The Author's POV

"You see, for once, I agree with you. It's just that…"

Prince Arian paused, with his arms crossed and a thoughtful look.

With a sideways look, he gazed at his successor. Duke Velmout.

"…Prior to the accident. This little successor of mine, Velmout, set up several backup plans in case the situation turned south. Do you know what I found out?"

A smile formed on his face.

When he extended his hand, a tremor went through the air, and soon after, letters began to form in front of him. They dyed the air a crimson color.

[Patriarch, if you observe this message, it indicates that something has occurred. The most likely perpetrator is Duchess Priscilla of the Sloth clan. I'm en route to meet her at the moment.]

The hall immediately turned silent, and Prince Arian looked behind him. Toward Duke Velmout.

"I was a bit surprised when I saw this message, but I was even more surprised when I saw that he was still alive. For some miraculous reason, he managed to survive. Just by a hair breath though."

He licked his lips.

"A brief talk with him, and I was able to confirm that he had indeed been attacked by the little Duchess. This time, he didn't say it was a cloaked figure... but her. Her alone."

He turned his gaze to look at Priscilla. The smile on his face seemed somewhat uncomfortable to her, and she felt her heart drop.

"I..I…"

Her lips moved, but she was unable to utter a single sound even as her mouth parted open.

'What's happening? Why is this happening? I didn't do anything…'

No matter how much she wanted to argue, under such evidence, she knew that her situation was extremely grim.

If that wasn't all…

"If that's not enough evidence for you, Prince Valling, I've got more information for you…"

Princess Rhan started. A body suddenly materialized in front of her as she waved her hand. It belonged to a male, whose features were extremely pristine, and somewhat feminine.

The only issue was that he was completely lifeless, with not even a trace of breath left in his body.

After gazing at him for a brief period of time, the Princess extended her hand and pierced his body directly in the abdominal region, subsequently extracting a small orb from the wound.

"Take a look at his core."

She held out her hand to show the core. It was comparable in size to a marble.

"You all already know what's wrong with this, don't you?"

The Princess's eyes traveled around the room, taking in each and every person there. Her expression didn't shift much as she pinched the marble in her hand. At first glance, it appeared from the lack of emotion on her face as she fiddled with the core that she did not care very much that her successor had died.

Despite this, everyone could sense that she was harboring deep-seated resentment. She was just very good at hiding it.

"Abyssal Mammoth Bile. Only with such means can you perfectly mask the death of someone."

in a slow and concise

holding in her hand, she looked around at the other players and

it the same

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

was met with a number of affirmative

=== [Mass event quest]===

: Duchess

on the contribution, with

requirement : Marquis

Abyssal Mammoth, a Duke-ranked monster. The minimum rank required to participate is Marquis, and the quest takes place on the 300th planetary revolution. The task entails assisting Duchess Pertinol in bringing down and taming the Abyssal Mammoth, whose approximate strength is close to that of a Prince. The rewards will be determined

strange coincidence,

directed toward Priscilla, who trembled at the

'…It's over.'

she took out the flyer, everyone

wasn't sufficient to prove she was the one responsible, then this new evidence was more than enough

didn't know you were the type to scheme

Aton hurled, looking at Villian with an

to him, Prince

well aware of the consequences that are going to befall you

did not change. He looked to be completely unfazed. As if he was unaware of the circumstances in which

who returned his

calm voice traveled through the

"Did you do it?"

the Duchess, there was not the slightest indication of irritation or anger in his tone. It appeared as

which he carried himself made everyone frown, but nobody said a word about it.

fact that they knew his personality

this his last desperate attempt

"N-no."

A crisp stutter.

her head and denied the accusation while

as calm as a well, she couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, but she could only hope he would

was her only hope. Her only hope

with her for a few more seconds, he turned his head around to face the opposite direction. She only caught a fleeting glimpse of it, but Priscilla thought she saw a smile on his

but his subsequent words caused her

looks like

not

you trying to protect her, or is this part

Princess's demeanor shifted, the room's

was now at the point where she was

of what will happen

"…and what is that?"

…Or are you just trying

"No, not at all."

no sign of being bothered in the least by the words that

utter calmness and confidence in his voice somewhat managed to calm the Princess, who snorted and sat

was already a miracle that none of the other elders had exploded into a rage as a result of what had occurred, but despite their lack of action, it was clear that they were experiencing feelings that went beyond