The only issue was if they trusted me or not. Eric had been extremely suspicious of me and my mercenaries. He had set this entire gala up to lure me into a trap, there was no mistaking that. But now that my decoy assassins were caught, it was possible that he had become less wary.
Eric had a reputation for not trusting others easily, but how would that play out now? If he didn’t take the suggestion I just gave, then as much as it would pain me to do so, I would have to abort this mission.
I was a deeply cautious man. I knew when it was time to quit. I still had plenty of time. Suffering a temporary setback here was just part of the process.
“Hmm, fair point, Duke Algrene. I suppose I will let your mercenary company take these thugs.”
“Yes, Your Highness! They’re in good hands!”
There! There it is! The chance of a lifetime has fallen into my lap!
Ha ha ha… Oh, Eric, you fool. You’d never guess that I hired fifty men just to cause a diversion, would you?
It was a shame they were so pathetic that Johann’s men could catch them, but the Algrene mercenary company was the real deal. They were the elites, gifted with intelligence and combat skill. I didn’t even want to think about how much of my fortune was spent on amassing such an elite force.
The only reason I hadn’t yet ordered them into action was because I couldn’t risk the slightest chance of a mishap. Otherwise, they would have taken the king’s head long ago.
And now that he has been lulled into a false sense of security, the aforementioned king’s head shall be mine.
I’d won! I was the victor, Eric Elshaid! Idealists like you should crawl among the vermin where you belonged.
“Prince Eric, Duke Algrene, this is their latest product,” Saint Leia said. “I would love to hear your opinions on it, so I’ve brought you both a sample.”
“Hmm, interesting,” Eric said. “I’ll give it a try.”
“Thank you, my lady,” I replied.
Saint Leia—that witch was on my watchlist. After all, she had cast devious spells to fool Berklein.
But I would be an amateur if I let my wariness of her show. I was exceedingly calm. I would never let my emotions show.
“Well, this certainly is delicious,” I said. “I wasn’t expecting a melon flavor. It is a truly refined taste, isn’t it, Your Highness?”
I smiled, but not because the ice cream was good. I was smiling because everything was going according to my design. I was wary of Leia Westoria’s tactics, but letting it wash over me calmly was the right move. Johann’s heroics were an unexpected hiccup, but my poker face was just that impeccable. I would fool them all, and bring my plan closer and closer to fruition.
“Are you all right, Duke Algrene?”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“We haven’t tested this ice cream for poison. Do you think it’s safe? Do you feel at all ill?”
“Wh-what are you saying?”
Did this bastard just imply that he poisoned the ice cream? I remembered how Berklein writhed around on the floor after sipping some wine. Was he trying to use the same gambit on me? Using this saint as his agent…
“Leia can cast Death Poison now, just like her sister, Jill. Duke Algrene, I’ve changed my policy. I now punish anyone I suspect so that I may achieve my ideal world. You’ll have to die now.”
“What?”
“Unless you confess to me. Confess all your crimes.”
“C-confess?!”
That’s bloody child’s play. It’s pathetic! Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic! Pathetic beyond words!
At first, I was surprised to hear that he still didn’t trust me, but this was his move after I let my guard down? Was this childish tactic really his idea of a battle of wits?
I’m truly disappointed in you, my boy. To think you were this pathetic.
“Ha…ha! Hah! Hah! Hah! Are you joking, Your Highness? I can’t think of anything I need to confess.”
“What?”
“Besides, I know you, Prince Eric. You’re not the sort of person who would punish somebody just because you suspect him of wrongdoing. I’ve committed no crimes, yet I can’t hide my disappointment that you would bluff to try to reproach me.”
I was ninety percent—no, a hundred percent certain that this was a bluff. Eric Elshaid was a just man. A firebrand perversely obsessed with fairness. If he would bend his own rules to condemn me, that would be a rejection of his very ideology. A rejection of his long history of championing the revocation of rights as his primary cause. It frustrated me that he would panic and try the same cheap trick on me that he used on Berklein.
Did you honestly think I wouldn’t see through your little game? Don’t underestimate me, you damn amateur!
“Prince Eric, let’s put an end to your little charade. I am innocent. I have nothing to confess.”
“Doubling down, are we?”
A new voice interrupted, “Duke Algrene is right, Brother. Please stop this, you’re embarrassing yourself.”
“Dale…”
At last, somebody came to my defense. Dale Elshaid, the younger prince of the kingdom. This man was on my watchlist too, of course. I sneaked government officials loyal to me into his inner circle and had them report back to me about everything Dale thought and did.
I discovered from their reports that Prince Dale was truly useful to me. A true fence-sitter who hated conflict and was agreeable with everyone. Once I got the vermin out of the way and put him on the throne, this man would be a perfect puppet for me to control from behind the scenes.
With him, it would be possible to make House Algrene more powerful than Merhide and Gilbert’s houses combined.
To that end, I needed him alive.
Killing him as well as his brother and father was indeed another way to seize power, but that would result in a civil war and a kingdom in the throes of chaos. I only needed him to have just as much ambition as myself.