Chapter 39

I felt like a child who had been caught playing out too late at night as I tried to persuade Lu.

"I'll just take a quick look and come back."

"I clearly told you to rest, dear. I understand your anxiety. Weak humans can't control their minds and bodies. But have you ever seen me say something wrong?"

"……"

"You haven't, right? So, just get some good sleep. You haven't slept well since the first day. If you keep this up, you'll have nightmares and hallucinations again. When the body weakens, the mind does too."

How did he know that?

"Fine, but please don't use those terrifying terms in front of me."

"Look at what you're doing."

Lu, saying that, pulled out a new book from his bag. It was *100 Advanced Recipes for Skilled Chefs of the Pen Rota Empire*.

I watched Lu's face as he focused on reading and then lay down on the bed quietly.

Seeing his usual self, my heart strangely calmed down.

'Maybe I was a bit anxious without realizing it.'

Lu.

Though he was certainly a suspicious person, he was one of the few I could trust.

The Sword Saint, too, was not someone who would easily fall prey to a terrorist attack.

So, my involvement here might just be unnecessary meddling.

If I pretended not to know, everything would pass quietly and nothing would happen.

...I must have fallen into a deep sleep at some point.

"Yawn."

Ah, I slept too well.

I stretched lightly and stood by the window.

Expecting to hear the morning birds chirping in the mountains, I pulled back the curtains.

But outside, it was pitch black.

No lake, no Milky Way, nothing. The world was dark and still, as if submerged in the deep sea. And there was a vague, hazy feeling, as if the world had become blurry and dreamlike.

"Hmm. Is this a large-scale mental magic trap?"

A mental magic trap, huh. It's been a while.

'I often fell into them on the battlefield.'

During the Magic War, there were quite a few mages who worshiped the Archmage Mephisto.

They called themselves Mephisto's priests and systematically disrupted the coalition army's movements. One of their methods was the mental magic trap.

A mental magic trap, simply put, is a spell that plunges those who enter a specific area into hallucinations.

The more casters there were, the wider the range and the denser the spell, making it harder to escape. Usually, six people formed a team.

'Twelve would be twice as much.'

It was a real headache. If an assassin took the trapped nobles as hostages, even the Sword Saint wouldn't be able to move easily.

'Lu... isn't here. Did he go to dismantle the trap?'

Our bedroom seemed to be free from the trap, thanks to his arrangements. There was no trace of the trap's characteristic oppressive and hazy atmosphere, so it was certain.

If I just waited here, the trap in the villa would eventually be lifted.

But this moment is actually an opportunity for me.

'When you fall into hallucinations, your mental strength weakens.'

That's why the military often used mental magic to torture spies in secret. A weakened opponent would more easily reveal secrets.

'Enter the trap, save the people, and gather information about Dian Ket.'

This would be a two-for-one deal. Great, I've decided what to do. So, first things first.

"Let's take a shower."

I entered the bathroom and washed my body thoroughly with warm, fragrant water.

"I'll save the people, but how?"

The problem is how to save them.

From experience, all sorts of strange things happen inside large traps. I might have to draw my sword to overcome obstacles.

There are two options.

<1. If I maintain the Viscount Weatherwood appearance.

Go back to the mansion and report today's events to the butler.

The butler scolds me for causing trouble without his permission while using Viscount Weatherwood's face. My trust with the butler plummets.

If I run into the Sword Saint by bad luck, Viscount Weatherwood and Andert Fager might be suspected as the same person.

My identity is exposed, and I'm executed for treason.

Unable to earn money, I starve to death.>

'Ugh.'

It was literally the worst.

The butler wants the Weatherwood family to be quiet and peaceful. A maid must obey the butler's orders.

So, I can't make a fuss. I thought of the next option.

<2. If I return to my original appearance.

Go back to the mansion and report today's events to the butler.

The butler praises my self-sacrifice. My friendship with the butler becomes even stronger.

My salary might even increase.

I'm a woman, and Andert Fager is a man, so there's no chance of being suspected as the same person.

If an emergency arises, I can change my appearance with Lu's magic, so it's safe.>

'There's no need to think further.'

Any sane person could tell which was the better choice.

'All for the friendship with the butler!'

After drying off with a towel, I broke the wedding ring without hesitation.

With a sickening crack, the height of my vision rapidly lowered.

Back in Daisy's form, I put on my only set of clothes.

"Still, this body is inconvenient."

Adapting to my returned body, I slowly left the room.

As expected, the world outside the bedroom was pitch black, so dark that I couldn't even see the floor.

I stepped into the darkness, familiar with it.

'Always a creepy darkness.'

In the endless abyss, hallucinations with cries reached out to me.

"Save me, Andert!"

"Help me. Come here. Help me..."

Ignoring the familiar screams, I moved deeper into the darkness.

After walking aimlessly for a few minutes, the first victim was waiting for me in the darkness beyond my sight.

It was Volkwin.

Next to the dazed Volkwin stood an unfamiliar middle-aged couple.

The two men and women glared at Volkwin with displeasure, as if my existence didn't matter.

These two were Volkwin's hallucinations.

The hallucinations berated him.

"Volkwin, why are you so timid? Don't you realize that the future of our family business depends on your marriage?"

"Is it because you're so timid and lack confidence that you can't attract noble ladies? The young lady I introduced you to was the only daughter of a viscount's family! You've ruined the family's fortune!"

Volkwin shook his head, looking tired.

"I'm sorry, but I have tried my best..."

"Shut up! You waste your efforts on those rootless people! You should be building connections in the Pen Rota social circle, not always going out!"

"Your father is right, Volkwin. Reflect on your actions. Teaching the children of street vendors is not what the heir of our family should do."

"You are forbidden from going out for a while!"

Volkwin gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

"They are not rootless, Father. We are the same. Our family business also started in the market..."

Wasn't Volkwin's father a bank manager?

'Hmm.'

His father seemed to be projecting his desire to enter higher society through his son, Volkwin, even at the cost of crushing Volkwin's own desires.

"Also, as I've said before, stop associating with Jager's Panula. Why do you keep hanging out with a boy who has fallen out of favor with his father?"

"Your father is right. You should only associate with the eldest son of the Panula family. Hanging out with that playful youth will only bring you down."

'This trap seems to target the victim's sore spots.'

It's a common tactic. There's no hallucination that hits mental strength harder than targeting sore spots.

If the hallucination persists for a long time, even after escaping the trap, the victim might live like a vegetable for days or fall into a hypnotic state where they reveal everything.

In short, it's an ideal magic to incapacitate multiple opponents at once.

A mental magic trap can be understood as a board game.

Regardless of the process, if you break the hallucination and find the exit, you can escape the trap. However, it's extremely difficult to find the exit voluntarily when under a powerful hallucination.

In such cases, an intruder who enters the trap from the outside must help.

"I'm here to help you, Volkwin."

The easiest way to break a hallucination is, of course, physical action.

"Sorry, Volkwin. I'll punch your father and aunt."

After apologizing in advance, I punched Volkwin's hallucinations.

"Oof!"

The two hallucinations screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

Volkwin looked at me in shock. A 'crack' had appeared in Volkwin's hallucinations.

"You...!"

"Volkwin, do you want to be free from your father and aunt?"

After hesitating for a while, Volkwin finally nodded.

"...Yes."

"Hmm. Come to think of it, I had a friend who couldn't escape his family's constraints."

Volkwin's expression twisted slightly. Regardless, I continued.

"His siblings numbered over ten, and they all tried to use my friend as a political pawn. He must have been forced to meet over twenty men for arranged marriages."

"..."

"No matter how much he refused, his siblings wouldn't listen. He was too kind. They took advantage of that. Then, a big incident happened. My friend couldn't take it anymore and caused a huge commotion. It was so big that it shook the entire area."

Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked subtly.

"...What kind of incident?"