Well, hopefully it's helping. Not a whole lot else they can do other than that and brainstorm last-ditch backup plans.

And recruit more practitioners to the distraction project.

...after about a week the illusion glitches to very briefly reveal a ruined castle.

That is multiple kinds of good sign! Since it wasn't a permanent effect after all, and most of the possible reasons for the Enemy to keep it up were pretty encouraging ones. Plus, obviously, ruined castle.

There is some very subdued celebration.

So they know they've been making progress, but. They very uneasily settle into what is more or less a new status quo.