“The young people are all working at the foot of the mountain over there now.” Someone answered the lord loudly, then suddenly seemed to remember something: “Quick, go call them back and have them pay their respects to the lord!” With this shout, those who were still agile immediately ran out.

“Working? What are they all doing?” Henry Clark asked curiously. This time, he simply sat down on a clean stone nearby and beckoned for the people to come a little closer. Although these ragged old and weak folks were afraid that the curse of misfortune on them might affect the lord, they still didn’t want to disobey his orders. They shuffled over slowly, but still kept a considerable distance from him.

Talking like this would mean having to shout, and Henry Clark didn’t want to tire himself out. However, he understood very well what these people were worried about. As someone whose soul had received a modern, 21st-century education, he knew perfectly well that twins were not what these people imagined. But years of ingrained habits still held them back. Henry Clark’s eyes flickered as he came up with an idea.

“Just as you suspect, your lord—I—am a mage.” Henry Clark stood up, took a few steps back, picked up the magic staff he’d been using as a cane, and waved it at the crowd. As he moved his hand, the people opposite tensed up; Henry Clark could even see a flash of panic in their eyes.

Everyone knew what it meant to be a mage in this world. Seeing that this young lord was not only their lord but also a mage, such a prestigious status left these old and weak people, who had always lived at the very bottom, completely at a loss for words.

“You must all be wondering why I dared to come to this cursed place, and why I’ve spoken so much with you.” Henry Clark didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. These people were all elders, and perhaps held some status in the town. If he could win them over, the young people would be easier to handle.

“In fact, I once met a powerful mage who taught me a way to resist the curse of misfortune that afflicts twins.” Henry Clark tried to show his kindest smile, charming the people who would become his subjects: “Your curse has no effect on me at all!”

The exclamations were even louder than before, and there were many voices. Clearly, for these people who had long been abandoned by society, the shock of this news was even greater than suddenly having a lord willing to come here.

“A way to resist the curse of twin misfortune?” After repeating the phrase Henry Clark had emphasized, several of the oldest elders couldn’t help but raise their hands to the sky, then knelt down: “Great gods! Have you finally decided to accept us?”

Chapter 4: Twin Misfortune (Part 2)

As these elders knelt, everyone else followed suit, and a few even wept tears of joy on the spot. The elders’ emotional outpouring made Henry Clark feel quite uncomfortable; he hadn’t expected that a small lie would provoke such a strong reaction.

Perhaps, after being abandoned by the world, they had borne too much pressure, and now, suddenly hearing of a way to be freed, their emotional release was only natural. Thinking this, Henry Clark stood silently to the side, watching as these people vented their joy and excitement.

Fortunately, this scene didn’t last long. The elder who had first spoken with Henry Clark soon stopped crying, stood up, and looked at Henry Clark half-believingly: “My lord, is this… is this really true?”

“Didn’t I just help you up?” Henry Clark smiled, reinforcing their confidence. “Look at me—have I suffered any misfortune so far?”

Reminded by Henry Clark, the elder recalled that he had nearly fallen just now, and it was this mage lord who had helped him. That unintentional contact seemed, apparently, to have brought no trouble to the lord. Could it be that what the lord said was true?

After all, this legend of misfortune had been circulating in the world for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and was deeply rooted in everyone’s heart. Although their joy was only temporary, these people, oppressed by the curse for millennia, chose to cautiously believe their lord’s words, rather than trust him completely.

“My lord, we’d better keep a little distance!” These kind-hearted people still didn’t want even a trace of their misfortune to touch the lord who had brought them such good news.

“All right, but you’d better come a bit closer, so I don’t have to shout myself hoarse.” Henry Clark accepted this compromise. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a proper drink of water.”

“Ah!” the elders exclaimed. One person dashed into the shanty, moving with a speed that belied his age. In no time, he returned holding a battered wooden bowl, carrying a bowl of water for Henry Clark. When he was still two steps away from the lord, he hurriedly set it down and quickly retreated two steps, still not daring to approach the lord.