CH 156

“Well, Marquis Crowley Rhodis,What do you have to say for yourself?”

“………..I have committed no crime. I have been loyal to the House of Zain and have served it well. Of course, I always will be.”

Rhodis, his forehead beaded with sweat, still insists on his innocence.

The cunning old aristocrat, who has long had his sights set on the position of his predecessor as Prime Minister, Lockwood Marcell, does not change his expression under the circumstances.

However, his…… mind and heart was not at peace.

“Why, you Raidorl! How dare he expose the injustice of the nobles ……!”

There was no respect left in Rhodis’s heart for the royal family of Raidorl.

There is a genuine question. How did Raidorl get the evidence to expose the injustice of the nobility?

“It is not strange that he knew about the secret communication with the Empire. We have made peace with them. Sooner or later, things will come to light.”

But……how did they even get evidence of embezzlement, human trafficking and other injustices that had nothing to do with the empire?

Rhodis does not know how Raidorl uncovered injustices that even Granard and Lockwood could not catch.

“Does he have a very good secret agent? Or is it some kind of magic? Damn it, he’s targeting me, isn’t it?!”

“I have no contacts with the Empire. Of course, I have not committed any abominable injustice as a nobleman. If you have any proof, I would like to see it!”

Rhodis glared at Raidorl with a challenging look, but it was not Raidorl who answered him, but Sven.

“……Indeed, we have found no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of the Marquis of Rhodis.”

“Then I ask you to put an end to this idle farce. I’m a nobleman with a long history of trade with the Kingdom of Athena and the Kingdom of the Gods. If you treat me like a criminal without any proof, the most powerful people in the world will not stand idly by!”

“Fufu….”

Sven laughed at Rhodis threatening words.

Sven smiles as if to ridicule the futility of resistance, and a blue streak appears on Rhodis’s forehead.

“……I’d like to know what’s so funny. Little Prime Minister?”

“No, no, no. I’ve just received some interesting information about the trade. Marquis Rhodis, do you recognise this plant?”

“That’s…..!”

Sven took out from his pocket a drug called “scarlet hemp”.

Of course, it was familiar to him, as it was something that Rhodis traded with the Kingdom of Athena.

“……,I think I saw something like that in the trade?　Is it a western herb?”

If Rhodis says he doesn’t know about it, he’ll only be putting himself in a position where he’s imported scarlet hemp.

Quickly calculating and not denying that it was a trade product Rhodis decided to keep his ignorance of its efficacy to himself.

“After all, it looks familiar, doesn’t it? This is “scarlet hemp”, a medicinal herb that grows in western countries. It is a drug that gives the user a sense of well-being, but has the side effect of severely reducing intelligence. …… It is banned in some countries.”

“Hoho……I didn’t know that.It is the mistake of a lifetime, Rhodis, to have let such a thing into the harbour. I’ll take that as a rebuke.”

Rhodis covered his wigged head with both hands and shook his head theatrically.

Despite the sorrowful look in his eyes,…… there was a wise light in his eyes.

“But……these plants are not prohibited from sale in the kingdom of Zain. I’m sure I won’t be hauled away like the others for inadvertently purchasing it?”

Whatever the effects or side effects of scarlet hemp are, they are not punishable by law as long as they are not prohibited by law.

At most, he will be scolded to be careful in the future.

“More importantly, how does the Lord……Sven Arbeil know about the benefits of this herb? I don’t suppose your father, the Earl of Arbeil, was a drug addict, was he?”

Rhodis puts a smirk and a snide smile on his face and fires back. He even provokes him by bringing up his father.

Sven, however, does not change his expression at the insult.

“Of course not. I only knew about this one because I heard about it from one of the maid…..”

“What? A maid?”

“Well, it’s a good thing I have a long-lived and knowledgeable maid…….So, back to the point, Marquis Rhodis. You are under suspicion of a certain crime.”

“Charges, you mean ……?”

“Which crime…are you talking about?”

Rhodis’s brow furrows in nervousness.

“The charge is the assassination of the……Prime Minister. It concerns the murder of his predecessor, Sir Lockwood Marcell.”