Chapter 162

Chapter 162. Exposure

The day before the murder of the noble son of Urey, in Hestia Village.

Unaware of what was happening, Hestia Village went about its routine.

As the influx of people increased, crime also grew, and rough men began to organize.

It was a foreseen result.

But, even though it was foreseen, it was something that Hestia Village’s security force desperately had to prevent.

They moved busily for the safety of the village.

“Captain William, shouldn’t you end your shift already?”

“Is it time?”

“It passed a long time ago. Do you call this overtime?”

Overtime, he could do as much as he wanted.

But if the superior kept working, the subordinates felt pressured.

It was necessary to appropriately postpone it for tomorrow.

William picked up his coat and stood up from his seat.

“Then I am leaving. Good work today.”

“Sir! See you tomorrow, Security Captain-nim!”

“Don’t end up rolling around drunk again!”

Leaving behind his subordinates who were laughing and joking, he headed home.

He looked at the evening sky where red and black mixed, and thought.

“So today passes this way too.”

Everything was an ordinary scene, yet, a knot that would not untie remained in a corner of his heart.

Every time that knot surfaced, his left hand throbbed.

The hand that Regent Ferda had stabbed with a dagger.

The hole had closed and had recovered to be somewhat usable, but it throbbed as if a fragment was still lodged inside.

Anxiety took hold of him, fearing he might not be able to use that hand again.

“Damn it…”

“Looks like I won’t sleep well tonight either.”

William muttered that and moved his feet.

On the way to his house, he entered a bar.

Unlike the noisy bars on the outskirts of the boulevard, this was a quiet place.

Since regular customers were more important than anywhere else, the owner with a splendid mustache welcomed William.

“Oh, Security Captain-nim, getting off work!”

“A beer, please.”

“Right away.”

William slid the coins he had prepared, and the owner brought him a beer.

The owner was talkative, but he also knew how to read the room well.

It was easy to notice that William needed a quiet break at that moment.

“Here you go. Don’t chug it all at once like last time, drink slowly!”

The owner left the beer and turned around.

Seeing the coins on the table, William spoke.

“Owner, aren’t you going to take the money? Are you growing it from the dirt?”

“Growing it from the dirt? It’s a conscientious business! The customer already paid, why would I take more?!”

“What do you mean?”

“The gentleman over there said he wants to buy you a drink, Captain-nim.”

Wondering who it could be, he turned his head.

It was a man he had never seen in this town.

He instinctively felt something strange.

“Even so, let’s not jump to conclusions.”

William just raised his glass to show gratitude and turned his head back.

When William turned his head, the sound of a chair dragging across the floor was heard.

That man stood up.

William unfastened the button on his dagger’s sheath for now.

“Are you Security Captain William?”

“That is correct.”

“I am the one who bought you a drink, isn’t it appropriate to at least toast once?”

“I’m sorry. I really don’t have the personality to approach strangers.”

“That’s true. After all, you are the Security Captain.”

William’s hand subtly moved toward his waist.

“Don’t be so wary. I didn’t come here with the intention of harming you.”

The stranger placed both hands on the table, proving he was harmless.

William reacted as if he always drank like this.

But that act did not last long.

The beer glass he was lifting with his left hand trembled finely from the pain, and the foam rose.

“That wound on your hand looks serious. Wouldn’t it be better to drink with your right hand?”

“Mind your own business.”

He replied even more coldly.

But the man continued to show interest.

“There seems to be quite an interesting story. Could you tell me?”

“I was just rolling around drunk.”

“Don’t lie. Who gets a dagger wound from rolling around drunk?”

“It’s a fucking embarrassing story, so stop asking.”

Faced with the man’s sharp comment, William evaded him.

“Let’s not waste time on useless arguments. I know what happened.”

“Didn’t I just say? I was rolling around.”

“Don’t do that. I came to help you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, so leave right now. Otherwise—.”

“Regent Ferda will ruin this Far East.”

The man interrupted William’s words.

William felt an emotion well up in his chest.

“You utter such slander in the Archduchy?”

“Slander? It seems you don’t know. That man uses black magic. The Serdes Magic Society is already watching him closely.”

William finally drew his blade.

“As Security Captain, I cannot overlook this. Reveal your identity. If you do not answer, there will be no more conversation.”

Even with a blade at his throat, the man did not waver in the slightest.

As if he were already accustomed to this kind of life-or-death situation.

The man carefully reached into his chest and pulled something out.

“Imperial direct agency, Golden Eye investigator.”

An insignia that proved he was an imperial mage.

“And at the same time, I serve Crown Prince Alexander.”

“An investigator comes to a lowly security captain to throw his weight around?”

“Lowly body? William Miller. You aren’t the kind of person to be treated like that, are you? I already know you were recognized as a promising knight in the Duchy of Urey.”

He knows William’s identity.

He had more or less expected it from the beginning, even from the insults.

“So put the dagger down and let’s talk. I have no intention of using force in someone else’s territory, but if you attack first, I won’t hold back either.”

“…”

William didn’t think he would lose.

But as Security Captain, he couldn’t cause a commotion.

He lowered his dagger, and the man who called himself an investigator smiled.

“What business does an investigator have here?”

“Investigating a murder case.”

“Whose?”

“Someone you also know. It’s the noble son of Urey.”

William tensed.

A murder case was tense enough, but of all people, it was someone from the Urey family.

“It is rumored that he died in this territory. Did you know?”

“Are you suspecting me?”

“Not at all. I heard you betrayed your lord, but I also know you are not the kind of person who would kill that noble son.”

“Then I have nothing to say. I have never seen the noble son of Urey or his knights.”

“I prepared the questions. You answer them.”

“What?”

The investigator showed something.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary crystal ball, but the mana and the spell formula it contained were extraordinary.

After finishing setting it up, he asked William.

“Allow me to ask lightly. Your name is William Miller, correct?”

“That’s right.”

With William’s answer, a green light turned on in the crystal ball.

It was a crystal ball with lie detection magic.

“Were you once a knight apprentice of the Ducal House of Urey?”

“That’s right.”

Green.

“And did you become the leader of a large group of refugees and come here?”

“That’s right.”

Green.

“Are you satisfied with the position of Security Captain?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm, it doesn’t seem so.”

A red light turned on.

It meant a lie.

“You say that, but you cannot deceive your heart.”

“…”

“A promising knight apprentice, just a Security Captain. You might feel satisfaction, but do you think someone who once held a high position would be easily satisfied?”

“I have never thought that.”

The red reappeared.

William asked himself.

“Do I really have no desire to rise?”

“No way.”

William also knew it well.

Sometimes he regretted it like this.

“If only I had closed my eyes once back then, I wouldn’t be suffering like this.”

“Do you know what kind of person your lord is?”

“I know.”

“The fact that he is also a black mage?”

“…”

At the words “black mage,” his face hardened.

He had never told anyone, but he had held slight suspicions.

He had felt it strongly from Ferda’s appearance when he was emotional.

That he possessed a Red Circle.

And that most mages with Red Circles were black mages.

However, judging that was not William’s role, so he had brushed it aside.

“No answer.”

“……I don’t know.”

The red resurfaced again.

“Even if he is a black mage, what is in my heart is only suspicion. It is undeniable that he is someone dedicated to the Far East.”

“Dedication…….”

The investigator nods with a serious look.

“Then, next question. What do you think of a black mage with a Red Circle showing mercy?”

As someone who had walked the path of an elite knight, William was able to answer immediately.

It is extremely dangerous.

Black mages always have schemes, and within their mercy and generosity lie vicious blades and poison.

“Do you think Regent Ferda is different from them?”

There are no exceptions for black mages.

“Those bastard black mages are all the same. The policies for the people are like throwing feed to pigs. They eat without knowing anything, and only realize on the day they are slaughtered. Ah, I should have escaped this place a long time ago.”

“…….”

“You fled from Duke Urey’s embrace to avoid unjust deaths of the people, didn’t you?”

“…….”

“You barely escaped a pit of thorns, only to find a pit of fire waiting. Will you submit to that fate?”

William bit his lip hard.

If I die alone, it doesn’t matter.

But imagining the people of Hestia Village suffering makes my heart ache.

Imagining my own face regretting that foolishness was terribly painful.

“You are a righteous person. You do not tolerate injustice before your eyes, and you must deliver justice, right?”

Justice…….

William unconsciously looked at his own hand.

The place where he had been stabbed with a dagger still hadn’t healed properly.

And when the pain surged, that scene overlapped.

What Regent Ferda showed was anger.

And the black energy enveloping his body.

True.

That day, it wouldn’t have been strange if Ferda had killed William.

That unease was still vivid.

‘What surged with that unease was…….’

Anger.

That anger still remained in William’s chest.

William, who had closed his eyes and sunk into his thoughts, made a decision.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Tomorrow, Regent Ferda will be identified as the murderer of the noble Urey son. Just let it be known that he is a Red Circle possessor and a time bomb influenced by emotion. You don’t even need to be too direct. Just showing that hand and playing a supporting role is enough.”

He gestured with his chin toward the bandaged hand.

“What do I get out of this?”

The man looked at William with a surprised expression, then replied.

“His Highness the Crown Prince will appoint you as a Royal Guard. If you don’t like being an Imperial Knight, I will also give you territory. You will be able to live there as you please.”

“…….”

Receiving territory, migrating there, starting a new life.

Living while enacting the justice he desired was every knight’s dream, and William was no different.

“……Understood.”

“Does that mean you will cooperate for sure?”

“I will expose his atrocities.”

The crystal ball lit up green.

The investigator smiled and stood up from his seat.

“Then, let’s move. There is someone waiting for your cooperation more than anyone else.”

He left his beer glass and followed the investigator.

Since time was short, they needed fast transportation, and the investigator moved with William using teleportation magic.

And now he was like this, in the Golden Congress.

In William’s eyes, only two people were visible.

His former lord, Duke Urey.

And his current lord, Regent Ferda.

Duke Urey’s gaze was piercing.

He thought it was only natural.

They fed him, housed him, trained him, and he turned traitor, joining forces with rebels to betray them.

“Sir William, will you testify about Regent Ferda?”

At the President’s words, William’s eyes reflexively looked toward Ferda.

The sight of Count Consillus, with his throat swallowing continuously as if he were going to vomit the anger forged by betrayal, captured his gaze.

If a close aide is so angry, what about Ferda?

He was watching with his arms crossed.

Unlike Consillus, no resentment or anything of the sort could be seen.

His gaze was calm, serene.

Like a deep lake.

“Regent Ferda is…….”

Looking at those eyes, he was sure.

That the choice to stand on this platform was right.

“He is someone who is dedicated to the commoners more than anyone else.”

It was a moment where joy and sorrow were divided with William’s single word, spoken to expose Ferda’s character.

The one whose expression changed overtly was Alexander.

His close aide had definitely said that the persuasion was complete, but wasn’t it unheard of to see him blurt out a testimony opposite to that persuasion?

‘Didn’t he definitely say that the back of his hand was stabbed with a dagger……?’

A knight’s life is their hands.

He knows how rude and insulting it is to touch those hands.

And he had been told that William was definitely furious.

If it is William who has lived a knight’s life, he would not forgive Ferda.

Alexander intervened abruptly to stop William’s attempt to change the atmosphere.

“Wait a moment, Sir William!”

“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“I heard that wound was inflicted by Regent Ferda?”

If he lied and said he had thrashed around drinking, he planned to make a fuss about breaking the oath to speak only the truth.

“That is correct.”

William admitted it without hesitation.

“Touching a knight’s hands is a serious crime even for a lord, is it not?”

“That is a punishment applied to knights. I am not a knight, I am a Security Captain. So it was a punishment I deserved.”

Certainly, Ferda was emotional at that time.

William also clearly saw the emotion he felt looking at his own hand.

But after that, nothing happened.

Clearly, even though a Security Captain committed the grave crime of kidnapping a princess while getting carried away by emotion, Ferda did not hold him further responsible.

“Since he allowed my fault to end with only this level of punishment, I am grateful for that generosity.”

At the same time, anger boiled.

It was anger directed at himself for making a foolish decision.

“Sir William, you stood here to expose. If your purpose is to praise, please step down from this position now.”

“I did come to expose.”

Only that the target is different.

He directs his eyes, which were aimed at Ferda, toward Duke Urey.

“The reason I wanted to stand here was to expose the tyranny of Duke Urey!”

He exposed everything that had happened in the Urey Duchy, which he had observed while walking the elite path.

“The true tyrant who did not take responsibility for his failures, disrupted the livelihood of the people with excessive taxes, and treated those who did not submit as traitors to squeeze them to the last drop!”

The public opinion that was leaning towards Ferda halted.

Consillus’s rotten expression brightened.

Curious about Ferda’s thoughts, since he showed no reaction, he asked astutely.

“Did you know that Security Captain would do that, Regent?”

“A little.”

“What do you mean by ‘a little’?”

“I wasn’t sure either. He came on his own without even telling me.”

“If he came to do that, he should have at least given notice. It really gives one a scare.”

He said he wasn’t sure, but he trusted.

The reason Ferda brought William was because chivalry existed in his chest.

Because he believed in that chivalry, he had felt the greatest betrayal when he accompanied the princess’s flight.

If he had blurted out the slightest nonsense, Ferda had intended to kill him on the spot.

But he didn’t.

Because it wasn’t intentional, but a mistake.

And Ferda believed that William would make no more mistakes.

That belief was proven here and now.

He was still a noble knight.

Alexander was covering his face.

The flesh that those hands could not hide was bright red like a well-ripened pepper.

Valdemar must have been equally hard-pressed, but he showed no signs of agitation.

Or perhaps, unlike Alexander, he was just hiding it well.

While that story was in full swing, Acad stepped forward.

“Sir William, such an exposure is fine, but this is a position to prove Regent Ferda’s character. Please speak only of that, concisely.”

Faced with the words to give only the essence, William replied.

“If Regent Ferda-nim says he did not kill the noble Urey son, I believe he did not kill him. And even if he did, there would be a justifiable reason according to his words.”

“……Understood. You may step down now.”

As William stepped down, he looked sideways at Duke Urey.

He was spitting out anger with a bright red face.

“William…… you dare…… to me…….”

“…….”

William could not reply and closed his mouth.

He cannot put on a relieved face just because he exposed him.

Because the fact that William betrayed remains unchanged.

Thanks to William entering as an ally but actually being a trump card, Ferda could no longer be treated carelessly.

Ferda, who had kept his mouth shut and waited, decided to step forward now.

“Digging up my past is fine, but how about we address this fundamentally?”

“What do you mean, Regent?”

“The black magic that killed the noble Urey son leaves traces.”

Seizing the momentum, Ferda told them.

“I ask you to investigate those traces of black magic and find out the truth.”