Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Evidence (3)
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“ Your Highness! We cannot overlook this incident!”
Alexander Apple, who had arrived at the royal castle, headed to the audience chamber with the nobles from his faction.
“How much money was wasted due to the failed subjugation, and how many knights were sacrificed!”
The king listened to Alexander Apple’s words without speaking. His face was filled with deep sorrow.
“No matter that he is the crown prince, this is not something we can simply let pass!”
“I understand. When that child returns, I will give him a stern scolding……”
“That will not be enough.”
Alexander Apple spoke in a resolute tone.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It is time for Your Highness to acknowledge it as well. Oliver—that child is not suited for the position of crown prince.”
The king’s eyes widened in shock. But Alexander Apple did not stop there.
“You must think rationally. Consider the distant future, when that child inherits the throne—whether he can lead the nation.”
The king looked around at the nobles Alexander Apple had brought. They all kept their mouths firmly shut.
It was a silent agreement with Alexander Apple’s words.
“Your Highness, you must make a decision!”
Alexander Apple shouted once more. The king let out a deep sigh.
After much deliberation, the king finally spoke.
“……You are right. Oliver is not the material to inherit the throne.”
At those words from the king’s mouth, a gleam of ecstasy flashed in Alexander Apple’s eyes.
“Strip that child of his position as crown……”
It was then.
“Your Highness! Please wait a moment!”
The doors to the audience chamber burst open, and a group of people entered.
Seeing them, Alexander Apple scowled and shouted.
“Oliver? How are you here?”
“Uncle, it’s been a long time.”
Alexander Apple could not help but be flustered by Oliver Apple’s greeting.
The nephew who always cowered in his presence had suddenly changed.
That confident demeanor grated on him subtly.
“You dare act so brazen after failing the subjugation!”
Alexander Apple did not hide his displeasure. No, more precisely, there was no need to hide it.
“You had better prepare yourself this time! His Highness has already promised to hold you accountable for this failure……”
“The subjugation was a success.”
Oliver Apple spoke in a calm tone. At those words, not only Alexander Apple but the king as well showed surprised expressions.
“What? A success? Is that true?”
“Yes, it is.”
“What nonsense is this? Didn’t you send a report saying it failed!”
“There were circumstances.”
At that moment, Alexander Apple shouted as if telling him not to spout such absurdities.
“Where do you get the gall to lie like this! Your Highness, do not be fooled! He is spouting ridiculous lies out of fear of taking responsibility for the failure……”
Demian, who had been watching from the back, stepped forward and flipped over a large bundle in front of the king and Alexander Apple.
Thick fangs poured out in a clatter. The sheer quantity left the king aghast.
“W-what is this!”
“These are the fangs of the orcs and ogres we slew during this subjugation.”
Demian tossed the empty bundle aside and said.
“As you can see, all fangs. Four per creature. Can you grasp how many orcs and ogres we killed?”
The king stared at the fangs with wide eyes. The other nobles did the same.
“Then…… why on earth did you submit a false report of failure?”
The king asked with an incredulous expression. Oliver Apple raised his voice in response.
“It was to gather evidence to expose the criminal who toyed with the kingdom and the royal family.”
“A criminal? Who exactly?”
Oliver Apple pointed at Alexander Apple.
“It is you, Uncle.”
In that instant, Alexander Apple’s face twisted viciously, but he forced it down and spoke in a composed tone.
“Oliver, what are you saying! Why would I be the criminal? You know how much I have devoted myself to the kingdom.”
Oliver Apple gestured. Knights threw three women, bound in ropes, to the floor.
The moment he saw their faces, Alexander Apple’s face drained of all color.
“You colluded with black mages to incite various incidents in the kingdom. Under the pretext of subjugating them yourself, you built your power and influence.”
Alexander Apple’s eyes darted wildly. Soon, he cried out as if wronged.
“Your Highness! This is slander! I have no idea who these women are!”
The king wore a confused expression.
He was already taken aback that the subjugation he thought had failed was actually a success. And now, Alexander Apple had colluded with black mages.
Alexander Apple was a trusted younger brother. The king could hardly believe Oliver’s words.
“Your Highness! Oliver Apple is fabricating outrageous lies to evade responsibility for the failed subjugation. Arrest him at once and uphold the royal dignity!”
“His Highness Oliver’s words are correct.”
Everyone’s gazes turned to behind Oliver Apple. Seeing who was there, Alexander Apple muttered in a dazed voice.
“……Sir Liam?”
Liam Bluegreen spoke in a quiet tone.
“This black mage here confessed to me, before being captured, that she had ties to Lord Alexander Apple.”
Liam Bluegreen pointed to one of the black mages and said.
“S-Sir Liam! What do you mean! I am innocent!”
“My lord, there is no point hiding it any longer. I heard it clearly with my own ears.”
If it had been just Oliver Apple’s claim, it might have been dismissed, but now Liam Bluegreen had joined in.
Liam Bluegreen was one of the few high-class knights in Apple Kingdom and had devoted himself to the royal family.
With such a figure backing Oliver Apple, the scales tipped decisively.
“……Soldiers, arrest Alexander Apple immediately.”
The king issued the command to the soldiers. The soldiers nearby began surrounding Alexander Apple.
“Your Highness—no, Brother! You are making a mistake! How can you believe those fools over me!”
Alexander Apple protested desperately. But no one listened.
Alexander Apple ground his teeth and glanced around. Seeing this, Liam Bluegreen said.
“My lord, if you are thinking of calling your knight order, abandon the idea. I have already neutralized them.”
Liam Bluegreen spoke in a calm tone. Alexander Apple cried out with a face struck by great shock.
“Sir Liam, why are you doing this! Didn’t you say you would support me!”
“Yes, I did. I truly believed you were the one to lead the kingdom’s future.”
“Then why……!”
“But that does not mean I can elevate someone who allied with black mages to the throne.”
Faced with the plain truth, Alexander Apple had no choice but to fall silent.
“My lord, submit to arrest. It is for the sake of your honor.”
Alexander Apple ground his teeth and looked around. No one spoke in his defense.
“……It’s all over.”
Alexander Apple let out a deep sigh and said.
“Are you admitting to your crimes?”
“Denying it won’t change anything, it seems. Yes, it is all true.”
At those words, the king staggered.
“Why…… why did you do such a thing!”
“Brother, why pretend not to know? You are the mastermind behind it all.”
Alexander Apple twisted one corner of his mouth.
“Think back to our childhood. The previous king said he would appoint the superior one between us as crown prince. So I worked diligently.”
Alexander Apple continued.
“While I was recognized as a knight early on, what about you, Brother? You just flipped through books in the castle. Anyone could see it should have been me on the throne, not you. But Father appointed you crown prince.”
Alexander Apple’s voice grew louder and louder.
“Still, it was Father’s decision, so I accepted it! I endured! But that idiot bastard…… when Oliver was born, my patience finally ran out!”
Alexander Apple’s gaze turned to Oliver Apple.
“A fool who took the crown prince seat easily just because he was the only son, wasting time on debauchery! Yet you kept that idiot in the crown prince position!”
Oliver Apple bit his lip hard. Hearing his uncle’s true feelings for the first time was truly shocking.
“Can you imagine how I felt watching that? It was like lava boiling inside me!”
“……So you joined hands with the black mages?”
“Yes! I borrowed their power to build my faction! I gathered supporters! Everything…… everything was going smoothly!”
Alexander Apple turned to look at Demian.
“You! You ruined everything! You are the culprit!”
“Then do better next time.”
Demian said irritably. At those words, Alexander Apple’s expression went blank.
“W-what did you say?”
“You should have planned more thoroughly. Why take it out on me after failing? Now I see why the previous king didn’t make you crown prince.”
As Demian’s words continued, Alexander Apple’s eyes turned bloodshot.
“……Watch your mouth. Do you not know who you are facing right now?”
“I’m facing a criminal guilty of treason. You’ll soon be in prison waiting for your execution day, yet you sure talk a lot.”
In that moment, Alexander Apple’s rage reached its peak. He reached out into the air and shouted.
“Return to my hand!”
A single sword pierced through the wall and flew into Alexander Apple’s hand. It was none other than the relic sword Thornwood.
“My lord, are you thinking of resisting?”
Liam Bluegreen asked with sharp eyes.
“Sir Liam, it seems you’ve forgotten. I am now a high-class knight as well.”
“Not all high-class knights are equal.”
The higher the realm, the greater the disparities within it.
The gap between low-class extremes was smaller than between middle-class extremes. Similarly, the high-class extremes were far wider.
Liam Bluegreen had reached high-class long ago. Since then, he had devoted himself to training and grown even stronger.
He was on a different level from Alexander Apple, who had forcibly elevated his realm using the relic sword’s power.
“Is that so?”
Alexander Apple, who surely knew this, remained utterly composed.
“Fool. This is no time to sleep. Wake up.”
Then, out of nowhere, he said something strange.
“Can’t you hear me? I need your power. If you don’t wake up now, we both die.”
Liam Bluegreen wore a puzzled expression. No matter how he looked at it, the words made no sense in context.
“Who are you speaking to right now……”
It was then.
A mouth appeared on the crossguard of the Thornwood sword in Alexander Apple’s hand.
“Huh, h-heok!”
“W-what is that thing!”
Everyone recoiled in shock. Liam Bluegreen was no exception, his face showing surprise.
-You idiot, what did I say? I told you I absolutely won’t wake up before sunset.
“You fool. Does this look like a time to be sleeping?”
-Kehk, making a fuss over nothing.
The sword was speaking. Moreover, Alexander Apple and the sword were conversing.
At this bizarre sight, everyone was inevitably flustered.
But there was one exception.
‘So it wasn’t a relic sword after all.’
Demian instantly saw through the identity of the talking sword.
The unease he had felt before was not a mistake. That was no relic sword.
‘It was a demon sword.’
The cursed object known as a fragment of the devil was right before his eyes.