Chapter 426 – Circumstances of the Duke's Family

“Alright then, I’ll go have the Thieves Guild investigate,” came Sheila’s reply through the communication device.

After informing everyone about the situation, responses came from everyone. They seemed to be sharing the communication device among themselves, with replies coming from each person, creating a pseudo-chat atmosphere.

“Understood. I’ll go to the Royal Castle with these two.”

“I’ll have Lavigne accompany Sheila-san.”

“Then we’ll return home first before heading to the Royal Castle.”

“Roger. I’ll send Caduceus your way. Let’s meet up at the Royal Castle later.”

Sheila would take the busts of the assault perpetrators I made to the Thieves Guild to gather information. Rosemary would also come to the Royal Castle to discuss matters there, so the plan was settled.

On our end, after handing over the packaged perpetrators to the soldiers who had rushed to the scene and having them transported, we were about to ride in Oscar and Vanessa’s carriage to the Royal Castle.

“Are you alright now?”

After finishing the communication and approaching the carriage, Clark, the Duke household’s butler, inquired.

“My apologies. There were some matters I needed to attend to. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“Not at all. We also needed to explain the situation to the soldiers.”

After saying this, Clark took a step back, opened the carriage door, and gestured for us to board.

“Excuse me.”

Saying this, I boarded the carriage. As expected of a Duke household’s carriage, the interior was finely crafted.

I sat in the seat opposite Oscar and Vanessa, and Clark also boarded. The door closed and the carriage began moving. The escorts were beside the driver.

“An interesting magical creature,” Vanessa showed interest in Balor, who was perched on my shoulder. Balor, having completed his task… how should I put it, had half-closed eyes with his wings folded, giving the impression of being somewhat sleepy.

“His name is Balor. Once you get used to him, he’s surprisingly charming, I think.”

“I think I understand. He helped us earlier, and seems quite reliable,” Oscar said with a smile.

…Hmm. Both of them have unexpectedly broad capacity, you could say. I’d heard the Duke was curious and fond of new things, so perhaps that influence was at work. Since their territory borders the ocean, they’re probably accustomed to seeing various rare items through trade.

“So you two are still going to the Duke and Termwills?”

“Yes. Father said he won’t do any sightseeing until his meeting with Grand Duke Debonnis is finished.”

“We also planned to stay home, but he told us children don’t need to accompany him and to go do some sightseeing reconnaissance for him… Since we’ll be moving incognito, we had planned the reconnaissance schedule even before heading to Termwills to ensure things go smoothly.”

“…I see.”

Meaning they didn’t need to accompany him, so it was fine to go have fun. The reconnaissance part was probably more of a justification that Oscar and Vanessa would find easier to accept than simply being told to go have fun.

“Which family members know about your trip to the western district?”

“Quite a few know. I sent a letter to Termwills myself asking them to find places where we could view the shipyards. I was the one who suggested it in the first place.”

Oscar frowned slightly.

“Then it might be difficult to trace how the information spread from there.”

“Perhaps. To be honest, we weren’t being very cautious.”

Vanessa also looked regretful. They probably had normal security awareness in having escorts accompany them, but even in the western district, they likely didn’t expect to be assaulted on that scale in the middle of the city during daytime.

The assailants seemed to be people unfamiliar with the two… but judging from how they fell for the bait, they were undoubtedly from the western region.

But… if they were hiding in the city, someone must have witnessed them somewhere. In that case, it falls under the Thieves Guild’s jurisdiction. I’ll also look forward to information coming through Sheila.

While talking with the two, the carriage arrived at the Royal Castle.

Getting off the carriage in front of the guesthouse, King Melvin and Prince Josiah appeared. Mildred was with them too. I’d contacted the Knight Order through the communication device. An attack on the Duke household is a serious matter, so they probably cut their work short to come.

“It’s been a while, both of you.”

“I’m glad you’re safe,” said King Melvin and Prince Josiah.

“Your Majesty Melvin, Your Highness Josiah. Your words are too kind.”

“It’s been too long, Your Majesty.”

The two gave polite greetings to King Melvin.

“And Theodore. You did well protecting these two.”

“Truly. If such an incident had occurred at this time, regardless of the truth, the reconciliation talks could have easily collapsed. You saved us, Theodore-kun.”

Prince Josiah frowned with displeasure but turned a smile toward me and expressed his thanks.

“Thank you. But it’s thanks to my companion noticing something was wrong.”

That part was because Sheila was the first to notice something amiss. When discussing the Magical Inquisition with King Melvin, I should mention this as well.

“Hmm… Considering the timing, it’s a great achievement. But capturing the perpetrators doesn’t mean the case is solved. First, let me hear the details.”

King Melvin turned and headed into the guesthouse. Prince Josiah followed. Clark… seemed to be waiting in the carriage.

“–So that’s the situation… I humbly request a Magical Inquisition to prove our innocence and facilitate the investigation smoothly.”

After finishing the explanation, King Melvin closed his eyes.

“…I understand your feelings well. But summoning the inquisitor here would inevitably attract attention.”

Having Inquisitor Derek come here immediately after arriving at the guesthouse… could lead to rumors and misunderstandings.

If rumors spread that the Duke household’s two children underwent Magical Inquisition after the assault incident, it might suggest possibilities like a staged incident or internal family disputes, which would be bad for appearances. But we can’t exactly go around explaining the reasons for the Magical Inquisition either.

“Therefore, I think it would be better to arrange for you to go to where the perpetrators are being held in disguise and cooperate in identifying and interrogating them as witnesses. That place is originally under the inquisitor’s jurisdiction anyway. I’ll ensure the inquisition is conducted respectfully and as briefly as possible.”

“Thank you.”

If the subjects cooperatively answer the confident questions, the Magical Inquisition shouldn’t take too much time.

“Mildred. I leave these two to you. Please explain the situation to Derek.”

“Yes. Oscar-sama, Vanessa-sama, this way please.”

“Thank you for your assistance.”

Oscar and Vanessa left the room escorted by Mildred.

For their movement within the Royal Castle, they would utilize that Disguise Ring Magic Tool. They’re being quite considerate in various ways.

“It seems everyone else has arrived too.”

“Then let’s proceed with the discussion now that we’re all gathered here.”

As if replacing the two who had left the room, a carriage arrived in front of the guesthouse, and all the Party Members got out. Forset and Sion’s group seemed to have returned home for now. Guided by the ladies-in-waiting, everyone soon arrived at our room.

“Hello, it’s been a while for you all too. I’m glad to see you’re well.”

“Your Highness Josiah.”

Everyone greeted King Melvin and Prince Josiah.

“Theodore-sama, are you injured?”

“Well, as you can see,” I answered Ashley’s question with a smile.

“I’m relieved you’re safe,” Grace said with a gentle expression, narrowing her eyes, while Marlene gave a carefree, beaming smile. Rosemary and Claudia weren’t as straightforward with their expressions, but Claudia seemed to be smiling faintly.

After everyone sat on the sofas and tea was served, we continued our discussion.

“Now then… Either to prevent the reconciliation, or as a cover for a succession dispute. Depending on the information we can get from the captured individuals… but it would probably be hasty to determine the mastermind based solely on the perpetrators’ information.”

What King Melvin said was considering the latter possibility.

“We’re prepared to cooperate with their interrogation as well… but yes. If we assume the purpose is a succession dispute and they’re just stirring up justification from behind, it’s highly likely the lower ranks don’t know the mastermind’s intentions.”

“We’ll likely need to gather information while being cautious of both possibilities.”

“Are there any suspicious individuals?”

“…When it comes to the forefront of opposition, the rights to the gold mine located at the border between the Grand Duke and Duke households is the famous case,” Rosemary said, hiding her mouth with her feather fan while closing her eyes.

The gold mine rights. This goes back to Verdgar’s history, not something from the current generation… A gold mine was discovered in a location that couldn’t clearly be called either territory, and at that time, there was an incident where disputes arose between the Grand Duke and Duke households’ retainers.

There were minor clashes, and before the situation escalated, the Royal Family intervened and established an agreement.

I heard the Royal Family’s intervention was quite swift, perhaps because with major nobles involved, it couldn’t be treated as mere squabbles between nobles. Since then, I don’t recall hearing about any disturbances related to the gold mine. That’s probably due to the Royal Family’s strength.

Or perhaps it’s because the Royal Family married blood relatives from both families and moved to maintain balance among the three houses, with that still having lingering effects.

“The initial cause of the conflict was indeed that. Though now it’s settled with both households sharing the profits equally.”

“The Royal Family monitors and reports the output to ensure fairness. If someone tried to overturn that, they’d make enemies of both the Royal Family and the other household.”

Fairness, huh. Well, neither household would want to divide the country with civil war, and considering the Verdgar Royal Family’s influence and circumstances like the Nation Protecting Ceremony, indeed.

“Yes. The heads of the households have reached an agreement with the Royal Family. But what about between the retainers of both households? Especially between the lords governing areas near the gold mine.”

“So they’re the forefront of the opposition to reconciliation?”

“I spoke with both the Grand Duke and Duke, and while there’s quite a long history, there seemed to be visible and invisible harassment that didn’t need to be made public, and negative impressions of each other’s factions. In this case, it’s more about grudges than rights. Well, the current generation is relatively calm.”

Prince Josiah closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.

Both the heads and the retainers. Even without direct resentment due to conflicts during their grandfathers’ and fathers’ generations, there were probably aspects where they couldn’t speak well of the other party due to their positions, or kept their distance.

“Oscar and Vanessa are somewhat distanced from such conflicts. Those two are quite intelligent.”

That’s precisely why they might become targets of the opposition faction. By framing the other faction, they could aim to change Oscar and Vanessa’s thinking.

“Well, there might be circumstances we’re not aware of, so we should properly listen to what the perpetrators have to say.”

By extracting information from the perpetrators based on what we’ve learned so far, we can substantiate our conjectures.

“But even considering all these various circumstances and historical background, staging a fake kidnapping against one’s own master’s children and injuring family members seems somewhat excessive if driven by emotion alone. However… if they’re being instigated, it might serve as a pretext. By pinning the crime on the opposing lord, they could weaken the Grand Duke household’s power and increase the Duke household’s interests, and so on.”

“Then the succession dispute theory fits better.”

“At this point, that’s how I see it.”

“I think that line of reasoning makes sense too.”

“Same for Father and Marie.”

All three agreed.

…A succession dispute means the main goal would be to assassinate the heir apparent.

If it were just opposition to reconciliation, this would be the end, but if assassination is the goal, then this was just the preparation and the main event is yet to come. We’ll likely need to provide personal protection for Oscar and Vanessa.

“Then, regarding the succession dispute, who are the suspicious individuals?”

This goes without saying – people relatively close to the succession line. If they assassinated too many people, it would be noticeable. That’s precisely why they might be using this cover operation.

“First, there’s one person who immediately comes to mind. The Duke’s younger brother.”

“He’s next in the line of succession after the head’s biological children.”

Meaning he would be Oscar and Vanessa’s uncle.

But if the purpose is assassination in a succession dispute, that person could also become a target. From various perspectives, he’s someone to watch carefully and monitor.