Chapter 79 - Episode 22: "I've Found Something to Burn Instead of the Mansion!"
Good day! I am Violia Nico Fortesia!
I am currently denouncing Fawn Tart Hornbone—the eldest son of House Hornbone, the heir to House Hornbone, and one of the people who denounced me in the throne room that day—on the main street of the noble district of the Royal Capital!
I! Feel! Absolutely! Wonderful! Ohohohohohoho!
"He summoned the demon...?!"
"Isn't that gentleman the son of House Hornbone?!"
"Speaking of Hornbone, there have been many bad rumors lately..."
"Ah! Some lady was shouting in front of their mansion while holding a baby!"
The onlookers are whispering among themselves while staring at me and Fawn. Incidentally, Doran moved quickly to clean up the demon's corpse and disappeared. Since there is a pretext that it is for disposal, no one said anything about his departure!
"Now, Fawn Tart Hornbone-sama! Regarding the crime you committed... the summoning of a demon, do you have any defense?!"
"M-Mistake! I didn't do such a thing!"
And I continue my denunciation of Fawn.
There is not a single piece of evidence that "Fawn Tart Hornbone is the culprit of the demon summoning." My evidence is that I talked to the demon, bluffed it, got a somewhat plausible reaction, and then Fawn tried to defeat the demon "exactly as the demon had said."
In short, that would also be evidence that I was talking to the demon, so it is a bit inconvenient.
...Therefore, I shall not use that evidence this time. In the first place, there is no record of me talking to the demon. If my testimony is the only evidence... then whether it is the truth or a fabrication, it makes no difference!
"No! I certainly confirmed it! The moment you committed the crime! Around the House Hornbone mansion, the movement of magical power became clearly strange!"
The place buzzed at my "testimony."
Incidentally, I am not good enough at magic to perfectly read the movement of magical power. But if it is just to bluff, it is no problem even if I cannot use magic at all. Ohohohoho.
"S-Such a thing."
"Furthermore, I do not know what kind of contract you had with the demon... but there were clearly strange points about both you and the demon, were there not?"
...And I shall strike him with "evidence" that is much more certain than my own "testimony"!
"Your attack just now. It was clearly weaker than my two arrows, just a mere graze... but with just that, the demon tried to flee, did it not? Isn't that strange?"
...To tell you the truth, you see?
The demon at that time probably "tried to flee," but more than that, Doran was holding it firmly, so it could not flee even a bit. And I quickly finished it off with my sword.
However, in these situations, the one who speaks first wins.
"Indeed! The demon was strange at that time!"
"That's right! Even though the sword only grazed it... it was as if they had arranged it!"
Unexpectedly, memories in a tense and exciting situation are vague. If I confirm it by saying "It was like this, wasn't it?", the onlookers' memories are easily moved to "Indeed, it was so." It is interesting.
"Furthermore, Fawn Tart Hornbone-sama? Why did you go through the trouble of coming out? You were hiding in the alley, watching the situation, as if waiting for an opportunity... and finally, you came out just when I was about to slay the demon. What was your intention?"
I further layer the induction.
To bring the onlookers' consciousness more toward "The culprit is the idiot son of Hornbone." While mixing truth and fiction, I denounce Fawn!
"For someone from House Hornbone, who is known more for his scandals than his martial arts, the actions you took were far too incomprehensible, were they not?"
Yes. The blunder Fawn made was certain.
Just as my bow and sword were reflected vividly and beautifully in the eyes of the onlookers, the onlookers had naturally seen Fawn's weak attack as well.
That is something that remains in the onlookers' consciousness without even needing to induce it. Therefore... this is enough.
"W-Wait! That's a false accusation!"
"I wonder if that is really true? ...Everyone who was watching the battle just now! What do you think?!"
When I called out to the onlookers, voices rose from the crowd.
"Do not forgive the great criminal who summoned a demon," they said.
...Well, he is a noble. Since he is a noble, I think if he had handled it well, he could have covered up the incident somehow.
However, since it was a nighttime incident, the movement of the castle soldiers was slow and they did not make it in time, and before that, the onlookers were incited and were denouncing Fawn... in short, the sparks became too large to be covered up.
Although it was an incident that occurred in the noble district, since there were several large fires, the commoners in the neighborhood had naturally rushed over. One cannot put a lid on the mouths of commoners.
And even nobles... there are quite a few houses that have unpleasant feelings toward House Hornbone. There is no way everyone would side with them.
Combined with the scandals of House Hornbone that have occurred in rapid succession recently, such as debts and troubles with women, there was no one to protect House Hornbone, and even if there were, no one could immediately resist this great public will...
Fawn Tart Hornbone was successfully imprisoned in the dungeon of the Royal Castle!
"Ohohohohohoho! I feel wonderful!"
"As expected of my sister! Well done! Huhahaha!"
The next morning, having returned to the dilapidated warehouse, I immediately reported the progress and am receiving plenty of applause!
I am especially happy to receive words of praise from Onii-sama! Ah, this sense of accomplishment! It is irreplaceable!
"So, what happened over there in the end? We didn't go because Doran went."
"Doran handed over the demon's corpse to a low-ranking guard. I received a bit of questioning on the spot, but in the meantime, Doran brought the horse to the back alley, so I cut it short at a suitable point, got on the horse, and made a gallant exit."
"I see. So Milady, you've gone and played the hero again, just like in Elsemarin."
That is how it is.
...It seems some of the soldiers also knew about the hero who suppressed the riot in Elsemarin. Therefore, during the questioning, several questions regarding my identity flew at me, but I managed to get through them by suitably blurring or evading them all.
Don't you think a "mysterious heroine" is wonderful? And as expected, if there is a mystery in front of them, people's eyes do not go to the "Violia Nico Fortesia" hidden further behind it! The fame of a hero is perfect as a cover!
"It seems Fawn Tart Hornbone will be imprisoned in the dungeon. Even the head of the house won't be able to protect him. Well, whether he protects him or not, the downfall of the entire clan is certain."
That is right. So many bad reputations have been established in such a short period. Surely even the Royal Family has no choice but to cut off Hornbone, and if that happens, what lies ahead is the downfall of House Hornbone!
"With this, we have succeeded in bringing down two famous houses, House Fruitier and House Hornbone!"
"All that remains are House Clarino and the Royal Family, huh?"
Hehe, according to the order, House Clarino is next. What shall I do to them? I am looking forward to it...
"Violia. Regarding House Clarino, I have a good idea. So, wait a bit longer for the execution."
Oh. Onii-sama is wearing a wonderful smile, isn't he?
"Wonderful! Of course, you will let me have a hand in it, won't you?"
"Yes, naturally. ...I thought you were still small, but before I knew it, you seem to have grown into a fine lady. I can probably leave various things to you now."
Those are happy words! I am suddenly filled with motivation!
"Wait a while until that opportunity arrives. We need preparation on this side as well!"
"Yes. I shall be a good girl and wait. So Onii-sama, please make it as soon as possible, won't you?"
"Look forward to it! Huhahaha!"
I do not know what Onii-sama is planning, but I cannot help but look forward to it from now on.
I wonder how House Clarino will fall...
And so, we decided to head back.
Because House Hornbone has practically fallen already. We can hear further news even from the Guild in Elsemarin. Well, if there is a public execution of Fawn, I might go to watch. Ohohohoho.
"In the end, what happened to Princess Scola?"
"We didn't find out in the end... well, we have no choice but to wait for further news after this."
We didn't really find out about that either, but thanks to Princess Scola falling into slavery, the Royal Family must have taken a hit as well. I am waiting for further news on how that was handled...
Well, it is fine! As soon as we return to Elsemarin, it is a victory toast!
And so, having returned to Elsemarin, we spent a few days leisurely... and finally, we were able to receive news from the Guild.
First, regarding House Hornbone.
As expected, they have been stripped of their noble rank. The charges are "demon summoning," "numerous infidelities," and "insulting the Royal Family."
Apparently, House Hornbone is said to have insulted the Royal Family by "walking around with a slave who closely resembled Princess Scola."
As the head of House Hornbone, he must have bought Princess Scola, whom he found at the slave auction, with the intention of rescuing her, so this is quite pitiful.
At the same time, a statement was issued by the Royal Family that "the engagement between Princess Scola and Fawn Tart Hornbone is canceled."
Engagement cancellation! How delightful! It feels wonderful that they are following the exact same path as Fortesia! They should experience the weight of what they have done for themselves!
...Incidentally, by this, it also meant that "the Royal Family has recovered the real Princess Scola."
Originally, the announcement that Princess Scola was missing after being caught in the dance hall fire had not been made. They must have thought it would be bad for their reputation if it were known that the Royal Family participated in a masquerade ball.
And here, while hinting at Princess Scola's survival, they intend to conclude that "there was no fault on the part of the Royal Family." Well, they certainly have the nerve to say such things.
...And the treatment of Fawn Tart Hornbone, which I am curious about.
"I see. So demon summoning falls under the jurisdiction of the Cathedral after all."
Yes. It seems that Fawn's fate will be decided by the Cathedral.
Speaking of the Cathedral, it is the Cathedral in Elsemarin. The sight of the white Cathedral floating on the sea is also a tourist attraction in Elsemarin.
...Even though I have Elsemarin in my hands, I have not extended my reach to the academy and the Cathedral in Elsemarin. It is better to think of them as separate institutions.
The work of the Cathedral is, well, naturally to pray... but they also occasionally decide the treatment of criminals involved with demons, dark magic, forbidden spells, and the like.
However, the Cathedral almost never hands down a sentence rich in entertainment value, so Fawn will probably just meet a boring end.
"Since the Cathedral won't do anything flashy, I suppose Fawn will just die in prison in the Royal Castle dungeon. It would have been good if he were publicly executed..."
That is a bit disappointing, but it cannot be helped. Yes.
"Well, isn't it fine? You missed the chance to burn the mansion, but it burned on its own. With this, your revenge against House Hornbone is over, so isn't that good?"
Yes, that is right!
When I missed the chance to burn the mansion, I felt a bit unsatisfied, but instead, Fawn was imprisoned and his engagement was canceled...
...Ah.
"I have thought of something good! Since I missed the chance to burn the mansion, I have found something to burn!"
"After all, heretics who summon demons should be burned! It is execution by fire! I shall subject the Hornbone clan to execution by fire and burn them instead of the mansion!"