Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Villainess Young Lady: Feria Alperatz (1)
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It had been three weeks since Acheronar joined the Celestia Secret Society.
And over those past three weeks, she had been involved in a great many things.
To cut to the chase, Acheronar was an extraordinarily capable mage.
Perhaps it was because she was a mage who wielded influence worthy of the title Septagon.
From magic puppets to all sorts of magical devices and even basic magical knowledge, she provided the Secret Society with help in countless areas.
Her presence was most prominently felt in the matter of Lua's ongoing project, 'Polaris 0.'
After Acheronar's joining, the formation of Celestia's surveillance network gained even more momentum.
"To think the day would come when we overlook the continent from the heart of the library. Quite the."
As a result, the Secret Society had already deployed flying magical devices at eight points within the Empire.
From carriages passing along roads to troop movements in each region.
They could now aggregate vast amounts of information in real time.
Now, even without going outside through the Descent Ritual, it was possible to gaze down at the earthly scenery from within the library.
"Lua probably couldn't have handled things at this pace alone."
"I'm glad you seem somewhat satisfied with my work methods."
Hearing my evaluation of her, Acheronar gave an awkward smile and settled into a nearby chair.
My assessment of Acheronar was sincere.
The observable locations were still limited for now, but it was clear that many more regions would soon fall under Celestia's watch.
"Once we secure a sufficient number, we should consider granting Sirius access permissions."
I thought this surveillance network, so formed, would be useful not just for gathering information, but in other ways as well.
It was about combining Celestia's vast surveillance network with the magical armor controlled by Austin Rainer—Sirius.
Austin's innate intuition processed more than what met the eye.
What if such an Austin were given a bird's-eye view from above?
I was convinced this would greatly enhance Sirius's operational capabilities.
I judged it would positively impact Sirius's performance in battle.
"You mean Sirius, the magic puppet you entrusted to me for modifications?"
"Yes. With Austin's capabilities, he'll adapt to the new functions without issue."
Hearing about Sirius, Acheronar turned an intrigued gaze toward Austin in the corner.
A large table laden with food and beer.
The young man with his earnest face was, as usual, shrieking while being pecked by the crow spirit.
Caw, caw—.
"Ugh, aaah—!"
Amid the alternating cries of the crow and Austin's screams.
Tap—.
I flicked my finger in the air, closing the translucent window floating before me.
"……."
The rapid progress in building Celestia's surveillance network was extremely positive news.
It meant the Secret Society's members were fulfilling their roles well.
However, not everything in the library was proceeding so smoothly.
A prime example was the magical tome sitting on one corner of the desk.
The magical tome from the Third Repository, Tyrant Dragon—.
Analysis of the incantations densely filling it had yet to make significant progress.
'I figured it would be like this to some extent, but as expected, it's not something that can be wrapped up quickly.'
I gave a troubled smile as I gazed at the magical tome before me.
Interpretation of the incantations had entered its third week, but progress was still slow.
The reason lay in a lack of samples.
'The absolute number of samples is insufficient. I can't be confident in completing the interpretation with just the existing collection.'
The number of corrupted magical tomes within Celestia was woefully inadequate.
This was causing the interpretation to continually lag.
More data was needed.
Only then could the incantation analysis proceed more smoothly.
"……."
Lost in thoughts of magic, my gaze swept over the cover of the magical tome on the desk.
Tap, tap—.
My fingertips lightly drummed on the cover of Tyrant Dragon.
'Should I corrupt more magical tomes? For that, I'd need an efficient method—.'
Several ideas swirled in my mind.
As I pondered ways to obtain more unreadable magical tome samples, one method for inducing corruption soon flashed through my thoughts.
'A way to deliberately cause corruption—.'
For Celestia's magical tomes to be influenced externally, frequent exposure on the surface was essential.
It seemed experiments were in order.
Conveniently, suitable personnel had gathered in the Secret Society for just that.
"……Acheronar."
"Yes. I'm listening, Johan."
There would be two people to assist me in this experiment.
One was the elf mage skilled in magical device creation, Acheronar.
The other was a certain noble lady with a spirit.
I spoke to Acheronar about the new plan that had come to mind.
"It looks like you'll need to help Feria for a while."
If depth was lacking, quantity would solve it.
Alperatz Marquisate—.
I began devising a plan to bring change to Feria's territory.
* * * * * *
The grand mansion of the Alperatz Marquessate, one of the Empire's venerable noble houses that governed vast granary lands.
In its corridors walked a noble lady with shimmering golden hair cascading down, a baby dragon perched on her shoulder.
—Acting Lord, Feria Alperatz.
The true head of the marquess house in name and fact, and one of the Celestia Secret Society's members.
Maids cleaning in the splendid corridor bowed their heads as she passed.
"Everyone, you've all worked hard today too!"
"……."
Clack, clack—.
As Feria's lively footsteps echoed through the lord's castle corridor.
Feria gave a slightly embarrassed smile and greeted the maids who bowed to her.
Of course, the faces of the maids bowing to Feria were uniformly quite dark.
Feria facing the maids' gloomy expressions wasn't a one-time thing today.
Ever since occupying the lord's castle with the help of the Secret Society's secret friend, the Doctor.
The servants had shown fear toward Feria every single day.
"……."
"……."
Judging by the maids' reactions, today wouldn't be much different.
Haa—.
A short sigh escaped Feria as she walked the corridor.
Atop her shoulder, the baby dragon let out a small cry.
- Kyao?
Feria's gaze turned to the silent corridor.
She had heard several rumors circulating among the servants countless times.
That she had long been plotting to swallow the entire marquess house.
That she planned to work her sick sibling to death.
That she was a member of an outrageously evil secret society that commanded heinous criminals as limbs.
Such misunderstandings were spreading centered around Feria.
'I've been wandering outside for so long, so it's hard for relations to improve overnight.'
Of course, Feria could somewhat guess why these misunderstandings had spread.
Most servants had long followed orders from her father and uncle.
Moreover, Feria herself had frequently left home, chasing dragon rumors.
Thus, accepting the new head of the house wouldn't be entirely easy.
'I'll just have to work harder not to cause more misunderstandings!'
But she couldn't give up on changing their perceptions just because some viewed her poorly.
Feria Alperatz was resolute enough to somehow track down her dragon.
Squeeze—.
Clenching her fists, Feria strode forward with burning courage in her chest.
Having ignited her unyielding will, she passed the corner where the servants were and turned down the corridor.
"……See, doesn't it seem like I'm right?"
Right after Feria vanished from the maids' sight.
Whisper, whisper—.
The maids' hushed voices reached Feria's ears.
"No matter how you look at it, those rumors about the lady we heard before seem true."
"Right? She's clearly been hiding her true intentions behind that innocent-looking smile all this time. Someone with a weak personality wouldn't have confined the family head to the tower."
"Doesn't it seem suspicious that she kept leaving to 'find a dragon'? Every time she traveled, she was gathering her secret personal guard to seize the lord's castle."
Hearing the maids' voices in her ears, Feria gave a troubled smile.
They probably thought she couldn't hear, but Feria's hearing was sharper than they imagined.
At least enough to distinguish the voices of maids at some distance.
"Hnngh, hff……."
- Kyao?
Having heard the maids, Feria barely clamped her mouth shut to stifle her laughter.
A secret personal guard gathered while searching for her dragon—.
It was the most absurd rumor she'd heard yet.
Swish—.
The little white dragon, sensing something off about Feria, lifted its head and rubbed against her cheek.
"It seems the misunderstandings are piling up more and more. What should I do?"
Finally suppressing her laughter, Feria whispered playfully into the baby dragon's ear.
Rumors about Feria were growing more exaggerated with each passing day.
She wondered if even wilder ones would emerge in a few days.
Swish, stroke—.
Feria's hand gently petted the baby dragon.
"What if soon they mistake me for a Septagon?"
- Kyao!
"You think that won't happen? I hope so—."
Of course, no matter what she heard, she was immensely happy now.
An uncle no longer tormenting her sibling.
A sibling whose illness had halted, now handling the territory's paperwork.
And the little white dragon accompanying her every day.
The paradise she had once dreamed of now existed in the Alperatz Marquessate.
She hoped these happy days would continue every day just like this—.
Embracing that simple wish in her heart, Feria stepped briskly toward her office.
* * * * * *
Kallife, lead mage of the Magic Corps.
One of the lead mages stationed in the capital, a battle mage from the Crimson Tower, he now stared at the crystal orb with sharp eyes.
Polaris 1, the magical device every Empire noble possessed at least one of—.
The device before Kallife was revolutionary, but that wasn't what mattered to him now.
What mattered was the information transmitted to him through that impressive crystal orb.
"So, you're telling me to head to the Alperatz Marquisate as an investigator now."
Flutter—.
Kallife, swirling his ornate cloak, glared at the crystal orb before him as he spoke.
His superiors, whom he so longed for, had decided to dispatch him to the marquisate.
Such orders were rare for a Magic Corps mage stationed in the capital, especially a lead mage.
Usually, matters were handled at the chief mage level.
"Sigh… Of all things, the cardinal moves personally and gives us lazy mages headaches."
A sigh escaped Kallife as he stared at the now-silent crystal orb.
With a cigar in his mouth, Kallife eyed the orb with a face full of dissatisfaction.
Alperatz Marquisate—.
It was quite a distance from the capital where Kallife resided.
As thoughts of the large western territory crossed his mind, recent rumors about the marquisate flickered through.
"The Alperatz Marquessate, huh. I recall they made a fortune recently from investing in magical devices."
Polaris 1 had spread like a fad among Empire nobles.
Rumors said the marquess house had invested in its development and reaped massive profits.
Hmm—.
Kallife's eyes, deep in thought, began to gleam with thick greed.
"……."
To be frank, Kallife was far from incorruptible.
He had used his position as lead mage of the Magic Corps to seize various gains whenever opportunity arose.
And this investigation by the Magic Corps smelled strongly of money to him.
Depending on the results, it could deal a significant blow to the Alperatz Marquessate.
Just in time, rumors swirled that the marquess house was flush with cash.
Thus, striking a suitable deal with them could be a win-win.
For that, Kallife needed to reach the marquisate a step ahead of the cardinal.
"I hope our young lady has a generous streak—."
His eyes flashing with greed fixed on the crystal orb.
How shrewd would the impulsive young lady newly in charge of the marquessate be?
A faint anticipation stirred in Kallife's chest.