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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Iris, Lizé, Erica, and Claudia were still dumbfounded by the situation unfolding before their eyes.
Where did the original lord go, and why was his daughter Aurora sitting on the sofa in an elegant dress, conversing with the newcomer?
For them, who had never had a single good memory here, it was very unfamiliar that the mansion’s atmosphere could be this peaceful and warm.
Everything from the table being filled with edible refreshments, the maid treating them with courtesy, to the absence of that pig leering at them with unpleasant eyes.
Aurora opened her mouth with a bright smile.
“First, I would like to apologize for the actions of that pig bastard, and at the same time, express my gratitude for your efforts for our city despite everything. Knight Commanders of the Silver Dawn Knights.”
Aurora rose from the sofa, slightly lifted the hem of her dress with both hands, bent her knees a little, and bowed her head in greeting. The four stared straight ahead with a dazed feeling.
Even though they clearly knew it was rude not to react while the other person was greeting them, their minds couldn’t keep up with the situation, so naturally, their bodies didn’t move either.
They wondered what they were witnessing right now. As if fully understanding their confused state of mind, Aurora laughed briefly with a chuckle.
“I fully understand the feelings of the Knight Commanders. You must be confused. I was too, at first. Even I was like that, so how much more would you be? I have no intention of thinking it’s rude, so please don’t worry.”
“Uh, so, Lady Aurora. What on earth is going on…?”
“We need to clarify the way you address me as well. From now on, you may call me the lord. Or Lord Aurora is fine too. Address me however you feel comfortable.”
“…Pardon?”
Claudia asked back in a dazed voice. The expression of disbelief was clearly visible on her face.
“Because that pig bastard is dead.”
Lizé dropped the cookie she was about to put in her mouth. Iris applied too much force to the teacup she was holding and broke it, Claudia’s mouth gaped open. Erica seemed to have choked and coughed while patting her chest.
“That pig bast… No, the lord is dead?”
“Feel free to curse as much as you want, Knight Commander Lizé. No matter what you call him or what title you use, I won’t mind. No, I’d rather encourage you to use insulting titles.”
At first, Lizé was about to use the term “pig bastard” as usual, but then she quickly changed her words, thinking it wasn’t appropriate to call the father that in front of his daughter. However, Aurora’s reaction was different.
She was rather encouraging them to address him with even more insulting titles.
“To me, he was merely a biological father who passed on the imperial bloodline, not a family member with whom I had human-to-human interactions. Look. Even now, what am I calling that pig bastard?”
“Ah, I understand. Then, Lord.”
A pleased smile appeared on Aurora’s face. It was truly a pleasant ring, no matter how many times she heard it. Yes, she should have been seated in this position long ago.
Of course, she could never have achieved it alone, and there was someone else who had made this achievement possible. Her golden eyes glanced at the man munching on cookies a short distance away.
Lizé, who saw Aurora’s eyes sweep over the newcomer with a somewhat sticky emotion, was lost in thought for a moment, then quickly returned to reality upon hearing a voice calling her.
“Yes, please speak. Knight Commander Lizé.”
“…Ah, yes. I’d like to hear a detailed explanation about that pig bastard’s death if you don’t mind.”
As the question that the other knight commanders were all curious about spilled out of Lizé’s mouth, three pairs of eyes filled with curiosity focused on Aurora.
No, it was four pairs, including the one who asked the question. Aurora casually accepted those gazes and brought the teacup to her mouth.
“Of course I should tell you. Now, I’ll explain everything one by one from the beginning.”
‘Wow, even though it’s a lie I came up with, hearing it like this makes it sound so real. Does Aurora have a talent for acting too?’
Aurora told the knight commanders only the superficial reasons, as we had coordinated beforehand. She left it to me to tell the truth behind it.
The fact that I had subjugated the Headless Armored Cavalier and “accidentally” discovered a book inhabited by a demon.
The fact that I had brought the book to the lord to discreetly discuss how to handle it, but that bastard, blinded by greed, had sent me away and secretly tried to summon the demon.
The fortunate fact that the demon dwelling in the book was greatly weakened, so there was no significant damage.
However, as a result, the lord had become a half-man, half-demon, and therefore, in accordance with imperial law, all his rights had been revoked, his history erased, and the vacant position had been filled by her.
Aurora explained it with such a confident expression and tone, without any hesitation, and even added her own details to the parts she felt were awkward, making it an even more plausible lie.
“This is how the incident unfolded, Knight Commanders.”
Aurora, having finished her explanation, brought the teacup to her mouth as if her throat was dry. A slurping sound was heard. The current reception room was so quiet that the sound of swallowing tea echoed.
It was only after quite some time had passed that words were spoken again. Iris, who had been blankly staring at the ceiling and sorting out her thoughts, carefully opened her mouth.
“…To be honest, I think it’s a truly absurd story. Except for the fact that he would call a demon out of his own greed, the rest feels like a dream.”
“But it’s also an incident that actually happened.”
“Yes, Lord. I know. If someone had told me the exact same story that you shared, I would have scolded them to swing their sword one more time instead of telling such a ridiculous lie.”
“A ridiculous lie… I see.”
Aurora repeated those words and laughed. She must have felt ironic, knowing that the explanation she had given so far was half a lie.
“But, newcomer.”
“Hmm?”
Silver eyes turned towards me. It was the moment I was about to take the baton from Aurora and tell the four of them our real plan.
“Hearing that whole story, I have one question.”
“…?”
I blinked my eyes, wondering what Iris was trying to say. There shouldn’t have been any loopholes in the explanation Aurora added. I briefly retraced my steps to see where the explanation might have gone awry.
And I was able to find out what the problem was surprisingly easily.
“There’s no way you trusted that lord more than us, right? If you had really accidentally discovered such a book, you would have come to us to discuss how to handle it, not the lord.”
Only then did Aurora make an “oops” expression.
Indeed, considering how terrible the lord’s reputation was in this city, it didn’t make sense that I had gone to him in the first place to discuss countermeasures. Iris had precisely pointed that out.
The excuse of “I didn’t know the lord was such trash because I had only recently joined the Silver Dawn Knights” might work for the empress who didn’t know the situation here and my circumstances well, but how could the excuse of not knowing the lord well work on the knight commanders?
“You’re right. You hit the nail on the head. It’s as you said, Iris. If I had really accidentally discovered such a book, I would have gone to you guys for advice, not that pig bastard.”
I readily admitted those words. I was planning to reveal the real plan at this point anyway. It was just that the timing had been slightly moved up.
“You admit it readily. Then, what part is a lie and what part is the truth?”
“Half is the truth, and half is a lie. First, the fact that the lord has turned into a half-man, half-demon is true. And the fact that there was no damage to the surroundings is also true. The fact that Aurora has taken that position is true as well, and the rest can be considered lies.”
“I roughly understand. Then, what was the reason for telling us the fake plan first?”
“There’s one person who needs to be tricked with that plan. There’s quite a difference between hearing a lie knowing it’s a lie and hearing it without knowing. So I wanted to ask you what points felt awkward. And it also makes the plan more perfect if you cooperate.”
“…The person who needs to be tricked with the plan, who is that?”
“The person who will come to defeat that demon in the basement soon.”
Iris made a puzzled expression at my ambiguous words, then suddenly realized something and looked at me with a face that had turned pale.
“Newcomer, don’t tell me…!”
“It’s as you think, Iris.”
Lizé, Erica, and Claudia next to her had similar expressions. With their faces pale and their hands trembling, they stared at me as if wondering what they had just heard.
“Her Majesty the Empror. She’s the one who needs to be tricked with the plan we just mentioned.”
[T/N: Remember guys in chapter 15 he says because of the mods the emperor probably became an empress so from now on i will refer to her as a woman.]
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Thx for chapter