127 – Smiling Prince Maker (4)
An office located on one side of the cathedral.
Devialet, who was almost crushed under a pile of documents, held his aching head.
It has to be.
I have been on the front line for half my life and have seen many scenes, but this is the first time I have encountered an incident that was so unpredictable and had no clue.
‘difficult.’
I have seen many temples dedicated to strange gods. However, the ominous phrase written in the blood of devils is difficult to find even in the central library of one’s home country.
The only evidence found at the scene was the devil’s blood traces, and there were no precedents to refer to, so he was realizing the limits of his abilities.
smart-
“Come in.”
Devialet said without even checking who knocked on the door. Currently, there was only one other person who could freely enter and leave the depths of the cathedral.
“Excuse me.”
Siron bowed his head and bowed politely. He had a folder and a tray in his hands, and judging by the distinct scent that quickly filled the room, it was coffee.
Dalkak-
Devialet chuckled at the neatly placed tea tables in front of him.
“Why did you prepare all this? You must be busy with the interrogation.”
“I just happened to need an excuse to take a break.”
“…That’s right. Of course.”
Siron’s witty joke. Devialet laughed out loud, took his eyes off his papers and looked at his watch.
‘…It’s already time.’
The short needle points to 7. It was 7 o’clock when I checked a little while ago, and it looks like I stayed up all night again. Devialet sipped the coffee in front of him and closed his eyes.
“Brother Shiron. Can I ask you something?”
“Do you need to ask for permission? You can do as much as you want.”
“I read in the editorial that a boss who talks about work during breaks can be considered quite unlikable.”
Having said that, Devialet took a deep breath. The aroma was very good, perhaps because it was brewed by the aristocratic boy himself, but due to an unresolved incident, he could not fully enjoy the aroma of the coffee.
“How is the interrogation of the suspects going?”
“Now we’re in the final stage… but we’re having a pretty tough time right now. All the suspects are denying the charges as if they kissed each other…”
Shiron sighed deeply and lowered his head.
“True. How can a person be so shameless?”
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t conduct interrogations involving torture like in the past.”
“…You might make a false confession to avoid immediate pain.”
“I understand.”
Devialet patted Chiron, who was shrinking.
Although the young man might have been dissatisfied with the continuous vigil, he not only did what he was told to do, but also found work on his own, which made Devialet, who was leading the investigation, feel sorry for him.
“Cardinal. Now that I think about it, I received a letter from Lucerne.”
“Correspondence?”
“This appears to be the answer to the request for Seongmae-toe’s dispatch that was requested last time.”
“Give it to me.”
Devialet opened the envelope held out.
“hmm…”
“Can I ask what is written on it?”
“There is no sound. It seems that the knights are coming to Rien soon. And the delegation to face the emperor is also coming.”
“No, even accompanied by a delegation?”
“Anyway, it’s a matter of putting an armed group right in front of the imperial castle. And.”
Devialet put down the empty glass and continued.
“It seems that the country does not view this incident as a mere trick of cultists. You are also suspicious of it in your heart.”
“…I would be lying if I said no.”
Six temple appearances. The locations all appeared on the private property of those who supported the 1st Prince, Austin. I don’t know if it happened once or twice, but as it happened one after another, I had no choice but to extend my investigative net in that direction.
Siron adjusted his glasses with one hand. Although he had good eyesight, he had to wear low-prescription glasses when he was looking at files.
“No matter how you look at it, this incident appears to have resulted from a battle of interests between the 1st and 3rd princes.”
“also…”
Devialet squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.
I wondered if they would attract evil demons into the competition for the imperial throne, but when things turn out like this, it is natural to be suspicious.
“If you think that way, it also makes sense for those who are currently being ‘protected’ by the cathedral to unanimously claim their innocence. If we assume that they were tricked by someone who wanted their downfall, it would be even more true.”
“So, are you saying the third prince is the culprit?”
“no.”
In response to Siron’s question, Devialet shook his head in denial.
“The person who initiated the incident is probably connected to a high-ranking devil. According to the literature, devils never follow humans and only cooperate through ‘deals’.”
“…”
“It seems unlikely that a human with enough numbers to make a deal with the devil would use such a lax move. Rather, it seems like he knows that the priests of Lucerne will intervene and is aiming to deceive them.”
“then…”
“I could make many assumptions, but first I thought of two cases.”
Devialet began writing on a blank piece of paper.
“I heard that the 3rd prince has a weaker political foundation than the 1st prince. In that case, it can be seen as an act of informing the public that the 3rd prince took unreasonable measures to reverse the difference. In other words, it was done in hopes of the 3rd prince’s downfall. “I think so.”
“So, are you saying that the 1st Prince’s faction staged the incident arbitrarily?”
Siron touched his lips and focused on Devialet’s remarks.
It was an act done to tarnish the reputation of the 1st Prince, Austin, but he had to be careful as the fire could spread to him for no reason. He didn’t say anything and waited for his next words to continue.
“That means that such an interpretation is possible.”
“What is the second?”
“…Can you come this close?”
Devialet gestured to Siron and cleared his throat.
“It’s a cultist’s deception.”
“yes?”
Now that we’re back to square one, Siron’s eyes widen at the completely unexpected remark.
“Why does that happen? Isn’t there an example of the third prince making a deal with the devil to reverse the unfavorable charter?”
“Are you a citizen of Rien?”
“Yeah, well… that’s right.”
“How many times have you been dispatched? Excluding Lucerne and Rien.”
“I’m still inexperienced, so I’m outside the southern conflict area…”
Shiron said while rubbing the nape of her neck. For some reason, I feel like the story is falling into Samcheonpo.
Devialet, who didn’t care about Shiron’s reaction, started drawing a map on a blank piece of paper. A mountain range almost drawn in a line on a huge continent. Rien’s border that blocks the waves of demon beasts from crossing over him.
Devialet, who realized the approximate situation, opened his mouth.
“There are more people than you think who want Lien’s downfall.”
“What is that story about? If Lien falls, who will stop the demonic beasts?”
Instead of respecting Lien’s ‘hegemony’ that extends across the continent, other countries, including its princely state, use Lien as a kind of breakwater. That is the diplomatic principle that extends to this world.
“It is assumed that there is a nation that shares the same views as the cultists who worship an evil god, or an interest group of a similar size.”
“It was the work of an external agent… That’s what you’re saying.”
“It’s my personal opinion, so don’t take it too seriously.”
After Devialet finished speaking, he started organizing his desk.
“The second assumption is too far-fetched. I think it is right to act based on the first assumption. What do you think?”
“There is no particular difference of opinion, but there are some issues.”
“Something?”
“Didn’t you say that a s*xual assault is coming from Lucerne right now? If it is solely due to political strife, and if there is a clear result to be achieved, I think we will end the situation before the situation escalates further.”
Siron turned his gaze to the document Devialet was holding.
As the board gets bigger, the variables increase. If that happens, you will be unable to control the situation.
What Siron wants is the downfall of the first prince, not the international diplomatic arena, which he does not want to get involved in.
But even excluding that, Austin is probably in a difficult situation in many ways right now.
If the Holy Imperial Kingdom’s full-scale intervention takes place, the emperor will also delay the installation of the crown prince.
‘I’ll do something.’
From what I saw last time in Night of the Long Sword, Austin seemed quite eager to become an emperor. It was not difficult to infer that just by looking at his actions of openly crushing his rival, Viktor, in a public place.
In the end, Austin will die before living his life. In the original, Viktor died before graduating from the academy, so even he, who knows his condition well, must be in a lot of trouble.
“If it were me, I think I could make extreme choices.”
“Assassination?”
“…I think that went too far.”
A bloody sound that came out of nowhere. Anyway, I had no intention of assassinating Austin. Siron cleared his throat in embarrassment for a moment and tried to continue the conversation.
“I think I will commit perjury to accuse my competitor of being a devil worshiper. If I expose the devil to the world and make him say my opponent’s name, wouldn’t the situation end there?”
Siron stared at Devialet, who was looking at him with interest.
“So, my opinion is that it would be better to conduct surveillance under the guise of escort.”
If you offer not only the justification of being a suspect, but also the justification of escorting him, Austin won’t be able to refuse. It’s probably a situation where you can’t sleep properly because of an invisible demon.
In the meantime, if Victor’s foundation is built, victory is a given.