The Most Heinous Scheme

I kicked the corpse a few times to make sure he wouldn’t rise again before making my way to the throne room.

I pushed open the large red doors and saw the king lying facedown at the bottom of the stairs to the throne. I pulled the door shut behind me as I didn’t want to be interrupted by Sir Branwell or anyone else.

Slowly, I wandered over to the king and scooped up the crown that had fallen from his head. I walked up the steps to sit on the throne. I slung one leg over the armrest, the other planted firmly on the ground.

I began to swirl the crown around on my finger, waiting for Kenji to arrive. I didn’t have to wait long before the door opened once more, and Kenji and Princess Haruka entered.

Princess Haruka’s joyous expression instantly faded when she saw her father lying on the ground. Kenji tried to hold the princess, but she tore through his grasp and ran up to her father, tears in her eyes.

Kenji shot me a horrified glance. I hadn’t told him that the king would be dead. So I guess he was assuming I had something to do with the king's demise. To some extent, I suppose I did.

“Father!” Princess Haruka sobbed, cradling the lifeless corpse in her hands.

“It’s useless, princess; he’s dead, along with your fiancé.”

“Why? Why did you kill my father?”

“Why? Do pirates need a reason to kill? I did what I did because pirates do whatever they want.”

She sobbed uncontrollably, shaking through her tears until her shock and distress caused her to faint.

“Lark! What the hell did you do to the king?” Kenji looked visibly angry, brandishing his blade.

“I didn’t do anything. He was already dead.”

“Then why would you say you did?”

“I just tidied up the loose ends.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, sheathing his blade.

“I think the grief-stricken princess would make a strong monarch to lead against the pirate who killed her father and spouse.”

“You do realise what taking the blame would mean?”

“Of course.”

“You'll be regarded as the kingdom's most heinous criminal. Why would you do this?”

“As I said to the princess, I’m a pirate, I’ll do whatever I want.”

He sighed.

“Well, if you are going to take the blame for everything, the least we can do is give you a few days to rest. You can stay at the mansion where the class is staying. You can bring your crew as well.”

I stood up.

“Why would I go with…” I stumbled, almost falling over as my vision temporarily blurred. “Alright, fine, I may need a few days to rest.”

Kenji smiled as the doors slowly opened once more. Reginald entered the room, his head down low.

“I’m sorry to say I overheard what you just said. It seems you have done a great service to this nation. If I may, it would be much safer if I were to escort you to the mansion.”

Before I could protest, Kenji nodded.

“Thank you, that would be great.”

Sighing, I followed him out of the room. We began to make our way towards the mansion. Once we were alone, I raised my blade next to Reginald’s cheek.

“Before we go any further, how about we have a little talk, Administrator?”

“What are you…”

“Spare me the lies. I’ve figured out your skill.”

“Please, I beg, I have no idea…”

“Would you prefer Administrator S?”

The man stopped speaking, and a cruel smile crept up his face.

“Oh my, how clever. I guess you caught me. As you correctly identified, I am the Administrator known as S. What gave me away?”

“I was wondering who the masked man was working for, but I couldn’t figure out a motive. Why would they want to kill the duke?”

“Oh?”

“But something was odd, the masked man seemed to move a lot quicker the second time. But he regained no memory. So, presumably, whoever was issuing the orders wanted him to act more quickly.”

“So what?”

“It meant they either wanted to stop him or punish him for something.”

“Oh, and what would that be?”

“The only two things I could think of were the ongoing time travel issue or the murder of the king. It couldn’t be the time reason, or the solution would be not to fight him at all. So that only left the murder of the king.

“You seem to have thought this through a bit.”

“Well, I had to figure out why the king was so important to whoever was behind the scenes. His personality shift the second time around gave me a clue. He must have been under control by someone.”

“You mean the second time?”

I shook my head.

“You and I both know I mean the first. When he, no you, spoke about the accursed gem.”

“You are pretty convinced by this. But why would it matter?”

“When the duke killed the king, you feared you’d lose power to the duke, the power in this kingdom you worked so hard to build. So you ordered his death.”

“Marvellous, truly marvellous.”

The man clapped his hands several times.

“Tell me, did you like seeing the accursed gem up close?”

“Indeed, it is splendid. It has only grown more twisted and vile. Truly a magnificent creation. I would love to get my hands on it.”

“So do you plan to fight me for it?”

“Not at all, you are far too entertaining to watch.”

“Since I did you a favour killing the duke, it’s only right you pay me back.”

“Not killing you right now is the favour.”

“Don’t lie, you said you didn’t want to anyway.”

The man clicked his tongue.

“Fine, what is it you want?”

“Answer me honestly, were you the one who took control and killed Elder Rudolf?”

“I don’t know who this Rudolf fellow is, but I can tell you I certainly had nothing to do with it.”

It was a pity. I thought I had finally figured out my enemy.

“Since that was a minor request, my full request is to dispel your possession on everyone in and around the castle.”

The man looked annoyed.

“Unfortunately, I have no one else in this kingdom.”

“What about the body you are possessing as I speak to you now?”

“So you have figured out this isn’t my real body. You are entertaining indeed. Unfortunately, this is the only person I have left. I would rather not lose him.”

“If he’s the only one left, it means you won’t have a very big job.”

“Very well.” He sighed. “Do your best to survive, little error, until we meet again.”

“Will that happen? I doubt it, I don’t think meeting the Supreme Pontiff of the Church of Luminous is a common occurrence.”

The man paused, then burst into hysterical laughter. “You truly are incredible,” he added, wiping a tear of joy from his face. “I admit I underestimated you. Error, what was your name?”

“It’s Lark, your holiness,” I replied with a bow.

“I will remember your name. My dear Lark, I hope you survive long enough to die by my hands.”

“I look forward to killing you, Administrator S.”

The golden rings around Reginald’s eyes faded, and he collapsed unconscious to the ground.

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 53