"Are you sure you're going to take that suspicious drug?"

I looked at Lagian and said more and more bluntly than necessary.

"It seems to be an illegal drug circulated before the swordsmanship competition... Since you are a foreigner, there is no way that you, who have no connections here, can have it."

Apparently, the capital was collecting the issue now because drugs were distributed just before the swordsmanship competition.

If Aaron had a little more power, he would have somehow spread the fact that it had something to do with the Empress.

Since it was a matter related to the Imperial Family, I could not advise Aaron to come forward and publicize it.

Besides, what kind of voice did Aaron have? 2nd place in the swordsmanship competition would literally have no presence at the award ceremony.

"Really, was it meticulously prepared to kill me in front of the origin of black magic?"

I said, trying to include all keywords.

"Did the Crown Prince or Empress back you up?"

At this point, I was planning to pinpoint the Empress too at once.

She must have said she had no idea what her son was doing, and completely cut off any room for her to step out.

"Yes."

Lagian smiled and poured the drug into his mouth.

"Now is not the time to talk like knights with each other. It must be a battle that ends when one person dies."

Of course, it was me who wanted to laugh.

Now it was like the last duel.

There were no cumbersome imperials, and there were no more facts to disclose.

Having informed the capital of everything, there was no more room for use of the bamboo forest.

"I hate people like you who don't know the subject the most. I hated you from the beginning, but after meeting you in person, I hated you even more."

Lagian looked at me and showed clear malice.

He wass just Carlon's employee, so I didn't understand why he hated me so much.

In fact, although we were against each other, there was no personal resentment between us.

"No, what else do you terribly dislike?"

I was stunned and asked one last time.

"Are you serious about what you know about me? Is your brain only really a muscle driven by money?"

"You should live according to your abilities, so why the hell are you fighting the great Ian with the thought of really winning?"

'...What?'

I had no choice but to open my mouth at the unexpected words.

Did he say 'Ian' now? As far as I know, the two had never met each other?

Even the great Ian...

"Why don't you give up even after seeing Ian's perfect swordsmanship? As someone with a sword, shouldn't you be able to recognize the difference in skill?"

"That's right..."

"Even after losing every swordsmanship contest, you spat out all sorts of filthy swear words! Ian has no reason to hear such abusive remarks from you!"

"That's right too..."

"If you get the chance to meet your sword in glory, shouldn't you immediately obey with awe-inspiring eyes?"

"No. Are people like that half crazy or something like that?"

I muttered as I looked at the half-insane person in front of me.

"...You..."

Now I understood why he really hated me so much.

Lagian's brain was not eroded by capitalism, but a human whose heart was eroded by Ian. (pr/n: plot twist didn't expect him to be crushing on Ian lmao)

"You... You were a serious follower of Ian... Well, then I understand..."

Of course, among the swordsmen who risked their lives in swordsmanship, there were people who admired Ian excessively.

So it wasn't absurd that those people hated me enough to want to get rid of me.

It was because my existence was a sure obstacle and a stumbling block to the perfect life of Ian.

"I don't know what your intentions are right now, but you're pretending to be with Ian! I know sneaky things like you can hit the back of his head at any time."

Lagian glared at me with courage.

"Ian is noble and clear-cut, for him to be with someone like you, I can't let such a dangerous element be by his side. Because you are a human being who will harm Ian by committing a crime!"

'It's a thing of the past, but it's true...'

"So I have to get rid of you somehow so that the repercussions will disappear."

All riddles have been solved. Lagian was a swordsman who admired Ian so much that he was half insane.

Among many people, there were people who hated me because Ian was too reverent for me.

There were quite a few, especially among the Knights of the Wade who were afraid of Ian.

But they hadn't been so openly hostile to me since they'd just run into me and realize that they were no match for me.

And when we got to fight the black magic together, the people of the Empire just welcomed the cooperation between us because it was directly related to their own safety.

But Lagian was a foreigner. He didn't care what happened in the Empire.

To be precise, he must have been very displeased that Ian and I were together because of such an unavoidable circumstance.

Naturally, I thought it was for Ian's sake to get rid of me, because he expected that I would slap Ian in the back of the head.

He also disliked me abnormally because of the excessive idolization of Ian.

After all, Ian was too strong to be in danger, so he chose to join hands with the Crown Prince and get rid of me, the most dangerous element to him.

It was an understandable reason for an irrational person, but I had no reason to consider it.

I stared at Lagian and took a deep breath.

"Don't you know that I'm aware? I know because I've lived in that position for a long time, but the villains who usually lose are the ones with lengthy speeches."

Soon after, I fixed my sword and spoke quietly.

"But the winner has nothing to say. It's just a fight, so if someone wins, it's still Ian."

It was really funny to understand Ian's mind accurately at this point.

"Remember. If you tell your story before you fight, you lose."

Our eyes met once, and the swords clashed.

~*~

The capital panicked once again.

"It seems to be an illegal drug circulated before the swordsmanship competition... Since you are a foreigner, there is no way that you, who have no connections here, can have it."

It was true that Maiena had crossed a line enough to immediately go to prison for contempt of the Imperial Family.

No matter how much the ranks of commoners had risen, there had been no precedent for the Imperial Family and commoners to openly speak to each other.

Therefore, it was natural for the Imperial Knights to arrest Maiena according to the orders of the Empress.

At that time, a voice blew in the wind that covered the capital, and the atmosphere became quiet again.

~"Did the Crown Prince or Empress back you up?"

~"Yes."

The Emperor touched his forehead as if in pain.

Now, everything was too true to say that these voices were fabricated as the Empress claimed.

"For now, I will really finish the awards ceremony."

The Emperor declared with a solemn expression.

"As I said earlier, the closing ceremony is omitted, and excessive speculation and the creation of rumors about what is happening now are prohibited."

Of course, it was a situation where everything was being relayed in real time even without generating rumors.

No matter how absurd it was, no one thought that the voices they were hearing were fabricated lies.

This was because they had never heard of magic that could manipulate a human voice in this way.

Everyone was thinking that the Smaho forest was working and telling the story of what was going on there.

In fact, even the Emperor thought that.

"And the Empress and Maiena..."

He got the job done once as neatly as he could.

"They are detained separately for charges of illegal drug distribution and contempt of the imperial family. We will decide the punishment in the future."

When the Emperor's orders were issued, the Imperial Knights immediately arrested the Empress and Maiena together.

"Why, why did you do that! Why are you making such an unreasonable statement...?"

The chief of the commoners' council, who was next to Maiena, whispered quickly, and Maiena answered without hesitation.

"Don't worry, detention is something I've been familiar with since the days of the commoners' rights movement. And there is no other reason for me to go out of my way."

She grinned as she was meekly led by the knights.

"Because I believe in Miss Annabelle. It's because I want to help out as much as possible in my place, no matter what kind of big picture I draw. I once caused a lot of trouble in the past."

Even in the chaotic situation, of course, the voices continued to be carried.

Now Lagian was blaming Annabelle and praising Ian.

~"Ian is noble and clear-cut, for him to be with someone like you, but I can't let such a dangerous element be by his side. Because you are a human being who will harm Ian by committing a crime!"

Aaron, who was listening to the conversation with some interest, shook his head and muttered.

"Who would call that dangerous? There are so many detailed and useless words."

Cessianne sighed too and nodded her head.

"I know right. It is a feast of remarks that do not benefit anyone."

Marilyn, who had been worried about Annabelle the whole time, interrupted their conversation.

"Isn't it going to be beneficial for Ian?"

"Hey, honestly, it's not a good thing."

Aaron answered coldly.

"Is there anyone in the capital who doesn't know that Ian is just such a person? Everything is perfect and common sense except for the one thing that there are no exceptions and there is no fun. No matter how much praise you receive, Ian is the real deal."

People around them also nodded their heads as if Aaron was right. It was an uncontroversial statement.

That was when some time had passed. Suddenly, Annabelle's voice could be heard, which sounded absurd.

"Ian? Why are you here..."