034
The Royal Square of Barona.
The place that was empty when the hearing began was now so crowded with people that there was no room to step. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the scene of the hearing projected by the magic lantern.
“The Necronomicon was found in Beortio’s mansion, wasn’t it?”
“……. That’s right.”
After hearing the inquisitor’s answer, Evan looked around the audience. Those gathered in the square felt as if they had made eye contact with him. They gulped down their tension, as if their throats were dry.
“Is there any greater evidence than this?”
The square fell silent.
“No! Noooooo! You bastard! You’re the one who sent that to me!”
“That damn b*tch ruined my hometown, and now she’s trying to devour the whole kingdom? Is that it?”
The shrill voice of a plump middle-aged woman drowned out Beortio’s scream. Her accent and intonation clearly indicated she was from the north.
“Hey! Be careful, woman. She’s royalty, royalty. You’ll be arrested by the Royal Guard if you’re not careful.”
Her husband hurriedly covered her mouth.
“Let me go! Even if I’m arrested, I have to say what needs to be said. People! That damn woman killed our parents, relatives, and siblings!”
“That wretched b*tch!”
“Execute her immediately!”
“Uwaaah!”
In an instant, the square turned into a chaotic cauldron. People were about to rush towards the palace, shouting for Beortio’s immediate execution.
“Hey, hey, hey! Everyone, please calm down!”
“Stop it! Stop it! Calm the people down!”
“Argh! Backup! We need backup!”
The security forces, who never imagined such a large crowd would gather, were woefully understaffed to control the agitated masses.
On the roof of a three-story mansion overlooking the square, someone watched the excited people.
It was Austin, wearing a fox mask.
The middle-aged woman who first shouted in the square and her husband were slipping away from the crowd.
Austin watched the two, recalling a conversation with the 5th Prince.
– “Do people really believe that Beortio tried to drag the kingdom into the abyss of hell?”
– “Austin, the masses are not as wise as you might think. Deploy a few rumor-mongers for me, and you’ll understand what I mean.”
“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”
“Argh! Everyone, calm down!”
“Don’t push! Don’t push!”
It really happened as the 5th Prince said.
– “Later, the Manshin Church or the 1st Prince’s camp might reveal that many of the 5th Prince’s claims were false, especially the part about assassinating the 4th Prince. No matter how I think about it, the evidence we fabricated is hardly convincing.”
– “It’s alright. By then, most citizens won’t care who really assassinated the 4th Prince. Even if there’s a problem, it won’t matter much.”
– “What do you mean?”
– “As always, people are more interested in current events than past ones.”
– “Are you saying…you’ll do something like this again?”
– “I’d rather avoid such things if possible. It’s quite costly for me too.”
– “Costly?”
– “Yes, in a way.”
‘What could it be? What cost did the 5th Prince incur? And that intelligence…how did he obtain it?’
Austin wondered.
Beortio’s schedule and the routes of his guards.
Secret warehouses unknown even to servants.
The moments when the mansion’s security was lax.
Above all, the fact that Beortio wanted the Necronomicon.
He had suspected that information didn’t just enter and leave her mind.
Thanks to the intel provided by Evan, the Northern Liberation Army could fabricate evidence to drive out Beortio without any harm.
‘5th Prince, he’s truly a fearful person.’
– If you are feeling that uneasy, there is a way. Upon reflection, this approach seems cleaner than creating a new incident.
– What is it?
“5th Princeaaah! You, you to me- Arghhhhh!”
Beorteuo, who was screaming at the hearing, her face and entire body started grotesquely bulging with black veins.
“Kill her! Kill her······?”
“Calm down! Calm down······?”
The shouts echoing across the plaza fell silent.
The excited citizens of Barona and the security forces trying to restrain them all stared with dumbfounded expressions at Beorteuo, projected by the magic lantern.
“Oh my, goodness! The contract with the demon tribe has been broken!”
A middle-aged woman shouted loudly as she left the plaza, disappearing without a trace.
– The dead have no words.
Watching Beorteuo’s grotesque transformation and gurgling sounds, Ostin deeply engraved in his mind that he must never cross the 5th Prince.
***
In my previous life at the orphanage.
Even on sweltering summer nights when it was hard to breathe, I would turn off all the fans when sleeping. This was because of media reports that sleeping with a fan on could be fatal.
Even after growing up, I believed it was true for a while.
And when I told some acquaintances the truth about the fan rumor, about half didn’t believe me. They were actually quite intelligent people, one by one.
– The masses are foolish.
At that moment, I realized those words rang true.
“Gurk! Gurk! Gurglegurgle!”
“Save her! Save her no matter what!”
“Wr, wrong!”
The hearing hall had descended into chaos.
The inquisitors were pouring divine power through every orifice to save Beorteuo, who was oozing black blood.
A futile effort.
Healing with divine power is not omnipotent. Even if one’s natural healing ability is extremely enhanced, if the force trying to extinguish life is stronger, it only prolongs the suffering.
The spirit capsule Beorteuo took this morning contained an extreme poison, requiring at least four high bishop-level clergy present to treat, mixed in instead of the original ingredients.
It’s a poison passed down by a minority tribe shaman in the Eastern Continent, over a month’s voyage by ship from the Arya Kingdom.
Whether the true nature of that poison will be revealed later, I can’t say for sure. For now, I’ll bet it wasn’t me.
Originally considering the speed at which the capsule dissolves, the reaction should have come about an hour later, during the inquisitors’ escort. It was a bit disconcerting that the incident occurred earlier than expected.
“Kuh, kuhk, I, I’m not······.”
“Don’t close your eyes! Stay alive!”
It was a poison used locally by the priests to turn those they disliked into “humans cursed by an evil spirit.”
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As such, Beortio’s appearance was miserable.
To what extent······ Yes, it was similar to that of a contractor who received the demon tribe’s gift in advance but failed to fulfill the contract terms.
“Uweok, uweweok.”
“Ack! This human is so filthy!”
Among those gathered in the court, a few with weaker constitutions were nauseous from the repulsion.
“I, I’m not- khuk!”
“No!!”
Despite the desperate efforts of the inquisitors, Beortio’s movements stopped.
“He, he’s dead.”
“Lo, Lord Lorens.”
Showing how desperate they were, the one named Lorens leading the inquisitors had his monk’s hood ripped off, and his blond hair, which would have shaken the negligence of many women, was drenched in sweat and disheveled.
With a dejected expression, he swiftly turned his head and glared at me.
「Your relationship with Lorens Firenze has dramatically worsened.」
One of the countless flickering notifications in the corner of my vision particularly caught my eye.
‘What do I do?’
While the inquisitors of the Holy Cathedral have the authority to search even the king without notice, they do not have the authority to investigate the death of royalty due to a power struggle.
To do so, they would have to link me to the demon tribe······.
‘If you can, go ahead and try.’
I gazed at Lorens with such an expression.
Soon, he bit his lip and turned his head toward Beortio’s corpse.
I also looked at what had been Beortio. This was the first time I had actually seen someone die in relation to me. Moreover, she was a target I had directly taken action against.
I was calmer than expected.
She deserved to die. To the extent that while using [Library] to investigate, I felt resentment towards her inhuman actions.
Due to her draining blood to the limit, there was a whole cartload of someone’s daughter, sister, or young sister who······.
Let’s stop there, I’m getting riled up.
“Chairman Bert. We will······ take care of the corpse.”
“Do as he says.”
The inquisitors, who had been Beortio, left the hearing room. Before leaving through the door, Lorenz gave me one last look.
– We’ll meet again someday.
That’s the kind of look it seemed like.
I shook my head firmly. I’m too busy surviving in the palace to get involved with the factions. I feel a little sorry for using him, so I plan to pay him back if I get the chance.
‘But who knows if that chance will come.’
After the inquisitors disappeared, the chaotic hearing room calmed down somewhat.
I glanced around at the 29 councilors looking at me, and those sitting in the audience seats. Their gazes had changed.
– So it was you.
– You did it.
– You devoured Beortio, didn’t you?
They didn’t say it out loud, but that’s what they were asking me.
I clapped loudly in my mind.
As expected of those sitting as members of the Royal Council. Unlike the foolish masses, you noticed that it was my doing. Did you enjoy my little show?
Of course, I didn’t give them any answer outwardly.
I glanced at the insanely piled-up notification windows at the corner of my vision.
“Your relationship with Alberto Rion has worsened.”
“Your relationship with Ricardo Rion has improved.”
“Your relationship with Soleon Rion has……”
‘I can’t make heads or tails of this.’
Even though they were councilors of the First Prince’s faction, there were those whose relationships improved and those whose relationships worsened, including some from the Second Prince’s neutral faction.
It seemed that even though they pretended to be on the same side and laughed together, their true feelings were all different. I was reminded once again of what kind of place the palace was.
I checked only the important figures.
First…… there was no notification about Count Cleang, so it seems he had no particular change of heart. Or at least not enough to change our relationship.
“Your relationship with Miloa Christie has drastically worsened.”
I nodded my head at the notification about Count Miloa. It would have been more questionable if it said the relationship had improved.
The most important figure was……
“Your relationship with Bert Rion has improved.”
‘Thank goodness.’
That thought crossed my mind first. To be honest, I was a little worried that Beortio might die in the hearing room instead of being dragged away in shackles.
I was worried that I might be misunderstood as a venomous character.
I looked at Councilor Bert.
He stroked his chin, observing me. I couldn’t read his thoughts at all. He was different from his son Gert, the captain of the 3rd knightly order.
Gert used to respond with his expressions to every word I said. Would he also change like this if he retired from the knightly order and entered central politics?
Just imagining that made me feel amused yet scared.
***
Ayes 12, Nays 15, Abstentions 2.
Miloa gritted her teeth as she saw the vote results on nullifying Evan’s privilege of non-arrest.
The members of the royal council supporting the 1st Prince looked at her with an expression that they had done their job, and left the hearing room.
Miloa growled softly towards Count Cliang sitting next to her.
“Can the 5th Prince handle this?”
“……. It wasn’t a butterfly or moth.”
A meaningless remark.
Miloa frowned. Cliang, not minding her, muttered softly.
“……. It was a viper.”
Miloa couldn’t understand how this situation had arisen. As soon as she left the hearing room, she planned to conduct a thorough investigation.
One thing was certain.
She agreed with the word ‘viper’ that Cliang had just uttered.
‘We must not provoke it carelessly.’
The 5th Prince, the Northern Liberation Army, and the six neutral councilors.
Individually, they seemed insignificant, but together, they formed the shape of a viper with sharp fangs.
The situation was completely different from five years ago when the nobles were tightly united, and from now when the factions were divided with the 1st and 2nd Princes as the centers.
Depending on how we tame that viper, we could inflict fatal wounds on the opponent.
‘We must be the ones to tame it.’
Or……..
‘There’s also a way to reach an agreement with the 2nd Prince’s side and get rid of the viper in advance.’
A sharp light flickered in Miloa’s eyes as she glanced at Cliang.
Meanwhile.
Evan, standing alone in the hearing room.
“Achievement, ‘I am a Prince of this country!’ has been attained.”
“[Support] has been unlocked.”
“The [Panacea] has been unlocked.”
….
With the fanfare of messages popping up before his eyes, he was too intrigued to pay attention to Miloa and Cliang watching him from the audience seats.