Me, a priest? How could that be!

Chapter 94 I Became the Clown

Regrettably.

Charlotte is not Alice.

Even if he laughed awkwardly, Claire would never forgive the crime of taking the princess out without permission.

I thought Claire would go berserk and draw her sword to attack Charlotte without saying a word after seeing her, but she just glanced at Charlotte indifferently and didn't say anything. It was precisely because of this that people felt even more uneasy.

Alice's behavior is also strange. Normally, a delicate princess should lower her head and act like a dutiful daughter, but now she doesn't seem to have any sense of crisis. Instead, she keeps feeding Claire... Could it be that she has mastered the true meaning of acting cute?

What an amazing learning ability!

"Miss Claire..."

"Mr. Charlotte, please have a seat."

Claire pressed her hand on the knight's longsword on the table, and Charlotte decisively shut her mouth, which was trying to argue, and obediently sat down opposite the two of them.

Alice secretly squeezed his hand, seemingly to imply that she wouldn't be blamed, and Charlotte, craving reassurance, couldn't help but squeeze her small hand back, causing the princess's cheeks to flush slightly, but she didn't pull away.

"Mr. Charlotte..."

"I'm sorry, I was wrong!"

Charlotte slid to her knees at lightning speed.

Listen carefully, no amount of explanation will work at a time like this. Are you suggesting you were forced to bring Alice along? If so—

"Claire, I begged my brother to bring me out."

"Your Highness is not wrong."

See, that's how it is.

In addition, Claire was quite cautious, concealing Alice's name and simply calling her Your Highness.

"I never expected that I would have to ask Miss Youyou to attract my attention. I feel like I'm being looked down upon."

She snorted in dissatisfaction.

As expected, Youyou couldn't hide it, but choosing her was a last resort, as she was the only option at that time. Of course, Xia Luo had already guessed this would happen.

"But it was discovered a little too quickly."

"That's because the palace has tracking magic tools, which alerted the authorities when Your Highness left the palace."

"……Um?"

Charlotte couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

He and Alice had been out playing for a short time, but it had still taken up half a day. If Claire knew they had secretly slipped out of the palace and were looking for them, she shouldn't have taken so long with tracking magic, unless…

"Mr. Charlotte, taking His Highness out of the palace without permission is a capital offense!"

"Claire!?"

Just as he was about to figure things out, he suddenly heard this sentence, and Alice nervously grabbed Claire's arm with her other hand.

"—I would love to say that, but His Highness would certainly not agree. So, as an alternative to make amends for my mistake, could I ask you to accept a request?"

"A commission?"

Charlotte didn't react for a moment.

Claire looked around, placed a small ball on the table, and gently tapped its surface. The ball instantly unfolded and released the magic crystal inside.

"This is a magical item that can block out sound within a small area. It's a rare item that I bought from the magical item master in the Scarlet Devil Village. It's perfect for some private conversations that you don't want others to hear."

"oh oh……"

Charlotte remained noncommittal.

Besides their powerful magic, the Crimson Demons also have many people who love their magical artifacts, and many Crimson Demons make a living from them... except for one guy who can't sell his goods.

"I would like to ask you to investigate a certain nobleman."

"Investigating the nobility?"

These words made Charlotte frown. He disliked the nobility, and naturally, he also disliked the complicated relationships among them.

"Could it be that he's colluded with the Demon King's army and committed the crime of subverting the kingdom, thus alarming Miss Claire?"

If that's the case, then he could simply go to Nightmare Sister to confirm, and then use a roundabout method to find a flaw to convict her and quickly end the commission.

"It's a national treasure-level magical artifact that he secretly possessed."

"...What?"

"I've received intelligence that a nobleman obtained a national treasure-level magical artifact, but instead of presenting it to the royal family, he kept it for himself. This violates the kingdom's laws, so I've commissioned you to search for evidence."

"Wait a minute, is that really necessary?"

National treasure-level magical artifacts, also known as divine weapons.

To be honest, because of the reincarnation and Aqua, the number of divine artifacts in this world is ridiculously high, if not excessive. Furthermore, no one but the person who created them can unleash the full power of a divine artifact, and he doesn't believe the royal family lacks an insignificant divine artifact.

"He could have earned it through his own efforts, but no matter what, isn't this too overbearing?"

"It's not a concept. Every year, the kingdom distributes money, food, and various other supplies to the nobles, and what they acquire should be handed over to the royal family. Taking it for themselves is not allowed."

It's like you pay a thug, equip him with red ammunition, six sets of armor and good weapons, and even provide him with room keys, but once he leaves the Heart of Africa, he puts them in his own safe...

Oh no, I'm getting angry.

Moreover, when it comes to artifacts, the first thing that comes to Charlotte's mind is Eldap, the evil lord of Axel. Could it be that he obtained an artifact but was discovered and had no choice but to hand it over? But wasn't his goal to seize the First Prince's body? Or did he choose to go with the flow after being discovered?

He would be happy to assist if the subject of the investigation was Aldap.

Just as he was about to accept the commission without any qualms, Claire said with a displeased expression, "I received intelligence that the nobleman—Viscount Scott—bought the artifact from a wandering merchant, using funds allocated by the kingdom for governing the territory and helping refugees!"

Unexpectedly, the target was not Aldap.

Charlotte was somewhat disappointed.

Claire then added, "You can also ask Mr. Yujian for help with this request."

"Sword control?"

I don't know why this name came up, but Charlotte didn't intend to abandon him. Even if she couldn't help, she could at least find a shield.

Furthermore, Mikami Hibiki is a man of great sense of justice, and upon hearing that the money intended to help refugees has been misappropriated, he would certainly agree to help.

"Since you've agreed, then let's leave it at that that you took His Highness out of the palace without permission. Of course, you're not allowed to enter the palace again until you've completed your mission. Let's go, Your Highness, we should go back. Honestly, those guards are incompetent; we should teach them a lesson when we get back!"

"Claire, don't blame them..."

"I know. But we need to plan the patrol routes again, otherwise someone might sneak in under the cover of darkness."

Claire looked at Charlotte warily.

"—Who wants to sneak in? I'll be perfectly fine with it... huh?"

Suddenly, I realized something was wrong.

He leaned closer to Claire and whispered, "You weren't doing this on purpose, were you? I just found it strange that the maids and guards were walking along fixed routes like robots, as if they were doing it on purpose..."

"What are you saying? I don't understand."

Claire turned her head away.

But Charlotte keenly noticed the fleeting smile on her lips.

Thinking about it carefully, how could the palace guards be so incompetent? It's not like they just won a battle against the Demon King's army. Maybe Claire couldn't say it openly because of her status and position, so she used Charlotte's help.

Honestly, she's quite awkward.

……Wait a moment.

Alice was not punished, and the relationship between Claire and Alice improved. So what about herself who inexplicably accepted the commission?

I've become a clown!?

Just then, Alice ran over and hugged Charlotte tightly, whispering in his ear, "I had so much fun today, it was my first time... Thank you, brother. Let's sneak out to play together again next time."

An unexpectedly bold move.

"Wait...!? Your Highness!!"

Claire was furious and was about to draw her sword to kill someone, but Alice pulled her away. When Charlotte saw Alice turn around and give him a big smile, he smiled with relief.