I said nothing as I waited my turn in a sea of gray-robed servants, while an old man wearing a black uniform pointed to each servant one by one, assigning them to their task. The majority had been assigned to keeping the gardens and outer perimeter clean.

I was one of the few blue-robed servants, wearing a deliberately smug expression like it was an achievement. I wouldn't have been assigned to anything remotely important, but the other blue robes were assigned to better locations. I was doing my best to show off a cultivation at the Peak of Initiate Realm, which was impressive for a servant.

I was given a blue robe, because bringing food to a royal was an important mission, and couldn't be assigned to a lower-ranked servant. Even to one that consigned to a slow death.

Then, the man stood in front of me with a genial smile, but I didn't miss his vicious gaze. "And, since you're a trained scholar, you'll have the honor of bringing food of the Third Queen, who's resting in the Spring Palace to recover from her illness," he declared.

The other servants started gossiping wildly, their eyes wide with jealousy. The name of the Cursed Palace was a nickname among the guards, and mostly, they were smart enough to keep their mouths shut. It was not a secret, but also it was not known by the commoners as well.

What followed was a detailed explanation about exactly how to treat the Third Queen even when I was passing the food. Of course, a Queen not even having a servant would have been scandalous enough, but the illness excuse explained that.

It wasn't absurd theater.

A grin blossomed on my face as I started walking, and it turned into a solemn expression. Trying to earn the pity of an imprisoned Queen as a servant consigned to death was a fool's errand. I had spent enough time with the rich and successful to know exactly how they thought. They might preach equality, but it wasn't true empathy.

I didn't need the Freeloader System to know that pity was a fragile emotion.

I expected that to be only worse for an imprisoned Queen, as not only her sense of superiority would be well-established, but also her personal distress was real.

The only way to earn her pity was to find a way to touch her emotional strings … which would have been much easier if I knew anything about her.

I had to improvise.

I sighed as I walked forward, taking note of my surroundings as I finally stepped into the garden. The palace had many guards, but none of them dared to step into the huge garden.

The garden was filled with plants, green mixing with various colors, but it was left to grow wildly. The smell was amazing, and I could identify several very expensive medicinal plants, the kind that required hundreds of gold pieces to buy at the market, abandoned to grow wildly.

Not exactly what I imagined considering the unofficial title of the Cursed Palace.

I walked forward, proud, but with a grim expression, like I was about to walk to my death. More importantly, I stopped suppressing my current martial abilities once the guards were sufficiently away.

Halfway in, something shifted.

It was hard to pin down exactly what was the change. I continued walking, not giving any sign of noticing anything wrong. No need to take any pointless risks just because I was confident in escaping.

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I continued to walk solemnly, acting unawares when I noticed a slight movement in one of the windows. The Third Queen, most likely. The closer I got, the less I hid my abilities, adding the grace of a Tiger to my steps.

As far as martial arts were concerned, it was a good choice. While I was in Markas, I learned that three martial schools functioned in more territories than just the Zaim Kingdom, though usually they had different variants. At this point, I could easily create my variants or use the orthodox version for the Zaim kingdom, which gave me some flexibility for my story.

The slow pace allowed me to pin down the exact source of my discomfort. It was my essence. It was somehow being tainted. With what, I didn't know, but I decided to leave it for the future.

I arrived at the door, knocking three times just like I had been asked. There was no answer, but I heard footsteps from the other side. She was probably watching me from a concealed window, but I didn't look around to find it.

I was glad that, the door was positioned in such a way that it wasn't visible from outside. I just needed to worry about her.

Instead, I focused on the cracked signboard. Spring Palace, it read. As I looked at it, I felt the whisper of a warm wind carrying the smell of fresh blossoms, but it came from a distance, garbled and broken. Yet, the crack seemed like a recent addition.

I decided to try my luck.

"Petals unfurl, a vibrant show; sun-kissed leaves begin to grow. But in my heart, a frozen spear; spring bloomed in vain, despair draws near," I said, reading another poem. However, I read it differently. Previously, when I had been showing off back in Markas, I had been doing my best to sound high-class and educated.

This time, I put more emotions into my words, as they spoke to me. Though, I was still educated. Yet, the real trick was my accent, almost a perfect accent of Zaim Kingdom, but the slightest foreign edge only a trained ear could catch, implying that I came from afar.

At the same time, I shifted my Martial Essence slightly, copying Marana's problem, which was even harder. Anyone below Elsana's caliber would have concluded that I had been wounded in a way that prevented me from cultivating, and my cultivation had regressed significantly.

I didn't show any sign of impatience, or continued to recite poems. The door opened almost twenty minutes later, revealing the Queen. Not much was visible behind the loose dress and the thick veil, only her eyes, but they were the bluest eyes I had seen, almost shining with their own lights. Yet, the lines around her eyes suggested exhaustion.

Whatever that was affecting her was hitting her hard.

Behind her, the palace was completely quiet and seemingly devoid of life.

"I have brought the Queen's food, madam," I said, acting oblivious to her true identity.

She said nothing, just looked at me carefully. "Another unlucky one," she said, her voice sharp. "I wonder how long you will last with the curse."

"Heavens weave as heavens will," I answered primly.

I made no show of surprise, showing that I was already aware of the curse. Another big risk, but I had already committed to the brave yet cultured warrior who lost his future. She looked even more alert than I expected despite the sense of despair that radiated from her, and I didn't want to risk changing my attitude.

For better or worse, I was committed to it, though it wasn't as bad as it first sounded. If it didn't work, I could always disappear.

I caught the slight shift in her gaze, confirming that I managed to surprise her.

Excellent.

"Interesting. You know about the curse, yet you're not afraid," she said as she took the food. "Let's see how brave you are. Stay here until dusk, and clean the place."

I met her challenge with a stoic nod. "As you wish, madam. I will go and bring the necessary supplies while Her Highness enjoys her breakfast," I said.

She looked surprised, but I walked away. Once I was away from the garden, I found an empty room, and cycled my essence several times, trying to isolate whatever tainted my essence.

I had no idea what it was, but considering Volcano Essence failed to burn it, it wasn't something simple. Luckily, freezing it with Snow essence before massaging the chunk of essence out was still viable.

Though, it was certainly expensive in terms of essence. Even with my advantages, dealing with it would be a challenge.

Still, knowing I wouldn't fall victim to a mysterious curse was good news. I went out and found the man in the black uniform that assigned me the work earlier. "The maidservant of the Queen ordered me to work on the garden and fix the signboard. I need high-quality carving tools and gardening shears, sir," I said.

"Unlucky bastard," he said with a chuckle, not even bothering his glee. After all, the more time I spent in the garden, the faster I would die. He said nothing else. I took the tools and went back to the garden.

I had a lot of work to do.