Not-So an Extra

"Your Majesty, we cannot send our army there!"

"Ian, what are you—"

The black-haired boy next to him looked at him in disbelief before sighing and massaging his wrinkled forehead.

Immediately, the conference hall turned upside down.

"What is His Highness doing here?"

"How come a Prince could barge in?"

Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, they made their way to the front of the room.

Adrian strode confidently towards the podium.

Nathaniel, Graham, and Marquis Gilmore followed closely behind. 

The truth was, Adrian, had put in a lot of effort to make this happen.

He discussed this matter with his grandfather, and despite Graham's initial skepticism, Adrian convinced him repeatedly until his grandfather eventually agreed to bring him here.

Adrian caught his father's eye and held his gaze for a moment. 

Taking a deep breath, Adrian began his speech once more, his voice ringing out clear and strong.

"Your Majesty, I implore you to consider a ceasefire. The true culprit behind the attack is not the Kearny Kingdom."

Chaos erupted in the conference hall distinctive clatter grew louder among the nobles and generals.

However, before Arthur could speak, a loud thud interrupted.

—Slam!

Duke Delacroix pounded the table and bellowed in rage.

"Then, can you explain why we must halt the war when the concrete evidence indicates that the Kearny Kingdom is responsible?"

Sighing tiredly, the white-haired boy turned toward the voice and a black-haired man with golden eyes came into view.

Ah, he knew who that old man was.

He was none other than Duke Delacroix, Nathaniel's grandfather.

Adrian fearlessly met the man's gaze.

"Well, that's precisely what 'THEY' want us to believe."

"'They'?"

"That's right. Do you not find it peculiar that 10,000 Kearny soldiers have set foot on our land?"

"That's..."

Adrian's lips lifted in a mirthful grin.

"Since passing through the Forest of Death is impossible, can someone from the Marines provide us with more information?"

All eyes switched to Sir Hervey. 

With a heavy sigh, he cast a quick glance at the Emperor. 

Seeing Arthur nod, Sir Hervey stood and responded.

"Your Highness Prince Adrian, I assure you that we took every precaution to secure our seas even before the war broke out."

After a brief silence, he continued.

"We dispatched two fleets every day to patrol the waters, keeping a watchful eye on the horizon. It would have been impossible for an unknown ship to slip past the hundreds of galleons that stood guard."

Adrian nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Very well, Sir Hervey. I thank you for your swift response."

"It's my pleasure."

Returning his attention back to his brother's grandfather, Adrian gave him a big smile.

"So does it enlighten you that the Kearny Kingdom has never crossed our sea or set foot on our territory, Your Grace?"

Duke Delacroix's lips twitched in annoyance, but he managed to maintain his smile.

"Then, what about the emblem found on the soldier's corpse? Explain that."

"Ah, that."

Adrian struck a thoughtful pose before breaking into an even wider smile.

"Well, I can confirm that they're all fake."

"What? What do you mean?"

Ignoring Duke Delacroix was bewilderment, Adrian continued.

"As I mentioned earlier, 'they' deliberately planted evidence that would implicate the Kearny Kingdom, with the goal of prolonging our war."

Adrian shrugged nonchalantly and went on.

"I'm not sure what their motives are, but it's clear that they're benefiting from this chaos."

Like…

Excuse me, but, which criminal would put their evidence at a crime scene?

Basically, nothing.

Once again, the room was filled with a loud buzz.

"Hah! You claim they're fake. But can you provide any evidence to support your claim?"

Duke Delacroix sneered at him.

Despite his relentless pressure, Adrian remained unfazed. 

The boy chuckled and answered it with confidence.

"Of course, I can."

He returned to the front of the podium and held up two coats of arms with identical designs, allowing the audience to see them clearly.

"Look, this one is fake."

Adrian waved his left hand, which held the emblem, and the audience leaned forward, trying to get a better look. 

"And this one is real."

This time, he waved his right hand.

"I hired a Mercenary Agency to retrieve the emblem of the fallen Kearny Knights from the recent Naval battle."

There was a brief silence as the audience took in this information, their eyes fixed on the two coats of arms.

Soon, Adrian explained.

"Although the two may appear identical at first glance, upon closer inspection, the distinction becomes clear. The counterfeit bears a lackluster gray hue and is composed of low-grade iron, whereas the authentic article boasts a lustrous gray shade and is crafted from steel."

Adran turned the coat of arms around to show the audience its reverse side.

"Moreover, the back of the counterfeit emblem did not contain any code that could identify its owner."

Nathaniel's heart sank.

To sum this up then, the Kearny Knights never crossed their sea; their Kingdom never dispatched troops into their territory.

It was that damn organization that attacked the Refugee Camp while pretending to be them!

To the extent that they sparked a war between the two countries, it was unmistakable that the item they were searching for was somewhere in the Kearny Kingdom.

As you witnessed, that was one of the many insane and malevolent schemes they devised to acquire the item they were after.

'If it was true then—'

Nathaniel's heart raced as a realization dawned on him.

He gritted his teeth and balled his fists.

If that was truly the answer, wouldn't it mean that Nathaniel massacred innocent people in the previous timeline?

"Ha!"

Godwin mocked and spoke.

"You keep referring to 'they', but do you even know who the real culprit is? How can you expect us to stop the war when you—yourself, are unsure of who to blame?"

Adrian let out a sigh and rolled his eyes in a bored manner.

"I don't know because I don't fight with them directly, but I believe someone could enlighten us on the matter."

His cerulean eyes rolled towards a black-haired boy who stood beside him.

Well, Adrian asked Sir Wyatt when the Knight Lieutenants visited him.

Sir Wyatt said that he had no idea either, but Nathaniel suddenly ran into the forest, leaving the battlefield.

When Sir Wyatt found Nathaniel, blood stained his armor and even the surroundings had the marks of a fierce fight.

If Nathaniel activated his skill, his rank would have risen to S-rank, yet, that bastard was hurt.

This indicated that Nathaniel encountered someone stronger than him, and Adrian had a hunch that he fought with a member of that shitty organization.

Because nothing could catch his eye other than that organization.

But, now that he stood in the presence of the Emperor, would he still dare to lie?

Somehow Adrian's heart jumped with excitement at what kind of information Nathaniel would share.

"Prince Nathaniel."

Arthur called out.

"Huh?"

Nathaniel lifted his head and was surprised to see all eyes fixed on him.

He looked to the side and Adrian was seen smiling at him.

Nathaniel could feel the corners of his lips twitch in annoyance when he saw his brother's innocent smile.

'You little brat! You dragged me into this!'