Volume 3 Chapter 52 I'm A Bit Pumped Up For My Long-awaited Appearance.
"Another school break? Seriously..."
It was Saturday morning, 2 days after exploring the [Tower of Time]. Randy, whose arm was completely healed thanks to Ellie, was frowning at a notice posted at the school gate.
The area in front of the school gate was crowded with students, just like Randy and his friends, who were all shocked by the news of the school closure. Just then, a male staff member appeared inside the gate.
As everyone rushed to ask the staff what was going on, he shouted, "Please step back," and slowly opened the gate.
As the heavy gate creaked open, everyone let out a sigh of relief, thinking, "What's going on...," when several carriages appeared from deep inside the school.
"Is that...?"
"Those are the students from the countryside living in the dorms, right?"
Just as Randy and Liz wondered, all the carriages heading out of the school were indeed for the dorm students. In fact, a few students were walking alongside the carriages, so they must belong to them too.
"Step back, step back!"
The staff member was trying to direct the students, but his timing was completely off. Just then, the carriages carrying the Central Nobility students appeared on the other side of the street.
"This is such a mess... I can't deal with this. I'm going home."
"Are you sure we don't need to ask why?"
"Let's just ask Luke or Cory later."
With a sigh, Randy and his friends quickly left the area in front of the school gate, while the sounds of carriages clashing echoed behind them, with voices saying, "What's going on?" and "I heard it's already winter break!"
* * *
"Assassination plot against the Crown Prince?"
Randy frowned again as he adjusted the camera in the living room of his rented house. While he was multitasking, Luke chuckled and said, "Apparently so."
"Why again?"
"Do you think I know?"
Randy lifted the camera and spun it around, saying, "I guess that makes sense."
"That's kind of lame."
"Really?"
Luke frowned, not caring about how the camera looked. He just thought as long as it took good pictures and was easy to use, it was fine.
"So? Because of the Crown Prince assassination rumors, the school is closed... and now we're going straight into winter break."
As Randy fiddled with the camera again, Luke sighed once more. After all, the Crown Prince was in danger. Plus, a student from the school was involved with the supposed assassin. ...In reality, it was just a misunderstanding, but since the mastermind Chris was gone, it turned into a full-blown assassination plot against the Crown Prince.
The palace was in chaos over this news.
They were trying to figure out which students were involved. So, until they found out, they decided to temporarily close the school.
Still, Randy couldn't help but think, "Why again?" After all, the Marquis family had left clear evidence that they were targeting Randy and his friends within the dark guild.
Yet, the idea of an assassination plot against the Crown Prince felt off. Considering the documents and the fact that Randy and his friends were at that place at that time, it should be easy to conclude, "Oh, they messed up."
Plus, it was strange that rumors were already spreading about "a student from the school helping out," even without mentioning Chris by name. Normally, this kind of thing would be kept secret and handled quietly.
But Luke was bringing it up, which meant it was spreading as gossip.
There seemed to be some hidden agenda, but for now, Randy had no clue. Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided it was pointless to think too hard about it and kept fiddling with the camera.
"Seriously, what a hassle."
Luke gave a wry smile at Randy, who didn't really think it was a hassle at all.
"At least the final exams got canceled."
"Yeah, lucky me... I was gonna fail──."
Randy quickly shut up, giving Luke a glare as he realized how that sounded. Luke just grinned and downed his coffee in one go.
"Still, I wonder who's involved and how much..."
Randy looked at Luke, who was mumbling, and asked, "Are you curious about it?"
"Curious? Well, the other day, those dark side guys saw us, right?"
Luke had a frustrated look on his face, and Randy sighed, showing he was annoyed too. Luke's words made Randy realize why the rumors were spreading.
"Do you really think they would do something that forceful?"
"Who knows? But they have evidence and can figure things out, so they're looking for accomplices."
Randy let out a big sigh in response to Luke's bitter expression.
After causing such a big scene, it was clear that the dark side and the guards would be investigating that place. They must have found some documents, and with handwriting analysis (complex forensic techniques) or whatever, it wouldn't be hard to discover that Chris was behind everything.
And they would also find out that Randy and the others were the real targets.
Just as Randy thought, the kingdom's government had also figured this out.
So, even now, looking for accomplices probably means something serious is going on.
"Is it just a convenience thing?"
"Politics can be such a hassle."
Luke smiled wryly, and Randy held back the urge to remind him that he also had a claim to the throne. Getting mad at Luke right now wouldn't help at all.
"Maybe I should have just killed him back then."
Randy sighed, and Luke shook his head.
"If you did that, things would have gotten even messier."
"Yeah, you're probably right..."
Randy let out a huge sigh, and Luke's expression turned serious.
"How far do you think they'll push this?"
"Well, maybe just to catch the mastermind."
"What about the tower?"
"That's not related to this situation."
Randy shook his head and laughed, saying, "If anyone brings that up, they must be an idiot." Luke nodded, agreeing with him.
They were talking about the possibility of Randy and the others being called to the palace.
There was no doubt that the dark guild's headquarters was being investigated. But they couldn't find Chris, the mastermind. And it made sense because Cedric had Chris secured right now.
Even for the dark side, finding him would be really tough.
From various clues, Randy had a rough idea of where the kingdom's government stood.
There was evidence that pointed to Randy and Liz being targeted after they left the dark guild's headquarters.
The dark guild had been wiped out.
Given that situation, the kingdom's government should have figured out that the Marquis family was involved. So, it was possible that the Marquis had Chris in their custody.
But there was no way they could just ask the Marquis, "Do you know where Chris is?" Chris was the son of the Minister of Justice. That son was plotting to assassinate a Marquis's daughter, even if she was from another country.
That's why they were trying to twist Chris's actions into a "Crown Prince assassination suspicion" and call Randy and the others to the palace to look for accomplices.
The fact that they were at that place on that day was a bit tricky, but if it really was about the Crown Prince assassination suspicion, it wouldn't be unusual for people near the scene to be called in.
But of course, this call was probably a bluff.
It was basically a show for the Marquis. They were pretending they didn't know about the assassination suspicion. At the same time, they hoped that the Marquis, who didn't want Liz to be summoned, would hand Chris over quickly.
There might also be a message for the real mastermind. The palace might not realize the true reason, or maybe they did but didn't plan to reveal it.
Randy and Luke both suspected that there was someone else behind Chris in this whole mess.
But they couldn't understand why an ordinary student would plan to assassinate a classmate without any reason. That's why the palace probably wanted Chris back quickly, to negotiate with whatever was behind him.
"...His Excellency probably has a grip on that person behind him, so the government is rushing to play their cards."
Randy sighed, and Luke pouted, saying, "Come on, this mastermind is a big deal, right?"
"Still, with how anxious we are..."
"If we think about it logically, it could be another country, a big noble from our country, or maybe the church."
Randy looked up at the sky, agreeing with Luke's bitter words, "Yeah, right." If it was the church, they didn't understand why they would bother Randy and the others. For a moment, Randy thought it might be related to ghosts, but those guys were causing trouble even before the cameras were around, so that didn't seem right.
"There are a lot of possibilities, but..."
"It's pointless to keep guessing."
Randy nodded big at those words. They could make some guesses, and even if they had a strong feeling about it, in the end, guesses are just guesses. If they decided something based only on circumstantial evidence and it turned out to be wrong, it would slow them down.
The other side is human too. There could be reasons that don't make sense. So, it's better to spend time on something more meaningful than digging deeper into guesses right now.
Eventually, they would find out, whether they liked it or not. Randy stretched his arms.
"Anyway, there's nothing we can do right now."
"No, we could contact the Prince of the Silver Peaks..."
Randy, sounding careless, made Luke raise an eyebrow.
"Sure. Our call is just for show anyway. Plus, even if we contact Sir Cedric, nothing will really change."
Randy looked back at the camera, and Luke frowned.
"Don't cause trouble at the palace."
"Don't be stupid. I have enough sense for that."
Randy placed the camera on the table and grinned, saying,
"I'm a guy who knows when to get serious. How about that? Pretty cool, right?"
"...Is it?"
Luke lifted the camera and spun it around, mumbling, "I don't get it."
"Well, maybe tomorrow we'll get a visit from──."
"Excuse me! Is Sir Randolph Victor home?"
Hearing the voice from outside, Randy and Luke exchanged bitter looks and sighed at the same time. Right now, Rita and Harrison were on the terrace they made on the back side of the second floor, taking care of the two young ladies.
Liz and Cecilia were having tea. Rita was joining them, and Harrison was left as their guard on the terrace. Since they weren't around, it had to be either Randy or Luke who would deal with the visitor...
Randy signaled to Luke, who frowned and said, "It's your place, right?" But Randy ignored him, thrusting his fist out and shouting, "Rock-paper-scissors!"
"Rock!"
The result was...
"If you're going, it was pointless."
As Luke said with an exasperated face, Randy lost.
It couldn't be helped, so Randy reluctantly headed to the front door, hearing a familiar voice say, "Excuse me! Is Sir Randolph Victor──"
"Yes, yes! I'm coming right now──."
When Randy opened the door, he saw Cedric waving at him with a big smile.
"Huh? Sir Cedric? Why are you──."
"Why? I'm here as your herald, of course."
Cedric laughed heartily, saying, "I got to see a good face from you," while patting Randy on the shoulder.
"No, no, calling Sir Cedric a herald──."
Before Randy could finish, his face turned pale. He only knew one person who could call Cedric a herald.
Just one person.
In fact, there was a fancy and imposing carriage parked in front of the house that he had never seen before. From that carriage, a man stepped out.
Not someone in a friendly disguise.
Not a father who cares for his daughter.
A person walking slowly, full of dignity and presence, like a high noble.
(Calling him a herald is almost the same as arriving at the same time.)
Randy could only manage a wry smile as that person approached him. Randy was taller and bigger, but the overwhelming dignity of the other person was more impressive.
Still, the man smiled at Randy, showing a face of a dad who loves his daughter.
"Long time no see, Randolph."
"It's been a while, Your Excellency Marquis."
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