The words that left the truthseeker’s mouth seemed to shock even her.

The hall went silent. Then came the wave. Disgust. Whispers. Gossip spreading through the galleries like a disease nobody wanted but everyone caught.

Charlotte’s face was a wreck of anger and embarrassment. But she held herself together just enough to push out words.

"No, it’s not like that. I was force..."

I cut her off. "So my suspicion was right. You were the one behind it."

She hissed. "You..."

"Anyways." I waved it off like swatting a fly. "Let’s move on to the main topic."

I grinned at her. "Our love life. That is."

The crowd looked completely lost now. Baffled beyond recovery. My words had been bouncing between accusations and romance so frequently that nobody could tell which direction I was actually heading. Most of what I said must have sounded contradicting and illogical to them.

Good.

Then I turned to the crowd. And the grin vanished. "Enough of this act."

The whispers died.

"I’ll get straight to the point now."

My voice dropped into something I didn’t fully recognize. Harder. Heavier. Emotions I hadn’t planned for were pushing through.

"Everything you’re witnessing right now is part of my plan. I’m not here to waste anyone’s time with some love quarrel or romance tale. I am here to tell you what I have gone through. And who the ones behind it all are."

I clenched my fists.

"My whole life. As far back as I can remember. I never wished ill upon anyone. I never harmed a single soul. Even after being treated as the weakest link in my own family and the world around. Even after this entire stupid world mocked me despite knowing they needed me because of the prophecy."

My voice cracked. Uninvited.

"Even my own party. I was dead weight. Trash. To every single eye that looked at me. And for what? What did I do to deserve all of this? Because I was gifted with a class I never chose? Because people expected me to be a strong hero, a role I never asked for?"

Something was happening inside me. The emotions weren’t just an act anymore.

"After all your combined efforts to crush me, I finally broke. When I was humiliated. Framed. And cast aside by my own mother. Without her once hearing what I felt. What I was going through. What the truth actually was."

I didn’t know why the words were tangling with real pain. Fragments of memory that didn’t belong to me kept bleeding through. The real Deculein’s suffering was leaking into my speech like a wound that refused to close.

That poor bastard must have gone through things far worse than I could imagine. And right when I was trying to deliver a calculated performance, his genuine agony was hijacking my mouth. Messing with my flow.

Then a reporter spoke up. His voice was careful but firm.

"But weren’t you stripped of your status because you brought shame to your family? His Majesty himself confirmed that you cheated on his daughter and were caught performing vicious acts inside the royal palace. All while being fully aware of your engagement."

He paused. "Are you saying His Majesty was lying? That you were framed? Is that what you’re implying?"

I gave a small smile. Gentle. Controlled. "No. I didn’t say that."

A pause.

"But if we’re already talking about framing, why not use this perfect moment to address it?"

I turned to Charlotte. "What do you say?"

She didn’t reply. Didn’t show anger. Because her soul had already checked out. Her skin was glistening with sweat. Her hands trembled at her sides like leaves in a storm that hadn’t even fully arrived yet.

I faced the crowd again.

"I will now ask Charlotte a few questions. The truthseeker will confirm if she lies or speaks the truth. And through that, every one of you will learn the real story behind the so-called cheating scandal that destroyed my life. Or rather, that you all think destroyed my life."

I turned to her.

"Charlotte. Did you or did you not send a demihuman girl named Nimra to my bedchamber on the night of the incident? Did you not command her to service me, telling her in return that you would spare her tribe?"

She was frozen. The truthseeker’s gaze was fixed on her like a hawk watching its prey breathe.

Charlotte tried to dodge. "I don’t know what you’re talking abou..."

"She is lying."

The truthseeker’s voice cut clean through the hall.

Gasps erupted but I didn’t stop.

"Second question. Did you or did you not slip an aphrodisiac into my drink that evening? Knowing fully well what it would do to a man? What might happen when the woman you sent insisted on following through?"

Charlotte’s legs were shaking now. Her mouth opened. Nothing came out. Just trembling lips and vacant eyes.

"And lastly." I stepped closer. "Did you plan the exact timing of your parents walking into that room? Was the entire thing your scheme from the very start to break our engagement? Because you never wanted to marry me in the first place so you thought destroying me was the best scenario?"

Tears were forming in her eyes. The silence in the hall was so heavy it felt like the walls were pressing inward.

Then she moved. Her hand reached for my collar. Grabbed it.

But this time the grip was weak. Powerless. Her fingers barely held the fabric.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Tears ran down her face. "I did whatever you asked. Then why are you still..."

I cut in cold. "Do you really think you can save yourself with your body? A transaction is between two equal values. And in your case, I wouldn’t even trade my underwear for what you offered."

Something shifted behind those wet eyes. Sadness morphing into slow, building anger.

"You lied..." Her voice was rising. "You cheat... I’m going to..."

I laughed. Not a playful laugh. The kind soaked in rage.

"Going to what? Didn’t you say the same things on repeat last night? And look at the good it did you." My grin twisted. "I told you before. That was just the appetizer of your ruin. Ruin for crossing my path. Ruin for getting on my bad side."

I leaned closer.

"And what did you call me? A cheat? A liar?" I tilted my head. "Oh, dear. I learned all of it from you. You taught me every bit of this. And this was just my way of offering gratitude to my teacher."

I turned to the crowd. Her weak grip fell away on its own.

"She doesn’t even need to answer anymore. Her face already told you everything. But since we have a truthseeker here, let’s make it official."

I looked at Charlotte one final time. Cold eyes. Empty of mercy.

"Answer me, Charlotte. Was everything that happened that night your plan from the beginning? Every single bit of it?"

Her lips trembled. Her body swayed. Then a whisper so small the front row almost missed it.

"Yes."

"She speaks the truth." The truthseeker’s confirmation landed like a hammer on glass.

Every soul in the hall went still. Even the press who had been firing questions nonstop, whose faces showed they were holding dozens more, were completely stunned. Just staring. At me. At Charlotte. At the wreckage between us.

Silence so thick you could drown in it.

Then I spoke. Quieter now.

"I don’t seek any justice. Or compensation." I looked across the hall. "Standing alone taught me who I am. And what I’m capable of beyond the cage I was locked in."

My voice grew steadier.

"I won’t accept any revoking of my exile. I won’t be the same stupid boy who showed kindness to people who never deserved it. And I refuse to live a single day of a fake life."

I straightened my back. "I choose, right here and right now, that all I need is me. And that’s enough."

The words were coming from somewhere deeper than I planned.

"I won’t be your chosen hero anymore. Won’t follow orders. Even if it costs my life."

A pause.

"But when the future threat comes. When calamity rains down upon this world." My voice hardened to iron. "You will find me with my head held high and its head at my feet. And I promise you that."

I let the weight settle.

"Not to save this stupid world. But to save my own life. And the lives of the ones I choose to protect."

My eyes went straight to Aria.

I knew exactly what was happening now. Deculein’s emotions had fully merged with mine. All his pain, his loneliness, his years of silent suffering were mixing with my arrogant mouth and creating something neither of us intended.

But I didn’t care. I’d be leaving this world after solving the quest anyway. And he could deal with the consequences of the loudmouth life I just carved for him.

I stepped off the stage.

Nobody stopped me. Nobody questioned me. Whether it was pity, confusion, or something else entirely, not a single voice chased my back.

I walked through the corridors in silence.

And found Aria standing there. Arms crossed. Leaning against the wall as if she had been waiting for me.