Conquering The Novel

Chapter 97 Uncovering The Trap! [2]

Hearing me, Irethiel broke open the door rather than using the keys from a guard's bloody corpse.

Smash!—

She demonstrated her physical prowess by breaking open a huge ass door in a single punch, which I must admit impressed me because that door wasn't just any ordinary door, but one that had been reinforced by enhanced magic to deter break-ins.

I shook my head, came out of my thoughts, and walked in.

And as I entered the room, I was surprised by the spectacle I was seeing.

!?

A girl was eating a lollipop while sitting on a chair, and as soon as she saw the door destroyed, she turned her attention to us.

"Oh, Ares, you've arrived!" The girl exclaimed happily as she saw me.

'...Yup, it was Silvia all right!'

And as I looked around the room, I discovered the corpse of a chief officer who had arrested her.

He seemed to have been tortured to death.

"...."

"Oh, you're looking for him?" Silvia said as she pointed to a bed hidden behind the curtains.

And when I walked over to the bed and pulled back the curtain, I observed the guy who everyone had assumed was dead.

...That's right, Aretrus was still alive.

***

Moments Before Silvia Being Arrested ~

I rushed to the hospital where Aretrus was being held and asked the receptionist which room he was being treated in.

"Are you Ares? He is receiving treatment in a room [402] "The receptionist answered readily.

I hurried toward the room receptionist had informed me..., but I came to a halt as I sensed something was amiss.

"Why did you stop?" Perplexed, Irethiel inquired.

"... I think it's a trap!" I muttered to Irethiel telepathically.

!?

"Hmm! What makes you think that?" Irethiel inquired, surprised.

"...."

"It's not complicated; as everyone is aware, thanks to that video, that I severely beat Aretrus, which is how he wound up in the hospital.

...

But, despite knowing that I was behind his current state, that receptionist quickly informed me about his room," I stated telepathically.

"Can you just get to the main point?" Irethiel demanded impatiently.

"...well, the point is that she should have stopped me from visiting him rather than telling me about his room, so easily.

...She acted as if she was expecting my arrival," I explained.

"...."

"It does make sense now that you've put it that way! And also because of him, you were disowned by your family, so they should have forbidden you from meeting him out of fear that you would do him harm." Irethiel noted.

'...Wow, she's getting smarter!' I pondered, seeing Irethiel comprehend the situation.

"So, what now? You can just avoid it now that you know it's a trap, right? But that Silvia girl already appears to be in trouble," Irethiel stated as she examined the situation in the room where Aretrus was being treated.

"Yeah, I could avoid it, but I doubt Silvia could, as she appears to have already fallen for the trap!" I replied as I entered Aretrus' room.

Because it would be difficult for her to use her vampire abilities in the academy, and even if she could, it would only make matters worse.

***

And as I walked into the room, Silvia was already in an odd situation, just as I had anticipated.

"...."

"There are some humans approaching the room you're in!" Irethiel informed me telepathically.

Silvia, who was trying to persuade me that she didn't murder Aretrus, overheard my and Irethiel's telepathic conversation, and her eyes widened in shock and she came to a halt.

"Did you hear her, Silvia?" I said telepathically to Irethiel, and Silvia nodded after overhearing me.

"Her stalking abilities will at least come in handy today," Irethiel remarked, laughing.

"...."

And as soon as the officers arrived, our Actress Silvia had done a pretty good job in her acting fooling everyone, but of course, she wasn't as good as me.

I advised Silvia to act in order to uncover the person who was responsible for setting this trap, and she was quick to accept even taking the blame for the murder.

And I'm aware that there were numerous other approaches to uncovering the identity of the mastermind behind this trap... without Silvia being implicated.

However, I felt compelled to continue because I needed to learn something that involves Silvia.

But, of course, I had the means to prove her innocence.

Since Irethiel already informed me as soon as we walked into this room that Aretrus's corpse was a fake.

It could have fooled anyone, including myself, due to its excellent camouflage, but Irethiel obviously appears to be accustomed to this type of concealment.

But I wasn't expecting Ivica to show up because Rose informed me beforehand that she wasn't in an Academy, and it appears that even officers weren't expecting her.

'Did she come here because she sensed the presence of a vampire?' I pondered

And when she saw Aretrus's corpse and realized something wasn't right, as well as my behavior, she just went along and put on a show with me.

And after they took Silvia, I told Irethiel to follow them to find out where they were taking her.

And much to my surprise, they took us right to Aretrus' lodging.

***

Present ~

"Oh, he woke up just a little while ago, but I just knocked him out again!" said Silvia as I was gazing at Aretrus.

"...."

"Did you figure out who was behind all of this?" I inquired, but I do have an idea about the person who was responsible for this.

"Yeah! I interrogated that chief officer by torturing him in different ways.

And I found out that your stepmother seems to be behind this.

Given your growing fame, she appears to have planned this by fabricating Aretrus' death and blaming you for it," Silvia explained.

"So she even bought up the members of the hero association, huh?" I remarked.

"Yes, it appears to be so," Silvia said.

"Seeing how the officers arrived in a flash as I entered the room, I already predicted much.

And they appear to have been given the task of arresting us both and removing Aretrus's fake body from the academy," I explained.

"What do you mean by "us both" Ares? Wasn't the trap set specifically for you?" Silvia inquired perplexed.

"Did you not hear the name of anyone else from that chief officer?" I asked.

"No, he died before I could ask him any further questions," Silvia replied.

"...Alright, before I explain, what were you doing in Aretrus' room at the time?" I inquired of Silvia.

"I-It was, I-I just wanted to threaten him into canceling the engagement, I wasn't planning on killing him or anything," Silvia explained as she averted her gaze from mine.

"...."

"...And who else knew you were paying him a visit?" I inquired.

"Hmm? It was just Aegis and my Secretary, as I was planning on killing—er, threatening him—with no one else knowing," Silvia responded.

"...I think you should find yourself a new Secretary," I suggested.

!?

"Do you mean—" Silvia said, but then paused due to a sudden realization.

"That's exactly what I mean!" I replied.

"Why would she?" Silvia muttered.

"Can I ask you a question, if you don't mind?" I inquired of Silvia.

"Yeah?" Silvia said as she turned her focus on me.

"...You aren't the real daughter of the merchant association's chairman, are you?" I inquired this because according to the novel, Silvia joined the Shadows organization after killing the head of the merchant association.

And Irethiel claims that Silvia's father is not a royal vampire, despite Silvia being one.

However, I thought at the time that her mother was a royal vampire and ignored it.

But ever since I first met Silvia, I've been baffled as to why she would murder her father.

"...."

"...Yes, you are correct. He isn't my biological father," Silvia acknowledged.

"Are you asking this because you believe he and your stepmother planned this together?" Silvia questioned.

"...To be honest, I do think that's the case," I said.

"Hmm, if you think so, then that could be the case," Silvia said casually.

!?

I just kept staring at her, observing her unconcerned expression as if it were nothing new.

"I'll take care of it myself, so don't worry. I don't want to drag you into the world of vampires," As she felt my gaze, Silvia gave her explanation.

And after listening to her, I was now even more confused.

"She is right, human! It's best if you stay out of the conflicts between vampire societies for the time being...at least until you're strong enough," Irethiel remarked.

"...."

"What should we do with him then, Ares? Now that everyone believes he is already dead, should we simply kill him?" Silvia asked abruptly, her gaze fixed on Aretrus.

"...What are you saying? We need him alive to prove you're not guilty" I responded.

"Oh right, ...but we don't need his future generations do we?" Silvia stated as she smashed the lollipop she was holding on the ground.

"...."

*Gulp.

'The fuck! She is scary,' I gulped aloud as I thought to myself and just stared at Silvia with a blank expression.

"Pftttt hahahaha!" Hearing Silvia, Irethiel burst out laughing.

***