Frondier even knows that Armel was a member of Indus.
Armel took a step back. He wasn’t trying to run away. He just shifted his weight back slightly in order to assume a defensive stance.
Frondier raised his hand.
“Just kidding. Of course he can. After all, there are already many noble members of distinguished families in Indus.”
Up until now, Indus had always worked towards the public good. At least, on the surface.
They tried to help out in any way they could whenever a disaster or accident occurred in a village or a city, regardless of whether the affected people were commoners or nobles. They donated money to the poor in the name of Indus, building up their image and gaining more supporters.
The nobles who directly benefited from Indus actively supported the organization.
However, Indus’s true scale could not be guessed by anyone. Neither could its leader be identified. Most of those who claimed to be Indus were upright, but none of them claimed to be representatives.
On the surface, they persuaded people, saying that the welfare of the commoners was necessary, and behind the scenes, they spread negative images of the nobles and caused incidents and accidents to occur.
“Mr. Armel, are you in charge of the aftermath?”
“……!”
“It’s not easy for Indus to frame or bring down nobles behind the scenes. So when there are mistakes or witnesses, it’s your role to erase that person’s memory, right?”
The two methods Indus used the most to conceal itself from the incidents.
One was to cut off the tail, as they did for Serf and Gregory, and the other was to use Armel’s ability.
Thanks to Armel’s exploits, Indus had never been caught for what it had done behind the scenes until now.
Of course, there were times when the arrows of suspicion were pointed at them during the investigation of the incident, but arrows of that level were pointed at numerous groups and noble families, not just Indus.
However, there was a problem with Armel’s ability.
Armel erased his presence from someone’s memories. The memories of the incident being erased were a consequence of erasing Armel’s memories.
That’s why Armel had to be involved in the incident in order to erase someone’s memory. When the probability of failure was deemed high, Indus put Armel in.
Up until then, Armel did not know.
He would never have thought that one of the families Indus was bringing down would be his own.
“So I’m asking you, Mr. Armel.”
“……”
“Who are you? You must be the ‘former’ noble of Viet who was crazy about Indus and brought down your own family.”
Until then, Armel had been smiling.
But soon, his face contorted, twisted and twisted again. That twisted expression never relaxed again.
With a face too wrinkled to be a student’s, Armel spoke through his roughened lips.
“I am Armel de Viet. The head of the Viet family.”
His voice was unnecessarily high, almost unbecoming of a man.
“……”
Frondier frowned.
He had expected this.
The person aiming for Quinie’s family, the one who could claim it by killing Quinie right now.
Naturally, he would be of the Viet bloodline, the most straightforward successor after Quinie.
He had expected it, yet.
‘This guy is insane.’
If he claims to be the previous head of Viet, that would naturally make him Quinie’s father.
What in the world did Indus plant in this man’s head, to devastate his own family and leave his daughter by erasing all his memories from her?
Frondier asked.
“How do you plan to claim the family if everyone has lost their memories?”
“You said it yourself. I erased my existence from everyone’s memory. So, the context and such, I can just make it up later. Say I’ve been living abroad, or use the event 13 years ago. Claiming I barely escaped and have now returned.”
The rampage of Kora. The death toll at that time was enormous. And most of them were from the Viet family.
Armel said.
“If Quinie just dies, if Kora, in her rampage, kills Quinie, I can reclaim my position as head. If I execute Kora for killing Quinie, my justification is established.”
“How exactly do you plan to kill Kora in her rampage?”
Armel smirked.
“I have drugs to induce a rampage and drugs to cancel it, all within my grasp. Once the rampage is cancelled, Kora will die on her own. She’s not someone who can ignore that guilt.”
Frondier closed his mouth for a moment at those words and then laughed.
“You talk too much. To reveal all such plans to me in detail.”
“Ah, of course.”
Armel laughed. His hands were raised.
“There’s something you’re also mistaken about──!”
And when his hands stretched out, Frondier stopped abruptly. His focus blurred.
“I knew when I saw the crow. You observed me erasing Quinie’s memories. However, my ability does not require physical contact. It works by connecting mana to someone whose name I know. That’s enough.”
However, erasing the memories of a distant target, especially over a long period, exponentially requires more mana. Thus, there’s a greater risk of getting caught. And it also takes more time.
But once caught, as time passes, without fail.
“Khhhh. You were so arrogant, and now you as well,”
Armel’s words stopped there.
Something was off. Frondier, who seemed to have paused momentarily, regained focus and began shaking his head from side to side.
Strange. he’s still using his ability…
“Ah, that was close. Just as I expected.”
Frondier said so and looked straight at Armel.
That gaze, that expression, it couldn’t belong to someone who had lost their memories.
Why? The divine power of Lethe has never failed before. It’s impossible for a human to defy divine power.
There was only one thing to think of.
Watching Frondier infuse his entire body with energy and imbue his short sword with an aura, Armel realized something terrifying.
“You, you’re not Frondier─!”
Slash!
Before he could finish his sentence, Frondier’s blade had reached him.