chapter 30

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Iris, Lize, Erica, and Claudia were still dumbfounded by the situation unfolding before their eyes.

Where on earth did the original lord go, and his daughter Aurora is sitting on the sofa in an old-fashioned dress, talking to a newcomer?

For them, who had never had a single good memory here, it was quite strange that the scenery of the mansion could be so peaceful and warm.

Everything from having plenty of snacks on the table to being polite to the maids to not having those pigs ogling at you with their nasty eyes.

Aurora smiled and opened her mouth.

"First of all, I would like to apologize for what that piglet did, and thank you for your efforts for our city despite it all. Knights of the Silver Dawn."

Aurora got up from the sofa, lifted the hem of her dress with both hands, bent her knees slightly, and bowed her head in greeting. The four looked straight ahead, feeling bewildered.

Even though I clearly knew that it was rude not to react when the other person was greeting me, my head couldn't keep up with the situation, so naturally my body didn't move either.

I wondered what on earth I was looking at. Aurora seemed to fully understand my confused feelings, and gave a short laugh.

"I fully understand your feelings, Commanders of the Knights. You must be confused. I was like that at first, too. Even I was like that, so how much more so must you be? I do not intend to be rude at all, so please rest assured."

"I, I, Aurora. What on earth is going on… …?"

"I guess we need to sort out our titles. From now on, you can call me Lord. Or Lord Aurora is fine too. Please call me whatever you prefer."

"...yes?"

Claudia asked in a blank voice, her expression full of disbelief.

"Because that piglet is dead."

Lize dropped the cookie she was about to put in her mouth. Iris broke the teacup she was holding because she was using too much strength in her hand. Claudia opened her mouth wide. Erica groaned and pounded her chest as if she had heard a sound.

"That pig… … No, the lord is dead?"

"You can curse all you want, Commander Lize. I don't care what you call me or what title you use. No, I would rather encourage you to call me by a derogatory title."

At first, Lize was going to call him a piglet as she usually did, but she quickly changed her words, perhaps because she felt it was a bit odd to call her father that way in front of his daughter. However, Aurora's reaction was different.

Rather, it was recommended that they be called by more derogatory terms.

"He is simply my biological father who inherited the royal bloodline, not a family that I interact with as a human being. Look, what am I calling that piglet even now?"

"Oh, I understand. Then, my lord."

A delighted smile appeared on Aurora's face. It was truly a pleasant sound to hear at any time. Yes, she should have been sitting here a long time ago.

Of course, he could never have accomplished this alone, and there was another person who made this achievement possible. His golden eyes glanced sideways at a man munching on a snack a little distance away.

Lize was lost in thought for a moment as she saw Aurora's eyes scanning the new recruit with a sticky feeling, but quickly returned to reality when she heard a voice calling her name.

"Yes, go ahead. Commander of the Knights Lize."

"… … Oh, yes. I'd like to hear a detailed explanation about the death of that piglet. Is that okay?"

As the question that the other knight commanders were all curious about came out of Lize's mouth, three pairs of eyes filled with curiosity focused on Aurora.

No, the person who asked the question was also the same, so there were four pairs. Aurora leisurely accepted the gaze and brought the teacup to her lips.

"Of course I should tell you. Okay, I'll explain it to you one by one from the beginning."

'Wow, it was a lie I thought of, but when I hear it like that, it feels exactly like the truth. Does Aurora have talent for acting?'

Aurora told the Knight Commanders only the superficial reasons as we had agreed beforehand. She left it up to me to tell them the truth afterwards.

The story of me defeating the headless cavalryman and 'accidentally' discovering a book possessed by a demon.

I brought the book to the lord to secretly discuss how to deal with it, but he was so blinded by greed that he sent me away and tried to secretly summon a demon.

Fortunately, the demon in the book was greatly weakened, so there was no significant damage.

However, as a result of the aftermath, the lord became half-man, half-horse, and so he stripped him of all his rights according to imperial law, erased his records, and filled the void himself.

Aurora explained it with such confidence and ease, and even went so far as to add flesh to the parts that she felt were awkward, which made her lie seem even more believable.

"This is what happened, Knight Commanders."

After finishing her explanation, Aurora brought her teacup to her lips as if she was thirsty. A "Horob" sound was heard. This meant that the living room was currently so quiet that the sound of pouring tea could be heard.

It was quite some time later that Iris finally spoke again. Iris, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, gathered her thoughts, and then cautiously opened her mouth.

"… … To be honest, I think it's a really absurd story. If you exclude the fact that he's the type of person who would summon the devil out of greed, the rest of it all feels like a dream."

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"But it is also an incident that actually happened."

"Yes, my lord. I know. If someone had told me the exact same story you told me, I would have told them to swing their sword one more time instead of telling such a ridiculous lie."

"That's an absurd lie… … I see."

Aurora smirked as she chewed on the word. It was ironic, since she already knew that half of what she had said up until now was a lie.

"But, newbie."

"huh?"

Silver eyes turned to me. I was just about to touch Aurora and Baton to tell the four of us our true plan.

"After hearing the whole story, one question arises."

"...?"

I blinked, wondering what on earth Iris was trying to say. There probably wasn't anything wrong with Aurora's explanation either. I took a moment to think back over where the explanation went wrong.

And, surprisingly, it was easy to find out what the problem was.

"You wouldn't trust the lord more than us. If you had really stumbled upon such a book, you would have come to us, not the lord, to discuss how to deal with it."

Only then did Aurora show an expression of surprise.

Well, considering how bad the lord's reputation was in this city, it didn't make sense to go to him to discuss countermeasures in the first place. Iris had caught that point exactly.

To the Emperor, who does not know the circumstances of this place or mine, the excuse that 'I did not know the lord was such a piece of trash because I had only recently joined the Knights of the Silver Dawn' would be acceptable, but how could the excuse of not knowing the lord well be acceptable to the knight commanders?

"That's right. You got it right. It's exactly as Iris said. If I had really stumbled upon such a book, I would have gone to you guys for advice, not that piglet."

I readily admitted that. I had planned to reveal my real plan at this point anyway. It was just that the timing had been brought forward a little.

"You admit it readily. So where does the lie begin and where does the truth end?"

"It's half true, half false. First of all, the part about the lord turning into a half-human, half-horse is true. And the part about there being no damage to the surrounding area is also true. Even the part about Aurora taking her place is true, and the rest is all false."

"I get it. Then why did you tell us your false plan in the first place?"

"There's one person who needs to use it. There's a big difference between knowing and hearing a lie, and not knowing and hearing it. That's why I wanted to ask you what you found awkward. And the plan will be more perfect if you cooperate."

"… …Who is the person who has to use the plan?"

"Someone who will come and beat up that demon in the basement soon."

Iris made a puzzled expression at my ambiguous words, then realized something and immediately turned pale and looked at me.

"You newbie, you really… … !"

"It's exactly as you thought, Iris."

The faces of Lize, Erica, and Claudia next to them were not much different. Their faces were pale, their hands were shaking, and they were looking at me with expressions as if they had just heard something.

"Your Majesty the Emperor. He is the one who should be using the plan we just described."