Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 32

Episode 32

The Adjutant popped out as if he had been waiting and shouted.

"Count! I told you, didn't I? That that wench is a witch who came to harm the Count's estate!"

"A w-witch?"

"What is this all about?"

At his instigation, the employees who had been standing at attention quickly took a step back from the sofa.

The Adjutant then gave a triumphant smile and gestured somewhere.

"Now that we have witnesses with their eyes wide open, you won't be able to make excuses like you did yesterday! Come forward!"

Two men walked out, parting their way through the employees.

People gasped lightly upon seeing their state, their faces beaten black and blue, with their eyes and cheeks swollen and bruised.

They were the guys I'd beaten the crap out of in Kassel's prison earlier.

'Guess they ran back naked?'

I smirked, seeing them properly dressed.

My face was clearly hidden by my hood, but had they recognized my expression?

The guys glared at me murderously, as if looking at a sworn family enemy.

"These are the knights in charge of distributing meals to the prisoner in the Tower, Count. Now, testify about what you suffered at the hands of that vicious wench today!"

"We were bringing the meal to the prisoner as usual. But that wench suddenly appeared and..."

"She attacked us with some unknown black magic!"

It was an absurd testimony, but it began to stir fear in the people.

'I should have just banned them.'

I knew they'd run to Adam and tattle maliciously, but I didn't think it would get tangled up like this.

At the mention of black magic, the employees began to murmur.

But Adam alone pointed out the flimsy excuse with a blank face.

"Knights of the Count's estate were taken down by a mere apothecary? Two of you, at that."

"I-it was a surprise attack, so we had no time to defend!"

"Y-yes. That's right! She seems to be a dangerous person with considerable skill. She must be dealt with immediately!"

Everyone's attention focused on me.

The fear-filled gazes lasted only a moment.

The faces of the people looking at me gradually filled with dubious expressions.

It was likely because, for a "dangerous person with considerable skill" as the knights claimed, my appearance was far too shabby and destitute.

Damn it.

When it was clear no one was easily buying it, the Adjutant hastily changed the subject.

"I-it's not just them, Count! John and Matthew also met with misfortune while cleaning that wench's room!"

"Count. As I reported this morning, they were stealing from the apothecary's room."

'Oh.'

It was truly unexpected, but even in this situation, there was someone taking my side.

It was the Head Maid.

Although she had treated me like a foul-smelling beggar when I returned from my arduous battle with the mud monsters earlier, she was a truly fair and rational person.

The Adjutant laid into her.

"Shut your mouth, Head Maid! They aren't the last of them!"

"What, so there are more?"

"Come to think of it, I guess a few people are missing..."

The people began to murmur again.

"Two gardeners, three maids who were working in the laundry room, and two knights who fainted on their way back from the training ground!"

Seizing the opportunity, the Adjutant quickly pressed his case.

"Today alone, no less than 10 people have left their posts without reason!"

"Goodness!"

"Isn't it suspicious? Moreover, yesterday there was that bizarre phenomenon where 12 employees, including the Head Maid, all fell asleep together in the cafeteria! And of all people, wasn't that wench present at that time, too?"

Pointing his finger at me, the man spat as he gave his fiery speech.

The faces of the people, realizing the connection between yesterday's strange incident and the absence of those the Adjutant listed, were once again colored with fear.

"Go on, open that clever mouth of yours and try to talk your way out of this!"

Now that I was in an inescapable situation, the Adjutant tossed the ball to me with a vile smile.

"Apothecary."

Even Adam, who had been silent until then, turned to look at me, his face chilling over.

"Anything left to say."

He was telling me to make my final argument, if I had one.

Not even a day had passed since we agreed to work together, but his attitude clearly showed he had no intention of helping me in the slightest.

I glared at Adam, my eyes filled with betrayal.

'You bastard, you should at least pretend to be on my side! Worse than the Head Maid.'

However, I didn't show it and replied shamelessly.

"Yes, I do."

"Wh-what! That impudent...!"

The Adjutant flared up, but I ignored him and spoke.

"Everyone. Unfortunately, there are people here right now who have become hosts for parasitic monsters. There are quite a few, at least 10 or more by my estimate."

"Wh-what did you say?"

"Parasitic monsters? What on earth...!"

The lobby buzzed loudly once again at my shocking words.

The Adjutant's eyes widened, as if he hadn't expected me to expose it so openly.

"Th-that's ridiculous nonsense!"

"Of course, exterminating the monsters is simple, so please don't worry too much. I was secretly exterminating the monsters under the Count's orders, who noted that several employees had been acting strangely recently."

At my smooth follow-up, this time the Adjutant whirled to look at Adam, his face stained with betrayal.

Just like me, a moment ago.

"C-Count! What is the meaning of this! This isn't what we discussed...!"

As I tossed the ball back to him, Adam shot me a cold glare.

I shrugged.

'See? Why'd you have to feign complete ignorance? So disappointing.'

Adam Hailey is displeased by your words and actions.

But I pouted at the system window that popped up immediately.

He could have said something like he couldn't just listen to one side and would investigate, or questioned what power a mere apothecary would have to do such things.

If he had said even one thing in my defense, I wouldn't have been so snarky.

But this was all a necessary process to provoke the leader anyway.

Now that I had involved the Count, people looked at each other and grew agitated.

At my calm and composed reaction, Adam finally sighed and played along.

"Tell us what this monster extermination method is."

"It's this potion."

As if I'd been waiting, I whipped a Potion Containing Sunlight out of my pocket.

"It's a potion made from the petals and stems of a sunflower. When it touches the host's body, the parasitic monster dies, and the host faints from the aftershock."

"S-such a thing can happen..."

"The people who are missing right now are probably unconscious because I killed the monsters."

"Ah, no wonder... Hanna and Marie wouldn't wake up no matter how much I tried to rouse them."

Just then, a voice spoke up, supporting my claim.

For once, I appreciated the developers' work in moving them somewhere inconspicuous within their usual roaming areas.

'Right, it takes two to tango.'

I added with a satisfied smile.

"If I intended to harm the employees, I would have killed them all while they were unconscious."

"D-don't lie! How can we trust that suspicious potion you made!"

As the situation turned against him, the Adjutant suddenly rushed at me in a desperate fit.

"If you're so confident, then give it here!"

"Hn."

In the blink of an eye, the man snatched the potion from me, 'Pop!' went the cork, and he held it up high for everyone to see.

"Everything she says is a lie! I will prove it myself. Watch!"

He then poured it on one of the knights standing right next to him, one of the ones I had beaten up.

Chiiik!

Along with a sizzling sound, black smoke rose from the knight's body where the potion hit him.

"Aargh!"

With a death cry, the knight collapsed to the floor, his eyes rolling back as his body trembled violently.

"Kkeueueueuk!"

The man, who had been convulsing, soon went limp.

"J-Joseph! Joseph!"

The other knight, who had been standing next to him frozen in terror, quickly bent down to check his colleague's condition.

Then, flinching, he stiffened and said.

"H-he's dead."

For a moment, a chilling silence fell over the Count's estate.

But it was only for a moment. The lobby erupted into chaos over the horrific incident that had unfolded in such a short time.

"Gasp! D-dead?"

"Wh-what is this..."

"Sh-she really was a witch!"

People began to glare at me, their eyes wide with horror and anger.

'I underestimated him.'

There was definitely nothing wrong with my potion.

He must have anticipated this situation and prepared a few countermeasures.

One of them must have been these knights I beat up.

'Right. It's better to die than to be banned.'

In contrast to the atmosphere of fear and gloom that had settled over the estate, I looked at the dead man rather coolly.

I didn't know what exactly happened to a banned character, but it was certain they were erased from the area's character relationship chart.

If it was just death, they could still be alive and well during another user's playthrough.

I was planning to ban them right after this was over anyway, so it was lucky for the dead one and unlucky for the one still alive.

"My goodness, look at this! I was merely trying to confirm whether that wench's words were true or false, and he died... Oh, Joseph!"

With the knight's sudden death, the Adjutant's words began to gain traction.

Amidst this, the man put on an act with all his might, even welling up with tears as he cornered me.

"Monsters in the sacred estate where the Count resides! Even if such things exist, isn't the one who killed a man, that wench, the real monster?!"

"Th-that's right!"

"For someone to die, it's horrible!"

"Please execute that monster at once, Count!"

The momentum shifted to his side, and people agreeing with his words and denouncing me popped up one after another.

His clones were probably taking this chance to fan the flames.

'Tsk.'

I clicked my tongue at the difficult situation.

A player being framed as a monster by a monster...

How could anything be this insulting!

'Should I just kill them all, whether Adam is watching or not?'

I had tried to avoid using skills in front of the main characters if possible.

But the leader was using his head more than I thought, and things had gotten complicated.

There was no choice but to just kill them all right now.

"S...!"

"Hey, Apothecary."

It was at that moment. Just as I had uttered the first syllable of the Stun skill.

Adam, who had maintained his silence until then, suddenly spoke.

"That potion. Do you have more?"