033
Ten minutes before the hearing began.
Having just arrived at the assembly hall, Cleang scanned the audience seats to find a place to sit. Spotting a familiar face, he strode over with long steps.
“Long time no see, Miloa.”
“What are you doing here? Go away. There are plenty of other seats.”
Miloa waved her hand dismissively.
“But I was once your fiancé, you know.”
Cleang took the seat next to her without a care.
“When was that?”
Miloa made no attempt to hide her displeasure.
Even so, she did not get up and leave her seat. In fact, she also had many things she wanted to ask Cliang.
“Why are you helping the 5th Prince? What value does he have that you actually believe the rumors circulating that the 5th Prince is behind the Northern Liberation Army? If so, you’ve been properly deceived. The 5th Prince hasn’t had any contact with the outside world for the past 5 years. Do you think I haven’t investigated that much? It seems he’s been going outside the palace a bit recently, but……”
Miloa was a little concerned about the fact that she didn’t have the capacity to focus on the 5th Prince due to the recent near-formation of a new demon realm in the south.
“What do you mean by ‘helping’? A hearing was held, and I just contacted you to attend if possible, in case the citizens of the kingdom start making a fuss if the members of parliament don’t show up.”
At Cliang’s nonchalant answer, Miloa frowned.
“What were you thinking when you requested an open hearing?”
“Why are you asking me about the 5th Prince’s request? I was curious about it too, so if I find out the reason later, I’ll share it with you.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t your own instruction?”
Cliang just shrugged, causing Miloa’s eyes to narrow.
“You didn’t reach out to those parliament members too, did you?”
Miloa asked, looking at the six neutral faction members including Bert.
“Ho, you didn’t know? I thought you were very interested in my every move. It’s been quite a while since we broke up, you know.”
“What did you just say? Do you know how petty that sounded?”
“……”
Cliang flinched briefly at Miloa’s sharp remark. Soon, his tightly closed mouth opened.
“Isn’t it you who reached out instead?”
“Oh my, how did you know? Did you investigate me? As expected, you’re quite the sly one.”
“……”
Despite her snickering expression, Miloa was a little irritated inside.
For the privilege of immunity from arrest to be nullified, more than half of the Royal Council members must attend and vote in favor.
With all the members of the 2nd Prince’s faction attending, 15 votes were needed. The 13 members of the 1st Prince’s faction were 2 votes short.
As a result, she had to suffer an unnecessary loss to get a few neutral faction members to say, “I’ll cast my vote as my heart desires.” It was a personal loss, not a collective one, which made her even more irritated.
‘Well, since I escalated this, I can’t help it.’
Still, Miloa thought it was necessary to trample on Evan once.
At this crucial time of trying to widen the gap with the 2nd Prince’s faction, she needed to firmly suppress anything that could become a variable.
This was also a warning directed not only at the 5th Prince but also at the other princes and princesses.
“It’s starting.”
At Cliang’s words, Miloa suddenly regained her senses. Evan was seen preparing to take the oath.
‘When did he grow up so much?’
Amusingly, although Evan was someone Miloa was so concerned about, this was the first time she saw him after he had shed his “Ghost Prince” shell.
It changed, it changed, the story was heard, but I didn’t expect it to be that much.
“Vow, Evan Lionel is……”
Evan’s vow pounding in her ears.
Miloa was not conscious of it, but her instinct felt an eerie sense of unease along with the conviction that her judgment had been correct.
She sat cross-legged with her arms folded, watching the hearing.
“Your Highness the Fifth Prince. The privilege of not being arrested is not such a trivial thing that the mere hanger-on of the puppet group called the Northern Liberation Army exercises.”
Miloa flicked her index finger as she watched the giantess shooting at Evan.
‘Even dog sh*t has its uses.’
Miloa was aware that there were unsavory rumors related to Beortio, and some of them were true. However, she was merely observing because he was still hovering around the line she had drawn.
‘But he’s a man who will have to be dealt with eventually.’
When the time came, she would have to deal with him as the Second Prince had swiftly cut down the good-for-nothing Fourth Prince.
Miloa was pondering how she could ensure that Beortio’s assets and forces would be completely transferred to the royal family supporting the First Prince after his demise.
“I merely did what needed to be done. Five years ago, I spread a plague in the north to create a foothold for the Hamil Empire’s invasion, and recently, there was a small incident that occurred in the process of finding the person who dreamed of immortality and made a contract with the Demon Race, and assassinated the Fourth Prince.”
Miloa was dumbfounded by the words Evan uttered calmly. Not understanding the situation at all, she asked Cleang.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
He did not answer, but looked at Evan with an expression of amusement. Miloa saw a subordinate staff member approaching her with an urgent expression.
Miloa’s heart pounded with an inexplicable sense of unease.
“Lady Miloa, an urgent report. Ten minutes ago, the Inquisitors of the Temple of All Faiths raided Beortio’s residence.”
The Temple of All Faiths, a collective of all existing faiths on the continent. The Inquisitors affiliated with it had the authority to search even the king of a nation without notice.
A tyrant who had plunged the continent into a whirlpool of war after making a contract with the Demon Race in the past had granted them such an outrageous authority.
Of course, if the result of searching even royalty was ‘insufficient evidence’, the backlash would be no small matter. The fact that they had taken action meant that Beortio had committed acts far beyond the line Miloa had drawn.
Miloa’s eyes met Evan’s, who glanced at her.
He grinned.
– Interesting news, isn’t it?
He seemed to be saying.
‘It’s a plot by the Fifth Prince!’
Miloa’s instinct cried out.
It was clear that the Fifth Prince was trying to make the outrageous words he had just uttered a ‘truth’.
***
Kwang!
The sound of banging on the desk caught my gaze that had met Miloah’s. Beortio stood up from his seat and stomped angrily.
“5th Prince! Do you mistake this hearing room for your own playground?”
He pretended to be furious, but his eyes clearly showed a hint of unease.
‘It must have been from the moment I mentioned the Demon Tribe.’
After glancing around at the still perplexed members of the Royal Council, I finally looked at Councilor Bert, the chair.
“Today! Before questioning the validity of the privilege against arrest I exercised, I wish to accuse a member of the royal family who contracted with the Demon Tribe 5 years ago, leading to the downfall of the Northern Region, and assassinated the 4th Prince! Chairman, please allow me to speak.”
At my bold statement, a few councilors from the 1st Prince’s faction, who had been wearing puzzled expressions, seemed to realize the atmosphere was shifting strangely.
Their attacks on Beortio and me began alternating.
“This hearing is to examine the validity of the privilege against arrest exercised by the 5th Prince! It is not a place to listen to nonsensical drivel!”
“That’s right! Chairman!”
“The 5th Prince should be dismissed, and we should proceed to vote immediately!”
However, there were also those who supported me—the councilors from the 2nd Prince’s faction.
Those who had been glancing between me and Count Kleang chuckled and protected me.
“Oh-ho! Did you not hear what the 5th Prince just said? He is accusing a member of the royal family who led to the downfall of the Northern Region. Although it does not align with this hearing’s purpose, how can we simply ignore it?”
“Indeed! Could it be that you are also in league with Councilor Beortio?”
“What did you say, you wretch! You know I would not want to be anywhere near that woman!”
The councilor who had tried to stop my statement lashed out at the one who implied he was associated with Beortio.
The councilors from the 1st and 2nd Prince’s factions began shouting at each other. Soon, they were physically fighting.
*Wham! Pow!*
Desks were overturned, and fists were thrown.
‘What a mess.’
It was a scene I felt I had seen many times before somewhere.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Councilor Bert, the chairman, forcefully struck his gavel.
“Everyone, be quiet!”
As the former commander of the 3rd Knight Corps, his commanding voice infused with mana silenced the noisy room.
“5th Prince, that is an interesting story. As someone who loves this kingdom before being the chairman of this hearing, I am curious about your statement. Furthermore…the Inquisitors from the Monastery of the True Faith have joined the audience.”
The white-robed Inquisitors with their faces covered by hoods had quietly filled the audience seats without anyone noticing.
The councilors, too preoccupied with fighting each other, fell silent at the Inquisitors’ presence.
Their appearance here meant one thing.
‘They’ve discovered the Necronomicon.’
The reason I didn’t immediately apprehend Beortio was that as the prince of the Lionel Kingdom, I had to prevent the royal dignity from being tarnished by accusing her, so I made a deal beforehand to report it.
From noble mtl dot com
I looked at Beortio, who had fallen into contemplation. Her confident demeanor from when she was cornering me earlier had long since disappeared.
Her unfocused, unstable eye movements made it seem like she was in a panic.
Rather, it was better this way.
An opportunity to push forward without allowing a rebuttal.
“Five years ago! Just a few months before the Dark Bloom Plague spread to the north! You all must know that Elbat, the Duke who was Congresswoman Beortio’s husband, died of a mysterious illness. From this, Congresswoman Beortio inherited a vast fortune and a large farm.”
At my words, one of the murmuring congressmen muttered quietly,
“That was just an unexplained death from illness……”
I cut off his words abruptly.
“That’s not true! That was the very beginning of the Dark Bloom Plague! The Northern Liberation Army has been tracking the origins of the Dark Bloom Plague that suddenly appeared where it had never existed before, turning the north into a land of death. The result! They discovered that the illness the Duke suffered from at the time was the source of the Dark Bloom Plague! Beortio, coveting the Duke’s vast inheritance, assassinated him with the seeds of the Dark Bloom Plague obtained through a contract with the demon race!”
Half true, half false.
Through [the Library], I grasped the circumstances that Duke Elbat was assassinated. That Beortio likely used a homemade poison combining various toxins she obtained from the demon world.
But consuming RP to uncover every detail was unsustainable, so I stopped halfway.
‘There was no need for that anyway.’
What does the truth matter?
A Northern Liberation Army officer who infiltrated Beortio’s manor conveniently placed a cage of mice infected with the Dark Bloom Plague in the corner of her apothecary room, filled with extraordinary ingredients.
With the corpses of slaughtered infants also there, some infected mice wouldn’t seem out of place.
By now, the Inquisitors who discovered the Necronomicon would have found that too.
“So then, in exchange for that contract, you spread the Dark Bloom Plague in the north?”
I quickly added a spoonful to someone’s muttered brilliant observation.
“You all must know that an outrageous price is required for a contract with the demon race. You’ll all remember the shocking incident where a once-innocent youth gathered 100 children’s hearts to awaken his magical powers before being caught. Just imagine the price required for a Duke to assassinate a royal! To become a member of the Royal Council! To live as a power player in the kingdom!”
Honestly, some might think that price was a bit excessive.
“But to turn the north into a land of death over that seems a bit……”
“And then! A year later, only Beortio’s farm managed a bumper crop during the famine. You’ll all remember that.”
The great famine that had struck the south for the first time in 100 years. Using that as an excuse, Beortio opposed supplying provisions to the north.
In truth, this was simply because the location of Beortio’s farm was so advantageous.
So what?
While everyone else had crop failures, she alone had a bumper crop?
She was the perfect prey to be torn into.
“Indeed, from that time, Beortio’s influence became outrageously powerful. She had pocketed an enormous fortune from the soaring food prices at the time.”
“Certainly…… the energy of the entire world seemed to be helping that woman.”
“However, that was 5 years ago, so why the sudden assassination of the 4th Prince recently?”
I realized it was time to deliver the final blow.
“Recently, the Northern Liberation Army investigating Beortio uncovered another shocking fact. That she was preparing a new contract with the demon tribe!”
“A new contract?”
“For what purpose?”
I took a deep breath and continued speaking.
“Immortality! Beortio was plotting a new scheme to surpass the human lifespan permitted by the gods. She intended to plunge the North, nay, the entire kingdom into chaos to obtain immortality based on that bloodshed! The assassination of the 4th Prince was an experiment for that! And to pin it on the Northerners! She shot the 4th Prince’s heart with an arrow of a style commonly used by Northerners!”
She was the one who spread the Darkbloom Plague in the North, so assassinating the 4th Prince is nothing. I must sway public opinion so that everyone thinks that way even after this hearing ends.
With the abundance of evidence Beortio herself left in the secret warehouse in her mansion about dreaming of ‘immortality’, it won’t be too difficult.
Even if the result later turns out to be ‘it wasn’t her after all’, it doesn’t matter. As long as the notion that Beortio was the one who assassinated the 4th Prince is firmly planted in most people’s minds right now.
The suspicion that had been directed at the Northern Liberation Army will only remain in the minds of a tiny few.
The truth is weaker than one might think.
While I meticulously fabricated the Darkbloom Plague, for the evidence of assassinating the 4th Prince, all I did was plant a few arrows and forged documents in Beortio’s secret warehouse in her mansion.
…… The lack of time also played a part, to be honest.
“Nooooooooooo!”
Beortio’s scream that could shatter ears.
It seems she has regained her senses from her panicked state. I clicked my tongue softly as I had been gleefully ranting.
“I, I did not assassinate the 4th Prince!”
“Oh, so you admit the other things are true. Like assassinating your ex-husband, Duke Elbat.”
“That wasn’t like the Darkbloom Plague!”
But she still didn’t seem fully sane. Realizing she had misspoken, Beortio hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands.
I toyed with her, swinging between truth and lies.
“So the assassination is true, then. At that time, it wasn’t the Darkbloom Plague yet. You created a more vicious strain and spread it as the Darkbloom Plague. Or do you perhaps dislike the name ‘Darkbloom Plague’ that the Northerners gave it?”
“No, no! Th, this is someone’s scheme!!”
I looked towards the Inquisitors seated in the audience. I fixed my gaze on the one whose robe bore patterns embroidered with golden thread.
The highest-ranking Inquisitor present here.
“The Necronomicon was discovered in Beortio’s mansion, was it not?”
“……. That’s right.”
From the heavy voice, I sensed a hint that my question was not welcomed.
Did they realize they were being used?
It’s none of my business.
I don’t have time now to analyze what’s going through the inquisitor’s mind. All I need is for the facts to come out of his mouth.
“Is there any greater evidence than this?”
I asked, looking around the audience.
At that, Beortio let out a loud scream.
“No! Noooooo! You bastard! You’re the one who sent that to me!”
If we were alone, I would have applauded.
That’s the right answer.