A Sense of Unease

The castle was sealed off, and the search for the culprit began.

Meanwhile, I remained in Leticia's room.

"Do you regret it, perhaps?"

Sebas appeared without a sound and said that. I shook my head in response.

"Not particularly. Why would you think that in the first place?"

"Were you thinking you should have forcibly taken her out?"

"If the scene hadn't been this strange, I might have thought that much."

"Strange?"

Sebas tilted his head.

Just as I thought. There was a faint discrepancy in Leticia's corpse. But it was so slight that even a member of the Imperial family would have to scrutinize it to notice.

Even Sebas, with his keen powers of observation, hadn't noticed it. It could be called a perfect corpse.

And yet, something was definitely wrong.

"I can't see it myself."

"Then let's ask only what we can determine. Why do you think she was killed?"

"If the Saint dies within the Empire, it could trigger a war with the Kingdom. Wouldn't that be a desirable development for the anti-Imperial faction?"

"You think the guard captain whom Leticia trusted enough to bring here betrayed her?"

"The circumstantial evidence points to that conclusion."

"Circumstantial evidence, huh... Orihime's barrier can't be broken unless Leticia opens the door. In other words, the culprit had to be someone Leticia would open the door for. The guard captain certainly fits that description. And the sword belongs to the guard captain as well."

"Yes. That's why—"

"Isn't it strange? If someone wanted a war between the Empire and the Kingdom, the crime couldn't have been committed by Leticia's guard captain. This would simply be a blunder in the Kingdom's choice of personnel."

"Indeed..."

Sebas, too, reached the same conclusion about my unease.

There was something else strange about the scene besides the corpse. The circumstantial evidence seemed designed to suggest that the guard captain had done it. If the guard captain had really killed Leticia as an anti-Imperial partisan, that was precisely the evidence that should have been erased.

That continued to bother me.

"It would be easy to dismiss it as a lack of time, but if they had time to drive the sword into the wall, they should have had time to erase that evidence."

"If we force a theory, perhaps they couldn't pull the sword out?"

"The Saint's guard captain is also a Griffin Knight. Are they really that incompetent? Besides, there are no signs that Leticia resisted. Would anyone drive a sword all the way through an unresisting opponent and into the wall? For that matter, a guard captain should have been capable of preparing a different weapon."

"Quite so... In that case, would it be unwise to conclude that the guard captain was the culprit?"

"Unwise doesn't begin to cover it. If the guard captain wasn't the culprit, then someone else was. And what happens to the guard captain who was framed? Father is currently searching for the Kingdom's guard captain, whom he's falsely accusing of being the culprit. And he's sealed off the castle while doing so. If the culprit has already escaped outside, we've lost our chance to send pursuers after them. Sealing the castle prevents anyone from leaving, certainly, but it also immobilizes the Imperial Guards the Empire is so proud of."

"From the Kingdom's perspective... this is an ideal situation. It is unquestionably a mistake on the Empire's part."

"If we're accused of deliberately letting the culprit escape, we won't have any way to refute it. Even so... sealing off the castle is standard procedure. Whenever an incident occurs in the castle, the Emperor always seals it off. The problem is that the enemy knew about this standard procedure, which almost never comes into play. If they hadn't known, things couldn't have proceeded this way. The enemy's true aim was to immobilize us. And the Empire fell straight into their trap."

At that point, there was no way to leave the castle unsealed and send pursuers after the culprit. The culprit might still have been inside. Whatever the enemy's aim, Father had no choice but to seal the castle and order a search.

In other words, once Leticia's corpse was found, this sequence of events was inevitable.

The culprit immobilized the troublesome Imperial Guards, while the Kingdom gained a pretext for war.

"What will you do?"

"Someone on the Imperial side will have to find the culprit."

"Can you find them?"

"Of course not. We have no clues... But if my theory is correct, we might be able to find one."

"Your theory?"

"That's right. The culprit gained a way to stall us, and the Kingdom gained a pretext for war. This incident benefits each of them in its own way. But there's one organization that hasn't benefited at all."

"The Grimoire?"

I nodded at Sebas's words.

The Grimoire, which had been operating in secret beneath the Imperial Capital, had gained absolutely nothing from this.

Its base had been wiped out, and Leticia, who was supposed to be its research subject, was dead.

Despite most likely being deeply involved in the incident, the Grimoire had received no benefit whatsoever.

"They're researchers obsessed with magic. Money alone won't motivate them. They won't be satisfied unless we give them a research subject on Leticia's level."

"Would that be Elna-sama, as a wielder of one of the Four Sacred Relics?"

"Impossible. It would be like swallowing a blade. She'd be shredded from the inside."

Elna and Leticia were different.

Elna was strong even without the Holy Sword, while Leticia could only shine on the battlefield thanks to the Holy Staff.

If they were choosing a research subject, which one would be easier to handle? There was no comparison.

In that case, the only option was to hand Leticia over to the Grimoire.

"Does that mean the Kingdom and the Grimoire weren't connected?"

"I don't know the truth. But... the Grimoire's base contained only documents from after they acquired Leticia. That bothers me terribly. If they'd disposed of the evidence, they should have disposed of everything, but there wasn't a trace left behind. So the documents found there must have been everything."

"In other words... the Grimoire had made arrangements to acquire the Saint?"

"It would make sense if they were expecting someone else to hand her over. The Kingdom is a country that's about to go to war with the Empire. They'd want to weaken the Empire as much as possible. Who knows how much damage could result from using a wielder of one of the Four Sacred Relics as a test subject?"

"But couldn't that end up harming the Kingdom as well? The Grimoire is that dangerous of an organization."

"They must have expected Silver to step in if the damage grew too severe. If Silver helped the Empire in its war with the Kingdom, that would be troublesome for them."

"If they planned that far ahead, isn't this a problem? No matter how you look at it, this seems to be beyond what a single kingdom could manage."

"Yes. Even so, there's something else we need to investigate first."

With that, I pointed at Leticia's corpse.

That was definitely a corpse. There was no doubt about it.

"If Leticia was handed over to the Grimoire... then what is that?"

"...A fake?"

"Probably. This unease isn't just in my head. Something magical is definitely involved. But even I can perceive it only as a faint anomaly. Why is that? Because this is unquestionably a human corpse. The smell of blood, the smell of entrails—we couldn't possibly disguise all of that."

"I see. So the missing guard captain was right in front of us?"

"That's the most reasonable explanation. Now, do you understand?"

"Yes. It's magic powerful enough to trouble even Arnold-sama. That must be because it's something we're not familiar with. And there are people who use that kind of magic, aren't there?"

"Exactly. There are people who suddenly agreed to come to the Empire. The Great Forest in the western part of the continent is close to the Kingdom, so it wouldn't be strange if they were connected. Keep watch on the elves. They're the only ones who could make this corpse look like Leticia. This is an abduction made to look like a murder. If they make a move, use your own judgment."

Wendy had been disguising her appearance with illusion magic.

With that illusion magic, she might be able to make a corpse look like Leticia. In fact, I couldn't think of any other possibility. However, this was far more advanced than Wendy's.

Whether it was Wendy, or whether she wasn't the only one involved, we had to keep watch.

"Where are you going, Arnold-sama?"

"To Leo."

"To dispel the illusion?"

"If I could dispel it, I would have already done so. I don't know the elves' secret arts. I might manage it if I had enough time, but that time is precious. I have no choice but to convince Father of my current theory and have the elves dispel it."

"I see. That's why you need Leonart-sama."

"He has far more influence than I do. If I said it, they'd just call it a delusion."

No one would act on a theory from the Dull Prince. Of course, I could get them moving if I really tried, but that would take effort. It would be better to have Leo explain it instead. It would save me the time needed to persuade them.

If Leticia was still alive, time was precious.

"I see. The consequences of your usual behavior have finally caught up with you."

"Shut up. And send Linfia as a messenger."

"But the castle is sealed off."

"If we wait, we might not make it in time. Get her out from wherever Elna's unit is stationed."

"If we're found out, it'll cause a terrible uproar."

"Things are already bad enough."

"Quite so. Then where should I send the message?"

"To Vin."

I don't need to be there to greet dignitaries with a smile.

With those words, Vin had left the Imperial Capital.

Vin was a military strategist skilled not at devising plans but at anticipating events. He considered many possible scenarios and acted accordingly. What Vin had prepared for was the possibility that trouble might break out in the Imperial Capital.

For that reason, Vin was waiting at a certain location.

"I see. So it's time for the Scarred Knights to make their move. But without any clues, how do you intend to set them in motion?"

"Vin will handle it. If I tell him my current theory, he'll be able to work out the enemy's escape route. If I had to name one, it'd be north. The east is my sister's territory. In the south, many soldiers and knights are busy with reconstruction. The west is the border with the Kingdom. It could become the front line, and anything related to the Kingdom would be investigated first. Whoever the culprit is, if they flee, the north is their only option."

Even without being told, Vin would quickly reach the same conclusion.

The talent the Crown Prince had kept at his side was no mere ornament.

"Now then... Let's tear through the enemy's trap."

"Understood."

With that, Sebas left, and I headed for Leo's room.