Chapter 53: Hello, It’s Me, Merry! (Third-Person Perspective of Prince Lucas)
After Hugh and Lily had left, Prince Lucas remained at the Lecherie Duke’s residence for an investigation. He stood before a stain that was said to belong to the Duke, alongside Roan, the vice-captain of the Royal Knights Order.
“Are you really saying this was the Duke Lecherie?”
“That’s what Hugh and Lady Lily said.”
It seemed that, like the monster that attacked the ball, the Duke had melted into a gooey mass. However, the area covered by the stain was even larger than that at the ball.
“…Damn, this is just creepy. I’ve never heard of a monster melting away like this.”
“If we’re talking about that, I’ve never heard of a person turning into a monster either.”
“Yeah… no difference there.”
Roan sighed deeply, clearly exasperated.
“What are we going to do about this? I doubt anyone will believe it was Duke Lecherie.”
“Once the Duke has turned into a monster, it’s the same situation. At this point, we might as well consider ourselves lucky that we don’t have to go through the trouble of covering it up.”
Lucas shrugged, thinking it was better to take a pragmatic approach.
The Duke, along with the mansion’s servants and private soldiers who were believed to have turned into monsters, would have to be reported as missing. Ideally, he wanted to arrest them and thoroughly expose them to deal a blow to Prince Slay’s faction, but that was no longer an option.
Things had escalated far beyond that.
“Roan, hurry the search of the mansion. If there are any survivors, secure them immediately. And of course, don’t forget to recover any Monsterization Drugs if they’re found.”
“Understood!”
The knights who had rushed in at Roan’s command began searching the mansion. Lucas hoped to find some clues before Prince Slay’s faction did.
Fortunately, the nobles belonging to Prince Slay’s faction were leaving the mansion in a hurry. They likely didn’t want to linger in a place that had been attacked by such a grotesque monster.
Remaining were Prince Slay and a few close noble aides. They were merely gathered in one of the mansion’s rooms, discussing the future of their faction, with no one bothering to explore the mansion.
(If Marquis Puridi had been there, he wouldn’t have shown such an opening.)
Lucas believed that Marquis Puridi was the most cautious member of Prince Slay’s faction and would almost certainly be expelled from the faction. The divide-and-conquer strategy that would normally take time and effort had succeeded far too easily, and it felt like a stroke of luck.
He had now created a significant debt with Marquis Puridi. Known for his sense of obligation, he would likely join Lucas’s faction. If House Puridi moved to support Prince Lucas, other nobles would surely follow suit.
Despite the irregularity of the monster attack, things were progressing as initially planned. The time to formally declare participation in the Right of Succession War was drawing near.
(Well, it’s going to be a big commotion starting tomorrow, so it might still be a little while longer.)
The abduction of citizens by Duke Lecherie and his involvement in human trafficking would undoubtedly shake the Kingdom of Reese to its core.
And there was no doubt that the treatment of the Lecherie family, whose head had committed such a grave sin, would cause turmoil within the Royal Castle. Lucas could vividly imagine the nobles scrambling to seize the interests previously held by House Lecherie. By the time things settled down, how many interests and lands would remain for House Lecherie…?
“Your Highness Lucas, I need you to come here!”
The voice of Alissa broke through his thoughts, prompting him to look up. Behind her were several knights, and trembling in their midst was a pale-faced girl in a maid’s outfit.
She was about the same height as Princess Lucretia. With her dull gray hair tied in twin tails, her adorably youthful face made her look very young. Her flat figure bore an uncanny resemblance to someone he knew.
“Who is she?”
“We found her hiding in the food storage of the kitchen during the mansion search.”
Alissa had been instructed to lead a separate team to search the mansion’s interior first. It seemed she had discovered the girl along the way and brought her back.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lucas. Can you tell me your name?”
“I-I’m Merry…”
“Nice to meet you, Merry. First, let’s move to a place where we can talk calmly. How about… Alissa, can you guide her to the carriage we arrived in? Can you accompany her?”
“Got it!”
After giving further instructions to the other knights to continue searching the mansion, Prince Lucas led Alissa and the girl who introduced herself as Merry toward the carriage.
The carriage, though modest in appearance for royal use, had been properly modified for the royal family. Sitting on the plush seat, Merry’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Now, can you tell me what happened in this mansion?”
“Y-yes…”
Merry began to speak, shrinking back in her seat.
She was a commoner who had been temporarily hired for the ball that night. Although she had started working a few days prior, her natural clumsiness and carelessness had led to repeated mistakes. It seemed she had gradually become a target of bullying from the other maids and servants, who were also hired temporarily, as well as those who had been in the mansion longer.
“The Duke had given us a nutrient supplement as a reward, but I was the only one who didn’t receive it…”
“Was that nutrient supplement a pale pink color?”
“Y-yes! We were told to drink it once the ball started. Then everyone who drank it suddenly started to suffer, and they turned into monsters. I got scared and hid in the food storage, and that’s how it happened!”
“Calm down, Merry.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
With Alissa’s comforting embrace, Merry began to regain her composure.
(I don’t sense any deceit in her words. It seems I can trust her…)
Though Lucas had considered the possibility of Prince Slay or spies from entirely different organizations, based on his Skill, she appeared to be genuine. She was just an apprentice maid found in any mansion.
“Merry, do you think the nutrient supplements given to you might have been served to the participants of the ball?”
“I-I don’t think so. The person who brought it said it was a precious medicine…”
“Do you know who brought it?”
“Um, I met him for the first time, but he was a merchant who usually comes and goes from the mansion. He was a tall man, but he wore a robe and hood, so I couldn’t see his face.”
“Did that person come to this mansion today?”
“…Yes. I think it was just before the ball started. He didn’t meet with the Duke, just dropped off the supplies and left immediately afterward.”
“I see.”
Thanks to Merry, Lucas had a rough understanding of the situation. The person Hugh had seen during his infiltration yesterday and the person Merry described were likely the same individual.
(What could be the reason for distributing the Monsterization Drugs to the mansion’s servants?)
If the goal was to attack the ball, the intent was unclear. Did they want to obstruct Prince Slay’s claim to the throne? No, that seemed too elaborate for that.
If they merely wanted to obstruct him, they could have killed Duke Lecherie. There would have been plenty of opportunities for that. It was hard to believe they would go through the trouble of using the Monsterization Drugs.
(Could it be that our movements were anticipated?)
Perhaps they had noticed Hugh’s infiltration through some means and acted to obstruct it, moving to save Duke Lecherie. …But that too seemed unlikely. If they intended to save the Duke, there would be no reason to give him the drugs.
The drugs had been given to Duke Lecherie yesterday, while the servants received theirs today. Assuming they had noticed Hugh’s infiltration, the purpose of such an action would be…
“—To silence them, perhaps.”
“Ah, I see! That makes sense. In that case, there’s no need to kill everyone.”
“W-what?”
“The man you saw likely intended to erase any information related to them. He probably meant to eliminate not just Duke Lecherie but all the servants in this mansion. But killing everyone would take time. So, he distributed the Monsterization Drugs as a poison.”
“Th-that’s terrible…!”
“Was there a reason why a regular poison wouldn’t suffice?”
“Who knows? Perhaps they wanted to incite panic by having monsters appear at the ball, or maybe they didn’t regard the Monsterization Drugs as that important. Or it’s possible they wanted to test the drugs while silencing witnesses.”
“There’s so much we don’t know…”
Alissa shrugged, exasperated. Lucas couldn’t help but agree with a wry smile.
(The fact that the monster self-destructed might be to leave no corpse behind… It’s also concerning how the monster seemed to act as if it were under someone’s orders. But there’s little I can ascertain at this point.)
There’s no point in expanding my speculations any further. Speculation eventually turns into conjecture, obscuring the truth and making it harder to see.
(If I were to use Hugh’s Skill, I could easily obtain a decisive clue. However, that would bring me too close to the truth.)
The reason I sent Hugh away wasn’t just because I was wary of Prince Slay’s gaze or out of concern for his fatigue. What Prince Lucas feared was that the truth would come to light through Hugh’s cooperation.
(If that leads to more enemies, it would be troublesome. For now, it’s enough to gather a few clues. If they want to act in the shadows, they can do as they please—as long as they don’t interfere with me.)
Prince Lucas snapped his fingers to shift his thoughts.
“Now then, Merry. Let’s talk about you.”
“M-my story…?”
“You are currently the only survivor in this mansion. Do you understand what that means?”
“Um, yes! I’m a super lucky girl!”
“No, no… It means there’s a danger to your life, you know?”
“I’m a super unlucky girl!?”
“I’d say you’re more of a lucky girl, though?”
That said, her future life would be filled with the constant danger of not knowing when she might be killed. She might even find herself wishing she had become a monster instead, facing a grim fate.
(Well, regardless of that, this girl seems like she could be put to interesting use.)
Prince Lucas turned to Merry, who was sitting across from him.
“What do you think? If you’re willing, would you like to work under me?”
“I-is that really okay…? I would be honored!”
“Great, then. Working at the Royal Castle will be quite challenging, but I think you’ll get used to it quickly.”
“Yes! I’ll do my best… Wait, I’m going to work at the Royal Castle?”
Merry tilted her head in confusion. It seemed she didn’t quite grasp who the person in front of her was.
“Did I not mention it? My name is Lucas von Reese. I’m the third prince of this country. Nice to meet you again, Merry?”
“W-wait, what!? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!??”
Author’s Comment
End of Part One. Thank you for your company! (´ω`)ノ
Starting tomorrow, Part Two will focus on Lecty and the Holy Maiden, exploring why Hugh can change his Skills with the Brainwashing Skill, and gradually unraveling the mysteries presented in the early chapters.
I’ll continue to update daily, so I hope you’ll stick around! m(__)m
Also, if you don’t mind, please let me know your favorite characters! Thank you! (‘▽’)