Ch.533533. Internal Strife (1)

Illusion magic, primarily practiced by the Lephelia Duchy, is one of the less favored fields among mages.

It doesn’t possess remarkable destructive power. Not only does it require more time and resources to learn, but its standing in the magical community is so small that without exceptional skill, one receives nothing in return for their invested passion.

After all, illusions merely project insubstantial images into empty space, deceiving the senses of others into perceiving them as real.

It’s an incredibly demanding magic that fails the moment even the slightest sense of dissonance is detected.

“We’ve confirmed that the barrier has been properly established around the beastkin.”

“What about the closure and disguise?”

“Even we, who were forewarned by Lady Vina, can barely distinguish between the barrier and the illusion.”

For a master illusionist, things are quite different.

Especially Vina, counted among the top illusionists of the Lephelia Duchy, was filled with confidence in her perfect control over illusions within her domain.

“Good. Still, the beastkin commander’s skills might be different, so remain vigilant.”

“As you command.”

She began to deceive those who had unwittingly walked into her barrier.

‘Beastkin possess much keener senses than humans.’

So she simply had to block their ability to detect her presence.

Footsteps, breathing, even her scent—she could prevent them from sensing any of it.

After completing her disguise and concealment, Vina slowly listened to the beastkin’s conversation.

“The commander must have his reasons. Didn’t he say last time that this involves the Holy Nation, the Empire… and the Kingdom too?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Our federation is nothing compared to those three. We’ve just started uniting the tribes and there’s internal confusion. Getting on their bad side won’t do us any good, as you well know.”

“I know. And the matter involving those three isn’t even here but at the County. Look, even you’re clearly disgusted by what we’re doing.”

“…Keep your voice down. Remember how sharp the commander’s ears are.”

The beastkin unit needed to head toward the Margrave for some reason.

But for some reason, they were currently blocked at the Carpel Barony and couldn’t proceed.

“…This isn’t dog training. Think about it, our stated purpose was to help gain a more accurate understanding of the County’s demon territory. For our fate against demons. To understand them better so we can destroy them.”

“……”

“Yet now we’re ordered to root out seeds of heresy in a territory governed by someone who actually defeated demons? It doesn’t make sense. We’re not con artists for the Holy Nation or those nobles. Whatever disagreement they have, why should we do such dishonorable deeds?”

Having grasped the general situation from their candid complaints, Vina couldn’t help but ponder.

‘They’re meddling with the Carpel Barony now, but if we leave them be, they’ll go to the County and cause trouble.’

The Carpel Barony and the County mentioned by them were allies with our Duchy.

Being ordered to search for seeds of heresy was equivalent to the Holy Nation trying to interfere and obstruct matters here for some reason.

‘The First Princess and Her Majesty the Queen would have no reason to bother the Barony and the County.’

In this situation, it was reasonable to assume the Kingdom’s influence came from the Third Princess’s faction.

There was nothing to gain by leaving them be, so how should she stop them?

After thinking it through, Vina came up with a decent plan.

‘The current commander seems to be following all orders to avoid friction.’

As a result, his subordinates were accumulating more and more discontent.

While they maintained the basic principle of following the strong, beastkin warriors, like knights, disliked dishonorable actions.

‘Either install a new commander, or force the commander to follow their thinking.’

Moreover, their resistance already seemed sufficient without her needing to exert much effort.

If they were not obedient dogs following their master’s various commands without objection, but rather proud wolves committed to supporting only honorable causes according to their original purpose…

Then the County and Barony could avoid suffering from their interference or obstruction.

‘Eliminate all the Third Princess’s people hiding in the Barony and rewrite the beastkin unit’s principles.’

It wouldn’t be easy.

But such scheming was Vina’s specialty.

She began creating illusions. To fan the flames of their resistance against the Holy Nation and the current situation while the commander remained unaware.

“The beastkin are returning later than expected today, sister.”

“If you’re tired, brother, please feel free to retire. I can receive the report alone.”

At the edge of the barrier, just within earshot of the beastkin, she created illusions of two people.

From detailed appearances to the tremors and pitch of their voices, making them seem like real people rather than puppets. As if that weren’t enough, she even replicated the scents of several priests she had observed passing by the church during the day.

“I’ll stay with you until the end. After all… they’re savage beastkin, so having at least two of us is less worrying.”

“As you say, brother. Thank you. True, they’re docile now, but beastkin are… not without their dangers.”

Ears perked up!

Two beastkin stopped in their tracks, their expressions contorting at the faint voices reaching their wolf ears.

“Isn’t that so? It’s a bit uncomfortable living with beasts who’ve only just started believing in the Celestial God at the same church… but thanks to that, we’ve had some relief lately.”

“Indeed. Perhaps because they’re lowborn, they don’t understand the value of money. The lord unnecessarily cares about those slum vermin. Who knew he would even extend his reach to mercenaries?”

“Thanks to that, our treatment fees have decreased… and it’s become harder to cheaply exploit the slum vagrants.”

Harsh words.

She had gone a bit stronger because there were beastkin who harbored deep resentment toward the Holy Nation.

And having stopped in their tracks and hidden in a dark alley, the beastkin were busy listening to their conversation.

“…Those bastards. What the hell are they saying?”

The woman who was chewing on her anger and the beastkin who had been defending the commander’s words began to sympathize with each other.

Nothing fuels another’s anger better than primal discrimination and malice. So late at night, they were too busy feeling their boiling rage to wonder why priests would be waiting for them outside.

As she had investigated, the relationship between the beastkin and the church had just been reconciled, but was still not good. Furthermore, it seemed the church here had been subtly keeping its distance. Vina smiled at the better-than-expected reaction.

“Hmm…”

With a small laugh, she wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed from the strain of creating and maintaining such perfect illusions in real-time.

As she continued weaving her words:

“Still, thanks to that, it’s fortunate there are rumors about beast ghosts walking around at night.”

“Actually, those rumors have spread too much and become troublesome. People secretly bringing money asking us to remove ghosts, going door to door showing off divine power—it’s quite a job.”

The beastkin’s reaction was even more intense than expected.

“So the reason we’ve been patrolling the streets every night… was for their money-making scheme?”

“…These crazy humans. Even tearing them apart wouldn’t be enough for saying such things.”

Seeing that their emotions had grown stronger than reason, unable to detect that the two people were illusions, Vina was simply delighted.

With the thought that being the Duchy’s shadow was truly her calling.

* * *

“…Lord Vener.”

“Yes, Baron.”

“May I ask what kind of alcohol you introduced to my wife?”

“Oh… You tried the drink?”

When I nodded silently, Lord Vener let out a very natural chuckle.

“Haha, that drink is known to be quite strong. But it’s also famous for not tasting too bad.”

“……”

“…When you look at me like that, I’m at a loss for words. But please understand that all of this was done out of loyalty.”

What kind of loyalty could this be?

Looking at him quietly, intending to hear more of his story, he delivered smooth sentences.

“Although you received a hereditary title, Baron, you still have no heir to continue your bloodline. Your vassals have been concerned about this… and the Baroness herself expressed her worries to me.”

“…Sione did?”

“Yes, indeed. Moreover, she was concerned that you’re always preoccupied with work thoughts until you fall asleep.”

“……”

“So this old retainer simply made a suggestion, thinking that a glass of alcohol might alleviate everyone’s worries and your overwork.”

So.

Our household vassals wanted to see Sione’s and my child soon, and Sione secretly expressed such concerns to Lord Vener.

Watching him brilliantly deflect responsibility onto everyone else, I understood why he had survived to such an old age and even served as the acting head of the family.

“…You don’t need to introduce such strong alcohol in the future. Instead, I’d appreciate it if you could inform me when such conversations arise.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

In the end, I couldn’t give Lord Vener more harsh words than necessary.

“…What’s this?”

“It’s eel, my lord.”

“Eel?”

“I heard fresh eel arrived in our territory after a long time, so the chef personally procured the ingredients and put great effort into preparing this dish. Having studied cooking in the capital, he will surely satisfy your taste, my lord.”

“……”

For some reason, since lunch today, nourishing foods known to be good for men have been continuously served.