NOVEL WEB Chapter 395: An Idiot
Alice and Luna left the walled area with the golden key without arousing suspicion. They weren't even stopped and searched by the soldiers when they were leaving.
It couldn't be helped. Haydn dared not tell the truth to these soldiers. He couldn't possibly say that "this key holds a record of all my crimes, so you must find it no matter what," right? Unlike Gunst, the other soldiers in the Rhine Kingdom's military weren't loyal fools. On the off chance some of these soldiers harbored thoughts they shouldn't have, everything would be over for Haydn.
Hence, in the minds of these soldiers, the key they were searching for was, at most, the key to a room that was of great importance to the king. So, they didn't think Alice, the neighboring kingdom's princess, would be interested in such a key and simply let Alice and Luna leave without searching their bodies.
Anyway, Alice finally had evidence to prove her previous assumptions about Haydn's actions. There was no way for Haydn to disregard the evidence recorded in the key as nonsense, either. Mana was needed to make records in the key. Meanwhile, every command in the key was created using Haydn's mana. So, there was no way for him to deny his connection with the key.
Of course, Alice didn't plan to expose Haydn's wrongdoings personally. Instead, she decided to hand the key to Lilith and let the other party decide. After all was said and done, she was still an outsider in the Rhine Kingdom. So, it was best if she left the task of judging Haydn to a member of the Rhine Kingdom's royal family.
As for why Alice had chosen to give the key to Lilith instead of Etoria, who was the current rightful heir to the Rhine Kingdom...it was naturally because Alice had a closer relationship with Lilith. When it came to dealing with such an important task, it went without saying she would be more inclined to entrust it to a close acquaintance.
Moreover, Alice had previously learned from Luna that Etoria was secretly a lolicon. Although Luna had also verified that Etoria had never laid his hands on underaged girls, Alice still preferred to avoid talking to him if possible. While Alice wasn't usually one to discriminate against other people's preferences, she was currently in the body of a loli. So, Etoria's lolicon fetish was a preference Alice couldn't help but discriminate against. She felt that if she were to stand near Etoria while knowing his preferences, she would probably get goosebumps all over her body.
As for whether Lilith would choose to protect her father after learning about her father's actions...Alice was confident Lilith would make the right decision.
After all, Lilith was someone who chose to investigate Gunst, the idol she had revered for most of her life, after learning that Gunst was most likely trying to usurp the throne. Through this action, it could be seen that Lilith was a rather sensible person who wouldn't let her emotions dominate her.
Haydn might be Lilith's father, but Lilith should be well aware that once her father's crimes got out, it would result in disastrous consequences for the entire Rhine Kingdom. It would especially be so for the Rhine Kingdom's royal family. So, it would be incredibly foolish to try to cover for her father.
Even if Lilith chose to shield her father regardless of the consequences, Alice would still expose this matter to the public. So, Lilith should know what would be the correct move to make.
"Deliver this to Lilith for me. As for what she decides to do with it, it's up to her to choose."
After leaving the ruined neighborhood, Alice returned to her rented apartment with Luna and verified Gunst's situation again. Fortunately, Gunst was indeed worthy of being considered one of the strongest combatants in this world. Even with his mana sealed, he quickly recovered from his weakened state.
Originally, Alice had been a little worried that Gunst might fail to recover with his mana sealed. However, by the looks of things, it would seem that her worries were unnecessary. Gunst's resentful eyes and the new wounds that had appeared on his body, a result of struggling against his restraints, showed that he had already recovered both mentally and physically to a certain extent.
Unfortunately, even though Gunst had recovered, without the help of his mana, he still wasn't strong enough to break free from his restraints, which were made using the tree branches of the Hubert's Tree taboo. An adult dragon might be able to break free from Hubert's Tree's branches without the assistance of mana, but Gunst's physical body was still far from matching adult dragons.
"What are you trying to do?"
Gunst felt a little frustrated when he saw Alice strengthening his restraints with several more of those ridiculously tough tree branches. With this, any hopes he previously had of escaping were dashed. Although he already had an inkling previously, after seeing Alice casting Hubert's Tree with his own eyes, he was now certain that the tree branches restraining him were a product of a taboo. There was no way he could break apart the product of a taboo using solely his physical strength.
"What else do you think I can do? Or are you really ignorant of what your country's king is doing?"
Alice raised an eyebrow as she looked at Gunst. When she previously used the white panties to defeat Gunst, the dazzling sacred light and rich light mana should be enough for Gunst to guess her identity. After all, the Hero was the only existence in this world who could possess such a large amount of light mana.
However, Alice did not mind making things even clearer for Gunst. Subsequently, she pulled out the new weapon box she received from Hatter out of her pocket and opened it, causing the Hero's Sword stored inside to pop out. Then, she wielded the sword with her right hand and said:
"You should recognize this sword, right?"
"Sure enough, you are the Hero..." When Gunst saw the Hero's Sword in Alice's hand, he was finally able to validate his previous conjecture and immediately made the "correct" conclusion in his mind. "Are you taking action because His Majesty is in contact with the demons?"
"Communicating with the demons is only the tip of the iceberg, right? There is also the theft of the Demon King's Shadow taboo and the attempt at recreating the demon realm's environment in the treants' territory. And why exactly Haydn is doing all of these things...I'm sure you have an idea of what's actually going on, right?"
Alice couldn't be bothered to speak in riddles with Gunst. Although Luna had already described what kind of person Gunst was, Alice felt that it'd be best if she personally verified Gunst's personality again. So, she said, "I'll say it straight. Haydn is, to all intents and purposes, doomed. If one of his children inherits his position, will you help them stabilize their position? Or will you disregard everything to take revenge on me?"
Gunst was an upright but foolishly loyal person. He usually wouldn't lie, but he wouldn't mind lying for the sake of the person he was loyal to. However, it was also painfully obvious that Haydn's crimes were already exposed, so there was no point for Gunst to lie. Nothing he said now would help cover up Haydn's wrongdoings. So, after pondering in silence for a moment, Gunst said:
"I'll help stabilize the Rhine Kingdom first. Then, once I am certain the new ruler can manage the kingdom, I will come to take revenge on you."