𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (6)

That was enough, Johan was confident of it. The wizard in front of him was helping the wizard who was fooling around with the troll.

━𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫?  

━𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭. . . 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭.

Surprisingly, Caenerna was considered one of the respected ones.  

The clergy did not like wizards very much, but they did not condemn Caenerna’s magic as heresy or blasphemy.

There were many more evil, selfish and suspicious wizards in the Empire than Caenerna.

The old Emperor increasingly believed in magic and superstition, and he called not only officially recognized wizards but also suspicious and questionable people like them around him.

It was possible because he had power, but it was not a wise act.  

Because it brought suspicion, contempt and hostility from those around him. And. . .

‘𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.’

The magic to control monsters could be considered really risky magic. You could be killed by townspeople before being caught as a heretic or blasphemer.  

If Jyanina had really manipulated the troll, it would have been natural to catch him like that. If he had admitted it, there was no telling what would have happened.

“I see.”

Jyanina also was not insignificant. It seemed that he sensed the danger in the moment when Johan hesitated briefly. His smile became softer, and the moles under his eyes twinkled slightly.

Wizards who dealt with mysteries knew how to put power into their voices. It was easy for them to further magnify their charm if they were already attractive people.

But Johan resisted with the power of a strong soul. He could not be tempted by such charm when he was not shaken even by stronger pressure.  

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴.’

They would try to manipulate like this whenever there was a chance, so where could wizards interact comfortably?

“Do you know Caenerna-gong?”

“Of course I do! I’m close with Caenerna-gong.”

Jyanina was certainly clever. She had sharply captured the faint hint of favor for Caenerna in Johan’s voice.

She knew that Caenerna was being held hostage in Johan’s camp, but it was not something anyone could do to accurately pierce between the two in a short period of time.

However, that confidence was a mistake. The relationship Jyanina had in mind was that of the Emperor and her. A feudal lord and an advisor. A relationship in which they exchanged what they wanted.

But Johan was a person who had talked to Caenerna about a lot more than Jyanina had thought.

“It’s nice to hear that you’re close to Caenerna-gong.”

“I didn’t think I’d be able to see you like this. I’ve only heard about you. . .”

“Tie up that wizard! Whip her until she says the right thing!”

“You’re Excellency! You’re Excellency! Why are you doing this?!”

Jyanina shouted with fear on her young face. She was so pitiful that even the guards hesitated.

‘𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯?’

But Johan’s mercenaries grabbed Jyanina and stood her up without any change in expression. It didn’t matter if Jyanina was a peerless beauty, the mercenaries would unconditionally follow Johan’s orders.

“Where do you get off trying to insult me with your ridiculous lies? Caenerna-gong has no friends.”

“. . . . . .”

Jyanina was dumbfounded. She was caught off guard in an unexpected area. She had no idea how that young count figured it out. 

“There is no excuse for treating a guest like this!”

“If you really work under the Emperor, I will treat you as a hostage. But if a proper reply does not come back from the letter I send to the Emperor, I will execute you for deceiving me.”

This time, Johan poked at Jyanina’s weak spot. Unlike Caenerna, she did not have an official position as an imperial wizard at court. So it was only natural for her to be using suspicious magic.

If he were to send a letter to the Emperor asking him to pay the ransom for such a person, the Emperor would surely be disgusted. Not just the Emperor, anyone would.

“I’ve brought a whip.”

“Get ready.”

“I’ll talk! Your Excellency, please! Spare me!”

“Speak in that state. You may still need the whip.”  

Jyanina realized that her charm had no effect on Johan’s cold words at all. He had a truly powerful soul.

Jyanina had firm values. She could tolerate insulting the Emperor, insulting the gods, and insulting her ancestors and parents, but she could not tolerate insulting herself. Pain was the same.

Jyanina confessed that she had controlled the trolls. She spilled that she could temporarily control trolls with spells, potions, and the power of visions. 

“Oh my God!”

“No matter how vicious, how could you think of using monsters!”

The guards and city council members listening nearby were horrified. They knew the Emperor was reckless, but they could not believe she had tried to use monsters.

Johan, who was diligently memorizing the method to control trolls, did not change his expression at all and agreed.  

“You’re right. As believers of God, how could we do such a thing?”

“I talked, so it’s okay now, right?”

Jyanina asked urgently.

Originally, when the knights were caught, she was not that worried.  

She was an attractive wizard, so as long as she could twist someone around her finger, she was confident she could act freely even with the knights held hostage.  

But the situation changed in an instant. At this rate, it would not be strange for her to be drowned in the sea ahead.   

“That wizard must die! Your Excellency. Who knows when they might summon another monster to the city!”

“They may harbor resentment and summon a monster again someday. She must be killed immediately!”  

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘧*𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴. . .!’  

Jyanina swore in her head.

Just because she knew magic to control monsters didn’t mean she could easily summon monsters like that. If so, she would have escaped long ago.   

Magic was a profound academic discipline and required a lot of preparation.  

‘𝘖𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮? 𝘕𝘰. 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯.’

“Alright. I understand your worries but help is needed to catch the sea dragon.”  

Jyanina kept nodding her head. The city people looked at Jyanina with very complex expressions. Jyanina read the malice contained in those looks.   

“Your Highness, please increase security for me. I’m afraid they will kill me.”  

“What nonsense. . .! When have we ever!”  

“How dare you question our honor!”

“Truly more corruption from a fallen wizard!”  

The provoked city people flared up.  

When did she find out that they were planning to secretly send someone to kill her at night?

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

𝔞𝚠𝚎ʙ𝔰𝘵𝔬ʀɪ𝕖𝚜.𝕔ᴏ𝕞