Chapter 28

“Master Geralt, you also considered the possibility of a switch, didn’t you?”

“I did. But in the end, I discarded that theory.”

Geralt propped up his cane and rested his chin on it.

“Does everyone remember what caused the switch theory to be rejected?”

“It was because you lot shamelessly snuck into the cathedral’s basement and saw Saint Fata’s face,” Mintz spat, the corners of his eyes twitching as his anger resurfaced.

“Correct. Because of that, we concluded there was no timing available for a switch, and the theory was dismissed. However, strictly speaking, those aren’t the only factors that negate a switch. There is the fact that the room wasn’t bloodied and no body was present when Mr. Jin and Miss Raika checked after every presentation—and, of course, the fact that the cathedral was a sealed room. These remain powerful arguments against a switch.”

“So, does that mean a switch never actually happened after all?”

Bob blinked rapidly, his eyes darting around as if anxious about where my story was heading.

“No. Look, regardless of whether a switch occurred, it’s an undeniable fact that the cathedral eventually became bloodied and a corpse appeared. This means those ‘negating factors’ must be illusions. Therefore, a method to enter the supposedly sealed cathedral must exist, as must a method to make a bloodied room and a corpse appear.”

“Indeed. Even if one adopts the outsider theory, those points cannot be ignored,” Ice admitted, closing her eyes.

“Exactly. So, let’s first solve the mystery of the sealed room. Though, to be honest, it isn’t much of a mystery at all.”

Yes, it was a pathetically simple trick.

“Is it really that simple?” Geralt raised his head from his cane, his eyes wide.

“Yes, it’s surprisingly simple. Bob, do you remember when they explained that the door wouldn’t open without two keys, and you tilted your head as if something felt off?”

“Huh? Oh… yeah.”

Caught off guard by being addressed, Bob looked a bit flustered.

“But I didn’t really know what felt weird. It was just a gut feeling.”

“That’s quite enough. Now, why did Bob feel that way? He isn’t familiar with this hall, nor did he design the door. The reason was simple: Bob has nerves of steel.”

“Hey, you!”

Thinking he was being insulted, Bob stood up, his face turning red as an imp’s.

I ignored him and continued.

“Listen. What I mean is that he wasn’t nervous when he entered the cathedral. That’s why he felt a discrepancy in the explanation. He intuitively sensed the explanation wasn’t entirely accurate.”

“Nonsense. The door cannot open without the keys,” Ice countered calmly.

“Is that so? Unlike Bob, I was so pathetically nervous that I don’t remember the interior of the cathedral very well. Kirio is likely the same. But if I calmly trace back my memories, I recall something. We entered the cathedral, the door closed behind us, and it locked. However, when the ceremony ended and we left the cathedral, I don’t recall anyone unlocking the door from the outside.”

Several people gasped as I spoke.

On the other hand, some looked puzzled, as if wondering what the big deal was.

One of them, Archbishop Mintz, spoke up.

“What are you saying? That’s only natural, if you open it from the inside—”

He cut himself off, his eyes widening so much it looked like they might fall out.

“Impossible.”

“Yes, exactly. If you think about it calmly, it’s common sense. If you built a door that couldn’t be opened from the inside, that wouldn’t be a cathedral—it would be a prison cell. No one would design a place to imprison the Princess. Especially since, to those who know her well, the idea of the Princess disobeying an order is unthinkable. It’s obvious, but we, who didn’t know the door’s structure, heard your explanation that it was ‘absolutely impossible to open without the keys’ and unconsciously assumed that applied to both sides.”

“So that was it after all…”

The one who whispered this was Yasha—the person I had asked “does the door open from the inside?” right before starting my deduction. Having expected this development from the moment I asked, Yasha simply closed her eyes as if in confession rather than surprise.

“Nonsense… how could…”

Mintz stood up, his face pale.

“Why did such a foolish misunderstanding occur? Because for anyone who knew Princess Victie, the idea of her opening the door from the inside wasn’t even an option. You all operated on the premise that she would never do anything other than what she was told. Even Yasha, who cared for her for so long, felt the same. But for us, who don’t know the Princess that well, the fact that the door opens from the inside means the cathedral wasn’t a sealed room at all.”

Which means:

“Princess Victie simply had to open the door from the inside and invite the culprit in.”

“That’s a lie!”

Uraenus stood up after Mintz, letting out a pained cry.

“Stop, Uraenus. It is plausible. It was a possibility we should have considered,” Ice’s heavy voice cut through his scream.

“That girl was not a doll. She was a human being. She was a human.”

At Ice’s quiet, gut-wrenching admission of regret, Mintz and Uraenus sank back into their seats, looking like their souls had been hollowed out.

“Even after her death, we were unconsciously denying the existence of her will. How wretched,” Ice whispered, a lonely, chilling smile touching her lips. “In the end, it seems I could never be a parent to her.”

“Now, the cathedral is no longer a sealed room.”

Completely ignoring her tragic mutterings, I pressed on.

“Let’s set aside for now what method was used to make Princess Victie open the door or why she agreed to it. What matters is the next point: when did the culprit switch places with Princess Victie?”

“It must have been right after the final presentation—Kirio’s—ended. Since Kirio also confirmed her face, and since Kirio isn’t the culprit, that’s the only conclusion,” Merlin said, his voice trailing off weakly, likely out of consideration for Kirio.

“Wait a minute. But Jin and I checked the cathedral right after the final presentation, just before we were supposed to take the Princess to her room. At that time, there was nothing unusual in the cathedral.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Let’s put that aside for a moment.”

I held up a hand to stop Raika and Jin.

“The mystery of how the cathedral became bloodied and how the corpse appeared is a separate matter. For now, let’s focus purely on when the switch occurred.”

“Then it must have been right after Kirio’s presentation.”

“Ah, I see. In other words, it’s like this,” Bob began boastfully. “The culprit left the hall at some point and hid behind it. Then they watched for their chance, and the moment Kirio and the guards entered the hall—”

“Wait,” Jin interrupted. “During Kirio’s final turn, we didn’t enter the hall.”

“Huh?” Bob’s smug expression froze.

“Naturally. There was no need to go fetch the next person.”

“Exactly. So if someone had headed toward the cathedral at that timing, we would have noticed.”

“Then how about this?” Leo offered an alternative. “The culprit was behind the cathedral, hiding and watching as Kirio and the others left. Once they were far enough away, the culprit circled around to the front of the cathedral and went inside.”

“That’s a tightrope walk. If even one of those three had looked back for a second, it would have been over,” Ice countered in my place.

“Yes, exactly. As a plan, it’s sloppy. More than that, waiting outside the cathedral is far too dangerous and reliant on luck. If either guard had decided to do a quick lap around the cathedral while waiting for the ceremony to end, the culprit would have been caught.”

“Then there is only one possibility left.”

Bob managed the clever feat of grinning while simultaneously glaring at Kirio.

“The culprit is Kirio.”

“W-Wait a minute, that’s impossible! After my presentation ended, I… I went to Van’s room.”

By the end of her sentence, Kirio’s ears were bright red, and she looked down, mumbling under her breath.

“Then it’s a conspiracy! Kirio didn’t actually see the Princess, but she lied and said she did.”

“No way…”

Kirio looked at me as if clinging to a lifeline.

“Bob, your line of thinking is actually quite consistent.”

However, to Kirio’s shock, I spoke as if I were agreeing with Bob’s logic. Her face paled with dismay.

Even Bob looked surprised. He had surely expected me to defend Kirio, since we were usually on such good terms.

But a detective need only think about bringing the case to a close. Sentiment is unnecessary.

“In fact, if we look at it that way, the matter is settled. Though personally, I find it hard to believe this was a multi-person crime. It’s difficult to imagine a motive for a case like this that several people could share. Nevertheless, that’s not enough evidence to dismiss the possibility of accomplices. Now, let’s assume Kirio was an accomplice. The problem remains: when did the switch occur? Bob, your presentation was right before hers, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s right. So, did the switch happen between the end of my turn and the start of Kirio’s?”

As he spoke, Bob’s voice lacked its usual confidence.

“In that case, based on your earlier theory, Bob, was the culprit waiting outside the hall?”

“W-Wait, hold on. I said that in the heat of the moment, but thinking about it now, that plan is also dangerous. They’d have to watch for me and the guards to enter the hall, right? But if they’re watching us, that means we could see them too.”

“And for that matter, when exactly did this person go outside?” Raika questioned. “Slipping out after the presentations started would still carry the risk of being spotted by us guards.”

“Th-Then they were waiting out there since before the presentations began! Everyone was at lunch, so it was after that.”

“If we’re talking about that timing… let’s see,” Jin began to analyze and supplement. “After lunch, everyone went up to the second floor. Then the Princess, her attendant, the King, the Queen, and the Archbishop had their briefing. Once that was over, the Princess and we guards headed straight for the cathedral. It would have been difficult for anyone involved in that briefing to slip outside without us noticing.”

“Then it’s someone who wasn’t in the briefing!” Bob shouted, jumping on the idea as a reflex.

“Let’s see, that would be…” Arle began counting the remaining people on her fingers.

“Wait. To begin with, those of us receiving awards couldn’t exactly be waiting outside at that point,” I reminded them, just to be sure.

“Besides, I met Yasha in the Grand Hall when I got a bit hungry after my presentation,” Leo pointed out with an amused chuckle.

“In that case, the only one left is… hm? Is it just me?”

Merlin spoke, then froze as if surprised by his own statement.

“It would seem so. Are you the culprit, Master?”

When I asked, he barked back, “Of course not! Besides, Bob’s plan is dangerous, as he said himself. And unlike you young people, I can’t exactly sprint. It’s doubtful whether I could reach the cathedral in the time the guards are inside the hall.”

“Huh? Couldn’t you just use magic to enhance your body?” Jin asked, looking puzzled.

“If I used body enhancement to sprint at my age, the backlash would have me unable to move a single step by now!”

“Ah, I guess that makes sense.”

“Wait, wait! I’ve got it!”

Now that Jin was satisfied, Bob started talking again.

“The part about waiting outside was wrong. It’s here! The Grand Hall!”

This time, Bob’s face overflowed with confidence. It was his usual arrogant, overbearing expression.

“They waited here, and once they saw the guards go up to the second floor, they headed for the cathedral!”

“By ‘saw,’ do you mean they were watching from the Grand Hall entrance to see if we went up the stairs the whole time?” Jin countered, sounding exasperated.

“And when did they supposedly start waiting in the Grand Hall?” Arle added another question.

“W-Well, let’s see… Yasha was cleaning up, so it was after that was finished and Yasha went back to their room. That’s it! I passed Yasha right then, and then the three of us headed to the cathedral. That’s the timing!”

Bob shouted with a look of pure joy, as if all mysteries had been solved.

“And how would they know exactly when Yasha would finish cleaning?”

“E-Eh? W-Well, they’d watch the hallway from their room door and wait for Yasha to return to their room, obviously!”

“It seems like all your deductions involve ‘watching’ someone, Bob,” Kirio interjected, almost instinctively. “Such a vague and dangerous method.”

Bob glared at her with a fierce expression.

It was about time. I decided to deliver the finishing blow.

“More importantly, what if Yasha hadn’t finished cleaning by the time Kirio’s turn came around?”

“Hah?! Th-That wouldn’t happen! There’s no way the cleanup would take that long!”

Bob countered, though he was clearly flustered.

“Now, now. Didn’t you say Yasha’s cleanup actually finished right when you were heading to the cathedral? If the timing had shifted by even twenty minutes, the plan would have failed.”

“Since there are no plans to use this hall until the graduation ceremony once this award ceremony is over, I was doing a rather thorough job of washing the dishes and cleaning. It was indeed a long cleanup, and it is entirely possible it could have taken even longer,” Yasha herself said.

“Gah… mu…”

Bob’s mouth worked wordlessly for a moment before he blurted out, “Right! Yasha is an accomplice too!”

“Are you just trying to force your logic by making everyone an accomplice whenever it’s inconvenient for you?” Leo asked, looking genuinely fed up.

“That’s also hard to believe. At least, as far as a premeditated crime is concerned,” I replied, and everyone turned to look at me.

They didn’t seem to understand what I meant.

“Oh, it’s not that complicated. No one was supposed to leave their room unless they had business. So, conversely, everyone could move around freely. Leo, I believe you said something like that.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“That’s true in most cases, but there is one person it doesn’t apply to: Yasha. You proved it yourself, Leo. You went to the Grand Hall because you were hungry and asked Yasha for something to eat, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, I did…”

“Listen, everyone. Yasha is the only person among us who could be sought out at any moment. If we needed anything, we would ask Yasha. Of course, it’s debatable whether requests would actually flood in under these circumstances. But the possibility isn’t that low. In fact, Leo did ask for a light meal. In other words, there was always a chance Yasha would be found and given a task, which would naturally delay the cleanup of the Grand Hall. Furthermore, as long as Yasha was in the Grand Hall, there was always the possibility that someone would come looking for her. Even if Yasha were an accomplice, she wouldn’t be able to fulfill the role of waiting in the Grand Hall.”

“Hm, hmmm… what if it was a plan where either outcome was fine?”

Geralt, who had been listening to our conversation with interest, joined in.

“Wh-What do you mean?” King Uraenus asked, his eyes wide.

“In other words, it’s like this,” Geralt began to explain with gestures. “In reality, they were lucky enough not to meet anyone in the Grand Hall, but the plan accounted for the possibility that they might. They could have just stayed in the Grand Hall with some made-up reason—saying they were thirsty, for example. And once the two guards went up to the second flo—ah, I see. That won’t work.”

Geralt withdrew his own theory with a wry smile.

“If someone else were there, they couldn’t exactly stand by the Grand Hall exit and watch the entrance hall or the stairs the whole time, could they?”

“I get it! I get it already!” Bob shouted desperately.

“So the switch didn’t happen during my turn, fine!”

Bob turned away, sulking.

“That doesn’t solve anything. If that’s the case, then the switch must have happened even earlier. Are we all in agreement up to this point?”

There were no objections to my confirmation.

“Now, that leads to something strange. Before Bob, it was me. But the same problem applies to the time between the end of my presentation and the end of Bob’s. In fact, it’s even harder because Yasha was actually in the Grand Hall. Yasha, no one else came to the Grand Hall during that time, right?”

“Indeed. The only person I met while I was in the Grand Hall was Lord Leo.”

“Then the switch must have happened before my presentation. But I also confirmed the Princess’s face. What does that mean?”

“Oh, it’s simple,” Bob snapped dismissively. “You’re an accomplice too. You and Kirio are both lying.”

Several people chuckled at Bob’s absurd statement.

But I didn’t laugh; I nodded deeply.

“Exactly. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

The room fell into silence.

“Um… young man,” Geralt said after a pause, looking suspicious. “Is that a confession?”

“No. There is one piece of evidence for deduction that only I can use: I know that I cannot possibly be the culprit.”

“Hey, are you messing with us?” Jin began to tap his foot impatiently, not hiding his irritation.

“No, I’m being serious. Kirio’s impression of this case was that it couldn’t be possible unless multiple people were lying, and she was right. If Kirio and I were lying, the case would make sense. However, I am at least not an accomplice.”

“What are you trying to say? I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Get to the point,” Ice said, her confusion finally showing.

“Yes. In other words, Kirio and I were lying without realizing we were lying.”

“Wait, wh-what? Me too? A lie?” Kirio clutched her head.

“By ‘lying,’ do you mean about confirming the face?” Yasha asked.

“No, that’s not it. I certainly saw the face during the ceremony.”

“Then was it a lie that the face looked exactly like the Princess you knew? Maybe it didn’t actually look that much like her?”

“No, it was the exact same face as the statue of Saint Fata I saw that day.”

I also denied Arle’s question.

“The lie happened even before that.”

Yes, Kirio and I had been lying from the very beginning.

“The lie is that we knew Princess Victie’s face. We have never actually seen Princess Victie’s face. All we knew was the face of the statue of Saint Fata we saw that day.”

“Hey, enough of this! It’s the same thing! That statue and the Princess—”

Archbishop Mintz stopped right there.

His face turned as white as paper, his words cut off—he might have even stopped breathing.

“That… statue… and the Princess…”

Mintz stood up, staggering.

The others didn’t seem to understand yet; they looked at the clearly abnormal state of the Archbishop with surprise.

“Nonsense! Impossible! Anything but that! It’s impossible!”

Suddenly, Mintz let out a scream.

“In other words,” I spoke up, putting all my strength into my voice to be heard over his scream.

“Because we were led to believe that the statue had the same face as the Princess, Kirio and I ended up lying. That’s what happened. Isn’t that right? The face of that statue looks nothing like Princess Victie, nor Saint Fata. It’s a completely different statue.”

Speaking as calmly as I possibly could while fighting back the tremors in my body, I turned my face.

Toward the culprit.

“Leo.”

Named by me, Leo turned his golden eyes straight toward me with his usual self-assured attitude.