The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The people all raised their heads. The visible mana quickly began to take on various shapes. Some transformed into birds, others into rats or insects. Some insects were so small they were almost invisible.

Hundreds of mana-made creatures were created and spread around Ghislain, swarming in every direction. It was, in some ways, quite a disturbing sight, especially with the small bugs being the most numerous.

The king looked at Ghislain and asked, "What... are those?"

"They are spirits I control, summoned creatures. I’ve been monitoring everyone in the palace through them," Ghislain explained.

"Monitoring... you say?"

"Yes. While it may have appeared I was idle, I was actually working hard in the background."

With a wave of Ghislain's hand, hundreds of Dark creatures began to chatter loudly.

"The prime minister and the attendant are the main culprits!"

"They ordered the poisoning!"

"The royal mage is also in on it! He hid the poison to avoid detection!"

"The royal mage's assistant swapped the tea and wine!"

"The court chef was paid a large sum! He knew something was wrong but still added the poison to the ingredients! After all, people died, so he must have known it was poison!"

"The servant in charge of poison inspection is the same! It wasn’t an instant death poison, so they were given antidotes every time!"

"The former minister brought the poison from outside! He handed it over to the aide!"

"And the court physician and the steward helped cover up the evidence..."

Endless details of the crimes, spoken by Dark, spilled from its mouth. Almost half of those working in the palace were involved in the conspiracy, and many of the high-ranking officials were deeply entangled.

They had used their power and positions to carry out the poisoning with incredible precision. Despite all the investigations, no evidence had emerged until now.

Soon, Dark, which had gathered into a bright, unified form, shouted with an air of triumph.

"This is what I’ve seen so far! And while my master was playing, I did all the work... k-krrrk!"

Ghislain swiftly suppressed Dark with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What do you think?"

The king let out a deep breath. The more he heard, the harder it became to keep his composure. So many people, all plotting treason!

"Is this true? Are you absolutely sure?" the king asked.

Dark shouted again, his voice loud and firm.

"I swear on my mother's life, it’s true!"