The S-Class Hunter Doesn't Want To Be A Villainous Princess - Chapter 13

"Here the man who claims to have taken the Saint to his house, Your Highness!"

A knight kneeled before Isyre, presenting a man. Renee knew who this man was.
He was the source of information for her astra, the <Queen of Waves and Healing>. Of course, he probably didn't know that he had provided the information.

"Name."
"D-Derek, Your Highness."

The man introduced himself as Derek, dressed in a very plain manner.
He seemed absent-minded and gave off an immature vibe. Renee couldn't understand why the Saint had revealed herself to such a man.

'While she avoided countless priests and knights of the Crown Prince, she was exposed by just that man?'

Something didn't add up. But since it was information obtained by her astra, she couldn't doubt it.

"Derek, explain in detail how you witnessed Leanne."

Ishir pointed his sword at Derek's neck and asked.

"H-Her Holiness did say at my house. At first, I didn't know she was the Saint, but after she left, I saw a flyer looking for her and realized."
"Why did Leanne choose your house? How did you meet her?"
"T-That, I don't really..."

As Derek gave a vague answer, Ishir's patience was wearing thin. Derek truly didn't know anything.
All he knew was that Lianne was a stunning beauty and he willingly helped her.
Just when Ishir was about to get angry at the useless information-

"Lead us to your manor."

Renee intervened.

"T-To my house... you mean?"
"Yes. we'll have to go investigate this ourselves. "

Derek looked at Ishir for permission. Ishir nodded with a tired expression. Soon, everyone followed Derek to his house. Renee scanned the surrounding area.

'It's strange. He chose a very wealthy area, not a slum. Is this really the right place? Is this guy lying?'

[The <Queen of Waves and Healing> is confident that Derek is telling the truth.]

'Why would someone who is on the run come to such a conspicuous place?'

Her doubts grew stronger as they reached Derek's house.

"Is this your house?"
"Y-Yes."

‘What is this, you bastard.’

[The <Ruler of Temptation>'s eyes light up, saying that although the duke's manor is glamorous too, this place is more up his alley!]
[The <Ruthless Blood Leader> suggests you take his manor for yourself!]

"What do you do for you to live in such a nice house?"
"To be precise, it's not our house, but the house our parents left us. Our family operates one of the top guilds. It's called the Tanta Guild..."
"...So you're Derek Tanta?"

At that moment, Cedin, who had been dozing off, chimed in.

"Y-Yes. Do you know me?"
"...Of course, I know."

Renee poked Cedin's side.

"What's wrong? Who is Derek Tanta?"

"He is the head of the Tanta Guild. Although he recently took the post, I heard he is a very capable person. But I didn't expect him to be such a... fool."
"Something's off."

There's a very strange smell. A very suspicious and strange smell. Renee sniffed the air, looking around.

"Do you smell something strange from me...?"
"No. You smell good. Why?"
"A good smell?"
"Yeah. Lavender scent. Do you wear perfume?"

Wow, but the scent is really nice. Renee said that and lightly sniffed Cedin's neck.
But because of that, she didn't see Cedin's blushing face.

"I don't really wear any."
"Oh? But why do you smell so good? No, that's not important. There's a suspicious smell coming from this house."

[The <Ruthless Blood Leader> strongly agrees!]
[The <Ruler of Temptation> smells depravity!]

She left Ishir and Cedin behind and ran into the house towards the source of the smell.

Ishir and Cedin quickly followed her.

"Your Highness, you may wait outside."
"I can't leave her alone, Cedin."
"Isn't it enough for me to handle it?"

Cedin's eyes were filled with caution as he spoke. It was so similar to the caution he had to protect his master that Ishir couldn't hide his astonishment.

"Since when did you become Renee's lapdog?"
"Lapdog? Please be careful with your words."

Cedin growled at Ishir revealing his displeasure. But as an insignificant dog, Ishir laughed at him.

"I don't know what she promised to make you change your stance, but you'll regret it."
"Well, I regret even following Your Highness for a moment."
"Did that woman give you drugs? Losing your mind in just a few days."

Ishir looked at Cedin with disbelief.
Until recently, Ishir and Cedin had a fairly good relationship.
Although Cedin didn't offer complete loyalty to Ishir, there was still respect. They had a good working relationship.

But now, Cedin was nothing more than a completely insane dog to Renee.

Creak.

But Cedin had his reasons for feeling that way too.
Originally, Cedin's affinity towards Ishir and Renee was completely the same.

Both were 0.

No interest.

But Cedin knew the true nature hidden behind Ishir's facade, so it was closer to minus 0.

But what about Renee, behind the rumors of being a villain?
Wasn't she noble and strong? Completely different from Ishir.
So even though they hadn't known each other for long, Cedin sincerely respected Renee.

Above all, the sight he saw this morning.
It was a completely new shock. A completely opposite image from the rumors of ruling over everyone and committing evil deeds.
Although he couldn't show it in front of Renee, Cedin was shocked that the strongest person on this continent was receiving such treatment. And he couldn't understand why. Why did she tolerate it?
Aside from being a sword master, she was a noble lady of the Duke's family.
But soon Cedin understood.

Because she had a noble and kind nature.
Because she possessed such overwhelming strength, she couldn't even see those insignificant beings.
As he reached that thought, Cedin felt a deeper sense of awe for Renee.

'...I hope she doesn't get hurt.'

But ever since Ishir appeared, an uneasiness enveloped Cedin. The uneasiness that Ishir might hurt Renee, and...

The uneasiness that Renee might start liking Ishir again.

Renee denied it, but Cedin knew too well about Renee's past affection for Ishir.

Was he the only one who knew about their past? The whole empire knew.
Since her debut as a debutante, or even before that, her obsession with Ishir was remarkable. 

She had to completely destroy anyone who approached Ishir to relieve her anger.

'But the current lady... doesn't seem like that kind of person at all.'

Could it be that the rumors were exaggerated?
Cedin harbored an unbearable doubt. It was a very uncomfortable doubt and uneasiness.

"Both of you! Stop talking and come here!"

But he had to hide that uneasiness for now.
Renee was calling Ishir and Cedin.
After briefly glaring at each other, the two men ran towards where Renee was calling.

"What is this...?"

But after a while, they had no choice but to put aside their petty jealousy and doubts.
The sight in front of them was too overwhelming.

"My lady. This looks like..."
"Yes."

Renee nodded at Cedin's words.
It was difficult to recognize the form, but the smell and ashes that had been vibrating in the mansion since earlier...

"It's a dead body."

And it was burned.

---

"It's wasn't me! I had no idea this happened!"

"Are you asking me to believe that?"

With tears in Derek's young eyes, Ishir expressed his disgust.
And that disgust was not only visible in Ishir. Everyone in the manor looked at Derek with disgust.

"I felt divine energy from that corpse."

Renee said in a low voice. Divinity was not something that could manifest in anyone.
But it was enough divinity to be felt by a dead person...

"I can still feel the heat from the ashes. It would take two or three hours for a body to burn completely. This temperature tells me the fire must have gone out 20 minutes ago."

Cedin was also bitter. After all, the Saint was revered by everyone.
It was a terrible thing for such a person to die in a fire.

"There is no possibility that she is not the Saint, right?"
"Your Highness personally confirmed it, so it's probably certain."

Ishir did not panic even after seeing the dead body and slowly searched through the ashes for remaining evidence.
It was clear that he couldn't believe that the pile of ashes was Leanne.
But that disbelief didn't last long.
Because he found something among the ashes.

'This is... the engagement ring I gave her.'

The engagement ring was buried in the ashes without any signs of burning.
It was in such perfect condition, the transparent diamond still shining brightly.

'Are you sure?'
'It's the ring I personally ordered. There's no way I wouldn't recognize it. And this ring... was cast with an advance protective spell on it, so it would take so much force to break it.'

That's probably why the ring could remain intact in the fire.

Anyway, that's how the case was concluded.
Renee looked at the quest window with a helpless gaze.

[Quest Cleared!]

<Special Quest - Innocence> Cleared!

Clear Condition: Prove your innocence.

Clear Reward:

• One wish granted by Ante Markious
• Kyril Markious Affinity +100

'To clear a quest like this when someone has died.'

The person who created this system deserves to be punished.

[The <Queen of Waves and Healing> tries to comfort you.]

'It's all right. I've seen people burn to death many times.'

She laughed bitterly. As the last boss of her previous life and the tower, <The Tower Master>, he particularly enjoyed burning people.
Thanks to that, whenever a colleague was captured, there was one thing I could expect to see at midnight.

The sight of my colleagues burning to death at the top of the tower.
...as monsters danced like raving lunatics right below them.

'Yes, that's why I recognized this smell.

I knew it from my past life.'

Every day, she had to swallow her tears while watching that sight from afar.
That's probably why, even though Leanne was a faceless person, seeing her dead made her feel a little down for no reason.

"Why did you kill her? What did she do wrong?"

Renee witnessed Ishir's crumbling facade of indifference and saw him slowly breaking down.

'Still, I guess it doesn't seem like a completely false relationship.'

"I really didn't kill her. Please, listen to me!"
"Then explain why her corpse is here!"
"I really don't know! The Saint definitely left yesterday! But this... what on earth..."

Ishir eventually grabbed Derek by the neck.

His grip was so strong that Derek couldn't escape no matter how much he struggled. 

His face turned pale.

"Your Highness, please try to stay calm. We don't know if he is the perpetrator yet."

In the end, Cedin, who couldn't bear to see the situation, grabbed Ishir's arm and stopped him. 

Ishir held on for a while but released his grip just before Derek's breath was cut off. Then he left the room.
Cedin sighed and interrogated Derek in Ishir's place.

"What time did Her Holiness leave yesterday?"

"Cough, cough. She left at dawn."
"Did she mention where she was going?"
"She didn't say anything. I swear. I don't understand how this could be..."
"Cedin, can you give me a moment alone with him?"

At that moment, Renee placed her hand on Cedin's shoulder. Cedin looked at her with a bewildered expression.

"Is it okay for you to be alone with him?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just make sure no one comes in, including the Crown Prince."
"Understood."

Renee probably interrogated people more than he did. She smirked bitterly and dismissed Cedin.

[Skill Activated! - <Belial’s Whisper>]

"Derek, from now on, you're going to be honest with me. Very, very honest."

<Belial’s Whisper> was actually a dangerous skill.
If the other person had even a little resistance, it could easily crumble.

It could also be shaken by interference from others.

'That's why I can't use it against someone as talented as Ishir...'

"All right, now tell me the last thing you remember with the Saint. What did you see?"
"...Darkness... I see darkness..."

She was confident that this guy would be useful. Because-

"And?"

"I remember... a strong... grudge."

It seemed like someone had already used a similar skill on him.

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