My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 274: Blame (1)

Kace stared at Jal in disbelief. 'This guy. Was responsible for protecting the ruler's child?' he quickly tried to sort out his own thoughts. If that were true, then Jal could be the key to unlocking the secret behind the curse mentioned in his own quest. 'He's trying to reclaim his honour.' Kace's eyes narrowed as he believed he figured out Jal's motive in all of this now.

"One question. Were you also responsible for the invitation that was sent to me?" Kace felt like this was important. If he was responsible for it, then he had gone to great lengths to seek outside help.

"Yes. Years of serving beside Lady Rysa allowed me to study her handwriting. It was important for every member of the royal guards to be able to distinguish between the real thing and a fake." Jal sounded reluctant to admit that he had used dishonest means to try and lure Kace out here.

"Another thing. You referred to them as the royal family, but just now, you referred to her as Lady Rysa. This seems like a contradiction." Kace was honestly puzzled. It seemed to be highly inappropriate to refer to a royal household as if they were common nobles.

"Ah, that's difficult to explain." Jal's voice sounded slightly embarrassed.

"Try me."

"By rights, they are not really royalty. Those of us who are loyal to Lady Rysa refer to her as royalty. Because we believe that she should be the true ruler of our people."

"Are you saying that Lady Rysa was not actually the ruler of this city?" Kace's frown deepened. If she was not the actual ruler, then she would not be able to grant their request for additional military aid even if she were still alive. 

"Mm, the city was officially split between two parties. You had Lady Rysa's following and the Chamber of Merchants. Lady Rysa held all of the military power while, as you can imagine, the other focused on our economic growth."

Kace felt like he began to get the picture. The two-tier ruling system allowed them to keep each other in check. At some point, they must have had a falling out on what was best for the city's inhabitants. Kace groaned as he realised something.

"Let me guess. Lady Rysa probably wanted to resist the heroes with everything you guys have. However, this would drain the finances of the merchants? They wouldn't sit around and watch their profits take a nosedive." Kace's voice was solemn as he voiced his concerning thought.

"Exactly. When Lady Rysa passed away, there was only the Chamber left to pass judgement on me. They were the ones who laid this cursed item on my face as punishment." Jal sounded regretful.

Kace considered these words carefully. They actually revealed more than he thought. From his own finding, Lady Rysa must have passed away sometime after her child. This means she should have had ample time to pass judgement on Jal herself. In fact, if she held him responsible, then she should have found comfort in sentencing him right away. 'Something doesn't add up.'

Kace thought about the potion of resurrection in the book. 'If she had such knowledge, then why did she not just revive her child?' Kace had a lot of questions in his mind. 'I think it's safe to assume that Phillip is the offending party. She's probably responsible for what is happening to his image in that dungeon.'

Kace tried to piece more of it together. 'Phillip can resurrect. I've seen it with my own eyes. However, he takes some time to do so.' His eyes narrowed as he felt like he was on the right track. 'Yul is most likely constantly killing him, even now. Does that coincide with Phillip's appearance and disappearance in the dungeon?'

'Is so, then can that image be considered his 'soul' or 'essence'?' Kace felt like this train of thought was a little crazy. But then again, had Lady Rysa been driven slightly insane by the death of her child. 'Even the potion of resurrection does not allow someone to drink it and be able to revive themselves over and over again.'

Kace knew that the legends about Phoenix's in his own world described them as mystical birds that revived themselves. 'Phillip's ability resembles a Phoenix's own more than the effects of a potion. So it should be an effect of a skill or title he has received from his system.' Kace thought about everything he had put together so far.

'Let's assume that Lady Rysa and her child are Phoenix's. Despite their humanoid appearance. If Phillip is responsible for the child's death, he essentially killed one of their kind. Is that enough to be rewarded with one of their unique abilities?' Kace felt like this sounded reasonable. However, there was a hole in his theory. 

If they were both Phoenix's, why did neither revive even if they had no potion of resurrection? Kace felt like this must have something to do with a core secret of their race. Something unique about them compared to the legends that he knew. After all, they had a different appearance to Earth's legends. 

"Ok," Kace finally replied slowly. "Say I believe you. Then tell me, was the hero who appears in the dungeon responsible for their deaths?"

Even though he felt like he had already answered this question himself, it was still better to have it confirmed by someone who should have been there when it happened. Jal shuddered at the question. A quiet sobbing sound came from his figure as it was muffled by the wrappings.

"No." Jal's sobbing grew louder.

"What!" Kace yelled in disbelief at Jal's denial. "Then, who?!"

"It was me!" Jal wailed.

Kace was stunned. His mind went blank as he tried to wrap his head around it. 'That! What? It makes no sense!' The shock on Kace's face alarmed Gruda who was by the side. Nothing that had been said by Kace so far indicated what they were dealing with. But the look on his face reeked of trouble to the Eljein.