Chapter 231: |
Chapter 231
“…….”
Raymond was silent.
‘What does this mean?’
“The Healing Tower believes that the roots of this all is also in the Kingdom of Houston.”
“…… Really? Why?”
Laina smiled.
He seemed to be asking, pretending to not know everything.
“First and foremost, Prince Python’s death.”
It was unexpected.
‘That was a long time ago and they’re suddenly intertwining it to the situation now?’
Laina picked up her tea and took another sip to see if her throat would burn.
“Do you know how Prince Python died?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“While he was riding a horse, he suddenly went paralyzed and fell to his death. But it’s strange. At the time, Prince Python was a Sword Expert, and a healthy knight with no chronic illness. And then he suddenly gotten paralyzed.”
Raymond swallowed.
“Do you think they might be involved?”
“I’m not sure. But it’s a possibility.”
“…… If they had intervened, His Highness Kairn might’ve joined hands with them.”
“Bingo. Prince Kairn could not have dreamed of ascending the throne before Prince Python’s death. The drug case that caused abnormalities to Prince Seytil this time is the most suspicious.”
Laina stood up and happily covered her mouth with a fan.
“Ho-ho, I was worried about what Prince Kairn would do, but I’m relieved that your Excellency will come forward in person.”
‘No, that is not what I meant!’ Raymond cried.
Kairn could be connected to those evil bastards!
It was a slap in hus face.
“Anyway, be careful. If they really were behind him, Prince Kairn wouldn’t fall so easily. I’m sure he’ll make the last effort.”
Laina grinned.
“Of course, sir, I don’t have to worry at all. I’m sure they’ll use Prince Kairn to catch their tails in reverse.”
Then Laina disappeared, leaving Raymond alone in a cold sweat.
‘Damn, I was going to happily rake in the money now, but they’re behind Kairn? It can’t end like this.’
Raymond clenched his fists.
The biggest problem is that Kairn’s eyes are turned upside down right now.
He didn’t know what he was going to do with their help.
‘We can’t leave it like that!’
Then, a dispatch came.
“Brother, there’s this news.”
It was Lao.
Incidentally, Lao had returned from Rafald in a hurry due to the urgent situation in the capital.
“It has been confirmed that His Royal Highness Kairn is in close contact with the Marquis of Nexen and the Duke of Raven!”
“……!”
Raymond was stunned.
Marquis Nexen. He was the head of the north and Kairn’s maternal family.
The Duke of Raven was also a supporter of Kairn.
“It’s Christine’s family, but the Duke of Raven still supports Kairn.”
Raymond had a heavy face.
The Marquis of Nexen in the North. The Duke of Raven in the east.
Both were strong heads.
He didn’t know what Kairn was going to do to shake the two.
“We have to stop it.” Raymond said to Christine after much deliberation.
“You want me to convince him?”
“Yes, I don’t know what kind of trick he will do to shake His Excellency the Duke of Raven. Please hold him down so that he will not be shaken by your side.”
Christine nodded.
“Yes, leave it to me. I’m going to crack it down for you.”
“Thank you.”
Raymond breathed a sigh of relief.
The Marquis of Nexen alone would not be able to plan anything.
As long as the Duke of Raven was held steadily, there was no big worry.
It just so happened that the Duke of Raven was in the duchy of the east.
Christine rode the Shuttleffin to the Duke of Raven while Raymond, who remained in the capital, kept an eye on the movements of Kairn.
It was after a few days of nervousness.
Suddenly, a dispatch came.
But it wasn’t the news he had been waiting for.
“Brother, hurry! It is from the Duke of Raven!”
“Lao?” Raymond looked surprised.
‘Hurry where?’
Raymond’s eerie uneasiness flashed through his face.
Indeed.
“His Excellency the Duke of Raven has been poisoned!”
“……!”
Raymond’s eyes widened.
Poisoned? Just like that?
“What? Who is the culprit?”
Lao bit his lip.
Lao’s heart sank as he looked unusual.
“The culprit is Princess Christine!”
* * *
‘Nonsense!’ Raymond exclaimed.
She poisoned her father.
“How did this happen?”
“I don’t know the exact circumstances. It is said that Prince Alfred is taking care of the situation.”
“Alfred?”
Raymond frowned.
It was the Duke of Raven’s bastard son.
He was pushed aside by Christine and stripped of his successor position.
‘Really?’
Suddenly, an eerie speculation came to mind.
Lao nodded heavily, wondering if he thought the same.
“It seems highly likely that Alfred was responsible. If you can deal with the Duke of Raven and Princess Christine at once, you will be able to inherit the Duke’s position.”
An ugly eldest son pushed by his younger sister.
It was a situation where this could have happened.
“But I knew him to be a great man, so why would he do something like this?” Raymond looked puzzled.
It takes a certain amount of surprise to do such a horrible thing.
“A great man who ran away from war because he was scared would do this?”
It wasn’t easy to understand.
There must be something more dark about it.
“Then what is the situation with Christine now?”
“It is said that she escaped with the poisoned Duke of Raven.”
Figured.
It became even more clear that Christine was not responsible.
If it had been hers, there would have been no way she would have escaped with the poisoned Duke.
“She js in danger.”
“Probably…… I think so.”
Then he heard a murmur outside.
“Hey…..!”
“Shuttleffin?”
Startled, he went outside to find a blood-soaked shirt landing in the garden of the treatment center.
On top of the griffin was Christine’s bodyguard, Lero, who was also bloodied and unconscious.
“Well, how did this happen?”
[While I was eating beef, the Duke’s soldiers attacked me at the same time! Bad humans! I can’t forgive them!]
Shuttleffin snarled angrily and unusually.
From what he heard, it seemed as if it had been premeditated, and the attack was carried out with arrows and magic.
“What about Christine?”
[The human woman couldn’t come to me, so she hid in the nearby mountains. I wanted to bring her with him, but there were too many soldiers to bring her].
Understanding the situation, Raymond frowns.
Alfred probably intends to kill Christine right away.
‘We need to save her!’
“Hanson, get your weapons and an emergency cart. Elmud, you are to find Mien and bring him to us at once.”
Every second was ticking.
They were in a hurry
An unexpected visitor came.
“Wait, can you spare your time, my dear brother?”
A gentle smile.
But his eyes are extremely cold.
It was Kairn!
“I have something I want to talk to you intimately.”
* * *
‘Really? Who is behind this?’
Raymond had a hunch the moment he met Kairn.
That Alfred has Kain behind him!
Raymond asked, his face hardened.
“Does this incident have anything to do with Your Highness?”
Kairn didn’t answer.
He just smiled.
The moment Raymond saw that eerie smile, he knew the truth.
‘It’s clear! When the Duke of Raven, who supported him, faltered, he had Alfred poisoned him. Alfred will support him unconditionally.’
Raymond clenched his fists.
Kairn looked out the window, his face more relaxed than before.
People were in full swing, loading and getting ready to go.
Kairn looked at him and blurted out.
“It’s no use going.”
“…… What do you mean?”
“No amount of haste can save the Duke of Raven. The Duke will die before you arrive, and Princess Christine will be executed as a murderer.”
Raymond realized two things from Kairn’s words.
That the Duke of Raburn is still alive.
But that he was going to die soon.
“Of course, it’s hard to believe that she, who was even called a little saint, would poison her father, but if the duke dies like this, she will be convicted. There’s no turning back.”
Kairn was right.
The best way to resolve this situation is to save the Duke.
The Duke was likely to know who the real culprit was.
Even if he does, at least he knows that Christine isn’t the one who poisoned him.
‘But what do you do?’
The problem was time.
It must have been poisoned, but how long can the Duke last?
Then, Kairn spoke.
“That’s why I’d like to make a suggestion.”
“……?”
“Kneel down to me. If you help me ascend to the throne, I’ll tell Alfred to spare Christine.”
Raymond frowned.
It was an unexpected offer.
‘What shall I do?’
Normally, I wouldn’t have pretended to listen.
But Christine was the problem.
At this very moment, she was being hunted for her life.
He didn’t know when she would be caught and killed.
‘I need to save my disciple.’
It was a moment to grit his teeth.
That’s when Hanson came in.
“Master, wait a minute. Miss Lero woke up. He has something urgent to say to the Master.”
Lero.
It was Christine’s secret escort.
Everyone had forgotten about him because he was so insignificant, but this time he was injured while protecting Christine and fell on the side of the road and was brought here by.
Raymond hurried to see Lero.
“The princess wanted me to tell you something, Your Excellency .”
“What is it?”
“He said he would be mad if you knelt down to a psychopath because of her.”
“…….”
Raymond was silent.
The smart Christine seemed to have guessed how things were going to turn out.
‘…… I’m scared whenever she gets angry.’
“But what about her?”
“I’ll tell you about a secret place in the mountains that only the young lady knew about, where she practiced samurai. She would hide there and try to hold on somehow. She asked you not to think in vain, but to come and save her quickly.”
“…….”
Raymond cleared his throat.
It was Christine’s message.
‘What shall I do?’
It wasn’t an easy decision to make.
And what if she’s wrong?
But then, Lero spoke again.
“Really…… She said she was angry.”
“……!”
“The young lady has vowed to punish Prince Alfred and His Royal Highness Prince Kairn for this incident. So save the young lady and punish those demons!”