Earl Keely immediately sent his troops to the suspicious room that Iris had discovered.
After the autopsy, it was concluded that the two corpses found in the room had been bound with «Bind» and killed by «Poison».
At first, it was thought to be a bizarre magical murder case, but the Earlâs investigation revealed a series of surprising facts.
First of all, illegal drugs and black-market equipment were found in one of the rooms of the apartment complex where the two had died.
Furthermore, the room itself had been rented under the name of a nonexistent merchant.
The dead men were adventurers who had been hired by the Night Pythons to carry out sabotage, investigations, crimes, and sometimes even assassinations.
How they ended up dead, nobody knew. Maybe they had screwed up on the job and were dealt with, no concrete details.
At any rate, the fact that they were based so close to the castle made it almost certain that they were being prepared for an attack on the Earlâs family.
Another important clue was found in the room.
A dying message that seems to have been written by one of the murdered men with the last of his strength. The words written on the floor in spattered blood said: âGolden Bird, back door, hidden roomâ. It was hidden under his body.
Seeing this as an important clue, the Earl sent his troops to the Golden Bird as well, and they found the Night Pythons stronghold and âŠmany corpses.
The Night Pythons had established a base of operations in each city, and the Earl thought he knew the base of operations in Eltaref. In fact, it was a dummy, and the Golden Bird was the real thing.
Why they had all been killed was not clear at all. It was clearly an attack by several magicians. Was it an internal struggle? A strike by another criminal organization? An attack by someone with a vendetta against the Night Pythons?
Whatever it was, the slips, notes, letters, and correspondence that were left behind provided considerable information about the Night Pythons.
While the destruction of the base remained a mystery, the anti-Night Pythons campaign moved on to the next stage.
When she tracked them down, she was disappointed when they ended up in an empty room that was clearly only a temporary residence, but she let them swim around in the hope that they would make contact somewhere, and bingo.
âBut the executive who oversees the⊠territory was not in the biggest city in the territory, was he? Was he daring to avoid it because itâs in the lap of the lord?
âThe insider. Iâll look for that one. Since I have the ability to perceive emotions, itâs a perfect fit. And, leaving aside the guild employee, the servant who was the informant that Jai-something mentioned yesterday might be contacted again by the upper echelon of the Night Pythons. I wonder if I could tell Earl-sama somehow that a person is suspicious.
If this was the case, the only place they could work would be inside the castle.
It was something that could be done while performing the work of a double.
ïŒ ïŒ ïŒ
Although she was to be Catherineâs double, Catherineâs own life was almost always the same.
He said, ââThere is no need for conversationsâ. He had no plans to do so during the commissioned request period, but he would be relieved to know that he had a double to help in case of sudden need.
Life as Catherine was quite busy.
First of all, there was studying. As a required part of her education, she learned grammar, geometry, mathematics, art, and sociology from her tutor.
Then, bridal training. Embroidery, sewing, cooking, and other general household chores. She also did some cleaning and laundry, though at the level of elementary school home economics. She must be able to do by herself what she usually leaves to the servants.
This was the daily life of an aristocratic girl in Ciel-Terra.
Although there is a pretext of âbecause you donât know what kind of environment you will marry intoâ, it was more a product of the culture of pressure to be able to do things âbecause it is normal to be able to do thisâ and âbecause it is embarrassing if you canât do itâ.
Incidentally, no matter how you try, you canât fake knowledge, academic ability, or proficiency, so the tutors were in a position to know which was which.
â⊠Excellent. Iris-sama, you may be a math genius.â
Chojiro, who had lived on Earth in a previous life, had graduated from a university with a science degree, and was praised when he solved a math problem that, by Japanese standards, would have been at the middle-school level. It was natural for her to be able to solve problems at this level, so it was a little painful to see Mozart-senseiâs impressed gaze on her.
âIris-sama is a magician, isnât she? I teach magic as well. Unfortunately, Lady Catherine did not have the aptitude for it, so I have only taught her theory, and finished her studies in magic.â
âHeh, is that so?â
A surprising fact. It seems that Mozart-sensei was a magician.
If anything, music seems more suited to his appearance.
In fact, the required education as an aristocrat included magical theory (and practice, if you have the talent). Catherine didnât do the practice because she has no talent for magic, and the theory was already off the timetable because she had already completed the class.
âExcuse me, sensei, but what is your level of magic?â
âIâd say, using the common adventurerâs level classification, Iâm at level 2 in basic magic, and level 1 in elemental fire magic. I am ashamed of myself. My job is to teach the first steps, and this is enough, while I am being negligent. What about you, Iris-sama?â
âI am level 3 in water and wind. And some others.â
âAt your age, level 3 is nothing short of amazing.â
All magic has a âlevelâ for convenience and difficulty of learning.
The level of magic you can use is the benchmark for measuring your ability.
Mozart-senseiâs practical ability is only âpretty good for an amateurâ.
If one were to describe âIrisâsâ ability, one would say, âItâs amazing that she is already a full-fledged professional at her ageâ, but not much more than that.
No matter how high your magic power is, itâs meaningless if youâre using it without thinking.
âIf you donât mind, I would like to see a little of Iris-samaâs magic.â
âIâm afraid I canât do that. If there is any sign of magic, people will know that I am a fake.â
âOh, yes, thatâs right. I am sorry.â
Mozart-sensei laughed apologetically.
She felt that this conversation was out of line, but the entire castle was now protected from detection and information-gathering by a magic circle set up by a magician in attendance. The only thing she should have been concerned about was some low-tech eavesdropping.
âWell, I donât know if I care about that, but Iâd better keep emotional detection onâŠ
In the first place, there were no people in the place where eavesdroppers could eavesdrop. The gray emotions of the servants passing in the corridor, like tired overtime office workers, flowed in.
âI donât catch anything that looks particular. I need to widen the scope a bit moreâŠ
She didnât think the reaction had been particularly alarming until a moment ago, but it suddenly turned into a tense alertness. Like an employee at the moment a director comes out while they were comfortably walking down the hallway.
The man left the room, but stopped for a few seconds just outside the room, then scuttled away.
âSensei, who was that?â
âDiaz-san, I presume. He has been assisting me recently. He said, âIâm at this age, but I want to deepen my knowledgeâ, and he wants me to help him while he teaches me himself.â
âI seeâŠâ
-No way⊠this guy?
Suspicious. Too suspicious. Itâs not bad for anyone to suddenly become interested in learning, but itâs too suspicious when you consider the emotional reactions involved.
âUmm, Sensei. Iâm sorry, I just need to use the restroomâŠâ
âGo ahead. But be warned. Once you leave this room, you are âLady Catherineâ.â