The following night, the nobles of Hohenburg secretly gathered together.
The long oak table was filled with goblets of untouched wine, the crimson liquid catching the light like pools of blood. No one dared to drink. The air reeked of perfume mixed with fear.
Graf Byron sat at the head, his right hand drumming nervously against the armrest of his chair. Across from him, Freifrau Meralda adjusted her jeweled veil, though her trembling fingers betrayed her calm facade. Freiherr Heinrich leaned back, stroking his beard furiously, while several lesser nobles whispered among themselves in uneasy tones.
AN: Freiherr/Freifrau = Baron/Baroness
After testing three times—through Graf Konrad's banquet, the assassination attempt by wandering mages, and Graf Byron's donation—they realized something horrifying.
None of it worked.
Whether it was the power they had always been so proud of, the armed force they controlled in the shadows, or the seemingly all-powerful lure of gold, none of it had the slightest effect on this new Director.
She was like a demon that lived outside of human society, possessed powerful personal force, and had no interest in money!
The tricks nobles had always used against their fellow humans, unfailingly effective in the past, had failed every single time!
"Impossible…" Freifrau Meralda finally broke the silence, her voice strained. "No one—no one in this kingdom can resist both coin and steel. What kind of woman is she?"
Freiherr Heinrich slammed his fist onto the table, making the goblets tremble. "What is it she wants? She doesn't want wealth, she doesn't want power. Then what?"
A younger noble muttered almost to himself, "Maybe… she really is a demon…"
A cold chuckle echoed through the room, though no one found it funny.
"No," Byron said at last, his voice heavy. "If she were truly a demon, the Association's headquarters would never allow her to hold such a position. No matter what silence they maintain now."
"Then what should we do?" another hissed. "Just sit here waiting for death?"
"No need to panic," Heinrich growled. "As long as she's human, she must have weaknesses. No one exists without desires. If someone truly had none, then how would they differ from an emotionless demon?"
"Yes, yes—there must be something she cares about!" Freifrau Meralda leaned forward, though her voice shook. "Perhaps a lover? Family? Something, someone she hides away?"
But the hall fell silent again. The fire in the hearth crackled loudly in the pause, like laughter at their helplessness.
Normally, if such a troublesome figure appeared, the nobles would never rack their brains like this.
What the mind can't solve, the sword can.
Just like former Vice Director Barrett—a young, ambitious Second-Class Mage who cared only for ideals. But after his legs were broken, didn't he obediently become their fattened pig, one of their own?
If there truly exists someone flawless, then break her. Make her flawed.
But this time was different—
They hadn't even struck yet, and the other side was already smashing the table; they extended a hand, and the other side cut off each finger, clean and ruthless.
The wandering mages in Hohenburg who had once served nobles were now nothing but dirt mounds and bloodstains.
As for hopes that their political influence might force the Continental Mage Association's headquarters to intervene… emmm… Graf Konrad had been beaten into half a cripple and still lay unconscious in bed—and the Kingdom, even seeing a dignified Graf assaulted, remained silent.
The Continental Mage Association pretended to know nothing, and everything proceeded as usual.
The nobles of Hohenburg feared that if they tested her again, next time it wouldn't just be tables smashed, but their skulls.
They could no longer rely on the sword. They would have to use schemes.
No—perhaps they didn't even need to "deal with" her. If they could just find her weakness—understand her mind, her desires—they could find a way to coexist.
She's human. Understanding her shouldn't be harder than understanding an animal—
"I've got it!" Suddenly Graf Byron spoke up.
Every head turned sharply toward him.
"What?" several voices overlapped, their tones mixed with both suspicion and hope.
"Reputation."
"Reputation?"
"She doesn't want wealth or power—then she must be seeking eternal fame!" Byron's voice grew more confident, feeding on the silence of the room. "Think about it! Every move she makes… it isn't for money, it isn't for influence. It's the way she builds her image!"
The chamber murmured. Some raised brows, others exchanged glances.
"What kind of fame?" asked Freifrau Meralda
"That Aura must want the students she teaches to praise her, to spread her name everywhere, to make her known to every mage and every human!"
"That does match her actions!"
"If she wants fame," Byron declared, pounding his fist lightly on the table for emphasis, "then let's give her fame!"
"How?"
Byron's smile widened. "Let each region send their promising youths based on popular acclaim. Can she reject the voice of the people? Then we'll spend heavily to hire graduates, keeping them here in Hohenburg. Can she deny those commoners the path they themselves have chosen?"
Murmurs of approval spread through the chamber.
"A clever plan!" Freiherr Heinrich whispered, his eyes glinting.
"Yes, yes," another agreed, "as long as we stay patient, don't clash with her head-on, and spend some money outside the Mage Association… in the end she'll just be raising talent for us."
"Indeed!"
"Doing good deeds for reputation will bind her to that reputation, haha~~" Byron's laughter filled the chamber, and this time, others joined in.
The nobles raised their goblets, celebrating loudly, convinced they had finally found the new Director's weakness.
———————————
With Graf Byron's donation—and an inexplicably even larger sum from some unknown source—the Mage Academy of Hohenburg, after renovations, expanded greatly and could now accommodate far more mage apprentices.
(Aura herself was puzzled about this mysterious wealth. Likely, after she declared she had donated all her "savings," others in the branch discovered her wages had always been zero. Outraged, they must have pooled donations just to mock her.)
Otherwise, why else did she feel that everyone in the Association had been looking at her so strangely lately?
'Tsk.'
'How weak these humans are.'
Aura sneered.
After realizing they'd been tricked, too intimidated by authority to confront her directly, they chose such ridiculous methods to resist.
Perhaps to humans, such silent resistance was deeply humiliating.
But Aura was a demon!
Trying to shame her in this way is ridiculous!
She, Aura, was a demon with a strong mind who could take human scolding and despicable insults as praise.
She could stand under a thousand eyes without the slightest stir.
What was a few disdainful looks in secret compared to that?
The moment the new Academy was complete, Aura inspected it in person. All the stares from apprentices and Association members were calmly ignored—her demeanor remained steady, tranquil.
From afar, passing apprentices whispered:
"Did you hear? Did you hear? This Lady donated half her life savings so we could expand the Academy!"
"I didn't expect her to be so young, the same age as us—the last time I saw her I thought she was a new student, but she's the new director of the association!"
"She's done more than just expand the Academy. I heard she single-handedly wiped out the rogue mages causing trouble in the surrounding area. The magic cannon that burst out of the Graf's Mansion that day was also her magic. She has restored the dignity of the association~"
"Yes, yes! And so many teachers admired her and donated as well, which is why the Academy was built. Yet Director Aura never claims credit—so humble~"
"And, and… I heard she even shares her name with someone great, maybe a descendant of one of the founders of the Continental Mage Association…"
"…...."
Chirp, chirp, chirp——
Aura couldn't catch the rest, nor did she enhance her hearing with magic.
She already knew what these humans were gossiping about.
Heh—
'No doubt another round of condemning my cruelty.' Aura bared a feral grin.
That was exactly what she wanted—to etch her ruthlessness into their memory. From the first day she stormed into the Graf's manor, to later when she carried an axe to confront village sheriffs one by one, to slaughtering mages who blocked her path, and finally tricking them all into donating—everything she did was to make humans fear her like a tiger!
Only when humans remembered her ferocity and cunning would they fear her, and thus respect her.
That was the lesson she had learned in five centuries as a demon.
And now, among humans, it worked just the same.
Aura smirked coldly, scanning the crowd. As expected, any human who met her gaze flushed red and quickly looked away.
That was the posture of submission, born of fear pushed to its limit.