Hidden Backers (5)

“P-Prince?! What brings you here….”

“I have something I’d like to ask.”

Oscar von Valentine carefully brushed back his sweat-soaked bangs as he spoke.

“I’m investigating the Cornelio incident….”

“Oh, I know! That deserter from the Holy Nation?”

“Idiot, not from the Holy Nation but the Kingdom!”

“Aaaah, I got confused! The Kingdom, right. That’s right.”

“…Yes. Have you noticed anyone behaving suspiciously in the academy, or felt any unsettling presence?”

The people Oscar was questioning were three female students sitting on a bench installed along the academy’s walking path, chatting.

In the investigation of the ‘Cornelio Incident’ that occurred on the 11th, the investigation team was basically conducting an open investigation, accepting testimonies from witnesses and even merely suspicious sightings.

However, not all testimonies are valid, and some include testimony that is not practically helpful or even some false sightings, so they decided not only to receive voluntary reports but also to directly visit and question civilians in areas presumed to be Cornelio’s movement routes.

This process couldn’t be dismissed as meaningless because in the process of consciously recalling memories to answer someone’s questions, small but important clues that couldn’t be remembered before might emerge.

However, if one had to point out a disadvantage:

“Well, nothing comes to mind right now… but I might think of something later, so maybe you could stay here with us a little longer…”

“My goodness, she must be crazy! Hey, how dare you be so rude to the Prince…!”

“…”

Oscar, who had been staring at the girls squealing among themselves, turned around and said,

“…Excuse me. We’re busy, so we’ll be going now.”

“Ah…”

“Hey, this is because you were being too forward!”

Letting the playful voices behind him flow past his ears, Oscar sighed deeply.

“How annoying.”

“…”

“Don’t these people have any sense of crisis at all?”

“It must be difficult for you.”

Eric Bergamot, who was following behind him, responded with an awkward smile.

“Handsome looks can be a hindrance at times. Since I’ve never been handsome in my life… it’s intriguing to see this kind of difficulty.”

“…Are you mocking me?”

“No, not at all… I’m just saying, try to relax a bit.”

At Oscar’s cracked voice, Eric shook his head.

“You’ve been taking witness testimonies for 7 hours straight now. Even though it’s a holiday, I can’t help but worry about such a forced march, especially since you’re not even from the knight department.”

“T-that’s right.”

Liu Qingying, who had been asking questions to other people separately, had returned and agreed with Eric’s words.

“It’s good to work hard, but you need to consider your health. Especially since you’re from the magic department and probably physically weaker.”

“That’s a prejudice.”

Oscar answered curtly as he continued walking.

“Not everyone in the magic department is a bookworm shut in a room doing research.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. No big deal.”

Toward Liu Qingying, who apologized in a flustered voice, Oscar shook his head and answered.

“And there’s a reason why I can’t rest.”

[…H-hello, Prince Oscar the Third.]

“Miss Delphina?”

At the unexpected contact, Oscar tilted his head and spoke into the transmitter.

“What is it, at such a late evening? And through a private line at that.”

[W-well, you see.]

Through the receiver, the sound of someone hesitating and taking a breath was heard.

[I have something to tell you about E-Evangeline.]

“…Miss Delphina.”

At her words, Oscar sighed and said,

“Of course, I appreciate your concern, but it doesn’t look particularly good for Miss Delphina, a third party, to be unusually interfering in a relationship between a man and a woman.”

[W-what?]

“If Evangeline were to misunderstand, it might rather harm our relationship….”

[Wait, Prince! That’s not it!]

Delphina shouted urgently through the receiver.

[Actually, the thing is….]

Delphina’s explanation continued.

At her worried voice coming through the receiver at length, Oscar’s hand holding the receiver trembled slightly.

“…Evangeline, she really….”

[Yes… I was wondering who to tell about this, and the only trustworthy person I could think of was you, Prince….]

“Haven’t you thought about informing His Majesty the King of Failon about this matter?”

[…If I could see through all the inner workings of the incident and the Princess’s worries, I would have done so.]

In a hesitant voice, Delphina said quietly.

[But I only overheard the Princess’s anxious mutterings… and I don’t know exactly what’s happening, what the Princess is afraid of or trying to hide. In this situation, I thought that conveying uncertain information to the home country would only meaninglessly escalate the scale of the matter.]

Delphina lowered her voice to a whisper.

[That’s why I contacted you, Prince. I thought that you could both protect the Princess’s secret and help her in ways I couldn’t think of.]

“…You’re greatly overestimating me.”

Oscar answered.

“Since Miss Delphina has trusted me and told me this, in return, I’ll tell you one thing.”

Oscar whispered quietly into the transmitter.

“By order of my sister Yuriana, I have been appointed as the Empire’s chief representative in the joint three-country investigation of this Cornelio incident.”

[You, Prince Oscar?]

Delphina asked in a surprised voice. At her suddenly raised voice tone, Oscar moved the receiver slightly away from his ear and continued.

“I am, after all, a member of the ‘Yuriana faction,’ and although my father doesn’t openly show it, he seems to be moving in favor of my sister’s succession to the throne. So I certainly have that much power.”

[I-I see.]

Through the receiver, a faintly trembling voice flowed.

[I can’t believe I’ve disturbed such an important person….]

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that.”

Oscar hastily added.

“My sister is not that narrow-minded. Rest assured.”

[Y-yes….]

Through the receiver, a sigh of relief was heard. It sounded muffled, as if she had covered the transmitter with her palm to prevent the sound from echoing.

“Anyway, thank you for informing me. Regarding what you’ve told me, I’ll consider a solution in my own way.”

[T-thank you…! And I’m really sorry for making such an unreasonable request….]

“Not at all. And please, Miss Delphina, take good care of Evangeline.”

[Ah, yes. Please don’t overexert yourself, Prince.]

“Yes, I’ll hang up now.”

Oscar nodded and slowly hung the receiver and transmitter on the telephone.

“A reason why you can’t rest?”

Liu Qingying asked, tilting her head.

“There is one.”

Oscar shook his head, trailed off, and walked ahead with hurried steps.

“Let’s hurry. We haven’t even filled half of the witness estimate list yet.”

“Um, Prince. Just to be clear, this wasn’t meant to be completed in a single day…”

“Still, we should at least exceed half, shouldn’t we?”

Oscar said, waving the document in his hand.

On the right edge of the table drawn on the document, check marks made with a red pen were lined up in order from the top.

“But you know.”

Liu Qingying suddenly tilted her head and spoke up.

“Isn’t the backer obviously the Demon King’s Army? Public opinion seems to be leaning that way, and there’s talk that Cornelio’s bold choice to desert was because he was recruited by the Demon King’s Army.”

“…Assistant Instructor Liu Qingying.”

Oscar said quietly.

“No concrete physical evidence has emerged yet, so it’s dangerous to jump to hasty conclusions.”

“B-but still. Such an obvious…”

“What if the backer isn’t the Demon King’s Army?”

“…What?”

“As you heard. I’m making the assumption: what if the force behind Cornelio was not the Demon King’s Army but a third party?”

Oscar continued.

“The fact that Cornelio headed to the Holy Nation after deserting makes it entirely possible to infer that the Holy Nation might be the backer. Or there might be a third possibility altogether. Some dissident elements within the Western Continent’s sphere of influence might have collaborated with the Demon King’s Army with malicious intent.”

“…I-isn’t that too much of a logical leap… though.”

Liu Qingying said, trailing off, but Eric nodded at Oscar’s words.

“The Prince is right.”

Eric looked down at Liu Qingying and said,

“In a situation where there is only circumstantial evidence and no physical evidence, any hypothesis put forward is nothing more than a logical leap. Deriving results through proper evidence is the purpose and ultimate reason for an ‘investigation.'”

“…I’m sorry. I think my thinking was limited.”

Qingying lowered her head with a dejected expression. Lightly patting her shoulder, Eric comforted her in a voice mixed with laughter.

“It’s alright. No one can excel at everything from the start. You can learn one thing at a time, slowly.”

“…Yes.”

“Don’t worry. There are hardly any people so harsh as to be genuinely angry over a minor slip of the tongue from an assistant instructor.”

Toward Eric, who was saying this with a smiling face, Oscar said,

“…Shall we wrap it up for today?”

“But you just said you would fill at least half the list today…”

“Actually, I’m finding it a bit difficult.”

Oscar said with a smile, as if making an excuse.

Standing awkwardly, tapping his legs nervously, Oscar said,

“Let’s see, how about we go check on the progress of the research on Cornelio’s corpse?”

“Ugh…”

At the mention of a corpse, Liu Qingying reflexively turned her face ashen, as if feeling nauseated.

Glancing at her face, Oscar smiled and said,

“Perhaps in uncovering the secrets of Magical Beast transformation technology, we might find unexpected clues.”

“…Oscar, the Third Prince?”

[…Yes. It seems he is suspicious of us.]

Upon hearing the Cuckoo’s third report, the Saint frowned and muttered.

“Where could information have leaked? Is it his fiancée Evangeline after all? Or is there another route?”

[There was no sign of him making any special contact with Evangeline. I attempted to wiretap, but no special results emerged.]

“…The two don’t seem close enough to use a direct line.”

The Saint clicked her tongue and muttered.

Her white, slender fingers nervously tapped the white table.

“…Should we eliminate him?”

An impulsive mutter escaped between her lips. But soon the Saint shook her head.

“No. The price of a prince’s life is too high a risk. If we’re caught, it’s all over.”

[…What will you do?]

The Cuckoo asked. Instead of answering, the Saint closed her eyes and tapped the table.

Tap, tap, tap.

Precisely as she tapped the table three times, the Saint opened her eyes narrowly.

“…We just need to avoid killing him, right?”

Muttering as if whispering in a small voice, the Saint spoke again.

“Cuckoo.”

[Yes.]

“Can you cast a mental holy spell on Prince Oscar?”

[…Probably, it should be possible.]

After hesitating briefly, the Cuckoo carefully answered.

[Even though he’s a talent who was directly apprenticed in the Magic Tower and entered the magic department as the top student… ultimately, there are limits to blocking holy spells.]

The Cuckoo continued.

[The only ones who can block holy spells without any preparation are knights who have trained their mental strength routinely….]

“You’re being verbose!”

The Saint shouted, striking the table.

“So is it possible or not?”

[…It’s possible.]

The Cuckoo said, bowing her head. Of course, since they were conversing through a direct line connected in utmost secrecy, there was no way the Saint could see her appearance.

“The direction of the suggestion… you understand without me saying, right?”

[To remove suspicion toward the Holy Nation.]

“Good.”

The Saint nodded.

“Even if it’s a direct line, if the call gets too long, it could be traced. Let’s end it.”

[Yes.]

-Click.

On the oddly shaped telephone without a single dial, the transmitter and receiver that had fulfilled their roles for tonight were hung simultaneously.

“…Oscar von Valentine.”

Corphe Lilac looked at the telephone painted in pure white and muttered quietly.

“You are a hindrance to the Princess Knight.”