Chapter 110

The Turnaround

Hearing this strange answer from her, Abbas leaned forward and asked.

“What do you mean that they are…witnesses?”

“Oh, of course. I am getting ahead of myself,” Connie said sheepishly. “Do you remember about the night of the Ball? When the man called Kurosaki Yuuji mingled with the beautiful ladies and madams?”

Abbas frowned, then his eyes widened as he slowly began to understand what she meant. His hands clenching into a fist. “Are you saying that…everyone who he met…is being controlled?”

“Well, perhaps not all of them. But mostly.”

“This is …very unusual,” Lord Audrick scratched his head.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from the side. It was that of the Calendian King. At this moment, he could not hold his silence as this was more than simple tricks. This was a direct attack against his people. Everyone knew of the tales of his conquest. “How can you be so sure?”

“Ladies do talk, Your Highness,” she answered. “And when ladies talk, rumors follow. Did none of you fathers and husbands wonder about why your wives and your daughter began to ask a lot about Kurosaki Yuuji? Did you not find it strange for them to suddenly be enamored by him?”

“But isn’t it normal for women to be attracted to Heroes?” Abbas asked again, still disbelieving the audacity of what had been done.

“On such as scale? At the same time? If you do not believe me, then ask your wives. Ask your daughters who you love so dearly. Who do they love the most in this world? And my proof shall be spoken by their tongue. That man did not just bring harm to our Country, but also to the people who cherished it.”

“And some of you may hide yourselves in fear of punishment. Understandable. But hiding will only make it worse.”

There was only silence after she finished speaking. At this point, the audience could do nothing but look at each other, unsure of what to do. Tonio’s face brightened at this, finding that she was quickly making enemies of those who did not want their baggage showing.

Then, a beautiful and stern voice began to speak.

“You Stonemen…surprised me. Is your nobility more important than your family?! Is your status more important than your honor?!” Akula shouted, her powerful legs drummed at the marbled floor in agitation. “You don’t know this, but that man’s Charm Gaze was terrifying. It made you a slave to him. It made you want to do anything to please him. And slowly…the people that you once cherished and loved no longer was replaced by his name. Your pride, your honor, your mind, they were overridden by that Charm. It took me the help of the Maiden of Water to finally be rid of it.”

All eyes turned toward the buxom figure sitting by Babblebrook. The blue-haired maiden slowly stood up and said.

“Sheee…speaks the truth…”

Just this alone gave the Centaur’s words more weight.

“You all may think of me as a savage from another land! And I know a lot of you do! But believe me when I say…do not make the wrong choice.”

And still. There was only silence.

That was…until suddenly, one of the Nobles stood up from amidst the people. He came from the Hero’s Faction. His lips trembling and his eyes glassy. Which made his toad-like face look rather funny.

“Marquis Schodt. Return to your seat,” Lord Audrick said when he saw the man moving forward. But the man did not back down, even when two Knights came upon him.

“Your Majesty. I beg you. May I…?”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

The man glanced at the King, but his gaze was pointed at Allenca. The King nodded and gave him leave.

“Your Eminence…this…Charm Gaze…can its effect be healed?” There was resignation in his eyes. Pain and regret. “My daughter…she is bedridden now…and all she could say was that wretched man’s name!” He half-cried, half-roaring. “She would not eat. She would not drink…! All we could do was watch her wasting away…!”

“…” Allenca nodded slowly after hearing his words. “Iiiit…will be…painful…but it can be…healed. As long…aaas…it is treated…quickly.”

The Noble forgot all manners and fell to the floor, crying and sobbing while praising Junnaveil’s name profusely. He was in such a mess that the Knight had to drag him out as he passed out from relief.

“Do you think that that man is wretched?” Connie asked them when he was brought out of the Chamber. There was no answer. Still, there was only silence. That, and the look of pain and shame that filled their eyes.

“What he did, he did out of love. But not all of us had the courage to do such a thing and I cannot blame you,” she then turned to Lady Serin, who was almost forgotten due to the shocking revelation. “So, I ask you again, Lady Serin. How well do you know Kurosaki Yuuji?”

“W-what are you implying?” she almost tripped when Connie suddenly talked to her.

“Oh, I see. I guess I am not clear enough. Perhaps if Prince Mikael could have a try? Prince Mikael, would you care to ask your Fiancee…” Connie smiled innocently. “Who is the man you love the most?”

Prince Mikael’s face paled upon hearing her words. His eyes turned to look at her. He wanted to say the words, but he could not. The mere thoughts of that word being said cut his heart into pieces.

“I – I - !”

Angered, Serin quickly said. “It’s you! It’s you that I love the most, Prince Mikael!!”

“Well, good for you, Prince Mikael,” Connie congratulated them mockingly. If she could clap her hands, she would have done so already. “A match made in heaven.”

Seeing how the girl toyed with Serin, King Gerard could not watch anymore and he waved it off. “That’s enough, Lady Steelheart. With this new understanding, it is clear where the fault lies,” he turned to Lord Audrick. “Lord Audrick, if you please.”

Seeing how they could no longer turn this around, the envoys’ face contorted unpleasantly. Gianni, especially, gritted his teeth so hard his gum bled. Fine, we can accept the loss. But just you wait -

“Please wait, Your Majesty. I am not done,” the blonde-haired girl said. “I am…far from done.”

----------------------------------------

“Milady? Pardon me, but what in Sud-Ghazid are you doing?! We are home free!!” Nick bawled.

Illumca kicked Nick’s butt and he fell onto his face. "Shut up and sit down!"

“As long as we are already here. I would like to ask one question to the Special Envoy. Just one question before I start.”

“…what is it?” Gianni growled unpleasantly.

“This pertains to the man named Sergio. Do you know of him?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Then do you know that he is an Unrestrained Candidate?”

“Unrestrained Candidate?!” Prince Abbas stood up from his seat, forgetting himself. “That -! You!! Did we not sign an agreement to share knowledge of all Unrestrained in our Countries?!”

Gianni did not lose his composure and restrained his reaction. “He is strong. But not that strong. She is exaggerating. Empty words with no proof!”

“If you want proof, Envoy. There is proof, witnessed by me, Commander Klein, and his platoon,” Akira spoke out. “The destruction left in Zelbes Forest was so unbelievable that he thanked Junnaveil that whatever did it was no longer there. Otherwise, we’d be decimated. In his own words.”

The dark-skinned Abbas sat back down with a groan. “Indeed. People like them leave scars on the very earth wherever they walk.”

“Not all of you may know this, but those who are called Unrestrained, even just a Candidate is far stronger than normal men! A thousand men would not be able to contend! However, it is not his identity that I want to put to your attention. But what he did and did not do.”

“Now, a question to you all,” Connie gave a pregnant pause, to add more weight for her next sentence. “With that much power in his disposal, why…did he not save the Kurosaki Yuuji? Why did instead of saving him, he took Kamiya instead? Why, amongst all the people that he could have saved, he chose her?”

“She is just an A-Rank Hunter, compared to a Hero, we all know who is more important. And as our Hero said, the man could afford to decimate us without any difficulty. He could have taken his time and look for the Hero. Yet he did not. He was in such a hurry that he didn’t even retrieve the Hero’s corpse.”

She then looked at the King. “Your Majesty. If our Hero died, would we do our best to retrieve his corpse?”

Akira looked at Connie awkwardly. Do you want me to die? Then he remembered the thing inside him. And he gulped hard.

The King answered sternly. “Upon the honor of Calendia. We would spare no man to retrieve him. It would be an affront to us.”

“And you, Haynim Abbas?”

“Need it be said?” he replied with a forceful slap of his chest. “I would spare no effort in honoring her by bathing her in precious oil and burning her enemies as offerings.”

To this declaration, Kim Sooyoung did not know whether to feel flattered or unnerved.

“So why would Sergio not do what is expected of him?” she started. “Because they cannot afford for Kamiya to lose her life. And because her identity must not be known. And why is this? Because once it was found out, it will be problematic for them. And this is the crux of the matter.”

“Envoy, as you are here as a representative of the Kingdom of Vorzenny. Here and now, I accuse you of working with the Demons!! And Kamiya is one of the Demons!”