Battle at the Royal Palace – Part 10
Austrin picked himself up. “You… I understand now. You’re the one who killed my father!”
“Huh?”
The nobles chimed in.
“Oh.”
“I see.”
“He does look suspicious.”
The word “suspicious” struck a nerve with Hikaru. “Well, I don’t really care what you think.”
“Did you hear that?! So it was you!”
“How about wiping your nose?”
Austrin wiped his nose with his sleeve. “This person is the assassin!”
Heaving a sigh, Hikaru stared fixedly at Austrin. “Hey.”
“Wha—?!” Austrin flinched under Hikaru’s piercing gaze.
“If I was the assassin, I would’ve killed you already instead of staring at you all day. Oh, do you want me to kill you?”
Austrin yelped. Hikaru sidled up to him, and the prince fell back on his rear.
I might have scared him a little too much, Hikaru thought, but he actually misjudged himself.
Having gone through numerous crises, Hikaru had acquired a certain degree of intensity, almost at the level of a martial arts expert. His high Soul Rank also contributed to this.
“Anyway, you’re all done,” Hikaru said. “They might let you off lightly if you have a drink or two.”
“Nonsense. I am the Crown Prince—no, the King. This is just the beginning!”
“You’re hardly convincing when you’re down on your butt like that. In any case, you’re no good.”
“On what basis?!”
“Look, here he comes.”
The door flung open, revealing a masked figure in assassin attire—Unken. The nobles shrieked once again at the sight of another suspicious individual.
“This one seems sharp,” Unken said. “He tried to sneak back into the room to destroy the evidence, but I caught him.”
Unken dragged the portly chamberlain by the collar, throwing him into the room. Groaning, the chamberlain rolled over near Austrin.
“I searched the chamberlain’s private quarters and found prohibited drugs,” Unken said. “The same substance would likely be found in the late king’s body upon examination.”
The nobles’ faces turned pale.
“You… Did you abuse your position to commit such a despicable act against His Majesty?!”
“He’s probably the one who orchestrated the assassination.”
“What a fool…”
The chamberlain rose to his feet. “What nonsense! How much money did all of you receive from me?! That money was acquired by conspiring against His Majesty!”
“W-We know nothing about such money…”
“To think you would stoop so low as to slander us…”
“I have receipts. You’re not talking your way out of this! They’re not on me, though. They’re with that fellow in black over there.”
Unken carried a large bag on his back, presumably containing evidence of the chamberlain’s misdeeds and the proof that would expose the involvement of the nobles.
“Oh no.”
“Yes, this is bad.”
“We need to retrieve that.”
This time, the nobles set their sights on Unken. Even he wouldn’t be able to handle such a large number of people.
“Nobody move!”
A different door swung open, and knights burst into the room. Knight Commander Lawrence led the way, accompanied by the three Dukes and Galeicrada. The four members of the Four Eastern Stars, including Princess Kujastria, were also present. Lavia and Paula had managed to slip away.
Even East, who confronted Hikaru in the Confederacy of Einbiest, stood among them. The knight shot a vicious glare at Hikaru. He didn’t used to be like that. Hikaru wanted to believe that it wasn’t his fault that the man grew to become so twisted.
“Everyone here will be detained for questioning,” Lawrence announced matter-of-factly.
“What right do you have to say that?!” a noble protested.
“This is tyranny!”
“Silence! If you’re innocent, you should not fear any investigation!” Duke Jackrune roared, silencing them.
Nevertheless, a few nobles attempted to flee through the window, only to be apprehended by the knights.
Hikaru let out a sigh of relief. It’s finally over.
The central figure of corruption within the palace was the chamberlain. In order to investigate his crimes, the quickest and most efficient move was to have an expert like Unken gather the evidence.
All that remained was to ensure that the nobles themselves didn’t escape, and then they could be arrested in one fell swoop. Hikaru’s expectations turned out to be correct.
“Hah. So this was all your doing, Margrave,” Austrin said wearily.
“No, Your Highness. I did choose to support Princess Kujastria instead of you, but honestly, I believed the chance of success was slim.”
“But this outcome was what you wanted, no?”
“There were unexpected variables.”
“Unexpected variables?”
“That man over there, Silver Face.” Grugschilt pointed directly at Hikaru. “He turned everything upside down—the persuasion of the reluctant Princess, revealing the chamberlain’s schemes, quelling tonight’s chaos.”
“I see… So it was you.”
Austrin turned his gaze towards Hikaru, but Hikaru had no intention of taking credit for everything. It was Grugschilt who used him to persuade the princess, and Unken possessed the physical evidence needed to expose the chamberlain’s schemes. As for tonight’s chaos, Hikaru only played a part in it. Well, it was a significant role, but he didn’t think he deserved as much credit as Grugschilt suggested.
However, Austrin took the Margrave at his word.
“Silver Face, I am Austrin. Austrin G. Ponsonia. I challenge you to a duel right here and now.”
“…What?” The sudden turn of events left Hikaru bewildered.
Yet, as Hikaru observed Lawrence’s face, watching the unfolding scene with a stern expression, he began to understand Austrin’s state of mind.
Once morning came and news of the king’s death spread, it was likely that Kujastria would ascend the throne. None of the nobles would support Austrin, who had conspired with the chamberlain, a man who fed the king narcotics.
Austrin hadn’t committed any wrongdoing, but he would undoubtedly be held accountable for the crimes committed by the chamberlain. What fate awaited him? As a member of the royal family, he wouldn’t face the death penalty, but he would become an inconvenient presence for the new ruler, Kujastria.
In that case, would he renounce worldly life and become a priest? Would he become a powerless Duke with a small territory in the countryside? Or would he be imprisoned?
For Austrin, who had once dreamed of becoming the king, any of those futures would be nothing but demoralizing.
And so, he planned to end it all here.
Does he want to die?
Austrin’s face was smeared with blood, and standing there he appeared exhausted and unsightly. There was no longer a glimmer of attachment to life in his eyes.
Screw you! I won’t be your executioner.
Hikaru could use Stealth to escape from this situation. There was no need for Hikaru, who had no involvement in the succession to the throne, to bear such a burden.
However…
This must be his last display of dignity.
As Grugschilt mentioned earlier, if Hikaru hadn’t intervened, it would have been difficult to persuade Kujastria, and Galeicrada would have died not long after. In that sense, Silver Face was partly to blame for Austrin’s failure to seize the throne.
Though he lacked the aptitude, this man had always believed that he would become the next king. Now thrown into the pits of despair, he clung to his last bit of pride and challenged someone to a duel. To some extent, Hikaru understood how he felt.
“Fine, I accept,” Hikaru replied. “Pick up your sword.”
Austrin picked up the sword with a look of relief.
“En garde.”
“Come.”
Taking a deep breath, Austrin charged forward with a cry.
You should have had that look in your eyes from the start. Not an indulgent and decadent gaze. Not a stagnant gaze drowned in alcohol. If only you wore a face that sincerely and faithfully cared for the kingdom…
He looked ungraceful, wretched, fragile.
“…Ugh.”
With a thud, Austrin came to a halt.
The sword fell to the floor, but since it landed on the carpet, there was no sound.
A dagger’s blade protruded from his back, and as Hikaru withdrew it, Austrin’s body collapsed, spilling a large amount of blood. Gasps rose from the nobles, but most of the people present watched solemnly.
…then you could’ve become the next king.
Hikaru took out a piece of cloth from his pocket, wiped the blood off the dagger, and tossed it aside. The cloth floated gently down near Austrin and soaked the blood on the floor.
This marked the second time Hikaru had taken someone’s life.
However, he didn’t feel the weight of having killed someone; it was more like he was dragged into Austrin’s life and assisted him in his “farewell.” A vague emptiness filled his chest.
On this day, the successor to the throne of the Kingdom of Ponsonia was narrowed down to just one person.
Night slowly turned to dawn. It would take a few days for the citizens to learn that a new era had dawned upon the kingdom itself.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Rule Breaker (Light Novel)
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Overall, this chapter was the one of the most satisfying ending for the prince and the chamberlain cahooting with the nobles. They both committed crimes in their country which Hikaru’s group cornered them to achieve the goal as Hikaru had no regret taking the prince’s life who fought his ambition till the end.