The Verdict is Guilty

Early evening.

Dark elf Iselen sat on the bed, gazing out the window.

“Why am I here……”

Asking herself.

She was the Queen of the dark elves.

The core of dark elf information transmission and networking.

She absolutely must not die.

Yet she’d come knowing this was enemy territory, Dierk’s den.

Of course, Dierk must be caught.

His ability was too socially dangerous. That’s why she’d been tracking him for so long.

But Iselen didn’t need to handle it personally.

“Because I made a bet?”

Had she come to kill Rigen Librata?

No.

Fighting back-to-back at the casino.

Laughing without realizing it — Iselen had admitted it.

She’d just wanted to vent at Rigen.

Even though it wasn’t the path for the empire.

“Right, just…… right.”

Being ashamed and angry at being called Lagriz was ultimately because she couldn’t accept feeling reflexive joy.

Ah, but thanks to that, she remembered.

Not the painful time after separating from Sirik, but before that.

The happy days.

Enough to recall memories from seeing the pool.

Thinking about it, Rigen resembled Sirik a lot.

His unrestrained words and actions.

Being near him made Sirik keep coming to mind, freshly piercing her heart……

“But he’s not Sirik. Right.”

This heart hadn’t wavered for some other man besides Sirik.

Just suddenly immersed in nostalgic memories, she’d wandered and grown dizzy.

Unable to accept herself like that, she’d burned with anger…… but the times were growing increasingly turbulent.

This wasn’t the moment to push personal feelings.

Then she’d suppress them again.

Having endured a hundred years, couldn’t she endure a thousand?

Having organized her feelings, Iselen rose from the bed.

Emotional outbursts only until today — Iselen would return to being the cold Queen of Assassins.

She had to struggle while commanding the dark elves.

“Right.”

The dark elves would ultimately fall, but still, until the end.

The dining room.

The dinner table.

Lavishly prepared food and alcohol sat before me.

Uren shouted loudly.

“Now, Special Officer. Please eat!”

“Mm, you all eat first. I have some thinking to do.”

“Then at least a toast!”

At Uren’s urging, everyone clinked glasses.

I also took a sip of red wine while using telekinesis.

Then I examined those present.

House Sagittari’s heir Uren and his wife Mezrin, his cousin Dargal Sagittari.

Also the Queen of Assassins and Albert along with dark elf guards. Me and Mirei.

Kalbina was waiting outside.

Now, let’s begin.

“Sorry to interrupt everyone’s meal, but I’ll now announce the investigation results.”

“Mm? Ah, headquarters commander came to investigate us Sagittari! Hahaha, how is it? I have not one bit of shame before His Majesty the Emperor’s name!”

“Guilty.”

Silence.

At my words, Dargal jumped up from his seat.

“What nonsense are you speaking right now! What evidence do you……”

“Shut up! Dargal!”

Suddenly Uren roared.

……Even though he wasn’t some lion beastman, it was deafening.

I use Roar, but Uren just has a loud voice.

Uren barked at Dargal.

“Interrupting when a superior is speaking! First straightening your posture and listening attentively is the proper Imperial Military attitude!”

“Ah, Brother Uren!”

“Be quiet and listen now!”

After scolding him, Uren turned to me.

“Headquarters Commander, there was much rudeness. If we committed wrongdoing and sin, we should properly receive punishment. Please deliver what you’ve realized.”

“……”

I was somewhat impressed.

Though Uren’s voice was loud and he seemed simple, his nature was upright.

I nodded and spoke.

“As you all know, our investigation headquarters primarily tried to apprehend terrorists, especially the apostles playing key roles. Among them, Dierk rose to the list of suspects.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Dierk is a vampire. He can infect people by feeding them blood or biting them. As you already know, Byorn fell victim to that too. You know this far, right?”

Everyone nodded cautiously.

I tapped the table with my fork and continued.

“Dierk has distance constraints on controlling people. He’s currently in the capital. And…… when you overlap it with the Imperial Military bomb leak, things become simple.”

“……Yes?”

“Dierk infiltrated House Sagittari. And by controlling Sagittari family members, he siphoned off Imperial Military bombs and handed them to Luke Kedrik.”

“……You’re saying we were controlled?”

Dargal’s face said he absolutely couldn’t accept it.

I nodded.

“Right, looking at Byorn’s incident and the Theodora casino makes it clear. Once controlled, the person’s consciousness disappears. Both of you are being controlled. The culprit is Mezrin.”

Silence.

Had I spoken too casually?

Everyone listened blankly, then turned to look at Mezrin.

Mezrin’s face had gone deathly pale.

“……Wh-what are you saying? Me?”

“You’re the main body. Mezrin.”

“……You’ll have to take responsibility for those words.”

Dargal growled as if ready to lunge at me.

Naturally — I’d insulted a successful ducal house’s eldest son and his wife, so a duel on the spot wouldn’t be strange.

Uren also had a stiffly frozen face.

“……Could you explain it more understandably? I won’t blindly deny the headquarters commander’s words, but…… I love my wife. I absolutely cannot think my wife is…… such a thing.”

“H-honey.”

Mezrin clung to Uren’s arm and desperately shook her head.

It wasn’t her.

Uren tried to smile at his wife and turned to me.

“Please explain convincingly.”

“It will be painful to hear — will you be alright?”

“……If the headquarters commander’s words are true, I’m also in a position where I must take responsibility.”

“Understood. Wet your throat first.”

I took another sip of alcohol and used telekinesis again.

I’d been continuously using it during the conversation, but my mental power had increased enough that it was fine.

I tapped the table and spoke.

“I thought from Dierk’s perspective. What would I do if I were him? First, Dierk infiltrated House Sagittari. A powerful family ranking fifth among the twelve houses — he decided to topple the empire from here. First he controlled Sagittari family members to leak bombs.”

“……But then Brother Uren or I could be the main body? Also, it could be a household servant. Why exactly do you say my sister-in-law is Dierk?”

Dargal demanded in an angry voice.

A natural question — I nodded.

“Siphoning bombs was just one of Dierk’s methods to topple the empire. Dierk had a different, more important objective.”

“What……”

“Dierk is weak. Ordinary people try to compensate for their weaknesses. So Dierk thought: let’s increase subordinates by feeding blood or biting. Also, let’s find a reliable, powerful body.”

“……”

I smiled at the silent Mezrin.

“But from Dierk’s position, neither is easy. Biting someone? First you need to be alone together.”

While searching for a way to reveal my identity to Iselen, I’d realized.

Private conversations aren’t easy between strangers.

“Then being a woman, a beauty is good. If a beauty wants to be alone together, most men will be tempted. Even another woman wouldn’t refuse outright.”

“……That’s just speculation.”

Dargal said with effort, but his voice wavered.

I continued speaking.

“But feeding your own blood? There’s a very simple fact here…… people die if they lose too much blood. You can’t donate blood recklessly either. The amount of blood Dierk can draw is limited.”

“……”

“That’s probably why he deliberately performed that mana potion stunt in front of everyone. To show he could do that anytime.”

Iselen flinched as if she’d caught on.

I nodded.

“Right, Dierk used his head to set up a scheme to increase his power.”

“What was it?”

“Luke Kedrik’s parties — those were banquet halls for Dierk to increase his subordinates.”

I calmly pointed it out.

“Dierk wanted to choose subordinates carefully. I’ll say it again — Dierk also carried considerable risk. Also, he might get his tail caught if he’s careless. The pressure from dark elves tracking him must have been substantial too.”

“……”

“So a place to freely meet the empire’s upper echelon and secretly make them subordinates — that was precisely the parties Luke Kedrik held day after day. The terrorists didn’t waste money for nothing.”

Everyone’s mouths fell open at my words.

I looked at Mezrin and spoke.

“For the day when terrorists would rise up en masse, you tried to make as many people subordinates as possible, right?”

“……”

Mezrin just had a deathly pale face.

I smirked.

“Being careful, feeding blood has limits. Also needing humans to make into relays, biting is much better. So you frequently showed your face at the party venue.”

“That’s forced logic. Ultimately you’re saying my sister-in-law is the culprit because she attended Kedrik’s parties often. My sister-in-law has poor health……”

Dargal, who’d been objecting, realized the contradiction and hesitated.

I threw the documents I’d prepared onto the table.

In front of Uren and Mezrin.

“Someone with poor health went far too often.”

“……”

“Out of seventy-one parties House Kedrik held in the recent three months…… you appeared at thirty-four. Excluding Kedrik family members and servants, you’re the most frequent attendee.”

“You counted all that?”

Mirei’s surprised voice.

I shrugged.

“Central Police investigators stayed up all night tallying it manually. The name that appeared most often was precisely Mezrin Sagittari.”

“……”

Mezrin stayed silent.

I smiled and said.

“To begin with, Uren and Dargal never attended Kedrik’s parties even once. Given Uren’s character, naturally he wouldn’t get along with Jade. And Mezrin, you probably prepared an excuse that you attended alone to socialize with noble ladies, but it’s still too many.”

“……”

“You and the dark elves both underestimated the police’s investigative power.”

Iselen frowned.

I said lightly.

“Dark elf information transmission is the best in Karakas. But is their analytical ability also first-rate? After gathering information, you must analyze it properly for it to be useful.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“That I think I won. And if possible, don’t kill Uren and Dargal. They’re both victims, and leaving them alive will make political cleanup smoother.”

The conversation between me and Iselen.

Iselen nodded her chin faintly.

Mezrin gripped Uren’s arm with tears welling up.

“H-honey!”

“……”

Uren looked down at the documents before him and spoke in a rigid voice.

“……I knew my wife attended Kedrik’s parties often. But I didn’t know she went this many times.”

“Uren.”

I called seriously.

Who would think their own wife was a terrorist — no, beyond that, controlled?

Uren slowly shook his head.

“Was I controlled? I don’t remember, but you’re saying I was controlled, siphoned Imperial Military bombs, and handed them over?”

“Investigation will reveal it. Cooperate.”

I urged concisely.

Uren sighed deeply.

“I trust my wife. So…… I will cooperate with the investigation.”

“H-honey!”

Uren turned to Mezrin.

“Sorry, Mezrin. When all the misunderstandings are cleared……”

—As if that’s possible?

Suddenly a sultry voice flowed from Uren’s vocal cords.

Dargal jumped up, startled.

But his eyes also rolled back and he staggered backward.

Not fleeing.

Blocking the dining room exit.

“……Hehehehe.”

And Mezrin smiled gently and turned to me.

“You guessed correctly. Rigen Librata. Truly befitting a man who only targets married women. Meeting me, you immediately strip me bare.”

“When you’re standing there stark naked from the start, what am I supposed to do?”

I said indifferently.

Mezrin touched her cheek and laughed.

“Oh my, what should I do? The deduction was good, but there’s no guarantee I’m really the main body, right? I could be hiding somewhere other than this estate.”

“There are aftereffects.”

Iselen spoke while drinking.

“When your subordinates die, you also take a hit. When relays get struck, you even faint. That’s why you normally acted sickly.”

“……”

“During the fight at Theodora’s, I confirmed what happened to you. You’d collapsed.”

That casino fight had been for Iselen to confirm.

I asked Iselen.

“What was your reason for getting bombs from the Imperial Military when you already knew?”

“……I didn’t think as far as party attendance frequency either.”

Iselen had planned to show the bombs and force a confession through brute pressure.

Mezrin — no, Dierk — looked at me and spoke.

“Hehehe, you keep acting relaxed……”

I expelled the contents of my esophagus with the telekinesis I’d been continuously using.

The alcohol I’d drunk.

When I vomited the red wine, Dierk hesitated.

I said indifferently.

“A vampire serves red wine — would I just accept and drink it?”

“N-no! You drank it ages ago, how did you……”

Dierk was dismayed.

I could manipulate the inside of my body quite freely with telekinesis.

I’d also held back the magic before awakening it.

Even the confident Mezrin couldn’t have imagined I was holding wine in my esophagus with telekinesis.

“You admitted your identity triumphantly thinking you’d already fed me blood, right? I drank it for that reason.”

Throwing the napkin I’d wiped my mouth with onto the table, I stood up.

Matching me, Iselen also set down her glass and stood.

“Now then, Queen of Assassins. You remember the promise, right? The winner gets their wish granted.”

“I’ve been searching for him a long time. I have to kill him myself.”

For once, we were in agreement.