I am not the Villainess

Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29 

The capital was unusually quiet.  

Streets were emptied and almost all of the shops were closed. It was odd for the supposed to be the busiest city in the empire to become like this. But it was understandable, considering the incident that had occurred last night.  

The bombing incident had caused a big commotion, resulting in several injuries and deaths. The central plaza was closed but the aftermath of the disaster was still visible.   

Tension and fear filled the air in the city. It has not been long since the recent war had ended. In fact, the festival last night was done to commemorate the victory of the empire. But because of the bombing attack, the triumph celebration was replaced with grief and sadness. 

The people, may it be nobles or commoners, have a lot of questions and speculations regarding the attack. However, the only thing they could do as of now was to wait for the official announcement from the Imperial Palace. 

Meanwhile, the Imperial Palace was bustling, unlike any other day. Officials, knights, and servants were running around from one place to another to carry out their tasks. They've been so busy since last night that no one in the Palace has slept a wink. 

Inside the conference hall, a heated debate was going on.  

His Majesty, the emperor, had called an emergency meeting with all the government officials. Duke Cromello, who had just arrived from the South, also went straight to the Imperial Palace for the meeting.  

The gathering began before dawn and is still in progress now that the sun has risen. Earlier, they were talking about how they would handle the aftermath of the bombing. Now, they were talking about who was behind the attack and why it happened.  

Due to the fact that the government officials were divided into different factions, one side would constantly provoke the other side, which would result in endless arguments and pointing fingers. 

The Alvania empire is constrained by many political forces, the two primary factions being the Imperial Faction and the Aristocratic Faction. The Imperial party favors the Imperial Family, whereas the Aristocratic faction is only concerned with the benefits for the nobility. Although the Aristocratic faction does not favor any other prince, they also do not properly honor the Crown Prince. 

“The bombing occurred in the central plaza, is it not? We're all aware of how popular the central plaza is, and how it's surrounded by large businesses owned by the House of Barbel. Isn't it apparent that the perpetrator of this crime is someone who stands to gain a lot if the House Barbel's businesses fail?” Count Bennet, a member of the Imperial Faction, said. 

“What are you trying to say, Count Bennet?” Count Pernelle from the Aristocratic Faction, said as he gritted his teeth in anger. 

It’s a well-known fact that House Barbel and House Pernelle are business rivals. Hence, Count Bennet's comments merely indicate that House Pernelle is the one behind the bombing to eliminate his competitor. 

Noah, who’s sitting beside His Majesty, the emperor, was already getting headaches. Despite the fact that everyone was already weary from the lengthy meeting and stressful issue, these people still found time to blame each other without proof and only on the basis of personal grudges. 

Immature brats... 

When Noah couldn’t take it anymore, he leaned towards the emperor to ask for permission to speak. His Majesty granted it right away. 

“Well, I’m not mentioning any names, do I? But if the shoe fits, might as well wear it.” Count Bennet continued to taunt. 

Count Pernelle was already fuming in anger and was about to rebut, when His Majesty, the emperor, raised his hand. It was a gesture to silence everyone. Noah took this chance and stood up. 

“That is enough Count Bennet and Count Pernelle. We have already wasted a lot of time with your useless deductions.” Noah stated in a cold and stern voice.  

“Your Highness, you can’t call it useless. The purpose behind the crime is also an important point we have to consider, and it makes sense that House Pernell did the bombing as a ploy to eradicate his rival.” Count Bennet continued to argue, and the other—except the Aristocratic faction—nodded their heads in agreement. 

Noah looked at him with emotionless eyes that sent chills to his body. Count Bennet immediately avoided his gaze and cleared his throat to relieve his nervousness. 

“I call it useless because you're merely blaming without providing evidence. What we need is actual and logical proof, not some vindictive and personalized reasoning.” With that, the hall was filled with silence again. Noah looked around and spoke to everyone, “If you can’t show us evidence, then I suggest keeping your mouth shuts.” 

Count Bennet clenched his fist under the table and narrowed his eyes at Noah. He couldn’t understand why the Crown Prince was disagreeing with them when he did it for the Imperial Faction.  

As a matter of fact, Noah could benefit and solidify his position more if he agreed with Count Bennet and push the blame to Count Pernell. This would weaken the Aristocratic Faction and give the Imperial Faction an upper hand.  

However, Noah does not want to resolve to corrupted ways such as that. He doesn’t want to use this incident, where a lot of innocent people died, just so he could strengthen his power. He wants to serve the victims the justice they deserved.  

“As I was saying, we need evidence. Fortunately, we are already one step closer to getting those.” The people inside the hall looked at Noah confusedly, but Noah only turned to a knight beside him, “Bring them here.” he ordered.

The knight bowed and opened the door at the side, revealing a group of men being dragged by several knights. The conference room was filled with the official’s noisy chattering. They were discussing by themselves who could those men be.  

As the knights dragged the group of men at the center of the hall, Noah took this chance to glance around and observe every face. If the culprit is truly in this room, then he should be reacting strangely after seeing the assassins he hired right in front of their faces. 

Aside from the emperor, none of the officials knew about the fact that they have captured the assassins. Noah purposely didn’t say anything beforehand because he wanted to check if the culprit is one of them. However, none caught Noah’s eyes. He didn't lose his guard, however. It’s either the real culprit is not here or he is just good at acting surprised. 

“I present to you the assassins behind the bombing.” At Noah’s announcement, the hall was filled with gasps and the chattering became louder. 

“Your Highness, it is not because I doubt you, but you have captured the assassins yet you didn’t tell us beforehand. I can’t help but question if they are truly the assassins.” One of the officials raised to which the others agreed. 

“I didn't inform you sooner because I only recently confirmed that they were the ones who planted and ignited the explosives.” Noah reasoned.  

“How do we know if they are truly the assassins?” Another official asked. 

Noah paused and looked around first before answering. 

“Last night, while I was tending to an injured victim, I was almost shot by an arrow.” He explained. The officials gasped in shock. “Fortunately, I avoided getting shot and was able to obtain the arrow he used.”  

A knight came forward and placed the arrow mentioned on the table in front. The officials looked at it, perplexity was still visible on their faces. 

“This arrow was unusual in that it had a slightly different head shape than other arrows. However, because of this, I was able to track down the assassin who attempted to kill me. The other assassins were merely icing on the cake.”  

The officials were now starting to understand and nodded their heads. What Noah said was nothing but lies. He found them because of Tatiana, but he couldn’t possibly say that. It was a good thing he prepared his reasons beforehand and even found the arrow as evidence. 

“Then, if there are no more questions, let us begin the interrogation,” Noah said. 

As nobody raised their hands, the interrogation began smoothly. The suspects were forced to kneel in front of them, as the interrogator came down and walked closer to them. Noah also got back to his seat and watched. 

“I will now start the interrogation.” the interrogator said, bowed to His Majesty, and faced the criminals.  

The interrogation started with some basic questions such as whether they were in the scene or not. Then, it became more serious when the interrogator asked a straight-forward question, 

“Who sent you?”  

All eyes were on the criminals as everyone waits for them to answer. However, the assassins shut their mouths and refused to answer.  

The interrogator looked at Noah. Noah nodded, and knights approached each of those men. One by one, the knights started torturing them by pressing a hot plate on their skin.  

Screams from the assassins filled the hall, but the knights didn’t stop until Noah raised his hand. In this world, these kinds of punishments were normal. 

“Are you still not going to answer?” The interrogator spoke again. The assassins still didn’t budge, so the knights motioned to press the hot plates again. However, before the knights could press them, one of the assassins shouted. He was the assassin who shot the arrow at Noah. 

“I’ll answer! I’ll answer!” He cried out.  

The knights backed off, and the interrogator approached him. 

“Then...who sent you?” the interrogator asked again. 

The assassin bowed his head and was hesitating, but later on, answered, 

“W-we d-don't know...him.” he stuttered. The knight was about to approach him again, but he raised his head and continued speaking. “I-it’s true! We never met him! The only thing we knew was that his name was Julio!”  

At the assassin’s confession, the hall was once again filled with chattering noises. The assassin mentioned a name, which is already more than helpful. Now, the officials were discussing who could this ‘Julio’ be. 

Little did they know, the assassin had tricked them. The ‘Julio’ he spoke of was the name that Tatiana gave. The assassin reasoned that it would be preferable to point the finger upon that strange man named Julio. He calculated that it would be a brilliant way to exact revenge on Julio, who had assaulted them, and at the same time spare them from torture. Aside from that, he suspected the mysterious man was a member of the Crown Prince's entourage because he was wielding the Golden Sword during that time. If that were the case, it would be even better for them and their master since it would put the Crown Prince's position in jeopardy. 

Noah, on the other hand, was not expecting the assassin to use the name, Julio. Noah knew the real deal with that name. It was what Tatiana used while talking to them in the forest.  

Noah wanted to stand up and deny the assassin's words, but he couldn’t because that would mean he has to explain what really happened. His lie as well as Tatiana’s identity and involvement would be discovered. He cannot allow that, so even if he didn’t like how things were going, he remained seated and continued to listen. 

The interrogator continued to ask about who ‘Julio’ is, but the assassin was not able to give out more information, reasoning that he hadn’t met him and he only knew of his name. 

“That will be all for the interrogation, Your Majesty.” The interrogator said. His Majesty nodded and the assassins were dragged out of the conference hall. 

“As we have seen and heard, the assassins were able to give us a very important clue. However, we should not trust his words immediately. Further investigations will be done, and I will give full authority to the Crown Prince for this matter.” His Majesty, the emperor, stated. 

The officials nodded in agreement, while Noah remained still with his emotionless face.  

“Then, I think we have discussed a lot with regards to the bombing incident today. We will meet again the day after tomorrow for further discussion. For now, I hereby announce this meeting is adjourned.”  

The emperor stood up and left the conference hall first. Noah followed him and the others started leaving as well. 

Noah wanted to return back to the Crown Prince Palace immediately, however, he still has to meet with the emperor to discuss some other matters. 

Noah followed His Majesty to his office. 

“Son, I'm not going to keep you long. I simply wanted to remind you that you should find this man named "Julio" before our next meeting." The emperor stated. 

This is what Noah was worried about. He knows who this Julio is, but he can’t reveal it to them or it’ll endanger Tatiana.  

However, if he can’t present something at their next meeting, he will be labeled as incompetent and they would start to doubt him.  

I have to find a way, anyhow... 

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reyankleyr