CH 63

“This is…”

“Yes, the assassin who desired to see His Highness.”

When I entered the room, there was a cloth-wrapped body in the center of the floor.

That’s the assassin who came to see me…

“Hanna.”

“Yes.”

Hanna approaches the body and removes the clothes, which are now in rigor mortis (stiffen) as she examines it for any clues.

“… At the very least, there is no damage to the body, so we know he was poisoned. I also looked through the clothes, but nothing seems to give us any hints…”

“All right…”

I’m curious about what this man was trying to tell me…

Why would a marquis’s son want to be an assassin in the first place?

“Hanna, you said the body was undamaged, but were there any traces indicating that it was a Carolin Empire assassin?”

“No, such marks did not exist—which means…”

“… So he wasn’t an assassin from the start.”

I mumble a few words.

“Wait a second! During interrogation, this man claimed to be an assassin! I’ve heard it from other soldiers as well!”

“Then he must have purposely told the Marquess he was an assassin—and he wanted to say something to me without disclosing it to anyone.”

But would a man who had gone to such lengths be murdered without leaving any clues?

I reached the corpse.

“Your Highness, your hands are going to get dirty.”

“What are you talking about? —Hanna’s hands are also dirty. There’s no reason for you to be dirty, and I shouldn’t be either.”

Hanna stops me, but I don’t care because I’m investigating the body.

I could feel Hanna looking at me with a slightly heated gaze, but I ignored it for now.

Anyway, I need to find any evidence that this man may have left behind.

But I couldn’t find anything like that on his body or in his mouth.

In that case, yes.

“…Hanna, let us open the man’s stomach.”

“What?!…alright.”

Hanna borrows a dagger from a soldier nearby and uses her practiced hands to cut open the belly of the dead man.

Naturally, the guts are exposed, and Liz and Nora turn their heads away involuntarily.

She then opened the stomach and discovered

“…Your Highness, there was a folded piece of paper inside.”

“We’ll see…”

I take the piece of paper, stained with blood and stomach contents, and I open it.

There is only…

C and S

That’s exactly what it says.

“Two alphabet letters— “C” and “S” —appear to be the initials of something.”

“Initials?”

The blue-faced Liz asks timidly.

“Hmm. It’s hidden all the way down to the stomach. I suppose that’s what he was trying to tell me.”

Yes…”

But I’m not sure what these initials mean.

However, because he has been attempting to contact me and posing as an assassin, it appears that he is from Princess Roxanne’s side.

“In that case, it has to be related to Princess Roxanne…”

“Wait…N-No way, “C” and “S.”

“Did anything come to mind, Liz?”

“B-but it’s difficult to imagine…” She’s so dedicated to her…”

“Is that someone I also know?”

“Yes…”

Liz responded with a sad expression.

Someone I know with the initials “C” and “S”… What?!

“Collete Silvestre.”

Liz nodded silently when I muttered the name.

“B-But she’s Princess Roxanne’s lady-in-waiting and has known each other since they were children! She’d never betray her…”

“Exactly, as you say…”

Liz bit her lower lip in response to my perplexing words.

That would be too sad if that were true…

“…Not quite yet. We have yet to hear from her.”

“Dee-sama…?”

Yes, we have not heard from Lady Collete.

And perhaps there are circumstances compelling her to do so.

“Everyone! I’m sorry, but we have to return to the Royal Capital right now! And we will discover the truth!”

“Yes!”

Liz looked up and vigorously nodded when I yelled.

That’s right! First and foremost, we must listen to what she has to say! Before we worry or become depressed!

“Your Excellency Metzelder, please forgive me for leaving without adequately thanking you for your hospitality.”

“Fufu… Then bring ten bottles of wine the next time we meet again. And… I’ll also thoroughly investigate how this man was killed and who sent the assassins yesterday.”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you.”

I shake the Marquess’s hand firmly and head straight to the mansion’s front door.

And then, I caught a glimpse of Gustav and the Marquess exchanging lonely glances as we parted.

Your Excellency Metzelder…

When this is finished, please wait for me to deliver the apologetic wine with Gustav.

We got into the carriage and drove quickly to the capital.