“I’m sorry, Captain. It’s not that I was absolutely planning not to report it. I just wanted to wait until I was more certain! Yes, it definitely wasn’t an omission. I was going to check a few things first and then tell you, but—uh.”
“……”
Nathan, whom Lou had expected to thunder at him, simply turned around and walked away.
Since he had never acted like this before, Lou’s eyes trembled.
“…Wow. I’m really dead now.”
“Good job, you idiot.”
“I’ll pray for your soul. Seriously, you always cause trouble at the most important moments.”
“Hey, kick him.”
While the officers took it upon themselves to punish Lou—
Nathan, having even forgotten that Lou needed to be punished, went straight to his room.
The first thing he checked was the investigation materials and reports.
The Valencia family had moved extremely discreetly while gathering evidence, worried that the Savanio might notice.
「No other traces of investigation.」
“……”
A sentence he had previously dismissed as insignificant now felt deeply meaningful.
Why were there no other traces of investigation?
There was clearly someone who had noticed the matter beforehand, organized everything regarding where and what the evidence was, and handed it over to them.
Nathan had even met the person who was supposedly the academy classmate of the physician who had handled Lady Savanio’s birth.
“You’re certain you’ve never mentioned it anywhere?”
“Yes. In fact, I was surprised when someone asked me about that detail. Are you really saying Anderson never told anyone besides me?”
“……”
It was fortunate that he had sent away the servants and escort knights.
Even in a situation like this, he found it absurd that his thoughts kept turning toward her.
“…For now, it would be best to keep this matter confidential. Can I trust you?”
Clink—
“……!”
A pouch filled with gold coins landed on the table.
After noticing the Valencia crest engraved on Nathan’s buttons, Billy swallowed nervously.
“Yes. I won’t mention this matter again.”
“Good. I trust you.”
After leaving the detached residence where the witnesses had been gathered and returning to his room, Nathan buried his face in both hands.
For some reason, a surge of betrayal rose within him.
“…So that’s why you were trying to keep your distance.”
Because she was hiding something.
Not because of that damned fiancé or Valencia.
That must have been why she had wanted to keep her distance from him so desperately.
For a moment, what had happened in the prison came back to him.
Yet now he had reached the point where he even questioned whether that had been genuine.
‘Let’s keep our distance.’
Fine.
But that would only happen after all of these suspicions had been cleared up.
Why had she dragged the matter involving him and his mother into the light?
What other intentions was she hiding?
Only after uncovering every last one of her hidden motives would he let her go.
“……”
Soon, he regained his composure and pulled the bell cord.
For now, reinvestigating Rachel Ingrave came first.
Meanwhile, Rachel, who thought she had finally wrapped everything up, decided it was time to visit the family library.
At present, her parents were busy attending all sorts of balls, parties, and meetings whenever they weren’t sleeping.
Her younger brother was still young and attending knight school, so he was out of the question.
And ever since that incident, the butler had not even made so much as a sound, making this the perfect time to begin her work.
On top of that, she had a convenient excuse.
She had just broken off her engagement and claimed that she would spend some time quietly reading books at the estate until things settled down.
Who would object to that?
“Let’s go to the library.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
The library contained the family’s history, the journals of previous heads of the family, books related to supernatural abilities, and other precious materials, so security was extremely strict.
When Rachel arrived at the library, the knights standing guard opened the door for her.
Upon entering, she saw a massive space spanning two floors.
Books packed tightly together.
Countless bookshelves.
A librarian who had been sitting at a desk beside the door on the first floor stood up to greet her.
“You have arrived, My Lady.”
“I came to look at some books.”
“Yes. However, when entering the second floor, you cannot bring your maid or knights with you. Those are the rules, so I ask for your understanding.”
“I know. What about the list of books on the second floor?”
“Here it is. Please make sure to return it when you leave.”
The librarian handed her a thick book.
It was a catalog containing the titles of the books, brief descriptions, and their locations.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all.”
Rachel instructed Becky and the escort knights to sit at a table and rest for the time being, then headed toward the second floor with her eyes scanning the catalog.
“Let’s see……”
Rachel discreetly wandered between the bookshelves so that the librarian would not pay too much attention to her actions, pulling out the books she needed.
There were two things she wanted.
The method of using the ability.
And whether the 「Record」 might somehow affect her current life as well.
She had brought forward an event that was supposed to happen five years later and resolved it in advance.
She wondered whether doing so might result in some sort of penalty or side effect.
Of course, judging by how nothing had happened so far, it didn’t seem likely.
“Still, it would be better to make sure.”
It had already been more than three hundred years since the Ingrave family had been listed among the families whose supernatural abilities had died out.
All Rachel could know was contained within the materials here.
Perhaps there were records remaining within the Imperial Family as well.
…Even if the Ingrave family had been listed among the families that had lost their supernatural abilities, it was an extremely famous ability, as it had appeared even in the founding mythology of the empire.
No one could have predicted the return of the ability after hundreds of years.
‘But just in case.’
I’ll start here.
Rachel gathered every book related to that she could find and piled them on a table before immersing herself in her research.
With her parents absent and a perfectly good excuse at hand, this was the ideal time to investigate.
Neighhh—
A carriage bearing the white clock emblem came to a stop in front of the Ingrave estate.
It was Illya Ingrave returning from knight school.
“Welcome home, Young Master.”
By now, it had become familiar for the assistant butler to come out and greet him in place of the butler.
Illya’s gaze naturally turned toward his sister’s room.
Amid the glow of the sunset, he saw the room completely devoid of light and looked puzzled.
“Where is my sister?”
“My Lady is in the library. It seems she is reading.”
“……!”
It had been an extremely rare outing.
No, strictly speaking, since she was still within the estate, it wasn’t an outing at all.
But his sister had rarely ever left her room over the years.
For a moment, Illya hesitated.
‘Should I go see her?’
His sister had grown distant from him at some point.
Of course, he now had a vague idea why.
The butler had been taking advantage of his sister’s kind nature and behaving rudely toward her, yet he had never known.
On top of that, his sister’s fiancé had dared to deceive her, and neither he nor anyone else had noticed.
He really had failed as a younger brother.
Perhaps others could be forgiven for not noticing, but he, of all people, should have realized the misfortune that had befallen his sister.
“…Let’s go to the library.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
The family library was located deep within the estate, as it contained all kinds of valuable books.
After passing the knights guarding the entrance and stepping inside, he was greeted by the librarian, his sister’s maid, and her escort knights.
“Young Master.”
“No need for greetings. Where is my sister?”
“She is on the second floor.”
Illya looked up toward the second floor, his eyes slightly tense, then gestured to his servant and escort knights.
“Wait here. You too, knights.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
He went up to the second floor.
Finding his sister was not difficult.
She was sitting there reading with books piled up almost like a mountain around her.
But the books themselves—
They were all related to supernatural abilities.
“…Sister?”
Rachel, who had belatedly noticed the presence behind her, raised her head.
She paused when she saw Illya.
Then she noticed the mountain of books that had taken over the table without her realizing it and looked slightly flustered.
But she soon returned to her usual expression.
“Hello, Illya.”
“……”
Rachel closed her book and naturally began organizing the piles of books.
As she checked the catalog to find their proper locations and busily returned the books to the shelves, Illya hesitated before following her.
“Why are you suddenly researching the ability?”
“……”
She wanted to deny it.
But—
「History of the Ingrave Family」, 「The First Marquis Ingrave」, 「History of Ability Users」, 「The Relationship Between the Great Demon and 」……
Every single book in her hands had titles like these.
There was no way Rachel could possibly deny it.
So she chose to make up a suitable excuse.
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