Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 121: Illusion [Bonus - ]

Chapter 121: Illusion [Bonus Chapter]

Alwin revealed that even the Safiro tribe was also under a spell which was why they were so obedient even when they were already suffering so much and a lot of their tribesmen had died.

It was true that they couldn’t do anything with their lack of money, food, and other resources. But, since all of them are warriors, rather than continue to suffer in silence, they could have staged a revolt for a few days to catch the attention of other officials such as Duke Arno.

But they didn’t because they were put under a spell to just obey what Dempsey demanded even if it was unreasonable.

However, with the protection of Esmeralda, and as their suffering got worse; Nadia and her siblings realized their situation was grim and tried to do something about it.

The magician was not able to completely control them nor clear their memories the way he did to Dempsey’s men because Esmeralda was still trying to protect the Safiro tribe.

Thus, the strongest warriors soon began to secretly go against Dempsey’s orders and tried to get out of Safiro as well.

Soon their fellow tribesmen also began to have thoughts of not wanting to obey Dempsey. But it was too late since they can no longer run away from Dempsey and his men due to the situation Safiro was in.

Still, they never knew they were under a spell which was why they didn’t think of fighting back or escaping Safiro earlier before the situation turned so grim.

The spell was also why Nadia and her siblings never thought of reaching out and asking for help from the nearby territories right after they escaped Safiro. They were made to think no one would help them even if they asked for help.

But once the influence of the magician’s spell gradually waned while they were away from Safiro, they began to think differently.

"How terrifying. Using magic this dangerous is allowed?" Arabella looked back and forth between Ferdinand and Alwin. She didn’t know magic can also be used in this manner.

"This is a type of lost magic, Your Majesty. It is very rare and almost extinct. There are no laws against it since almost no one knows about its existence anymore. Even magicians who had been practicing for a long time probably didn’t know about this," Alwin explained.

[I am rather surprised that humans still remember this kind of magic. They should have forgotten about it a long time ago since even before, this kind of magic had a lot of restrictions and was only used to keep military secrets.]

Alwin added that magicians were also free to use magic as they please as long as they abide by the laws and regulations of the territory they reside in.

Moreover, magicians who do not want to abide by rules and regulations live in seclusion in areas that no kingdom owns.

"I see. Then shouldn’t a law be made against this?" Arabella wondered.

"The people would be doubting each other if they knew this kind of magic exists. It might cause fear and panic to everyone. They might also begin to demand the execution of magicians in fear that every magician was able to do this. We cannot publicize this kind of information," Raymond contradicted.

"Oh, right. My apologies. I didn’t think that far," Arabella felt embarrassed.

"It’s alright. If not for the people panicking I would indeed have a law restricting or prohibiting this kind of magic from being used all over the Empire," Ferdinand covered for her.

"Worry not, I will have the magician caught. I will also have this king of magic further investigated so it won’t be used again," Ferdinand assured her so she wouldn’t have to worry about the magician.

"Thank you," Arabella said with her cheeks slightly pink.

Raymond smiled and Alwin rolled his eyes.

"Then, what about Mt. Esme? The nearby territories should have seen it caught fire and had never recovered since then. Did no one try to learn what happened to the Safiro tribe?" Arabella inquired to divert the topic.

"The people in the nearby territories see Mt. Esme as a lush forest. They remember seeing it on fire but they thought it gradually recovered within a year and had remained as a lush forest since then."

Alwin explained that other territories and the people in Dempsey county see the fertile lands and the Safiro tribe’s village the same as before.

Alwin said it was an illusion that the magician made so the nearby territories do not know what Safiro was truly experiencing.

It was why no one reported or came to help. They did not know what was going on.

The nobles in Dempsey that formerly had lands in Safiro assigned to them just thought that Safiro’s guardian deity must be true and didn’t want foreigners meddling with their land so it dried up when it was them having it farmed. But when they left, it recovered soon. They didn’t know everything got worse.

But once you are in Safiro itself, you would be able to see what it truly looks like.

Magicians with years of experience and a lot of mana like Alwin and his associates would be able to see through the illusion at a glance but newbies wouldn’t, so they would also get fooled.

"Regarding the drought, we found that Mt. Esme and the land of Safiro as a whole were put under a curse so the plants won’t grow back and the land would remain barren. It has to be lifted for Safiro to be able to grow crops again."

"A curse?" Arabella frowned.

{Your Majesty, would it be alright to inform Her Majesty about the dryad?} Alwin asked Ferdinand.

{Hmm... I guess it’s alright. She had encountered monsters before. She would probably believe dryads exist too.}

[This is my chance to see how she reacts to other races.] Ferdinand thought.

Arabella straightened up. She had to ensure she reacted well or Ferdinand would decide to hide his identity from her forever. She had to show him she was open-minded.