Chapter 21

“I knew it! That body isn’t Victie’s! They were switched!”

Uraenus stood up, emboldened by a sudden surge of hope, but Geralt cut him down without a second thought.

“No, I doubt that. Miss Arle, Archbishop Mintz, and above all, Queen Ice have confirmed it. That body belongs to Princess Victie.”

Geralt’s declaration was blunt and final.

Ice watched her husband sink dejectedly back into his chair out of the corner of her eye before turning her attention back to the detective.

“Then what exactly do you mean?”

Ice asked quietly. However, her pupils were trembling slightly. She was shaken, too.

“The issue is the window of time. I am told the guards swarmed this hall and its vicinity immediately after the explosion. If that is the case, a culprit who kidnapped Princess Victie—who was with her two escorts until the very moment of the blast—would have had to snatch her, infiltrate the chapel by some means, murder her, and escape, all in the blink of an eye between the explosion and the knights’ arrival.”

“That isn’t realistic,” Leo remarked.

“If so, there is only one answer. The ‘Princess Victie’ who was caught in the explosion with the guards was not, in fact, the Princess, but the culprit. They had switched places.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jin growled. “That’s impossible.”

“And why can you say that? You escorts only saw her while she was wearing a veil, did you not? Even if you had seen her face, would you have truly been able to tell if it was the real Princess?”

“I’ll give you that much,” Raika nodded honestly, but she quickly countered. “But that doesn’t solve anything. Even if she had already been switched at that point, we checked the inside of the chapel. We know for a fact there was no body and no blood. When exactly was the Princess killed, where was her body, and how and when did it appear in the chapel?”

“I don’t know that yet,” Geralt said, sounding as though he was enjoying the pushback. “I am merely exploring it as one possibility.”

“Wait, so if they could pass for Princess Victie, does that mean the culprit is a woman?” Bob chimed in, glancing repeatedly at Kirio.

“Not necessarily. With body-alteration magic, one can manage a fair amount,” Merlin countered.

Among the schools of magic used to manipulate one’s own flesh, there are spells that can change one’s appearance. Extremely drastic changes place a heavy burden on the caster, but it is possible to alter one’s face and physique enough for a man to disguise himself as a woman, or vice versa.

There were even historical accounts of a large, bearded man who successfully conducted espionage while disguised as a peerless beauty. Apparently, the beard had been a prosthetic, and he had pushed himself to the limit to reshape his frame into that of a woman.

“Still, it’s a stretch to become a perfect woman through magic alone. One would need the help of cosmetics. If anyone brought makeup in here despite being a man, they’d be highly suspicious,” Leo said, his tone bordering on playful.

“No such person was present,” Yasha denied instantly.

“The finer details aside, the person posing as the Princess wasn’t exactly performing vigorous exercise. It would be possible to maintain the disguise through somewhat forceful body manipulation, wouldn’t it?” Geralt looked around for agreement, seemingly eager to prove his hunch was correct.

“Fine. Assuming that is the case, exactly when would the switch have happened?” Ice prompted.

“Let’s see. Those among us who know her true face are the King, the Queen, Miss Arle, and Archbishop Mintz as the caretakers, and…”

“Technically, me too. I saw the statue during the Foundation Festival,” Leo added.

Hearing that, I felt a premonition that the conversation was heading in a very unpleasant direction. I glanced to my side and met Kirio’s eyes; she looked just as uneasy.

“So the rumors about a statue were true…” Bob muttered, his eyes flickering with jealousy.

“Among those who know her face, who confirmed Princess Victie’s appearance today?”

“This morning, before coming to this hall, the three of us had breakfast together. It had been so long… she is usually at the Cathedral, so it was our first time having breakfast as a family in a long while.”

Uraenus spoke in halts and starts. A glint of moisture gathered in his eyes.

“Yes. That was around seven in the morning, I believe,” Ice added calmly. Her eyes were closed, but her eyelids were trembling.

“Naturally, she was unveiled then. And after that?”

“Breakfast ended just after eight, I believe. Then, around eight-thirty, I assisted her in changing clothes. I confirmed her face then. The King, the Queen, the Princess, Raika, and I all departed the castle together after that and arrived here at nine,” Arle explained without emotion.

“Jin and I arrived around the same time. I went to her room to greet her shortly after nine. I saw her face then as well,” Archbishop Mintz said.

“I see. By the way, Madam Yasha, when did you arrive at this hall?”

“I have been staying here since yesterday to handle the various preparations.”

“Right. And who was the next to confirm her face?”

“I was. After lunch, I helped her change into her ceremonial outfit and saw her face then. Immediately after that, the Archbishop, the King, and the Queen came by to discuss the award ceremony. The Princess was still unveiled at that time.”

“Indeed,” Mintz nodded, looking exhausted.

“What was this discussion about the ceremony?”

“Explaining the flow of events. We were reinforcing the point that, for security reasons, she must not deviate from the plan under any circumstances.”

For the first time, a smile flickered across Ice’s face. It was a sharp, intense thing, caked in self-derision like sludge.

“A pointless reinforcement. Even without it, that girl would never dream of deviating from what she was ordered to do.”

“Yes, you’re right. She was a gentle… a far too obedient daughter.” Uraenus’s voice trembled as he sniffled.

“This is madness! For Princess Victie to die…!”

Suddenly, as if fueled by a burst of rage, Archbishop Mintz raised a fist.

“That’s right! She was truly a Saint! A Saint who exhausted herself for the sake of this nation! And yet…!”

His strength left him as suddenly as it had come, and he trailed off into silence, looking toward the heavens as if in prayer.

“I see, I see. And after that, she headed for the chapel with her two escorts, correct?”

Without paying any mind to the state of those involved, Geralt continued the conversation with a light air.

“That’s right. Then, at 1:00 PM, Raika and Jin came to get me. We went straight to the chapel, and my award presentation finished around 1:10 PM. Nothing in particular happened, so it was over quickly. Naturally, I confirmed her face then. It was the same face as that statue—as Saint Fata.”

As Leo spoke, his eyes closed in recollection.

“Yes, it was around that time. I remember because Leo came out of the chapel so quickly it actually surprised us,” Jin added, confirming the timing.

“Though, a bit of trouble broke out once we reached the hall afterward,” Jin added spitefully.

“He said he was ‘peckish’ and wanted to stop by this Grand Hall. Jin started grumbling about it, which led to a minor argument. In the end, I just ignored him and entered the hall anyway.”

“Oh, right, right. Because of that, we were late getting to Van’s room next.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, Raika let out a small chuckle, perhaps remembering the scene.

“It was 1:20 PM when the escort came to my room,” I testified, recalling the moment myself.

“Yes, that will be quite enough,” Geralt said, cutting us off as he tapped his cane against the floor with a sharp clack.

“In other words, if a switch were to happen, that would be the timing. You couldn’t fool Lord Baal, who knows her face. Meaning, the Princess that Van met afterward was the fake who had taken her place.”

Ah, so it’s going to go in that direction after all.

Feeling a sense of despair, I looked over at Leo. He simply shrugged his shoulders.

Give it up, he seemed to be saying.

When I looked at Kirio, she had a look of total hopelessness on her face. I knew exactly how she felt—mostly because I felt the same.

I’m going to hold a grudge for this, Leo.

“Um, excuse me.”

I steeled myself and spoke up. I couldn’t just stay quiet and watch as the truth was obscured and they reached the wrong conclusion.

I felt the eyes of everyone in the Grand Hall settle on me, wondering what I was about to say.

Damn it, I have no choice but to say it.

“Kirio and I also know Princess Victie’s face. Because we saw the statue.”

The developments that followed were a bit of a shock. Except for me, Leo, and Kirio, everyone else in the room just stared at us blankly.

However, as I explained what had happened, the expressions on their faces began to shift. Most looked exasperated, but Bob and Archbishop Mintz turned beet-red, their faces twisted in a wrath that would put Enma (the judge of the afterlife) to shame.

Archbishop Mintz, in particular, was in charge of everything related to the Saint within the Church. Since the statue and the basement itself were under his direct management, his rage was beyond ordinary. Actually, before the anger set in, he simply refused to believe it at all.

However, once I was forced to describe the state of the basement and the exact route we took to get there in fine detail, he was left with no choice but to believe me.

“I-I cannot believe this!” he shrieked, screaming at Leo for having acted as our guide.

After shouting until I wondered where an old man like that found such vitality, Mintz suddenly slumped into his chair in defeat.

“Oh, what a disgrace… and so close to the Foundation Festival.”

Archbishop Mintz covered his face with his wrinkled hands. I actually felt a pang of guilt at this; it was incredibly awkward. Kirio looked the same way.

“Well, that’s how it is.”

Despite being screamed at like that, Leo remained entirely unchanged, acting as if it were someone else’s problem.

“It is not just ‘how it is’! This is an unpardonable act! It’s a capital offense! These three should be sentenced to death!” Bob wailed, seizing the opportunity.

But no one sided with him. Mintz sat there as if the life had been drained out of him, and the others seemed to have much more pressing matters to deal with.

“So, Van, who followed Lord Baal, and the final one, Rahura, both know the Princess’s face and confirmed it as well.”

Geralt tapped his cane against the floor several times.

“Hmm. Hmmm… well, that’s strange then. We should consider the possibility of a switch to be non-existent.”

“W-wait a minute!” Bob hurriedly cut in.

“Can’t you just use magic and makeup to disguise yourself as a perfect double of Princess Victie? Especially since these guys saw the statue and knew what she looked like!”

Bob looked around at me, Leo, and Kirio with eyes full of hatred.

“Queen Ice, one of these people is the culprit.”

“Calm down, Bob,” Merlin intervened.

“Are you taking their side again!?” Bob accused loudly.

“That is not it. Have you forgotten what I said about the limits of physical manipulation via magic?”

At Merlin’s words, Bob was left speechless.

Yes, there are limits to physical manipulation through magic. It’s only natural.

For example, if you were to completely change your skeletal structure to match someone else’s, not only would you never be able to change back, you would likely destroy your own body. Even if you tried to change the position of your eyes, magic can only move them a very slight distance.

Of course, even a tiny change can alter the impression of a person’s face, and you can even fake your gender. That’s why you can become a different person.

The problem is that you cannot become someone specific. If you tried to change your own face to match someone else’s, you would have to completely alter the facial contours, move the positions of the eyes, nose, and mouth, change the skin color and hair texture—and even that might not be enough.

While you can use a maximum amount of change to become a “nobody,” you cannot become a “somebody else.”

“M-maybe they just happened to have a face that could be easily transformed into a double of Princess Victie!” Bob said desperately.

“I suspect that is off the mark,” Yasha said in a quiet voice.

“I believe Lord Bob’s theory is a bit too forced. Furthermore, as Lord Geralt said, even if someone could disguise themselves as Princess Victie, I don’t think it solves anything.”

“Well, that’s true,” Geralt agreed calmly, showing no sign of being offended.

“The two guards checked the chapel after every award, so we have no idea at what point a switch could have been made. Unless Jin and Raika were accomplices, but that’s a different story.”

“That—”

“That is impossible,” Ice objected, cutting Raika off before she could speak.

“Raika was chosen for this duty specifically because she is the youngest member of the Royal Guard and has no background ties revealed by our investigation. In other words, this award ceremony was her very first contact with Jin. Are you suggesting that two people who just met for the first time teamed up to commit an atrocity like the murder of Victie in just half a day?”

“Valid point.”

Geralt nodded and twirled his cane.

“Then a switch is indeed impossible. However, the truth of the incident has been made clear.”

He made the declaration calmly, without a hint of hesitation.