Chapter 31

The next night, people gathered in Heine's hospital room, and the population density suddenly increased. Sariel and Lucian were already in Heine's room, and Sirius, Robert, Jules, Noel, and Euseus joined them. Heine's wounds were healed by Sirius, but due to the significant blood loss, he was staying at the palace. It was late, so Odine was already resting. Euseus was also allowed to rest, but he was there at his own request. They gathered sofas and chairs in front of the bed, and everyone sat down, though it was a bit messy. No one except Heine seemed to mind. Sariel and Lucian were dressed in fine but casual attire provided by the palace, while Heine, in his role as a butler, was neatly dressed in the gown provided to him. Normally, he would wear a well-tailored butler's uniform and stand straight, but he was enduring by sitting up in bed.

"The head butler and the event coordinator were under the influence of a mental manipulation spell."

Sirius said this.

"That's not something that can be done easily," Sariel frowned.

"Of course not. It's an unbelievable blunder. However, they were equipped with magical devices to protect against mental manipulation spells. This time, a dark magic spell was used. It's a taboo in our country and hasn't been studied. Naturally, there's no way to defend against it. The root cause of the head butler's manipulation is likely that our country turned its back on such knowledge. Noel and Odine's servants and maids were also led astray by the same spell and were locked up. They were injured when they tried to leave the room, but their injuries were minor, and they should be able to return to work soon."

It was decided that the head butler and the event coordinator would be treated. Once they recovered, they could return to work.

At that time, when Sariel and Sirius rushed to the entrance of the hall, the head butler and the event coordinator were standing in front of the entrance, dazed and with vacant eyes.

When questioned, they repeated, "We have to wait here."

They seemed to have been under the influence of a mental manipulation spell. Sirius and the others realized they had been compromised from the inside. Later investigations revealed that enemies had infiltrated the company responsible for setting up the venue.

"The enemy's spellcaster was captured by me. Only those of the palace mage level could resist the spell. In a final act of desperation, he even feigned death. It was a spell called 'false death' to make the guards anxious. I quickly extracted as much information as possible before dealing with him. Luka and I confirmed it."

When Sirius said "dealt with," it meant execution. He chose his words carefully in the presence of Euseus and Lucian. "Confirmed" likely meant "verified death." Luka, Duke Lucius Michelli, was the head palace mage, a great mage whose name alone brought comfort.

Sirius started from the beginning for Sariel and the others. "It all began when we received a message from the Alres Empire that 'suspicious individuals had entered your country.'"

Seven years ago, an imperial princess tried to revive her long-abandoned engagement to Sirius at a banquet. After that, a high-ranking official from her family signed a document without authorization, halting trade between the Alres Empire and the Anzela Kingdom. The empire was reluctantly waiting to see what would happen. They thought the Anzela Kingdom would apologize and resume trade, but that didn't happen. Since then, trade between the empire and Anzela has been almost completely cut off. As an agricultural country, Anzela has a high self-sufficiency rate for food and can mostly provide for itself except for luxury items. A significant portion of imports was minerals and magical devices, which the empire no longer exports to Anzela. Thus, trade is very limited.

Seven years have passed. For the empire, it was a mystery how Anzela, which had imported so many offensive magical devices, could now manage with its own devices.

The Alres Empire lost a trade partner for magical devices due to one high-ranking official. Moreover, they were a good customer who bought outdated magical devices at high prices. The damage was significant. The empire fired the official and made him pay compensation, leading to the decline of his family.

It's been seven years since then. The official's family declined and disappeared about four years ago. A member of that family complained about "revenge on Anzela" and then disappeared. They warned us to be on guard as there was a record of them entering the Anzela Kingdom.

"We received the information and, as advised, were on guard and captured them, but some were still missing. Upon reviewing the entry records, we found that many suspicious individuals had entered the country, and they had been doing so for a long time before the empire mentioned."

Since the empire's information was unreliable, we increased the number of investigators and remained vigilant. During this time, the swordsmanship tournament and the celebration were held. Naturally, we were on high alert. However, the mental manipulation of the head butler and the event coordinator had been prepared much earlier than expected.

"It seems the Alres Empire intended to pin all the blame on the former high-ranking official and pretend they knew nothing, but the scale of the invasion was too large to be acceptable.

"The empire attacked our country to assess Anzela's military strength."

The empire investigated why Anzela stopped buying their magical devices. They sent spies to investigate the knights' equipment and stole throwing knives created by Noel's enchantment magic. Several items are missing. While it's a military secret, they couldn't be kept completely secret as they were used in training. However, the source is unknown. They know there is an enchantment mage somewhere, but the details are unclear. The empire had long believed that their outdated equipment was the strength of the Anzela army, but now they are unsure.

"The empire wanted to know this. They tried to see how much resistance the monster could withstand and how much damage it would cause. They had considerable confidence in the monster. Therefore, they didn't try to hide their involvement."

The empire wanted to know if Anzela had any hidden weapons or forces. They started planning after the trade of magical devices was cut off. They infiltrated spies into the Anzela royal palace. They succeeded in manipulating the head butler due to Anzela's lack of knowledge about curses. They knew that the people responsible for the celebration were chosen based on the head butler's recommendation.

Using the two of them, they infiltrated agents into the company and planted the monster in the hall.

On the day of the event, they manipulated the head butler and the event coordinator to create a situation where only a few children and powerless maids were in the hall. The spellcaster, disguised as a guide, locked up Euseus and Odine's servants and maids. Eventually, the monster awoke. When the time came, the seal was broken.

When the monster was fully awake, it was the end. The monster's miasma and oppressive aura would render humans powerless, and it would consume them immediately. After eating the magic-infused prey, the monster would break the door's barrier and leave.

At that time, the head butler and the event coordinator would be waiting to be killed at the door. As soon as the monster came out, it would consume them. Evidence destruction, complete.

If everything went according to the empire's plan, the monster would awaken and the process would be quick. The monster would attack the head butler and the event coordinator, scatter the knights, and escape. A diversion would be created in the garden to assist the monster's attack and escape.

The agents sent by the empire would temporarily seal the monster and let it escape to the forest of magical beasts. The agent waiting for the monster was already captured. The guards and knights searching the area around the palace caught him. The empire's plan is largely known from the agent's confession.

"The servants and maids of Euseus and Odine were initially supposed to be left in the hall to be the monster's prey. However, they realized the servants and maids attached to the royal family had high combat skills and quickly locked them up. They judged that if the monster had to spend time securing prey, it would disrupt the plan.

"The empire thought they could eliminate most of the evidence and let the monster escape. They planned to make it look like a crime committed by a noble of the empire. They never expected the monster to be defeated. They thought the monster would be invincible after eating high-magic prey."

Hatred seeped into Sirius's voice. The empire's miscalculation was that the monster could only injure the old butler.

"Thanks to Euseus, Lucian, Odine, and Heine."

Heine smiled pitifully, as he couldn't believe he had been of any help.

Sirius had heard the story from Euseus and the others. The children remained calm thanks to Heine. It was good that they gathered in the farthest room from the monster as soon as they realized they were locked in.

"That monster was created using dark magic and curses. It was a living being synthesized with 'curses' and 'dark magic' while still a fetus or embryo. We are still analyzing it, but our country should study curses and not treat them as taboo. Otherwise, we can't defend against them. The magical devices the head butler and the others were equipped with were ineffective against the mental manipulation."

Robert stated the results of his investigation, and Sirius and Jules nodded.

"By the way..."

Sirius looked at Lucian, smiling gently but with a serious expression.

"Sariel and Heine must have realized by now. Euseus has the attribute of light magic. His magic power is enormous. Odine is a responder to 'animals.' She can make any animal obey her. This time, it didn't work as well because it was a half-magical beast, but it seems to have some effect on magical beasts. And Lucian, you're a responder to plants, right?"

Lucian glanced at Sariel, who nodded. "Yes."

"Thanks to that, we were saved. Euseus's light magic broke the 'curses' that created the creature, and Lucian and Odine neutralized it. Otherwise, the empire's plan would have succeeded."

"Scary," Sariel frowned.

"It's good that Heine is recovering."

Sirius secretly felt relieved seeing the butler's color returning.

At that time, he rescued Lucian, who was clinging to Heine, Euseus, who was slumped on the floor, and Odine, who was bravely standing between them.

Odine and Euseus recovered without any issues. Odine was slightly shocked but not severely. Euseus quickly regained his energy after taking a magic power recovery potion.

However, Heine was elderly and his injuries were deep. Lucian didn't leave his side.

"I'll take revenge on the empire."

Lucian's words were not a child's play but a serious declaration.

"I'll use all the plants in the empire to crush them."

From the stories of Euseus and Odine, Lucian knew this was possible. When asked why he knew it was the empire's doing, Lucian replied, "The twisted plants called it 'Bugado.' They were called that. 'Bugado' means 'monster' in the empire's language. The empire called the creatures they created 'monsters' and despised them."

Sirius learned that Lucian could hear the plants' words.

Fortunately, Heine was saved by healing.

"I could have served you a little longer. Children need various kinds of love. The deep and strict love of parents, the unconditional and gentle love of grandparents. I hope they will also cultivate friendship."

Heine said this.

Sirius felt that he and Noel lacked such "various kinds of love."

◇◇◇

The strange creature was a biological weapon created by the empire, combining several magical beasts and plants to possess multiple abilities. However, it was discovered that it was weak to light magic. The hastily established countermeasure headquarters decided to create light magic devices by filling magic stones with light magic power. They also decided to release the synthetic creature from the 'curses' and kill it while it was still sluggish.

The countermeasure headquarters, led by palace mages, are researching curses in the restricted library and developing defensive magical devices. The study of taboo magic was prohibited by law, but under Sirius's rule, research and countermeasures using restricted books were allowed in emergencies. Information leaks are impossible with the supervision of the skilled mages Luka Michelli and Theo Michelli.

The agents and spies from the empire have all been captured and sent to the underground dungeon. They will never return to the empire. The empire will not know why their plan failed. No information will be given. The maids who fainted and were unconscious did not know the important parts, and they were made to swear by contract magic not to speak.

The children didn't understand what happened, which was for the best.

The empire must be confused. While they are confused, we will be well-prepared.

However, Sirius realized, "That country is no longer a threat." Anzela banned curses for a reason. They are not something to be used carelessly. The empire has no future if it relies on curses instead of proper methods to become prosperous.

The strange creature is a biological weapon created by the empire, combining several magical beasts and plants to possess multiple abilities. However, it was discovered that it is weak to light magic. The hastily established countermeasure headquarters decided to create light magic devices by filling magic stones with light magic power. They also decided to release the synthetic creature from the 'curses' and kill it while it is still sluggish.