I tried to persuade Rue like a child who wanted to play outside even when it got dark for no reason. —I'll be right back.
—I told you to rest, honey. I understand your anxiety. Weak people often have difficulty controlling their mind and body. Have you ever seen me make a mistake? No, right? Sleep well. You've barely been able to sleep since the first day. If you keep going like this, you'll have nightmares and hallucinations again. When the body weakens, the mind weakens.
How did you know that? —I understand, so please don't call me with that terrible nickname with that appearance.
—I saw you do it.
Rue, who said so, pulled a new book from the gap in his bag. It was titled "100 quality dishes of the Penrotta Empire for expert chefs." I lay down quietly on the bed and observed Rue's face as he concentrated on reading. Seeing him as usual made me feel strangely at ease. Did I get a bit nervous without realizing it?
Rue. He was definitely a suspicious person, but ironically, he was also one of the few reliable people I knew. The sword master was also not the type of person who easily let himself be dominated in a terrorist attack. So maybe it wasn't necessary for me to step forward at this point.
If I act like I don't know, it will pass silently as if nothing had happened... It seemed to me that at some point I fell into a deep sleep.
—Oh, my God. I slept incredibly well.
Stretching slightly, I stood in front of the window. It was a villa in the mountains, so the morning would probably be full of birds chirping, right? I opened the curtains with that expectation.
It was dark outside the window. There was nothing outside. There were no lakes or galaxies in the sky. It was as if it had sunk into the depths of the sea. The world seemed misty and blurred.
—Hmm, is this a large-scale mental magic trap? A mental magic trap. It had been a while. This was a common thing on the battlefield. During the Magic War, there were many mages who followed the Great Mage Mephisto. They called themselves priests of Mephisto and systematically obstructed allied movement. One of their ways of doing so was through mental magic traps.
A mental magic trap was a trap that caused people who entered a certain space to hallucinate. As the number of mages working on it increased, this magic domain became denser and more difficult to escape. Usually, six people were needed to form a solid team for such a thing. —And if you double that, you get twelve.
We were in serious trouble. If the assassin took as hostages the nobles who had fallen into the trap, no matter how good the sword master was, he wouldn't be able to move easily.
—Rue is... —I couldn't locate him. Maybe he had gone to disarm the trap. Our bedroom seemed to be free of the trap, obviously thanks to him. I couldn't feel the characteristic sensation of the trap in the air or the mist inside.
I could spend my time here doing nothing and one day or another the trap covering the villa would lift. But this moment was an opportunity for me. —When you're hallucinating, your mental strength weakens.
Therefore, the military used to secretly torture spies with mental magic. This was because the opponent, who had weakened due to mental magic, revealed confidential information with relative ease.
I could enter the trap, catch people and dig up information about Dian Cecht. It was like killing two birds with one stone. Okay, now that it's been decided what to do. —Let's wash up.
I went straight to the bathroom and washed my body meticulously with warm water and applied a soft scent. —To do that, I would have to save them.
The question was how to do it? In my experience, anything could happen inside a trap. Using a sword could become necessary to overcome any difficulty that might arise. There were two possible cases.
1. If I were to maintain the appearance of Viscount Weatherwoods. I would have to go back to the mansion and tell the maid what happened today. The maid would scold me for causing an uproar with Viscount Weatherwood's face without her permission. The maid's trust in me would be greatly diminished. If unfortunately I encountered the sword master, he would suspect that Viscount Weatherwoods and Andert Fager were the same person. Then I'd be discovered and fired for being a failure. I'd starve because I couldn't earn money. Agh. It was literally the worst.
The head maid wanted the Weatherwood mansion to be a quiet place. As a maid, I had to follow her wishes. So I couldn't cause chaos.
2. If I returned to my original state. I would go back to the mansion and tell the maid what happened today. The head maid would congratulate me for my hard work. My friendship with her would strengthen. Perhaps my salary would increase even more. Andert Fager was a man and I was a woman, so I didn't have to worry about them suspecting me. In case of emergency, I could change my appearance again with Rue's magic.
There's nothing else to think about. Unless you were a fool, you could easily know which was the best option. —This is all for my friendship with the head maid.
After wiping my wet body with a towel, I broke my wedding ring without hesitation. The height of my view of the world quickly decreased and a terrible sound of bones clicking into each other followed. When I returned to my appearance as Daisy, I was wearing the shirt I had used before becoming the Viscount. —As expected, this body is uncomfortable.
Then, after taking some time to prepare, I left the room, still adjusting to my newly returned body. And, as I had already expected, the outside world was nothing but darkness, with no ground in sight. I set a foot in the darkness that was familiar to me. —It's as disgusting as ever.
In the endless abyss, a tearful illusion formed in front of me.
—Help me, Andert! —Come here… Help me, help me!
Ignoring the familiar screams, I went deeper into the darkness. After walking a few minutes like this, despite the infinite horizon of the abyss, I found its first victim waiting for me. It was Volkwin.
—Hello, Volkwin.
Next to Volkwin, who stood distractedly, was a strange middle-aged couple. As if they didn't care about my existence, the man and woman's eyes only remained fixed on Volkwin, their eyes full of disapproval for something. These two seemed to be Volkwin's illusions. The hallucination hounded him.
—Volkwin, how can you be so carefree? Don't you still understand that the future of our family business depends on your marriage? —Why are you so shy and withdrawn? This girl your aunt introduced to us was the only daughter of a viscount! You practically threw away the good fortune we had been blessed with!
Volkwin shook his head with an exhausted expression. —I'm sorry, but I've also tried in my own way… —In your own way?! Is the effort you're talking about dragging people with you everywhere? As if it weren't enough that you don't have enough social connections in Penrotta, you're playing like this? —Your father is right, Volkwin. Reflect on your actions. Is that what the heir of our family should do? —You're not allowed to leave this house for now!
Volkwin clenched his teeth and held his breath. —They are not people without roots, father. We are equals to them. I know our family business started in the market…
Volkwin's father was the bank president? Mmm. His father seemed to project his desire to enter high society through his son, Volkwin, even if it meant trampling on Volkwin's own desires.
—And as I said before, stop fraternizing with Yeager Panula! Why would you go out with someone whose own father doesn't even give a second glance? —Your father's right, dear. If it has to be someone from the Panula family, at least you should hang out with the eldest son! It's obvious you'll be badly influenced if you keep hanging out with such a playful young man.
This is a trap that provokes anger. It was a very common trick, because there was no hallucination more powerful and painful than the one that makes you put your hands on someone you should never touch. If the hallucination lasted for a while, even when released from the trap, the person could become a vegetable, unable to move or speak, or fall into a pseudo-hypnotic state, questioning reality and illusion all the time.
In fact, it was definitely one of the most perfect magics for incapacitating many opponents at once. Mental traps could be better described as board games. Whatever method is used, if the illusion in front of you is broken and you find the exit, you can get out of the trap. However, it's very hard to find an exit if you're under strong hallucinations. In this case, an intruder who entered the trap from the outside has to help.
—I'm here to help you. And the easiest way to break an illusion was to break it by physical means. —I'm sorry, Volkwin, but I'll hit your father and your aunt.
I apologized in advance before striking the two illusions with my fist. —Ah! The two hallucinations fell to the ground with painful cries. Volkwin looked at me with stunned eyes. In his illusions a crack began to form. —You… —Volkwin, do you wish to free yourself from your father and your aunt?
Volkwin, looking bewildered, nodded after a long while. —…Yes. —Hmm. Now that I think about it, there was a friend of mine who didn't seem to be able to escape the strict control of her family.
Volkwin's expression distorted a bit. I continued saying what I was saying. —She had more than ten siblings and all of them tried to use her as a political scapegoat. With the aim of getting a political marriage, they forced her to meet men 20 years older than her. As much as she refused, her siblings didn't listen to her. They thought she was a pushover. Then, a big incident occurred. My friend, who couldn't stand it anymore, provoked it. It was a very, very serious incident, and the consequences completely disrupted the environment.
Unable to contain his curiosity, he investigated silently. —What kind of incident was it?