Chapter 85

This story is a work of fiction.

The characters, organizations, and names are all fictitious and have no connection to any real entities.

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080 - Who is the mastermind!?

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The Knight Commander completely isolated the harem, the area where the royal family lived. No one could enter or leave the harem without the princess's or the Knight Commander's order. However, the queen's subordinates were an exception.

Behind the scenes, a mission to locate and rescue the family of the royal physician Darenam was underway.

The princess entered the harem with the Knight Commander and headed to where the queen was.

"Oh, Elmerda. It's so rare for you to come here."

The elaborately dressed woman in her late thirties must be the queen. The fact that she calls the princess by her first name without any honorifics suggests that she is either a fool or someone of higher status, so I'm pretty sure it's the latter.

"Your Majesty, I have come to report something."

"Oh, what is it?"

She hides her mouth with a feather fan, but her eyes are quite hostile. The reason she is the queen is probably because it was a political marriage.

Incidentally, the princess is not the queen's daughter. The queen is a second wife—she became queen after the previous queen passed away. The princess is the daughter of the previous queen, so there is no blood relation.

"We have apprehended the royal physician Darenam, who attempted to poison His Majesty the King. We will call a priest from the temple to detoxify His Majesty. We also suspect that there are others involved in the assassination attempt, so we will check the record cards of everyone in the castle."

The queen's panic upon hearing this report was quite amusing, though it was inappropriate to find it so. To be so obviously flustered is almost like admitting guilt.

"As regent, I could issue orders, but since this concerns the life of His Majesty, I thought it would be better to issue them in your name, Your Majesty. That's why I came here."

Her eyes darted around, and the teacup she tried to lift rattled. The queen is completely different from what I imagined. I thought she would be a poker-faced woman skilled at hiding her true feelings, but in reality, she seems to be a small-time character.

However, after a detailed appraisal, I realized that she wasn't the mastermind. The queen is one of the culprits, but the true mastermind is someone else.

"Y-Yes, go ahead and issue the orders in my name."

"Yes, thank you. By the way, it seems that Darenam's family has been kidnapped by someone, so we are searching for them now. I believe the details will become clear soon, so please wait for good news. Also, I apologize, but no one will be allowed into His Majesty's room for a while except those I arrange. Please understand."

After saying that, the princess turned and started to walk away.

She left before the queen could say anything about the princess's declaration that no one would be allowed into the king's room. The princess is more capable than I thought.

"Barbatos, proceed as planned."

"Understood."

The two spoke in low voices and left the harem.

The princess returned to her office, and Barbatos went to the command post.

In the princess's office, only two maids and Dren were present.

"Well, is the person who gave me this secret letter still here?"

The princess is acting like a duke. Do nobles have such special abilities that don't show up in their status? Of course, I won't respond.

"You don't need to answer, but please tell me one thing. How did you know that His Majesty was poisoned?"

She says she doesn't need an answer, but then asks such a question. I really won't respond.

"Can you tell me...? I will thank you later once this matter is resolved."

I don't need your thanks.

...Wait? This situation feels familiar. Déjà vu?

The situation was getting suspicious, so I decided to leave the princess's side.

I thought about going to the queen to see her in a rage, but decided to go back to the king's room.

The princess said she would call a priest. I want to see how the priest will treat the king's poisoning. I hope my curiosity doesn't lead to my downfall... but who knows.

The king's room was surrounded by knights, and people were stationed at the four corners, windows, and doors. I slipped through the wall and entered the king's room.

Waiting in a corner, a man who looked like a priest entered. He was younger than I expected, in his late forties.

The princess followed him in. She's been busy.

"High Priest, His Majesty the King is suffering from a poison that causes symptoms similar to Dargan's disease. Can you detoxify him?"

"I cannot guarantee it, but I will do my best."

Before the High Priest could touch the king, I quickly approached and strangled him.

Thud. The High Priest fell to the floor, unconscious.

"What? What's happening!?"

"High Priest!?"

This High Priest had a long criminal record. He also possessed a skill called "Redemption," which could erase criminal records from the record card.

In other words, he could hide various crimes by using the skill "Redemption" to erase his crimes. Moreover, even if he changed his job to a thief, he could still retain the skill and use it to return to the job of a priest. It's ridiculous.

How did I know he was resetting his record card with the skill "Redemption"? It's because my unique skill, "Detailed Appraisal," can see not only the record card but also the person's life history.

I thought he was just a priest, but upon closer inspection, his life history was suspicious in places.

That's when my "Detailed Appraisal" came into play. It showed me the records before they were tampered with. My "Detailed Appraisal" is the best.

This man was the one who had made Grissom change his job from a weak curse caster to a thief. Finally, I found the cause!

The reason Grissom's record didn't show the High Priest was that the High Priest had met Grissom in his capacity as a member of a dark guild, not as a High Priest. The High Priest possessed the skill "Disguise," which allowed him to alter his appearance.

I didn't expect a priest to be able to return to the job of a priest after committing crimes. Moreover, he could retain his level. It was a free-for-all.

Interestingly, the skill "Disguise" is canceled if it is seen through. Since he is unconscious now, he can't activate it again, so I'll take this opportunity to reveal his true nature to the princess.

A piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

The princess picked it up and read it, then immediately ordered someone to be called.

The man who arrived had the skill "Appraisal (High)" and also possessed the skill "Perception."

Moreover, he was level 50! He was an appraiser, and I didn't expect there to be a level 50 appraiser.

His complexion was poor, and I thought he might be in a black environment where he was forced to appraise things all the time. But he turned out to be a workaholic. He appraises everything, even when there's nothing to appraise. He gets anxious if he doesn't appraise things. Yes, he's a bit crazy.

The princess had this crazy appraiser appraise the High Priest.

"There is no mistake. High Priest... no, this Dandereed has a record of changing his job to a thief. He possesses skills like 'Disguise,' 'Theft,' and 'Poison Synthesis,' which are not typical for a priest! Furthermore, he can erase criminal records from the record card with the skill 'Redemption.' This man is not just a priest but a major criminal!"

The crazy appraiser reported excitedly, spitting as he spoke.

It's clear now that the poison synthesized by the High Priest's skill "Poison Synthesis" was used on the king.

The High Priest, the queen, and the person behind them are connected.

"What a terrible thing. A holy man being a criminal. And attempting to assassinate the king..."

The princess's disappointment was immense. Whether or not she trusted him, there was a sense of respect for him being a priest.

The princess checked the unconscious High Priest's record card, but it was clean. This must be the effect of the skill "Redemption."

With such a skill, one can do anything. I need to be careful.

Alright, let's press on!

I dropped a memo, and the princess picked it up.

Reading the memo, she saw a mountain of evidence of corruption by the finance minister and the Earl of Elbasil, as well as a note that Grissom's criminal record had been erased by the High Priest.

I have the urge to kill Grissom with my own hands. But if I do, I might naturally change my job to an Avenger.

Grissom has just entered the dungeon and won't come out for a while. When he does, he will be treated very differently. I look forward to seeing his face then.

I'll list Grissom's past crimes and give them to the princess. Just imagining Grissom's miserable face in a cage makes me feel better.

I didn't expect the High Priest to be the one who pushed Grissom to this. Wait for me, Grissom!

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