FVN Chapter 15 : Chapter 15
Chapter 15 : Chapter 15
“Did you hear, Sixth Duke?”“Hear what?”
“The news that Valheit crushed Chancellor Hendrick.”
In one corner of the boisterous banquet hall, the Sixth Duke, Giuseppe Sicilienne, was surrounded by gossip-loving nobles who enjoyed political chatter.
“Who could’ve imagined that Hendrick would be taken down over some fish?”
“Isn’t he the first in Imperial history to be punished for touching royal family property, as a member of the royal family himself? Hahaha.”
“Word has it Count Valheit fabricated the charges. Gives you chills, doesn’t it?”
“I see.”
Giuseppe kept his words brief and listened intently to the loud gossipers.
His thoughtful demeanor—unusual for a duke—wasn’t simply to earn goodwill.
He knew that in banquets, keeping quiet and listening led to the most valuable information.
“Another line added to Count Valheit’s infamy. Not even the Emperor’s uncle could defeat the old snake—something like that.”
“Watch your mouth. You never know where that old snake’s ears might be.”
Giuseppe offered a light warning. Advice born of experience.
But his conversation partner brushed it off.
“Haha, would Count Valheit waste time on a mere drunken noble like me? Anyway, did you hear where the Chancellor is being sent?”
“Of all places, Novosibir, I heard! And get this—according to a friend of mine who works in the palace, it was Valheit himself who picked the exile site.”
“On top of that, they say Valheit personally stuck around as his overseer. If it were me, I’d have wet myself! Haha.”
Politely smiling at the excited nobles, Giuseppe tilted his head slightly.
‘Something feels… off.’
It was no secret to any of the dukes—or even most people—that the Emperor disliked his uncle.
So Hendrick finally being cast out wasn’t all that strange.
What puzzled Giuseppe was Valheit’s behavior.
Valheit, who had advised the Empire and the Imperial family for many years, strongly disliked being in the spotlight.
And yet here was news spreading even to drunken aristocrats about where the exile was being sent.
And the location itself wasn’t typical.
Novosibir had once been known as a summer resort and hunting ground, to the extent that there was a royal villa—but now it was a forgotten, abandoned place.
Though it had the advantage of being remote, and equipped with a suitable estate to house high-ranking detainees, the disadvantages far outweighed that.
It was near the border, making escape into the Northern Federation relatively easy, and since most people had left, the area was now crawling with demons, leaving security questionable at best.
‘No way the lazy Emperor personally selected the exile location… So what is Valheit’s plan?’
A bright voice interrupted Giuseppe’s thoughts.
“Sixth Duke, the guests are hoping to hear a few words from you. Might you spare a moment?”
“Of course.”
Giuseppe smoothly stepped into the center and raised his glass, drawing everyone's attention.
“I won’t be so tactless as to give a long speech when you’re all enjoying yourselves. I simply hope you have a delightful evening.”
Laughter and applause filled the hall.
Giuseppe smiled faintly and swirled his glass.
“Oh, and let’s give a toast to the Borgia Liquor Guild for providing tonight’s fine selection!”
The hall erupted as everyone raised their glasses.
“To Borgia!”
***
Breath escaped into the cold and turned white outside the window.
It had been a while since he’d felt this kind of chill, but it wasn’t all that unpleasant.
“Count Valheit, the transfer procedure is complete. From this point forward, the Novosibir border garrison will handle the monitoring of Chancellor Hendrick.”
The officer giving the report was shivering, his nose bright red.
What felt like a light frost to others was clearly unbearable for citizens of the Empire.
“Good work.”
“Uh, Count… when do you plan to return?”
The officer lowered his voice nervously.
He seemed worried about Hendrick, who sat in a corner like the world had collapsed.
“Why do you ask? Do you dislike it here that much?”
“To be honest, yes. The weather… the demons…”
“I understand. You may leave whenever you wish.”
Now that the guard had handed over the monitoring duty, there was no need for them to remain at the villa.
In fact, their presence would only make it harder for me to move around.
“Um… aren’t you leaving, Count?”
“I have some business to attend to.”
Otherwise, there’d be no reason to come all the way out here, far from headquarters.
“In Novosibir, sir?”
“Yes. Are you curious why?”
“N-Not at all! I’ll be off now, Count!”
With a quick salute, the officer hurried off.
Inside the room, with the cold wind seeping in, only Hendrick and I remained.
“Could you close the window? Unless your plan is to freeze me to death.”
“My apologies. Didn’t expect you to dislike the cold.”
Once the window closed, even the faint noise outside was cut off.
Hendrick rubbed his tired face and let out a long sigh.
“Let’s look on the bright side. Better than dying, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s better than dying. But why here of all places?”
“Isn’t Novosibir decent enough? Not an island, not riddled with plague, and not so suffocating in terms of surveillance. Sure, it’s cold and remote, but still.”
“That’s why it’s strange. Isn’t it a weird place for exile?”
Of course there was a reason I stuck him here.
But Hendrick didn’t need to know that.
“Think of it as a gesture of goodwill. In any case, I have business to attend to. I wish you a pleasant retirement.”
His eyes flared with hatred.
Good. That’ll make the surprise later even more touching.
I stepped into the desolate garden of the villa and opened the Status Window.
[Skill]
▶ Eye of the Monarch (Blaiher)
Can be used on people or objects! Determines whether it is helpful or harmful!
Uses vary based on Relationship level
Currently: 1 use per day
▶ Shadow Cast Aside (Hendrick)
Once per day, for 10 minutes, reduces others’ awareness of oneself! Note: the effect is canceled if your actions are too conspicuous!
Blaiher’s skill was obtained during the Chartra trial. Hendrick’s skill was obtained now that his Relationship hit -100.
To test the theory that even hitting -100 grants a skill, I had pushed him even harder.
If a relationship doesn’t need to be friendly, aiming for -100 might be more efficient.
Today, I’d spend time casually testing the new skills.
There was still time before the next stage of the plan.
After walking about twenty minutes, swinging my staff lazily—
A neighborhood of abandoned houses came into view.
No, not quite abandoned.
There were signs of habitation here and there.
‘Though the ones living here aren’t exactly human.’
The demon district of Novosibir was a place that symbolized urban decay.
It had once been a decent residential area, but when the humans left, demons moved in and it became a sort of slum.
To say demons simply “filled the void” was an oversimplification.
It left out which demons filled it.
In The Path of the Demon King, demons were not human, but a blanket term for beings naturally attuned to magic from birth.
From goblins who barely cast beginner-level spells, to elves who could use magic that most humans couldn’t master in a lifetime—they were all lumped together as demons.
Naturally, their treatment varied wildly.
Especially in the Eslick Empire, which valued magic highly, demons who could cast advanced spells were treated as nobles, while the rest lived on the fringes of society.
The demon district of Novosibir belonged to the latter.
Most residents were drifters or day laborers, living in that gray space between legal and illegal.
The experiment was simple.
Walk through the demon district—where resentment toward humans ran deep—while using Shadow Cast Aside.
‘Let’s see what happens.’
I stepped into the demon district.
The scene that unfolded was quite different from the one where demons would usually scurry away when humans entered.
It wasn’t exactly lively, but small groups of demons were gathered, chatting among themselves.
“They say the Northern Federation bastards came snooping again yesterday?”
“Thankfully, no one got taken this time. Outsiders warned us in time.”
“How long are we going to keep hiding? If we give ’em a real taste, maybe they’ll stop coming!”
“But if we do that, the Imperial Army might come….”
I walked past the demons, listening in.
Even at close range, none of them paid attention to me. Good—seems the skill is working.
Thunk.
I looked down. A kid had fallen over.
A demon child, with a striking horn on his head.hing was certain—Valheit had changed.
And in the absence of the Leader, he was now running the Eight Council.
And with the location being Novosibir, too….
“Fine. Let’s see what your little scheme is, my dear Count.”