Chapter 118 - Shadow Circle

That was exactly the trick Lucy had thrown at him.

The Red Circle was created based on emotions.

Therefore, the main circuit was always a single one, and that one could not be replaced in other ways like the Blue Circle.

However, Ferda was in a rare situation where two emotions were interfering with a single mana circuit.

'I divert that interference... to another Circle.'

Confirming the image drawn in his mind, Ferda immediately went into action.

He focused on the feeling of the Shape of Shadow.

'I focus everything on the shadow.'

Like the enlightenment gained by the master of transformation magic who once dreamt he was a butterfly.

Deceiving himself that this body was originally not a body,

and that the thing clinging to the floor over there was actually his real body.

Finally, Ferda became a shadow.

'I'll create the circuit just like this.'

His body, which was a shadow, did not circulate a Circle.

Therefore, he had to proceed with the cultivation method for creating a 1st Circle.

Ferda recalled his negative emotions.

The moment he could regret the most.

It wasn't difficult to pinpoint.

Because it was the moment Valdrova tore out her own heart.

He accepted everything from that moment with all five senses.

Then, he felt a sensation caressing his ear.

"Why are you doing something so stupid?"

The voice had already seen right through his intentions.

"I don't mean to harm you. I want to help you."

Ferda answered that voice.

"No matter what you say, I cannot let you do as you please."

"Even if the moment comes when you fail to protect what you wish to protect?"

"Yes."

"If you do that, only regret will remain once again."

"I don't care."

Ferda had already made up his mind.

Even if he were to regret his lack of power, he would not let himself be consumed by his past self.

"Understood."

"But don't overdo it."

"If you ever desire power, I will give it to you at any time."

"Always remember."

"-I am always inside you."

It was then, when he felt the voice separate itself.

Something black and sludgy began to churn inside his shadow body.

The hand that had been spinning the Circle was stirring the inside of the shadow body, making it flow.

While making it flow, Ferda focused and shaped it as if molding pottery.

That series of processes was tantamount to walking on a thorny path.

Drawing out negative emotions while not being overwhelmed by them.

At the same time, continuously brainwashing himself so that he wouldn't perceive his own body even once.

The moment he slipped up even once, Ferda would die.

Even while feeling a sensation that gnawed at his mind, he pushed himself to the absolute limit.

'I have someone who must be happy.'

That sense of duty was enough to keep Ferda holding on.

A moment later, he felt the Circle that had been flowing roughly in his body maintain a consistent shape.

Ferda opened his eyes.

What he saw was his own shadow, stretched long by the candlelight behind his back.

And a Circle rotating in an even deeper and darker color than that.

'This is what she meant.'

He was confused when he didn't know the meaning, but now that he knew, he realized her words were exact.

Two emotions and two circuits that could interfere.

They would not mix, instead moving independently according to the emotion.

If that Circle moved, it was an emotion to be wary of.

If the original Circle moved, it was an emotion safe to proceed with.

Ferda shrank his shadow body and pulled it up toward his own body.

The settled Circle was also pulled up along with it.

Ferda settled it beneath the original mana circuit located in his core.

Then, he felt them interlocking and moving together, as if assisting each other's movements like cogwheels.

'My mana capacity has increased too.'

With the addition of an auxiliary circle to his existing 4th Circle, his mana capacity reached a level approaching the 5th Circle.

It was indeed a strange phenomenon.

Unlike math, adding a 1st Circle to a 4th Circle did not grant the mana capacity of a 5th Circle.

One would need at least an additional 3rd Circle to be considered close to the 5th Circle.

To think that this 1st Circle was approaching a 3rd Circle.

'That means this emotion is just that intense.'

What was forged from Ferda's regret was an emotion that had once reached the 9th Circle, the realm of a demigod.

'I must not grow this until I reach at least the 5th Circle.'

He would cultivate his affection, but suppress his regret.

At the same time, he would control it to provide him with power, maintaining a balance.

That would not be an easy path at all.

However, Ferda felt a sense of relief inside.

Since he could see and feel it, it meant he could naturally control it as well.

At the very least, the situation was much better than when things were vague.

This was a unique power that only Ferda could possess.

Ferda decided to call it this.

'Shadow Circle.'

Amidst the harsh winter that seemed like it would last forever, a powerful sunlight beamed down on the ground.

From the heat warming the earth, green sprouts peeked their heads out, offering prayers for the grace of the morning sun.

The believers of the Order of Altes also looked down at the green vegetation and offered short prayers.

It was an expression of gratitude that the period of hardship had passed and the blessing of Altes had reached them.

Spring had arrived.

The refugees, who hadn't left the stoves, basked in the sunlight for the first time in a long while, and the streets took on a new vitality.

Ferda conducted the quarterly settlement with the administrator, Isabella.

"The construction of the village itself has been primarily completed."

Completing the first phase meant that all the buildings immediately necessary to form the village had been built.

The second phase of construction involved expanding the buildings and zoning, while the third phase was full-scale construction, such as building the city walls.

"Were there any setbacks?"

"Just as there is a reason for proceeding in stages, there were naturally a few setbacks."

Since they had prioritized the wall construction that had originally been pushed back to a later stage, it was only natural.

"Didn't we assume ten times the currently sustainable population when building the walls, keeping in mind how many of them would actually come in?"

"We did."

"As a result of checking just now, we are in a situation where we need to put the brakes on population growth."

Putting the brakes on population growth meant they could no longer accept refugees.

"Petitions from the nobles have begun pouring into the Empire. They are claiming that we are siphoning off the refugees."

"An irrefutable fact."

That was actually what they were doing.

Because they had taken in almost all the refugees who came their way.

The reason for not accepting more refugees wasn't simply due to the harsh winter cold.

Because when spring arrived and labor was needed, it was a time when even a child's small hands were required.

"Some nobles are even demanding the return of the refugees."

"What nonsense."

"You are absolutely right."

Ferda was not a philanthropist.

Drawing in penniless people to expand the population was also meant to breathe vitality into the city.

With many people, merchants would flock in, and rumors would spread as much as they gathered.

"Should I write them a letter saying 'not a chance'?"

"I dare say that would be the worst possible move."

Isabella advised coldly.

"The fact that they wrote petitions means their influence has already grown enough to be called a faction. What we need right now is to cut off that flow. Sending a letter would just be creating a hole that makes the flow even more turbulent."

"Then assassination is the answer."

"... Are you being serious?"

"It's a joke."

Isabella blinked at those words.

She hadn't expected the word 'joke' to come out of Ferda's mouth, and no matter how she looked at it, it hadn't seemed like a joke.

Ferda could roughly see the flow Isabella was talking about.

Because he was someone who had gone around making enemies, he knew exactly where this kind of resentment would flow once it built up.

'The Empire.'

The Empire would not be pleased to see the Grand Duchy's territory experiencing such rapid growth.

Unable to just watch, the Empire would surely put checks on the Grand Duchy's territory in some way.

Or they might try to plant a negative impression, claiming that Ferda was inciting wars in various regions to create refugees and absorb them for his own ulterior motives.

"What do you think is needed right now?"

"Connections, of course. What is needed for political problems are connections."

That was the thing Ferda was worst at, second only to physical activity.

"If it's connections, don't we have Count Concillus?"

"Count Concillus is indeed a fine figure, but we can only gain his support limited to the far east."

Just as a village chief only acts as the boss in his own neighborhood, he was just another outsider in a foreign land.

Concillus had always said as much.

That it would be good to get close to someone who could exert great influence within the Empire.

To Ferda at the time, it had sounded like a distant story.

Because he hadn't known he would end up building a village in his front yard like this.

"I've checked and I understand that you, the Regent, have already attended the Grand Council once. Is there anyone you became close with there?"

"Someone I became close with..."

He thought back to that day and tried to recall the people he had gotten close to.

A smooth, bald head seemed to shine brightly like the sun in his mind.

"There is the Chancellor of Escolaia."

"The Chancellor of Escolaia lacks the influence to act as a backer."

If anything, it was a situation where Ferda had to be the one pulling him along.

"What about Iorga's Magic Tower, which was declared an ally?"

"They do have influence, but their fundamental principle is not to interfere in human politics. Unless it involves Demons, they won't make a move."

That was only natural.

They always insisted that human affairs should be resolved by humans.

"By and large, we need someone within the Empire. At least someone who can act as a deterrent when the Empire tries to attack our flow."

Such a person.

Where would such a person be?

It was just as Ferda was trying to think about that.

The maid who was in the middle of her cleaning duties, Luri, arrived.

"A guest has arrived from the Empire."

The person who had visited following the Empire's road was a knight.

He bore the mark of a direct Imperial subordinate and was adorned in silver and gold, his entire body seeming to declare that no one should dare mess with him.

But since he was a knight, Ferda knew what role brought him here.

He figured it out after seeing the owl feather attached to his helmet.

'A courier.'

A person who delivered letters written by those of the Imperial bloodline.

It was a high-ranking position that could never be ignored.

"I greet the consort of the Great Fire! Imperial Knight Aren offers his greetings."

"Welcome to Valdrova Castle. For what purpose have you come?"

"I have come to deliver a letter from the Imperial family."

The knight pulled out a box he had kept inside his coat.

Inside it laid a letter carefully packaged by the sender.

If he had come to proclaim an imperial decree, it would have been high-quality paper rolled around a golden rod.

This meant it was sent for personal business from the Imperial family, not as an official stance of the Arken Empire.

'To send such a letter...'

Perhaps because he had just been talking about it with Isabella, the thought that this might become a good connection for Ferda came first.

He broke the seal and read the contents of the letter.

"If it's not too private, may I ask what the contents are?"

Since she was taking care of all the troublesome matters, he gladly let her know.

"Someone from the Imperial family is suddenly coming this way."

"Do you mean they're coming as soon as tomorrow?"

"In a week."

The Empire's time, where every minute and second was precious.

Furthermore, someone from the Imperial family qualified as a VVIP.

From their position, a timeframe of a week was indeed sudden.

Just who among the Imperial bloodline would be coming?

Ferda looked at the signature written at the very bottom of the letter.

Though his heart had fluttered slightly, he clicked his tongue the moment he saw the first letter.

"It's a letter sent by the Princess of the Empire."

Olivia Arken.

Unlike the Princes holding succession rights, she could not directly express her political views.

"She's a pretty but sour apricot."

Isabella's words were right.

But wasn't even a sour apricot better than nothing?

For a starving Ferda, he needed something to put in his mouth right now.