Chapter 116: I'm Being Blamed

Ah yes. Another unpeaceful night. There I was, resting at my room (well… the main body's room to be more precise) and Princess Alexia suddenly barged into my room with an angry face. I can already tell this is going to be troublesome. I wish you guys would go easy on me. I'm just a clone, man.

"Princess Alexia! Lord Claude is resting!" Says the Crimson Order knight who was assigned to guard my door to make sure I wasn't disturbed, a task he couldn't fulfil because of Alexia.

"Leave us." She orders the knight sternly without even turning to face him, focusing all her attention to me.

"But…"

"It's okay. You're dismissed." I also order him to leave and he left after bowing. After the knight closed the door, Alexia glares at me for a few seconds before finally saying something.

"Did you do it?" She asks vaguely.

"Did what? Can you be more specific?"

"Did you kill the Thirteen Night Blades members?" She asks with a serious face, finally with some context. She's not messing around. But I am. I glare at her back for a few seconds… almost intimidating her, before stopping and smiling.

"No. I didn't. What made you get that idea?"

"Who else? On the same night Baron Stergang and Earl Azukay were murdered, you were out killing people as well. You even said you killed two leaders."

"It was merely a coincidence."

"I wonder about that." She's still sceptical even though I told her the truth. "Listen! I know you think you're being smart about acting alone and killing our political rivals but that's a bad move! They're gonna accuse you of assassinating nobles who disagree with you! Even if they're proven to be corrupt nobles, assassinating them is not the right way to handle this! You should use the royal authority to put them on trial after exposing their crimes! You're being too arrogant and hasty!" She rants as if I did something wrong. I struggle not to yawn.

"As I said, I didn't do any of that. Don't waste your breath."

"Tch! Now you chose to be more frustrating than ever before!? I'm telling you this for your own good! Can't you put more trust in your allies and family?"

"I did. And I'm telling you, I didn't do it."

"Then who did!?"

"It's your job to find out, isn't it? You're the one investigating the case, after all."

She grits her teeth and clenches her fists while glaring at me angrily because she didn't get what she wants. She went silent for a few seconds before replying "Fine. Have it your way. Don't come crying on me if this backfired on you." and storms out of my room.

Before she can leave my room though, I gave her my own warning.

"Let me give you a warning of my own, my future sister in law. I know you're fond of that Cid Kagenou fellow but you yourself are putting him in great danger by involving him in this case." Especially when you parade him in front of Gray of all people. "I hope you know what you're doing." She widens her eyes for a few seconds before leaving the room wordlessly.

"What a troublesome princess. If only she's easy to control like Iris is." I whisper before closing the door to my room which the rude princess didn't bother doing when she left.

"Anyway, now that there's no more interruption, I can finally do this." I say while pulling out a small green crystal from my pocket and begin filling it with magic, which activates its effect.

"Store memory." I utter the key words and the memory crystal began copying my memory and storing it within itself. This memory crystal is an Artifact that the main body developed to store clone memories bit by bit and sort them out so that he won't be overwhelmed by huge amount of memories like during that one accident. It's still experimental and not yet perfect but the main body knows how to handle what the crystal can't.

When I finished with the copying process, I put it in my desk drawer.

"But still… To think that I'm being blamed for the murders… I suppose I should pay more attention to this serial killer a bit more. The main body will have a blast when he heard that someone is doing the same thing he's currently doing in Oriana." I say as I take out a deck of playing cards from my shelf, which was made by Snow Fox Corporation.

"This makes me wanna try using cards. Like the Joker? Or Gambit? Or that character from Hellsing manga? What was his name again?" I mutter as I tried to recall the main body's memory of his old life, which is vague even for me. Feeling experimental like the main body, I begin injecting my magic to the cards in order to let it float in the air.

The next day I've got a meeting with the nobles in the castle. The topic is naturally about the murders. The Thirteen Night Blades faction specifically called for this meeting not because they're scared but because they are looking to use this to blame me and give me a bad name. I mean, just look at that smug grin that Marquis Brad Despoht is making. That's not the face of someone who's concerned or scared. But the main body has anticipated this and gave me the direction I should take, and thus there's no problem at all.

"Let's get straight to the point, Lord Claude. I believe someone who killed his political rivals like you is not fit to be the king!" There he goes. That's Marquis Brad for you.

"Oh? That's quite the accusation. I assume you have proof?" I reply.

"The fact that Earl Shoddi Goodz, Baron Stergang and Earl Azukay, nobles who openly opposed you, died is proof enough!" Looks like he forgot something.

"Oh? Openly? Really? I seem to recall Earl Shoddi openly supporting my candidacy to become king." I say because officially that fatso Shoddi was on my faction in order to secretly spy on my faction (and maybe to leer at my sister too) so he can easily obtain information that would help his cover up efforts. And that was because this man ordered him to.

"H-He wasn't… He was just acting on my… No! That's even worse! You killed your own allies because you distrusted them!"

"You sound like you're changing the narrative halfway there, Lord Despoht. And you still haven't provided a single proof whereas I have plenty of proof of you and your allies' misdeeds." I declare as I produce documents that Alexia acquired from Shoddi's office, showing the official seal of House Despoht and other noble houses affiliated with the Thirteen Night Blades which are stamped on red wax on the papers beside their official signatures, which made him and his Thirteen Night Blades allies widen their eyes in shock. The documents contain proof of their crimes which they requested Shoddi to cover up. They're probably regretting not using a different seal or aliases to hide their identities for these kinds of shady dealings. All those years of dominance has made you neglectful, huh?

"That useless Gray…" Marquis Despoht whispers. He thought nobody could hear him but I'm convinced many of us did, especially me who have enhanced hearing using magic.

"What was that about head investigator Gray, Lord Despoht?"

"N-Nothing! Those letters are fake!"

"Fake? Then how did they obtain the official seal of your family?"

"T-They were stolen! Yes! That must be!"

"I see. That's unfortunate. Then from now on every single letter bearing the seal of House Despoht and others that you claim to be fake shall be treated as fake as well."

"What… but that would mean…"

"That means the seals of your families will not be acknowledged as the official seals representing your houses anymore and any letters bearing them will be considered illegitimate. I believe this is not a strange thing, Lord Despoht." This would mean their official stamps cannot be used for communications, transactions or political dealings in the future, effectively crippling and isolating their families from the rest of the world, slowly delegitimizing their noble status.

"T-Then we'll just… issue a new seal!"

"Sure. But we're on the brink of war. Issuing new seals for so many noble families… I count thirteen, at once will take too much time even during peaceful times. You might even need to change the designs of your families' coat of arms before submitting them to be approved and acknowledged as legitimate. Can your families survive until then?" And with my political influence, I'll totally delay the approval of their new seals and coat of arms if it comes to that.

"You can't do this to us!"

"I don't have to do that. You did it to yourself by claiming that these letters are fake. If we're following your narrative, then until your "stolen" family seals are recovered, your family seals will be considered illegitimate within Midgar." I declare, which makes him grimace. All the nobles on my faction, including my father, the Prime Minister and some other dukes nod in agreement. My faction is still going strong and Marquis Brad is now cornered. I wonder what he will do next?

"You poor naïve fool. You think you can just cross us like this? You brat?" Oh dear. Now his mask is off.

"Lord Despoht. Show some respect!" The Prime Minister berates him but he didn't listen.

"Mark my words, Lord Claude! You will regret crossing us!"

"Ah. Threats is it? Finally your masks is off." I say in full confidence. Marquis Brad is surprised when he sees that his intimidation tactics didn't work on me and my allies.

"Bah! This meeting is getting us nowhere! I'm leaving!" He says as he rose up from his seat, not wanting to argue anymore now that he's losing.

"Where do you think you're going, Lord Despoht?" My (main body's) father asks him.

"Home, obviously! I have a thief to catch!"

"The meeting, which you yourself have called, is not over yet. We haven't reached any conclusion from this meeting." My (main body's) father continues.

"It's getting nowhere because your stupid son refused to be cooperative!"

"I believe it is you who is being uncooperative, Lord Despoht. You haven't even answered his first question. Where is the proof of your claims that he killed Earl Shoddi, Baron Stergang and Earl Azukay?" My (main body's) father refused to let him go. I must not grin. I must not grin.

"I told you already! The murders committed by that clown only benefits your faction! That is proof enough!"

"No. That is not proof. These letters ARE proof! We provided proof of your crimes. How about you do the same to prove your claims?" I reply whilst pointing at the letters.

"I told you! Those letters are fake!"

"And now we're going in circles because you refused to confess. Fine. Two choices lay before you. One, you confess your crimes, two, you refuse and your family seals will be considered illegitimate as per your claims of them being stolen and until you can truly prove that you've retrieved it from the thieves, and not just conjuring proof out of thin air, it shall remain so. Now choose." I give him the hard choice. Marquis Brad and his allies are making (funny) frustrated faces right now that it is getting difficult not to grin like a villain.

"I'll catch the thieves! You don't have to-"

"I would like to accompany you when you catch the thieves then, to make sure your claims are real and so that you can't falsify anything. In fact, I would like to accompany you to your home to see if your seal is truly stolen or that you simply left it back home." I say with a smile, not letting him have any chance to cover up anything. He grits his teeth in more frustration. He certainly didn't want me to search his home for more proof. Who knows I could uncover more evidences of his crimes instead.

After a few seconds pause, Marquis Despoht finally sighs in frustration.

"Fine. I confess. The letters… are real." Marquis Despoht finally admits it.

"Lord Despoht!" Earl Korrupt White, Marquis Despoht's second in command within the Thirteen Night Blades, calls out to him, horrified at the fact that his leader is giving up.

"If we do not confess, Lord White, our families are as good as ended." All the remaining 10 members of the Thirteen Night Blades contemplate and eventually agreed to confess their crimes as stated by the letters I provided in order to prevent me from searching their homes for more incriminating evidences which would totally destroy their families.

"Good. Now that you've confessed your crimes, we shall now judge you as per the laws of Midgar."

"You forget something, boy. Only the king can judge the crimes of several noblemen."

"You're the one who forgot that I've basically acted as a regent following the king's death. I and my allies worked ourselves to the bone to restore Midgar capital to order while you and your cronies did nothing to contribute to the betterment of the kingdom following the chaos of Shadow's battle with the Necromancer."

"You…" He is at a loss for words. It's checkmate for him. He thought that he could still stall for time since the king isn't around, not knowing I've seized the power and authority of a monarch even though I've yet to be crowned king. Basically I'm already king in all but name.

"Enjoy your freedom while it lasts, boy. Soon we'll get the last laugh." He gave his last threats with a grin before I order the guards to escort him and his allies to the prison.

I didn't reply and merely watched as they left the meeting room. The meeting was then concluded and my (main body's) father walks up to me.

"That was an amazing display of cunning, my son. I'm proud of you."

"Once we have the proof we need, it is easy to defeat them in a verbal fencing."

"Verbal fencing. How fitting. Anyway, there's still one thing that concerns me, namely the killer who murdered the three nobles. Are you not at all involved in that, my son?"

"No. I'm not. I admit that I kept many secrets even from you, father. But the killer clown is not one of them."

"I see. Very well. I'll trust you. From now on it'll not be easier, my son. Even if Marquis Brad Despoht and his cronies are removed from power, the Cult that lurks behind them is still running rampant and will make their move soon. You must be prepared for that."

"I know, father. I know." In fact, I know better than you, for I am one of them. Heh heh heh.

Author's Note:

Politician Claude (clone) is in action! I hope I depicted the political situation as logically and understandable as possible.

Edit (14th February 2025): Since I've now bought Vol. 6, I've replaced Count Goethe Moono with his localized name, Earl Shoddi Goodz. Baron Grehahn and Count Kuzaya also have their names changed to their localized versions, Baron Stergang and Earl Azukay respectively. Marquis Brad Dakuaikan's surname also changed to Despoht.

borregodillon9: 3 down 10 more to go

Answer: How will the Thirteen Night Blades survive the wrath of Jack the Ripper? Find out on the next episode of the Killer Clown in Shadows!

A-Yellow-Lizard: Thank you for the chapter! I love the misunderstandings and the clone povs. It's great haha. Pooch is being cute as usual

Answer: More clone pov and did he manage to deflect the blame successfully this time? We shall see.

Ever since I started writing this fanfic, I've always wanted to write scenes where Aleia calls Cid as Pooch and now that I'm past that, I'm enjoying every chance I get to write their interactions.