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."

each word in a

fiddling with the core she was holding in her hand, she looked around at the

it the

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

met with a number of affirmative responses, after which the Princess

=== [Mass event quest]===

assigner : Duchess

the contribution, with at least 5

:

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 by the contributions made throughout the quest.

a strange coincidence,

now fully directed toward Priscilla, who trembled at the sight of

'…It's over.'

flyer, everyone looked at

prove she was the one responsible, then this new evidence was

know

hurled, looking at

Prince Serling clenched his

consequences that are going to befall you in a short moment,

Prince's expression did not change. He looked to be completely

gazed directly at Priscilla, who returned his gaze with a

his mouth, his calm voice traveled through

"Did you do it?"

he spoke to the Duchess, there was not the slightest indication of irritation or anger in his tone. It appeared as though he was asking her

in which he carried himself made everyone frown, but nobody said a word about it. They were interested in knowing in great

not for the fact that they knew his personality well,

attempt at trying to salvage

"N-no."

A crisp stutter.

shook her head and denied the

couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, but she could only hope

her only hope. Her only hope at

more seconds, he turned his head around to face the opposite direction. She only caught a fleeting glimpse of it, but Priscilla thought

certain about it, but his subsequent words caused her to exhale

like she

not

become delusional. Are you trying to protect her, or

the room's atmosphere underwent a

previously expressionless face had completely changed, and her gaze turned fierce. She was

well aware of what will happen

"…and what is that?"

you pretending that you don't know? …Or

"No, not at all."

his head, showing no sign of being bothered in the least

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

of what had occurred, but despite their lack of action, it was clear that they were experiencing feelings that went beyond those of the