abcnovels
Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Chapter 98
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 98: Evidence (2)
***
Alexander Apple was in his room, listening to the news about the expedition.
A smile never left his lips as he only heard good news.
“Leona, is it true that the expedition is failing too badly?”
“Yes, I received the news from my sisters this morning.”
“Hahaha, that’s good news.”
Leona had a communication tool that only worked with dark magic. Through that tool, he was able to constantly hear the news.
According to the dark mages, the current situation of the expedition was truly a failure.
They charged in thinking there were only orcs, but there were many casualties from the orc warriors.
Thanks to the poison spread in the castle, the knights’ stamina and morale were greatly reduced.
They even recklessly rushed into the forest and were massacred by the ogres.
“When do you think that idiot Oliver will give up the expedition?”
“According to my sisters, it won’t be long. They say it will be within 3 days at the most.”
“Good. Very good.”
Leona’s prediction was accurate. 3 days later, news came that a messenger had arrived at the capital.
The crown prince apologizes. The resistance of the orc group is too strong, and the knights are suffering heavy casualties due to unknown factors…….
The letter contained a long and detailed explanation of his defense, but in short, it meant that the expedition had failed.
“Hahaha, hahaha!”
Alexander was overjoyed when he heard the news. It was the first time he had laughed this long in his life.
“That idiot! He was too greedy and ended up failing!”
“Your Majesty, congratulations. You will finally achieve your wish.”
“It’s all thanks to you and your sisters! I will never forget this favor!”
Alexander Apple prepared to leave for the castle.
He planned to go to the castle as soon as possible to criticize Oliver’s failure and kick him out of the crown prince position.
“Are you going with me?”
“My sisters are on their way back…… I should go to them first.”
“Then come to the castle after you meet up with your sisters! I’ll be waiting!”
Leona left the room before Alexander.
Leona headed to the place her sisters had mentioned in the communication tool.
As she got closer to the place, Leona’s heart swelled with happiness.
Leona had spent a long time with Noctis and Marina. They were friends who shared both joy and sorrow.
Since she had been separated from her sisters for a long time, she planned to spend time with them this time when they reunited.
However, when she arrived at the meeting point, it was not her sisters who were waiting for her.
“You arrived just in time.”
Damien Haksen.
Leona’s mind was confused by the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest.
***
“You’ve set a trap.”
“You’re smarter than I thought. And quite composed as well. I thought it would take longer for you to come up with an answer.”
Leona took a deep breath. She was still shaken, but she couldn’t show any weakness in front of the enemy. She pretended to be as calm as possible.
“Surely all the communications that have been sent to my sisters until now have been fake?”
“You’re clever.”
Leona felt a sense of dizziness at his words. It meant that they had been playing in the palm of the enemy’s hand from the very beginning.
“When did you know about our existence?”
“I’ve known for quite a while.”
Damien spoke curtly. He didn’t seem like he was going to elaborate, so Leona didn’t ask any further.
“Where are my sisters?”
“Do you want them back? Then you’ll have to answer my questions.”
She bit her lip quietly. She had always been the one doing the threatening. This was the first time she had been threatened herself.
“Ask me anything. But you have to guarantee the safety of my sisters.”
“That’s disgusting.”
Damien said out of nowhere. Leona tilted her head.
“Just seeing human scum like you dark mages worrying about your family makes me want to vomit.”
Leona didn’t react at all to Damien’s insults. In order to survive as a dark mage, she had to become indifferent to this level of humiliation.
“What was your reason for approaching Alexander Apple?”
“It was to establish a foothold. So that my sisters and I could be safe…”
“A foothold? You were planning to create a foothold for Pandemonium in the Apple Kingdom?”
Leona sighed inwardly at Damien’s words. She had thought that her sisters might have been interrogated, but she didn’t know they would have told him that much.
“…Yes, I joined hands with Alexander in order to create a foothold for Pandemonium.”
“That’s a lie.”
Damien said curtly.
“Pandemonium was organized to overthrow the Empire. While there have been cases of Pandemonium-affiliated dark mages appearing in other kingdoms, they have never created a foothold.”
Leona doubted her ears at his words.
“How do you… ?”
“Furthermore, Pandemonium-affiliated dark mages always carry a mark on them in a visible place. But I don’t see any mark on you.”
Leona felt a sense of eeriness. Pandemonium was a very secretive organization. That’s why, ironically, it was the most famous and yet the least-known organization.
But the man in front of her knew too much about Pandemonium.
“Shall I tell you my deduction? You’re not a member of Pandemonium. You’re just a candidate.”
That was also accurate. Leona’s sense of eeriness grew even stronger.
“In order to become a member of Pandemonium, you have to commit a certain level of evil. You must have planned this whole thing in order to join Pandemonium.”
“…How do you know so much about Pandemonium?”
“I’m the only one who asks questions here.”
Damien said firmly. Leona had no choice but to shut her mouth.
“When did you first join hands with Alexander Apple?”
“…It’s been about 5 years.”
“What methods did you use to help Alexander Apple?”
“I didn’t do anything great. It was just a matter of Alexander dealing with the incidents we caused.”
“By repeating that, you raised Alexander’s power and influence.”
Damien nodded as if he had expected this.
“Why did you interfere with Oliver’s expedition?”
“Alexander Apple wanted the throne. He planned to use Oliver Apple’s failure in the expedition as an excuse to kick him out of the crown prince position.”
Leona answered obediently. She knew that her sisters would have already told him everything. There was no point in trying to hide it.
“I think I’ve answered enough questions. Now please release my sisters.”
“Thank you for your cooperation. However, I cannot grant that request.”
Leona sighed deeply. She didn’t believe Damien’s words either.
The reason she answered his questions was to gather information of her own. While answering, Leona secretly spread her dark magic to check if there was anyone else around.
As a result, she found out that Damien was alone.
“With this much evidence, then I can definitely make Alexander Apple fall.”
“Really? Do you think that’s possible?”
Leona released her dark magic. Countless magic circles appeared at her feet.
“You don’t care about your sisters’ lives, do you?”
“There’s no guarantee that I can save them by following you. In that case, it’s better for me to kill you here and use my own abilities to save them.”
Leona belonged to the Berserk Sect, which possessed the greatest destructive power among dark magic. With a single gesture, she could turn the man in front of her into pulp.
“It’s a shame to kill you so easily, but… the situation is urgent, so I can’t help it.”
Leona snapped her fingers. The magic circles on the floor began to glow.
That’s when it happened.
A flash of light from the sky descended and a sword blade flew down, embedding itself in the magic circle.
The ground shattered with a roar, and the magic circle disappeared in the wind.
“Ack!”
Leona screamed involuntarily. Immediately after, someone landed on the spot where the sword was embedded.
The moment she saw the man’s face, Leona cried out in shock.
“Liam Bluegreen!”
***
After defeating all the orcs, Damien did not return immediately.
He used the dark mage’s communication tool to spread false information and buy himself time.
His goal was to corner Alexander and the dark mage.
“You must tell Sir Liam Bluegreen first.”
“Trust me. I will surely persuade Lord Liam.”
And when the time came, he sent Oliver Apple to Liam Bluegreen.
“…Why are you here, when you should be fighting the expedition?”
At first, Liam did not welcome his visit.
He was Alexander’s man, even if he was a crown prince. Such a visit could lead to misunderstandings.
However, his expression gradually changed as he listened to the truth that Oliver spoke.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Why would His Majesty Alexander do such a thing!”
Of course, Liam Bluegreen didn’t believe Oliver at first.
Liam Bluegreen didn’t think highly of Oliver in the first place. He thought he was a hopeless good-for-nothing and had given up all hope.
He was only worried about the future of the Apple Kingdom, so he thought that it was okay to deviate from the procedures a little bit.
That’s why he had visited Alexander in the first place.
He had judged that Alexander Apple would be a great king to succeed the king. He thought that he could contribute to the further development of the Apple Kingdom.
So it was unbelievable to him that Alexander had joined hands with the dark mages and caused all sorts of incidents.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me, so I brought evidence.”
Oliver brought the two dark mages he had captured this time.
Liam’s face hardened at the dark magic he felt from the two men.
“…Are you saying that these two were with the orcs?”
“If you don’t believe me, ask Sir Michael and the other knights.”
A conflict appeared on Liam Bluegreen’s face. He couldn’t decide what to judge.
Oliver told him the last words he heard from Damien.
“If you still haven’t made a decision, please come here. Then you will accept the truth.”
Oliver told Liam Bluegreen the location of Damien.
When Liam arrived, Damien was in the middle of questioning Leona.
“When did you start working with Alexander Apple?”
“…It’s been about 5 years.”
“How did you help Alexander Apple all this time?”
“I didn’t do anything great. It was just a matter of Alexander Apple dealing with the incidents we caused.”
“By repeating that, you raised Alexander Apple’s power and influence.”
Liam felt dizzy as he listened to the conversation between the two.
“It’s a pity to kill you so easily, but… the situation is urgent, so I can’t help it.”
But the situation was not good enough to just stand by and watch. Liam hurriedly threw his sword at the magic circle.
The ground was shattered by the sword filled with mana. The magic circle was obliterated and the manifestation of dark magic was canceled.
Liam landed where the sword was stuck. He pulled out the sword and looked back at Damien.
“Did you send the crown prince to show me this?”
“Yes. It was quite interesting, wasn’t it?”
Liam made a complicated expression at Damien’s words.
“Let’s catch the dark mage and talk first.”
Saying so, Liam looked back at the dark mage. The dark mage’s face distorted.
“You’re going to catch me? Do you think it’s going to be that easy?”
She released a large amount of dark mana. At that moment, Liam’s body disappeared and appeared in front of her.
“Aaack!”
And he grabbed her chin. He dislocated his jaw so that he couldn’t cast a spell. He completely crushed both hands so that she couldn’t make any sealsl.
“Ahhhhh! Uhaaaa!”
he fell to the ground and writhed in pain. Liam grabbed the back of her neck and knocked her out immediately.
“…What’s the next plan?”
Liam turned to Damien and asked. Damien answered with a nod.
“I plan to go to the royal palace and confront Alexander with his crimes.”
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]