“Older Sister.”
As soon as Kayden spoke softly, Carlotta, who had been grumbling out of habit, closed her mouth with a gasp. It was because Kayden looked at her coldly.
“The one who broke the entrance, the person wearing an owl mask. Where did they go?”
At that question, Carlotta grimaced, recalling the unpleasant memory.
“… Can’t you tell? They tied me up below and then disappeared while carrying you. Then soon returned to leave me here and vanished again.”
“Did you see their face? Or hear their voice?”
“They didn’t take off the mask, and they didn’t say a single word. I couldn’t even tell if they were a man or a woman, while I wrapped up like that.” Carlotta pouted.
When the owl mask took Kayden away, she had shouted for them to take her too, but they ignored her and vanished. Even after returning alone, they ignored her struggles to be untied and left her sitting outside the secret room before disappearing again.
Who on earth could it be…
Kayden wore a serious expression. Patrasche had mentioned that only a few people, including some of the Fourth Order knights and those involved with the second concubine, knew about Kayden’s disappearance.
Patrasche had moved quietly, aware of the eyes around him, and Kayden had been gone for less than two hours. Even if information had leaked, finding him before he succumbed would have been difficult.
If that’s the case, it means someone close to me…
If the owl mask were with the second concubine, they would have let him die rather than try to save him. This meant that Diana or someone from the Fourth Order had saved him.
If they had enough to break the entrance of the secret room in one go, they must be elementalist. That means it could only be the knights of the Fourth Order. But if the owl mask is the knight of the Fourth Order, why would they hide their face in front of me?
As Kayden eliminated the suspicious points one by one, only one face remained.
“… That’s ridiculous.” Kayden let out a small laugh without realizing it.
After all, Diana wasn’t an elementalist. How could she have found where he was, and how could she have broken into the sealed room? It was an absurd thought.
It’s more plausible to assume that D. Obscure came directly.
Kayden shook his head. Pushing his thoughts aside, he spoke to Carlotta. “Keep the story about the owl mask to yourself. And about my poisoning as well.”
“Why should I—”
“I said, keep it to yourself.”
Carlotta opened her mouth to protest, but Kayden’s voice, filled with a chilling resolve, silenced her. Intimidated by his tone, Carlotta instinctively recoiled.
The thought that ‘Kayden Seirik Bluebell’ was commanding her made her heart flare up out of habit, but then the reality of the situation dawned on her.
…Damn it. She cursed under her breath, but she couldn’t ignore that Kayden had saved her, even risking his own life. Despite everything, he had not let her die.
Carlotta had thought he would leave her to her fate because she was the daughter of the second concubine, a close ally of the first concubine, and because of the many wrongs she had done to him. But Kayden didn’t do that. He even helped her despite the fact that he was on the brink of death. Remembering that made her unable to lift her head.
Although she had been forced by her own mother, Carlotta knew she wasn’t entirely innocent. When the investigation began, her role in luring Kayden to the secret room would be scrutinized. Behaving rudely toward Kayden now would only increase her chances of facing severe punishment. Ultimately, Carlotta nodded with a subdued voice.
“…Fine.”
Seeing her looking nervously at him, Kayden felt confident she wouldn’t speak out of turn.
Leaving two knights to guard her, Kayden descended back into the secret room. “How’s the situation?”
“We’ve gathered the bodies on one side. The second concubine is over here.”
“There was something that looked like a magical artifact installed in the corner, so we removed it. We’ve collected the remains as well.”
The knights, who had been moving busily at Kayden’s words, stopped and explained.
The mercenaries’ bodies hired by the second concubine were neatly lined up beside the entrance, with the second concubine’s body placed a bit further away.
Kayden walked across the blood-stained floor to where the second concubine’s body lay, covered with a cloak. He gently lifted the edge of the cloak.
“…”
The pale, lifeless face of the Second concubine emerged. Although she had died with her eyes open, the knight who had handled her body had shown the minimum respect for the dead and closed her eyes.
Kayden gazed at her face with a complicated expression before carefully covering her again and standing up. With a now composed face, he commanded the knights, “Beside the attackers, I’ve never heard of a place like this. Find out as much as you can about who made it and for what purpose.”
“Understood!” The knights responded loudly, standing at attention.
Kayden joined them in thoroughly searching the secret room. Despite their efforts, the secret room was mostly empty. A few candles and the remnants of the magical artifact were all they found. But Kayden persistently tapped on the ceiling, walls, and floor, looking for hidden compartments. His instinct told him the place was intentionally concealed.
Thunk— When he tapped a certain spot on the floor, it sounded hollow. Kayden’s eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he created a sword and struck the floor.
Bang! Dust rose as the floor shattered, revealing a hole. Reaching inside, he pulled out an old bundle of papers, making a crackling sound.
“What’s this?” Kayden muttered, frowning. He turned the papers in his hands, trying to decipher the contents.
The writing was ancient and barely legible, making it difficult to read. Fortunately, Kayden had learned some early imperial language as a child, following Elliot. Squinting, he deciphered parts of the text.
Dai, sy… Blue..bell?
Finally making out a word, Kayden’s eyes widened. If he had interpreted correctly, the name written was that of the founding emperor, Daisy Bluebell.
The mystery deepened. Kayden carefully folded the papers and handed them to a knight, who wrapped them in the cloak. “It needs proper translation. Handle it with care.”
“Understood.”
* * *
Kayden returned to the emperor with the evidence found in the secret room. They agreed to delay the announcement of the second concubine’s death until after the festival and the departure of the foreign envoys. Announcing such a scandal on a day meant to celebrate the empire’s glory and peace would harm both domestic morale and the empire’s image abroad.
Princess Carlotta, though not directly involved in the attack, was confined to the imperial tower until her trial after the festival.
A few hours before the start of the founding festival ball, Diana, who had heard the full story of the incident from Kayden as promised, looked at him with worried eyes.
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