Chapter 35

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Princess Only Deals in the Real Thing 41

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Ayrun fixed his gaze intently on me as I paled in an instant.

His eyes were deep like the ocean yet unnaturally still, betraying no hint of emotion.

"There will be no second chance. Be advised that refusing the search allows for forced execution, and summary disposition is possible."

I swallowed hard and nodded.

"I have no intention of doing that. I'll open the door for you—take a look yourself."

Glancing at Alter, I saw him furrowing his brow.

I gave a subtle wave to signal it was still fine, then pulled out the key to the second floor while lost in thought.

'I first spotted the article because of the name Hugo. But even after realizing it was someone else with the same name, the reason I kept reading was...'

[...A massacre of unknown origin in the office...]

'Because the circumstances were just too suspicious!'

Several months from now.

Ayrun Hugo Radien would be found late at night in his office, his body a shredded corpse.

They said it looked gruesome, as if mauled by a wild beast.

'But beasts or monsters roaming the imperial palace? Even if there were, would the Imperial Holy Knight Captain fall to something like that?'

Moreover, the scene was impeccably clean.

Aside from some scattered black sand and shards of thin glass here and there.

Everyone else figured it couldn't have been a beast either.

Amid testimonies from knights about hearing an explosion, consensus had formed around a terrorist attack by a mage.

But the investigation results flipped everything on its head.

'...No spells were present. No traces of mana use by any mage.'

And then, discovered in his home of all places—a black magic tome.

'Illegal magic tools and forbidden books piled high in a secret compartment.'

[...Shock as Imperial Holy Knight Captain Ayrun Hugo Radien revealed to have died attempting forbidden black magic...]

Just like that, the brightest sword became the disgrace of all knighthood in an instant, buried in obscurity.

All his achievements dismissed as black magic trickery, his records even erased.

A venomous serpent hiding in the heart of the palace!

The furious imperial family disbanded the Holy Knight Order on the spot, filling the vacancies with...

'Knights handpicked by Regent King Crodil.'

Click.

I opened the door to the second floor and stepped back.

Bit my lip as I watched Ayrun's back while he inspected the pawned goods.

'No matter how I turn it over, it just doesn't add up.'

Hearing he possessed mana as the Holy Knight Captain made some pieces fit.

But I couldn't buy that newspaper story.

It wasn't some baseless hunch that a Holy Knight Captain wouldn't stoop to that.

'Who in their right mind casts black magic in their own office? A secret lair or private home, sure.'

I reasoned it out logically.

Would they risk their neck in plain sight where discovery meant instant death?

And besides.

'Everything after that fell into place too perfectly. Like someone had orchestrated the whole thing.'

Crodil Marquis.

He swooped in as if waiting, stuffing the Holy Knight Order's vacancies with his cronies.

Common sense after the Ayrun scandal would've demanded lengthy vetting, yet it happened lightning-fast, like they'd been pre-screened.

Only one conclusion fit.

'Crodil knew. That Ayrun was slated for a disgraceful death. Which means...!'

Crodil was the culprit.

Not content with plotting Ayrun's demise, he fabricated the evidence too.

The forbidden books and tools? Slipped in after he was dead.

As I gnawed my lip, Ayrun—brooch in hand, scanning the pawned items—turned to face me.

"This holy artifact."

He pointed from a distance at the ring in the display case.

The one I'd borrowed from the temple.

"Through what channel did you acquire it?"

Racking my brain, I replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, that ring? Borrowed it from the temple."

"A holy artifact from the temple... For what purpose?"

"Same reason as anyone—wanted some blessings. The borrowing certificate's right there next to it. Want to take a look?"

"I've checked it. But."

Ayrun's eyes gleamed sharply.

"You don't strike me as a World Tree Temple devotee. No symbols or icons of the World Tree in this pawnshop, right?"

"Does the symbol matter? True faith lives in the heart."

"If it was just a simple borrow, why not mention it during the last inspection?"

"You didn't say exactly what you were after. Besides, I followed due process for a legit borrow—had no clue it'd be an issue. So, are we done?"

His clipped barrage built mounting pressure.

Yet Ayrun stared as I fired back point by point.

'Rina's pendant's already stashed away somewhere Ayrun could never find.'

The tracking brooch for holy artifacts doesn't pinpoint specifics.

He bragged he could track them, but that's tomorrow's problem.

So for now, just survive this grilling.

But.

"No. We're not done."

"...Pardon?"

"Everything you've said is a lie."

I froze for a moment, then smiled and asked.

"Got any basis for that conclusion?"

"Contradictions abound. Faith in the heart matters most, yet you borrow a holy artifact? Contradiction one."

Cool and cutting, Ayrun dissected it step by step.

"A certificate with no date—impossible to verify when borrowed—yet flaunted right there? Contradiction two."

"Sorry, but that still sounds thin on evidence."

"Does it? Then explain the twitching at the corner of your eye. Open the third-floor door."

'Damn.'

Not the Holy Knight Captain for nothing.

'Doesn't this guy have killer instincts?'

But my lack of usual poise stemmed from.

'Knowing how he ends!'

I wanted to stop Ayrun from dying. Because...

'If he and Crodil saw eye to eye, Crodil wouldn't bother killing him!'

Ayrun had to be on Crodil's opposing side.

Couldn't buy him off, so eliminate him—like Rozanne Viscountess did to Hanna Diego.

'Meaning Ayrun threatens Crodil just by breathing. So I have to keep him alive.'

The enemy's enemy is a friend, right?

Even without Rina's situation, Crodil was my foe anyway.

'William sent that telegram at dawn today.'

Found the instigator pushing the permit renewal forms.

Regent King Crodil Marquis.

Heard something at teatime that set it off? Digging into who attended.

Results obvious without asking. Rozanne was there. She and Crodil are allies.

But how to thwart Crodil's plot?

I recalled my talk with Emma.

This morning.

Emma warned me to steer clear, but I convinced her I needed to know to handle it.

So she spilled reluctantly.

"Simple terms: the guy's mana-addicted. Like a February lake—thin ice that could crack any second."

Emma swept back her hair and crossed her arms.

"But no lunatic mage would cast directly on the Holy Knight Captain. So mana stones for injection, probably."

"You mean ongoing exposure to mana stone energy?"

"Spot on. High-purity ones, disguised with concealment spells to look like plain rocks. Whoever did it, top-tier mage for sure."

Thinking back now, it explained the lack of spells perfectly.

Mana stones poisoning him with mana, not spells.

A curse lethal only to holy knights.

"Weird he accepted them, though. Even disguised as rocks, who keeps random stones around?"

"Hidden in everyday stuff, likely. But what daily item packs stones?"

Emma continued, looking pained.

"One shard's nothing to a holy knight. Even compressed, it'd take masses of them. What fits?"

Everyday item loaded with stones?

As I mulled it over, Emma dropped casually.

"Anyway, he can't function as a holy knight properly now."

"Yeah? Why?"

"Holy power contact hurts. Vicious cycle: needs it to purge mana addiction, but it agonizes him, so he avoids it subconsciously."

She added.

"Yet he stayed polite? Whew..."

"That's an issue?"

"Duh. Imagine the iron will suppressing that. Not normal, I tell you."

Emma meant it as a warning, but it sparked different thoughts for me.

Ayrun wasn't normal—true.

'He's ill. A patient, plain and simple.'

Suffering a sickness with no clear cure in sight.

Linking it to my grandfather was inevitable.

'But he'll hardly take my word for it. Won't believe me on faith.'

So what strategy left?

'Show him myself!'

Decision made, I flashed Ayrun a bright smile.