Chapter 20

“Moon’s acting was quite impressive as well.”

Bart said so cheerfully. During the trick, it had been Bart who used wind magic to carry a voice into the ghostly illusion created by Kaō, but Moon had actually produced the voice itself. Bart praised him without reservation for skillfully handling the instruction to improvise whenever the situation deviated from the lines they had prepared in advance.

“That final growl from the magical beast was perfect. Still, Kaō-dono’s technique is unusual. What is it called?”

“That was Oboro Dance. I can manipulate plants as well, you see.”

The white fox with the floral markings spoke proudly, and Princess Kana took over from there to explain.

“You scatter medicinal herbs blended according to the intended effect, either as powder or liquid. This time, we used a liquid that causes hallucinations when inhaled, along with bamboo-charcoal powder to make it appear like black smoke. However, the liquid contains poison, so it cannot be used too often.”

Bart nodded in understanding. As one would expect of a Royal Court Magician, he was intensely curious about techniques from another world and admitted that he had hardly been able to contain his interest while Kaō and the princess were using theirs.

“And Saintess, that technique you used to conceal yourself was magnificent!”

“Was it? Since it was my first time using it, I was somewhat worried whether it would work properly. Still, I suppose it earned a passing mark.”

The praise left the princess feeling slightly embarrassed, but she was relieved that the plan had proceeded largely as intended.

The procedure this time had begun with preparing a jar closely resembling the one in question, then placing inside it a magic circle for storing audio along with the plants Kaō needed for his technique.

Princess Kana then used Ongyō Art to place it without being seen. After she returned to a safe location, Kaō, who had been waiting some distance away, activated his technique and caused Darren to hallucinate.

After that, Bart and Moon used wind magic to send the voice, completing the “writhing ghost.” From there, everything depended on how much the terrified Darren would reveal, but the princess believed the results had been exactly as good as she had hoped.

“Now then. We should deliver this to Aldridge at once.”

Saying that, she held a hand over the jar and chanted a purification mantra as an additional precaution.

“On Shuda Shuda, On Shuda Shuda, On Shuda Shuda.”

The jar and the area around it glowed softly before the light quickly faded. Once the princess nodded that it was now safe to touch, Bart picked it up and headed toward the chancellor, who had been growing impatient waiting for the result.

Using Darren’s words stored in the magic circle as evidence, they interrogated Norman, the laborer captured that same day, and he quickly confessed the name of the Duke of Arclight. The official record, however, did not mention that Princess Kana had stood beside the interrogator and continuously made Moon growl.

Norman’s testimony led to the capture of one gardener and two female cleaners as well.

And after the gardener was pressured into talking, they discovered that the duke had also arranged to bury one of the cursed jars within the royal palace.

(Fortunately, they caught them before the jar was brought inside, but if they had succeeded, how terrible a disaster might have occurred…)

An unpleasant bead of sweat ran down Beaton’s back when he heard the report.

Even after uncovering that much, however, they still lacked decisive evidence that would allow them to arrest the Duke of Arclight. Every instruction the duke had given his subordinates had been delivered verbally, with not a single written order left behind.

Yet unexpectedly, a solution emerged from an entirely different direction. They discovered that the recommendation letter for Darren had been written by the Arclight household’s butler. Though Beaton was somewhat dissatisfied with the method, he decided to use that fact.

The culprit behind the 【murder connected to the royal palace infiltration and theft case】 was the duke’s illegitimate son, and the person who had recommended that man was the duke’s own butler. Therefore, by the logic that 【it was only natural to suspect the duke himself of involvement in the incident】, they decided to arrest him.

However, since a duke held the highest rank in the kingdom beneath the royal family, preparations for the arrest were made in complete secrecy to prevent the destruction of evidence or any attempt to flee.

Early the next morning, before dawn had fully broken, Princess Kana released Zenki and Goki from their duties. At the same time, a force of one hundred and fifty knights and magicians led by Knight Commander Beaton set out for the Duke of Arclight’s residence.

With arrest warrants signed by William and the queen in hand, Beaton pushed through the gate as though sweeping the gatekeepers aside and forced open the front door. At the same time, every entrance and exit was sealed, and ignoring the butler and guards who tried to stop them, the group stormed into the duke’s private chambers.

“What is all this noise?! What in the world is happening?!”

The knights surrounded the duke, who was still in bed wearing nightclothes, and immediately bound his hands behind his back.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?! Do you have any idea who I am?! Beaton, you will not be forgiven simply by saying this was a mistake! You understand that, don’t you?!”

“Of course, Duke Arclight. You are suspected of high treason. I ask that you come with us peacefully.”

“On what evidence do you make such an accusation?!”

Perhaps having heard the commotion, the duchess and their daughter appeared with a maid, both wearing anxious expressions. The two women had been supporting each other, but the moment they saw the duke bound, their faces changed color, and from the demeanor of the knights around them, they appeared to realize the seriousness of the situation.

“My dear, what is the meaning of this…?”

“Father…”

“There is no meaning to it! These fools have misunderstood something! Hey, untie me at once!”

“There is no misunderstanding. The duchess and your daughter have also been summoned for questioning. We do not wish to use force against either of you. You will be given time to dress and prepare yourselves, but I strongly advise you not to attempt escape or resistance.”

“But… what could my husband, or any of us, possibly have done…?”

“Mother, I’m sure the misunderstanding will be cleared up immediately. It must be…”

The maids attending them also voiced agreement with the duchess and her daughter as they defended the duke and insisted on his innocence, but behind Beaton, magicians and knights had already begun searching throughout the mansion for evidence of ties to the empire. The study and private rooms were being searched especially thoroughly.

“You can search all you like! You will find nothing!”

Even while bound, the duke declared that boldly. Standing immediately beside him was a knight in unusual armor, wearing a helmet adorned with fox-ear decorations. The knight had white hair tied into a single tail behind him and narrow, slightly upturned eyes. He held the end of the rope binding the duke and occasionally gave it a tug.

After a while, a young girl’s voice suddenly echoed from somewhere.

“Beaton, check the daughter’s dressing room. The bottom of the drawer containing those things called drawers appears to be double-layered. Search there. Ah, it seems to be locked with magic.”

“Wha—!”

The duke’s eyes widened in shock at those words. At the same moment, his daughter cried out.

“Please stop! To search… to search a place like that… Knight Commander, I beg you, that is far too embarrassing…”

Her face turned bright red as she lowered her head. Even the knights seemed hesitant to investigate such a place, and for a moment they stopped moving and looked toward their commander. Then,

“But it was thy father who hid various things there.”

The same voice sounded once more.

At that, the attitudes of the duchess and daughter, who until then had defended their husband and father, changed completely.

The duchess fixed the duke with a gaze colder and sharper than ice, while his daughter glared at him with eyes blazing like fire. Both gazes contained anger so intense that it could almost be called murderous.

“Father… you opened my…”

“You… opened Saria’s…”　

““underwear drawer?””

At the same time, the female knights and magicians present also directed murderous glares toward the duke.

“Eek…”

The pressure was terrifying enough not only for the duke, but for every man present, and even Beaton retreated about two steps.

(It seems that to his wife and daughter, opening the girl’s underwear drawer is a graver crime than betraying the kingdom… Still, discovering that Ongyō Art and Shafuku Zōkin Art can be used simultaneously was quite a valuable gain.)

In the end, it was decided that several female knights and magicians would search the underwear drawer with the daughter present.

Naturally, they discovered numerous pieces of evidence, including documents proving connections to the empire, so the duke was taken directly to the castle’s underground dungeon, while the duchess and daughter were confined in the noble guest cells.

On the afternoon of the day Princess Kana released Zenki and Goki from their guard duties, Aldridge found himself receiving one visitor after another.

One was the Pope, who suddenly requested an audience without any prior notice. The other was Marquis Blacker, Trisha’s father. Upon hearing of Duke Arclight’s arrest, Aldridge had sent him a letter informing him that the royal consort and Second Prince had died.

While Aldridge was receiving the Pope in his office, Marquis Blacker burst inside.

“Chancellor, what is the meaning of this?! Is it true that my daughter—Trisha—and Alton are dead?! Why in the world…?!”

From his pale face and disheveled hair, it was obvious to everyone that he had rushed over immediately after receiving the news.

“You are before His Holiness. Please do not raise your voice in such a manner.”

“But still!”

“Marquis Blacker. This matter has caused me great pain as well. I will explain everything, so please, take a seat.”

After inviting the marquis and Pope to sit on the sofas beside the low table, Aldridge asked a nearby civil official to bring additional tea, then seated himself in the chair opposite them.

The tea was prepared immediately, and everyone else was dismissed. Now only the three of them remained inside the office.

The marquis was the first to speak.

“Chancellor. I want only the facts! I will not tolerate lies or deception of any kind!”

“By the name of the goddess Drāra. First, Marquis, have you heard about the mysterious illness?”

“Yes. I heard that an unidentified illness broke out in the castle immediately after the Saintess and the others departed. That’s why I hurried here to visit them, only to be thrown into the moat.”

Aldridge nodded at the marquis’s answer and proceeded to state only the facts.

“By that time, both of them were already in a condition where it was completely impossible for them to even sit up. His Majesty was in the same state.”

“What?! His Majesty too?”

The chancellor nodded with a pained expression, then said,

“By the way, would you take a look at these?”

He stood, brought two items over from his desk, and placed them side by side on the low table. One was Princess Kana’s map, and the other was a cursed jar.

“First, this is the map the Saintess created the day after arriving here. These red marks indicate the distribution of magical beasts.”

“And what of it?!”

“Look closely. Here. Do you not find something strange?”

Aldridge pointed toward the territory of Duke Arclight.

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing strange… no, perhaps a little… No, this is far more than a little strange. There are unnaturally few here. This region has a large forest and a major highway, yet not only are there fewer than in my own territory, there are fewer even than in the viscounty right beside it… But I asked about Trisha and Alton. Are you saying this has something to do with Trisha’s death?”

Rather than answer that question, the chancellor gestured toward the jar beside the map, directing the marquis’s attention to it.

“Next, this.”

“What is it?”

“A jar carrying a curse. Ah, please do not worry. The Saintess has already purified it, so it is harmless. During this expedition, the Saintess traveled with Prince William and the extermination force to purify the area around Clutchfield, where large-scale mana pools had appeared. Apparently, objects like this were buried in every mana pool they purified. According to the Saintess, these cursed vessels may have been the cause of the mana pools themselves.”

“What?! Then for the past two years, someone has been placing curses upon our kingdom’s territory? Your Holiness, is something like that even possible?”

Though the question had suddenly been directed at him, the Pope had been following the conversation until then. He prefaced his answer by saying that he was not especially knowledgeable about curses themselves, then replied,

“Although it has already been purified, I can still sense powerful resentment and malice from this jar. I believe the Saintess’s assessment is likely correct.”

He spoke while staring at the jar as though looking at something filthy. The marquis accepted his explanation, yet still looked unable to understand how any of it connected to the deaths of his beloved daughter and grandson.

“And finally, one more important fact. On the day the Saintess Summoning was performed, intruders entered the private rooms of the royal consort and the Second Prince.”

The marquis’s eyes widened in shock. At last, the earlier explanation and the deaths of his daughter and grandson seemed to begin connecting inside his mind, and his expression turned thoughtful.

“Fortunately, the intruders were apprehended quickly and thrown into the underground cells, but they were murdered soon afterward. And the killers were a man who had infiltrated the royal palace as a guard while secretly being the illegitimate son of this person, along with his companions.”

Tap. His finger indicated the ducal territory once more.

“Surely a perceptive man such as yourself already understands what all of this means, Marquis?”

After a short pause, Aldridge added,

“To our shame, we focused entirely on what the intruders had stolen.”

“Then you mean that one of these was brought into my daughter’s and grandson’s rooms at that time…? Then answer me this: why were the queen and First Prince unharmed?”

“The queen spent a considerable amount of time with the Saintess that day, guiding her around, and while Prince William may have returned to his room that day, from the following day onward he remained occupied with expedition preparations and departed without returning to his private quarters.”

“So they were not exposed enough to suffer much effect…?”

“Furthermore, after His Majesty became unable to rise from bed, the queen became extremely busy serving in his place. She therefore had no time to return to her room and instead slept in the small rest chamber beside her office.”

Everything Aldridge said was fact. How those facts were assembled was entirely up to the marquis. And as expected, the mind of a man prone to conspiracy theories arranged them in precisely the direction most convenient for Aldridge.

“Then even if such a thing had been brought into their rooms, it would hardly have affected them. Then why His Majesty… no, never mind that. Are you saying this was all the duke’s conspiracy?! That he drove our kingdom into crisis and ultimately targeted the lives of the royal family?”

“It appears the duke wished to take the throne himself. We discovered this morning, during the search of his residence, that he had even entered into a secret agreement with the empire for that purpose.”

That too was fact. And it was more than enough to reinforce the marquis’s conclusion.

“How utterly foolish! A ducal house that should support the royal family instead conspires with another nation and schemes to usurp the throne! And because of that, my daughter and grandson…”

As he watched the marquis bow his head and tremble, fists clenched so tightly they turned white, Aldridge felt a certain measure of guilt. Still, as promised, he had spoken only facts. And it was not as though everything the marquis had inferred was pure delusion.

After all, if the duke had not committed these acts, there would have been no Saintess Summoning, and neither of them would have died.

(The marquis may have certain troublesome tendencies, but he is a capable man. There is no benefit whatsoever in allowing him to harbor malice or hostility toward the Saintess. In that case, the best course is to have the duke shoulder all the blame!)

“And His Majesty’s condition…?”

At those words, Aldridge’s expression became even more grief-stricken, and he shook his head.

“Regrettably… it would be fair to say that he passed away at nearly the same time as Lady Trisha.”

For some reason, those words seemed to comfort the marquis, and his expression softened slightly.

“The duke is… in the cells?”

“Yes. He and his illegitimate son are both being held in the underground dungeon. They must receive the appropriate judgment.”

“Can I see him?”

“If you wish, immediately. I will have the commander of the Second Knight Order escort you.”

“Please do. …And afterward, have me taken to the Royal Mausoleum as well…”

“Understood. I will make the arrangements.”

Aldridge watched the marquis leave with slumped shoulders alongside the deputy commander. The moment he closed the door behind them, the Pope spoke as though he had been waiting.

“You certainly did speak only facts, without uttering a single lie or falsehood.”

There was a faint edge to his tone.