Chapter 425 – The Origin of the Siblings

“Hmm… This should do it, I suppose?”

I had Balor use Levitation to bring over the fallen men, including the one who’d tried to escape earlier. As usual, I restrained them all with Light Bind, removed their hoods, then used Earth Magic to immobilize them completely.

The roof of the storage shed I’d hit with Ice Shotgun had taken some damage too. I should repair this as well.

“Thank you very much. I cannot express my gratitude enough for your assistance.”

“Ah, thank you. Thanks to you, none of us were injured.”

After finishing the roof repairs and having the golems stack the packaged men for easier transport, the noble siblings who had been watching in stunned silence approached me hesitantly. The elderly butler had tried to speak to me, but they’d stopped him with a gesture, indicating they wanted to offer their thanks personally.

“I’m glad you’re unharmed. I witnessed these men attempting violence, so I took the liberty of intervening.”

When I responded, the siblings bowed deeply.

“I am Oscar… Driscoll. The eldest son of Duke Driscoll’s house.”

“I am Vanessa Driscoll. Likewise, the eldest daughter of the ducal house.”

The brother showed a moment of hesitation before introducing himself with a bow. Since Oscar had announced the family name, his sister Vanessa followed suit.

Driscoll… children of a ducal house. No wonder they were traveling incognito during this period leading up to reconciliation with Grand Duke Debonnis. They probably didn’t want to attract attention.

“I am Theodore Gartner.”

When I gave my name in return, their eyes widened.

“So you are… the Otherworld Ambassador?”

“No wonder you’re so powerful. We’ve heard much about you.”

I’d gathered from our conversation that they knew of me, but given they’re from a ducal house, that made sense.

“By the way, weren’t you two traveling incognito? Soldiers will likely arrive here soon – is that alright? If necessary, I can handle the explanations from here.”

When I said this, Oscar’s eyes widened slightly, but he soon smiled in response.

“I appreciate your concern. While we were indeed trying to avoid attention due to circumstances related to our father’s reconciliation with Grand Duke Debonnis, now that we’ve made Sir Theodore’s acquaintance, there’s no point in trying to remain inconspicuous.”

“I see. That makes sense.”

This must relate to the power balance between the royal family, grand ducal house, and ducal houses. They probably don’t want to appear as having ulterior motives regarding the reconciliation with the grand ducal house. That’s why they were being careful not to contact me before the reconciliation… But now that we’ve met, there’s no reason to avoid attention.

“Rather, we should be the ones to explain things to the soldiers,” Vanessa said. “After all, we were the ones originally attacked, and Sir Theodore merely came to our aid. That would be the proper procedure.”

Well… she’s certainly right about that.

“Understood. Let’s contact them in a way that prevents the story from spreading too much. Do you recognize any of their faces?”

Oscar looked at the faces of the men whose hoods had been removed and shook his head.

“…No. However, they do have the facial features and accents of people from the western… duchy territories.”

When Oscar said this, the conscious men averted their gaze nervously. Oscar let out a small sigh upon seeing this. That was… probably a bluff, wasn’t it?

Duke Driscoll and nobles close to him have territories on islands in the western ocean and along the southwestern coast…

I blocked the sound to prevent them from receiving information before asking.

“Do you have any idea who might be behind this?”

Oscar frowned at my words.

“If… this attack was planned, then the perpetrator likely knows our circumstances to some extent. Considering that, we can narrow it down somewhat. Given the timing, there are those who aren’t pleased about our father’s reconciliation with the Grand Duke… After all, our house has long had conflicts with the grand ducal house. But I never imagined they’d resort to such extreme measures…”

“There are those who have advocated for opposing the grand ducal house. Such individuals likely fear their influence will weaken if the reconciliation succeeds. Or perhaps they stand to gain something if the reconciliation doesn’t happen, or conversely, suffer losses if it does…”

…I see. That’s why they prohibited harming the siblings or kidnapping Vanessa.

If Oscar, being male, were kidnapped, it would be temporary, but if Vanessa were taken, the mere fact of her falling into kidnappers’ hands could become a future stain on her reputation.

So they oppose the Duke’s policy but don’t intend to harm his children or tarnish the family name. That aligns with their words and actions, and their knowledge of the siblings’ movements.

In that case, the mastermind must be someone within the ducal house or one of its vassals.

Surely… there’s no possibility the Duke himself is pulling the strings. If he disliked the reconciliation, he could simply refuse Prince Josiah’s mediation with some excuse – no need for such roundabout methods.

The methods themselves suggest otherwise too. The Duke apparently holds a favorable impression of me. If he had Oscar and Vanessa attacked while they were visiting the shipyard, he’d clearly risk earning my displeasure. Even if staging a fake kidnapping, he could manage it more simply.

“So they resorted to these extreme measures to interfere with the reconciliation.”

“That’s how I see it. Or perhaps they were preparing to make it look like the work of the grand ducal house’s vassals. Perhaps to plant distrust of the grand ducal house in me, the heir…”

…Hmm. When it comes to conspiracies involving heirs, succession disputes come to mind as a classic motive. Even if the foot soldiers were incited with the goal of interfering with reconciliation, it’s quite possible the mastermind has different intentions.

In this case, they could use opposition to reconciliation as camouflage to gain benefits, while outwardly supporting the reconciliation.

So there are two suspicious types: those opposed to reconciliation, or those involved in succession disputes. Either way, they’d be connected to the ducal house.

But asking directly about whether there’s a succession dispute would be too forward. I can ask Rosemary about that part later.

“…There might be elements related to the succession too.”

Just as I was thinking this, Vanessa, who had been looking thoughtful, spoke with a stern expression.

“Vanessa. That’s…”

“I don’t want to suspect family members… but it’s a possibility. In that case, of course, I would become suspect too.”

…Hmm. I wonder about that. Certainly, she could stage it, and she could ensure her safety even if attacked. From the succession dispute perspective, she wouldn’t be an unreasonable suspect.

But deliberately drawing attention to herself by making such a direct statement seems to carry nothing but risk. As for it being a strategy to make people think she’s not the culprit… I’m not sure.

If an investigation is conducted, that possibility would naturally be considered anyway, so such a strategy would be meaningless.

“Um… Sir Theodore, do you know the Magic Inquisitor at the Royal Castle?”

“I do.”

I nodded at Vanessa’s words.

That would be Derek, the Magic Inquisitor. But mentioning the Magical Inquisition here…

“…Vanessa. What are you thinking?”

“When we hand them over, I was considering going to the Royal Castle to secretly undergo a Magical Inquisition. I was wondering if I could ask Sir Theodore to arrange that.”

“Young Lady, such a thing…”

The butler spoke in a flustered voice, but… Vanessa shook her head.

“No, old man. It’s necessary. First, I need to prove my innocence to avoid suspicion and prevent unnecessary complications in the investigation. I must show Father and Brother that I’m trustworthy, otherwise it would be dangerous if they resort to other measures. I absolutely refuse to let this develop into a family dispute during such an important period.”

“…Then I should also prove I’m not secretly involved in this matter,” Oscar said quietly.

…I see. Both Oscar and Vanessa are quite capable. Given Vanessa’s competence, the possibility that someone tried to eliminate her from the succession dispute can’t be ruled out. And it certainly helps that we can skip the trouble of investigating the siblings themselves.

“Understood. I’ll speak with His Majesty Melvin about it.”

At the same time, I’ll work on extracting information from the perpetrators. Also, there should be other candidates in the succession dispute besides Oscar and Vanessa. I’ll need to gather information about them too.

First… I should start by explaining the situation to the soldiers who will come rushing upon hearing the commotion, then transporting the perpetrators to the Royal Castle.