Chapter 69

Noaharizen felt an involuntary chill.

"Thalos Count?"

The frightened Noaharizen shone a small lighter around, turning his body this way and that.

"Don't joke around. I'll get angry."

But no matter how much he spoke, there was no more sound.

The terrified Noaharizen shouted,

"Honey!"

Just as he called out, the face that appeared in front of him was...

"Ah─!!"

Noaharizen dropped his pocket and collapsed.

Because this face was...!

"A-Ah, Father..."

It was Duke Astra!

At that moment, the lights suddenly turned on.

Noaharizen squinted his eyes at the sudden bright light.

When he slowly opened his eyes, which had adjusted to the light, he saw where he was.

It was a vast place with shelves.

'This, this place is...!'

It was the central courtyard of the Daemond territory.

The central courtyard was filled with people.

Seeing them, Noaharizen turned pale and his mouth gaped open.

It was because the faces gathered there were all incredibly impressive.

Duke Astra.

Daemond Astra.

Balzac Astra.

Joshua Astra.

And... even Blyzen.

The person who peeked out from behind Blyzen was Erylot.

Erylot, who appeared out of nowhere, frowned and said,

"Honey?"

* * *

I burst out laughing in disbelief.

'Were they that kind of relationship?'

I wondered why he would team up with a guy like Thalos Count.

'No matter how I thought about it, it was strange.'

There was no reason for Noaharizen to team up with Thalos Count.

There were more prestigious families, so why would he choose Thalos, who had nothing to offer except for a residence in the capital?

His territory was in the countryside, where farming was difficult.

He had no money but a lot of greed, oppressing his subjects, leading to countless uprisings every year.

It was a poor family that could hardly maintain their mansion in the capital.

'Why Noaharizen would contact such a Thalos was the beginning of my doubts.'

Now I understand.

They must have done something bad together because they loved each other!

Noaharizen knelt on the floor of the central courtyard with a thud.

Then he crawled over to his grandfather.

"A-Ah, Father. Father!"

His grandfather's eyes were colder than ever.

His eyes, filled with rage, seemed ready to spew out a curse at any moment.

Noaharizen, whose face had turned pale, began to pray with his hands clasped.

"Oh, it's a misunderstanding. It's a misunderstanding!"

'Idiot.'

From the moment he entered the Daemond territory with the <Movement> blessing stone, there was no room for excuses.

Moreover, he was caught in the act of stealing the white crystals...

His grandfather spoke in a voice devoid of emotion.

"You used <Movement> to go to where the white crystals were and put them in a sack. Is there anything I misunderstood up to this point?"

Noaharizen, with a face as pale as a corpse, stammered,

"T-That's..."

He had no words to say.

I had just pointed out the facts.

Now the question was how to interpret them.

'So, you're definitely going to twist the facts, right?'

"Why did this happen? Because, B-Blyzen needed money to support─"

That scoundrel.

'You used Blyzen so much and now you're using him as an excuse?'

I opened my mouth before Noaharizen could finish his sentence.

"Honey."

Thud!

Noaharizen looked as if he had been hit by a rock.

Swallow.

The sound of Noaharizen swallowing hard echoed in the central courtyard.

In the midst of the silent stillness,

Noaharizen spoke again.

"So, it's a misunderstanding, Thalos Count is...!"

"Honey."

Noaharizen's face turned pale.

His shoulders were trembling.

His hands were trembling so much that he soon waved them.

"No, no...!"

"Honey."

I smiled inwardly.

'You can't even come up with an excuse because you're afraid your relationship with Thalos Count will be exposed, right?'

After repeating the bombshell several times, Noaharizen was almost out of breath.

I walked out from behind Blyzen and approached Noaharizen.

Then I opened my eyes wide and asked with an innocent expression,

"Honey, is that what lovers call each other? Right? Why does Uncle Thalos Count call you 'honey'?"

"No, no. It's just a term of endearment between friends...!"

"Then why did Uncle Thalos Count call your name when he came to get the white crystals?"

'You were so focused on "honey" that you overlooked the important part, didn't you?'

Stealing items, even if they are worth astronomical amounts, is not a capital offense.

Moreover, if he had pleaded that he did it for his son, there would be people who would feel sorry for him.

'But Thalos Count was directly involved in it.'

That was a betrayal of the family.

'You should have completely denied your relationship with Thalos Count, you fool.'

But I provoked him with "honey" and eventually led him to say it was a friend.

Noaharizen's face alternated between red and white in a state of chaos.

It seemed he was finally grasping the situation.

"Did you come to steal the white crystals with a friend?"

"T-That's...!"

"Why? To give them to your friend?"

"No! No, it's not true!"

Noaharizen's hands and feet were trembling like a leaf.

He rolled his eyes as if trying to come up with an excuse.

'Are you going to let it go like that?'

I tilted my head and then clapped my hands as if I had realized something.

"Ah! Were you threatened by Thalos Count?"

"What?"

"Threatened, so you had no choice. Is that it?"

A cornered person's mind becomes rigid.

What happens when a small escape route opens up at such a time?

"Y-Yes!"

In most cases, they try to escape through that route.

Without even considering that it might be a cliff.

'I've seen this countless times when I was an advisor.'

Noaharizen finally fell perfectly into the trap I had set.

Because he clenched his fist as if he had made a decision and shouted,

"Thalos Count had a hold on my weakness... I had no choice. I committed a capital offense!"

Balzac burst out laughing.

"Was it all Thalos Count's fault that Uncle stole the family's white crystals?"

"T-That's right."

Joshua added with a lazy smile,

"Thalos Count dared to threaten an Astra."

"...That's right."

Noaharizen closed his eyes tightly and nodded.

I said, "Hmm."

"Then we should hold Thalos Count accountable, right?"

"T-That's right."

"You know that Astra's method of punishment is different from ordinary places. Thalos Count will be executed immediately. Is that okay? You called him a friend, right?"

"That's right!"

Noaharizen shouted.

I immediately said,

"Bring him in."

At my words, soldiers dragged a man in.

Of course, it was Thalos Count.

"......!"

Noaharizen stiffened.

Of course, it was inevitable.

'You tried to pin all the blame on your lover and escape, didn't you?'

Thalos Count glared at Noaharizen as if he wanted to tear him apart.

"Noaharizen... How could you...?"

"......"

Noaharizen mumbled, unable to say a single word.

'What are you going to do now? Thalos Count is not only a criminal but also a witness.'

He will testify to everything you did.

I looked at my grandfather, who was staring at Noaharizen with a sharp gaze, and said,

"Grandfather, I have one more accusation."

Everyone's attention immediately focused on me.

I rolled up Blyzen's sleeve.

"The <Movement> blessing stone they used was created through terrible experiments on Blyzen."

Grandfather stared intently at Blyzen's arm, which was covered in terrible scars.

After a long moment, he looked up at Blyzen.

"......"

"......"

Neither of them said a word.

Meanwhile, Noaharizen was still a piece of trash.

"Please, Blyzen, please...!"

He was begging Blyzen to clean up the mess he had caused, even after seeing the terrible scars with his own eyes.

My family, including me, looked at Noaharizen as if he were a rare animal.

I grabbed Blyzen's sleeve.

"Speak up."

"......"

"Blyzen, you can't live like this forever."

"......"

"No matter how much you endure, your feelings will never be reciprocated. Don't waste such a precious heart on a devil like him."

"......"

The central courtyard fell silent.

Blyzen stared at me blankly.

I held his hand with both of mine and said,

"Brother."

Blyzen, who had been staring into my eyes, closed them tightly.

And after a while,

"Erylot's words... are right."

Blyzen found the courage.

"Brother!"

"Blyzen─!!"

I shouted in joy, while Noaharizen let out a desperate scream.

Grandfather's face twisted like a devil.

"A-Ah, Father, please listen to me. It was all for Astra. Yes!"

"I knew you were embezzling funds from the Aissa territory."

"......!"

"That's why I left you alone, because Blyzen was desperately trying to protect his father."

"A-Ah, Father..."

Grandfather looked at Thalos Count.

"I'll give you a chance to live. Confess everything you did with your own mouth."

Noaharizen turned his head sharply to look at Thalos Count.

His gaze was desperate, but Thalos Count's lips curled.

"Thalos Count and I have been meeting since before Lady Aissa passed away!"

"Nonsense! Nonsense, Father!"

"Would I do such a thing to Astra? It was Noaharizen who tempted me."

"Shut up!"

"It was also Noaharizen who suggested making the <Movement> blessing stone and presenting it to His Majesty to enter the Central Tower!"

"A-Ah, no. No─"

"It was this brat who sold all of Lady Aissa's mementos to make the <Movement> blessing stone!"

"Shut up! Shut up!"

"I have plenty of evidence that we have been meeting since Lady Aissa's lifetime!"

"Please, shut your mouth─!!"

Noaharizen shouted.

Thalos Count, ignoring Noaharizen, was spilling out all the sins.

It was a chaotic scene of bad guys ganging up on each other.

Grandfather was listening to Thalos's story quietly.

With a very, very deep gaze.

"In my child's castle, with my child's money, enjoying everything my child achieved, and even doing such things to my child's child, you did."

"A-Ah, Father..."

Grandfather spoke in a low, deep voice.

Noaharizen, trembling, begged for his life.

"Please, please, spare my life! Please... Although I did a crazy thing, I am Blyzen's father. I took care of Aissa until she died...!"

"Don't worry. I won't kill you."

Noaharizen's face briefly brightened.

Of course, before Grandfather said,

"I'll make you beg for death."

Noaharizen's face turned pale.

* * *

In the dim dawn.

The prisoner's escort carriage was scheduled to arrive