IATVWAMOLS 83

83. My Name Is Roselia, Detective (3)

“What on earth happened here?”

The bandits Ikart had cleared out were supposed to have been captured alive and locked up.

Yet now, every single one of them had turned into cold corpses.

The horrific sight made me frown automatically.

“Could they have committed suicide?”

At Ikart’s question, Kaien shook his head.

“No, that’s not it.”

“But there’s no blood, and no visible wounds either,” Ikart said.

Kaien then lifted the corner of his mouth in a faint smile.

“Do you know what this is?”

He pulled out a small iron needle, about the length of a finger.

“Is… this a shishigami?”

“Yes. This is probably the murder weapon. Whoever did this is definitely extremely skilled. If something like this is stuck in the back of your neck, even the most formidable person wouldn’t have time to scream—it kills instantly.”

“So you’re saying someone broke in here and killed all the bandits?”

I jumped between them to ask, but Kaien shook his head again.

“No. Looking at the traces, it doesn’t seem like anyone entered from outside.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. You know how heavily guarded the duke’s manor is, right? Not even a single bird could get in.”

“A bird?”

Ikart raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, my mistake. I meant that not even a rat could sneak in—that’s how tight the security is,” Kaien said, tapping his mouth playfully.

“If someone had tried to break into the underground prison, the wards would have activated.”

“But if the wards didn’t activate…”

“They don’t activate when someone inside leaves the manor, so there’s only one possibility.”

“Someone inside did it,” Ikart concluded.

Kaien lifted the corner of his mouth again.

“Exactly. One of the captured bandits eliminated the others and escaped secretly.”

“Why target their own comrades…”

If they wanted to run, they could have fled together.

“Cutting the tail,” Kaien said, placing a finger to his lips.

“The dead don’t talk.”

“Tch.”

Ikart clicked his tongue.

“They must have underestimated the duke’s family. Summon the knights and order them to track down the traitor by any means. Bring him before me, no matter what.”

“Understood.”

The knights answered in unison and swiftly left the prison.

After leaving the underground prison, I headed with Kaien to the manor’s medical ward.

I wanted to check on Count Vermon’s condition and, more than anything, I had questions to ask.

Especially about Countess Goet.

When Ikart had accused Countess Goet, I remembered Count Vermon defending his younger sister.

Judging by that, they didn’t seem to have a particularly bad relationship.

Maybe Count Vermon could give testimony favorable to her?

I went with that hope, but…

“How is Count Vermon’s condition?”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t look like he’ll recover anytime soon, miss,” the chief physician said, his expression grim.

“What? But earlier you said the temple healer was called, so he should recover quickly,” I said.

“As soon as the count was brought to the ward, we contacted the temple… but the burns caused by magic worsened rapidly. I’ve never seen a case like this before.”

“Worsened?”

“The damaged area is spreading rather than healing. The condition is more severe than it appears. Only a high-level healer can fundamentally resolve it.”

“I see…”

High-level healers were rare, even across the entire empire.

Their healing was regarded as a blessing from the gods themselves, performing miracles with a single gesture. They were the last hope for patients teetering between life and death.

Because of this, the temple was always crowded with those seeking their aid.

Even for a prestigious ducal family, it would take at least several months, sometimes over three years, to get an audience.

“For now, we’ve called a few junior healers to provide treatment, but they can barely slow the progression of the burns,” the chief physician sighed deeply.

He, too, seemed mentally burdened by Count Vermon’s condition, his dark circles pronounced.

“Then, would it be difficult to speak with him briefly?”

“At the moment, he requires absolute rest. Visits aren’t possible. I’m sorry I cannot give a more positive answer.”

“Something is seriously off.”

Past midnight, I returned to my room but couldn’t sleep.

I had hoped meeting Count Vermon would give me a new lead.

Instead, hearing his condition had worsened only added to my unease.

“How troubling.”

I lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Ikart, the bandits…

One of the main male leads, Ikart, had faced a sudden life-threatening crisis. Now, internal conflict among the bandits had left most of them dead.

Nothing about this situation seemed ordinary.

And this isn’t how it went in the original story.

No matter how spicy the original romance was, it was still fundamentally a romance.

Crisis and conflict were tied to love events—suddenly turning it into a mystery thriller was… jarring.

I’m no Sherlock Holmes.

It would have been easier when I played a jealous villainess.

I sighed and a message window popped up in front of me.

Ding!

[Anonymous subscriber claims to know who the real culprit is!]

[Anonymous subscriber: ■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■……]

[WARNING! Spoiler detected.]
[Original Work Protection System imposes a penalty on the anonymous subscriber.]
[SYSTEM: Chat banned for 30 seconds as a penalty.]

…Even you got chat-banned for spoiling?

The administrator often got penalties for jumping in on my matters in the past.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory.

The administrator had a habit of overprotecting me—any little trouble would send him into a panic.

If he were here, he’d have cleared the way with a lucky buff.

Where is the administrator now, anyway?

I hoped he was doing well, but part of me worried.

Had something happened that I didn’t know about?

Or was he still busy being pulled around by other departments?

[SYSTEM: ―Chat function reactivates in 2 seconds.―]

2… 1… 0.

Once the chat was reactivated, the anonymous subscriber immediately started spamming messages.

[Anonymous subscriber is huffing from the penalty.]
[Anonymous subscriber urges: Stop lying down and go find the culprit!]
[Anonymous subscriber……]

“Shut up.”

Goodness, they really have a lot to say.

Hiding behind anonymity doesn’t stop them from giving advice.

Is there no way to turn off this message window?

As I scrolled through the system, a pleasant voice sang out.

“Huh? I was being quiet.”

It was Kaien.

I propped my head up slightly on the bed and looked at him.

“Why are you still here?”

I thought he’d already left since he’d been silent.

“You didn’t tell me to leave?”

“Really? Then leave. Right now.”

I waved my hand vaguely, and Kaien chuckled in disbelief.

“Say it like that and it hurts my feelings. You said earlier we should discuss what to do next.”

“Right, we did. But you said you have no better ideas, didn’t you?”

“…Discard me as soon as I’m useless?”

He looked at me pitifully, like a booted cat.

Another face attack.

“Do you think I wouldn’t notice your act?”

“You’re perceptive.”

I pushed him away, and he quickly returned to his smiling face.

“Anyway, Master. I’ve investigated from multiple angles, and the answer is clear. It’s definitely Countess Goet.”

“Well, it’s true she looks suspicious circumstantially.”

Of course, thinking back to when I first met her, it wouldn’t have been strange to suspect her.

That sneering, strange smile, and the casual remark when I said we had to save Ikart:

[It’s already too late.]

It was as if she had known this would happen to Ikart in advance.

Everything about the situation seemed obvious…

“No, Countess Goet isn’t the culprit.”

I shook my head firmly.

If the system isn’t wrong, the real culprit is someone else.

And I must catch the true culprit, if only to prevent my family’s downfall.

“Why are you so sure?”

“Well—”

There are plenty of reasons to suspect Countess Goet.

Then, conversely, why isn’t she the culprit?

“First, Ikart wasn’t alone in the carriage. Count Vermon, her brother, and the servants were all with him.”

“So?”

“If her goal was truly to eliminate Ikart, wouldn’t she have used a subtler method, like poisoning, or waited until he was alone?”

“You really think that?”

“…?”

Kaien’s voice lowered slightly.

“I have a more plausible theory. Want to hear it?”