CH 217

“…!!!”

The holy knights and priests were shocked when they learned that the underground escapee was Dolgwen, the royal wizard favored by the king.

‘W-what is all of this about…?’

In particular, the cardinal could not come to his senses. It was because he had been the one who had personally recommended the wizard Dolgwen to the king. However, the cardinal was more shocked and confused by something else rather than the fact that Dolgwen had created an undead.

‘Why did I do that? How come I introduced the wizard…”

He couldn’t deny the fact that he had introduced Dolgwen to the king and had even acted as Dolgwen’s guarantor. He could even clearly remember the events that transpired just a year ago. However, the cardinal couldn’t understand why he had done such a thing.

‘Why…? Why on earth did I…?!’

He hadn’t considered it strange, not even once until now. However, this further fueled his confusion. He had never even considered the possibility that he had been affected by “Charm,” an ability high-ranking vampires had up their sleeves.

“Everyone!” Eugene disregarded the cardinal’s strange reaction and raised his voice. He gestured toward the holy knights who had accompanied him underground and continued, “We were only able to defeat the evil wizard thanks to your courageous and honorable actions, sirs.”

Ohhh…!

The four responsible knights raised their heads with pride, and their colleagues cheered for their fulfillment of the sacred duties. It would have been a lie to say that they weren’t jealous, but they were still relieved that their colleagues had saved their faces.

Eugene then said, “However, this isn’t completely over yet. The evil wizard knew that the oldest secret passage was hidden in the basement of the cathedral. Moreover, the wizard knew exactly where he was going, while all of you had close to no idea how to navigate the passage.”

“Hmm!”

“That’s…”

The cheerful atmosphere surrounding the holy knights immediately subsided. Their gazes naturally turned to a specific person. Only the cardinal and a few senior priests knew the details of the cathedral’s underground passage.

“W-w-what!? Why are you looking at me with those eyes? Look, sirs! I am the cardinal! I am the one responsible for leading the faith of our kingdom…” The cardinal hurriedly defended himself after receiving the suspicious gaze of the holy knights.

Eugene cut him off. “I heard that you were the one who recommended the evil, vile wizard to the king, Cardinal.”

“T-that’s…” the cardinal muttered with a pale expression. He was quivering, and the eyes of the holy knights on him had already turned completely cold. Of course, there were a few who looked at him with regret, but most of them looked as if they were suppressing their disappointment and anger.

‘Good.’

Eugene was satisfied. The cardinal could not deny his connection to the wizard, which meant he could not escape responsibility for the deeds that Dolgwen had committed. All that remained was his fall.

However, Eugene could not stop here…

“Sirs. I think it would be best for us to head to the royal castle first. Shouldn’t we be clear about an issue like this and bring it to light in front of everyone?” Eugene said.

“Oh! You’re absolutely right, sir.”

“Brothers! Let us go! We have to mend the broken faith and justice!”

“That’s right! That is the sacred duty of us, holy knights!”

Although holy knights were praised as the sword of the church and guardians of faith, they never had real power and authority. They roared with fierce momentum and moved without hesitation.

***

Eugene entered the gates of the royal castle with the others. The gates were usually closed, but they were open when Eugene’s group arrived.

“Hmm. There’s a strange atmosphere…” Eugene commented.

“You’re right,” the holy knights answered. Indeed, it was strange. A monster had made its appearance in the middle of the capital, but they couldn’t see even a trace of the soldiers, as well as the servants and the nobles of the castle.

“Ah! Perhaps some people attempted to loot the castle in the middle of the chaos!”

“My goodness! Let us head to the palace as soon as possible! Sir Clair! You go find His Majesty and the other members of the royal family!”

The holy knights hastened their steps, and Eugene followed behind them rather leisurely. However, once they arrived at the palace, their eyes became filled with shock. A group of heavily armed knights had completely occupied the palace, and the nobles of the castle were gathered in one place, trembling.

Shing, shing!

“Who are you, sirs?! How dare you show such disrespect! Do you know where this is?!” The holy knights quickly unsheathed their weapons and gathered into a battle formation. They were enraged.

Suddenly, one of the opposing knights rushed forward while shouting, “Ah! Sir Eugene!”

“…?!” The holy knights turned back, and Eugene stepped forward while taking off his helmet.

“Sirs. Those men are knights and my comrades. They are not the enemy, so do not worry,” Eugene explained.

“…?!” The holy knights were dumbfounded.

Eugene walked past them, and Madrica spoke energetically, “Sir, as you commanded, we have occupied the—”

Eugene interrupted him. “As expected, Sir Madrica! You have saved the royal castle from the threat of the vicious monster! Amazing!”

He patted the chatty knight on the shoulder while speaking. Eugene had experience with the chatty knight in the past, and as such, he knew exactly how to handle the talkative, pretentious knight.

At first, Madrica appeared puzzled by Eugene’s words. However, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up as Eugene continued to praise him. In the end, his hands came to rest on his waist and his chin to the sky.

“Haha! I am flattered. I only did what I had to do as a knight. Of course, it might have been a little difficult if it wasn’t for me, but…” Madrica started.

“That’s right. As expected from Sir Madrica. Anyway, sir. Don’t you have something to report?” Eugene said.

“Ah, that’s right! I almost forgot,” Madrica answered. Although he was chatty, Madrica had a strong sense of responsibility.

He stopped flattering himself and spoke with an awkward expression, “As you can see, we have fulfilled your orders, sir. However, we failed to secure the most important person—the king.”

“…!”

Eugene frowned. Madrica hurriedly waved his hands and continued, “Oh, it’s not my fault. The king wasn’t here when I entered the castle with the other sirs.”

Eugene responded, “Hmm. Then where is the king? Don’t tell me you don’t know.”

“Hahaha! Of course, of course. I have already figured it out and sent the other knights over there. They should be back with him soon,” Madrica said.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Eugene stated with satisfaction.

Madrica continued in a mocking tone, “I’ve only heard stories until now, but I never realized until today that the king was so incompetent and insane. Going out to hunt in this situation. Tsk, tsk. Even if he’s out of his mind, he shouldn’t have—”

“Hunting? Did you say hunting?” Eugene interrupted.

“Huh? W-well, that’s right, but…” Madrica nodded. He was surprised by Eugen’s sudden change in attitude.

Madrica continued, “Was it his younger cousin? Anyway, he took his family and a few royal knights to the royal hunting ground. It’s located right next to the royal castle, so the knights should be returning—Huh? Sir? Sir Eugene?”

Eugene walked past Madrica and headed for the nobles. They were surrounded by the knights of Maren, and they were quivering while huddled in a group.

Eugene then said, “Let me ask you. How many people went to the hunting ground, including the king and his attendants?”

Most of the nobles stayed silent and exchanged frightened gazes, but one person mustered up the courage to answer. “A-about fifty people.”

“…Were the royal guards wearing brown leather armor stitched with gold?” Eugene asked.

“Ah, yes. That’s right,” the noble replied.

“…” Eugene slowly turned around. He instinctively felt that the situation had gone to shit.

He looked around at the curious eyes and slowly parted his lips, “I think the king may have kicked the bucket; no, he may have perished.”

“…!!!” Everyone’s eyes became filled with shock as silence filled the palace.

The one who broke the silence was none other than the cardinal, who had been practically dragged to the palace by the holy knights.

“It’s you! You were the one who murdered His Majesty the King!!!” the cardinal roared. His roar garnered everyone’s attention.

‘This is an opportunity!’

The cardinal was a master of politics. He had been able to extend his influence to the royal castle, the church, and even the king because he possessed excellent wit and judgment. Eugene’s remark was the cardinal’s last chance to reverse the situation.

“Sirs! That evil man has murdered His Majesty the King! Otherwise, how is it possible that he can speak of things that no one present knows?!” the cardinal continued.

“…!”

The holy knights became wide-eyed and slowly turned their gazes toward Eugene.

‘Has that sly bastard gone mad?’

Eugene was stunned but impressed at the same time. It was as he had expected from someone who had practically maintained control of the entire kingdom all this time. He was truly witty and quick on his feet.

“Sir, don’t tell me…”

The eyes of the holy knights turned fierce, as Eugene simply stood there and admired the cardinal. It was only natural. No one but the inhabitants of the royal castle could have known that the king and some of his nobles had gone over to the hunting ground. However, Eugene had blatantly stated that the king may have died as soon as he heard that they were on the hunting ground.

“Brothers of faith, what are you all doing?! He is a traitor who may have killed the king! Will you continue to sit still and watch?!” Jung Dircht raised his voice while unsheathing his sword. Like the cardinal, he had been looking for a chance.

The incitement was effective.

Chae-chae-chaeng!

Quite a few of the holy knights responded in kind and unsheathed their blades before pointing them at Eugene and Maren’s knights.

“These punks dare?”

“Protect Sir Eugene!”

Eugene’s knights didn’t stay still either. Princess Lilisain and the elven knights inched closer to Eugene, and the Knights of Maren unsheathed their own weapons and confronted the holy knights.

Suddenly, a sharp, clear voice resonated throughout the palace. “How discourteous! How dare you all reveal your weapons in the presence of the one carrying the glorious golden blood of Rome!”

The one who hollered was Prince Localope. He was still disguised as the servant. When everyone’s eyes turned toward him, Prince Localope stepped forward in front of Vizak, who was still pretending to be the prince, before raising his voice once again.

“Sirs! Is this the attitude the Kingdom of Caylor has chosen to take in front of the golden blood of Rome? I take it that all of you want His Highness the Prince and me to take this sight as the honor of the Caylor Kingdom? I’m asking if all of you won’t mind if I report this before His Majesty the Emperor and all the officials of the great empire!”

“…!”

All the knights faltered. The pressure they felt from the Roman Empire, and the emperor was just that great. In particular, the holy knights had already heard about Prince Localope from Eugene. They had been quite excited about the possibility of becoming acquainted with the prince, so they were even more hesitant to make a move.

Once the heat subsided slightly, Prince Localope looked around with keen eyes and spoke, “And you would persecute someone without listening to their story or without any evidence? Sirs, where are the honor and chivalry you had always been crying out for? Is your honor so light it would disappear in a few words?”

“Hmm...”

It was the words of someone belonging to the Roman Empire’s prince’s group. Moreover, their words sounded reasonable.

The holy knights slowly lowered their swords with awkward expressions. Vizak stepped forward while coughing. He had been taken aback by Prince Localope’s unexpected behavior.

“Ehem! My servant’s words are my thoughts. So, Caylor’s cardinal...”

“Yes, yes… P-please speak, Your Highness,” the cardinal answered with a bow. As a master of politics, he knew very well the prestige of the empire’s imperial family.

Vizak continued, “I think we can come to a judgment about your assertion after we hear Sir Eugene’s story. What do you think?”

“You are absolutely right, Your Highness. You are truly befitting the glory of the one carrying the golden blood.” The cardinal agreed with joy.

‘It doesn’t matter what you say. You won’t be able to turn the tables. No, I will make sure that never happens!’

The cardinal was confident. He was the de facto ruler of the kingdom and a master of politics. However, his expression quickly crumpled less than a minute after Eugene started telling his story.

“So, you fought against a drake in the hunting ground and chased it away, but as soon as that happened, the twin-headed ogre made its appearance?” Prince Localope exclaimed with a look of surprise. He looked as if it was his first time hearing the story.

‘Prince, your acting skills are pretty good.’

Eugene answered, “That’s right. As soon as I sensed the evil energy, I rushed over. However, the king and his entourage were already dead. Well, rather than dead, I guess it would be more appropriate to say that they had been—”

“Lies! That evil man is telling a lie!” the cardinal interrupted Eugene’s words and shouted desperately after sensing impending doom. He knew from experience that whoever possessed the louder voice in a situation like this would hold the advantage. He once again opened his mouth to draw everyone’s attention.

“Sirs! There’s trouble!” The knights who had left to capture the king and the nobles rushed back into the palace while shouting, and everyone turned toward them.

“Take a look at this! I think the evil monster has killed the king and the nobles!”

Thud!

“There were no bodies, but considering the clothes and the sealed ring, I’m certain it belongs to the king.”

Those present were appalled when they saw the king’s clothes and ornaments. Eugene’s voice once again resonated in their ears, “They were killed and turned into ashes by the undead’s evil energy. Since there were no bodies, it was impossible for me to know that they were the king’s party. That is why I made that statement earlier, that I thought they may have perished. Well, anyway, I think this proves the fact that I’m not the king’s murderer.”

Silence instantly descended on the palace.

Eugene turned toward the pale-faced cardinal and glared at him before speaking, “The one who recommended the black wizard and the one responsible for creating the undead. It was you, right?”

“…!”

“Moreover, the black wizard fled as soon as the king died, but they were caught and killed in the secret corridor located in the cathedral’s basement—a place that is only known to a few people. Hmm? What a coincidence. You’re deeply involved in everything, Cardinal. And… such a person is trying to accuse me as the king’s murderer…”

“Uah! Ugh…” The cardinal trembled while breaking out into a cold sweat. Eugene turned his gaze away from the cardinal and spoke to the shocked holy knights and nobles with a cold smile.

“Everyone. What do you think?”