Early morning.
Crown Prince Victor and Prince Llewellyn went to see Duke Middleton as soon as the sun rose.
After a brief mont of confusion at the sudden visitors, Duke Middleton invited them into the room.
“I did not expect Your Highness to co first, and Prince Llewellyn of the Everan Kingdom has co with you.”
With the Crown Prince seated at the head of the table, Duke Middleton, sitting across from Llewellyn, spoke first.
Llewellyn smiled awkwardly and nodded in greeting.
“Nice to et you, Duke Middleton.”
“I have heard of you. I heard that you have been staying in the Caerleon Empire recently, but I am surprised that you have suddenly co to the Lucain Kingdom.”
The Duke replied bluntly.
Although he was polite, there was an obvious wariness in the Duke’s eyes.
Llewellyn answered, still smiling.
“I am simply grateful that His Highness welcod an uninvited guest so warmly.”
“I think that’s enough of the greetings… what brings you here so early in the morning?”
Duke Middleton brought up the main point rather sharply. The Duke’s cold gaze fell on Victor.
“I won’t beat around the bush, Your Highness. Did you want to check for yourself whether this old man was okay?”
“I have co to clear up a misunderstanding, uncle.”
Victor opened his mouth calmly. Then Duke Middleton’s gaze darkened even further.
“Misunderstanding. What kind of misunderstanding are you talking about?”
“First, I’d like to talk about what happened last night.”
He could have easily shrunk back, but Victor continued speaking without hesitation.
“First of all, I am glad that you are not injured anywhere. I swear on my position as Crown Prince that it was not my doing.”
“Yes?”
Duke Middleton frowned, as if he had not expected the Crown Prince to say sothing like that out loud. Looking straight at his uncle, the Crown Prince spoke.
“I think we misunderstood each other. When I saw His Majesty looking like a corpse, I thought it was sothing that my uncle had done at the instigation of the Evil Cult. However, yesterday, you were attacked by soone who revealed his identity as a mber of the Evil Cult…”
Of course, the culprit was Sir Arendt von Eckhart.
Victor swallowed hard and continued with his prepared speech.
“I beca sure that it wasn’t my uncle’s fault. That’s why I asked to speak with you first. I sincerely apologize for my rudeness.”
“…”
The Duke’s eyes staring at the Crown Prince turned slightly strange.
The sight of the Crown Prince not avoiding eye contact seed unexpected.
“I also asked Prince Llewellyn to accompany . I know it is not appropriate to invite a foreign figure to discuss important matters of the kingdom, but…”
Victor seed slightly tense, but he still tried not to shrink his shoulders..
“Now that it’s clear that the Evil Cult is involved, I think it would be best to seek the help of Prince Llewellyn. He’s close to the Caerleon Empire, so he could certainly be of assistance to us.”
The Crown Prince’s determined face seed to show a hint of confidence.
Llewellyn, who was watching the scene, inwardly let out a brief exclamation of admiration.
‘So the results are showing already.’
Well, it wasn’t particularly strange.
From then until just before the sun rose, Arendt hurled all sorts of insults at Victor and injected him with all the lines he needed to say in front of the Duke.
On top of that, every single thing, from his posture and facial expressions to the way he carried himself, was nitpicked.
Having endured in one night the kind of humiliation he’d never faced in his entire life as Crown Prince, it was only natural that even soone as mild as him would start to harbor a quiet fury.
Even Llewellyn, who was watching right next to him, was getting fed up.
“…If you put it that way, then I too will gladly engage in conversation.”
The Duke nodded slowly, his face hardening.
It seed like he hadn’t completely cleared up his doubts yet, but Victor’s sincere attitude seed to have moved his heart.
Victor asked calmly.
“First of all, I think we need to have a serious discussion about His Majesty’s condition. Do you know anything about it, Uncle?”
It seed like the conversation was about to start in earnest.
Llewellyn pretended to straighten his clothes and checked that the video recorder hidden in his chest pocket was working properly.
‘I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.’
Llewellyn swallowed a deep sigh.
‘I didn’t want to live like a prince, so I left the palace of my own accord…’
Who would have thought that he would act as a spy in another palace?
But since he had brought it upon himself, he had no choice but to go along with that damn bastard now.
After hearing the rough report, Cantares was silent for a mont.
Arendt asked first.
“What are you thinking?”
-All else aside, I’m just wondering how I should apologize to Prince Llewellyn.
Cantares answered calmly from across the communication port. Arendt replied, leaning comfortably back on the sofa.
“What is there to apologize for? It’s all sothing he did of his own free will. It seems like he’s quite wild in his ho kingdom, so this is nothing.”
-You conscienceless bastard, do you really think that?
“I’m completely serious, is there a problem?”
-You. Your very existence is the problem, you bastard.
Whether the Crown Prince growled or not, Arendt changed the subject without a care.
“Anyway, the conversation between the Duke and the Crown Prince has been recorded in its entirety on the video recorder, so I’ll hand it over to you later. If necessary, use it for blackmail.”
-Are you really a knight?
The Crown Prince, asking bewilderedly, soon gave up everything and sighed deeply.
-Anyway, the fact that you went that far ans you still don’t completely trust the Duke and the Crown Prince.
“What should I believe? I only confird that Crown Prince Victor is a foolish man, and Duke Middleton is a stubborn old man.”
Cantares groaned at Arendt’s answer.
-The Crown Prince is exactly the kind of person you would hate… but I think he has his own strengths. Even in a peaceful era, carrying out the duties of a Crown Prince is not an easy task.
“He was only able to hold that position because no one challenged him.”
Arendt responded firmly.
“That’s why the king’s brother, of all people, started sneaking around and lifting his head, ignoring the Crown Prince.”
-Normally, soone like the Crown Prince’s uncle wouldn’t be in a position to be called “of all people,” but still.
Cantares, who had answered with a heavy heart, steered the conversation back to its original course.
-Okay, finish explaining the situation. I’m sure you’ve already reviewed the conversation between the Crown Prince and the Duke.
“Don’t rush . I was going to tell you anyway.”
Arendt rolled the video recorder over in his hand.
“For now, I’ll just say that my true identity is known only to Crown Prince Victor. It’ll be said that say that the attack last night was the work of Roger from the Evil Cult.”
-Wait a minute, that na. Isn’t Roger the guy who almost killed you in the Great Temple? You’re pretending to be that guy and ssing around? Are you crazy?
“Let’s ignore the minor details. It seems that the King has already been turned into a ghoul for quite so ti. Llewellyn went to check it out with the Crown Prince just now…”
Arendt continued to speak, pretending not to hear Cantares’ torrent of curses.
“It seems the ghoulification has been progressing for quite so ti. However, the King himself is said to not be aware of the problem.”
-Wait a minute, what does that an?
“It’s literal. He doesn’t realize that he’s turning into a ghoul. I’ll explain it to you one by one.”
The first to notice the change was the Duke.
The Duke, who noticed that the King’s flesh was rotting away, decided after much thought to hide the King.
The reason was that no one could be trusted until the Evil Cult’s hidden roots within the royal family were discovered.
As Arendt’s explanation continued, Cantares beca increasingly speechless.
-…His Majesty beca a ghoul. Did he still cooperate with the Duke in that state?
After a long ti, the Crown Prince finally asked a question.
“Yes. It seems that his cognitive ability has significantly declined, so he followed the Duke’s persuasion without much objection. That’s why he was able to give his aides a vacation and even dismiss the servants who were serving him.”
Arendt rolled his eyes.
“According to the Duke, his intelligence has been gradually deteriorating, and recently he has beco like a four-year-old child. He was able to communicate to so extent in the beginning, but now he is reduced to only primitive desires.”
-This is really crazy. Primitive desires? So he’s not completely lost his mind?
“Yes. It’s hard to say that he’s truly dead. His appetite has increased, and he mostly just sleeps except when eating. His body is gradually decaying more and more.”
His body would have changed slowly without even the person himself or those around him noticing.
By the ti the Duke noticed the change, he would have been helpless.
“He literally beca a ghoul while still alive.”
Arendt paused for a mont before adding:
“Lord Lexion took a quick look around, and found no suspicious signs of sorcery or divine power within the palace. So it seems like he was attacked in a different way than the ghouls we’ve seen before.”
-This is really driving crazy. Do you have any leads or clues at all?
“I’ve already encountered several test subjects who beca ghouls while still alive. There’s only one aspect related to their intelligence, though.”
Arendt frowned slightly at the Crown Prince’s question.
“Do you rember? It’s where we first found Jiklin’s lab.”
-Are you talking about the lair in the lake mine?
The answer ca back right away.
Jin, who had set up a laboratory in an abandoned lair, conducted experints on the villagers around the area.
“The prisoners we found there… those who were sacrificed as test subjects, right? They also showed similar symptoms.”
–By similar symptoms, does that an their intelligence was deteriorating?
“Yes. Of course, they didn’t have their flesh rotting away or anything, but their judgnt was clouded and they acted like children. It was probably a spell that took away their ego. Isn’t that the basis?”
It was a side effect that occurred while trying to create a fake spirit stone.
“If Lexion found no traces… that ans the work was finished long before we got here. It took so ti for His Majesty to be completely consud.”
Arendt continued slowly.
“Perhaps by the ti the Duke discovered it, the sorcerer had already withdrawn and left. And the person who asked the Evil Cult to turn the King into that person is soone else.”
-So then the most likely suspect right now is…
Cantares muttered.
-Once we leave out Crown Prince Victor and Duke Middleton, it’s the other prince and princess.
Arendt added:
“And there are also the concubine and the queen, the mothers of the two. I will look into it from this side first.”
-I see. Looking at the situation, it would be better to send the Knights in that direction soon. It would be better than being late.
“You figure it out yourself.”
It was a presumptuous answer, but the Crown Prince did not take issue with it.
Instead, Cantares brought up a different story.
-Are you okay? You caused such a commotion in the palace. Of course, I agree that it was necessary to stir things up.
Cantares’s point was also quite valid. The Lucain Palace was already under the reach of the Evil Cult.
-I agree that it was the best way to test the waters, but wasn’t it too risky?
It was not a good thing that Arendt was known to be at the Lucain Palace.
No matter what anyone said, he was the first target of the Chernion Cult.
-You ntioned Roger’s na, so of course they’d notice. Surely there’s no other crazy person who would do sothing like that besides you.
“I appreciate the kind words, but I have prepared sothing for tis like this.”
When Arendt burst into laughter, Cantares was silent for a while.
After a while, the Crown Prince spoke again in an extrely wary tone.
-Hey, no way…
“That guy should be having a blast by now. Give him so work to do before you send him over here.”
As if to prove the saying “never say never,” Arendt answered brightly.
“I told him to make a little noise, whether inside or outside the palace. He might exaggerate a bit, but he’d probably be pretty good at it.”
-…
Cantares was left speechless.
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