When she heard the news, Rene couldn’t hide her bewildered expression. The timing was just too coincidental. Right when they were about to open a new path, right before the imperial envoy arrived…
The fact that a heresy investigation had been initiated and an official inquiry had begun was anything but a positive situation for the lord. The imperial court would start doubting the duke’s ability to govern, and his political standing—already almost nonexistent—would completely evaporate.
Rene bit her lip slightly and spoke to Fernandez.
“The possibility of someone’s scheme…”
“Not very high. If someone knew about the plan before it was even implemented, it would mean there’s a spy. But the only people who know the core of this plan are you, me, the chieftain, and the duke. None of us could be the spy.”
“So, you’re saying this heresy incident just happened out of nowhere??”
Rene frowned as she spoke. Fernandez nodded heavily.
“Right now, Ribue and the nearby settlements are in the perfect environment for dark mages to infiltrate. Heretics and cultists always find such cracks to slip through.”
Their behavior is like cockroaches. In fact, their actions are no better than that. They crawl into the shadows, the dark crevices, spread plagues, and wreak havoc.
“What are you going to do? If the imperial envoy finds out about this, it’s all over. Is there any other way?”
“We have to find them and send them to the church before the envoy arrives.”
-Or, abandon you.
Faijashi whispered low. Yes, that’s also an option. Fernandez nodded slightly. In this plan, Rene and Ribue are replaceable conditions. While Ribue’s position and the duke’s conditions are suitable for the operation, any other duke could take their place without causing major issues.
When Fernandez said that, Rene narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him.
“You’re thinking of abandoning us.”
Just as Rene had once told Fernandez that his “eyes were different,” Fernandez also felt that Rene’s eyes were “different.” Her eyes were unlike others’.
To borrow the explanation that Fernandez had once given, the eyes he saw in Rene were “eyes that see deeper.” Deep into the heart, perhaps even into the realm of instinct.
They were the eyes of a sage. And Fernandez knew a few people with such eyes. ‘Heroes.’
‘It’s too much of a waste to give up on her.’
-Have you grown attached in this short time?
‘Not likely. Even if we leave, this woman won’t collapse. She’ll find another way somehow. After that, even if she doesn’t ascend to the throne, we’ll lose our influence in the southern and western parts of the empire.’
Rene Philippa isn’t the kind of woman to crumble under this level of trial. Moreover, she was someone who could definitely hold dominion over this region. If we abandon her, Fernandez would lose control over the imperial territories near the wasteland in the future.
All relationships are transactions. Mutually beneficial transactions. And the basic principle of transactions is to buy low and sell high.
With the small favor Fernandez can show now, he can buy the goodwill of someone who will become a future hero at a ridiculously low price.
“What are you talking about? Aren’t we friends now?”
“…You don’t strike me as the type to overflow with loyalty.”
“I don’t make friends easily.”
At this point, the only people who have boldly approached Fernandez as “friends” are Vicente, Daryan, Loft, and Rene. The king of the east, the strongest human, the god of death from the north, and the future emperor.
-Your social life is better than in your past life.
‘Maybe this is the reward for living a good life.’
-Ha, that’s hilarious.
Fernandez chuckled and set down his teacup.
“Cooperation with the Vaitas Church is possible. If the situation is resolved early, keeping it quiet won’t be difficult.”
“You must have connections in the church, huh? Those guys don’t lift a finger unless there’s something in it for them. Especially when it comes to politics.”
“Well, yes. No need to worry about that. The problem is…”
“How to catch that dark mage. That’s all, right?”
“Call the palace mage. I need to go to the scene myself.”
“Let’s go together. You’re a warrior, not a mage, though you act like one… Fine!”
Rene clapped her hands and stood up. Her eyes were already sparkling with energy.
“Let’s go and collect some taxes from that dark mage or whatever, daring to cast magic without permission in the duke’s territory!”
“Taxes, huh.”
An amusing expression. Fernandez chuckled at Rene’s words and stood up.
Antien, the palace mage of Ribue, was an old man whose modest personality was evident on his face. A former professor at Philainneil University, this old man leisurely guided his horse and pointed to an abandoned settlement.
“Here! I conducted a field investigation here with that wraith priest.”
“Anything unusual?”
“Everything was unusual! There were no traces of bandits or thieves in the village. Just the people disappeared? That’s strange.”
“Then why didn’t you report it?”
“What was I supposed to report? The wraith warlords claim innocence. When I investigated, there were no traces of magic. But the people just disappeared… What does that sound like to you?”
“The peasants joined a rebel group or a band of thieves?”
“There’s no other answer. Do you know the tax rate in the Ribue territory recently? They’re imposing excessive taxes on these small settlements. Do you think there are only one or two abandoned settlements like this in the entire territory?”
“Then what about the wraiths and skeletons rumored to roam at night?”
“Those rumors circulated even when the territory was normal. Not just our territory, right? This village, that village, even in the capital, it’s just common street gossip.”
Citizens always enjoyed ghost stories and strange tales. It was their pastime, and rural villages often retained peculiar customs and folklore.
In that sense, the old mage’s words were reasonable. Settlements abandoned due to excessive taxes. Baseless rumors, villages with no traces of magic…
It’s logical. But not in this case. Fernandez turned his horse toward the village.
The village road was neatly maintained. There was no animal waste or pedestrian trash. Just an old, weed-covered, yet orderly road.
Of course. Waste and trash only appear when living beings are present, and the only animals here were…
‘Wild dogs.’
Only wild animals that had made their home in the abandoned village. Inside the village, where weeds had started to grow, there were signs of life in the houses.
-Caw, caw.
A crow cawed loudly and flapped its wings, flying up. A crow perched on a wall tilted its head and watched the group approaching the village.
“I heard the food was left on the table as if they just disappeared.”
“That’s why so many animals gathered here. Wild dogs, cats. Ugh, even rats!”
A rat scurried away through a crack in the wall. It was a desolate scene. And a familiar one.
Fernandez closed his eyes as he guided his horse. The smell of decaying animal carcasses and the stench of wild animals typical of a wasteland filled the air. A stray cat looked at him with a lazy expression.
-Multiview.
Even as he approached on horseback, the cat showed no sign of alarm, basking in the afternoon sun. Fernandez closed his eyes, bowed his head, and whispered to the cat.
“Thorough, aren’t you?”
The cat tilted its head and slowly stood up. Its yellow eyes stared at Fernandez’s face. By all appearances, it was just a bold, ordinary stray cat.
“Manderson of the Corpse Tower.”
-Screech!!
The cat let out a chilling cry and darted away. Fernandez didn’t chase it. Its presence had already vanished.
The dark mage…
