episode_0242

The sudden appearance of Seraphine was a situation that was not part of my operation plan. Since the secret operation was originally set up to kill MacHeart, a figure related to the royal family, I had not mentioned anything about this to Seraphine, who was also a royal figure.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t trust Seraphine, but rather it was impossible to speak “secretly” to someone like a princess. Especially when the content I wanted to convey was about the royal family’s assassination, it would be fortunate if I didn’t get attacked before the plan was executed.

However, Seraphine’s presence in this place was clearly an unexpected event (since in the original, Seraphine was a virgin in every chapter), so I could roughly guess that her appearance was related to me, MacHeart, or maybe even the Gethmazoshiki.

I don’t know how she found out, but probably because she’s Seraphine, she had various means. Whether she gathered information that the royal family could access, or saw today’s events in advance from the future.

“From now on, only those who can take responsibility for their words are allowed to speak. Anyone who disrupts the conversation with unnecessary words in this place where right and wrong are judged, I will remember. I have a good memory, you know.”

Thanks to Seraphine’s appearance, the noisy crowd was quickly subdued. At least, it was an achievement that couldn’t be accomplished with just a few words from me and Edan, so this time, we unintentionally owed her a favor.

“Se-Seraphine! Quickly get this crazy guy off me! This guy is fearlessly…!”

Meanwhile, MacHeart, lying under Edan’s feet, clung to Seraphine as if she were his lifeline. Of course, both of his elbows were cut, so he wouldn’t be able to hold onto her if the lifeline actually came down.

Seeing MacHeart’s face and making a displeased expression, Seraphine bit her tongue with a small voice, showing that she also had feelings of dislike towards MacHeart, just like in the original.

Fortunately, as she frowned while facing the crowd, her expression was only visible to me and Edan.

“I always told you, MacHeart Oppa, that if you recklessly pursue other women, someday someone might come after you with a sword, regardless of whether they are royal or not.”

“Oh, no…! I, I didn’t…!”

“I have seen with my own eyes some of the things MacHeart Oppa did to Lillis Yang, so even if you deny it now, I won’t believe you anyway.”

“…Anyway, please save him! Your Oppa is getting stabbed by this crazy guy right now!!”

“…Edan Gongja, will you put down the sword? I understand your feelings, Edan Gongja, but for now, he is my Oppa.”

Seraphine spoke as calmly as possible, trying to soften the message of “if you don’t save him, there will be trouble due to the blood connection.”

Of course, as a noble, Edan would have understood her words without any special interpretation, but he continued to push forward without putting down his sword.

“No matter how much you say it’s the princess’s words, it can’t be like that. This prince threatened and tried to take away my fiancée Lillis. I even saw him wielding the power of the Mazoku to fulfill his vile desires. Even for the future of the Argentia Empire and the Valtoria Royal Family, it would be beneficial for this man to end his life here.”

…Now she’s boldly going around declaring herself as a fiancée.

Of course, in a situation like this, it may not be possible to explain in detail the complex and subtle relationship between me and Edan, but still, hearing Edan refer to me as his fiancée always felt awkward no matter how many times I heard it.

The flush on my face at Edan’s words was not unique to me alone. In their case, it seemed like their faces had turned red for a slightly different reason than mine.

“Ma, MacHeart Prince is a demon?! How dare you slander him!”

“To cover up the situation of wielding a sword against the prince, you’re lying!”

“Let go of the prince! You murderer!!”

Among the crowd, MacHeart’s followers directed various accusations towards Edan, and among them, there were some young ladies who, in their excitement, even threw objects they held in their hands.

Although items like fans or handkerchiefs didn’t really fly properly, among them, one object with a sense of speed caught my eye as it flew straight towards Edan’s temple.

Desperately reaching out to catch it, I could confirm that the thrown object was an empty champagne glass. If it had flown properly, it would have undoubtedly hit Edan’s head and shattered.

-Thud!

“….”

“….”

As I shifted my gaze towards the crowd to identify the woman who had crossed the line by throwing the object, some of the young ladies blatantly avoided my eyes.

Feeling the need to deflect responsibility after causing trouble, their absurd behavior made my grip on the champagne glass tighten involuntarily.

-Crunch!

“Ouch!”

“…!”

…Unfortunately, the culprit was not found, but after the champagne glass incident, nothing else flew towards us. I’m not sure why the young ladies who had been causing a commotion with Edan’s statement suddenly fell silent.

“Thank you for handling it quietly in my place, Miss Lillis.”

“Pardon?”

Serafina, who spoke words I couldn’t understand to me, turned her gaze back to Edan and continued their conversation. Adding a question about whether he could take responsibility for the statement he just made.

“Edan Gongja, although that statement you just made could be considered insulting even to someone like MacHeart Oraboni, who shares the same bloodline, can you take responsibility for it?”

“I am not insulting the princess. I simply mean that this man has used the power of demons to harm my fiancée, it is merely a personal matter of MacHeart’s and not a suspicion that the Valtoria family is associated with demons in any way.”

“I see. So you are saying that because there is a possibility that MacHeart Oraboni is associated with demons, you are willing to kill him to avoid any repercussions?”

“That kind of statement is obviously a lie! It’s clear to anyone that I wouldn’t want to twist the royal family’s execution charge, so I’m lying!”

“…Understood. We may need to hear more from both of you, so let’s start with Oraboni’s treatment first. Once his treatment is complete, we can continue this discussion.”

“I have clearly stated that Prince MacHeart used the power of demons. Yet, why are you insisting on treating him? Do you also not believe me, Princess Serafina?”

“It is still just Edan Gongja’s one-sided claim. Can you provide evidence right now that MacHeart Oraboni is associated with demons?”

“By the power of the saint, by revealing the ‘mirror of truth’….”

“Yes. However, until we use that ‘mirror of truth’ to reveal the truth, it is still an uncertain fact. Whether MacHeart Oraboni is truly a person associated with demons or if Edan Gongja is lying to me.”

“If MacHeart Orabuni is actually committing a crime, even if he returns without the crime being revealed, Edan Gongja cannot escape punishment.”

It was as Seraphine said. If MacHeart died without revealing whether he was involved with the demons or not, it would be troublesome for both me and Edan.

His death had to occur only after it was revealed that he was connected to the demons. That’s why I warned Edan not to kill him.

Still hesitating and not sheathing his sword, Edan heard Seraphine whisper in a low voice.

“Please sheathe your sword now, Edan Gongja. Even if it’s to help you.”

Although the whisper was so quiet that it was barely audible, I could still see Edan’s grip on the sword loosen slightly.

“If it is confirmed that Prince MacHeart is involved with the demons, what will Princess Seraphine do?”

“I don’t want to believe it, but… if he is indeed connected to the demons, even if he is of royal blood, he must face the appropriate punishment.”

“…Understood.”

-Swish.

Edan sheathed his sword after hearing Seraphine’s final words and stepping away from MacHeart’s body, indicating that he would first determine the right and wrong before carrying out the punishment.

“It’s not the picture I expected, but at least we’ve avoided the worst.”

At least if MacHeart were to die (or be killed) now, Edan wouldn’t be able to easily move on.

That’s why the original plan was for a third party to naturally reveal that MacHeart was a demon. Originally, the plan was for the heroes, Serista, and Agnes to gather to subdue MacHeart, and just before he died, I would use the ‘Mirror of Truth’ to extract traces of demonization from his body.

And then, after ending his life, leaving the body in the backyard of the palace to be discovered the next morning. By using the cloak of concealment, we could ensure that even if an object remained in a certain place, it would go unnoticed for a few days.

So the discovery of MacHeart’s body by a third party would reveal the fact that MacHeart was involved with the demons, and Edan and I would return to our daily lives pretending to have no connection to the incident. …Of course, that couldn’t happen now.

Therefore, at the very least, the evidence that MacHeart was a demon had to be revealed to everyone. Even if there were more eyes watching than expected, Edan couldn’t allow himself to be falsely accused of regicide.

“Miss Serista.”

“….”

“Miss Serista. Could you come with me for a moment?”

There was a small murmur in the crowd at the mention of the saint’s name, but Serista still did not reveal herself among the crowd.

-Murmur, murmur.

-Rustle.

“….”

Instead, the crowd shifted to reveal Serista’s figure.

It was clear to everyone that she was wearing a suspicious mask and blending in with the crowd, as others formed a large circle around her.

“Um, excuse me….”

“….”

“It seems like there’s a misunderstanding…. I-I’m not Saint Serista, I just happened to be passing by and attended the social gathering by chance….”

“Miss Serista, there’s no time for jokes.”

“Really, you are the saint. You do look quite similar.”

“Did you really think no one would notice?”

“….”

With a red face, Serista stepped forward and quietly removed her mask amidst the murmurs of the people.

Yeah, it’s annoying when people write random stuff like this, it just catches your eye for no reason.