89 â The Final Trick â 2
A disturbance that could not even be compared to before spread.
Everyone here had just experienced a great upheaval due to the demon invasion, so they had no choice but to react sensitively to the word that an invasion of the empire had been ordered.
âWhat are you doing if you donât keep telling it!â
At Igorâs scolding, the succubus pretended to tremble and began laying out a series of plans that she had probably planned in advance.
The story was that he was a succubus who infiltrated the imperial palace with the help of Laura, a confidant, and that starting with Laura, he gradually expanded his power within the empire.
At the same time, he even directly mentioned the name of the noble family where he wrote.
âThey are pushing my back while openly saying they are going to kill me.â
It was an action whose intention was obvious to anyone. The plan is to use the possessed nobles as bait.
No matter what happens in the middle process, the fact that you are possessed by a succubus is true. There was no doubt that the intention was to kill Laura by pretending to have sworn loyalty to her.
Igor shouted with great vigor.
âYou heard it, Laura! You were the main culprit that was destroying the empire! Selling the empire just for your own comfort, arenât you ashamed of your bloodline called Belium?â
âI heard it very well. But I wasnât embarrassed. âIt was full of lies that werenât even worth refuting.â
But Laura remained calm. It was as if he had escaped the shock to some extent.
âYou even got a confession like this, but youâre calling it a lie?â@@novelbin@@
âWhat can we call a lie a lie? âIt looks like you put a lot of effort into making this up, but if you kissed him so thoroughly, Iâm starting to think that you might be the one who really told him.â
Laura sharply caught her off guard. In the current situation, it was a fact that should naturally be questioned.
If a succubus who appears out of nowhere is planning something and is telling you something, even though you never did it yourself, then you should naturally suspect that she is the one who told you.
There is simply no evidence to confirm the suspicion.
âHave you forgotten that the Sword Saint himself proved my innocence!â
âIâm not sure about their abilities, but there is one thing that makes me doubt. âIf, as you say, they have been summoning my power from behind the scenes for the past several years, why has not a single person been caught?â
âIt was probably possible because you were hiding it thoroughly! âIf you have the power and status of the crown prince, what can you do?â
After hearing those words, Laura raised the corners of her mouth and sneered.
âFirst of all, I would like to tell you that I have been spending most of my time here at Bellium Academy for the past two years. As you know, this place is always protected under the dragonâs protection. âI donât know what you think of the Chairman of Erestica, that you can stay in a place like that and manage hundreds or dozens of nobles for years without being caught by the empireâs investigative network.â
âWho knows! âIt could be that they used the succubusâ abilities that we donât know about!â
âThatâs exactly what Iâm trying to say. âIf a succubus has the ability to hide nobles coming and going in the capital of the empire, especially the imperial palace, without being detected, then wouldnât you also be benefiting from that ability?â
When he was countered by his own words, Igor hesitated for a moment.
If you deny that there is no way to hide it, the question remains as to how the possessed nobles have managed to avoid being discovered, and if you affirm, you will be able to apply that method to yourself as well.
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âYou are going to tell a lie until the end. Good night. In that case, Iâll have to ask someone else. âMummy Crate!â
In the end, as if he couldnât find a suitable retort, Igor turned his attention to me. A creepy smile flashed across Lauraâs face for a moment. He noticed that she was avoiding answering.
âYou asked Professor Ingrid to disarm the shield! If it werenât for the Holy Knightsâ sacrifice, the entire Belium Academy would have been covered in demonic energy! If that were the case, surely no one would have survived! âHow are you going to explain this!â
I donât know who came up with it, but itâs a pretty good improvisation to treat a barrier that originally had no offensive function as if the Paladins had blocked it and the academy was safe.
It seems like he paid a considerable price with his life to express that âsacrificeâ.
Before the invasion, there were at most 500 remaining Paladins, but now there were only about 10 at most. Whether they were killed by monsters or by their own hands, it was clear that it was an intentional sacrifice.
âBut! I know for a fact that you were possessed by a succubus and ordered to do such a thing! Itâs all because of that insider! âRight now, I swear by Igorâs name that you will tell me the truth so that your sins can be taken into account!â
It seemed like he was forcing her to stand on Lauraâs side or on his own side, but I wondered what kind of confidence he had after being rejected earlier.
The answer was decided long ago.
âIs it true that I did it of my own will? It was a fantasy barrier with no attack function to begin with, so what was the sacrifice? âIâm fine, so if you donât believe me, ask the Sword Saint to check.â
A happy feeling appeared on Lauraâs face. On the contrary, Igorâs expression was quite distorted.
ââ¦â¦ Right. Are you still tightly possessed? âDonât worry, we will make it possible for you to receive divine treatment as a priority later.â
âHey, youâre not giving up even after all this?â
At this point, I was almost in awe. If #3 had been thrown at me to my face, I would have given up. Did Astaroth throw a fit to capture me alive?
âQuestions still remain. According to your claim, what surrounded the academy was not a demonic force, but a simple barrier. How did you know that? âWhat even the professors didnât know?â
I expected that question to come up someday. It was a question that not only Ingrid but also the professors who were with her at the time would be curious about. I didnât expect to have to answer in this situation.
I gave out the answer I had prepared in advance.
âIt probably means that my abilities are that great.â
However, it was not completely the same as what was prepared.
â⦠â¦.â
I felt that even Igor was momentarily taken aback by that extremely arrogant answer. Other students and teachers did the same. He had a face that only Priscilla and Rosaria could understand.
Laura was a little different, and seemed very satisfied with my answer.
âHe is a better student than the professor at Bellium Academyâ¦â¦ âYouâre too confident.â
One effect was certain. Igor seemed to have nothing more to say and ended his questioning with that. In fact, he probably didnât even need to ask any more questions. At best, it would be a threat like admitting guilt.
And neither Laura nor I are people who can be easily threatened.
âI will ask you the last question, Laura Ercarenziana. Are you going to deny your sin until the end?â
âWouldnât you say yes only if you committed something? You canât deny a crime you didnât commit. âIf youâre saying that your argument itself is wrong, I donât know.â
When Igorâs expression began to turn grim again, she walked up to Lauraâs side and quietly whispered a plan she had thought of in advance. After hearing her plan, Laura looked at me mysteriously.
âIf it goes according to the plan you made, thereâs no need for us to be trapped, right?â
âThatâs because we plan to clean up the church together. âThey must be trying desperately to produce even one more piece of evidence, so wouldnât it be safe for us to remain quietly locked up and even mobilize the church?â
âI guess so⦠â¦.â
Laura seemed to be thinking deeply about something, and then nodded her head with a characteristic smile. She then opened her mouth to say that she was being generous.
âI have never done anything like that, but since I am suspicious, I will have to investigate. âYou can do whatever you want.â
ââ¦â¦ âWhat are you planning all of a sudden?â
It was a very sudden change in attitude. Not only Igor, who had been questioning Laura a moment ago, but even the students and professors who were watching us looked confused. Geomseong was like that too.
âIâm saying you can do as much research as you want. âEven if you search for it for a million years, you wonât be able to find even the slightest flaw in it.â
â⦠â¦.â
Igor looked disgruntled until the end, but he seemed to think he had achieved his goal anyway, so he ordered the female knights on both sides to take Laura to the imperial palace. This was an order that included me.
âWhere are you trying to go!â
âI wonât run away, so let go.â
I threw away the female knight who was trying to catch me and approached Priscilla, who was glaring at Igor as if she were going to kill him. Rosaria was raising her voice and arguing with members of her church about something.
âMummy⦠â¦.â
âThatâs it. âIâm sorry, Priscilla.â
âShould I kill that bastard? âI can do that right now if you let me.â
âNo. âIâll just accept your heart.â
She stroked her head and then held her in her arms. She put her lips to his ear and whispered, pretending to pat him on the back.
âIâm just waiting for two nights. âI will definitely come back there.â
ââ¦â¦ Two nights. Huh. Okay.â
âAnd she tells Rosaria that she may soon need her role as a candidate for sainthood. âPriscilla, Iâm going to need your help too.â
Nod, Priscilla nodded her head a little more vigorously. She stroked her head again one last time before returning to Lauraâs side. She was staring at me with her bloody red eyes.
âItâs been like that since the day of the entrance ceremony, and they still seem to be getting along very well.â
âThere are complicated circumstances.â
âIâll leave it at that.â
We leisurely boarded the carriage. The news has probably been delivered and they are probably working hard to produce new evidence by now, which is probably a good thing. Because this is a fight I will definitely win.
From now on, it was time to compete with propaganda and fabrication.