I, Reincarnate as the Leader of the Villainous Knight Order - Chapter 182: The Cause of the Predecessor's Death

Chapter 182: The Cause of the Predecessor’s Death

About twenty days had passed since we came to the Kingdom of Eldrasia. By that time, not just the royal palace, but the entire royal capital had become unsettled.

The reason, of course, was because the wedding of Crown Prince Felix and Princess Clarisse was approaching.

Jest had temporarily returned at Ernest’s request. It was to report the matter of the magical tool to the King of Rafios.

Since we also asked him to deliver each of our letters, he was scheduled to return tomorrow.

In the meantime, we had been spending our time fairly busily. We were occasionally being asked to guard Aria’s experiments or engaging in training.

“Aria has been acting strange for the past few days…”

That was said by Clarisse.

At Ernest’s request, we had come to the palace as the entire Justin Squad was summoned. And the topic turned out to be a consultation about Aria.

“Isn’t Aria always acting strange? …Oops, I mean, isn’t that so?”

At Simon’s words, Clarisse chuckled softly. But she quickly returned to a gloomy expression.

“She always greeted me with a smile whenever we met at the academy. But these past few days, I haven’t seen Aria smile even once. I heard she’s been going out of the capital with you all. So I thought you might know something.”

Currently, Clarisse was attending the academy together with Felix. She was deepening her ties with other noble sons and daughters. And it seemed she was getting along well with Aria.

“The last time we met was four days ago, so we don’t really know… But tomorrow, we are scheduled to accompany her as guards to the royal family’s forest. We’ll try asking her then.”

“Please do. Even when I ask, she only says it’s nothing…”

Since Aria had also brought up Clarisse in conversations, I had thought they were getting along pretty well.

Could it be something that serious? Or maybe… it’s precisely because it involves Clarisse that she can’t talk about it?

“If the happy bride wears a cloudy expression, those around her will start to worry. If something comes up, we’ll support Aria. So Princess Clarisse, please focus on preparing for the ceremony with peace of mind.”

“Yes, thank you. But if there’s anything I can do, let me know right away.”

“Understood.”

It’s hard to imagine that airheaded Aria wouldn’t smile. But if it’s true, then something really serious must have happened.

Since the Tower Master had requested guards through Ernest, we should be seeing her tomorrow…

—

And the next day, we rode the carriage prepared at the guesthouse and headed to the Magic Tower. There, we found Aria waiting with a gloomy expression.

This time, even the complaining Simon was shoved into a single carriage with the subordinates. It was so that I could talk with Aria one-on-one.

“Huh…? Just Commander Justin today?”

As soon as I opened the door, Aria tilted her head.

“Ah, Jest has returned to the Kingdom of Rafios for a bit. Simon is in the carriage behind us, but he’s here.”

“I see…”

She said only that and boarded the carriage. And even after we left the capital, she remained silent for some time.

She kept starting to say something and then stopping. So it was probably the right decision to come alone.

I was passing the time looking at the scenery outside the window. But the unchanging road wasn’t interesting at all.

“If you’ve got something to talk about, now’s the time—before the loudmouth is around. I promise I won’t tell anyone without your permission.”

I said this while still looking out the window. And when I turned to Aria, she was crying. She had large tears rolling down her cheeks.

I was internally shaken by the unexpected reaction and wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

Now that I think about it, I wiped Alan’s tears too…

“If you don’t want to say it, I won’t force you to…”

“Sniff… I…”

“Huh?”

“I… I killed… hic… my master…!”

Those words, squeezed out in a stifled voice, made my mind go completely blank for a moment.

“…What do you mean!? No—wait. First, can you use soundproof magic?”

“Yeah… sniff… Soundproof.”

A normal voice would be drowned out by the sound of the carriage and not heard by the driver. But just in case emotions rise and the voice gets loud…

“Good. Aria, judging by your recent behavior, you didn’t know this until recently, right? So why do you think you killed your master?”

“You remember how I told you before that the Tower Master and my master liked coffee? My master started drinking it because the Tower Master kept bringing it. He was saying it helps clear the mind. Then… a while back, I overheard the Tower Master talking with someone. He said I was a stupid girl who kept making coffee for the former master, not knowing it had arsenic in it… Ugh…!”

Again, tears fell from Aria’s eyes.

She had once boasted that she was good at making coffee because she used to make it for her predecessor.

So the Tower Master used Aria to poison the predecessor.

Even if she didn’t know, the guilt of having killed her benefactor must be unbearable.

“You’re not at fault. The Tower Master is the one to blame. You told me this because you want to do something about it, right?”

It should have been three years ago that the predecessor died. Aria was only eleven years old then.

Expecting a child to notice poison that even an adult wouldn’t detect is unreasonable.

“I want to avenge him…! That guy said, since he has royal bl00d too, he’ll use the research I inherited from my master and someday claim the throne for himself! I can’t do anything alone. And I don’t know if Prince Felix or Princess Clarisse would even believe me… More than anything… I don’t want Princess Clarisse to hate me…”

“Got it. But if there’s a chance of treason, it would be wiser to seek Prince Felix’s help. Let’s organize the situation and arrange a proper opportunity to report it. Don’t worry, neither of them will hate you, Aria. You did great not confronting the Tower Master right away.”

When I patted her head, she looked like she was about to cry again. But it was for a different reason this time.

She must have been a little relieved from the anxiety she’d been carrying alone.

Still, when we got off the carriage, Aria’s tear-streaked face caused some serious misunderstandings with my subordinates. Which was a bit of a problem…