Chapter 230: |
Chapter 230
Then, something unexpected happened.
“Bound Earl Rodden.”
Kairn had given the order!
The knights on guard rushed in, brought Earl Rodden to his knees and bound him with ropes.
“Bring him forward.”
Everyone looked at him with puzzled faces.
Earl Rodden was one of Kairn’s closest confidants.
It was obvious that Earl Rodden would have Kairn behind him.
It was more likely to be.
“But no amount of His Highness Kairn power can save Earl Rodden in such a situation, can he?”
Then, Earl Rodden pleaded with him.
The only way for him to live now was to plead to Kairn.
“Your Highness……! It is not me! You do know I can’t do that! This is a conspiracy!”
Kairn looked down at Earl Rodden for a moment.
“Yes, I know your loyalty.”
“Well, so……!”
“But I think I need an explanation. Tell me everything honestly.”
“……!”
Earl Rodden’s heart fluttered.
Frankly.
This was what Kairn meant.
‘You want me to cover up your sins. Then I’ll take care of it.’
Earl Rodden’s head was a mess.
He had to choose.
Does he reveal that Kairn was the mastermind, or does he blame himself for his sins?
Honestly, he wanted to reveal the truth. But that didn’t make it any better.
If Kairn gets in trouble because of him, there would be no one to save him. He will be executed.
‘Would I rather cover up my sins and expect His Highness’…… salvation?’
Since he killed a part of the royal family, he cannot avoid being sentenced to death here.
But with Kairn’s strength, he could somehow save him.
‘If it doesn’t work, he can swap him with another person and get me back before the sentence is carried out.’
At the very least, it was better than having zero chance of survival.
With that in mind, he bowed his head and exclaimed.
“Well, I’d tell you the truth. It’s all me. Misguided loyalty was exercised in order to punish the Marquis of Penin for disturbing the kingdom! It’s all my fault!”
When Earl Rodden pleaded guilty, sighs erupted throughout the courtroom.
Earl Rodden looked at Kairn eagerly.
‘Your Highness, please……!’
He did his best.
Now he could only hope that Kairn would save him.
But.
“Now that the true crime has been revealed, I, Second Prince Kairn, will pass the judgment on behalf of His Majesty the King.”
Suddenly, Count Rodden felt a chill down his spine.
Kairn’s eyes were extremely cold.
Without any warmth.
“Hey, Your Highness?”
“I will sentence the guilty Earl Rodden to death.”
So far, so good.
Earl Rodden had hoped that before the execution of his sentence, Kairn would somehow do something to save him.
But.
“In view of the heinousness of the case, I will execute him immediately.”
“……!”
Earl Roddey, of course, and everyone else in the court opened their eyes wide.
Immediate execution?
‘Really? What is Kairn’s intentions?’
It was then that the people understood Kairn’s true intentions.
He wasn’t trying to save his entourage, Earl Rodden.
He is trying to kill him and silence him!
“No, stop it!”
But it was too late.
Paaat!
Kairn’s sword decapitated Earl Rodden. Blood gushed out like a fountain.
“Huh!”
“Kyaaa!”
The courtroom was filled with dismay.
Kairn looked down at the person.
He felt a chill on his blood-soaked face.
“I’m going to close with this.”
And without looking back, Kairn vanished.
“Master!”
Christine ran to Raymond on the defendant’s bench and cut the rope that bound his hands.
“You’ve had a hard time. I’m glad you were cleared, but that psychopath got away with ……..”
This incident must have been orchestrated by Kairn.
But since Earl Rodden had died in his own guilt, he could no longer be directly accused of wrongdoing against Kairn.
But Raymond shook his head.
“It’s okay.”
“What?”
“Kairn, he’s over.”
Christine nodded.
Earl Rodden died of his sins, but would people believe him?
Approximately.
People aren’t stupid, and everyone will assume that the real culprit is Kairn.
Worse still, Kairn took Earl Rodden into his own hands.
“From now on, Kairn’s followers will be completely disintegrated.”
Christine nodded.
In effect, he was completely eliminated from the race to the throne.
“But that’s not enough. We need to make sure they pay the price.”
“Of course it’s not enough. So we’ve got a way to do it.”
“……?”
Raymond pulled a long vial from his bosom.
It was a sample bottle of hard blood.
“Blood from the body of His Highness Seytil. We’re going to analyze this blood to see if there’s drug poisoning.”
Raymond recalled Seytil’s condition on the evening of the incident.
He looked like he was on drugs, not alcohol.
“According to Seitil’s acolytes, a few days before the incident, Kairn came to visit and handed over the medicine. It was said to be a medicine to relieve a depressed mood…….’
Depression pills.
It was likely a drug with a stimulating effect.
“So, if we can detect narcotic substances in this blood, we can implicate Kairn in this case and punish him.”
‘I can’t imagine it.’
‘I didn’t expect to detect drugs in his corpse and use it as evidence to punish someone.’
“It won’t take long.”
Christine nodded.
“But what about drug detection? The Master himself?”
Raymond shook his head.
It was impossible to run out of alchemy knowledge.
“I’ll leave it to the experts.”
Then, a voice was heard.
“We’re going to do the analysis in our tower.”
It was Laina!
She looked at Raymond with a faint smile.
“May we talk for a moment, Marquis?”
‘…… I don’t like it.’
Raymond sweated profusely.
It was an enormous burden in his eyes.
He felt like hd was going to be eaten up in the conversation.
That’s when Laina told a sobering story.
“I have information to tell you about ‘bastards.'”
* * *
They moved to the Penin Treatment Center.
Laina spoke in a graceful voice.
“First of all, congratulations on being cleared, Marquis.”
“Thanks to Archmage’s hard work. Thank you.”
“Thanks. All I can do is recite the evidence you have prepared. True…… The more I look at you, the more amazing you get to be. You’re precious.”
A cold sweat ran down Raymond’s spine.
Laina’s eyes were growing greedy as she looked at him.
‘It was worth it.’
To solve the case with forensics!
It was revolutionary.
Indeed, the messages came to mind.
[The first case on the continent to be solved with forensic knowledge!]
[Achievement, ‘Father of Forensic Science’!]
[Bonus Level Up!]
[Bonus Level Up!]
[Gain 200 Skill Points!]
[Your great work will be praised by all future investigators!]
[Gain the skill “Forensic Profiling” as a perk!]
Raymond’s eyes widened.
‘Forensic Profiling?’
[Forensic Profiling]
Type: Academic Skills
Proficiency : D
-Based on forensic clues, you can deduce the ‘approximate’ characteristics of the culprit!
– The more skilled you are, the more accurate your inferences will be!
Forensic clues can be used to deduce the culprit.
It was a great skill!
‘…… But I don’t think I need it. I’m not going to be at a crime scene anymore.’
Raymond looked nervous.
It was enough for him to get involved in a crime.
‘I’m never going to get involved in something horrible like this again.’
‘I’m just a healer! Crimes should be handled by polices and investigators!’
Crime wasn’t the only thing he wanted to avoid.
The Laina in front of him was also a problem.
‘…… Please don’t be so greedy.’
Raymond made an awkward face.
Laiina was staring at him like a lady staring at the world’s most expensive jewel.
‘…… You’re not going to kidnap me to the Wizard Tower, are you?’
Raymond hastily changed the subject to call attention.
“Ahem, but you stepped on their trail?”
“Oh, yes, in the middle of the continent.”
“……!”
Central of the continent.
It was the site of the core nations of the Cross League Empire and the Free City Union.
‘But should I listen to her?’
Raymond thought softly.
‘…… I think they’re too big for a small guy like me. Isn’t this something that should be done at the level of the Wizard Tower or the Kingdom?’
To be honest, he changed my mind.
Immediately after the incident at the mine, he felt that he had to catch the culprits out of a burning sense of justice, but after a while, he realized that he wanted to leave such a dangerous and difficult task to others.
‘…… I don’t have to be involved in catching the culprit. Honestly, what good can I do? Aren’t there many better and more suitable people?’
Raymond wanted to leave the dangerous task of catching them to those good and suitable people, and he wanted to live a comfortable, happy, money-making life.
‘Let’s just listen. Listening doesn’t mean I have to do anything.’
Laina took a moment to clear her throat before continuing.
“It wasn’t easy to follow their trail. There were too few clues. But as I was investigating, I noticed something strange.”
“…….”
“Recently, there have been a great deal of unexplained deaths among the leaders of the southwestern kingdoms of the continent.”
“……!”
Raymond was stunned.
Southwest countries.
It refers to the four countries and other kingdoms.
“The Kingdom of Droughton is a prime example. Many powerful men, including the previous king, died of unknown causes, and the Grand Duke Berard came to power.”
Laina continued quietly.
“And now something similar is happening in one of the countries in the middle of the continent.”
“……!”
“A series of important deaths with unknown causes of death have made the man who had been pushed out of the line of succession to the throne once again, becoming a strong candidate for the throne.”
If this was really their doing, it would be a frightening and gruesome story.
It means that he has enough power to go back and forth on the throne of many countries.
‘What the hell are they?’
Raymond grew more and more afraid of them.
‘…… A small citizen like me (?) I really think I need to get my foot off the ground.’
Raymond deliberately did not ask which country was in the center. He didn’t want to get involved.
Instead, he told a different story.
A little more bluntly so that Laina can understand.
“I see. Thank you for your hard work. I will leave the affairs of the kingdom there entirely to the Wizard Tower and the Archmage, and I will concentrate on calming the turmoil in the Kingdom of Houston.”
‘As for the conspiracies of other countries, I don’t know.’
‘I’m going to live a happy life in the Kingdom of Houston, so thank you.’
However, Laina reacted unexpectedly again.
Instead of reviling him as a coward, she let out an exclamation of admiration.
“As well…… My lord. I’m going to take the lead and catch their tails.”
“…… What?”
“We all know that the Houston Kingdom has their shadow, and we all know that they are trying to lead the way here at some point too. Alas, you’re truly are amazing.”