“It is oil. It is a resource that the Kingdom of Bern recently has been developing in earnest.”

“Oil… … You say?”

“That’s right. Oh, and coal and firewood are still the main sources of fuel here, right?”

Damia realized at his words, thinking his accent was unique, that he must have come from the Kingdom of Bern.

“Yes, I heard that oil is rarely used, but so far—”

“Well, that’s the norm.”

Kurd quickly became talkative when his research was brought up.

“As you know, the ‘polluted’ land turns black, crops don’t grow, and livestock get sick or die. This has caused huge losses in the South.”

“Yes, I’ve heard as much, but… … How is the ‘black perfume’ related?”

Damia asked cautiously. Then, as if waiting for that question, Kurd clapped his hands and said in an excited tone.

“As I said, the main raw material for ‘black perfume oil’ is petroleum. And oil-producing land usually has traits similar to ‘pollution’.”

“Don’t tell me… … .”

“That’s right. I suspect that ‘pollution’ in the South is an artificially engineered phenomenon, and that the material causing it is ‘black perfume,’ or otherwise known as petroleum.”

Damia was speechless for a moment. Kurd’s explanation was astounding.

Upon hearing this, the first thing that came to mind was her family’s safety. If what Kurd said was true, the Primula family had committed a great felony.

Although he had been used, her father procured the raw materials used to manipulate the ‘pollution.’ Damia, unable to accept that fact, responded with a trembling voice.

“But destroying the South would require huge amounts of oil. Of course, it’s true that the High Temple bought a lot of ‘black perfume’… … Not enough to cover the entire South.”

Kurd shrugged his shoulders without a word. Then Heinrich added on his behalf.

“I’m sorry, Damia, but I already got a confession.”

“A confession? From whom… … ah.”

“Right, we’ve already interrogated the man you captured, Cesare.”

When Cesare came up, Damia’s jaw clenched, and her face went pale. It was good that he had been apprehended, but she worried about what else Cesare might have said during the interrogation.

The Primula family adopted him for several years. Therefore, in this work, he was able to weave the family in this conspiracy deeply.

Whether or not he was aware of Damia’s concerns, Heinrich continued his words calmly.

“The High Temple did its research and found a way to transform the original properties of ‘black perfume’ with holy powers and convert it into a biological weapon.”

“Holy power?”

“Yes, holy power is usually used for healing and purification, but you can use it the other way around. Did you not know this?”

“… … No.”

Damia, who was not a priest, had no way of knowing this. Then Heinrich shrugged his shoulders and explained:

“Regardless, the end result that they created seems to be what they call ‘Devil’s Tears’.”

“Ha.”

Hearing this, Kurd, a native of Bern, snickered under his breath.

Devil’s Tears, or Black Gold. Both were aliases for petroleum oil.

In fact, the Kingdom of Bern was investing heavily in oil extraction and development. Therefore, great care had been taken to ensure that such technology did not leak.

But what was this? In discovering new uses for oil, priests were better than scientists. Damia, who had been listening, asked quietly.

“But why did they use oil? … Why pollute the South?”

“Simple. It is the stronghold of conservative aristocrats who support the royal authority.”

It had been the High Temple who spread that Heinrich was a ‘Prince forsaken by God.’ They were intent on undermining royal powers.

So, it was only natural to target the south among many regions.

Ruining their estates, driving the conservative nobles into poverty while taking ‘pity’ on them and purifying their lands. The temple’s deceitful behavior was infuriating.

At this time, Akkard, who had been keeping his mouth shut the whole time, let out a sigh and spoke up,

“It is clear that the High Temple’s ‘experiment’ has already been completed, Your Highness.”

This is why the amount of ‘black perfume,’ which had been purchased in large quantities, had significantly decreased. As long as the perfect recipe had already been found, there was no need to conduct further experiments.

After questioning Cesare, Akkard, who received most of the answers, was outspoken.

“The real plan will begin from now on. They’ve ruined all of the South, so they won’t stop until they get their hands on the capital and then the whole kingdom.”

Never. By any means.