novelraw Chapter 160 : Chapter 160
Chapter 160 : Chapter 160
Chapter 160 : I'll Prove It to You
“……Hmph, Uncle Geron. You are not qualified to say such things.”
“Not, qualified?”
The handsome middle-aged man's face slightly contorted at Zayd’s informal speech.
“No, you don't even have the right to be here. For the one who incited discord within the family at this time to brazenly show his face, aren't you shameless?”
Zayd gestured with his eyes at Freddie, who was bound and kneeling, but the middle-aged man, Geron, merely sneered.
“Ha, Grand Prince! Can you take responsibility for those words?”
“Of course. Freddie confessed after he attacked me and lost all the family’s knights. He said you promised to cover for him even if I died.”
At that statement, the gathered vassals began to murmur.
“That’s……”
“No way……”
“Even so……”
As the Great Hall began to stir again, Geron maintained his cold demeanor.
“Nonsense! In the first place, the Grand Prince’s words are contradictory!”
“Contradictory?”
“Young Master Freddie attacked and was instead captured? And he even lost all twelve knights? Among them was the 4-Star knight, Groove. Do you think this makes sense?”
Geron’s expression, as he looked around the assembly and continued speaking, was full of confidence, and accordingly, the atmosphere of the Great Hall began to change again.
“Rather, looking at the current results, wouldn't it make more sense to say that the Grand Prince, who colluded with the Black Knight, attacked Young Master Freddie?”
“Geron! Shut that mouth!”
An enraged Zayd raised his voice, but Geron didn’t stop.
“The Black Knight is no Enoch Trian. It’s absurd to say he defeated two squads of knights, including Groove, all by himself. He must have launched a surprise attack. In the process, Oren and the others who followed the Young Master would have been killed. Wouldn't that make more sense, everyone?”
Geron’s words were now directed not at Zayd, but at the assembly.
Looking only at the revealed results, his speculation seemed plausible, and many of the listeners nodded their heads.
But Zayd, on the contrary, seemed to have regained his composure and gave a cold smile.
“No matter how you try to delude the vassals with your eloquent words, the witnesses remain, Uncle.”
“Witnesses? It’s just the Black Knight you brought and his gang, isn't it! Besides, I know that mixed-race woman is an assassin who betrayed our family.”
Geron even blurted out the existence of Rauel, which had been an open secret even among the family’s senior members.
“Over a hundred of Freddie’s soldiers were with him throughout the entire process, Uncle. No matter how much you insist, the evidence is clear.”
Zayd sneered at him, but Geron countered with a sardonic smile.
“Evidence? What evidence, Grand Prince? Are you saying those soldiers heard me say such dreadful things? Not only did that never happen, but on my way here, I heard the testimony of a few soldiers, and they said they were the ones who were attacked.”
“……What?”
Zayd’s expression momentarily twisted.
‘Look at this……?’
Muno, who had been watching the argument between the uncle and nephew with interest, let out a hollow laugh.
‘Don't tell me he bribed those soldiers in just a few hours?’
Otherwise, such a confident assertion couldn't have come out.
If even some of the soldiers gave different testimonies, it seemed he was planning to gloss over it by saying ‘the witnesses’ opinions are divided,’ no matter how many supported Zayd’s words.
Even so, unless Lenok Aslan was a fool, the full story would eventually be revealed.
The problem was that the one with the highest authority was not present at this moment.
‘And there’s no definite guarantee he’ll be back.’
Geron’s intention to get through this situation first was clearly felt.
Perhaps the soldiers who gave conflicting testimonies would disappear one by one while the family head was focused on other important matters.
Whether it was Geron’s doing or Zayd’s.
‘Is this place just a den of vipers? In the meantime…….’
Even as he clicked his tongue inwardly, Muno felt a chilling killing intent.
The fierce gaze of the Lightning Blade Sword, Evan Orgus, who was standing at a distance, was fixed on him.
But even in this situation.
Neither Muno, nor Rauel behind him, nor even Zayd in the seat of honor changed their composed demeanor, even if their expressions were angry.
Even the bound Freddie just lowered his head further, despite Geron’s eloquence in his defense.
Did he sense it?
“……Since there are outsiders, let’s end the dispute between the two young masters as just a dispute and release Young Master Freddie, Grand Prince. Then I will pretend the series of overreaches of authority never happened.”
Geron’s subsequent proposal was more conciliatory than before.
However, Zayd did not accept it.
“Are you finished speaking, Uncle?”
Geron’s brow furrowed at his nonchalant tone.
The moment his pupils trembled slightly and his mouth wouldn’t open.
“Then let’s hear how you'll explain this.”
Zayd took out a small sphere from his pocket, and when he tapped it, a bright light shone and a human-sized hologram began to float above it.
The images of two people familiar to those present were projected.
Soon, a voice was played.
[What is the reason you have come to see me?]
A short conversation began with Freddie’s words.
And after that, shocking words followed.
[Is that true, Uncle?]
[I promise, young master. If you get rid of the first young master this time, there will be no repercussions. Besides, he only has three knights with him.]
[What did you say?]
[Instead, the young master, after becoming the successor, will give me the position of godfather and command over the empire-related businesses…….]
At that moment, Geron, whose face had turned pale, shouted.
“It's a lie! It’s all fabricated! What, crazy! That idiot Freddie would never have left a video that could be poison to himself……!”
“But, ta-da. He actually did, Uncle. That’s just how the bloodline of our Aslan is. You looked down on your foolish little brother too much.”
“It’s a lie! Unbelievable……!”
“It is genuine. There are no signs of manipulation in the crystal sphere’s mana.”
Geron’s words were buried by the quietly resonating voice of the flame burst user, Imedi.
A 6-Class Spirit Master, and in a completely neutral position within the family, Imedi.
At his verification, gazes that had finally turned cold began to pour down on Geron.
“No, crazy! No! This isn't it! It's not!”
“Does anyone have any objections to this situation?”
While Geron’s rambling shouts echoed through the Great Hall, the vassals remained silent before Zayd’s dry question.
Then, a sardonic smile spread across Zayd’s face.
“Sir Evan, detain Freddie and Uncle Geron. According to the family law, the punishment for direct blood relatives will be carried out as soon as the family head returns.”
“……Yes, Grand Prince.”
The moment the commander of the Aslan Knightly Order, the Lightning Blade Sword, bowed his head to Zayd, the atmosphere was completely settled.
“No, it’s unfair, unfair, Grand Prince! Let’s talk again for a moment……!”
Geron, who was shouting even as he was being dragged away by the knights, and Freddie, who was quietly led away with his head bowed in resignation.
With that contrasting scene in the background, the Great Hall completely fell under Zayd’s control.
“Then the Black Knight……”
“The Grand Prince must have persuaded him.”
“Amazing. How……”
And a few hours later, the conclusion of the great meeting was reached.
“Then, I will delegate full authority to Sir Muno Drasen, the Black Knight, to personally visit and investigate the place where Ian…… no, the poison master Chamber stayed. Of course, for a fair investigation, I request that Sir Evan Orgus, the Lightning Blade Sword, and Sir Imedi accompany him. Will you two grant this request?”
“……Of course, Grand Prince.”
“Hmm. I was bored, so this is good.”
Evan, who accepted the order with a face that openly showed his displeasure, as if he had no choice, and Imedi, who nodded with his still-calm expression.
“Well, then there’s no need to waste time.”
Muno and Rauel immediately led the two of them out of the Great Hall.
And as soon as they did, a stern-looking old steward followed them.
“Please follow me. The item you were promised has been prepared.”
At that, Muno smiled at Rauel.
“I like that they work fast.”
“……Yes.”
As Rauel, her face slightly flushed with anticipation, nodded.
Evan, who had been looking displeased all along, scrunched up his face even more and asked.
“A deal? With the Grand Prince? Is that why you agreed to testify?”
At those words, Muno shrugged.
“Otherwise, why would I, of all people, come all the way to Aslan? A family that tried to kill me.”
“……Damn brat.”
Evan ground his teeth, but said no more.
Instead, the seemingly calm Imedi came up beside him.
“What were you promised? If you receive something too great, it may become a seed of discord later on.”
Amidst Muno’s puzzlement at the advice with an unknown intention.
“It's the Ghost's Bow. That won’t happen.”
Rauel, who had been quiet all along, responded with a confident tone.
“Ah……. The one the young lady used?”
Imedi, too, seemed to know about the assassin organization, Dagger, and Rauel.
“Yes.”
“Ah, so because the young lady needs it? Hoho. Black Knight, as expected……”
Imedi nodded as if he understood something.
“If it’s just that much……”
Even Evan’s crumpled expression smoothed out a little.
As such, only curiosity arose on Muno’s face.
‘What’s with this reaction?’
Isn’t it as if they’re handing over something not very valuable, something insignificant, and receiving a great reward for it?
“……You really need it, right?”
“Yes. For me.”
Even at the question posed out of a nagging feeling, Rauel nodded with a confident face.
At that, Muno followed the steward with a slightly relieved expression.
And soon, he could see the large bow, engraved with an antique pattern, that the steward had prepared.
“Here……”
“Ah……!”
Before the steward could say anything, Rauel ran towards the bow with an excited expression.
And the moment her hand grasped the bow.
- Ahhh.
‘Oh?!’
Muno smiled slightly as he felt the wind spirits gathering around the bow.
A feeling like a pleasant spring breeze.
‘But why the name……?’
The Ghost's Bow?
The moment he tilted his head, Rauel, as if guessing his thoughts, smiled slightly and said.
“It’s a weapon that can only be properly handled by an archer who can hit a target with a hundred percent accuracy from a distance of over 500m.”
An item that discriminates based on the user's ability, not the type of mana.
“If it's such an item, it must be a real named artifact?”
Meaning that the name Ghost's Bow might not be just a nickname, but the artifact’s official name.
But Muno had never heard of such an item.
“Yes. It's an artifact whose previous user was over 300 years ago.”
Ah…….
While he understood, there was a part he couldn’t comprehend.
“Why was such an item treated as a half-piece?”
If it was a named artifact, it would have a value greater than most high-quality bows, even if there was no one who met the conditions.
But.
“Th-that’s……”
At that natural question, Rauel turned her head and averted her gaze for the first time.
Instead, Imedi, who was looking at it with interest, answered.
“Because that bow gnaws away at the user’s lifespan. It is said that the previous user also died young before reaching the age of thirty.”
Those words were enough to make Muno’s face harden.
“Rauel, you……!”
“It's a superstition, a superstition! It just drains a lot of strength, and now I have an idea why!”
“Still! Why did you go through all this trouble to get such an ominous item……!”
“It will be helpful! To you, Lord Muno, I promise!”
Rauel’s voice, which came pouring out in a hurry, blocked his words.
A stubborn face of Rauel that he had never seen before.
‘No, have I ever seen such a frustrating woman.’
A complicated feeling of frustration, gratitude, and pity crossed his mind.
“I'll prove it to you!”
Rauel began to slowly draw the bowstring, without even nocking an arrow.