Chapter 45

"By the way, what do we do with these people?"

When the excitement had somewhat subsided, Jeanne glanced at the unconscious group lying on the ground and asked me.

"What do you mean, what do we do?"

"Should we arrest them and have them punished? If I testify, they will surely be hanged."

"Testify alone?"

"The testimony of a royal is that heavy."

"Ah."

I nodded vigorously.

I had heard of this before.

"I remember, the testimony of royals and nobles is more powerful than that of commoners, right?"

"Yes."

Jeanne nodded clearly.

"Official statements by royals are made under the weight of their family name."

"Indeed, that makes it more serious."

I nodded in agreement.

I had known intellectually that the testimony of royals and nobles was more powerful and influential than that of commoners, but I hadn't known the reason until now.

However, after hearing Jeanne's explanation, I understood.

If a statement is made under the weight of a family name, it means the royal or noble is speaking for their entire lineage.

Logically, they wouldn't say anything careless.

If they were to lie and be labeled as a big liar, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"But, there was no harm done, right?"

"Of course, they couldn't do anything against Sir Cyril's power, but attempting to harm Sir Cyril is unforgivable."

"Hmm."

Jeanne spoke calmly, but upon careful consideration, it was clear she was extremely angry.

She was seriously considering having these people hanged for attempting to attack me.

I looked at the unconscious group.

"Well, these are people in this line of work. It's 'the loser is at fault,' not just a figure of speech, so it's fine."

"Then, shall I call Louise to take these people to the authorities?"

"No, wait a moment."

"You're not going to do it?"

"Yes."

I nodded clearly.

"Before that, there's something I want to do."

"Want to do?"

Jeanne tilted her head, and I smiled back at her.

☆

In the city of Boalcel, at the Lintvurm base.

I visited my old haunt with the two princesses.

As soon as we entered the building, we ran into Louis.

"You—"

Louis was shocked when he saw me.

"What are you here for?"

Louis was clearly flustered.

He usually charged at me whenever he saw me, but this was different.

It was clear fluster.

His reaction alone was as good as saying "guilty."

"I have something to talk about. Can you call someone in charge?"

"We have nothing to talk about—"

"Sir Cyril, isn't it enough now?"

Princess interrupted Louis's words.

Her voice was calm but had a lot of presence.

Her calm voice completely overpowered Louis's desperate shouting.

"I believe the truth should be made public."

"What are you—!!"

After shouting, Louis was taken aback.

He realized who the girl in front of him was.

She wasn't Jeanne anymore.

She had returned to her original form as the princess.

"Y-You mean... you're going to...?"

"Yes, what I saw and heard, I will speak about openly without hiding anything."

"W-Wait! That—"

He couldn't finish his sentence.

He seemed to understand that the princess had witnessed the scene and intended to be a witness.

He instantly grasped the gravity of the situation and tried to stop her, but he stopped himself from saying it out loud.

Once Louis understood, I sighed dramatically.

"Right. Since the princess's words are not being heard, I'm sorry, but can you come with us to the authorities?"

"I don't mind. Revealing the truth is more important."

The princess said this with a serious face.

We had planned this before coming, but the princess's performance had no theatricality.

She was genuinely serious about doing this.

If I hadn't stopped her, she would have revealed everything in public.

She was serious.

That's why it was so overwhelming.

"W-Wait!"

"Hmm?"

"U-Uh..."

Louis groaned, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"This is your last chance. If no one in charge comes out, we'll leave."

"J-Just wait a moment."

Louis, with a changed expression, hurriedly ran into the building.

"I hope no one comes out."

The princess muttered this as she watched his retreating figure.

She seemed to be getting angrier again after seeing the "mastermind."

☆

In the reception room of the Lintvurm headquarters, the princess and I faced a man.

An elderly man named Pascal.

One of the founding members of Lintvurm, he is now the deputy guild master.

"I didn't expect you to come out."

"I couldn't let the princess be disrespected."

"Have you not considered your past actions as disrespectful?"

"I apologize. Our education was inadequate. We should have immediately informed you of the princess's presence."

Pascal bowed deeply.

"I sincerely apologize for the disrespect to the princess."

"..."

The princess accepted Pascal's apology calmly.

"Now... I've heard the story. It seems that Louis did indeed order an attack on Cyril."

"Oh, you admit it?"

"I apologize for the lack of supervision. Louis will be appropriately punished—"

"Stop that— that's why I came here."

"..."

Pascal looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Louis used ruffians to attack me. That's fine. The problem is that the princess was there."

"..."

"Princess, what did those people say when they saw you?"

I turned to the princess.

"They said, 'This one's good, I thought it was just a kill, but there's a bonus too.'"

"That's what they said."

I turned my gaze back to Pascal.

"That's the issue. The meaning of the word 'bonus.' We're in this line of work, so I understand their thinking. They intended to sexually assault the princess."

"..."

"That was a coincidence, and they didn't know the princess's identity."

"Of course, that's true. But that doesn't lessen the crime."

"..."

"Lintvurm's actions put the princess in danger of sexual assault. Is it okay to make this public?"

"..."

Pascal's face stiffened.

It's the same everywhere.

The princess has a father.

A king as her father.

And in most cases, daughters are doted on by their fathers.

If this story becomes public and reaches the king's ears— Lintvurm will be in big trouble.

"W-What do you want us to do?"

"This is an assault case. If the parties involved reach a settlement, it's over."

"J-Just wait a moment."

Pascal left the room for a moment and returned in less than a minute.

"Would this settle the matter?"

Pascal handed over a bundle of church notes.

Each note was worth 10,000 reals, and there were ten in total.

That's 100,000 reals.

He handed them to the princess.

The princess looked at them and asked me.

"What do you think, Sir Cyril?"

At that moment, I noticed Pascal's face stiffen even more.

Pascal had misjudged who was in control.

He thought the princess was in charge, but in reality, the princess was following my lead, and I was in control.

He stiffened when he realized this.

Anyway.

We shouldn't push too hard and make him desperate.

Let's wrap this up here.

I took the ten church notes.

"The settlement is accepted."

I said.

Pascal visibly relaxed.

By turning the tables on Lintvurm's assassins, I successfully secured 100,000 reals.