Chapter 954: Lies Turn Into Legends

But the warriors had no idea about any of this. The moment they heard the title, their eyes went wide with awe.

"Oooohhhhh!"

"So that’s her name!"

"What a GRAND name!"

"The Sinful Sorceress! That sounds so powerful!"

One of the beastkin nodded sagely. "Only the most powerful people are granted titles like that."

A simple-minded ogre scratched her horned head.

"Sorceress, huh? So she’s a mage."

One of the human mages immediately facepalmed.

"Of COURSE she’s a mage! Did you see her use ANY physical attacks?! How did you possibly figure that out just now?!"

The ogre bristled. "I was just confirming!"

"You were stating the OBVIOUS!"

"I DON’T APPRECIATE YOUR TONE!"

"AND I DON’T APPRECIATE YOUR INABILITY TO USE BASIC OBSERVATION!"

Before the argument could escalate further, one of the beastkin raised a hand, her expression puzzled.

"But...why is her name the Sinful Sorceress? Doesn’t that sound rather...strange? Maybe even a bit..."

She trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Lewd?" Another beastkin supplied.

"Yes! That! It sounds kind of lewd!"

A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd.

Now that someone had pointed it out, the title did seem rather unusual.

Why would a heroic figure be called sinful? What kind of sorceress earned a name like that?

All eyes turned toward Isabelle.

Isabelle on the other hand, shot a pleading look at Cassius.

’Help me!’ Her eyes begged. ’Please, for the love of all that is holy, HELP ME.’

Cassius’s expression didn’t waver like Isabelle.

If anything, his smile grew more serene, more confident—the smile of a man who had anticipated every question before it was asked.

"Inappropriate?" He repeated, his voice taking on a note of gentle reproach. "I suppose it might sound that way, to those who don’t understand the truth behind it."

The warriors exchanged glances.

"The truth?" The spectacled mage asked.

Cassius nodded his head solemnly before quietly announcing

"The title of ’Sinful Sorceress’ was not given to her by admirers. It was forced upon her by the magical academies. A brand. A mark of shame."

"Shame?!" The wolf-kin exclaimed. "But why?!"

"Because she broke their laws." Cassius’s voice hardened, carrying an edge of righteous anger. "She used forbidden magic—spells that to save innocent lives."

The clearing went very, very quiet.

"You see, my dear wife here burned through her own vital lifespan and crossed ethical boundaries that no self-righteous, arrogant archmage would ever dare approach to save people years ago."

Cassius continued, pulling the narrative entirely out of thin air with terrifying eloquence.

"The high magic councils condemned her as ’sinful’ and branded her a criminal...but the common people remembered her differently."

"They knew her as the woman who willingly bore the hatred of the world just so others could live to see tomorrow."

Isabelle stared at him with an expression of utter disbelief.

How? How could he lie so smoothly?! So convincingly??

He was spinning an entire tragic backstory out of a bedroom pet name, and he was doing it with the conviction of a bard reciting a legend passed down through generations.

And the crowd—the crowd was eating it up!

"That’s what the title means?!" One of the beastkin shouted, her eyes glistening with emotion.

"She sacrificed her own lifespan?! Just to save innocent people?!"

"That’s incredible..."

"No—that’s beyond incredible. That’s the kind of person legends are written about! The kind of person songs are sung about for a thousand years!"

One of the ogres clenched her massive fists, her expression filled with fierce admiration.

"Anyone who calls that woman a sinner has forgotten what the word ’Hero’ actually means!"

Another warrior slammed her fist against her chest plate with a resounding clang.

"She deserves to be HONORED! Not mocked!"

The beastkin began cheering, their voices rising in a spontaneous chorus.

"ISABELLE! THE SINFUL SORCERESS!"

"THE WOMAN WHO BEARS THE SINS OF OTHERS!"

"THE HEROINE WHO WAS WILLING TO BE HATED!"

"THAT’S THE COOLEST TITLE I’VE EVER HEARD!"

"HOW COULD ANYONE POSSIBLY LOOK DOWN ON SOMEONE LIKE THAT?!"

The warriors were shouting at the top of their lungs, completely rallying behind Isabelle as if she were a misunderstood martyr who had been wronged by society.

But it made sense. They were battle-hardened soldiers who bled to protect the innocent.

So, hearing about a grand mage who sacrificed her reputation and lifespan for others hit every single moral chord in their bodies.

Meanwhile, Isabelle stood there, her face burning hotter than a forge.

She felt an overwhelming surge of guilt for deceiving these pure-hearted, honorable warriors who were looking at her like she was a living saint!

But Cassius, enjoying himself far too much, didn’t stop there.

"You know what’s even more amazing?" He said, his voice taking on a conspiratorial quality that made everyone lean in closer. "Just a few months from now—perhaps even weeks—she’s going to achieve something truly extraordinary."

"What?" One of the mages breathed. "What could be more extraordinary than what we’ve already heard?"

Cassius’s smile widened. "She’s going to become a Supreme Mage."

The words hung in the air like thunder.

Then the storm broke.

"WHAT?!"

"SUPREME MAGE?!"

"She’s Going To Become A SUPREME MAGE?!"

The reaction was instantaneous and overwhelming.

The ogres were shouting. The mages were having what appeared to be simultaneous mental breakdowns. The beastkin were jumping up and down with excitement.

Isabelle grabbed Cassius’s arm and hissed.

"SUPREME MAGE?!"

Cassius nodded serenely. "Supreme Mage."

"First we discover she’s the Sinful Sorceress." One beastkin gasped, pressing both hands to her head.

"Then we discover she’s about to become a Supreme Mage. What else does this woman have?!"

The ogres began shouting over one another in their excitement.

"She’s coming with us!"

"Forget recruiting her into the army—we’re FOLLOWING her!"

"Someone get her a banner!"

"Make her our commander!"

"Commander?! Make her our GODDESS!"

Even the mages, normally far more reserved, couldn’t contain themselves.

"To think we were saved by someone like her..."

"We’ll be telling this story for the rest of our lives."

"I’ll never forget today."

"Neither will I."

Isabelle felt like she was going to cry.

She had spoken with Aqua extensively about the Supreme Mage rank. She knew exactly how difficult it was to achieve.

Even a genius of Aqua’s caliber had needed extensive assistance from Cassius himself to break through to that level.

And here was Cassius, casually announcing that his maid-turned-wife with zero magical ability was about to become one.

And worse, the mages were already circling her with renewed intensity.

"Lady Isabelle, could you perhaps offer some guidance on—"

"My mana circulation has been blocked at the third junction for months now—"

"If you could just demonstrate that technique one more time—"

"I’ve been trying to stabilize my fire magic and I was wondering—"

Isabelle’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.

She could tell you the exact spice blend in a stew by smelling it from across the kitchen.

She could measure salt with nothing but her fingertips and get it perfect every time.

But magic? Mana circulation? She didn’t know the first thing about any of it!

Then one of the mages, an older woman with keen eyes furrowed her brow in sudden confusion.

"Wait." She said slowly. "If she’s truly on the verge of becoming a Supreme Mage...how have we never heard of her before?"

Isabelle jolted as if she’d been stabbed.

The mage continued, her voice carrying the genuine puzzlement of a scholar encountering an anomaly.

"Normally, when a mage approaches the Supreme threshold, the news spreads across the entire continent."

"After all, every Archmage is documented. Every breakthrough is recorded. If someone like her existed, I should have at least heard her name before."

Other mages began nodding in agreement.

"She’s right!"

"I keep track of all notable mages, and I’ve never encountered any records of an ’Isabelle Sinclair.’"

"Has she published any papers? Presented at any conferences? Even a single documented feat of high magic should have appeared somewhere in the archives."

They weren’t doubting her power. They had just witnessed her obliterate an entire pack of dire wolves without breaking a sweat.

They simply assumed she was operating at a level so advanced that they couldn’t detect her mana.

But the absence of records was puzzling.

Isabelle’s mouth went dry. She had no answer. No explanation. No way out of this.

She looked desperately toward Cassius.

And Cassius, ever her savior, stepped forward with an expression of righteous indignation.

"It’s because of what I just told you."

His voice carried a sharp edge now, the controlled anger of a man who had witnessed injustice firsthand.

"The magical academies branded her a forbidden mage. They cast her aside. They erased her name from their records and deliberately buried every achievement she ever made. They didn’t want anyone to remember what she had done."

He clenched his fist, his performance so convincing that even Isabelle almost believed him.

"To them, she had brought dishonor upon the magical community by breaking their sacred laws. So instead of acknowledging that she had used forbidden magic to save countless lives—they chose to erase her existence entirely."

The silence stretched. Deepened. Grew heavy with outrage.

Then it exploded.

"THEY ERASED HER NAME?!"

"THOSE WRETCHED ACADEMIES!"

"SHE SAVED PEOPLE, AND THIS IS HOW THEY REPAID HER?!"

"HOW COULD THEY POSSIBLY CALL SOMEONE LIKE HER A DISGRACE?!"

One of the ogres slammed her fist into her palm with enough force to crack stone. "If I were there, I’d tear that academy’s front gate off its hinges!"

"Forget the gate! I’d bring the entire BUILDING down!"

One of the mages lowered her head, genuine sorrow in her voice.

"She should have been celebrated as one of the greatest mages of her generation."

Another clenched her fists. "Instead, they made her carry the title of ’Sinful Sorceress’ as though she had committed some unforgivable crime."

"How lonely must that have been..."

"Imagine saving countless lives and having the people who should recognize you deliberately pretend you never existed."

The ogres’ anger intensified.

"She doesn’t deserve this!"

"Someone like her should have statues built in her honor!"

One of the beastkin wiped at her eyes, looking toward Isabelle with genuine sympathy.

"Poor Isabelle...she spent her whole life helping people, and nobody even knew."

Another beastkin shook her head furiously.

"Then we’ll remember her! If the academies refuse to honor her, then we will!"

Isabelle stood frozen, utterly mortified.

These fierce, terrifying warriors were actively crying for her, offering genuine, heartfelt sympathy for a tragic backstory that was ninety-nine percent pure fiction spun by her husband!

She aggressively tugged at Cassius’s shirt, her eyes pleading with him:

’Please stop! No more! My heart can’t take this many lies!’

Cassius met her gaze. For a moment, something soft flickered in his expression—acknowledgment, perhaps, of what he was putting her through.

But then his smile returned, and he turned back to the crowd.

"There’s one more thing I should tell you."