NABC Chapter 466 Branches of Four-Part Talk
Chapter 466 Branches of Four-Part Talk
Chapter 468 The Branches of Four-Person Talk
"Now the timeline is completely straight."
In a room temporarily set aside at the Black-Eyed Crocodile Tavern, the travelers listened to Leclerc's narration.
The magician, Yueju, nodded thoughtfully. "The day after our visit to the Black-Eyed Crocodile Tavern, after we entered the palace, Earl, you arranged for a stand-in to appear because you saw Luna's presence. At that time, the real king learned that we were investigating Big Beard and decided to change our plans at the last minute. He wanted to frame us as assassins of the tyrant to silence us. To this end, he deliberately ordered the palace guards to surround the tavern, trying to lure us and Emily, who knew of Big Beard's existence, back into the palace. He planned to lead us to the garden where the murder was about to take place."
"But the king didn't expect that Luna would lead us through a secret passage that should only be known to the king and the count, bypassing his surveillance and allowing us to see the double directly."
The thief Lian Wu continued, "Because of this variable, the real king doesn't know the exact time we entered the garden. He probably still thinks his plan failed—after all, the guards surrounding the tavern couldn't lead us into the palace, so the frame-up plan naturally fell through. But what truly caused the plan to fail completely wasn't this incident, but the king's carelessness when attacking the double."
"The king was instead knocked unconscious by the double who used the scepter."
The monk, Gadriya, crossed her arms in front of her, assuming a stance as if she were about to swing her staff.
"Judging from the Stand's behavior in front of us at the time, he must have guessed the real king's murder plan based on the information we provided. The Stand had already been imprisoned by the Earl before the real king's return, and perhaps he only realized the real king's return after confirming that someone was commanding the guards on the king's orders."
"After knocking the king unconscious, the stand-in did not panic and choose to run away—after all, the count was sitting in his office at the time, and the entire garden was a closed, enclosed space. If he had run away, he would have been caught immediately."
Yueju looked at Earl Black Moon with a half-smile, her fingertips lightly tapping the table. "So, he simply went all the way, swapped clothes with the unconscious king, and then, as the real king, walked brazenly to your office window, using that familiar, imperious tone to order you out of the room. Afterward, he stayed inside alone and beheaded the real king with an axe."
The magician glanced at the wine barrel placed beside Leclerc.
"Speaking of which, there's another question I've never understood. Theoretically, a double shouldn't have had any way of knowing the real king's plans to kill the double. So how did he know about the gardening axe and the fake bloodstains? And how was he able to so quickly and naturally push a cart and sing nursery rhymes throughout the capital after escaping—and where did that big beard of his come from?"
"It can't all be deduced, can it?" Lian Wu interjected in a muffled voice. "Don't tell me that the stand-in was actually a private detective before entering the palace. That's not funny at all."
"No, things are simpler than you think."
Leclerc finally spoke, "He must have seen the plan in His Majesty's arms while he was changing clothes. I used to be the King's scribe, so he habitually had me make a memorandum. As for the false beard—His Majesty brought it into the palace himself. He seems to have often used similar props to disguise his appearance when he was wandering among the common people."
A brief silence fell over the room.
It seems that everyone underestimated the true King Hugo XVI's mastery of stupidity.
After a few seconds, Lingju finally spread her hands, making a gesture of surrender to Leclerc. "So, the murderer who killed the king was the king's double—the very same Hugo XVI we met." Considering that he was forced to retaliate after being ambushed by the king, if the deceased were not a monarch, this case could at most be considered self-defense.
The magician paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "So, Earl Leclerc, now that we have uncovered the truth, what do you intend to do with us? And how do you plan to explain the king's death to the people?"
Leclerc raised one eyebrow.
"What do you think?" he countered. "You've recovered the king's head, so you have the right to offer suggestions. Of course, I'll consider whether to accept them."
"Then let's just reveal the truth," said Yueju, who always seemed eager to stir up trouble. "Even ordinary people should have the right to know the truth, right?"
"Let me remind you all," Leclerc said, his voice tinged with weariness.
"The regent of a country on the verge of collapse cannot be paid a satisfactory fee."
He sighed silently. The king's outrageous deeds must never be made public. If the people knew that their king for the past four years was nothing more than a country bumpkin who appeared out of nowhere, the last vestige of the country's prestige would be completely destroyed.
"Then let's stick to the original plan and start with the Prince, shall we?" Lian Wu suggested.
Since it's part of the game's mechanics, he wasn't bothered by it. From a purely practical standpoint, he said, "Didn't you want to use this opportunity to overthrow the king's uncle? If we can also increase our compensation, then our previous suggestion isn't out of the question."
"Contradictory? Not at all."
Leclerc shrugged and said calmly.
"After all, I have no attachment to the title of regent. Since His Majesty Hugo has no children, it is only natural to choose an heir from the collateral branches. To be honest, it might be more beneficial for the kingdom to hand over power to the princes. After all, the royal family does need a powerful clan to stabilize the situation after the king's death."
"What's even more disadvantageous is that the prince has deep roots in the provinces and a considerable number of guards around him. Even if we pin the charge of regicide on him, the palace is not capable of bringing him to justice immediately. Doing so will not only fail to weaken his power, but will also create unnecessary blood feuds between the two sides."
"Then why did you suggest that in the first place?" This time, Yueju was genuinely surprised.
"Because at that time I thought His Majesty was still alive," Earl Black Moon said calmly.
"If His Majesty has indeed escaped the palace, then the prince, who has always coveted the throne, will be his greatest threat—after all, a country cannot have two kings at the same time. Therefore, even if it's just a bluff, I must plant the seed of belief in the prince's mind that the king is absolutely dead."
"It's like when a double appears before you with a king who's not dead yet," Cattleya nodded with amusement. "The more you make a big fuss about preventing something from happening, the more likely the other party is to subconsciously assume that it's bound to happen."
"I just don't understand why someone as smart as you would be so loyal to that guy Hugo XVI." Lian Wu couldn't help but lean forward.
Although the true King Hugo XVI only appeared before the travelers in the form of his head, the things the travelers witnessed along the way were enough to show how foolish, crazy, and self-centered he was.
The thief stared directly into Leclerc's eyes: "Don't you understand that serving such a foolish monarch is tantamount to personally pushing this country to its grave?"
"I know what you mean, and I've thought about this kind of question over the years."
He raised his head, his gaze unsettlingly calm.
"But I am not such a clever person. Among my former colleagues, I was just an insignificant nobody. If I have any wisdom or foresight, it is entirely due to my experience in the position bestowed upon me by His Majesty—to put it simply, I have reached this position precisely because of that person's incompetence."
The man smiled bitterly—
"A wise king would not randomly select a scribe like drawing lots, nor would he entrust the entire kingdom to him on a whim. That person may be a scoundrel to others, but in this world, only I cannot accuse this scoundrel of anything."
"Although it's quite the opposite of those magnificent tales of rulers and ministers in history books, this is indeed the gratitude for being recognized and appreciated—"
I cannot remain indifferent, I cannot stand idly by in the face of that person's plight, I cannot help but—be that madman's only ally.
"It feels like the opposite of Lionel Skoratos."
Cattleya suddenly interrupted, mentioning a name that had nothing to do with the present moment.
"So, even knowing it's the king's nonsense, you're still going to assist him?" Lian Wu's thick eyebrows furrowed tightly.
"I've done everything I can to minimize the impact." Leclerc's eyes dimmed.
However, this still led to this outcome.
"Ha, you actually consider that king a friend? How interesting." Yueju scoffed. "In that case, do you harbor hatred for the double who murdered the king?"
"Self-defense is human nature. I don't hate him." The count shook his head.
"How could I, an accomplice in murder, possibly harbor hatred for an innocent person I failed to kill? Besides, strictly speaking, his life was twisted because of me. Knowing that he can regain his freedom, I actually feel a sense of relief."
"Since there's no need to pursue the murderer, I do have a solution that satisfies both sides."
Suddenly, the topic shifted—
"Leclerc, are you sure that only five people in the entire palace witnessed the king's death?"
Count Black Moon nodded blankly.
"Then can you ensure that—you can keep them silent peacefully?" the magician pressed.
"Yes, that was my original plan when I placed them under house arrest."
"That makes things easier." Yueju snapped her fingers, mimicking someone else's gesture.
"Why don't we just let His Majesty Hugo pass away due to illness? That way, no one will have to pay the price, and the kingdom can maintain its peace for a while longer."
"That's impossible!" Lian Wu immediately shook his head and said, "Because of that substitute's nursery rhyme, the entire capital already knows that the king's head was cut off."
"But it's just a folk rhyme, isn't it? And it was precisely this rhyme that helped us."
Cranberry clasped her hands together, her fingertips lightly touching. "If we want to create a false impression, we need to provide ourselves with a bunch of evidence and convince all the confused skeptics one by one. But now—we only need to defeat a nursery rhyme."
"So that's how it is, the same old trick again?" A knowing smile appeared on the monk's lips.
"Exactly. The more someone tries to cover something up, the more likely people are to believe the other side of the story." A sly glint flashed in Yueju's eyes. "But before we begin the performance, let's take stock of the props."
The mage's finger traced through his companion's spells in sequence: "The Thief's Disguise," "The Monk's Medical Specialization," and "The Mage's Restoration"—if any one of them passed the point check, we would obtain a complete "corpse."
"Yes, that's one way!" Leclerc's eyes suddenly lit up with understanding. "Then, whether it's a prince or a nobleman, they will accept the alternative truth we offer!"
Two days later, new rumors spread throughout the capital, but this time, they were corroborated by the nobles who had seen the king's remains.
His Majesty—now known as the former king—still rested obediently on his neck, though in far from dignified condition.
His face was ashen, like paint on a wall that had been smoked, and his expression at the moment of his death was so distorted that it solidified into an almost comical grotesque contortion.
The official explanation is that he died of illness, if toothache is considered an illness. Or, he could say he died from surgery, if tooth extraction is considered surgery.
According to the most widely circulated version, a few days earlier, three strangers entered the palace through the introduction of the Earl of Leclerc. They claimed to be dentists with a family secret technique for relieving toothache. The king was initially frightened by their horrifying surgical instruments, but the excruciating pain eventually overcame his reason, and he summoned these "doctors" again.
Because the surgery required ample light, these strangers used lenses to refract the sunlight from the garden, shining it into Count Leclerc's office deep within the palace. Their plan was to extract His Majesty's decaying tooth, corroded by sweets and causing gum ulceration.
The outcome of the surgery is well-known. However, the king's death was not due to a failed surgery—in fact, the decayed teeth appeared intact until the nobles came to pay their respects.
This is precisely why the royal palace has not yet issued an arrest warrant for the group of travelers.
The truth of the incident is that, before the stranger's pliers even touched the king's gums, His Majesty Hugo XVI had already died suddenly due to extreme fear combined with his long-term unhealthy eating habits.
His incontinence at the moment of his death was so severe that the count's office had to be thoroughly cleaned.
The three court physicians who witnessed this scene knew they could not escape death, so they fled in panic.
To conceal their journey to the palace, they spread rumors along the way that the king had been beheaded. Perhaps inspired by gardening tools in the garden that day, the bearded doctor among them composed the nursery rhyme that is now known to every household.
This well-documented palace secret is clearly much more reliable than any story of a head disappearing into thin air.
Moreover, a retired royal physician who had treated the king has testified that His Majesty had long suffered from dental problems, and that his symptoms had worsened dramatically in recent years. This also explains why Leclerc did not immediately announce the cause of the king's death—after all, dying from shock and incontinence during a dentist visit is far more humiliating than being beheaded by an assassin.
Because of this incident, Count Leclerc of the Black Moon, who had recommended the dentist to the king, resigned and retired to the countryside. However, the three "doctors" who fled and spread rumors were not held accountable.
After all, by now, no one is willing to speak up for that absurd Emperor Hugo XVI.
The prince who replaced Earl Leclerc of Blackmoon and rose to become a newly powerful minister may have secretly been grateful to those three outsiders.
The late king's uncle is now assisting a niece who was supposedly adopted by the late king as his goddaughter—the youngest daughter of the king's sister.
However, anyone with eyes to see can see that the reason the prince chose this girl from another family with no connections is simply because she is easy to control.
She was merely a stepping stone for the prince to the throne, a carefully orchestrated power transition.
This prince, who had previously clashed with the previous king over sharing the same name, is now ambitiously preparing to officially change his name to Hugo XVII and become the rightful next monarch of the kingdom.
O
Meanwhile, the three "outsider dentists" who knew nothing about the political turmoil at court were neither fleeing in panic nor going to jail. Instead, they were sitting comfortably in the high-class hotel provided by the Black Crocodile Tavern, enjoying the aged cider that was once exclusively supplied to the royal family.
Their bags were crammed full of props and potions obtained in exchange for their payment.
Since there is little combat involved in this mission, the increase in character attribute points is limited, so this situation can be considered a balance of values.
"Speaking of which, there's still one question I haven't figured out."
Amidst the fruity aroma of cider, the monk Cattleya suddenly put down her glass. "Where on earth did Luna go?"
"There were guards at the city gate before, so Luna hadn't left the city yet, right?" Thief Lian Wu scratched his head, equally baffled by the question. "But we didn't see her at all inside the city."
"That's nothing, there are many more strange things."
The magician Yueju started counting on her fingers: "Luna is both Leclerc's spy and Hugo's personal attendant, and was eventually transferred to the garden as a gardener by the real king—this girl's identity is far too complicated."
"What's even stranger is that Luna almost exposed the king's identity inexplicably after just one meeting! This is something even Leclerc couldn't do, and afterwards, she didn't encounter any difficulties except for being transferred by the real king."
"And this guy, despite acting incredibly stupid, discovered a secret passage that even Sander didn't know existed after only a month in the garden—and even led us through it without any hesitation—just who is Luna?"
"And there's that one most important point of doubt," Lian Wu said in a low voice.
"It's about that incident where Hugo's double had Luna bring cider. You know, the real King was dismembered in Leclerc's office, but his head was eventually found in the attic of the Black Crocodile Tavern, in that empty cider barrel—how did that happen?"
"Could it be that after Luna parted ways with us, she returned to the palace with the cider barrel, emptied it, and then hid the king's head inside before taking it away?" Cattleya asked, glancing at Blueberry. "Was Hugo's implication to Luna actually an order for this subordinate to bring him cider?"
"But how did she manage that?" Yueju frowned. "Carrying a barrel of wine would make it even harder to hide, so Luna could only enter through a secret passage, but that contradicts what we already know."
Even if it were a dilapidated, sealed room, it would be almost impossible to come and go freely.
"Leclerc only faked the footprints in the garden, and at most cleaned them up to the office window, but the footprints in the secret passage were only those of the five of us from beginning to end—this was confirmed by the bodyguard Lopa and me."
Yueju, Lianwu, Cattleya, Luna, Emily.
There were exactly five people, no more and no less.
"No, the number is too low; there should be more than five people."
Cattleya put down her wine glass and suddenly interjected, "The double Hugo couldn't have left through the main gate of the garden, which was under surveillance. And since he was able to escape the palace, he must have also passed through the secret passage in the garden. On such a long journey, even if he could wear his shoes inside out and let his footprints blend into the traces we left, there would definitely be a sixth footprint—unless there was no sixth person's footprint in that secret passage."
"Haha, could Hugo possibly fly? Fly—"
The smile that had just begun to appear on Yueju's lips suddenly froze, and the wine glass in her hand trembled slightly.
"What's wrong?" Gadriya and Lianwu turned their heads at the same time, looking at their companion with confusion.
"It's not Hugo who can fly—it's Luna who can fly!"
The magician's eyes widened! His face turned as pale as a dead king in an instant.
"That's it! It can always fly!"
The air in the room, thick with the aroma of alcohol, seemed to freeze suddenly.
In the dead silence, the faint sound became exceptionally clear—a rhythmic flapping of wings could be heard from outside the window.
Blueberry felt like a rusty puppet, struggling to turn her head.
In the slanting rays of the setting sun, a noisy bird with blue and yellow feathers was tapping on the window frame with its claws.