Chapter 197: 105. Clues (Part Two)

**

-Prince Derian ordered us.

-Our target was Prince Barus.

-He said that he simply was not brave enough to kill you, master. He told us not to harm you in the slightest.

Four semi-transparent souls floating in the air said those things to me.

As for that ‘master’ bit, it seemed that they were talking about me.

I couldn’t hide my own surprised face while staring at the souls of the assassins.

They were currently made out of divinity, but hell, forget about being under intense ‘torture’ as the ancient Necromancy grimoire had said, it looked more like they had finally become free in my eyes.

I was actually having a conversation with the purified souls right now.

‘The thing I couldn’t do back in Ronia fiefdom, I finally got to do it here.’

I recalled the Witch Morgana incident from back then. I wanted to interrogate her after she turned into an undead, but my skill level was waaay too low and I was unable to converse with the dead at the time.

I gotta say, this was one heck of a useful technique. At least with this, interrogating humans should become so much easier in the future.

Besides all that, though…

“What an impudent bastard.”

My expression crumpled even before I knew it.

It wasn’t just some random stranger, but the Theocratic Empire itself had gotten directly involved in the mediation for the ceasefire.

But then, the Second Prince of Lome, Derian Victoria, ignored the clear-cut order and tried to have Barus assassinated. Even if he got blinded by the throne’s allure, his actions could be construed as directly spitting in the divine empire’s face.

Did that idiot think that he could easily weasel his way out of this as long as he left behind no physical evidence?

This was clearly him flipping the bird at the Imperial Family.

“I didn’t know that we could converse with purified souls,” said Barus while dazedly staring at the semi-transparent souls.

Yup, even ‘regular’ people could see them now. Originally, you’d call these souls ‘evil spectres’, but uh… what should they be called in cases like this one?

Technically speaking, were they now ‘holy ghosts’?

I reached out and grasped at the holy ghost. Right at that moment, I felt a strange sensation.

[Concealment skill at a low proficiency level has been temporarily added.]

[Assassination skill at a low proficiency level has been temporarily added.]

Although faint, I heard messages announcing the addition of new skills ringing in my head. But when I let go, they stopped altogether.

Hang on a second here… this might come in handy, don’t you think?

I shifted my gaze over to Barus. “You still haven’t signed the ceasefire agreement, right?”

Barus nodded while looking somewhat out of it. “Yes, I haven’t. It’s not something I can decide on my own. The matter needs to be discussed with the nobles under me, and I predict that we may need one week to…”

“In that case, let’s get going.”

Barus tilted his head in confusion. “Go…? Where exactly?”

“What do you mean ‘where?’. To your little brother, obviously. I mean really, it doesn’t look like we’ll find what I’m looking for by sitting here and investigating stuff in this manner. I might as well kill two birds with one stone by making sure that the ceasefire agreement goes through, and get Second Prince Derian to cooperate with me at the same time.”

Barus’s eyes opened wider.

He looked pretty shocked right now. Well, I basically told him to head to the middle of the enemy’s camp, so that wasn’t all that surprising.

However, this arrangement was more convenient for me. Being able to keep my eyes on both brothers at the same time would certainly make it easier.

Besides, I should meet up with Luan and see if he uncovered anything so far.

“Remember this. To me, neither you nor Derian is my ally. You two are just a way to find out where Rose is hiding,” I told that to Barus’s face before addressing Charlotte, “Prepare to depart right away. It’s time to put the fear of god in Derian since he dared to look down on the Theocratic Empire. Let’s make sure that he doesn’t do anything annoying later.”

Charlotte nodded in silence.

Soon, our carriage was prepared and the trio of Charlotte, Barus, and I, headed to where Second Prince Derian was – the capital of Lome kingdom, Lomania.

**

(TL: In 3rd person POV.)

Derian felt deeply anxious.

He was restlessly pacing inside his office. He even chewed on his nails until some blood seeped out.

‘Why hasn’t there been any news yet?!’

Three weeks had gone by since he had dispatched the quartet of assassins. They had been trained since young to become exceptional killers.

They were the type to never spill the beans and instead choose to die to protect their secrets. So, even if they failed to assassinate an important target, just like their current assignment, there shouldn’t be any blowback to Derian.

Despite knowing that, he just couldn’t calm the anxiety stewing in his head.

If they had succeeded, then the rebels would’ve fallen into confusion by now. But if they had failed, then the talks regarding the ceasefire negotiation should have at least resumed.

However, it was way too quiet right now.

Although he knew that it couldn’t be true, Derian even entertained the idea of his assassins deciding to forfeit and running away after receiving some money.

While he was waiting for any news to come his way, a guest came to see him.

Knock, knock-.

Derian glanced at the office door.

‘Who could it be? No, wait. I shouldn’t worry about that. The really important matter right now is…’

Bang, bang-!

The knocking noise became harsher, rougher.

He flinched a little and looked at the door once more.

BANG-!

He heard someone kicking the door from the outside. Derian felt his heart nearly tumble down to the pit of his stomach.

A commotion was taking place outside the office. However, it seemed that no one out there could stop the person from kicking the door again and again.

Eventually, the office door broke into bits.

Derian flinched even more and hurriedly stared at the doorway.

The kicker turned out to be the First Imperial Prince of the Theocratic Empire, Luan Olfolse.

The man who didn’t even bother to hide his lecherous grin at every woman he saw, was now looking utterly pissed off, judging from his beet-red face.

“Derian Victoria!”

While making a face of a scary demon, Luan strode forward.

Derian flinched yet again from that low, heavy growling voice and stumbled backwards. “W-what’s gotten into you, your highness?!”

Luan’s hands shot out and grabbed Derian by the latter’s collars.

Veins were visibly bulging on Luan’s face as he stuck uncomfortably close to Derian’s.

It was hard not to sense how angry Luan was at this point. “You bastard. What have you done?!”

Derian’s flinching continued as he hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.

Could it be that his assassination attempt had been discovered? No, wait. Even if that was true, the Imperial Prince of the Theocratic Empire before his eyes had no reason to be this incensed about it.

If Barus was indeed dead, then the rebellion would come undone and that would result in the kingdom uniting under one banner to regain her stability once more. Which in turn should aid in the investigation of the Theocratic Empire as well.

Just what could be the reason for Luan’s rage?

‘Could it be…?!’

Derian’s complexion paled instantly after he pictured the worst-case scenario.

…Which would be the assassins mistakenly harming the Seventh Imperial Prince, or even straight up murdering him.

That would become a clear-cut pretext for war.

“Is it true that you dared to dispatch assassins?”

“N-no, please hold on…!”

“If you were planning to murder my little brother, then I will gladly rip you apart limb from limb this instant. You dared to look down on us? Are you really looking down on the Imperial Family?! Will you feel content only after the entirety of your kingdom has burnt down to ashes?”

Luan possessed the trait of a tyrant. In his rage, he began lifting up Derian by the latter’s collars.

The Second Prince of Lome grew even paler than before.

He realised that this matter couldn’t be brushed aside. He simply had to deny everything no matter what.

But, just before he could open his mouth…

“Brother, that’s enough.”

An unfamiliar voice came from behind Luan. Derian flinched yet again before quickly shifting his gaze over to the destroyed entrance of his office.

A boy stood there.

“Allen,” said Luan before releasing Derian.

The latter plopped down on the ground while coughing and wheezing loudly. He then turned his head again and stared at this boy named Allen.

That boy, he’s Allen? Allen Olfolse?

The Seventh Imperial Prince of the Theocratic Empire?

But, wasn’t he…?

Derian thought that he was with Barus, so how come he was here?

And what were Derian’s soldiers doing, not informing him of the arrival of such an important person?!

Derian cursed inwardly.

However, he noticed that the light in the Seventh Imperial Prince’s eyes, which were locked firmly on him, were somewhat strange. That gaze contained what could only be described as ‘amusement’ as the young prince continued to stare at Derian.

The truth was, Allen had been using [Mind’s Eye] to check up on Derian’s current status.

[Name: Derian Victoria

Age: 19

Attributes: temperament of an underhanded schemer, treacherous, a demagogue, arrogant and conceited, compulsive, egotistical in nature, disposition of a tyrant.

+ I have nothing to fear from by using the Second Crown Princess Consort and the Vampires!]

His status window showed several attributes that contained some pretty strong ‘sinister thoughts’.

Allen came here while thinking of getting the Second Prince’s aid, but who would’ve guessed that the latter would end up as such an amazing helper in reality?

The corners of Allen’s lips curled up.

“Eureka.”

That one word sent a deathly chill down Derian’s backside.

< 105. Clues (Part One and Two) > Fin.

(TL: Only one chapter today and tomorrow.)

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