I Became a Civil Servant Who Can Use Magic

Franz Ducal Mansion, Reception Room.

The vassal nobles serving the Franz family each opened their mouths with serious expressions.

“It has now gone beyond the level of simple slander.”
“That’s right. It’s visible to the eye how they’re moving organizedly and spreading malicious rumors.”
“When I traced the source of the recent bizarre rumors circulating. They were all connected to the south.”

Faint wrinkles formed between Karl Franz’s brows as he leaned deeply into his chair.

“Hmm.”

The vassals’ words continued.

“Ahem. Defamation like ‘Loen Franz was quiet as a child, but after tasting power, she’s become blind to everything else’ doesn’t even qualify as ordinary.”
“Even rumors like ‘Inspector Loen is using the corps like her private army to line her own pockets’, ‘She’s wielding her inspection authority for private use to expand Franz’s influence’ are currently circulating widely.”

As they said.
Recently, vile political offensives targeting the Franz family and Loen Franz were pouring out day after day.

But who would dare?
To openly slander Franz, one of the top among the empire’s ten dukes, and Loen, who was rapidly rising as a power in the Inspection Corps?

Karl Franz swallowed a bitter smile.
Such blatant methods….

‘They must be quite desperate.’

The outline of the culprit was clearly drawn in Karl’s mind.

The Southern Merchant Association.
Given the circumstances, it was clearly them.

This was a fact that could be inferred from the letter Loen sent and the situation in the south.

“Your Grace.”

At that moment, one of the vassals cautiously opened his mouth.

“There’s even a rumor that the Franz family’s purpose in swallowing up the south is to challenge the Emperor’s authority….”
“That, certainly crossed the line.”

It’s true that we covet the south.
But to rebel against the Emperor?

Karl, as a great mage, knows the Emperor’s power better than anyone.
Therefore, he can declare.

Raising a rebellion against him is nothing short of an act of suicide.

Moreover, there’s absolutely no reason to do so when Loen is receiving the Emperor’s trust.
Come to think of it, the Franz family could be classified as part of the imperial faction in the current situation.

The reason why those who should know this are fabricating such an obvious plot.

‘They’re trying to sow seeds of distrust between the imperial family and Franz somehow.’

In short, it was an attempt at alienation.
You might think what difference would it make anyway.
But from their standpoint, this must be the best method.

‘I was planning to stay quiet while Johann was away, but I guess I have no choice now.’

With the family heir Johann absent, he had intended to refrain from stepping to the forefront as much as possible out of respect for his son’s authority.

However,
How could he just sit still when annoying flies were rushing towards the blade?
He had to take action before Franz’s honor was further tarnished.

Swish.
Karl slowly detached his body from the backrest and leaned forward.
At that moment, some sensitive vassals felt the mana flow in the reception room subtly stirring.

‘Such petty plots.’

Karl inwardly sneered.

The dissolution of the Southern Alliance is a foregone conclusion.
Once the Emperor’s decree has been issued, it will certainly come to pass.
They were destined to meet their end at Loen’s hands.

Therefore, what he needed to do was clear.

Exerting the Franz family’s powerful political influence,
To suppress the filthy bizarre rumors now sprouting like poisonous mushrooms,
And to warn or retaliate against those who sympathized with them.

Karl was very confident in this kind of thing.
Wasn’t he the very person who had risen to this position by navigating through the pandemonium of central politics?

It was definitely not a position that could be reached with magic skills alone.
Karl too was a veteran when it came to political battles.

“Butler.”
“You called?”

Karl said something to the butler who approached his side and then instructed him.

“Send letters containing what I just said to all families connected to Franz.”
“I will do as you command.”

The butler, bowing his waist, immediately left the reception room.
Right after, Karl gave similar instructions to the vassals as well.

“You may all go now.”
“Yes!”

Soon, they too bid farewell to Karl and left the Franz mansion.

That evening, only a heavy silence hung over the dining room of the Franz mansion.
Only the occasional sound of utensils moving could be heard.

The one who first broke the silence was Karin.

She looked at her husband with worried eyes and said.

“About those bizarre rumors going around lately. They must have reached Loen, that child’s ears too, right?”

Karl put down his utensils with a heavy sigh.

“…She must know. It’s impossible not to know.”
“Will she be alright? This must be her first time experiencing something like this.”
“Hmm.”

The Duchess was always worried about her daughter.
And the Duke was not much different in that regard.

“To be honest, I’m worried about that too.”

As a father, Karl knew Loen’s temperament better than anyone.
She’s a child who abhors the social world and finds it tiresome to mingle with nobles.

There’s no way such a Loen would have directly experienced the vile political schemes or malicious rumors among nobles.
Having always been cooped up in a corner of banquet halls, how could she know such insidious methods.

By the way, this was qualitatively different from rumors in the barrier.
It was someone spreading false rumors with malicious intent.

So indeed.

How is Loen taking the blatant criticism and fabricated rumors aimed at her?

That was what Karl was most worried about.

“As if it wasn’t enough that Loen seems to have changed somehow since joining the Inspection Corps, I’m so worried….”

Karin’s voice trembled with anxiety.
It was a look of not hiding herself at all when alone with her husband.

“What if, by any chance, she really becomes twisted…”

Karl gently wrapped his hands around his wife’s, who had become tearful.
Although he too was uneasy, he soothed her with a deliberately calm tone.

“Darling, let’s not jump to conclusions.”

He chose his words for a moment.

“After all, Loen is of Franz blood. Her core must surely be solid. Although she has some willful aspects at times, she’s that much strong-willed and intelligent, so she won’t easily break down.”

Karl continued speaking as if affirming to himself.

“And she’s not alone either. From what I hear, the young lady of the Bastard family is also carrying out missions with Loen. That young lady doesn’t seem ordinary either, so they’ll likely be a support for each other. So let’s not worry too much.”

Having finished their meal like that, the Franz ducal couple went to bed,
Embracing their worries about their daughter.

However, Karin couldn’t easily fall asleep due to her concern for Loen.

Behind the scenes of the noble society that only appears glamorous, all sorts of envy, jealousy, and vile slander ran rampant.

Because of this, she too had to suffer much inner turmoil after being caught up in political machinations in her younger days.

‘Back then, I really…. couldn’t sleep due to the resentment.’

At that time, she doesn’t know how many innocent silk dolls she tore apart trying to suppress the anger boiling up inside her.

If even she was like that.

There’s no law saying Loen can’t be the same.
Although Loen appears cold and strong on the outside, there’s no guarantee her inner heart is as solid.
That’s why, as a mother, she could only hope that Loen wouldn’t be hurt.

Karin, who finally fell asleep near dawn.

In her dream, Loen was standing alone facing a cold wind.

Meanwhile, a battle was in full swing inside Count Rofen’s mansion.

Flash.

A dazzling beam of light burst from Loen’s fingertips and filled the hall.
The bodies of vampires exposed to the holy light burned fiercely like dry firewood.

“Kyaaak!”
“Kuaak!”

Loen’s magic continued.

“Dark Light Sphere.”

Hundreds of black fragments shot out in all directions from within a bright sphere.
With a chilling sound cutting through the air, the fragments mercilessly pierced through the flesh of the vampires writhing in pain.

Fwoosh!

They collapsed helplessly to the floor.

“Gurgle..”
“….”

Only an eerie silence remained in the first floor hall of the grand mansion, filled with the pungent smell of blood.

The seemingly endless wave of vampires had finally come to an end.

“There’s really a disgustingly large number….”

Loen muttered softly as she looked around the devastated interior of the hall.

‘No wonder it seemed strange that elite troops were gathered in the wide open courtyard.’

Count Rofen’s trump card was the vampires hidden underground.
About a hundred high-ranking vampires equivalent to 3rd or 4th-rank knights and several hundred lower-ranking vampires not quite at that level.

This was probably what the count was counting on.
Of course, not anymore.

“Loen. This side is finished too.”
“Me too!”

Seraphine and Psyche, who had been supporting Loen from both directions, approached Loen after dealing with the vampires in their assigned directions.

They immediately headed towards the audience chamber inside the mansion.

“Wow~ But I really couldn’t have imagined hundreds of vampires!”
“How on earth did they hide so many vampires?”
“They probably sealed them in coffins and stashed them away.”
“Aha! By the way, how do you know that, Loen?”
“……Just because.”
“Aha~”

While conversing as they walked, Seraphine asked.

“Loen. What are you going to do with the count?”
“Now that it’s revealed he was hiding vampires, there’s nothing more to say.”
“I guess….”

Crack!
Having reached the audience chamber, Loen kicked open the door.

“Kyaa!”
“Huk..”

The audience chamber where a chilling fear had settled, belying its splendor.

In the space that once boasted its authority, Count Rofen and numerous nobles were miserably huddled together.
Their expensive silk clothes were soaked with cold sweat, and their faces all wore terrified expressions.

“To, to think it would be breached so easily..”

Among the huddled nobles, Count Rofen muttered as if almost insane.

The corps’ advance was too fast.
They weren’t even given time to prepare proper resistance.

The count had money overflowing.
He had intended to use his vast wealth to gather all the mercenary groups in the city, mount a desperate resistance, and wait for support from the Southern Alliance. That’s why he had sent a messenger as soon as he heard news of the invasion.

That was the original plan.

But the moment he witnessed the city gate flying away helplessly.
The count had no choice but to abandon all plans and flee deep into the mansion.

Still, there was one last hope.

The vampire corps he had painstakingly brought in over many years.
That was his real trump card.

However, even that was completely crushed by the inspector right before his eyes.

Now there was nothing left.
The count was perfectly trapped in a dead end with no way out.

‘Baron Mammon had boasted that vampires would be enough, and yet….’

At that moment, rhythmic footsteps echoed through the audience chamber.

Thud, thud.

Loen crossed the audience chamber and stood in the center.

“Count Rofen.”

As always, a cool and dry voice cut through the heavy air of the audience chamber.

Now soon, his crimes would be listed.
And what would follow is the inspector’s cold summary execution sentence.
Count Rofen had little life left.

Sensing this, his expression hardened.
If it’s come to this….

Swish.
He stood up from his seat and walked right up to Loen with a resolute expression.

“..?”

Loen’s eyebrows twitched.
What is he up to?

At a distance close enough to touch,
Count Rofen, who had been meeting Loen’s gaze for a moment.

He initiated action.

Whoosh!

Kneeling down like lightning, he suddenly grabbed Loen’s trouser leg.

“In-Inspector Loen! No, Lady Loen! Please hear me out. I, I am actually on very close terms with your father, Duke Karl Franz.”
“….”

Loen still only looked down at the count clinging to her pants with cold eyes.
At that cold gaze, the count became even more desperate.
He poured out words almost as if wailing.

“When, when I was young. That is, during my time at Arteum Academy. Your father Karl Franz was my classmate! Although we weren’t very close friends.. but still, when we occasionally ran into each other, we would exchange nods and…. We even ate together once!”

At his sudden past-dropping, the air in the audience chamber instantly froze.

Not only Loen, but Seraphine and Psyche standing behind her, and even the other nobles huddled together looked at the count with expressions of disbelief.

“Wow~ That’s really ugly.”

Psyche muttered her inner thoughts, pretending it was a mistake.

“Kuhuk! It’s true! So. I’ll live quietly like a dead mouse, no, as if I don’t exist at all…. Just this once…. Please, couldn’t you sp-spare my life? I beg you so earnestly! Please!”

Count Rofen wept loudly, squeezing out tears and snot as if he were the most pitiful person in the world.

Seeing him suddenly bringing up his acquaintance with her father from decades ago, he must have been terribly afraid of dying.

This is absurd.
Loen inwardly clicked her tongue.

A person who knows how precious life is, calling himself an imperial noble, not only betrays but secretly hides hundreds of vampires in the basement of his mansion?

It was a bundle of contradictions that simply didn’t add up.

Loen let out a big sigh that came naturally and said.

“Count Rofen.”

At that, the count looked up at Loen with a tear-stained face, holding a thread of hope.

“My pants. Will you take responsibility if they get stretched from pulling like that?”

The count startled and let go of Loen’s pants.
Then he hurriedly made excuses.

“I, I was in such a hurry that I unintentionally, rudely….”

Loen, who patted her pants, reached out to the side.
Mana sword.

A gray sword was gripped in her hand.

“And, if you were going to beg for your life so disgracefully.”

A cold execution sentence fell from Loen’s mouth as she adjusted her grip on the sword.

“You shouldn’t have betrayed in the first place.”

No sooner had the words ended than her arm violently cut through the air.

In that instant, Count Rofen’s eyes widened with terror.
In those eyes, a gray grim reaper was clearly reflected.
Only at the very end did he realize that all of this was futile.

Swoosh—!

A streak of light grazed his neck and passed by.

That was the last sight Count Rofen saw in this world.

Thud.

It was the futile end of the ruler who had once dominated the great southern city.

Everyone in the audience chamber looked down at his lifeless body that had collapsed.