28 Making Sense of it All.
As Howard lay there on the bed, completely enveloped by the darkness, he pondered whether the Pierrevol attack was a setup planned and executed by some powerful individuals, intended to indirectly cause the death of Kant. The very thought of the idea made Kant's brain extremely anxious, causing a shot of adrenaline to be pumped through his veins. Enough to make his drowsiness disappear.
The body starts to breathe heavily, while the eyes start to tear up a little. His hands started to shake and grab onto whatever object was nearby, as a floodgate of emotions started drowning him. Howard, not wanting his emotions to take control, tried to calm himself down by any means.
"Calm down, me. Calm down. Calm down," he told himself over and over again. Howard even started to sing a little song, to help the body ease up and enter a clear state of mind.
"Alright. I am relaxed. I am relaxed," he mutters. Once Howard was sure he was in a clear state of mind, he began to theorize whether this idea of the attack was a setup was planned or not.
"Was there even a plot to kill the prince to begin with? If so, why did they want to have a demon kill him, instead of killing the prince directly? If it somehow was the best option, then who were the conspirators in this setup, and what is their motive?" he questioned himself.
With these questions in mind, he began to answer them himself, using all the information he had gathered over his short time here.
First, he had to know if there was a plot to begin with. To find that out, all he had to do was to answer one simple question.
"Did Knight Herrold lie to Kant's face to get him to risk his life, and hope that he gets killed?" Howard asked himself. To answer that, he would have to analyze their conversation with each other on that day.
Although Howard was confident that he was able to figure it out, he feared that he might have missed some crucial details when he was distracted. He hit himself in the leg for his stupid blunder there, all because he got bored.
If Howard's memory isn't failing him, he remembers Knight Herrold making a few claims. Some of them he knew were true. He knew that a lot of noble families did originate from the Legion of Knights after the event known as the calamity, basically a giant demon invasion, happened. It was a bit of the lore he learned through those history books Suzan provided him.
He knew that the knights themselves valued people with high degrees of honor, and willingness to sacrifice themselves; something he learned from Knight Adam. Howard also was able to confirm that his claims about being inside noble circles was true, as it was common for a man of his stature to interact with them; another thing he learned from Adam during his stay at the safehouse.
However, there were other claims he made that Howard was not sure were true. Although a lot of knights did replace the noble families, he was unsure whether they would retain those same morals after 25 years.
Given enough time, power can corrupt even the most honorable people. It was something he learned in his former life. The question is, if these claims turn out to be false, did Herrold lie to him, or was it just plain naivety?
"Assuming that the humans here act and work the same way in my world, the probability that they have abandoned the moral code they took as a knight are high. Even if they didn't at first, their morals might have changed overtime," he states.
"Given enough time, power can corrupt even the most honorable people. I have seen it happen too often in my life. I suspect that is what happened to most of these nobles," he reasoned.
"If this assumption about then is correct, then unless Herrold is naïve enough to believe what he said, he knew what these nobles are like. He definitely lied to the prince. He exploited his desire to not be a burden to his family to trick him to do something dangerous."
"Besides, it would explain why all those knights had been dispatched to take care of some other vague threats. He wanted to make sure Kant will take charge to defend the town, and risk his life," he mutters. Howard was confident that Knight Herrold had lied. And if Herrold lied, it means there was likely a conspiracy.
With the first question answered, Howard moved on to the second one; why did they have him get killed by a demon, or by his own hubris rather than arranging an assassin or poisoning his drink? It seemed like the most logical decision at first, till he realized its flaws.
"Wait, no. What am I thinking? That will just leave blood on their hands. Sure, Kant might have been seen as a liability, but the royal family still loved him the same. If they took a more direct approach, the royal family will come after them for revenge, no matter what their status was."
"By influencing Kant to take a stupid decision and have him kill himself, they are able to absolve themselves of any responsibility. That, and with the help of some powerful nobles, the king will have hard time to come after them for something they didn't do."
With his second question answered, he now moves onto the third question in his mind. Who are these conspirators, and what is their motive to have Kant eliminated from the plain of existence?
"Kant was not well liked by most nobles, or knights. He was deemed a liability by his allies, and was used by nobles to claim that the Maybale family had to right to the throne. Plus, considering that these conspirators got Herrold involved, they are very powerful people allied to the king," he reasons.
"If this is the case, then it can't be any anti-royal faction who plotted it. I doubt the people capable of hiding their allegiance are dumb enough to take out their biggest asset for their cause," he deducted.
"The only people who have the motivation to conduct this setup, were the people the Maybale family was allied to. I am sure of that," he adds.
"Now the only question left remaining now is, who exactly their plan was, and who was involved? Were all the 5 families and allies from the nobility involved, or was it just Herrold and a few nobles? Did they intend him to die that day, or die at a later date. Maybe have his confidence boosted and have him die later." he confessed.
As Howard tried to comprehend what had happened, a lot more questions start popping up in his head. Questions that start to overwhelm him a little. All he knows for now is that their was a plot to kill Kant through his own actions, and that some powerful people might be involved. As to who all of them are, Howard does not know yet.
"Wait a minute. Does the royal family know what had happened? Do they know about this plot? Is this why they want to give their child a new identity and send him off to Lukeword? If they do know, when did they learn of it?"
As these questions start racing in his mind, he starts to feel a little emotional again. Howard had to calm himself down once again, before continuing on theorizing.
"Alright. I know that Knight Adam told me that this plan was made just after I woke up, so they probably didn't know someone was plotting anything. They probably suspect their allies, but don't who know exactly, just like me.
It might be the reason why they chose to hire people like Frisk Goldberg or Knight Adam to conduct the operation," he reasoned.
"But then what about those knights at the palace? Why are they there to protect the palace? They might be the king's most loyal soldiers, but that doesn't mean anything when his allies tried to murder the prince!" he quietly yelled out his frustration.
As he tried to make sense out of everything, Howard realizes how little he knows about the situation. His entire argument for believing that the conspiracy exists was built on a single assumption, bits of information he got from a few sources, such as Kant's memories or from the people surrounding him, and the actions of the royal family in this whole debacle.
If he wanted to know what was truly going on, he will have to do some more research. He will have to confirm the information he has is even factual, and he will have to find out if these powerful leaders did try to kill Kant through one means or another.
Why was Howard so infatuated finding out what happened to Kant? Well, it is simple. Howard has found himself inside the body of Kant Maybale. To his family, and his enemies, Howard and Kant are virtually the same person, even if they are not. Howard feared that, if they were to find out he is 'alive', they might try to finish what they have started, one way or the other.
If they succeed, Howard predicts one of two options to happen. One possibility is that he dies for real and goes to the afterlife, whatever that may be, and spend the rest of eternity there. Although it was hard to evaluate it, Howard considers it better than the alternative, which is reincarnation, or transmigration.
Given that he somehow found his way into this body, there was a good chance it might happen again. Sure, he could reincarnate as a prince or a king, but it also means he can reincarnate as a surf, or a slave. Considering how many poor people were abundant in human history, Howard figured he was very lucky the first time, when he got into Kant's body.
"I don't think I would be able to do this alone. I might need sone help. But who would be willing to do so?"
