Teristro returned to the crime scene as the knights rushed to get a big piece of cloth to cover and drag that corpse of some beast and take it somewhere appropriate. Upon returning, he stopped in place when he saw a woman he recognized on her knees.

She was crying as she faced the side of the wrecked carriage.

It was the wife of Marquis Vekenas. Teristro heaved a sympathetic sigh. Their children were not around, they might have been left behind in their home. Whether they know or not, it was not of Teristro’s concern.

He approached the woman.

“Lady Vekenas, I am sorry for your loss,” he said as gently as possible.

Lady Vekenas wiped off her tears with her handkerchief and slowly stood up to face him. Her eyes were red in tears.

“Lord Teristro…”

“Please, no need for any format greeting. I’m sorry to disturb you, but may I ask for your statements?”

“Y-Yes… if it may help find the one who did this.”

Teristro nodded then turned to the leading knight. “Come with me, I will need another pair of ears.”

They led the lady to her carriage where she entered and sat down, followed by both Teristro and the knight sitting opposite of her. Teristro waited for the lady to gain some calm before asking.

“At what time did your husband leave before he disappeared?”

“W-We last spoke around after dinner time. Then, he said he needed to leave.”

“For what reason?”

“He said he had some matters to address with his business partners.”

Teristro raised an eyebrow. “Business partners? At night?”

“He said it was his only free time.”

Teristro found it strange, of all time, it had to be at night.

“What time did he leave?”

“I heard from the guards it was around before midnight.”

Suspicious… why wouldn’t they just meet in the Marquis’s house? Also, why does it have to take place at midnight? Something shady was going on here.

“Lady Vekenas, are you aware of what business he does with these partners of his?”

“N-No, he never mentioned. When I asked, he was quite vague, saying that it was a personal investment.”

“I see.”

There’s something going on here. Something more than just simple assassination… but then again, when is an assassination simple?

He had a feeling that it involved the entire kingdom. But he best not probe harshly into this matter, in consideration for the grieving wife. He could not just mention that her husband seemed to be involved in some shady matters.

“Does he have any enemies?”

“No, there shouldn’t be any.”

“Has he been acting strangely at some point?”

She pondered. “... I’m not sure if this is right but, around five months ago, he seemed to be out of himself. He seemed paranoid, nervous, afraid. But he returned to normal soon after.”

“Notice him acting strange recently?”

“N-No, I don’t think so.”

“Did he meet with other nobles?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Please tell me the names of the people he interacted with around five months ago. Just those you can remember.”

Teristro listed down the people Marquis Vekenas spoke with, and after that, asked a few more questions.

***

It was only when noon came that Teristro was able to meet with the king in the king’s office in the palace, after lunch of course. Teristro had written down his report to better transmit what he had learned, which the king was currently reading.

“Those beings are in the area, huh. And more than just one.” The king muttered.

After finding that one beast, Teristro ordered a full sweep of the forest. It was then that they found other corpses left lying on the ground. There was another animal-like beast, but different from the first one they found. Then there was also a pair that appeared to be humans, but with long pointy ears.

The king sighed and lowered the report.

“Thank you for this, Meril. We might have no clear idea of who the culprit is, but at least we are aware these creatures were around the area… Let’s see, the culprit can cast, fire, wind, and ice magic. Not exactly unique elements.”

“Indeed.”

“With those magic in mind, I wouldn’t say these strange beings are not responsible for it after what information we have about them.”

“Leodoule, what are these creatures? They’re the ones the church is tasked with hunting, aren’t they?”

“... Yes, strange beings with abilities that match even the church fighters. They can cast wind, transform, even manipulate and grow plants.”

Teristro nodded. If these strange beings are capable of various magic, then it wouldn’t be impossible that they were responsible for what happened to Marquis Vekenas. But that didn’t explain how those beings died.

“Tell me, Leodoule. Who are they?”

“We don’t know…”

Teristro was in disbelief for a moment, to think that a threat lurks in the capital that even Leodoule didn’t know what they were exactly.

“In that case, why are they here?”

Leodoule seemed to hesitate as he pressed his fingers on his forehead.

“Fine… I will tell you their goals. But that’s it.”

“I’m all ears.”

“... These strange beings, are aiming for my daughter’s life.”

“Huh?” Teristro wrinkled his brows. “Estelia? What sense in the world would they want to do that?” He fell into momentary confusion, failing to make sense of it.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out. In fact, they almost succeeded one time, or twice. Heard about our traitorous servant Oryn?”

“Yes, I did hear. He confronted your son and your old butler. So he was after the princess’s life, huh.”

“Then, a poison attempt from my daughter’s own personal chef.”

Teristro heaved an exasperated sigh. “This is absurd…” he recalled the face of Estelia, one so pure. “Now why would they…?” strangely, when he recalled the moment Estelia showed herself during the nobles’ meeting, he remembered the strange feeling he had. “... Leodoule, you’re keeping crucial information from me, aren’t you?”

“Yes. But this is a secret I cannot allow anyone else to learn.”

“... I understand. Then, what do you want me to do?”

“I’m sure you will be preoccupied with your other work, but I hope you also help investigate the death of Marquis Vekenas.”

Teristro nodded.

Now that his business here was done, he left the king’s office and began heading his way out of the palace. But on the way to the stairs, he encountered his niece. Princess Estelia, wearing a beautiful dress that beautifully matches its wearer. She was with her three servants.

Upon seeing Teristro, Estelia smiled tenderly and bowed her head. “Greetings, uncle.”

“Estelia. Are you doing alright?”

“...Yes, I am.”

Teristro found it doubtful, for he felt different. Strange, he couldn’t tell exactly, but she was not precisely alright. His intuition couldn’t sense it properly. And it surprised him. There were several emotions coming from her, and all of them were vague, like a mixture of different kinds.

Normally, it was the same for other humans, he could see through their eyes, and with his intuition, what one was feeling. And at least one emotion would be clear. But with her, he could not tell. The fact that his intuition was acting strange right now disturbed him. It felt like something was blocking his gift from working properly, an obstruction…

“How about you, uncle?”

“Well, I am a bit on edge after what happened.”

“Ah, yes. That…” as she realized, she looked down, sadness in her eyes.

And indeed, strangely now, when she did it, he could tell it was genuine sadness.

What…what is this?

It was the first time something like this happened, where he only felt it was genuine or tell someone’s emotion if they show it themselves.

“... So, did you learn something about what happened to Lucious’s uncle?”

“Yes. But not much. You should ask your father if you want the details.”

“I understand.”

Something was going on with his gift. But he set it aside for now.

“By the way, my niece, I heard you have been practicing magic. I never thought you would take such study.”

She had always been a well-behaved girl and never seemingly had an interest in most things. That was what his intuition told him when they saw each other in the past. So this was a surprise for him.

“Ah, yes I did.”

“So, what magic spells did you learn?”

“... It’s a secret, uncle. It is e-embarassing to tell.”

“Is that so?”

If she was training for magic, then she might definitely start in the basics. Like for instance emanating plain mana, or learning about some elements like fire — it was then that Teristro caught on to something.

“Estelia, let’s play a little game.”

“Huh? What game?”

“... Well, not precisely a game. Just a short activity. We need a table.”

“But uncle…”

“We have time, don’t we? Come now, just something short. Please, I insist.”

“...Where would we go?”

“Princess,” Vernon chimed in. “Your study room should suffice.”

“Yes, I suppose. But why, uncle?”

“What? Can’t I spend time with my niece?”

Estelia slightly tilted her head, and seemingly giving up, she told him to follow. She led him to her study room.

“Have your servants stand to the side, this will need focus,” Teristro said with a smile as he sat down.

“O-Okay.”

The servants stood by the door but faced the two. Estelia slowly sat down on the opposite side of Teristro. Teristro inserted his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. There was a total of ten cards, and he shuffled them in his hand, but he kept anyone from seeing what was on them.

Estelia had a curious expression as she stared at the cards.

“Now then, Estelia. Tell me what you see, okay?”

“Uncle this is…?”

“You will find this very interesting. Okay, I’ll be placing one.”

He pulled out a card and placed it in front of Estelia.

“What do you see?”

Estelia seemed confused at first, but intensely looked at the dark illustration on the card.

“......... a butterfly.”

“Okay. How about this?”

He placed another card.

“... a group of people?”

Another card was placed.

“... some sort of four-legged animal.”

Then another.

“A spider.”

Then another.

“A flower.”

It went on until all ten cards were finished.

“See? It wasn’t so hard.”

“So, what was that about, uncle? It almost felt like some sort of test.”

“Perhaps it was.”

“Then, what was it all for? Did we learn something?”

“To be honest, I think this test did not work well. I couldn’t learn anything.”

“I see… That’s a shame then, but it surely is a unique activity. Did you draw them?”

“Yes. And the process was not easy at all.”

Estelia gently nodded. “... Then, uncle. I must take my leave, I need to leave for my preparation for the final event of the festival. Farewell.”

“Farewell, Estelia.”

Estelia stood up and left the room with her servants. The moment the door closed, Teristro sighed and leaned his back on the chair.

“Strange…”

It was true, the test didn’t work well as he had expected. Which was strange. Some of her answers did not correspond well with some. It always worked out well for other people he did this test with. Even with the king, which his test was proven to a degree accurate.

But for Estelia, it didn’t match well. It was full of inconsistencies. Almost as if she was answering at random. But there was no way, there was no need to answer at random. Anyone could easily say what they see. Then if that was not the case, then perhaps the test really failed. Or there was another possibility… it was that she lied.

“Lie…”

It then dawned on him.

“A liar.”

He took in a sharp breath. A liar should not end this way in the test. But, it was a possibility in this scenario.

Estelia? A liar? There’s no way. She would never.

It didn’t match her nature.

He could be mistaken. She couldn’t be a liar.

Teristro denied that she could be a liar.

Because of this confusion, this uncertainty, he wanted to look through her nature more. There was a mystery at play here.

However, why was it? His intuition has not been working properly with his interaction with his niece. So, why was working now?

His intuition was screaming.

Screaming not to pry.