“What do you mean…?”
Walwiss didn’t understand why Zich was with the other mages, especially at this particular time; he had a bad feeling about this. He realized the situation seemed to point to him as the main culprit behind the coup.
“Why is he here?”
“He is a Karuwiman Honorary Knight. He helped us tremendously in suppressing this coup.”
“What are you saying? Wasn’t his brooch a fake?!”
“It is real. He showed a fake one before because he thought it was too early to reveal his true identity to Elena. I have already finished checking with the Karuwiman temple too.”
“…You checked?”
If Orland had checked with the temple, there was a high possibility that it was the truth.
“Yes, I did. Sir Zich has been chasing after the robed figures who tried to kidnap Elena for a long time. After confirming that their collaborator was in this city, he acted accordingly.” Orland spoke as if he was boasting his own deeds. Meanwhile, Zich didn’t say much. He simply shrugged his shoulders at the many eyes shifting his way in agreement.
“And he named you, Father, as the collaborator.”
“What!”
“He also told us that you planned to put all the blame for your sins on me.”
“What kind of nonsense are you saying! Why would I!”
“I understand. I still believe in you—no, I want to believe in you, Father. However, this is what the Karuwiman Honorary Knight is telling us. I can’t help but doubt a bit, so I re-evaluated everything again. I wonder if there’s a one in a thousand or one in a million chance that you could be the main instigator behind the coup.”
Orland’s eyes drooped down. They were like eyes that wanted to deny the truth that he didn’t want to believe what was right in front of him. Seeing this impressed Zich. He thought, ‘Wow, this guy is really good at acting.’
Orland continued, “Father, the current you really has no faults. As the master of the magical tower or a mage, you lack nothing. However, you don’t use to be like that.”
“…People can change. I changed.” As if Walwiss was thinking of an unpleasant memory, his voice was low. Yet, his voice still held a strong will.
“Yes, that’s what I used to think. But you know, Father, what if you didn’t change?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Father, I am saying if your current self is all an act, and your true self is still the same as before—I think I can understand what you did.”
The people around them murmured. Even Wayne who was glaring at Walwiss with bloodshot eyes turned to stare at Orland in surprise.
“Father, you used to be a cold person who always placed the family name above your own son. That’s how big your desire for power was. And if you are the same as ever, Father, then that means you still only want one thing: power over the magical tower.” Orland looked down at Walwiss. “I’m sure being the master of the magical tower had something to do with your personality change. If you continued to act egotistical and self-righteous like before, other people would have opposed you even if you were the greatest mage in the magical tower.”
Even if the magical tower prioritized magic, one couldn’t possibly have emotions involved in a place where people gathered.
“So, if you had put up a face for that reason, I can understand how your personality changed to the one you have right now. However, to your surprise, because you assumed such a weak persona, more people began to ignore the authority you held. I’m sure a self-righteous person like you, Father, didn’t like that. That’s why you planned a self-coup.”
“Are you saying that I used the coup as an excuse to get rid of my opposition and better establish my power in the magical tower?”
“Yes.” Orland nodded calmly at Walwiss’ words.
“And I planned to put all the blame on you? To my own son!” Walwiss finally couldn’t take it any longer and started shouting. However, Orland’s expression didn’t change.
“Yes, Father. To me, who was your shame and blot to your perfect life.”
“You…”
“Is that also your reason for ordering Elena’s kidnapping? If Elena was kidnapped, everybody would have no choice but to follow your words. It would make preparing the coup easier, and it would simultaneously get rid of the other blot on your life—your talentless granddaughter who couldn’t use even a tiny bit of magic at all.”
“I tried to save Elena!”
“Because the ones who kidnapped Elena were your collaborators, Father, and they all died. Isn’t that why you felt threatened by the incident?”
“Orland!”
The father and son looked at each other chillingly. People couldn’t even breathe as they watched the two. Orland was the first one to back down—he closed his eyes and sighed. Then, he rubbed his eyes like he was tired.
“This is still just my imagination. I hope with all my heart that it isn’t true.” Then, he turned around and looked at the mages in the tower.
“Let’s arrest him.”
“I will do it.” Zich stepped forward. “Since all of you are fellow companions of the magical tower, I think it’s better for an outsider like me to handle it. Of course, if you all insist that a person from the magical tower should handle matters inside the tower, I will back off.”
“…No. Sir Zich, please take care of this for us. We have received too much help from you for us to settle the matter amongst ourselves.”
No one disagreed.
“Then, I will arrest him.” Zich approached closer.
Orland looked up at the sky. He couldn’t see the sky—only the ceiling of the magical tower. People thought he had turned the other way to avoid seeing the sight of his father getting arrested, but that wasn’t it. He was repressing the happiness flooding into his heart. He raised his head, worried that someone might catch the glee overflowing in his eyes.
‘I succeeded!’ He exclaimed, ‘I brought Father down!’
Now, if Orland handed the evidence that he had prepared in secret to the press, Walwiss would be surely dragged out of the magical tower. Of course, not everything would be over. Orland’s ultimate goal was the top position of the magical tower and not just Walwiss’ downfall.
‘I also have to clean up this mess.’ Since unexpected situations had unfolded one after another, his plan was pushed far ahead of schedule. Thus, there were gaps and holes to it. Moreover, he had to check the evidence that Zich possessed, and he also had to find out how Wayne knew the password of the final defense system. However, Orland felt confident about his success.
‘Since the coup was completed successfully, I can control the rest somewhat.’ He was one of the leaders who stopped the coup. Moreover, if he gained the support of Zich, a Karuwiman Honorary Knight who was a critical figure in defeating the coup, he would be able to gain a great amount of influence in the magical tower.
‘In the end, it’s my victory!’
Orland was immersed in his own glory and emotions.
Tap!
Suddenly, he heard something fall down. Orland looked down and saw that Zich had cut off the ropes from Walwiss and released the cuffs on his wrists. The sound Orland heard just now was the sound of handcuffs falling down on the ground. Orland was surprised; even though Walwiss was hurt and didn’t have his staff, he was still a dangerous opponent. All the other mages also shared the same feelings as Orland, and they began murmuring out loud.
However, Zich’s expression was calm. He turned his back and walked towards Orland.
“Mr. Z-Zich, why did you release my father—!”
Whish! A sharp sword was pressed against Orland’s neck as he tried to speak and kept Walwiss in check. Orland thought that Zich’s sword looked extremely strange whenever he saw it, but he was able to clearly feel its sharpness. Silence filled the entire room. People who were murmuring amongst themselves swallowed their breaths, and Walwiss was also surprised that Zich had suddenly released the handcuffs and ropes. However, the one who was most surprised was Orland.
Orland shouted, “W-what are you doing!”
“Sir, I’m only doing my job,” Zich spoke in a calm—no, leisurely voice. “I need to capture the person who collaborated with the robed figures and led the coup.”
“Then why are you pointing your sword at me! You have to capture my father over there.”
“It’s because Walwiss Dwayne is not the culprit.”
“…What?” Orland was unable to understand Zich’s words.
Then, as if Zich thought Orland was pitiful, he kindly added in additional information. “Sir, are you still not able to understand what’s happening? The culprit who instigated the coup, kidnapped Elena, and collaborated with the robed figures.” Zich pushed his sword a little further towards Orland’s neck and said with a smile, “That’s you, you fucking dimwit.”
Zich dropped all formalities and spoke cheerfully. The people surrounding Zich all froze at Zich’s shocking revelation. However, soon enough, everyone’s reactions burst forth at once as if an enormous fire spell had exploded in the room. There were people whose eyes were wide open, people who had their hands covering their mouths, and people who looked all around them. While people showed different reactions, they were all confused and startled.
“…What did you say?” Even Walwiss was not able to properly speak despite being told that he was not the culprit.
However, the one who showed the strongest reaction was Wayne. “Don’t make me laugh!”
Wayne cried, “The one who led the coup is Walwiss Dwayne! It’s not Orland Dwayne!”
“I tricked you into believing that, you dumbass.” Zich easily crushed down Wayne’s feelings as Wayne spat out blood.
Then Zich continued, “You were so easily tricked by a couple of codes. Seriously, how stupid can you be? No, is Orland just that skilled? Either way, Orland is clearly heads above you.”
“You braaaaat!” Wayne’s face became bright red. He wriggled his fingers, and it looked as if he wanted to immediately attack Zich with magic. The mages near him flinched. If Wayne used magic right now and his handcuffs exploded, all the mages near him would also be seriously injured. But fortunately, Wayne still had some common sense left. He shouted again, “If he is the leader of the coup, then how was he able to tell me the final defense system’s password!”
“Ah, now that I think about it, there was something like that.” Then Zich stared at Walwiss and continued, “Sir, won’t you stop the final defense system first? At this rate, the magical tower will probably collapse.”
“Ah, yeah! Walwiss frantically ran towards the defense system’s control device. Then he quickly inputted the mana pattern and stopped the tower’s demise.
“Look at that!” Wayne shouted, “If it wasn’t Walwiss, who would have taught us that!”
“I taught you that.”
“What?” Wayne’s mouth gaped open.
Other people also had their eyes wide open and stared at Zich. However, just this amount of attention was not enough to make a change in Zich’s expression. “I wrote the password disguised as the codes that Orland sent.”
Zich winked at Wayne who was unable to close his mouth and moved his gaze towards Orland. “Did you honestly think that those guys believed Walwiss was the leader just because of your skills and efforts? Even those dimwits were suspicious for a while. If I hadn’t given them the password for the final defense system, they wouldn’t have followed your orders so blindly. It only turned out like this because I helped you.”
Then, Zich thought of something. “Ah, then I guess I have to take back what I said about how you were above Wayne Jaewick. At least that guy actually had a legit reason to believe that Walwiss was the leader. Hmmm, then, who should I judge as the superior one?” However, Zich soon gave up on contemplating. “I guess I don’t even need to think about this. Both of you are stupid pawns that played right into my hands.”
“This pu—!”
Punch! Orland struck away Zich’s sword and put his staff right in front of Zich. Mana swirled around his staff. Even though the situation was reversed instantly, Zich didn’t look fazed at all. Rather than being unable to resist, he looked as if he wasn’t even trying to resist at all.
Orland shouted, “Stop playing around! Regardless of your status as a Karuwiman Honorary Knight who helped us suppress the coup, I won’t stand further insults!”
“I’m not playing around, Orland Dwayne.” Unlike before, Zich spoke in a completely serious tone and told Orland, “The reason why I told you that I was suspicious of the master and pretended to cooperate with you was to bring out all the robed figures’ collaborators. So listen to me carefully, Orland Dwayne.”
Orland’s face slowly became more distorted as Zich firmly exclaimed, “The mastermind behind this coup is you!”