164. conspiracy (2)
“That statement is a play. Can you take responsibility?”
The man felt drunk.
A cold sweat running down his body awakened a sense of reality that he had forgotten for a while.
I hurriedly looked around.
“It’s a play, so maybe it’s a bit of a leap forward.”
“There is a saying that ignorance is courageous.”
There were only cold eyes.
It was because he clearly knew who to blow in the current situation.
‘This is not what I was thinking.’
The crowd, who had been suspicious of John together, averted their gaze when their eyes met.
My stomach churned and I felt like the world was spinning.
“sorry. sin, sorry… .”
In the end, the man had no choice but to bow his head and speak in a crawling voice.
* * *
I looked at the CCTV, but there were no participants showing suspicious movements except for the staff who had poisoned the glass.
“This prom is a message from His Majesty the Emperor that everyone should go home after the early end.”
On behalf of the emperor who was working under the imperial palace, the secretary delivered the instructions.
Participants exited the ballroom under control as soon as they left the dragon’s line.
After seeing the last vehicle to leave the main palace, the captain of the guard turned and bowed his head.
“I am very grateful for the help of Superintendent Xavir and Representative Johann. Without the two of us, we would not have been able to rectify the situation so quickly.”
“Of course it should have helped.”
Cain and Zerbia followed the captain of the guard and bowed their heads to show their humility.
“From now on, you can leave it to us.”
The guard’s gaze turned to the staff whose arms were restrained.
During the interrogation at the scene, the employee was merely trembling and did not open his mouth.
“If you have a deep conversation, you will end up spitting out everything you know. Then see you next time.”
After bowing once more, the captain of the guard bowed his head and disappeared into the main palace, dragging the staff with his subordinates.
Their destination is a dungeon, and you could expect to have a pretty meaningful conversation there.
“Things are settled.”
After confirming that they had completely disappeared, Cain turned and told Zervia.
In front of the main entrance.
wide open space.
The moonlight that made their eyes shiver shone on the two of them.
Zervia shook her head.
“It is not completely resolved yet. We will proceed with the interrogation, but we may not be able to find out who was trying to poison the third prince.”
Interest grew in Cain’s eyes.
She seemed to have noticed too.
‘The original target of poisoning must have been the third prince.’
The employee who received someone’s order mistook the cup and poisoned the second prince’s cup.
When the 2nd and 3rd princes found their original ones and changed their glasses, we could see that fact from the look of the staff who were very bewildered.
“It’s pretty good. Did you notice that the 3rd prince was the target, not the 2nd prince?”
“Cain. You ignore me too much—.”
She was about to scream in a rage, but she swallowed the back words.
I’ve never been able to properly step on the collar while chasing Cain.
It was clear that he would not be able to find the original shrine even if he had to speak out.
She sighed and turned the topic instead of rebutting it.
“It is a pity that the prom ended early. I haven’t been able to properly talk to the other participants yet.”
“Networking. That was one of the purposes.”
Cain turned to the inside of the main palace.
“Branch.”
“… … ?”
“Aren’t the best people left in the ballroom to make connections?”
Recognizing Cain’s intentions, an ‘ah’ exclamation flowed out of her mouth.
rudder. rudder. rudder.
The two quickly made their way through the hallway.
As we got closer to the ballroom, we saw many users busily going back and forth to clean up.
I went back to the ballroom through the wide open door.
The music stopped.
On the empty table, there was nothing to eat and drinks were laid out.
in between.
The three princes were seen sitting at the table in a powerless manner.
The 2nd Princess Julia was next to him, comforting him.
“I don’t know what to say to comfort you.”
Cain approached and said in a sullen voice.
Third Prince Owens raised his head.
There were tears in his eyes.
“Ah, sorry. I should have said thank you first, but now I only see this ugly side of myself.”
If we were to pick the most influential person behind it, we would be able to pick a prince or a princess who had the same right of succession to the throne.
But the tears that Owens shed now seemed sincere.
“I don’t know who the hell did this. Yu-Hel-nim is famous for having no enemies even in the Imperial Palace… .”
“Now that the commander of the guard has interrogated the criminal, we will be able to find out what is behind it.”
Cain comforted Owens and, at the same time, determined the truth and lies of his words through the eyes of truth.
‘The Third Prince is not a criminal. Judging from the motive of the crime alone, it can be said that the same prince and princess are the most influential.’
Excellent ability and deep trust of the emperor.
The heir to the throne is, in fact, designated as the first prince.
Therefore, it could be said that the other princes and princesses were on a relatively good side.
Rather, if the succession candidates had been vaguely determined, a bloody battle would have taken place.
‘But that does not mean that the other princes and princesses have completely given up the right to succession.’
All of them were people who would show their ambitions if given the opportunity.
If Owens and Julia were not the culprits, other princes and princesses were likely to be the culprits.
3rd Prince Owens wiped away his tears.
After adjusting her appearance, she got up from her seat and asked to shake hands with Cain and Zervia.
“I greet you formally. Both of them are people who are making a lot of noise in the capital, but something unpleasant happened at the ball and we couldn’t even talk properly.”
Cain and Zerbia exchanged greetings with the 3rd Prince and the 2nd Princess respectively.
“Thanks for the help.”
“I appreciate the help too.”
Zervia asked.
“Do you have any guesses about the crime?”
“The employee who was identified as the culprit was familiar. maybe… .”
Zervia tapped Cain on the back with her elbow.
“what?”
“Pen and notebook.”
“Have you left it?”
Her gaze turned to Cain’s palm. her eyes said
it. my space.
“… … .”
Cain put his hands in his arms and took out a pen and notebook from the subspace. And handed it to Zervia.
“It would be nice if you could tell the story in more detail.”
Zerbia and the 3rd Prince opened their seats and talked.
The second princess, Julia, who was left with Cain, said with a playful smile.
“It’s been a while?”
“Long time no see. Princess.”
“I’m sorry. As soon as I arrived, I wanted to dance with you.”
“Is this the princess’s work?”
Yulia said with a burst of ‘pahat’ laughter.
“Please. If it were me, I would have chosen a more sophisticated method.”
Cain looked into Julia’s eyes and nodded slightly.
“I thought so.”
And he glanced at the third prince.
After talking with Zervia, the third prince would also have to go through the eyes of truth.
“Isn’t it exciting? The plots and strife that took place in the Imperial Palace. And a murder case.”
“The second prince is not dead yet. You must have read too many mystery novels.”
“You will be locked up in the Imperial Palace for the rest of your life. Is there anything else you can do inside?”
Julia pricked up and brought the buffet food into a bowl.
He said with a fork at a piece of meat and grumbled.
“So, when are you going to teach me magic?”
“From next month, I plan to serve as a professor at Matop. Then you can give your majesty good luck. I want to learn magic again.”
A notice will be placed on the tower.
‘If you enter the Imperial Palace in the future and build trust with the emperor, you might be hired without notice.’
“I see. Next month will be a bit long, but I’ll wait. I have no intention of learning magic from anyone other than you.”
The fork turned to Cain’s lips.
There was a piece of meat stamped on the end.
“I will not eat. It may contain poison.”
“Wow, are you doubting me now?”
Julia smiled and shoved the meat into her mouth.
“It’s fun. I thought he was the type of person who wouldn’t make jokes at all. Come see me. Tell me the story outside the wall.”
She put down the bowl and took Cain’s hand to the terrace.
The moon was still shining brightly.
* * *
“I would like to formally greet you. My name is Hudson Framing, the imperial physician.”
The corridor leading to the annex of the 4th Prince.
Hudson bowed his head and handed the business card.
“I wasn’t able to properly greet each other because I wasn’t in a good mood. This is Johann Kirif.”
The two exchanged business cards and walked along the corridor.
Tall trees lined both sides of the corridor and it felt like being sucked into a deep forest.
“I heard that the life of the second prince is not greatly affected.”
“you’re right. It was effective to administer the antidote in a short time. He is resting now.”
A relatively young age in the mid-30s.
Hana, a high-ranking imperial physician.
‘The skills must be guaranteed.’
He was one of the people who had to build friendships for the future royal family activities.
Apart from his simple skills, he seemed to be a person with a certain degree of perfection as a human being.
Although it was said that he had been awarded the title of baron by the emperor, he could not find the high-pressure attitude or arrogance characteristic of aristocrats.
“Prince Asimov seldom comes out of the annex. Because of insomnia, I can’t sleep anywhere, so my daily life is difficult… .”
Hudson’s voice suddenly darkened.
“At least it sounds like the middle age has passed.”
“Yes. Lately, the sleep cycle is getting shorter and the sleep duration is increasing.”
Then he fell asleep and was unable to open his eyes for the rest of his life.
“Still, he is the one who caused the miracle of petrification treatment, so I have hope.”
“Let’s try. Insomnia has been one of the diseases I’ve been wanting to face for a long time. But the specimens are so rare… .”
As they chatted, the two arrived at the annex.
After the corridor ended, a mansion of a size that could not be said to be small appeared.
“I was waiting. Mr Hudson. And John is right.”
After ringing the bell, the door opened and an old butler appeared.
The two walked into the mansion following the old butler.
“It’s a calm atmosphere overall.”
Cain whispered to Hudson.
The old butler who heard the whisper said.
“Yes. Compared to other princes and princesses, the size of the mansion is smaller and the number of users is small. Asimov-sama’s sleep may be disturbed, so he moves quietly.”
he added
“Recently, I’ve been sleeping deeply and I don’t think I’m awake at all from the noise around me.”
He spoke like that, as if he were telling an old story.
The party climbed the stairs and arrived in front of Prince Asimov’s room on the third floor, the top floor.
“You are sleeping now. He doesn’t wake up at all, but I’d appreciate it if you lowered your voice.”
The old butler opened the door.
As Hudson and Cain went inside, the door closed again from the outside.
In the bed, a soft-looking boy fell asleep with a hoarse breath.
Standing next to the bed was a young man with a sword around his waist.
A short tribute followed.
Hudson explained in a low voice.
“This is Prince Asimov’s escort. If the prince falls asleep during his daily life, he brings him to his bedroom.”
The two sat on a chair prepared by the bed.
Hudson lightly walked over the blanket and, with familiar gestures, checked the Prince’s breathing and pulse.
“… … .”
Cain crossed his arms and watched him.
4th Prince Asimov.
16 years old.
The youngest of the prince and princess.
A thin face line and pale white skin.
Several factors emphasized his fragile impression.
“Nothing is wrong.”
Hudson raised the blanket, which had been lowered for a while, back up to the prince’s chest.
Then he added the details to the medical journal that was on the table and handed it to Cain.
“Since the onset of insomnia two years ago, there has been no problem in my health.”
“Yes. It is known that insomnia does not show any symptoms. Other than simply getting more sleep and more frequent sleep.”
Cain went through the journal and asked the escort some questions.
These were things like the prince’s life pattern, sleep frequency, and time.
“I’m going to talk with the butler for a while.”
Hudson was absent.
The door closed and there was silence in the room.
Cain folded his arms again and looked into Prince Asimov’s face.
“… … .”
The most promising prophetic candidate,
The face of the most likely poisoning suspect.
And then, the closed eyelids began to slowly open.