Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: The Impostor in the Room
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A dark night. A thin crescent moon hung idly in the sky.
No lights were visible on the streets anymore. Everyone was deep in slumber, with only the occasional groan of a beast or a person breaking the silence.
Two figures walked through the quiet night streets—a man and a woman, both hooded to conceal their faces. It was Damian and Erewin.
"Heh heh heh."
Her face was hidden too, and there were no prying eyes. Erewin had no reason to hold back.
She clung to Damian's arm, pressing her body as close as possible.
Normally, with all the watchful gazes around, she had to maintain some propriety. But now, those shackles were gone.
One day, they would reveal their relationship before the entire empire. Still, this secretive thrill wasn't half bad.
'Damian seems a bit tense.'
Was it because her chest brushed against him subtly? He seemed to have less immunity to women than she'd thought.
'This is dizzying.'
Of course, Damian was simply enduring his revulsion toward Erewin.
"Here it is."
It was an ordinary building with no sign or decorations. The only unusual feature was the oversized iron door compared to other houses.
Tap tap. When Erewin knocked on the door handle, sounds stirred from inside. Whoosh. A narrow slit slid open horizontally. She slipped two membership cards through it, and the door opened promptly.
"Please come in."
A woman with an expressionless face bowed and returned the membership cards.
At first glance, she seemed human, but a closer look revealed subtle uncanny qualities.
Her eyes sparkled like jewels, and her skin was like pure white porcelain. That was because she was a familiar.
Clack clack. The familiar led Damian and Erewin into the darkness, holding a lantern.
Her movements were as natural as a real human's. She put Ezekiel's wooden puppets to shame.
"This familiar..."
"You're right. It's the current Chairman Enricasil's creation. As you know, she's an exceptional mage."
She belonged to the Magic Tower but kept her distance from its politics.
Most from prestigious magical families did the same.
The heirloom magics passed down through generations were their secret weapons—they couldn't share them with outsiders.
That made Rubia de Clarent's enthusiastic involvement in Tower affairs, despite her Clarent background, all the more unusual.
Of course, she had her reasons. Clarent's heirloom magic wasn't particularly helpful to her.
"Please enter through here."
The familiar bowed, pointing to a large glass mirror.
Hug. When she touched it with a finger, ripples spread across the glass with a small sound.
"Like this."
Erewin infused mana into the golden membership card. A flame of the same color enveloped her.
She reached out to the mirror again, and this time, she slipped inside smoothly.
"Passing through here leads straight to the hall. I'll go ahead."
Erewin handed over the remaining card and vanished completely into the mirror.
No one except the current Chairman knew Enricasil's exact location.
They traveled via magical devices like this one, arriving in a vast sealed chamber with no view of the outside.
Some said it was in an abandoned castle, others on a remote island in the archipelago. Some claimed it was deep underground.
Enricasil had many skilled members, yet none knew the precise location of their gatherings.
That air of mystery drew countless influential figures to aspire for membership.
But without meeting Enricasil's strict criteria, entry was impossible.
Erewin had pulled many strings, but fundamentally, Damian met the standards.
'Though no one knows what those criteria are.'
Even the members themselves were in the dark.
When an existing member nominated a new one, a majority vote handled the first round.
The Chairman made the final decision through some ritual.
Many passed the first round—fame or money could handle that.
But they all failed the final test.
"Hm?"
Damian passed through the strange glass mirror, but the sight before him was nothing like he'd expected.
Erewin had described a space rivaling the imperial palace ballroom, yet he'd arrived in a dark, cramped room.
There wasn't a soul in sight—not even Erewin.
The room held only two plush sofas and a low table between them.
'Nothing special.'
Black Magic—Gaze revealed no anomalies.
It wasn't an illusory space created by magic. Though there were no visible entrances or exits, it was undeniably real.
Tap tap. The surrounding walls were thick. Even Stone Scales or Devour would take time to breach them.
'Is someone else coming?'
Two sofas and a central table suggested it was set up for conversation.
Damian sat on one. It was as comfortable as anything in the palace.
"Damian Renekht. Welcome to Enricasil."
Suddenly, a man in a bowler hat appeared on the opposite sofa.
His beard was neatly trimmed, but wrinkles creased his middle-aged face.
"We met once at the palace a few years ago. Duke Karag Drvolash."
"It was at Prince Dallas's engagement. I'm honored you remember."
"Why the false humility? You're not someone who needs to bow like that, and back then, you didn't treat me this way."
Karag Drvolash, head of House Drvolash.
Enricasil's current Chairman. And the man who would become 2nd Prince Dallas's father-in-law.
"You back then and you now? They're not even comparable—except perhaps for that heavenly beauty. You're a completely different person."
House Drvolash rivaled the four great ducal houses in prestige.
Its head, Karag, had no reason to fawn over an illegitimate child like Damian.
-Today is a day of glory and blessing. Yet there's an existence near me that hasn't received heaven's grace. If you've heard me, kindly take your leave.
At the engagement, he'd looked at Damian like vermin.
Nobles acting like Karag weren't few and far between.
They never insulted Damian directly but twisted their words cleverly.
It was a kind of theater.
-Though an illegitimate is impure, Damian bears the imperial blood. Mind your words.
Praise for the Empress's mercy would follow. Even knowing her true feelings, Damian had to offer thanks.
He'd been so young and weak back then.
But Karag was different. He didn't pander to the Empress.
-No. Her Majesty should reconsider. The imperial family must be a model for the empire's people. Harboring an illegitimate? That's hardly proper.
He was an arrogant noble by nature. He believed he'd said what needed saying.
For such a man to humble himself before Damian now.
It was less surprising than pathetic. He surely had some agenda.
"Receiving such praise from Enricasil's Chairman is a novel feeling."
Still, no need to make enemies needlessly.
Depending on circumstances, Karag could be a useful asset.
'My ties to the Empress and the legitimists are ambiguous.'
As Dallas's father-in-law, he should back the legitimists staunchly, yet Karag stayed neutral.
Even in a position to become in-law to the next emperor if the legitimists won and Dallas ascended, he focused only on protecting his territories.
Not the only powerful noble to stay neutral during the civil war.
But others had clear reasons.
Karag had none. He should have joined the legitimists aggressively—Dallas's father-in-law, after all.
Because he was Enricasil's Chairman? Its members turned on each other when war broke out.
The civil war to choose the next emperor shook the empire's pillars.
A noble one day could be a beggar the next—and vice versa.
Thus, nobles with power sided with the legitimists, who upheld the old order, unlike the reformers centralizing everything around the emperor.
House Drvolash held vast lands and authority.
They'd suffer greatly if Michael became emperor.
Yet Karag made no moves, spawning rumors.
Like his daughter, betrothed to Dallas, being a familiar, not human.
Impossible? Hardly. Karag surpassed even Ariella in familiar crafting.
"What do you mean? It's not just my view—it's the common consensus."
Enricasil housed empire's most influential. When war erupted, most picked sides.
It wasn't just about combat forces.
Cultural and artistic influencers waged propaganda for reformers or legitimists.
Erewin aimed to sway them for agitation ops, but Damian cared little.
Propaganda and schemes don't create something from nothing.
The reformers' edge came from Michael and Rubia's overwhelming power.
Fanning embers has limits. But a gust on raging flames amplifies immensely.
So Damian wanted Enricasil's members idle.
Ignore the war, indulge in pleasures.
With him as the sole viable heir, they'd propagandize naturally.
To that end, build some rapport with Karag. As Chairman, he must rein in hotheads.
Denis's help was key. Evidence was solid.
Handle tonight's Enricasil incident well, and earning his trust was feasible.
"But where is this? Enricasil can't be in a cramped room like this."
"Ah, think of it as an additional test."
Additional test? Wasn't membership already approved?
"Ah, formally, you're already one of us. But personally, I wanted to evaluate you."
"Regarding my status?"
"Haha. Who would dare bring that up now? Pure curiosity. Mages trust only what they experience themselves. Your feats at the Tower—I want to see them firsthand."
No sarcasm. Genuine mage's inquisitiveness.
"As Chairman, I have that authority."
Karag smiled brightly. No veto possible.
"So, what exactly is the test?"
Whoosh. Damian ignited his right hand with Hellfire as he asked.
Mistaking it for his unique color, Karag raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Something non-human hides in this room with us. Find it."
Tap tap. Karag knocked the table, summoning warm tea and pastries. A sign it wouldn't be easy—take your time.
"Simple."
But Damian smirked and stood.
"Pardon?"
As Karag voiced confusion and reached for tea, Damian's palm enveloped his head.
Crunch crunch. Slurp slurp slurp.
Black Magic—Devour gnawed at Karag's face. He toppled, off-balance. But no blood flowed—only transparent liquid.
"How did you know?"
The voice came from behind.
"Instinct."
Damian said, facing the real Karag.