Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 280: The Secret of a Thousand Years (1)

“All right. We’ll rest here.”

Caroline Monarch, who had been periodically evaluating the students, soon gave them some free time in front of the Artisan’s Alley.

The Artisan’s Alley was a tourist area where magitech and mechanical goods were produced, primarily small-scale mechanical crafts rather than industrial items.

It was a place where many tourists bought souvenirs due to the abundance of charmingly crafted items.

“Take your time and look around.”

Though Caroline served as a mentor, assessing the students’ performance and offering guidance, she was also a graduate of Seorn and knew when to be flexible in situations like this.

The Artisan’s Alley had more to see than expected, so the allotted time felt generous.

‘Maybe now is my chance...’

Aidan hoped that he could use this opportunity to mend his awkward relationship with Leo.

‘Taishy is...’

Not far off, he spotted Taishy with her red hair tied into twin tails.

She was browsing items at a street vendor with Iona.

Seeing her eyes sparkle with curiosity as she looked over the goods made Aidan hesitant to call her over.

Still, something more important demanded his attention now, and just as he was about to call out to Taishy—

“Huh?”

In the corner of his vision, Aidan caught sight of Leo making suspicious movements.

“Leo?”

Leo glanced around cautiously before quietly slipping away into an alley.

There was something careful about his movements, but even more telling was the unpleasant look on Leo’s face—he was clearly hiding something.

Aidan hesitated.

If he called out to Taishy now, it would be hard to follow Leo after he disappeared.

But if he followed Leo alone, Taishy would likely be angry with him.

‘What should I do?’

If he kept hesitating like this, Leo would vanish somewhere.

And Aidan had a strong feeling that if he lost sight of Leo now, he might never see him again.

He didn’t know why—but he chose to trust his instinct at this moment.

Aidan immediately chased after Leo and entered the alley.

* * *

“......”

Aileen didn’t answer Ludger’s question right away.

“You’re not going to answer?”

Ludger noticed that Aileen was weighing many things in her mind.

She was probably debating whether to speak up or not because she wanted to maintain the upper hand in this situation.

“We’re working together now. Shouldn’t we stop hiding things from each other?”

“......”

At that, Aileen looked at Ludger with an expression of disbelief.

Ludger was well aware of how shameless his words sounded, but since things had come to this, he decided to be even bolder.

“Even as we hesitate like this, our enemies could be making their move.”

“Hmph...”

When he emphasized that completing the mission was more important than personal feelings, Aileen had no choice but to relent.

Still, her discontent was clear as she shot a sharp glare at Ludger.

So Ludger offered a concession.

“In return, I’ll share the information I have as well.”

“...Very well.”

An exchange, not a one-sided concession.

With that balance, neither side would be taking advantage of the other.

Aileen eventually nodded in agreement.

“So what exactly is beneath the capital?”

“I don’t know precisely.”

Ludger narrowed his eyes at Aileen’s response.

But he soon realized she wasn’t saying it to provoke him—she genuinely didn’t know.

Lifting a teacup in an elegant motion, Aileen spoke.

“How long do you think the Empire’s history spans?”

“I’ve heard the Exilion Empire has lasted for a thousand years, so I’d say at least that long.”

“Yes. A thousand years. A long time indeed. From an ordinary human perspective, it's an unimaginably long stretch. Truly a vast current of history.”

Aileen let out a soft laugh, then shook her head.

“But the Empire’s actual history is shorter than that. Since the founding of the first emperor, not even five hundred years have passed.”

“That’s still quite long, though.”

“Long, yes—but it can’t compare to a thousand years. It’s twice as long by the numbers alone. Then tell me, do you know what existed before the founding of the Exilion Empire, five hundred years ago?”

Ludger thought carefully, then shook his head.

Even with his general knowledge of history, he had never heard anything about what preceded the Exilion Empire.

‘Come to think of it... that is strange.’

Why did everyone believe the Empire had a thousand years of history?

As Aileen pointed out, five hundred and one thousand years was a massive gap.

Too big to be dismissed as simple exaggeration.

Historians typically avoid inserting personal bias in their records, so it couldn’t be chalked up to a mistake.

“You’re realizing something’s off too, aren’t you?”

“......”

Ludger’s expression grew serious at Aileen’s words.

“Listen closely. This is something known only to a select few—including you, me, and that loyal mutt.”

“Huh? Me too?”

Ignoring the clueless Mandelina, Ludger focused his ears.

Whatever Aileen was about to say would likely pull back the curtain on the grand lie blanketing the entire continent.

“The widely accepted story of the Empire’s thousand-year history is a fabrication. In truth, the Empire is only about five hundred years old. What came before it was merely something that has been ‘inherited’.”

“Inherited? That kind of thing doesn’t seem possible on a national level.”

“It doesn’t quite mean inheritance in the literal sense, but that’s how I see it. The previous country was erased, and a new one was layered on top.”

“That’s shocking. But is that even possible?”

“I’m not saying it’s easy. I only got the gist of it after looking at royal archives. The common people wouldn’t know, but the key figures of the royal family at the time were all replaced.”

“...There were people capable of reshuffling the ruling class of an entire nation?”

That was even harder to believe.

But Aileen seemed to have a clear suspicion.

“Not anymore, but five hundred years ago, science wasn’t advanced and society was still, frankly, primitive. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, that era would’ve been like that.” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Ludger nodded.

If this world was the equivalent of Earth’s 19th century in terms of magical and scientific development, then five hundred years ago was firmly the Middle Ages.

An age of superstition, faith, and barbarism.

A time where reason was virtually nonexistent.

“And during that time, there was one entity that wielded enormous influence across the entire continent. Or rather, one nation.”

“...The Theocracy of Bretus.”

Ludger finally found his bearings.

“Yes. The Theocracy of Bretus. The central bastion of the Lumenis Church, worshippers of the Radiant God. They even held the authority to depose kings. If anyone could do what I’ve described, it would be them. In short, the facility beneath the capital’s underground waterways predates even the Empire’s foundation.”

The legacy of a predecessor kingdom that existed before the rise of the Exilion Empire.

That was why it had remained hidden from public knowledge.

But the scale of the vast facility beneath the underground canal was far too massive to be dismissed as the sewer system of a mere medieval kingdom from five centuries ago.

Ludger thought to himself:

There must be something more down there.

“Traces of ancient history remain intact beneath the capital, then.”

“Indeed. Normally, such things would have faded with the passing of time—but it seems a bunch of rats got in first and made a nest.”

“Then what do you think that massive plant is?”

“That, I don’t know either. All I know is that there’s a large facility down there and that it’s a remnant of a kingdom from long ago. Beyond that, I’m in the dark.”

Aileen had only recently come to know of these facts herself.

“To be honest, it bruises my pride. For someone revered as the next Empress, to have things in this country I don’t know about—it’s downright insulting.”

“It’s also strange that those rats who’ve snuck into the capital know about such a secret facility. They’re just terrorists from the Liberation Army, aren’t they?”

“......”

Aileen’s gaze shifted sharply.

She hadn’t said anything yet—so how did he know?

Ludger spoke casually, as if it were nothing.

“They’re the only ones making noticeable moves these days.”

“I suppose. You did say you had your own sources, so it’s not surprising that you know.”

“The so-called Liberation Army’s terrorist activity is troublesome, yes, but even they shouldn’t have known about the facility beneath the capital. And yet they slipped in and went straight to it.”

“Which suggests a third party might have provided them with information.”

“Yes.”

And Ludger believed that third party was the Black Dawn Society.

He was more than halfway convinced—but didn’t say anything to Aileen.

They weren’t close enough yet to share information about the Black Dawn Society.

“But before we worry about some unknown force, our most immediate threat is the rats hiding down there.”

“Yes. But deploying troops right away would be difficult for several reasons.”

Aileen clinked her teacup down loudly and spoke with irritation in her voice.

“We don’t know how much power those rats have built up in that underground facility, out of sight of the public. There are probably traps, too. Sending people in recklessly would be a waste of manpower.”

Without knowing what the enemy was preparing inside, there was no guarantee that deploying knights or mages would succeed.

It could easily backfire and become a hornet’s nest.

But doing nothing would be just as dangerous.

“If it were an all-out war, that would be one thing—but knowing they’re lurking right beneath our feet makes us more cautious.”

“That’s why you called in the knight orders.”

Cold Steel—trained in the snowfields of the North.

Nightcrawlers—the shadow executioners of the Empire, who root out evil.

That Aileen had summoned these elite groups beyond ordinary knights was clear proof of how seriously she viewed the situation.

Their involvement meant casualties could be minimized.

“Even that may not be enough. Without knowing what the enemy is doing down there, we have no choice but to remain cautious.”

Aileen, who had been scanning the calm scenery of the artificial garden, turned her gaze toward Ludger.

“That’s why I need your help. No matter where they’re hiding, you can infiltrate and complete the mission. Your ability makes that possible.”

“Understood.”

Ludger had suspected something might happen—but he hadn’t expected it to be something this serious.

Still, it was too late to back out now.

He couldn’t walk away ignorant when there were students gathered in the capital.

‘They’re likely targeting that very fact.’

A simultaneous, indiscriminate terror attack against students and civilians.

Now that he knew, there was nothing to hesitate about.

“I trust I’ll be properly compensated.”

It was as good as a formal acceptance.

Aileen smiled in satisfaction.

A smile so beautiful and majestic that it could captivate anyone.

“The Liberation Army will likely act soon. Perhaps even today, or by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Why?”

“Because the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} students of Seorn are here. And so are key figures from the Mage Tower.”

“Indeed. If they manage to kill all of them, they’d deal a serious blow. A golden opportunity for them. But the Mage Tower sent even 6th-circle mages. The Liberation Army shouldn’t be able to handle that.”

Mages possessed the spell [Silence of Fire].

A magic that granted overwhelming superiority over firearms—unless their opponent was also a mage or knight.

It was a broken spell that flipped the very logic of modern warfare in a world with advanced firearms.

The Liberation Army might have some elite combatants—but not enough to match the current gathering in the capital.

“That would have been true in the past. But things have changed. They’ll be using special gunpowder.”

“Special gunpowder, you say. Coming from you, I imagine it’s far from ordinary.”

“Yes.”

“And that’s the information you were going to share with me earlier, I presume. Go on, let’s hear it.”

Ludger nodded and began to explain what he knew.

“The weapon they’ll use is a type of gunpowder that isn’t affected by [Silence of Fire].”

“Unaffected by Silence of Fire?”

“Exactly. It means their firearms can function normally despite the spell.”

“That’s... dangerous.”

Aileen began to wonder how this man knew something even she didn’t.

“When did you learn about this?”

“It’s something the Delica Kingdom began developing three years ago.”

“Three years...”

And judging by that statement, Ludger likely knew even more.

‘I thought I’d caught up to him. But in the end... it was just my delusion.’

Aileen felt a strange, indescribable emotion.

It was as if the man in front of her, clear and vivid just moments ago, now seemed like a shadow that could vanish at any time.

She didn’t know if it was merely an illusion—or if she was seeing something real.

But one thing was certain: for now, this terrifyingly capable man was on her side.

“More importantly—are your subordinates going to be all right? You don’t know what’s down there.”

“Well...”

Ludger hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“They’ll be fine. One of them’s a coward, but I assigned someone trustworthy to back him up.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a person—it was an elf.