Reincarnated as an SSS-Ranked Blacksmith Who Refuses to Forge Weapons-Chapter 139. When the Accused become The Accuser

Chapter 139: 139. When the Accused become The Accuser
King Anthony leaned forward a little, and his face showed both interest and anger. "A threat...?"
"Talk plainly, young man. And tell me who you are."
"Your Majesty, Greg Greyson!" Greg finally made it to the front of the crowd, but he was a little out of breath. "Winner of the Blacksmith Creation Festival."
"Ohhhh!!! So you are the peaceful blacksmith I’ve heard about! It’s a pleasure to meet you here, and sorry that I didn’t know you right away because I never see your face or anything like that..."
"What...? Forget about that! What I’m trying to warn you about is the basement of the east palace annex! There is an illegal weapon forge!"
"Agatha Crowbane is a woman who has been gathering dangerous magical things! She has Voidsilver, Chaosweave Alloy, and some other ores that I don’t know what they are!"
"She has armed guards and attacked us when we found out what she was doing!"
The king’s face went from skeptical to worried. "That’s a big accusation. You say Agatha Crowbane? That name sounds familiar to me..."
"She is a well-known materials trader who has worked with the royal smithies for years."
"She was a scammer." Hilda stepped forward, and her miner’s work clothes stood out among the other people in formal clothes. "Your Majesty, she’s up to something, and I bet it’s something bad because she’s a creep!"
Lady Rosalina moved to stand next to Greg, which made their claims seem more serious. "I swear by these people, Your Majesty. We should look into it right away if they say there is a threat."
King Anthony stroked his beard as if he were thinking, but his eyes showed that he was unsure. "A weapon forge in my own palace?"
"That doesn’t seem very likely. Maybe you didn’t get what you saw. To someone who doesn’t know what they’re looking at, research labs can look a lot like weapon forges."
"We know the difference," Lylia said firmly, her voice carrying the weight of her previous job. "Your Majesty, I was a Royal Knight under Lady Rosalina."
"I know what illegal binding circles look like when I see them. This is a serious problem!"
The king was about to say something, but a voice from the back of the crowd interrupted him.
"Your Majesty, if I may?"
The nobles left, and Agatha Crowbane walked forward slowly and calmly. She had taken off her travel cloak and put on a fancy dress that showed she was wealthy. She had styled her gray hair in a complicated way, and she walked with the confidence of someone who belonged in these circles.
Greg’s stomach dropped. "That’s her! That’s Agatha!"
"Yes, I am," Agatha said with a slight curtsy to the king. "And I’m afraid these rude guests have completely misunderstood what I’ve done."
"Your Majesty, as you pointed out, the royal smithies have hired me to do research on materials. Yes, they saw my lab, but that’s completely legal. I have all the right permits."
"She’s lying!" Greg said angrily. "She stole Voidsilver ore and has been collecting dangerous items! She has guards with weapons who attacked us!
"The guards were protecting my property from intruders who broke into my private lab without permission," Agatha said in a calm and reasonable voice. "I’ll forgive the trespass because they are young and clearly confused, but Your Majesty, you must see that this is a misunderstanding."
King Anthony looked back and forth between them, clearly not sure. "What do you think of this, Lady Rosalina?"
Rosalina looked worried. "Your Majesty, I think it’s strange that a real researcher would have such a secret operation. And the things they talked about are worrisome."
"Hidden for safety reasons," Agatha said quickly. "Voidsilver is both valuable and dangerous."
"Would you like me to keep it in a public workshop where anyone could find it? The basement location was chosen to keep the palace and its guests safe."
"She’s playing with your mind!" Elwen said, her voice full of anger. "Everything she says is carefully crafted to sound reasonable, but we saw what was down there. It wasn’t research! It was something bad!"
The king’s face got a little confused. "Young lady, I appreciate your concern, but you’re making very serious accusations without proof."
"Agatha has been working with the crown for a long time. She has given our best smiths tools, helped our Royal Knights get ready, and never given us a reason to doubt her."
"She has been preparing for this moment!" Greg said in a desperate voice. "Please, Your Majesty, just send guards to look at the lab. Look for yourself at what’s down there!"
Agatha’s eyes flashed with something cold and dangerous, but her voice stayed calm. "Of course, Your Majesty, I don’t have anything to hide."
"But... I need to know what this is really about. These guests broke into my lab, attacked my security guards, and now they’re trying to make me look bad in public."
"What do they really want?"
"Stop making us look like the victims!" Lylia said angrily. "We’re trying to keep people safe!"
"From what?" Agatha held her hands up in a way that made it look like she didn’t know what was going on. "From research? From progress? Or maybe you just don’t like anyone who doesn’t agree with your narrow view of the world."
"She turned to speak directly to the king. "Your Majesty, you know what people say about Greg Greyson. He won’t make weapons. It’s a good stance, but it makes him... inflexible."
"He fails to recognize that weapons are sometimes necessary to achieve peace."
"Don’t twist my words," Greg said through clenched teeth.
"I’m not twisting anything," Agatha said in a calm voice. "I’m just telling the truth. You think weapons are bad, but I consider them to be tools for the real peace."
"You want to get rid of them completely. I am keen to learn about them, fix them, and make them safer. That’s okay that we have different philosophies, but don’t let your beliefs stop you from doing real work."
The crowd was now murmuring, and some seemed to agree with Agatha’s calm tone. King Anthony looked worried, but it was clear that he was leaning toward dismissing the claims as a misunderstanding.
Lady Rosalina stepped forward and put her hand where her sword would normally hang. "Your Majesty, I must insist that we look into this more closely. I don’t like something about this situation."
The king said, "I understand your concerns, Lady Rosalina," but his tone made it clear that he wasn’t taking the threat seriously. "But I don’t think we should stop the festival because it looks like there is a disagreement between craftsmen with different ways of doing things."
Greg felt a wave of panic wash over him. They were losing this. Agatha had put herself in the perfect spot, and her calm demeanor and positive reputation made them look like paranoid troublemakers.
"Your Majesty," Agatha said, and there was something different in her voice this time.
"Now that we’re all here, maybe we should talk about some other truths. We should discuss the truths about peace, safety, and the falsehoods propagated to maintain people’s tranquility."
King Anthony frowned. "What are you saying?"
"The hidden truths," Agatha said, and her voice filled the room. "The secrets that the crown and the Royal Knights have kept from the people."
"When was the last time, Your Majesty, that you told your people the truth about how things really were in this kingdom...?"
The king’s face got darker. "You’re out of line, Agatha."
"Am I?" Agatha’s smile was now cold, and all signs of being reasonable were gone. "Lady Rosalina, how many years did you work as a Royal Knight?"
"Twenty...? Or maybe thirty? How many times have you been told to keep quiet about threats?"
"Tell everyone here. How many times have you been told to make it look like you are safe?"