild and while we will take care of the interviews ourselves, gathering potential employees will be hard. I'm sure you, on the other hand, would find spreading our recruitment notice much easier."
"That's a fine idea but using the connections of the royal family will cost you, you know. We don't do such a great favor for free."
"Now you sound more like a shrewd merchant than a queen. Jumping at every opportunity to make money doesn't suit your position. However, I am naturally willing to pay for your assistance in this matter."
"Unfitting? The poor have little choice when it comes to their dignity. I for one wouldn't keep playing the nice but naive queen that stays in the palace all day if circumstances didn't require it."
Eleanor seemed to have a story to tell but we weren't close enough yet for her to tell me something of such grave importance. I also reckoned that we would never get to that level of friendship since I wouldn't be staying here enough.
Leaving the mansion we casually chatted about some inconsequential topics to pass the time until we reached the palace. Eleanor was an interesting lady to talk to since she spoke her mind quite openly and we the way to the palace barely registered for the both of us.
After arriving at the palace gate Eleanor excused herself and went to negotiate a price with the merchant guild building's owner. She also mentioned that she would prepare to spread our recruitment notice. Once that was done she would send someone to find me so we could finalize the transaction.
To pass the time I asked one of the servants where the training area of the castle was. I was then led to the place where I had defeated the young noble the other day.
On the training field, a group of royal guards was practicing with their swords. They looked to be the elites of this place and they fought with practiced motions that had left few openings that could be exploited.
Albion was training with them. Despite the cold that was ever-present in this place he was bare-chested and fought multiple royal guards at once without losing. His fighting style was wild and unrestrained but kept a certain measure of vigilance that allowed him to instantly switch to a more defensive style.
I watched them for a while but didn't feel like joining so my attention drifted elsewhere.