Chapter 98
When I returned to the Syries family estate, the young lady was waiting for me in the entrance hall. To make matters worse, she had had a table brought there, where she was drinking tea and reading a book... Wait, what would she do if an unexpected guest showed up?! It was the sort of setup that made me think that, though...
"Reiji! Welcome back!"
She welcomed me so enthusiastically that I could almost see a dog's tail wagging itself off behind her, and I couldn't bring myself to scold her... If the count found out, he'd definitely be angry. He'd say something like, "How improper." Then would surely come, "You've certainly become quite popular with my daughter"—for the second time, no doubt.
At any rate, I moved to another room with the young lady. Naturally, I had the table in the entrance hall removed first.
"So... what happened at the Holy King's Palace?"
"Are you curious?"
"Of course! Reiji is my..."
The young lady had started to say something, but then she looked away and continued,
"M-my important bodyguard."
My lady, I don't know what to do with you treating your bodyguard as something precious. Well, it's better than being treated carelessly, I suppose.
"I wasn't there for very long, and they didn't ask me about the giant serpent, either. Oh, and as a reward for yesterday's achievements, I'm supposed to receive one Holy Gold Coin. More importantly, the Holy King seems to be busy dealing with the Riviere family."
If the count decided that it was necessary for me to know about the 'Pact' and the 'world in the shadows,' he would tell me himself. I had to tell her about old man Hinga—about Lulsha-san—but after yesterday's chaos, I didn't think I could bring it up right away.
I decided to wait a little longer.
"The Riviere family...?"
"Yes."
Since there was no problem with discussing that, I told the young lady the whole story, including everything that had led up to it. In short, I gave her all the information I had.
"..."
The young lady furrowed her adorable brows and fell into deep thought.
"...Reiji."
After a while, the young lady spoke.
"...Would you hear out a thought I had?"
Her face had gone pale—I would learn why a few minutes later.
The young lady was, as ever, a young lady.
She had been born with noble blood—which she herself sometimes disliked—but had been given knowledge and, above all, acquired a fair and upright spirit.
Even if it meant doing something that could hurt her father.
During the day, I checked the situation around us from the rooftops every now and then, but no coup or anything of the sort took place. In fact, it was so quiet that I found it frightening.
The count returned home very late that night.
The count narrowed his long, slanted eyes when he saw that not only I, but even the young lady, had been waiting for him.
"...What is the meaning of this?"
"First of all, welcome home, Father."
"Thank you, Eva. I had planned to go to bed early, since I'm sleep-deprived and have been under some strain today, but... it seems that won't be possible."
"I know full well that you are tired, Father, but there is something I must confirm."
"I understand. Sebas, you too, please stay with us a little longer."
"Yes, sir..."
The head butler, Sebas, gave me a piercing look. He was the sort of person who showed no mercy even to an ally who did anything that might endanger the count's health.
The maids and other butlers in the entrance hall looked on anxiously—they had not been told anything, so they were startled by the tense atmosphere.
"Also, please have Captain Maxim join us as well."
"Yes, sir."
Captain Maxim, who had accompanied the count to the government offices as his escort, was summoned too.
That made the count's private room too cramped, so we moved to the drawing room for guests.
The count and the young lady sat on sofas facing each other, while the head butler and Captain Maxim stood behind the count, and I stood behind and to the side of the young lady. I see—the count was visibly exhausted. But we, too, felt that we could not put off this conversation even a single day.
We had no idea what might happen tomorrow.
"Father, what has become of the Riviere family?"
"..."
The count gave me, standing just behind and to the side of the young lady, a piercing look.
(That's right, isn't it? I was the one who told her. But this is something the young lady has every right to know.)
He held that look for only a moment, then spoke as though nothing had happened.
"The Riviere family has been placed under the Holy King's control because of the suspected attempt to assassinate Kurvshrat-sama, as well as the crime of bribing priests involved with the 'One Heaven Altar' and illegally diverting high-star Talent Jewels. The head of that house resisted until the very end, and the other ducal houses tried to back him up, but a search of the estate uncovered evidence of the bribery. There is no longer any way for them to explain it away. We have the giant serpent to thank for that. Still, if the Holy King's Knights hadn't defeated it so quickly, the damage might have spread far beyond the Riviere family."
"...The Knights defeated it?"
That part of his statement caught my attention.
"Yes. That's what I've been told... The Knights have the giant serpent's remains in their custody, after all."
So that's how it was. Had the Adventurers' Guild lost its struggle with the Knights?
"...Is something the matter, Reiji-san?"
I silently shook my head. Ouroboros wasn't the issue right now.
Then the young lady said,
"Father, the 'attempted assassination of Kurvshrat-sama' and the 'diversion of Talent Jewels' are two separate incidents."
"Yes, those are separate. But what of it?"
"That means the masterminds were different as well. You unconsciously used different terms for them, referring to one as the 'suspicion of an attempted assassination' and the other as 'the crime of diverting Talent Jewels.'"
For the first time, agitation appeared on the count's face.
His eyes widened.
"If one heard this without giving it any thought, one would assume that both incidents had been carried out by the Riviere family. The culprit who poisoned Kurvshrat-sama's sauce dish was found dead at the Riviere estate, and, as a result, the investigation uncovered evidence that priests had been bribed... The two matters seem all the more connected because of that. But the incidents are different, and I believe we now know that they were in fact unrelated."
The young lady spoke calmly and matter-of-factly, as though she were trying not to let any emotion enter her words.
"You knew that the attempted assassination of Kurvshrat-sama was not the work of the Riviere family, didn't you? That is why, without realizing it, you used the word 'suspicion.' Because you, Father, are the mastermind behind the attempted poisoning."