67 – 67. CHAPTER 1 (1)
[1. Prove innocence from knights, including those who do not know the details.] ☑
[2. Prove Theo Ramstaire’s guilt.] ☑
[3. Prevent radical actions by Radiel and Mark within the induction period.] ☑
[4. Flora’s guilt exceeds 70%.] ☑
▶ All clear conditions of Episode V have been met! ◀
-Ding!
▶ Cleared Episode V. Broken Wings! ◀
▶ Proved innocence in the training ground within the induction period! ◀
▶ Perception rating of the training ground rises to reputation level! ◀
▶ The danger level of all areas in the training ground changes! ◀
[1st Knight Order Training Ground: General]
With the name spoken by Radiel, the status window displayed numerous words, and eventually the episode was cleared.
From then on, they didn’t pay much attention and left the training ground.
With such a major incident occurring, there was no one crazy enough to hold me back unless they were training.
This incident caused many of Carsane’s enemies to disappear from the training ground.
Teo Ramstair and his gang were in a hurry to chase us away, but ended up being imprisoned instead.
The knights, who were only thinking about vengeance, realized there was some sort of deal involved in what they had entrusted to Mark and Radiel, so they shifted their focus.
Flora, Emma’s strong supporter, paled and hesitantly took a seat.
With all three types of dangerous enemies gone due to clearing the episodes, it was finally time to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Well, I still need to wrap things up neatly.”
Upon completing Episode V in the game, there was an unsettling aspect to it.
Starting and ending with Flora meant that persuading just Flora didn’t feel like the end, as multiple events were intertwined with convincing her.
And indeed, it was so.
Firstly, it was expected that Karsein’s false charges would be dropped at the trial, but Teo wasn’t going to sit still after being imprisoned.
He wouldn’t just accept quietly going to the Empire’s most heinous prison for criminals. So, he soon requests a trial.
Secondly, Emma, who was locked in solitary confinement, was soon to be released. In sync with Teo Ramstair’s trial timing, Emma’s release would strengthen Teo’s position.
Ultimately, just like the past seen at Karsein’s Memorial, it would lead to a trial.
That’s why we need to make moves in advance.
Thud-!
“Ugh, ugh…!”
“If you don’t want to die, it’s best not to move.”
On the 6th day, when Emma, driven mad by worry over Teo’s absence, ordered a maid to bring the ledger, that was the moment to strike.
“K-Karsein’s henchman… I’m not him. I’m not doing that…!”
It wasn’t like a knife was being pressed against her throat, but the maid was trembling in fear.
Perhaps, she was being threatened in some way too.
▶ Emma’s sent maid was found in the guard’s warehouse! ◀
▶ Obtained items! ◀
■ Possessed Items ■
▶ [Emma’s Secret Ledger]
▶ [Emma’s Approval Documents]
“I wondered where the other two were. They were here all along?”
This side was dark as well.
In the game, it seemed like something the maid was giving, but there was another hidden on the opposite side of the seal I had torn off.
After grabbing the documents, I put away the sword I had pressed against the maid and said, “Go and give this to Emma.”
“Yes, yes?”
“You were forced to come all the way here because of threats. If you deliver this, there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“T-Thank you! Thank you, sir!”
The tearful maid bowed repeatedly to me before leaving.
▶ Reputation at the Duke’s rises! ◀
“…Why is my reputation over there rising?”
In any case, with this, Episode VI. The most crucial evidence for the retrial of Shapell Forest Incident had been secured.
Facing two enemies with nowhere to retreat due to the retrial of the Shapell Forest Incident, by investigating this evidence and other data, I could create options I could use.
“Let’s endure a few more days.”
Resting wouldn’t be too late even after the trial.
It’s time to move a bit more for the conclusion of Chapter 1.
And to make sure they don’t get away easily, to definitively condemn them.
Now is the time to move a little more.
***
“…Ugh?”
Flora groaned as she opened her eyelids.
“Where… am I?”
It wasn’t a familiar ceiling.
But lying in bed, feeling the bedsheet, Flora could only guess why and had to sit up on her own.
“And then… did I faint?”
Flora, clutching the blanket tightly, turned her head to glance around.
It wasn’t a room filled with her belongings.
It was a room filled only with essential supplies, and furniture focused more on practicality than decoration.
Looking at the sandy beach through the window, she realized she had collapsed on the battlefield.
And then, almost naturally, she began to grope for memories right before she fell.
“Teo Ramstair. He’s the culprit who stabbed me in the back and framed me before the lord.”
“…”
The blanket was tightly gripped in her delicate hands.
What on earth had she done?
The heavy falsehood born of shallow emotions weighed endlessly upon her.
That one false testimony had created prejudice in someone.
The prejudice spread incessantly.
It broke her goals, shattered the wings she could have spread, and made her realize too late that she was advocating for a real criminal.
“What should I do at a time like this?”
There was always someone to advise her at times like this.
Someone to quickly ease her anxious heart.
But now, there was no one.
The kind knight who used to soothe her restless heart.
The nanny who had taken care of her since childhood and told her to trust only herself.
At this point, they had become people she could never trust.
Hence, there was no one to tell her what to say to Carcein at the moment.
She hunched her body.
Covered herself with the blanket.
She wanted to escape somewhere.
But she couldn’t escape.
Even if she closed her eyes and blocked her ears, her own past that tormented Carcein haunted her and kept coming back.
Amidst this turmoil, a maid opened the door and entered.
Flora reacted nervously.
“Who are you! You can’t come in right awa—”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were coughing, Miss Flora.”
Flora pushed away the blanket she had covered, thinking it might be a maid sent by Emma.
The maid entering through the blue walls was not Emma’s maid.
“Who are you…?”
“I had to step in because I had to bring clothes and food until Miss Flora’s maids arrived.”
The maid bowed politely and took a step back.
She was Camilla, Carcein’s maid.
“I apologize for the intrusion. Since Miss Flora’s maids will arrive shortly, I will leave.”
Flora immediately shouted at Camilla’s words.
“No, don’t go!”
Her maids were all close friends with Emma.
Absolutely. They should never be called.
“Miss Flora?”
Camilla raised an eyebrow.
“There are a few things I want to ask you…”
“Speak.”
Camilla spoke as if urging Floria to ask with proper manners.
Unlike the other maids, there was no smile on her face. Therefore, Floria felt relieved and could ask questions.
“By any chance… how long have I been here?”
“According to the knights, it was about 3 hours ago when you collapsed. I just returned from my vacation, so I’m not sure about the details.”
“I see… Then, about calling the other maids…?”
“Since you were sleeping, I deemed it inappropriate to wake you up, so I came to call you now that you’ve just woken up.”
“I see. If you haven’t called them yet… then, please don’t call them.”
“Understood.”
It seemed like the fact hadn’t been revealed to the Duke yet.
Time had been gained.
Moreover.
“…Camilla. Yes, perhaps it’s okay to ask this maid.”
One cannot ask a villain who hides behind a kind mask and manipulates the knights with money after breaking their wings.
But, what about this maid?
She could provide honest advice to herself, who didn’t know what to say to Karcein. She was someone who could do that.
The dilemma didn’t last long.
The lips that had been tightly closed soon parted.
“How were you able to free yourself by saying something to Karcein?”
-Ding!
▶Floria Vagrand’s Intimacy Box is reactivated!◀
[Current Level: 20%]
***
Teo Ramstair.
As a result of his actions at the waterway, all those involved were now in prison.
Of course, Karcein made one mistake here.
It was an excessive measure.
While the public opinion had turned against him, except for the handkerchief of his fiancée, it was normal to be imprisoned for about a day, excluding the rules of the knights and the equalization period of the initiation.
Therefore, he pointed out this issue, criticized the dismissal and the excessive punishment of being sent to the Tulea Mines, and even added a rebuttal that malice was involved.
However.
“Damn it…! What the hell happened?!”
No signs of clemency were in sight no matter how much time passed.
No. If he hadn’t overheard those words in the first place, wouldn’t any knight, regardless of rank, know that it was an excessive measure, but still chose to ignore it?
The expected one-day imprisonment was already passing the second night.
Since the incident, the formal knights who had shown no interest in Karcein were not trying to reduce the sentence but were resorting to violence against those in confinement.
Then suddenly, based on the words of a maid sent by Emma.
-It’s said that the knights are petitioning to send Teo to the Tulea Mines…
It was reported that an attempt to deliberately turn Teo into a criminal was caught.
“Damn it, are these guys in their right minds?!”
Does that make sense?
You’re from the same knight order.
Until recently, you were his successor, and in just two more months, you would have been colleagues as formal knights.
Does it make sense for you to tarnish his honor by publicly stating that a criminal came from the same knight order?
Teo angrily vented his frustration against the cold prison walls.
The other knights nearby also shrunk back at his fierce outburst.
“Why so loud?”
Vice Commander Mark entered at the right moment.
If it were Commander Radiel, it might have been different, but with this man, words could get through.
Seeing an opportunity, Teo quickly seized it.
“I demand a trial for Karcein’s excessive sentence!”
Anyway, it seems like I will have to execute my brother as it is. In that case, I must go out to the court.
“I am willing to accept punishment for my wrong actions, but I cannot accept being sent to toil in the Tulea Mines without a fair trial. Please request an official trial from the Duke!”
The expression he made when he resisted with a drawn sword after the trial, only to have it taken away, is still vivid in my mind.
After provoking him a few more times, he was rendered speechless in the training ground.
It’s the same.
Take away, provoke.
We may have lost a few people, but public opinion hasn’t completely turned against us yet, and if we stamp him once more as a liar, it won’t be much different from before.
This might even lead to driving Carcine out of the training ground, or even out of the Duke’s estate altogether.
“And if that happens, you better be prepared, Carcine.”
Theo’s teeth gritted.
Is causing wounds to this body not enough, leading to such a disaster?
He won’t have an easy time of it.
“Hmm, understood. I will pass on the message.”
Mark, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, left with a positive attitude.
The trial should proceed smoothly.
In the court, arguments from the past will likely be advantageous.
But, now that I think about it, another obstacle has arisen.
“Why on earth did Flora take Carcine’s side?”
No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand this side.
The lady who used to follow orders so well, the naive lady of the Duke’s estate who was so easy to manipulate, why is she suddenly hindering herself?
I couldn’t fathom how she could detest Carcine so much, yet try to stop him and call for other knights to be summoned.
“Um, Theo… We’re okay, right?”
This guy.
Are we okay?
He’s making unlucky remarks when my patience is already wearing thin.
-Thunk!
“Ugh!”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Y-You bastard, why are you making such an obvious noise!”
Theo stopped beating his subordinate to unconsciousness only when he was on the verge of passing out.
***
Three days passed.
The deadline for Episode V has ended, and if there were no incidents, I would have been promoted to a full-fledged knight by now.
There is no longer any crisis looming in the training ground.
Still, I moved diligently, preparing for the upcoming Episode VI.
I had to gather evidence to secure additional options quickly, even after capturing the maid Emma sent or secretly switching documents.
So, as usual, I naturally left the knights’ quarters today…
“Apologies! Lord Carcine!”
As soon as I stepped out, the knights in the hallway began to kneel and bow, their hands behind their backs.
“Please punish us for suspecting you of being the culprit!”
“Please punish us!”
Led by Mark, they all thundered the last lines.
Damn. What the hell is this?
I thought it was a group gathering, but now I see that everyone here is a full-fledged knight without exception.
In the midst of this crazy scene, my head spun for a moment.
But, just when things seemed dizzying enough, another troublesome person appeared.
“Lord, we have been waiting.”
The steward Heron, who seemed to have been scrambling through documents, and Shayden holding a medical box.
Both of them are bowing to me.
Even.
Tick tock, tick tock.
The sound of wooden clogs echoed sharply.
The purple silk room swayed like waves in sync with the elegant footsteps.
Gradually, the purple threads that swayed like waves in the sunlight came to a stop.
“Someone dared to doubt the relationship between Confucius and me?”
Harney smirked as she spoke.
Why is this woman here again?
It felt like an unexpected development was arising within the game.
Finnally a comeback