Chapter 43

"Prince Alan, it's not Lamis, but the culprit."

When I said this, the room fell silent.

"Huh? Lord Shina, it's not her?"

Prince Alan looked bewildered, returning to his usual self. I was relieved because Prince Alan in his royal mode was a bit scary.

"But Lamis quit as your bodyguard halfway through. It seems too much of a coincidence that you were attacked right after that."

"It's probably not a coincidence. The fake knights attacked because they knew Lamis had quit as your bodyguard."

"So, you're saying Lamis leaked the information? And Lamis always treated you with contempt, right?"

"That's just because Lamis has a bad personality. She can't stand people she considers beneath her."

At my words, Prince Alan's cheeks twitched.

"Quite harsh, Lord Shina."

"I'm just telling the truth. Even if someone is so hopeless and hated by everyone, but still thinks they're special, it's still wrong to frame them."

My words made the people around us hold back their laughter, but they couldn't help it anymore and started to giggle. It seemed they had a lot to relate to. They kept glancing at Lamis and giggling. Lamis's face turned bright red. She really changes colors a lot.

"What, what makes me so hopeless?"

"Why do you have to grumble about doing such a job? From my experience, people who talk like that often think they're talented. They think they're chosen, that they don't belong in such a place, and that no one understands them."

By "experience," I mean my past life. My former boss at my previous job was like that. He quit without saying anything, thinking he was doing a job suitable for himself. After he left, we had to take over his work, and it was terrible. The work he claimed he could handle was either not done or done poorly. We had to search for documents from his messy desk, find data from his disorganized computer, decipher meaningless documents, and distribute all the work to everyone in the department. It was a lot of work.

By the way, I heard from a friend of a friend that my former boss, after changing jobs, embezzled money, lashed out at his boss, and was fired. He then got into prostitution and was arrested, got divorced by his wife, was abandoned by his children, and ended up living in a park. It's a dramatic fall from grace.

"That's, that's rude! I graduated from the academy with excellent grades and joined the intelligence department as requested! How am I being arrogant?"

"Just because you're good at studying doesn't mean you're good at your job."

I sighed dramatically.

"Prince Alan, I'm disappointed."

"What? What's wrong, Lord Shina?"

"Well, it's the intelligence department of the country, right? A department specialized in information warfare between countries. I had high hopes. When I heard from His Majesty that my bodyguard would be from the intelligence department, I thought I would meet someone amazing. But it turned out to be Lamis, who just likes to look down on people and has a bad personality."

I want my (unrealistic) admiration for the intelligence department back. Because of my knowledge from my past life, I always thought of the intelligence department as a place of spy movies. I thought I would meet a cool and handsome spy or a smart and beautiful spy.

"Without doing any research on the person they're supposed to protect, just looking down on them based on their own assumptions, and slacking off at work. And then, they abandoned their job as a bodyguard just because I led them on. A bodyguard who can be manipulated by someone as foolish as me, who was exploited for five years through a honey trap... It makes me worry about the state of the Marita Kingdom."

I wasn't assigned a bodyguard to support my immature mental state. I really didn't need this person.

Lamis's face turned red with anger, and she opened and closed her mouth, unable to speak. Maybe she was too insulted to speak. But it's the truth.

"That's... that's..."

Prince Alan's face twitched even more. Yes, it's harsh, but you need to have a sense of crisis. If the intelligence department is like this, it's dangerous.

"Lamis was also used by the culprit. She's not smart enough to be involved in such a crime. She was just manipulated and had her information taken."

"Why can you say that so confidently?"

Prince Alan looked puzzled. Huh?

"Didn't I mention it? I can use appraisal magic."

"I didn't hear that!?"

Prince Alan shouted. No need to be so surprised.

"What? Are you surprised? There are other people who can use appraisal magic, right?"

Like Barry, for example.

I know this because when I first met Barry, the appraisal magic said, "Oh, how unusual, someone who can use appraisal magic." I wanted to say, "You shouldn't say that."

"There are, but there are very few skilled users of appraisal magic, and it's quite rare..."

I see.

By the way, I haven't asked Barry about his appraisal magic yet. I want to know if Barry's appraisal magic is as motherly and friendly as mine.

"I see. So, Lord Shina, you used appraisal magic to determine that Lamis is not the culprit."

Exactly. When I met those fake knights, the appraisal magic was ringing loudly. But it was silent with Lamis. It was angry, saying, "What a nasty person!"

"So, Lord Shina, is there someone in this room who leaked information to those fake knights?"

Prince Alan looked around at everyone.

"Yes."

I followed Prince Alan's lead and looked around. The appraisal magic pointed out the culprit with a downward arrow. This arrow is only visible to me, but it's very clear.

"It's that person."

I pointed to a man with messy black hair and narrow eyes, who was thin and lanky.

◇◇◇

"Pete...?"

The man with messy hair shuddered in surprise. His narrow eyes widened.

"I, I didn't do anything!"

Lamis stared at the flustered man with messy hair in a daze. But then she shook her head vigorously.

"No way! That's not true! Pete wouldn't do such a thing! Besides, everything that country girl said is a lie! She's treating me like I'm incompetent!"

"Lamis!! Don't be disrespectful to Lady Shina! She said you are not the culprit!"

Viscount Gardock, who had been silent and looked like he was about to die, shouted at Lamis in shock.

"Huh... Do you not understand the current situation? What Viscount Gardock said is true. Also, being incompetent is the truth. Do you have any counterarguments to what I just said? If everything I said is a lie, then you are the culprit, right?"

Lamis was cornered.

"But, but Pete is not the culprit. He's my junior! I know from working with him that he wouldn't do such a thing! Of course, I didn't do it either!"

"I see. But the fact that this person, Pete, leaked information to the fake knights is undeniable."

The appraisal magic wrote the charges next to the arrow: leaking confidential information, human trafficking, robbery, and more. There were so many that it was hard to read. It's an all-star lineup.

"But, but there's no evidence for that!"

"Lord Shina said she can use appraisal magic."

Prince Alan said this with a sigh.

"That's just a lie from that country girl! Why should Prince Alan believe her!"

"I will believe Lord Shina over your word."

Prince Alan said this with a cold voice.

"Your insults towards Lord Shina, who is protecting you, and your disrespectful behavior towards the royal family are enough reasons to arrest you."

"Huh? But I am an excellent person, worthy of being the consort of Prince Jinklett! Why should you believe that country girl over me!"

Lamis said something incredible. What? Is this person Jinklett's lover? Jinklett has bad... no, unusual taste.

"Huh? You are worthy of Jinklett? What do you mean, Gardock! Could it be that you are considering this girl as Jinklett's consort?!"

Prince Alan glared at Viscount Gardock with intense anger. As expected of a big brother complex. His anger was so intense that the previous one seemed cute in comparison.

"Absolutely not! I never thought that Lamis could be a princess! I apologize! I spoiled her as my youngest daughter, and she grew up with a high self-esteem and no sense of reality! I will send this foolish daughter to a convent and swear never to let her out! Please, please spare her life...!"

"Father! Don't treat me differently just because I'm a girl! I am more capable than my brother! Please stop discriminating against me just because I'm a woman!"

Wow, they're not on the same page at all. Lamis is really something. Why doesn't she listen to others?

I was a bit worried, so I asked Prince Alan in a low voice.

"J-Just in case, should we ask Jinklett? Is Lamis Jinklett's lover?"

If Jinklett ends up marrying this person in the future, I'll definitely cut ties with him, yes.

"Lord Shina, absolutely do not ask Jinklett. He's already emotionally unstable being away from you. If he hears this, he'll abandon his mission and come back. It could become a diplomatic issue. Let's confirm it after he returns."

Prince Alan pleaded with me in a low voice, and I suppressed the urge to send a message to Jinklett right away. Yes, he's doing important work, so it's better not to worry him unnecessarily.

"Okay. I'll ask him when he returns. But I hope Jinklett's wife will be someone I can be friends with."

Jinklett is clingy, so I think he would prefer someone older and reliable.

"Lord Shina, don't say that to Jinklett. It's pitiful..."

Prince Alan sighed deeply. Why?

I can't let Lamis's intensity overwhelm me and forget about the culprit. Let's catch him quickly and go home. I'm sleepy.