Chapter 26

Duke Belkline had been selling off his personal wealth to continuously hire assassins from neighboring countries through special channels in order to carry out the assassination of Eric.

However, since I became Eric’s bodyguard, many assassins were immediately captured, and his plan was on the verge of failure.

He wanted to eliminate me, who was in the way, and then continue with the assassination of Eric—so he set his sights on Jill, who, though she couldn’t become a saint, had a strong aptitude for poison magic.

"Still, Lord Reia, your teleportation magic was truly remarkable. You perfectly swapped the wine glasses—"

"Um, Johan, that’s not correct. Actually, I can’t use Aport that brilliantly. In fact, it’s impossible to swap items without them being noticed."

"Huh...?"

Johan praised my Aport, but the truth is, it was just a bluff. I can’t swap wine glasses at a speed that even the holder can’t recognize.

"Actually, that ball is a magical tool I made to change color based on temperature. It turns red when cold and black when warm. When Lord Philippe gripped it, his body heat turned the ball black, while I used magic to cool it and turn it red—making it appear as if the balls had been swapped."

"Then, Duke Belkline, upon seeing Philippe’s reaction and hearing Reia’s comment about practice, mistakenly believed he had drunk the poison."

So, Duke Belkline hadn’t actually drunk any poison and ended up exposing himself.

His reaction was due to his knowledge of the deadly poison magic, and with the alcohol affecting him, it was difficult to confirm any physical changes.

"Ah, I see. But then, Lord Reia, you would have drunk the poisoned wine—"

"My wine glass had already been swapped with Lord Eric’s by the time Jill took the wine glass. I did it when everyone’s attention was focused on her."

"I knew Duke Gilbert would be talking about the wine, so I anticipated that Jill Westeria would try to poison the wine glass and that Duke Belkline would approach to drink it."

In other words, the moment Jill latched onto the wine Philippe had prepared and Duke Belkline took a sip, the game was almost over.

They thought they were setting me up, but they were full of holes—surprisingly so.

"So, the all-purpose elixir—"

"Of course, it was just water."

"Reia’s acting skills are quite impressive, aren’t they? I was surprised by her unexpected talent."

I actually put a lot of effort into the acting.

Since I’m not used to lying, this kind of deception was incredibly stressful.

Now that I’ve explained everything to Johan... I need to go report to my family.

About my sister’s treatment and the Westeria family’s affairs—

Eric said I could send someone else, but this is something I need to resolve myself...

"Oh! Reia! You’ve returned! You’re our only hope! Protect the Westeria family!"

"Reia, as a saint, you’ve served Prince Eric as a bodyguard admirably. You’ve always been a source of pride for our Westeria family. I never thought you were like Jill, the disobedient daughter."

My father, who never comes to the entrance, and my stepmother, who never speaks to me about anything other than Jill, rushed to me the moment I returned home.

Jill, who tried to poison me, Eric’s bodyguard, has been sent to prison, which is a major issue for our family.

However, since I, a member of the Westeria family, am the victim, we narrowly avoided ruin.

Jill, who was taken into custody by the military police, cried like a child.

She acted like a victim, a poor girl who had been unjustly oppressed, and couldn’t let go of her tragic heroine persona.

*Sniff*... If only my sister hadn’t become a saint, *sniff*... *sniff*... If only she hadn’t gotten close to Lord Eric... I would have been happy... *sniff*... Lord Jade... He promised to make me happy... It’s so cruel...

In prison, Jill continued to cry, blaming everyone else and refusing to properly answer any questions.

Her punishment will be determined after all of Duke Belkline’s crimes are revealed, which will take some time.

I hope she can calm down and reflect a little...

"Jill’s situation is understood. Above all, you must impress upon Prince Eric to take care of the family!"

"Prince Eric must like you. If you can marry him, do it soon. Now that we’ve lost the support of the Gilbert family, this is the only way to get out of this predicament!"

My parents, who didn’t even visit Jill in prison, are trying to appeal to Eric through me.

I left the house without responding to them...

◆ ◆ ◆

It’s been about three days since I returned home.

Jade Belkline, the mastermind behind the attempted assassination of Eric, has been stripped of his title, and I, who contributed to his arrest, have been...

"Your father wants to see you, Reia."

"King wants to see me...?"

I’m about to meet the king for the first time at the palace.

He wants to thank me for exposing Belkline’s crimes, but... I’m nervous.