After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Annie did not wake up, but her body showed no signs of decay. Normally, a person's body would gradually soften after death, and the skin would quickly turn pale and lose its elasticity.

Meanwhile, over several hours, purplish-red lividity will slowly appear, and then all parts of the body will become stiff.

However, even as dawn broke, Annie, who was not breathing and whose body temperature had dropped to extremely low levels, seemed to be merely asleep, releasing no trace of the curse.

The worst has happened. Oswald had previously suspected that, due to the nature of salvation and destruction, Maria, who eliminated the plague, had become a monster capable of causing flesh mutations, making her unable to return to her original path. Lilith, who resurrected her lover, also inflicted Thorne with torment worse than death.

They didn't simply become a curse; rather, they suffered from despair that contradicted their desires.

Diana and Nicole, who have traveled back in time, seem to be easier to manipulate and control than other incarnations of the curse.

As for Annie's unknown wish, it involves the disappearance of the original Oswald, as well as the arrival of the transmigrator and the system...

Oswald was certain that Annie's curse could not affect him or the system. In the face of higher-dimensional power, the Wishing Star was nothing more than a slightly more powerful tool.

Transmigrators cannot be generalized. Many of the new transmigrators encountered by the system during its visits to other systems possessed world-destroying weapons or powers from the very beginning. Some, like the Star of Prayer, even had side effects. The systems not only looked down on them, but also destroyed them in a concentrated manner.

The curse of backlash—if Annie chooses the destruction of her soul…

"Build a glass coffin to safeguard her physical body."

Oswald, who was giving orders to the soldiers, sensed the chill emanating from Annie's body; it was definitely not the power of the curse.

It seems that there are still many unsolved mysteries surrounding Annie.

Oswald, having returned empty-handed, immediately threw himself into magical training upon arriving back at the Duke's mansion.

The old man Medivh's head had already made his home in that sealed alchemical coffin. As his slumber continued, everyone in the Duke's mansion knew that Medivh's time was running out.

Upon opening the alchemical coffin, Oswald discovered the dissipating magic within. Medivh remained unconscious, and deciding not to disturb him, Oswald took out his staff and walked towards the door.

Before the door was even opened, Medivh's aged voice drifted out.

"What has she become?"

"A corpse colder than ice, yet no curse has appeared."

As if deep in thought, or perhaps even struggling to speak, Medivh remained silent for several minutes, like a patriarch who was worried about everything, before continuing to ask.

"How are Luna and the others? Have they written to us recently?"

Oswald smiled confidently. "All's well. It shouldn't be long before you hear news of their unification of the kingdom."

"If there weren't so many difficulties, the kingdom... cough, cough! The kingdom would surely become even greater in your hands."

Upon hearing the old man's praise, Oswald simply sighed.

"Old sir, there's no such greatness to it. The power I possess is nothing more than a stroke of luck, including the magical talent you bestowed upon me through the ritual."

"Weapons and power are not determined by how they are acquired, but by the beliefs of their wielder and how they will use them."

Medivh raised his eyelids slightly, and Oswald, understanding what he wanted to do, quickly walked over and lifted him out of the alchemical coffin.

"Those children's wishes, it's not really fair to say they did anything wrong."

Holding Medivh's head steadily, the two headed to the training ground together. The early summer breeze carried a hint of spring warmth. Medivh lowered his gaze and spoke softly.

"They eradicated the plague and defeated the demon king. They should have become a vibrant force, but instead, they turned and threw themselves into the cesspool of power."

"Belder told me that the best dragon slayers are those warriors who are defeated by dragons time and time again, but who refuse to give up. It's not a good thing for teenagers to be called heroes."

"Even I like stories like this, the boy who defeats the demon king, hehe, the road to victory is full of the corpses of warriors, but we only made a laurel wreath to symbolize glory."

The gentle words made Oswald hold his breath; the old man's words starkly revealed the ugliness of history.

When did those respectable ordinary people begin to disappear from our sight?

"I am glad that you have returned the honor to them. The Northern Army troops have shown me a new possibility. They know what they are fighting for, and they will firmly defend the honor that belongs to them."

During his travels through the Northern Territory, Medivh witnessed the public's acceptance of the military, something unimaginable in the past.

Farmers in the eastern agricultural areas are grateful for the help they received from the Third Division. It was thanks to the efforts of the soldiers of the Third Division that convenient irrigation canals and farmland were able to be cultivated.

The residents of the north yearn for the powerful Starfall Masters and the First Division, because their existence guarantees the residents' peace and prosperity.

The herders in the western pastoral areas were very proud of the performance of their cavalry and patted their chests to assure the Duke that the eagles of the steppe would conquer every disloyal land.

The people of the southern commercial region have the most to talk about. As a region that has suffered from the oppression of the nobles, they will tirelessly recount the liberation brought by the soldiers and the various large-scale battles led by the Second Division in Green Canyon.

If the Northern Territory weren't so sparsely populated, Medivh was absolutely certain that Oswald could easily muster an army of no less than a million men.

Upon arriving at the training ground, Oswald discovered that Dane, who had been waiting there for a long time, was not training today. Instead, he solemnly approached Oswald, holding a platinum staff in both hands.

"Don't refuse me a second time, Duke. The swordsman has lost his sword, but the magician cannot be without a good staff."

A guard took Medivh's head from Oswald's hands.

That exquisitely crafted staff, radiating a pure light, was a symbol of Medivh's past as a great mage.

Several days later, Medivh passed away on a mild summer night.

Before he died, he was still talking about Luna and the army fighting in the Eastern Territory, hoping for the reunification of the human kingdom.

Medivh left Oswald two items: an expensive and beautiful pipe and the staff he had used in his many battles.

Following the old man's instructions, Oswald held only a small funeral for him, with the inscription on the tombstone: "Here lies the great magician who guarded mankind."

Medivh's story is untold. Just like in the original game, he always stands by the king's side, arriving and departing without warning.

He did not die in a great battle like Baird the Dragon Slayer, nor did he plot in the shadows like Archbishop John.

He always gave it his all, and then, after squeezing out all his value, calmly handed over the future.