Chapter 28: If It Cannot Be Resolved Publicly (4)

The next day.

A murderer who had killed prostitutes was captured in the brothel district located on the outskirts of the royal capital.

The entire capital was thrown into chaos.

Of course, that alone wouldn’t have caused such an uproar.

It was because the culprit turned out to be none other than Count Diang Oulad, a noble who had long been known to the public as a quiet and respectable man.

Naturally, the incident went beyond the jurisdiction of the Knights, who handled criminal cases collectively—it reached the ears of King Laskan himself.

Bang—!

King Laskan slammed the armrest of his throne with such force that even the solidly crafted chair trembled.

He was nearly at the threshold of becoming a Sword Master, and the strength he exerted caused the entire throne to quake.

“How could a noble! A man responsible for diplomacy, no less, commit such atrocities without anyone noticing?”

The prostitutes murdered by Diang Oulad were not just one or two—it was over thirty.

Outwardly, he had pretended to be polite and upright, a model of nobility, so everyone was utterly shocked.

Naturally, no one dared to utter a word in response to the king’s fury.

“Why is no one speaking!”

The fact that he had killed over thirty prostitutes was already horrifying enough—but there was an even greater problem awaiting them.

“On top of that, patricide! Is such a deed even conceivable for a man once hailed as a model noble?”

At King Laskan’s further outburst, the nobles and ministers standing in the audience hall turned pale as ghosts.

It turned out that Diang Oulad had spent considerable time poisoning his own father, Deiran Oulad.

The details of his actions had been meticulously recorded in a diary that Diang himself had written.

It was a revelation so shocking that many found it difficult to believe.

Among those gathered, one person looked even paler than the rest—

it was Queen Elina.

She had been the one to recommend Diang Oulad as a marriage candidate for Trine’s only daughter.

Had that marriage taken place, King Laskan would have unknowingly tied one of his most trusted aides to a serial killer as a son-in-law.

Naturally, Trine was also standing behind the king’s right side in the audience chamber.

That was precisely why the king’s wrath was burning even hotter as he lashed out at his nobles and ministers.

“Haah…! Sir Trine.”

At the king’s low call, Trine quickly stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

“Speak, Your Majesty.”

“I have no face to see you. Even if I had ten mouths, I would find no excuse to offer.”

Diang Oulad’s crimes did not end with the prostitutes and his father. It turned out he was also involved in the death of his fiancée from five years ago.

Simply put, the man had been utterly consumed by murder.

Had the marriage between Sophia Diego and Diang Oulad gone through, no one could have imagined what horrors might have followed.

“I am truly sorry.”

“……”

Even as King Laskan personally apologized, Trine could not find the words to respond.

“I know that my apology alone cannot quell your anger. From this day forth, I will no longer intervene in the personal matters of my subjects—including marriages among noble families. Please take it as my word.”

Until now, nobles had forged relationships for power and wealth, and even the royal family had often woven their ties for the sake of influence.

But because of this incident, Sophia, Trine’s only daughter and the daughter of the Royal Knight Commander, was now completely safe.

No one would dare to use Sophia again as a means to connect themselves to Trine.

“It is all right, Your Majesty…”

“I know it is difficult to hide your resentment. In any case… the Oulad family has no heir to succeed the line. Therefore, I shall strip them of their title! Their assets will be confiscated and returned to the royal treasury. Ministers, see that my decree is carried out!”

“We shall follow Your Majesty’s command!”

The ministers responded in unison to the king’s commanding voice.

Even then, Trine could not raise his head.

Everything he had done to remain loyal now felt painfully meaningless.

After the audience in the great hall ended, Elina entered the king’s office alongside King Laskan.

Her face was so pale it seemed drained of blood.

In truth, she hadn’t even known about Diang Oulad’s crimes until his name was mentioned during the royal assembly.

Naturally, she had no time to prepare a response and had been forced to endure King Laskan’s fury beside him.

“Huu…!”

King Laskan let out a deep sigh as he sank into his chair.

Until then, Elina had not even dared to sit; she quietly walked forward and stood before his desk.

“Your Majesty… I truly never imagined that Diang Oulad would commit such unspeakable acts.”

“Do you call that an excuse! Do you understand what it means that I nearly tied such a man to Sir Trine’s only daughter? Do you realize how grave this is!”

“If I had known what kind of man he truly was, would I have ever arranged a match with Sir Trine’s beloved daughter? It is truly a misunderstanding, Your Majesty!”

Panicking, Elina tried her best to deny any involvement and calm the king’s rage.

However, the matter was too severe, and King Laskan’s anger refused to fade easily.

“This incident has utterly destroyed the royal family’s credibility. I cannot express my shame. How am I supposed to face my ministers and nobles now!”

At his cry, Elina bowed her head deeply.

“They will understand as well. Everyone was deceived by Diang Oulad, after all. So, please calm your anger, and how about granting Sir Trine some form of compensation?”

“Compensation? Queen… this is not something that can be resolved with such measures. Do not interfere further.”

At that firm reply, Elina couldn’t say another word.

In the end, she left King Laskan’s office and returned to her own chambers.

Step. Step.

When she entered the room, someone was already waiting for her.

It was her father, Duke Alito.

As soon as the meeting in the audience hall had ended, he had been waiting for Queen Elina’s return.

“Judging by your expression, I take it you had quite a quarrel with His Majesty.”

“And whose fault do you think that is! Why did you recommend such a man and cause all this trouble?”

“Had I known about such things, do you think I would have done so?”

Duke Alito was no less troubled than she was. Still, unlike Elina, he remained calm and composed.

“What are we to do now? To be honest, I had high hopes since it seemed his daughter and Count Diang were getting along so well. But now we’ve ended up in this mess.”

“Calm yourself. Getting worked up won’t solve anything.”

“But this has completely ruined our relationship with Sir Trine.”

If they had managed to bring Trine Diego, the Royal Knight Commander, completely to their side, a considerable number of nobles and ministers aligned with the royal faction would have followed.

But the plan had failed utterly, leaving them at a loss for how to recover from it.

“You need not worry about that. Including those we have already been in contact with, several have decided to stand with us.”

“Truly?”

At last, the delicate balance with the royal faction had begun to shift.

Of course, it was also the result of Duke Alito’s painstaking efforts in contacting various figures over a long period of time.

“Four years from now… Within that time, I will see to it that our position is firmly secured. For now, you must take care not to draw His Majesty’s ire any further.”

“I understand. I’ll be as cautious as possible.”

Queen Elina and Duke Alito exchanged dark smiles, lost in the thought of the moment they would finally seize what they desired.

Then, a question crossed Duke Alito’s mind.

“Who was it that brought down Diang Oulad?”

Diang Oulad possessed mid-to-high-level swordsmanship and had even self-taught himself magic that no one knew of.

With such skill, there was no way an ordinary thug could have defeated him.

According to Diang’s own testimony, a mysterious assailant had appeared and subdued him within just two or three attacks.

If his words were true, whether by coincidence or not, it meant someone had interfered in their affairs.

“Indeed. Even the knights said he was difficult to restrain once they received him.”

“I checked into it, but there were no traces left.”

The woman who had nearly been murdered was a witness, but there was little evidence to go on—she only testified that the attacker had worn a mask.

Other than that, heavy rain had fallen, and the thugs had trampled the area so thoroughly that not even footprints were left.

“We’ll have to be even more careful.”

“Indeed, we must.”

Tak—!

Raion drew his sword in the workshop, checked that there were no nicks or damages, then sheathed it again.

Just then, Patrick entered the room. He had returned after confirming the royal meeting held in the audience hall.

“As you said, His Majesty has decreed that there is to be no interference regarding Sir Trine.”

“That’s a relief. Then the important matters are mostly settled.”

“Does that mean there won’t be any further issues?”

“Well~ for now, at least.”

“Please, from now on, leave such dangerous matters to me alone. It is not fitting for Your Highness to take action personally.”

In this matter, Patrick’s role had been to search Diang Oulad’s annex and retrieve any evidence that could be used against him.

After planning everything, they had decided to act separately to minimize the time difference between their movements.

“I know, so drop it, will you? You know there was no other choice.”

“I understand that much, but you never said you would confront him directly.”

In truth, Raion had only intended to tail Diang Oulad.

Patrick was supposed to obtain the evidence afterward and resolve things himself.

However, because Diang had acted sooner than expected, Raion had no choice but to step in.

“I really had no other option.”

“Phew…! Regardless, from now on, absolutely not.”

“All right! I got it! Besides, we just have to keep things quiet for the next four years anyway.”

Because of this incident, Elina and Alito had nearly fallen out of King Laskan’s favor.

Naturally, they would now act cautiously for the sake of preserving their power and influence.

Seeing that events were unfolding just as planned, Raion couldn’t help but smile.

After that, four years quietly passed.