episode_0214

Once it was revealed that Charlotte was the real culprit, there was no time to hesitate.

We must catch Charlotte as quickly as possible and stop this catastrophe so that everyone can survive.

But the real problem started here.

“Yes, it has become clear that Charlotte is the real culprit. The question is, where is Charlotte now?”

“That’s… .”

Ceria felt momentarily speechless at Hermel’s words.

“That’s… … .”

“You don’t know…? ?”

At Jin’s words, Seria bit her lip and nodded slowly.

It was good until they found out that Charlotte was the culprit. Yes, it was perfect up to that point.

“Does it make sense that you don’t know that!? They assume that the culprit is Charlotte, but they don’t know where she is. that is… !!”

“That doesn’t mean I know everything… .”

“… Haha.”

But the problem was that none of those gathered here knew where Charlotte was.

No, there was no way or means to find out her location in the first place. The rebels in the Duchy of Rochelle would have been annihilated long ago, and there was no reason for Charlotte to receive communications from the royal capital.

Not only was there no way to break through the mud that immediately covered the surrounding area to go out and look for Charlotte, and even if you could break through the mud, it was all meaningless unless you knew Charlotte’s location.

“Damn… . Even if you know the cause, if you can’t solve it, it’s meaningless in the end… .”

“There must be a way… .”

Ceria tried hard to think of a way to overcome this situation, but no matter how hard she tried, no solution came to mind.

No, the problem was wrong from the beginning. It was a problem of doing a basic arithmetic operation, but I only knew that it was a basic arithmetic operation, and there were no given numbers or symbols written down.

How on earth do you solve such a problem? How do you solve something that was created incorrectly in the first place?

“… … .”

Seria frowned, chewing her lip in a situation where she couldn’t even figure out a clue.

“As expected… . Were you here?”

At that time, at the familiar voice coming from inside the alley, the three people except Cromwell were startled, trembled, and turned their heads in the direction from which the voice was heard.

From across a dark alley, hidden between buildings and shadowed by daylight, a blonde hair came swaying.

“Ah… .”

“Why are you here… .”

Ceria was shocked and unable to speak at the sight of his haggard appearance walking out from under the shadows, and Hermel looked at him with an expression of confusion as to why that guy was here.

“It was much brighter here than other places, so I thought it might be here, but thank goodness… .”

The being who came out of the shadows was none other than the Crown Prince. It was Sargela.

Jin tried to show respect to the sudden appearance of the crown prince, but Sargela raised his hand first and stopped Jin.

“Stop it. I am not someone who deserves someone’s respect.”

“But… .”

“Please. Please don’t do that.”

In an atmosphere and attitude that made him feel like he was going to kneel down and pray at any moment, Jin stepped back without giving any answer.

Seeing Sargela like that, Hermel frowned and stood in front of him.

“What did you come here for?”

“… Hermel.”

“Don’t call my name carelessly. Okay, tell me what you came here for.”

In response to Hermel’s sharp attitude, Sargela looked down at Hermel with a face still covered in shadow and said,

“Due to my shortcomings, I burdened you and made many mistakes.”

“… … .”

“… under. Even if I say something like this, it will only lead to further self-satisfaction. Did you ask what you came here to do?”

Sargela, who said that, looked straight at Hermel and answered.

“I came here to do something… . If I said that, would you believe me?”

“Did you come this far just to be recognized by me?”

Hermel frowned and growled, and Sargela shook his head at that.

“No. I didn’t come here to be recognized by you.”

“… … .”

“Of course you won’t believe it. However, I will not appeal to you and ask you to trust me. Trust is not something that is created simply through words and requests, but is gained by proving it through actions.”

Sargela, who said that, smiled bitterly. Rather than laughter, it was closer to a mask to hide sadness.

“Why did I only realize this obvious fact now? .”

Sargela shook his head and sighed softly.

“Let’s end this story here. Wasn’t finding Charlotte the most urgent priority now?”

“… what. Were you listening to everything?”

“Not everything. By the time I got to that alley, I had guessed that the main culprit of this situation was Charlotte and that you didn’t know her location yet… .”

Ceria looked at Sargela with wide eyes at the strangely confident tone of voice.

From Seria’s point of view, who had even considered a ridiculous plan to search for Charlotte by crowding around with everyone in the royal capital, Sargela’s appearance was nothing short of salvation.

“Are you saying that Sargela knows where Charlotte is!?”

Hermel, who heard Ceria’s cry, looked at Ceria with his eyes twitching and trembling, and Sargela slowly shook his head and denied Ceria’s expectations.

“No. I don’t know where Charlotte is.”

“Ah… .”

Ceria lowered her gaze, feeling discouraged by Sargela’s words.

However, Sargela did not stop at denying Seria’s expectations, but turned those expectations into hope.

“But, I know how to find out Charlotte’s location and where the key people are.”

“Is it true?”

“Well, is that really true!?”

Sargela nodded and said to Hermel and Ceria’s reaction.

“On the stairs leading down to the dungeon of the royal palace, there is a hidden laboratory.”

“What? Is there such a thing?”

Hermel, who had been walking back and forth through the dungeon just a few hours ago, was surprised to find such a thing hidden in the corner of his path and asked.

Sargela shook his head at Hermel’s reaction and said.

“It is normal for you not to know. In the first place, the laboratory was a secret place known only to my father, me, and a very small number of ministers who held important responsibilities for the kingdom.”

After taking a short breath, Sargela continued speaking.

“To continue the story, Sir Agnes is currently living in that laboratory. She would be able to reverse interpret the casting that Charlotte made herself, trace it, and pinpoint her location.”

Ceria blushed at those words, and Hermel, who was reflecting on Sargela’s words, pointed out the error in what he had said.

“Charlotte said she uses homemade castings, right?”

“Yes.”

“You couldn’t have said that because you saw the mud out there, right? No, are those really fetish items in the first place?”

Sargela shook her head at Hermel’s words.

“I have seen for myself what is out there. Those are by no means fetishes. Even if it is true that it is a fetish, it is somewhat difficult to find a way with such things.”

“Then where is the casting?”

Those words reminded Sargela of the conversation he had with Terra Earningstone, the investigator who had visited him again after the Spring Festival.

-In addition to that fan, another fetish was found that was suspected to be hers. Please just take a look.

―I am by no means asking you to help with the investigation. just… . That’s because I’m not sure based on my own judgment.

-If this fetish is not hers… … .

Sargela, who recalled the conversation of that day, continued talking, remembering the black and purple paper Earningstern had taken out of his pocket and shown him.

“Terra Earningstern. He has it.”

“Awning Stone… ? It’s a name I think I’ve heard before… .”

“This is the name of an investigator directly under the royal family who was investigating an incident that occurred during the Spring Festival. He was a man who suspected Charlotte and investigated her whereabouts. I don’t know what happened in the end of that investigation, but–”

“No matter what the results of the investigation are, the conclusion is that if we bring Professor Agnes and Earningstern, everything will be resolved, right?”

In response to Hermel’s words that interrupted her, Sargela simply nodded, thinking ‘her words were too long.’

“Okay. To conclude, it will be like that.”

“Then it’s simple.”

After exhaling, Hermel looked straight at Sargela and said.

“You… . No, brother, go and bring Professor Agnes here. Me and Jin are going to go and look for an investigator like Earningstern or something.”

Sargela’s eyes widened in surprise, but then he smiled faintly and nodded.

“… … okay. That would be nice. Because only I know the location of the hidden lab.”

“Then that’s it. let’s go. There is no time to waste.”

“One more thing before you go. Earnings Stone should be at the Academy by now. Last time I saw him, he said he would finish his work, so I guess that’s for sure.”

After speaking, Sargela turned his back and headed straight to the royal castle. Hermel, who watched Sargela leave for a moment, looked at Jin and said.

“Let’s go.”

“Are you going to leave that man like this?”

Jin said that and pointed at Cromwell, and Hermel looked at Cromwell for a moment and then turned his head.

“Okay, you don’t have to touch it. After all, he’s an idiot who’s so blinded by revenge that he doesn’t even know what’s in front of him. Just attach two soldiers to keep watch and let’s go.”

After saying that, Hermel headed towards the academy, in the opposite direction of Sargela’s direction.