Chapter 104

At dawn, after checking all the materials gathered by the spies, Turan neatly organized them again and left the house.

After closing the door silently, he took out a long wooden box from his large-capacity pouch.

This was an item he had ordered a few immigrants to make during the land reclamation project in the south.

A storage box that could separately store and preserve the hair of various individuals.

Inside, there were strands of hair from his two comrades, a feather from Bije, and a strand of hair from Godis, Solif's father. The hair of the Zahar knight, which he had obtained this time, also became part of his collection.

If he ever needed to find that person again, he could use this to track them down as much as he wanted.

After catching up on sleep until noon at the inn to recover from the fatigue of staying up all night, Turan had a delicious lunch and then entered the residential area of the House Carmine nobles once more.

Unlike his previous visit late at night, this time, under the bright daylight, he could see people moving around energetically.

‘Let’s see, if the knights’ lodgings are over there... do I need to go to the next street?’

By combining the basic knowledge he had gained from Ashiz and the information from the House Zahar spy, he concluded that House Carmine did not have any significant factions.

Just like House Lavitas, the family head was still relatively young at about 150 years old, so there was no issue of succession yet.

If there was any distinction, it would be between the high-ranking nobles, including the family head, the young nobles expected to reach that level, and the mid-to-lower-ranked nobles.

Naturally, only the nobles belonging to the main faction of the high ranks would participate in secret meetings.

Turan's goal was to secretly replace one of the attendees, and he had already chosen his target.

‘Found him, Onil Carmine.’

The owner of the mansion Turan had arrived at, Onil, was the son of Jemel Carmine, the current House Carmine head's brother and a top-ranking noble, making him also a young nobleman with high potential.

With a status like his, it was highly likely that he would attend the secret meeting.

As Turan circled around and slipped in through an open window, a sharp noise rang through the mansion as if to greet him.

It sounded like glass breaking, perhaps a wine glass or something similar.

"Get the hell out, you bastards! You call this food...?"

"Ex-excuse me!"

"Mani, Mani? Wake up!"

"Shh, take him out carefully..."

Following the noise, Turan saw a servant who had collapsed, bleeding from his forehead, while two other servants were helping him out of the room.

In the back, a young noble was sitting in an armchair, seething with anger. The magic power emanating from him suggested he was of upper-class but on the lower end of that spectrum.

That must be the owner of this mansion, Onil Carmine, the Carmine noble Turan had targeted this time.

‘Did he throw a glass and smash someone's head? His personality is already showing.’

For whatever reason, Onil stormed out of the dining room, fuming, despite the luxurious meal spread out before him.

As a result, the exquisite Avacha-style seafood feast on the table was left to the servants to clean up.

Perhaps they were used to serving nobles.

Without a word, they began eating the leftover food and only started complaining once their master was far enough away not to hear them.

"He’s really going too far these days. How many times does he throw tantrums like this in a single day?"

"Right? This food is delicious. What’s his problem?"

"He just can't control his temper, that’s all… But thanks to that, we get to eat well."

One servant mumbled while stuffing what appeared to be a grilled shrimp the size of an arm, likely from a magical beast, into his mouth at once.

It did indeed look delicious, so Turan discreetly grabbed a piece of grilled salmon and popped it into his mouth without being noticed.

"Hey, don’t eat everything. Leave some for Tonin and the guys who took him away."

"At least he only smashed a glass this time. Maybe it's because he got scolded by the big master for killing the Boshu family last time."

"What big master? That bastard just lets him do whatever he wants."

"I wish I had been born a noble…"

Maybe it was because their anger had reached its peak, but the servants began hurling crude curses at Onil, words so vulgar that if they reached the ears of any noble, they would be hanged on the spot without question.

They cursed not only Onil but also his parents for bringing such a bastard into the world and letting him run wild. Some even wished he would go on a pilgrimage and meet a gruesome death.

There were certainly nobles who lacked the favor of their retainers, but it was rare to find someone as despised as this.

‘Looks like I chose the right target.’

Wizards, as the descendants of the gods, were meant to protect humans, and in turn, humans were expected to serve wizards. That was the law of the human world.

Nobles, having been raised and educated under this principle since childhood, often looked down on commoners, but they did not personally abuse or torment them.

Such behavior was considered far too "undignified" for a noble.

Moreover, knights and nobles generally did not take sadistic pleasure in tormenting the weak as much as commoners did.

However, occasionally, there were outliers like Onil who were not bound by these rules.

He was the kind of noble who directly harassed commoners in ways that even other refined nobles would find repulsive.

This was precisely one of the reasons why Turan had chosen to impersonate Onil.

To erase any traces of his infiltration, he needed to eliminate the person he was replacing. And frankly, killing a decent person would have left a bad taste in his mouth.

Listening to the servants’ complaints, Turan followed Onil’s presence outside the mansion.

Seemingly in the mood for a stroll, Onil wandered aimlessly through the garden. Then, without warning, he conjured a whip of ice in midair and began slashing down all the garden trees around him.

A gardener nearby, who had been trimming branches, was so shocked by the sudden destruction that he let out a horrified scream.

“Ugh-!”

“I don’t like how they look. Replant everything!”

"Y-yes, master..."

After crushing the gardener’s spirit, Onil continued his rampage through the mansion, tearing down walls because the stables smelled, breaking a knight’s foot just for glancing at him, and causing all sorts of havoc.

Watching from behind in concealment, Turan let out a short, incredulous laugh.

‘I had heard the stories, but… he’s like a damn child.’

Considering Onil was already over sixty, his tantrums were nothing short of disgraceful.

And yet, shockingly, this was Onil holding himself back.

‘Didn’t they say his father scolded him recently because he beat his concubine and her family to death?’

Onil had three concubines instead of a formal spouse. According to rumors, one of them died due to his excessive cruelty. When her father and brother came to protest, he killed them too.

Even though a concubine’s status was lower than a wife’s, such an act was considered outrageously unreasonable. As a result, Onil had been severely reprimanded by his father and placed under house arrest.

In fact, it was said that he had killed multiple servants in his youth, some intentionally, some by accident, which was why people feared him, and why he couldn't even take a proper wife.

Turan continued to shadow Onil, meticulously analyzing his speech patterns, gestures, and expressions.

‘Last time, when I impersonated Cadrum, I was too hasty. That almost got me caught by someone close to him… This time, I need to be more thorough.’

*

Three days had passed since Turan infiltrated Onil’s mansion.

Aside from sleeping, he dedicated all his time to observing and mimicking Onil’s every move.

Just as actors he had seen in the past had recreated historical figures, Turan aimed to perfectly replicate every aspect of Onil’s behavior.

He even watched as Onil invited his friends over for gambling or took women to his bedroom for entertainment, paying close attention to every minor habit.

Then, unexpectedly, Onil’s father, Jemel Carmine, arrived at the mansion.

“I hear rumors that you’re still running around like a delinquent.”

“Father.”

“You’re aware that there’s an important family meeting in four days, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I’d rather tell you not to come, but since none of my other children are worth anything, I’ll allow you a seat. Do not cause any trouble there.”

“Yes...”

Within the mansion, Onil was nothing short of a tyrant, yet he couldn’t even meet his father’s gaze and instead responded in a subdued voice.

Still, it was good news for Turan to confirm that Onil was indeed one of the meeting’s attendees.

Given how utterly disgraceful this man was, Turan had wondered if he might not be invited to such an important gathering.

‘Well, even among great noble houses, there aren’t many like him.’

Onil’s only flaw was his personality. His magic power ranked among the upper class, and he had yet to reach his limit, meaning he still had room for growth.

Considering that even in a great noble house, there were fewer than twenty individuals with such potential, discarding him over his character issues would be a waste.

Clicking his tongue at his cowardly son, Jemel left the mansion without another word.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it-!”

As expected, once Jemel was gone, Onil flew into a rampage, smashing up the entire reception room. In the process, one of the servants suffered a severe injury, breaking their arm.

Having received the confirmation he needed, Turan began a simple experiment the next day.

“Hey.”

“Yes, master!”

“Bring me a cup of tea. Anything will do.”

“Understood!”

Seizing the opportunity while Onil was out of the mansion, Turan took on his appearance, dressed in the same clothes, and summoned a servant to order tea.

Whether due to the effectiveness of his practice or simply the lack of familiarity between Onil and his retainers, the servant brought the tea without the slightest suspicion.

After a few more covert interactions with different servants in the mansion, Turan became confident that his act was now flawless.

On the dawn of the sixth day.

As usual, Turan stood beside Onil, who was sleeping alone after violently bedding one of his pretty concubines, and looked down at him.

After gazing at the face illuminated by moonlight for a moment, he took out Haram's dagger and cut the throat, causing blood to spray everywhere.

Like the Aravion knights who had faced House Zahar in the past, Onil, deep in sleep, perished in a single strike without ever realizing he was dying.

A pitiful end for a high-ranking noble with such powerful magic.

Anyone witnessing this would understand why Aravion nobles were so obsessed with maintaining their defenses.

‘Considering everything he’s done, he got off easy.’

From his behavior, Turan didn't think it would happen, but indeed, no god's soul suddenly emerged from inside him.

If that had happened, he would have had to immediately abort all plans and flee, so it was fortunate.

Turan absorbed the dead Onil’s magic power and extracted all the blood flowing from the severed neck that had soaked into the bed and blankets, collecting it in a container he had prepared in advance.

After placing the container and the corpse in his large-capacity pouch and taking on Onil’s appearance, the switch was complete without a trace.

From now on, he was Onil Carmine.

*

“This is too cold!”

On the day of the meeting, Turan confidently ate breakfast, throwing his stew onto the floor just as Onil would have, tormenting the servants.

Of course, compared to the original, his behavior was relatively mild, so the servants simply cleaned up the mess without any sign of distress.

After finishing his meal, Turan, in Onil’s manner, called over a few of his so-called "friends", who were more like subordinates, and played a simple card game, using the time to further confirm that his disguise was flawless.

As the sun began to set and the appointed hour arrived, a carriage pulled up in front of Onil’s mansion.

“It is time for the meeting, master.”

“I know.”

Onil’s butler guided him with a posture as rigid as marble, but Turan could sense with his sharp sense of smell that the butler utterly despised Onil.

As soon as Turan boarded, the carriage set off, heading straight for the heart of the Carmine residence, to the family head’s estate.

‘So far, so good…’

From his past experiences, he knew that while there were magical artifacts capable of detecting even House Zahar’s concealment, none had ever been able to see through the Mimic God’s Mask.

There was no such thing as a magical artifact that could detect other magical artifacts.

As expected, the mysterious barrier installed in the family head’s estate did not react at all when Turan passed through it.

When the carriage stopped in front of the residence, Turan opened the door and stepped out.

“Onil? What brings you here? I thought my brother wouldn’t invite you.”

Several Carmine nobles were already gathered in front of the mansion, and a middle-aged man addressed Turan with a crooked expression.

Based on the information he had gathered, this man was Onil’s maternal uncle.

"Yes, uncle... father was kind enough to let me."

"Hm? Why are you suddenly calling me uncle? You used to just call me mister."

Turan hadn’t been able to account for such minor details, so he feigned an awkward expression and quickly excused himself.

Fortunately, since Onil was known for being submissive to those stronger than him, no one found his behavior suspicious.

A short while later, Turan followed the other Carmine nobles into the conference hall located within the family head’s estate.

There were a total of sixteen attendees.

These individuals were the most powerful among the hundred-plus Carmine nobles.

Seated at the head of the table was the Carmine family head, Rodor Carmine, gazing down at them with sharp eyes.

He had a shrewd appearance, with a long beard that gave him an air of dignity despite his relatively young age.

‘So that’s the Carmine family head…’

Presumably, the Preah God named "Lawyer" resided within him.

It made sense, entrusting a host of this caliber to a subordinate would be too much of a risk.

And given the circumstances, there was a high likelihood that other attendees in this meeting were also possessed by different gods.

However, just by looking around, it was impossible to tell who they might be.

Before long, the meeting began, and as Turan had anticipated, the discussion quickly turned to House Aravion.

“How are the preparations for war coming along?”

“The situation isn’t looking good. The sea routes have been completely cut off for some time now…”

“Moreover, the winds in the North Sea have died down, making it similar to the South Sea in terms of conditions. Because of that, ship speeds have slowed considerably.”

Thankfully, since the Onil that Turan was impersonating was young, he wasn’t expected to contribute opinions or respond to questions.

The discussion continued for some time until, finally, the topic Turan had been waiting for came up.

“Ranusa, is there still no contact with the merfolk?”

“No. From the whales down to the rest of the merfolk kingdoms, all of them are refusing communication. Even the Blue Coral Crown’s command is being ignored.”

Blue Coral Crown.

That must have been the secret behind House Carmine’s control over the merfolk.

Judging by the name, it seemed to be some kind of sacred relic.

“Tch, should we have taken down the undead spirit of the Great Sea Serpent the moment it appeared?”

“There wasn’t much we could do at the time. We were dealing with an urgent matter back then. By the time we had resolved it, the merfolk had already caused trouble."

Turan had previously wondered why the Carmine nobles hadn’t intervened when the undead spirit of the Great Sea Serpent was rampaging.

It seemed that they, too, had been preoccupied with something else at the time.

What could it have been?

He was curious, but he couldn’t ask anyone here.

If it was something Onil was already supposed to know, questioning it would immediately raise suspicion.

“In any case, if the Blue Coral Crown is ineffective, it likely means the merfolk have regained the protection of the old Great Sea Serpent. That’s probably the reason behind the recent magical beasts’ rampage as well. Once the war is settled, I will handle this matter personally. We cannot afford to lose control over the merfolk.”

“With you leading the effort, my lord, we can rest assured.”

Unlike the Aravion family head, the Carmine family head personally involved himself in the affairs of his house.

Judging by the lack of surprise from the other attendees, this was likely a common occurrence.

As Turan sat quietly, merely filling his seat and absorbing information, the family head suddenly clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's attention.

"Now that we've finished discussing internal matters, it's time to bring in an important guest."

"Ah, the one you mentioned before...?"

"Yes. Let them in!"

At the family head’s command, a firmly shut door on one side of the conference room swung open, and a man stepped inside.

He had been standing outside throughout the meeting, so Turan had assumed he was simply guarding the room. However, it turned out he was an unidentified high-ranking noble.

The man was middle-aged, with slicked-back black hair, gray eyes, and sharp, somewhat gaunt features.

'Was there a Carmine noble who looked like that?'

The House Zahar spy’s documents included roughly drawn portraits of Carmine nobles, but none resembled this man.

Could he be some hidden secret weapon of the Carmine family?

Yet, for some reason, his face did not seem entirely unfamiliar.

If someone asked exactly who he was, Turan wouldn’t be able to answer, but there was an odd feeling that he had seen this person multiple times before...

Just as he was puzzling over this strange sense of déjà vu, the family head introduced the man to the gathered nobles.

"You are all meeting him for the first time. This is Talis Zahar, who has traveled all the way from the distant desert to mediate the war. Please give him a warm welcome."