Chapter 79: Ch 78: Pinning the Blame
"Looks like Sir Ridley keeps his treasure behind this door. Shall we open it and see what’s inside?"
Kael asked Lyra, and she let out a bark in response before rushing toward the door with her small body. Her intention of tackling the door open was cute, but useless.
There was a layer of magic protecting the door from intruders, but it was not a problem for Kael. He dispelled the magic right before Lyra could collide with the door, and it opened before impact.
Lyra looked back with a look of triumph, likely mistaking Kael’s actions for her own, and he chose not to burst her bubble.
"Alright, let’s see what kind of treasure he keeps here."
The room was not as big as Kael had expected, but it did contain costly magic tools...which were useless to him.
He could make much better tools even in his sleep, so it was disappointing to see the contents of the room.
Still, he did gain something from being here, and that was money. And not just any money! He got a lead on the undisclosed funds Sir Ridley kept under a false name.
Many merchants practiced this method to avoid taxes and earn more—they used false names and funneled profits through them. And one of those secret identities had fallen into Kael’s hands.
"Well, looks like we struck it rich, Lyra."
All Kael needed to do was head to the bank and have them transfer all rights under this name to his own. No one would ask any questions as long as he held the deed papers in his hands.
Once Kael pocketed the papers, he headed back to Iris’s side.
She seemed to be done with her revenge as well. Sir Ridley was dead with his head detached, while his butler was unconscious and tied up.
As for Iris...?
She looked relaxed while sipping tea and eating the unfinished biscuits on a tray.
Iris noticed Kael’s presence as soon as he entered the room. But she only chose to say something after some time had passed.
"Are you done with your revenge?"
"Yes."
Iris’s reply was light and happy. She also looked much more confident than before, which was nice. But he wished it had not come after killing someone.
Sigh
’Well, it’s better for her to kill one person than to destroy the world.’
Kael felt like his sense of logic had been twisted when he came back in time. Things he should have found disturbing no longer seemed that odd to him.
’Darn it! It is all because I keep reading about worse and worse mental conditions in humans! They are all starting to look normal to me.’
[Update: Contractor’s mental state has been awakened after the contract was established.]
Well, maybe there was another explanation for why he could easily accept such actions now and even try to find logic in them...
[Another update: The awakening did not change the user’s mental state; it merely awakened latent potential.]
That second update was not necessary.
"Actually, the butler said that he can testify about Sir Ridley’s crimes and his connection to the council, so I left him alive. But do you think this will cause us problems? Should I...not have killed Sir Ridley?"
Iris was beginning to doubt her actions, and even though Kael knew he should tell her that killing was bad...sometimes it could be justified.
"I don’t think you did anything wrong (she did), and I have your back. If you want to go on a rampage, I won’t stop you."
Iris looked like she was considering following his words and destroying the place. But she decided against it after a while.
Instead, she let out a small smile and stood up.
"Let’s go back home now. I would like to rest before we have to face the council again. Also, I don’t trust this butler. Can we make sure he only speaks the truth?"
Iris asked, and Kael agreed with her decision.
If the butler was ready to betray his master, who was to say that he would not betray them as well? So some degree of caution was necessary.
"I’ll take care of it. I will also send a report to the High Court to inform them about this case."
"And what if the High Judge is with the council as well?"
"That won’t happen. The High Judge is bound by a magic oath to uphold justice. Even if he is in league with the council, he won’t be able to do anything if we present evidence."
...
Sending a letter to the High Court was easy, and because of the accusation and the severity of the case, the date for the proceedings was decided quickly as well.
Meanwhile, Kael used a spell to collect as much evidence as he could to support his claim. He also prepared spells to ensure his witness would not die.
Unfortunately, this also meant that Leon and Seraphina had to be informed of what happened, and they did not look happy to be left out.
"Tsk, I knew the council was going to be troublesome."
Leon muttered under his breath. He seemed to have developed a hatred for the council in this life, which was a welcome change for Kael.
A night passed quickly, and Kael noticed the various attempts being made to find his house’s location. It was the desperate council members trying to find him before the case could proceed.
Most of them were worried about their lives and reputations. Just thinking about them panicking made Kael smile.
Unfortunately, he was not naive enough to expect all of them to fall. The ones at the top would most likely shift the blame onto their subordinates and get away unscathed.
"Everyone, it’s time to go. Make sure you keep your safety pendant on you at all times. And do try not to leave my side today."
The magic circle activated and teleported them straight to the High Court’s waiting reception.
The council representatives were already there with some unnamed nobles who were today’s scapegoats.
The nobles looked terrified of what would happen to them, but there was no time for Kael to talk to them.
"I...suddenly don’t feel so good about bringing the council down. They are willing to push innocent people to their deaths just to save themselves."
Iris spoke with a guilty expression.
Fortunately, Kael knew this was going to happen, so he had a plan prepared.
"Don’t worry. I know of a way to save those poor souls. But before that, we need to focus on winning this case."
Not that it was going to be much of a problem. They had too much evidence to lose.
