OPDSP 37

He hadn’t imagined it. Not in the slightest.

Just a week ago, hadn’t he been treated as less than a pebble on the road? Aeryl could still vividly remember the indifferent gaze that had barely reacted when he’d nearly been trampled by the Grand Duke’s horse. And the morning after the rut? He’d been thrown to the ground, chair and all, and had his chest stomped on while being shouted at.

Yet now, that same Grand Duke was worrying about him.

And that was entirely thanks to Aeryl himself. Dragged into the purge unit as though kidnapped, he’d still done everything he could to care for his patient. And the result? He’d become someone important to the Grand Duke. Important enough to be worried about getting hurt!

‘Hmph, well—I did do a damn good job.’

He had to fight back a laugh, and his cheek twitched from the effort. The Grand Duke, having no awareness of his own change, only came across as more sincere. Aeryl couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitching up.

Then—maybe that earlier glance up and down had been out of concern for injuries? Heheh.

“I’ll be careful.”

The Grand Duke gave a small nod. At some point, they had arrived in front of Aeryl’s tent.

“Then, I’ll head in.”

Aeryl bowed and stepped inside. The Grand Duke stood still, quietly listening to the sound of Aeryl moving within. He was here, alive. It was an obvious fact—but for some reason, it stirred something in his chest.

***

When night fell, the members of the purge unit turned in for sleep. After the exhausting battle earlier, the camp was quieter than usual, a heavy silence settling over everything.

‘It’s so quiet it’s uncomfortable.’

Mason held his breath as he thought. Strange events had been unfolding in the forest, and some unknown enemy was hiding in their midst. In times like this, silence didn’t feel peaceful—it felt like the tension just before something burst.

‘Let’s hope this ends safely…’

He’d taken part in many purges, but none had felt as uneasy as this one. Things had been off from the moment preparations began. Maybe it was just bad luck, but even he—who’d gone unscathed for years—had nearly died.

He glanced toward Aeryl’s tent. His lifesaver had eaten half a loaf of bread and gone to sleep some time ago. Ever since the Grand Duke had escorted Aeryl back, Mason had kept watch—but there’d been nothing suspicious.

‘His Grace told me to keep an eye on the doctor, but I don’t see anything worth worrying about.’

There would be no need to arrest Aeryl. Mason felt relieved.

Aeryl was, in many ways, an easy target for suspicion. A new face in a unit that had gone smoothly for years—right as trouble began brewing.

‘I’m not doubting His Grace’s judgment, but our doctor just isn’t that kind of person.’

Aeryl was a good doctor. Someone who genuinely worked to save lives wouldn’t summon monsters and put the unit in danger.

‘If that were his goal, he wouldn’t have helped the Captain.’

Thanks to Aeryl’s aid, Innis had returned to her position as Captain. That one change had transformed the soldiers’ morale.

Once discipline was restored, shields became firmer, spears sharper. And her magic and combat ability were incredible. In today’s battle, she had played a pivotal role. Without her, they might’ve lost their base camp.

Aeryl had helped in the infirmary and strengthened the force as a whole. That’s why Mason wanted to clear the Grand Duke’s doubts about him.

‘What can I do to help His Grace see the truth?’

Mason seriously pondered. But the Grand Duke wasn’t doubting Aeryl at all. He had only told Mason to keep an eye out because he wanted Aeryl to stay safe. Mason had simply mistaken it for an order to monitor him.

Not that it was entirely Mason’s fault. He had no idea what kind of relationship the Grand Duke and Aeryl had—and couldn’t have imagined the Grand Duke being worried about someone in such a human way.

‘This time for sure, I’ll be of help to the doctor!’

Mason was burning with resolve. Unfortunately, it was completely off the mark.

That same time, inside the Grand Duke’s tent.

The Black Knights Commander and various division heads were assembled. They stood in a line, facing Grand Duke Asirion. Though seated, the weight of the Grand Duke’s presence bore down on them, and none dared move. Tension hung so thick in the air that even breathing felt difficult.

Between the Grand Duke and the officials, two men and one woman knelt, trembling. These were the ones who had visited Fedel while he was confined for breaking regulations. Simply visiting him wasn’t a problem—but they were the most likely to have passed him the candle. So they had been quietly apprehended.

Naturally, the true owner of such an item wasn’t likely to confess easily, so interrogation had been prepared. But once questioning began, things started to go off track.

“So you’re saying none of you visited Fedel?”

The Grand Duke spoke. His low, chilling voice made the three tremble even harder. The soldiers who had been monitoring Fedel clearly remembered the visitors’ faces and the times they came. And yet, all three of these people were insisting they had never once visited Fedel. Not just one of them—all three said the same thing in unison.

“Then who, exactly, did the soldiers see?”

None of the three could offer an answer to the Grand Duke’s question. Between the pressure of the situation and their fear of him, their minds were in complete disarray. Their commanding officers stepped forward on their behalf.

“At the time in question, Ereh definitely didn’t visit Fedel. I saw her on patrol,” Innis vouched for her subordinate.

“Uru was with me as well,” another officer said. “We were transporting a monster corpse together with several others.”

“Venter was with me too. We were cleaning the infirmary,” said another.

One by one, the officers provided solid alibis. The Grand Duke’s sharp gaze passed over them. Even though they had served him for years, their bodies stiffened instinctively.

‘None of them are lying.’

Grand Duke Asirion thought. It was a nearly instinctual conviction. He had always had good intuition, but after manifesting as an Alpha, that sense had grown sharper—allowing him to pick up faint signs of a person’s inner state. And when someone was in submission to him, it became even easier.

He gestured silently to the knight standing by the tent entrance. The knight stepped forward and escorted the three individuals out.

The soldiers who had been guarding Fedel had unmistakably identified these three. That was a fact.

But it was also true that none of the three had ever visited Fedel.

Naturally, the conclusion arose: someone else must have taken their forms to meet with Fedel.

‘So… they can change their appearance.’

The Grand Duke recalled a similar incident with ease.

“Captain,” he said. “There was that report of something strange happening among the soldiers.”

“You mean the person who was spreading rumors while disguised as one of ours?” Innis replied.

She hadn’t ignored the rumors the soldiers mentioned, and she’d reported them to the Grand Duke immediately. If it wasn’t a case of mass hallucination, then someone was going around spreading lies while changing their appearance.

“It seems the one we’re looking for and that individual are the same.”

The Grand Duke spoke calmly.

“They possess the ability to transform into others. It must be an innate magic.”

“Didn’t we already screen all personnel for magical abilities during recruitment? No one with transformation magic was among them,” someone pointed out.

“They must have killed someone before deployment and taken their place.”

“That’s… impossible…”

The officers were speechless. To think an impostor was among their own. That they hadn’t noticed until now. The Grand Duke studied their faces.

“So there’s… no one you find suspicious?”

“None at all.”

“Impressive mimicry.”

“Perhaps those who work closely with them might’ve noticed something off. Shall we investigate?” someone suggested.

“No. That would alert the enemy,” the Grand Duke replied. “If they catch on, they’ll vanish.”

“Then how are we supposed to catch them?”

The enemy had been hiding in plain sight, wearing the face of an ally. And to avoid exposing their true identity, they had even assumed different appearances when meeting Fedel.

They were meticulous. Cautious. If they made a reckless move, the enemy would disappear entirely.

Had they been in the Grand Duchy instead of on this forest campaign, they might have had options—like using mages or detection spells. But out here in the wilderness, such measures were impossible.

Each officer racked their brains, but no clear solution presented itself. And openly declaring an internal manhunt felt dangerous while they were still in the middle of a purge.

The Great Purge required unity above all. If suspicion took root, it could destroy them from within. The air grew stifling with helpless tension.

It was the Grand Duke who finally broke the silence.

“Vice-Commander. Has he arrived?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” came the voice from outside the tent.

Moments later, the Vice-Commander entered the tent, leading someone in behind him.