The moment he stepped into the great hall, Lucian was met with such accusations, yet he felt nothing — because among all those who had entered the underground palace, he was unquestionably the one with the most questions to answer. Besides, the accusations, anger, and resentment of these young nobles weren't something Lucian particularly cared about. As if joining forces would make them capable of beating him!
With confidence in his heart, composure came naturally.
It was Sophia who was furious enough to turn deathly pale, her long, slender fingers trembling without cease. "Nonsense! When the Magic Circle changed, Bolak and I were trying to figure out which path to take — we had no time to alter anything!"
"Just you and Bolak? No one else saw, Your Highness? Do you expect us to believe that?" Alten let out several laughterless ha-ha's, and the nobles beside him — along with Reilf, Claire, and the rest — began casting suspicious glances at Sophia and "Bolak."
Sophia's desperate explanation seemed to only dig her deeper into the hole!
Feeling their gazes, Sophia trembled with rage, a misty veil forming over her clear green eyes. "This is the underground palace of a legendary mage — what ability could I possibly have to tamper with its Magic Circle!"
"Not necessarily. I recall that His Imperial Majesty once participated in the Trial and knows the layout here quite well. Moreover, he has already stepped into the legendary realm and possesses both the ability and the wisdom to devise a way to interfere with the Magic Circle. Perhaps you, Your Highness, stumbled upon this method and thought you could seize control of the Trial — keep Lord Glory Crown trapped inside. So you picked Bolak, a malleable fool, to lay the groundwork for you to interfere with the Plantagenet family!"
"Otherwise, why would you suddenly and inexplicably want to enter the underground palace? You are a precious princess, adored by thousands — why take such a risk?"
Alten's words rang with iron conviction, each deduction making the others' gazes shift from mere suspicion to unmistakable wariness, fury, and hatred. It seemed they might pounce at any moment and kill this outwardly pure yet inwardly treacherous "succubus."
Truth be told, hearing Alten's accusations even gave Lucian a moment's doubt about Sophia. Both motive and method — he had analyzed them with remarkable precision. Though his reasoning was largely speculative, it could plausibly explain why Sophia had risked entering the underground palace, why she had clung to Bolak all along, and why she had suddenly taken a liking to "him," displaying all manner of ambiguous behavior. These had been Lucian's own lingering questions all this time.
But since when had Alten possessed such powerful eloquence and ability to sway a crowd? That had never been his strong suit. Had he been deliberately playing the part of a standard Great Knight — brawn and willpower over intellect?
Besides, Sophia had been right beside him at the time — she didn't have a complete window of opportunity. If it was a delayed interference, could she really have been confident of finding him during that period? And more to the point, she could have simply told "Bolak" directly with a different explanation. To receive such wholehearted help from a princess who disregarded both reputation and status — "Bolak" would have been eternally grateful, practically falling to his knees to kiss the hem of her gown, dedicating his life to repaying her affection. There would have been no need for this — hearing about it through others' words, which only invited suspicion and wariness.
Sophia stamped her foot in bitter frustration, tears trembling on the verge of falling from her eyes. She turned to Lucian and asked in a pitiful, plaintive voice, "Do you believe me?"
"I believe you with all my heart." While letting his gaze appear "gentle and resolute," Lucian simultaneously calculated from the hall's layout how far away the hidden chamber might be.
The corners of Sophia's mouth lifted, like a blooming tulip crowned with dewdrops — radiant, pure, and heart-stoppingly beautiful. "As long as you believe me, I don't fear their slander."
This "tender exchange of glances" ignited jealousy in the hearts of many nobles who harbored secret feelings for the princess, fueling their fury until they wished they could burn the adulterous pair together.
Seeing the mood shift and emotions reach their peak, Alten raised his right hand gripping the longsword. "Reilf, Claire — do you want to die here? If not, then join forces! Kill them, and we may yet have a path to survival!"
Reilf's eyes flickered, his expression shifting, until finally he called out loudly, "Alten, I'll follow you!"
Before the brutal, blood-soaked situation, it seemed he had come to believe Alten's accusations.
"Good. And you, Claire?" Alten extended his dark shield, its surface alive with complex arcane runes flowing ceaselessly, guarding against a sudden magical attack from Sophia.
But Sophia seemed so devastated by the turn of events that her spirit had essentially died — she made no move to strike first before they could unite, seizing the advantage of speed. Meanwhile, Lucian "sensed" the many strangenesses at play and decided to bide his time, all the while accelerating his decryption of the hidden chamber's location and direction.
Claire, like Jocelyn, wore a fitted suit of scale armor that showcased her slender, graceful figure. The difference was that hers was black — lacking the rosy charm of Jocelyn's, but carrying a few degrees more cold allure.
She narrowed her eyes, then suddenly smiled. "Me? I'll fight alongside Her Highness and Bolak!"
"What?"
"You—!"
The incredulous voices of the young nobles erupted one after another.
Alten spoke with measured gravity. "Claire, are you their accomplice as well?"
"Hmph, Alten, stop spouting nonsense! I'm choosing Her Highness and Bolak because…" Claire's fine eyebrows, like golden willow leaves, arched upward. "I suspect you are the mastermind behind this! At a time like this, shouldn't all fighting stop while we wait quietly for Uncle Ulrich and the others to come rescue us? That's the surest way to keep everyone safe. Only a culprit would stir up conflict — if he doesn't kill the people he wants dead while those outside can't get in, he'll never get another chance!"
"You directly accused Her Highness and tried to provoke a fight — what are you after? Why not wait for Uncle Ulrich and the others to investigate the culprit?"
As she spoke, she led the nobles who followed and trusted her toward Sophia's position, putting as much distance as possible between herself and Alten.
"At least someone believes us. Claire, you truly deserve the nickname 'Wise Plantagenet'!" Joy bloomed across Sophia's now-composed features, and only then did she notice Lucian glancing around. "What are you looking at?"
Having just committed the surrounding layout to memory, Lucian had also just caught the tail end of Claire's "mastermind" theory. He twitched the corner of his mouth. "I'm looking for a kid named Conan so I can strangle him."
The mastermind behind it all, an underground chamber, a bloody massacre…
"Conan? I don't recall any noble by that name — it sounds like a Holm Kingdom style of naming. When did you meet him? Did he come in too? What are his abilities?" Sophia asked, confused — she knew every noble who had entered.
"He didn't come in. He's a commoner boy I know. Every time I run into him, something bad happens. I was just joking to vent my feelings," Lucian said, feeling he had brought this on himself — why had his "sense of humor" suddenly kicked in, forcing him to waste time explaining.
Sophia seemed to "understand" Lucian's "mood" and gave a slight nod, her faint smile laced with emotion as she turned toward Claire and her companions, who were slowly making their way over. "I used to dislike you, but now I see how beautiful and wise you truly are. Claire, can you forgive my past shallow behavior?"
"Compared to Your Highness's beauty and strength, I'm certainly not that remarkable." Claire smiled in reply, and when she turned to face Alten, she covertly winked at Lucian, signaling that the "cooperation" was still on, just as they had previously agreed.
Alten's expression turned dark and heavy. "Claire, if I don't rally everyone to fight together, do you really think we can hold out until His Grace the Duke arrives to save us? Do you think the scheming Bolak and the princess will give us that chance? Compromise and retreat will never buy us safety!"
"That's right!" The nobles behind him, along with Reilf and the others, raised their voices in loud agreement.