Chapter 177: Gettan's Secret

"Traitoro was a… traitor?"

"I know right? I can't believe it but I heard the princess said so."

"Bah! The princess just has a prejudice against us knights because some of us worked with Zenon to kidnap her. Just because they did that, doesn't mean that we're all the same!"

"If she keeps this up, this country will be out of knights before the war started."

"Yeah. That stupid spoiled princess should've known better."

Murmurs among the knights expressing their disapproval of Princess Alexia have already started. I can already hear them as we approach the barracks.

No doubt the knight who started speaking against her is part of the Cult. Well… Even if I didn't know his scent, I would still know it not just from his behaviour but also from the smell of Necromancer's foul magic on the sword strapped on his hips.

The door of the barracks opens… which prompts the knights to cease their treasonous conversation immediately and resume their meals in absolute silence. The princess enters and looks around the barracks and yet none of the knights greet her. Some of them even openly scowl at her. This is how much the Cult has influenced the knights from within…

Without prompts from the princess, I walk towards the man whose scent I detected on both the vault and on Traitoro. Traitoro could've saved himself if he stayed quiet and denied involvement with the thief but since he decided to impulsively attack me, he sealed his fate.

"Huh? What do you want, dog?"

"You can stop pretending, thief. I know you're the thief who stole the gold chest." My declaration shocks the knights in the barracks, causing some of them to stand up angrily.

"You've got guts accusing a member of the Knight Order, dog."

"You do realize that I've got your scent? It was still fresh on both the chest and on Traitoro."

"Y-You're lying!"

"If I did, why did Traitoro's first reaction was to attack me? An unprofessional reaction for a captain, don't you think? Not to mention, your hand is already on the hilt of your sword, which is an Artifact."

"What!?" He exclaims with surprise as he didn't expect me to notice Necromancer's magic on his blade. Even Traitoro wielded the same thing, which was probably why he was confident on attacking me despite being much weaker than I am.

Without my sight I can tell the knight is currently grimacing angrily as he contemplates on what to do. Before he could though, the princess steps in, with Lord Cid in tow.

"Now now, Mr. Deceptous. You are now a suspect. You know the protocol, don't you? You need to come with us for interrogation."

"Bullshit. You arrested the head investigator, whose job is to manage the interrogation. You think we can expect fairness from you?" Funny he says that, because the head investigator will pardon him considering they are all part of the Cult.

"Oh? Do I hear treason?" The princess says as the Crimson Order knights behind her already have their hands on the hilt of their swords, ready to draw their blade if the thief, now identified as Deceptous, tries to resist. A moment of silence passes as the knights seem to hold their breaths, waiting for the other party to make their move. In the end, Deceptous is the one who concedes.

"No. I surrender. But I warn you, princess. This man… is the true threat. Because today, he has succeeded in turning you against your own people." He says while pointing at me before surrendering, allowing the knights of the Crimson Order to seize his weapon, put the magic restraining shackles on him and escort him away. The other knights can only watch with mixed feelings.

It appears that in the end, he didn't end up exposing my identity as a former Cultist. It is still within the Cult's interest not to expose its own existence even this late into the game after all, especially in front of the other knights he wanted to deceive, because they can eventually divert attention in order to cover up the Cult's existence after silencing key witnesses like the princess over here.

"Good work today, Mr. Gettan." Said princess says, thanking me even though my position is actually very suspicious.

"Do you really trust me? What he said could've been true."

"If I said I didn't suspect you, I would be lying. That's why we're going to have a talk later." It's good that she isn't naïve enough to blindly trust me.

I doubt I can hide my involvement with the Cult forever after all.

"But there is another reason why I trusted you in this aspect… it's because I've suspected those people for some time now." She declares openly, intentionally allowing the other knights to listen.

"Is that so?"

"First off, they used to be close associates of Zenon, my kidnapper. That alone is a massive red flag." Of course. Association with Zenon warrants suspicion, though that alone won't convince the knights.

"Secondly, I definitely notice the unusual magic on their swords, which are different from even the Pseudo Artifacts we seized from Zenon's bases, which led me to believe they are actual Artifacts… and you confirmed it just moments ago." The princess says as she picks up Deceptous' blade and unsheathes it, letting all the knights see the slight green hue around the sword's edge. I'm surprised the princess is able to notice something that most people, especially those unfamiliar with Necromancer's work, are unable to.

"And thirdly… before this incident even happen, I've ordered the Crimson Knights to keep watch on every castle staff I suspected because… a certain Pooch went missing… Ahem! And I found that those two often left their posts and disappeared somewhere else. Highly suspicious, don't you think? All these facts lead to one simple truth!" The princess exclaims excitedly, as if she has waited to say that line for a long time.

The three facts she mentioned are suspicious yes… but not yet enough evidence to take them for questioning, which is why this incident is the perfect chance to do it. I have merely provided a confirmation of her suspicion.

"But princess! If he's the thief, how was he able to steal from the vault? The Artifact that seals the vault only opens to the royal family and the treasurer! How can he steal it then?" One of the knights questions her as they still believe that she is simply biased against the knights.

"That's why I took them for questioning. Because I want to know their motives."

"Motives? They just want money, didn't they?"

"Even if all they want was money, I still find the attempts to blame it on Jack the Ripper and my guest to be quite suspicious. They have some other aim… and they didn't work alone."

"Not alone… Could it be that their collaborator is… the treasurer, Marquis Monay then?"

"He could be. He has been missing since this morning after all. But the thing is… I think he's not really involved. "

Even the knights are more engaged in the conversation now the moment the princess mentioned that the thief's aim is not money. Even if they didn't know what it is, they at least could tell that the enemy's overall goal is to destabilize the kingdom. No matter how much their disapproval of the princess is, they still love their country and thus would still take this matter seriously.

But I… as a former Cult member, have suspicion on who is responsible.

"If the treasurer is not involved… then perhaps it was someone else with the knowledge on how to breach into the vault? Someone like… the treasurer's predecessor?" I give a suggestion, which made the princess and the knights gasp in surprise.

"That makes sense. His predecessor, Duke Embeschler does sounds like someone who would do that. He had a history of embezzling the royal funds… most of which were never recovered. But he was supposed to be dead! Unless… he faked his death somehow? Or… perhaps Necromancer revived him? Dammit. We should've changed the password to the vault back then! The password was ridiculous anyway!" It is good that the princess didn't dismiss this possibility because I know for a fact that Duke Embeschler did fake his death using a body double and is still active in the shadows.

"How ridiculous was the password?" Lord Cid asks curiously.

"You don't wanna know, Pooch. Believe me." The princess says with a subdued voice that leads me to believe she's blushing right now.

Well… considering the secret password of Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy's secret library, which is known even by me… I believe the princess on how ridiculous the passwords are.

While waiting for news from the interrogators, we had lunch before finally I call out the beastkin mercenary Gettan back to the great chamber because it's his turn for interrogation.

Since first meeting him here, I already have suspicion of him. He has an air of someone that knows more than he lets on. Even during our first conversation, he already guessed what happened even though we haven't even spread the news of the theft on the royal treasury outside the royal palace.

And during our conversation with Deceptous, he mentioned the previous treasurer as if he's familiar with the state of affairs in the royal palace. Even if he's on my side right now, that is still suspicious.

Also… his strange behaviour when he met Pooch for the first time… It was bizarre and I need to know why!

And so here I sit in front of him. No knights standing behind me this time and neither does Pooch. We are completely alone. This might be reckless of me but I need to show him that I'm no pushover and I want answer!

"Now then. I assume you know why I've called you here for, Mr. Gettan?"

"Yes. I do."

"Good. Now tell me… what is your relations with Poo—Cid Kagenou?" I decided to start with that because I can't help it! It's important to me!

"Ahh…" He's speechless at my question. It seems that something did happen between them even though they pretended like today is the first time they met each other.

"I… I… It's complicated…" He says while covering one of his eyes with his hands. Does it have anything to do with the scars on his eyes? I do notice that he's blind judging from his body language, which makes it impressive that he's still capable of functioning despite it.

"We have plenty of time." I say, not letting him dodge the question.

"I… was at the lowest point of my life. And he… got me out of it." He says. Did Pooch… helped him somehow? Was that why he was gone from the castle for some time? To help this guy and then get him to help us? Or is that a coincidence?

"What help did he provide?" I ask again, my thoughts filled with absolute curiosity.

"He… well… helped me get out of my old life… of my… d-drug addiction."

"But you behaved as if that was the first time you met him. What's up with that?"

"Well… he didn't help me directly."

"So he… or at least people working on his behalf, helped you overcome your drug addiction?"

"Yes."

Did Pooch, through house Kagenou, helped this man out of his drug addiction? Didn't know Pooch had it in him to help people like that. But… knowing Pooch…

"How much did you owe him?" I ask a question that left him speechless.

"I… owe him my life." He answers after pondering for a moment.

"Is that so? I doubt Pooch is interested in your life though. He's more interested in money."

"If that's the case, I'll work to repay this debt until I die." Damn. Pooch. I see what you did. Very clever. Now you've got someone who will work his ass for you to the death.

"You can't let him be a parasite, Mr. Gettan. I'll have a talk with him about your debt later. For now I have another question for you. How did you… know about everything?"

"Pardon?" He tilts his head in confusion. It's useless to play ignorant, you know?

"How did you know about the state of affairs in the royal palace? Like how you knew there was a theft in the royal treasury and you even suggested that the previous treasurer is a suspect."

"Ah that. I knew it would come to this. I'll tell you frankly, princess. Listen closely." He says with a serious tone that even I didn't expect out of him. I swallow my saliva as I wait for him to speak.

"I… was part of the Cult of Diablos."

That's something that even I did not expect.

Night falls upon the royal capital. The daily activities ceased and are replaced by nightly ones long after the sun sets. In the dead of the night, when most residents of the royal palace is asleep, a figure cloaked in black sneaks into the castle under the cover of darkness. His aim is the guest room.

Bah. Curse that princess. Deceptous was supposed to help me but she got to him first. Although, knowing that Gettan has betrayed us, he should've gone into hiding! No, even if he went into hiding, that blind wolf would still find him. The figure thought.

No matter. I shall still finish the mission. While everyone is busy with Traitoro and Deceptous, I shall complete my mission and be rewarded by Lord Embeschler once he took that vacant seat.

The encroaching figure was about to pick the lock on one of the guest rooms before he stops as he senses the presence of someone.

"Well well well. Look at what we have here. A thief broke into the castle because he intends to steal my guest away." The princess of Midgar's voice echoes throughout the darkened hallway, completely startling the cloaked figure.

"Tch. Meddlesome princess." The cloaked figure mutters with hatred in his voice.

"I'm not meddling. The person who rests in this room is my guest and I will not stand by and let her be kidnapped by Embeschler, you know?" The mention of his master's name startles the cloaked figure.

"How did you know!?"

"Who else? I trust Marquis Monay and… I have received information from a friend who confirmed your master's survival from his execution a few years back. His plan with the treasury is to cause a distraction that diverts my attention away from my resting guest just so you can kidnap her, isn't it?"

"If you know that much… that means that dog, Gettan, has truly betrayed us!"

"Indeed I have." Gettan's voice is suddenly heard from behind him, startling the cloaked figure even more.

"Y-You! You traitor!"

"Now, give it up, thief… or should I say, Uncroocher?" The cloaked figure is surprised at hearing his name escaping the princess' lips. It made him frown even more at Gettan.

"Tch. If it comes to it…" The cloaked figure, now identified as Uncroocher, produces a white round object from his pocket and throws it into the floor, causing said object to released white smoke.

"A smoke bomb!?" The princess exclaims as she protects her face from the smoke. When the smoke clears out, Uncroocher is nowhere to be found.

"Mr. Gettan. Can you track him?"

"Easily." Gettan answers with absolute confidence as he proceeds to track Uncroocher's steps.

Meanwhile, Uncroocher is running around the hallway, abandoning stealth altogether as he tries to reach the nearest secret passage in order to escape.

"There he is!"

"After him!"

He is surprised to see knights chasing after him, but he sort of expecting it considering he has been led into a trap. He swiftly avoids the chasing knights even as they fire at him with their muskets.

Finally, he reaches his destination, a seemingly empty wall. The knights chasing him thought they have cornered him, which makes them approach him slowly and almost leisurely.

"You're cornered! Hands up in the air and surrender!" One of the knights orders with his sword pointed at Uncroocher, which earns a chuckle from him.

"Heh heh heh. You have not captured me."

"Huh? That voice!? Uncroocher!?" The knights recognize the voice of the cloaked man, who is a fellow knight during the day. The shock from the realization makes them unable to react as Uncroocher presses a hidden button on the wall, which suddenly flips the wall, allowing Uncroocher to enter the inside of the wall before it closes.

"Tch. The mission is a complete failure from the start. I have to report this to Lord Embeschler." Uncroocher mutters as he swiftly navigates through the maze designed to confuse intruders in order to reach the secret hideout of his master. However, he knows that with Gettan around, the maze won't be able to do its job as they will simply follow his scent, which means he has to hurry and escape alongside his master before the princess can capture them both.

When he arrived there though, he found that his master, Embeschler, is already dead whilst still sitting on his desk.

"What!?" He exclaims as he see a card embedded on his master's head, whose face is twisted in absolute terror long after his death. The card is a King of Diamonds.

"This card… That means… He is… here…?" The realization that the real Jack the Ripper is here struck Uncroocher like an electric shock as he feels chills down his spine. He senses a presence behind him and he's too scared to turn to face the bloody figure behind him.

"Ughh… please… spare me…!" He tries to plead for his life without even looking back as his body is completely frozen in place by absolute fear.

The answer comes in the form of a soft but terrifying whisper.

"You are already dead." Is the last thing Uncroocher ever heard before his skull is pierced by a Queen of Diamonds card.

Author's Note:

Omae wa mou shindeiru! The treasury theft short arc is over now. It's my attempt at writing a mini detective arc, which I hope I did well in.

Looks like the reviews in ffn is finally fixed. Thank goodness.

Also, I've opened a Ko-Fi! Please support me there so I can continue writing and drawing! You can gain access to exclusive contents such as exclusive artworks, sketches and design concepts.

Link to my Ko-Fi here: /ominousrain

I'm also open to suggestions for what content I should share on my Ko-Fi in the future. I'm thinking of making polls on what characters I should write oneshots for in the future, like what I did with the oneshot I recently released, "It's a Promise", which features Beatrix. But rest assured that I won't make my fanfictions exclusive contents. They will remain free for the public.

Oliver8397: Mayby Claude turn his other sister into a villain beaxuse 1 it would be a waste for his sister to die the same way as his otjer sister died and two i think with he would be able to do by sowing a weak side of him and give a reason witch she would resonate with

I hope you give elziabeth more screen time because she is not really mentioned after Claued got her in her ark so i hope she will get more screen time

Answer: I have different plans for Charlotte.

Also, Elizabeth will return in the future.

DerTrap: I wonder when we will see Aurora for the next time and what Necromancers plans for her are(similair to Elisabeth). Because I get the feeling that she will receive the "Jogo Treatement" from Necromancer.

(Jogo Treatment Actually being a seriously powerful and strong Character but your only fights in the entire story are against the absolute top tiers of the respective verse. Jogo's only two real fights were against Gojo first and then Sukuna second, the two strongest fighters in the JJK verse).

Answer: Yeah, Aurora needs to appear soon. Been a long time since her last appearance.