Chapter 24 – Claire was dead

My mind spiraled into chaos, my brain nearly redlining as it tried to process this massive variable.

The one who died was Claire Cassandra, and her killer was Henry McCaley. Two members of the original Hero’s party.

But why?

Henry was a knight serving directly under the Royal Family. He should have been the very last person capable of such a betrayal.

Was there some kind of misunderstanding? Did Henry not know about the body-swapping between Rachel and Claire, and mistakenly thought the “maid” harbored ill intentions toward her mistress, leading him to “dispose” of her?

But that didn’t fit the code of a knight. If he sensed something off about a servant, the protocol was to report it to the master and let them handle it, not to resort to such shady, lethal methods.

With Claire dead, what would happen to Rachel now? Would the Royal Family leave her in the role of the Princess to save face, or would they be so consumed by the loss of their true daughter that they’d execute both Hustler sisters in a fit of rage?

Regardless, I had to admit: Claire’s death was incredibly beneficial to my previous plan.

In the original Hero’s party, Claire was actually quite useless. Her primary role was long-range DPS. Usually, this position doubles as a scout and tactical overwatch, neutralized approaching threats before they could get close.

Yet, she couldn’t even manage that much. Having lived most of her life wrapped in silk and luxury, Claire was terrible at stealth because she refused to deal with discomfort or dirt. She was constantly spotted after just a few attacks, forcing her teammates to bail her out.

The person usually tasked with those rescue missions was Henry. And every time a monster slipped through or the party was ambushed, I was the one who took the fall.

In short, Claire was always innocent; the consequences always fell on someone else. Calling her a “dead weight” would be an understatement.

Recalling her contemptuous glares, the times she vented her frustrations on me when the adventuring life got too tough, and her arbitrary, spoiled demands… I suppose I should feel she got what she deserved.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

But having been born and raised in an era where human life is paramount, I couldn’t bring myself to gloat over the death of a girl who hadn’t even reached adulthood.

I wasn’t exactly sad, either. Let’s be blunt about that.

After all, my original plan was to find a way to dethrone this fraudulent candidate and return Rachel to her rightful place. How that plan would shift now depended entirely on whether Rachel could manage to stay alive.

Perhaps noticing my strange expression, Lealia probed cautiously.