7 Cleaning of rats

When I returned to the palace, I suddenly shouted into the void.

- Alex!

A middle-aged, intelligent-looking man came out of the shadows in the corner of the room. Dressed in a black three-piece suit and small round glasses, with his blond hair combed back and a neat beard, he looked more like a representative of an elite literary club than a butler or, even more so, a secret bodyguard.

-What is it, Your Majesty?

He asked, bowing slightly.

-You've already investigated Kyle, haven't you?

- Oh! Yes, that's right! I have been following him and his ridiculous thoughts about the coup for a long time, if you are interested in a report, then I can provide.

- Since you knew about his betrayal for a long time, why did you let him stay by His Majesty's side until now and didn't even warn him?!

Almeria intervened, who finally found confirmation of her guesses about Kyle, but this did not please her at all. On the contrary, she was furious, firstly, because of the actions of Alex, who knew, but did nothing. And secondly, because of the very fact that there is a traitor in the palace.

- Forgive me for my impertinence, but I thought that His Majesty was not interested, until today he only cared about magic, so I decided that I could take care of such a trivial matter myself. As for the reason why he is still alive, I just want to know more details about his betrayal.

- And who forbade you to torture?!

My loyal general asked in a rage. I didn't interfere in their exchange.

- No matter how much I despise Kyle for his betrayal and short-sightedness, however, I have to admit that he is one of those who will not break under torture.

I nodded, agreeing with Alex's reasoning. But if we take into account the effect of the title [Sociopath], then I can get him to talk by changing his personality slightly.

- I plan to arrest him directly, Alex, Almeria, you come with me, take care of his subordinates if they are also involved in this. I'll take care of Kyle myself. Alex, tell me in general terms about his reasons for betrayal, it will help me to get him to talk.

I gave a series of orders, and although the last order made Alex hesitate, but he quickly returned to his previous state and responded.

- About 1,000 years ago, the Diamond family ruled this land, but they were defeated in the war and the Holy Empire seized the territory, but after the collapse of the Empire, this land passed to your family. He, whose mother was a descendant of the Diamond family, is confident in his rights to these lands. He contacted some other country that is funding him, but I have not been able to find out what kind of country it is. But I know that he uses this money to sponsor criminal gangs.

- Hmm, and how did you manage to dig up so much?

I was really surprised to hear about everything that Alex managed to find out. To study the past of your goal in such detail… This is clearly not a task that anyone can handle, even if they have the skills of a level 3 assassin like Alex.

- My work is not worthy of praise, Your Majesty, I just happened to read about it in historical books.

- No, Alex, think about the request, and if it is not excessive, then I will fulfill it.

-Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty.

- Almeria, do you know where he is now?

- Yes, he practices on the training ground.

-Okay, but I need to get something first...

Soon the three of us went to get rid of the captain of my personal guard. Along the way, I quickly figured out what words I should use to bring Kyle to emotions as much as possible and reveal at least some of my secrets. Arriving at the training ground, we saw a middle-aged knight with blue hair who was sparring with ten other knights.

- Kyle, come here, we have a conversation!

I called out to the blue-haired knight, interrupting the duel. Kyle put on a fake smile, which flashed flashbacks from my past life, where there were a lot of people who, wearing a mask, pretended to be completely different people. Or, as I called them, hypocritical assholes. I was sick of such people. Abel could not notice Kyle's falsity because of his little experience and personality, which was only interested in research, but Kyle failed to deceive Almeria, who had long suspected him, and Alex, who was following him and collecting information at all.

-What happened, Your Majesty?

Kyle smiled and spoke in a very good-natured voice, which only made my contempt for him grow.

- How pathetic you are…

Unable to stand it, I shook my head.

- What do you mean?

Kyle asked, not understanding the situation.

- I meant that you're a pathetic, stupid bastard who went along with his wh0re mother and believed in his exclusivity! Do you really think a worm like you is capable of being a king?! You put on the disguise of another person, and you are a fake! You didn't have the courage to take matters into your own hands and plunge a sword into my heart when you had the opportunity, because of your worthlessness and fear of failure! You should have just given up when you realized your worthlessness, you put the lives of hundreds of people on fire, trying to destabilize the situation in the kingdom by sponsoring criminals! You're pathetic!

Slowly and clearly I delivered a speech that was slightly different from the one I had planned to deliver, but his falseness and my memories ignited a fire of rage in me. I continued the provocation.

- Kyle Kraft, son of a dirty wh0re, you are under arrest for preparing an uprising!

- How dare you talk about my mother like that?!

Kyle threw off his mask and was burning with rage, unable to stand my words, every word of mine lowered his dignity and hit a weak point.

- Oh, do you know how your mother and grandmother got the title of baron? I thought everyone knew about it! Well, I'll tell you, they served my grandfather together, like the most ordinary wh0res! My grandfather was already weak in mind at that time, and apparently that's why he was able to endure the humiliation of being associated with such fallen women! Ugh!

I spat on the ground, telling the truth, which very few people knew about. But that I, that Alex, that Kyle himself knew about it. I decided to hurt the pride of his family in order to get out of myself and extract information, hoping that he, like third-rate villains, would willingly lay everything out. But apparently I overdid it, and he didn't try to talk at all.

He rushed at me with his sword at the ready, his speed was quite high. The [Dash] skill is a Level 1 Fighter's skill, but when a Level 3 Fighter uses it, the effect is slightly different. Almeria and Alex, who were standing nearby, were ready to make a move, but I used a level 2 spell [Mana Bonds] and immobilized Kyle's left leg. Due to inertia, he began to fall, but by sticking his sword into the ground, he stopped the fall. And, using my aura, I got rid of [Mana Bonds], but it gave me time for which I managed to use as many as five skills.

The first skill is a level 2 spell [Wind Blessing] that accelerates by 25%, the second skill [Light Tread] is a level 1 assassin skill that also grants acceleration, but only by 15%. The third skill is the same [Dash], it accelerates by 50%, but only at a distance of up to 50 meters, but at the moment the distance between me and Kyle barely reached 5 meters. The next skill [Seal of Light] is a light magic spell of the 2nd level, which limits the aura and mana in the opponent's body for 2 seconds, and the last skill I activated when I was already rushing at Kyle and the distance was reduced to only 1 meter. This skill of the 1st level [Spiritual strike], it belongs to a rare class of fighter — combat monk, almost does not cause physical damage, but introduces a person into a state of stun, the duration of the effect depends on the mental state of the person. But in Kyle's current state, the effect will last at least 3 seconds, which, coupled with the effect of the [Seal of Light], is enough for me to snap [Suppression Shackles] on his wrists, an artifact that exists in only two copies in our kingdom, one of them from the royal family, that's what I took before We went to Kyle's. [Suppression shackles] suppress aura and mana.

The ground beneath my feet was moving rapidly, and the distance to Kyle, who was stunned by the [Seal of Light] immediately after he got rid of the fetters, came to nothing. My fist landed on the bastard's face and stunned him even more. I sat on his back, just like a policeman arresting an intruder, twisted his hands and slammed the shackles on his wrists. Alex and Almeria were amazed at how technically and quickly I did everything until I interrupted them watching the show.

- Alex, find his accomplices and arrest him!

Alex elbowed Almeria and nodded at the 10 knights who were sparring with Kyle when we arrived.

- It's them, the 10 people closest to him!

Almeria nodded and rushed to them, Alex also did not lag behind. In a matter of seconds, they stunned 7 people, why only 7? Well, Almeria miscalculated her strength and killed three.

- Bastard, what are you doing?!

Kyle's voice rang out from under me, who had recovered from the stun.

- Yes, I definitely hate your voice!

I concluded and hit him in the ribs, hearing a crack, I just smiled.

- The first stage of cleaning from rats was successful!

The only thing I was unhappy with was that, under the influence of the moment, I provoked Kyle too much and couldn't find out his secrets. I'll have to rely on [Sociopath] title, but talking to such a geek offended my dignity and intelligence. But information is more important, I will have to be patient, besides, no one prevents me from taking out my emotions on him, as I did earlier.

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I'm not sure if it's worth describing everything in such detail (about skills, etc.)? I, as a reader, usually skip such parts, but writing without it turns out somehow strange, and the text seems chaotic.