Volume 3 Chapter 54 When There Are People Angrier Than You, You Can Stay Quite Calm
"Marquis Braubelg and the son of the Dukedom of Highland, along with his servant──."
After a long introduction of Randy and the others, the knights guarding the gate slowly opened the door when it was finally Luke's turn to be introduced.
Beyond the slowly opened door was a meeting room that looked like a parliament.
(I thought we would be in a reception room.)
Randy's eyes wandered around, taking in the long tables arranged in steps and a large table facing them. It looked like the seats for the members and the chair for the president. The atmosphere felt like a compact parliament, and there were 2 people waiting for Randy and the others.
The person sitting in the president's chair was definitely the king. To Randy, the crown on his head looked more like a show-off than a sign of authority. Next to the king stood the Minister of Justice──Liz had whispered that to him.
The 5 of them were guided to the front of the president's chair and knelt down for a moment. This was a common way to show respect, both as subjects and as a greeting to royalty from another country.
They had been told that they didn't need to bow deeply for the meeting, but it was still a way to show respect.
"Everyone can relax. Lord Abel──"
King Gerald said, and Minister of Justice Abel led them to the front row of seats. Normally, only selected members could sit there, but today was a special case. After all, it would be hard to talk while kneeling.
Once everyone was seated, King Gerald said, "Now then..."
The topic was... well, as expected.
Late Thursday night, the Crown Prince and his friends were attacked in the old school building.
At that time, one student made a statement suggesting that someone had helped the assassins.
Plus, the 4 people here──except for the Marquis──were on the school grounds at the same time.
"This fact is undeniable, right──."
With a slight tremble in his voice, the king looked at Randy, who nodded in agreement. It was true that they had been there, and it was also true that Chris had helped the assassins.
Randy's confident nod made the king respond with a subtle "I see..." He probably couldn't predict how things would go now that Lucian was unexpectedly present.
"Then..."
The king looked down, searching for the right words. He seemed unsure of how to start, but after taking a deep breath, he spoke.
"Marquis Lucian, what do you want?"
At this point, both Randy and Lucian raised their eyebrows, as if they were ready for whatever was coming. After all, he was a king ruling a big country. The fact that he quickly raised the white flag, knowing he was losing, made Randy think a little better of Gerald.
"Your Majesty... what do you know so far?"
Lucian was the first to speak, and the king sighed as he listed the facts they had.
Chris had helped the assassins.
The assassins were targeting Liz and Randy.
The dark guild's hideout had been destroyed.
They didn't know where Chris was.
And finally, the king mentioned that there were signs the Church had also been involved with the dark guild.
"Chris Row originally came from an orphanage run by the Church. So, there's a chance he could be connected to them..."
The king's hesitant words showed he hoped Chris wasn't linked to the Church.
If the Church wasn't involved, maybe they could handle this quietly among themselves.
It was definitely an international issue, but the king still didn't know that Randy and the others had been attacked multiple times. If it was just one assassination attempt, they could probably settle it with compensation or an apology.
But reality wasn't that simple.
"Your Majesty. Then let's reveal the information we have."
Lucian started to share what he had heard yesterday.
The Marquis family had Chris in their custody.
They had obtained Chris's testimony.
The Church was plotting a civil war within the kingdom.
In the middle of the chaos, they were trying to get rid of the royal family and start a new country.
The king and Abel were frozen in shock at the shocking facts laid out before them.
"Internal conflict... a new empire..."
The king murmured this and quickly turned to Abel.
"I-I-I don't know!"
Abel shook his head vigorously, and Gerald stared at him with a fierce look in his eyes, saying, "It better be true."
"Your Majesty, what Lord Abel is saying is true."
With Lucian's support, Abel let out a sigh of relief, and Gerald looked back at Lucian.
"Marquis Lucian... this story better be true. If it's a lie──."
"I might get exiled?"
Gerald lost his confidence under Lucian's intense gaze.
"If you want to know if it's true or not, you can ask Chris Row. I can return him if needed."
With Lucian's bold attitude, Gerald hesitated and looked down, saying, "But..."
"Do you think we are feeding you false information, Your Majesty?"
Lucian smirked, and Gerald instinctively replied, "No──" but the bitter expression that followed showed his true feelings.
"Since we secured Chris Row first, it's understandable that Your Majesty is cautious about false information."
Lucian briefly showed a hint of understanding but then pushed Gerald and the others away, saying, "But what's the problem with that?"
Lucian explained to the stunned Gerald and the others that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a chance to expose the Church's conspiracy and crush their power together.
"Do you have a grudge against the goddess?"
Gerald's words trembled slightly, and Lucian laughed it off.
"I'm a devoted follower of the goddess. I always think her teachings are wonderful. It's just──."
"Just?"
"──I can't stand seeing my gratitude to the goddess used by a disgusting pig."
Randy and Luke couldn't help but whistle *Fweeeew* at Lucian's harsh words. The awkward sound made Liz and Cecilia glare at them.
"I respect the goddess, not a greedy, fat creature. Plus, she has used my daughter not once, but twice. I think that's worth a death sentence."
The king flinched at Lucian's sharp gaze. Still, he shot back at Lucian, trying to defend himself, saying,
"The first time, it was your daughter──"
"What does that have to do with this?"
Lucian laughed at Gerald's words and continued.
"We're not talking about that right now. The Church interfered in a children's fight. That's the fact, and that's what matters now."
Gerald could only nod reluctantly at Lucian's words. Lucian was right; whether Liz was at fault or Catherine and Chris were trying to trap her for their own reasons, if the Church hadn't gotten involved, it wouldn't have escalated to this level.
So, it was clear that the Church had intervened with a purpose from the beginning. Whether it was just to maintain their authority or to aim for internal conflict, no one could say for sure.
"For now, we understand the Church has intentions... So, Marquis Lucian, since you're bringing this up, there must be something, right?"
"Of course."
Lucian nodded confidently and added, "Not just something, but I will create it," as he stood up and took out a few papers from his pocket.
These were probably the documents about ghosts that Annabelle had already sent to the research facility.
Lucian handed them to Abel and then sat back down, saying,
"We plan to use this truth that the Church has been hiding to wipe out the Church's upper management."
Gerald looked over the documents, shaking his shoulders and saying, "W-what is this..." It was completely different from what the public had been told until now. The higher-ups in the Church had been using this fact to take advantage of innocent citizens. How many people could accept that?
"The preparations have already started. Of course, this alone will deal a huge blow, but..."
"You want us to help?"
"Well, it's not exactly help..."
Lucian paused and grinned at Gerald.
"When the time comes, we hope you can reveal this truth in the name of Your Majesty."
It was a very vague instruction, but it meant that "that time" would be clear enough. However, the king didn't look pleased. That was because his Achilles' heel was still exposed.
"Of course, leaving Chris Row as he is would be a problem."
Abel nodded repeatedly at those words. Even if they blamed the Church for this incident, Chris, who acted as their pawn, was the heir of the Count Row family. The son of a powerful noble was trying to overthrow the country with the Church. That was serious enough for the entire Row family to be executed.
But if that happened, it would also affect the king's announcement of the truth. After all, both the Church and their own country would be held responsible.
As the two worried about this issue, Lucian whispered like a devil...
"Just blame it on the Church. Use mind control magic or whatever. Say Chris was being manipulated by the Pope."
Lucian's wicked smile made Randy and Luke gasp. It was a way to get back at the Church and the kingdom for lying first and pushing Liz into a corner, but the consequences of that lie were too big.
The Church's upper management was completely surrounded.
And now the royal family had to face such people.
Randy and Luke's small cries were directed at whom?
But the king wouldn't just back down. Gerald, who had been looking down in hesitation, showed a bad expression to Lucian.
"I have one suggestion before we agree to that..."
He had completely taken on the face of a ruler. Even Lucian felt that this was a clever move that made Randy realize he wanted to prepare carefully.
"...I want to proceed with the idea of a Crown Prince assassination plot."
"I see..."
Lucian nodded and looked at Randy. Of course, Randy understood what the king was trying to say. Even if they claimed Chris was manipulated by the Church, targeting nobles from other countries was a huge problem.
Even if Randy said he didn't care, he didn't know how the Dukedom government would react.
So, it would be better to frame it as 'the Church was trying to harm the Crown Prince and take over the country.' From the start, other nobles weren't involved.
In other words, the gaze directed at Randy was about how he would handle this as a party involved. But Randy wasn't stupid. He could see the hidden motives behind it.
Randy, who had been a bystander until now, felt a small anger rising in his gut.
"So, is it just like how the Saintly Lady uses "The Seven Wonders" as an excuse to lure His Highness the Crown Prince to the old school building?"
Gerald and Abel looked surprised at Randy's words. They probably didn't expect him to see through it that much.
"She's a pretty convenient pawn, isn't it? The Saint."
Randy couldn't hide his discomfort, and a bit of anger slipped out. He didn't have any feelings for Catherine. In fact, considering how she trapped Liz, he disliked her.
Yet now, the adults were planning to use her motives, and they wanted to use her position and actions.
And all for their own benefit.
"You can do whatever you want with the Crown Prince assassination plot by the Church. But are you going to sacrifice another girl again?"
Randy was thinking it might be easier to just crush everything right then. That's when Liz, sitting next to him, spoke up.
"Can I say something?"
Gerald, who was feeling the weird vibe from Randy, stammered, "Uh, yeah."
"My master is worried about Lady Catherine."
Randy snapped back to reality, saying, "No, I'm not really worried about her──" but Liz ignored him and kept going.
"There are rumors that the Church is trying to assassinate the Crown Prince. If you all like her, that's fine. But if you could show some kindness to Saint Lady Catherine..."
Liz, who was the one most affected by Catherine, saying "kindness" made Randy calm down a bit. Honestly, Liz was the only one who could say, "Just kill Catherine," and it would be okay.
Now, here she was, asking the king to show kindness to Catherine.
"No, I don't really need to show kindness..."
"But you can't just let her die, right?"
"When you say it like that..."
Randy had been saying, "You guys are being cowardly," but seeing Liz, who could easily say to kill Catherine, defend her made him think, "Maybe it's not that simple."
"I can't accept that dirty adults would benefit from sacrificing one girl."
Liz stood firm, and her clear anger was obvious. Everyone was surprised to see this side of her, and Randy's boiling anger cooled down, while Gerald could only nod in agreement.
"If we say that Saint was also manipulated like Chris, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Thank you for understanding."
With Liz bowing her head, they decided on a plan, and Randy didn't cause any more trouble, so they wrapped things up.
"...I missed my chance to get angry."
"No way with someone else getting scolded that much right next to me."
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