Earl Keely immediately sent his troops to the suspicious room that Iris had discovered.
After the autopsy, it was concluded that the two corpses found in the room had been bound with «Bind» and killed by «Poison».
At first, it was thought to be a bizarre magical murder case, but the Earl’s investigation revealed a series of surprising facts.
First of all, illegal drugs and black-market equipment were found in one of the rooms of the apartment complex where the two had died.
Furthermore, the room itself had been rented under the name of a nonexistent merchant.
The dead men were adventurers who had been hired by the Night Pythons to carry out sabotage, investigations, crimes, and sometimes even assassinations.
How they ended up dead, nobody knew. Maybe they had screwed up on the job and were dealt with, no concrete details.
At any rate, the fact that they were based so close to the castle made it almost certain that they were being prepared for an attack on the Earl’s family.
Another important clue was found in the room.
A dying message that seems to have been written by one of the murdered men with the last of his strength. The words written on the floor in spattered blood said: “Golden Bird, back door, hidden room”. It was hidden under his body.
Seeing this as an important clue, the Earl sent his troops to the Golden Bird as well, and they found the Night Pythons stronghold and …many corpses.
The Night Pythons had established a base of operations in each city, and the Earl thought he knew the base of operations in Eltaref. In fact, it was a dummy, and the Golden Bird was the real thing.
Why they had all been killed was not clear at all. It was clearly an attack by several magicians. Was it an internal struggle? A strike by another criminal organization? An attack by someone with a vendetta against the Night Pythons?
Whatever it was, the slips, notes, letters, and correspondence that were left behind provided considerable information about the Night Pythons.
While the destruction of the base remained a mystery, the anti-Night Pythons campaign moved on to the next stage.
＊ ＊ ＊
According to the “cooperative statements” made by the men who first attacked Iris (René) during their “inhumane but not intense interrogation,” they were only temporarily based at that location by order, and their subsequent actions were to receive orders from Night Pythons on a case-by-case basis. In other words, they were unaware of Night Pythons’ objectives and plans.
When she tracked them down, she was disappointed when they ended up in an empty room that was clearly only a temporary residence, but she let them swim around in the hope that they would make contact somewhere, and bingo.
After some tracking via their emotional traces, Iris (René) ended up at the hidden base at the Golden Bird.
Then, waiting for night to fall, Iris (René) slipped out of bed and became a ninja.
Incidentally, the dying message was, of course, fabricated by Iris (René), who killed them both.
It may have been a little unnatural, but it was able to inform and guide the Earl.
Before bedtime, Iris (René) was in bed, reading a memo summarizing the progress of the operation and smiling.
This memo was written by Benedict. Since she had to pretend to be young lady Catherine all day long, she had no chance to hear from her companions. However, Benedict thought it would be bad if Iris (René), who was hired as a double, did not know what was going on, so the Earl gave his permission for her to receive the memo. Benedict’s meno was accompanied by a note saying, “After you read it, throw it into the fireplace”.
At this rate, if they secretly support the Earl from behind the scenes, they may … end up with what Iris (René) was looking…
This time, Iris (René) was able to get to the heart of the matter in the shortest possible distance, but this will not always be the case. The network of contacts and information that Earl Keely, the lord, possessed was a power that even the most powerful Undead, Iris (René), did not possess. In particular, gathering information from remote areas and from a wide range of locations would be difficult, no matter how much magic one has. Therefore, it would be a good idea to have the Earl compensate for the parts she was not good at.
–But the executive who oversees the… territory was not in the biggest city in the territory, was he? Was he daring to avoid it because it’s in the lap of the lord?
In any case, when it came to remote cities, Iris (René) could not reach them. Even the high-performance emotional radar can’t reach them. For the time being, the Earl and his minions will have to do their best to investigate the situation.
What should Iris (René) do now?
–The insider. I’ll look for that one. Since I have the ability to perceive emotions, it’s a perfect fit. And, leaving aside the guild employee, the servant who was the informant that Jai-something mentioned yesterday might be contacted again by the upper echelon of the Night Pythons. I wonder if I could tell Earl-sama somehow that a person is suspicious.
If this was the case, the only place they could work would be inside the castle.
It was something that could be done while performing the work of a double.
＊ ＊ ＊
Although she was to be Catherine’s double, Catherine’s own life was almost always the same.
However, while Iris (René) was escorting Catherine, two schedules for Catherine were drawn up each day at the castle.
Each morning, the Earl himself decides which of the two schedules will be handled by the real Catherine and which by Iris (René). Iris (René) also lived as Catherine at the same time.
Her hair was dyed a citrus color using the magic contained «Color Spray», and she would have powder and makeup applied to her face.
And if she wore the same clothes, there was indeed an identical girl to the young lady Catherine, a mirror.
The servants would treat her as “Lady Catherine” regardless of whether they met the real or the fake.
Iris (René) was a little unsure if this operation was worthwhile, but since she was doing her job as she was told, any problems that might arise would be the Earl’s responsibility.
And if someone needed to appear in front of the people, that would naturally be Iris’s (René’s) responsibility.
He said, “‘There is no need for conversations”. He had no plans to do so during the commissioned request period, but he would be relieved to know that he had a double to help in case of sudden need.
Life as Catherine was quite busy.
First of all, there was studying. As a required part of her education, she learned grammar, geometry, mathematics, art, and sociology from her tutor.
Then, bridal training. Embroidery, sewing, cooking, and other general household chores. She also did some cleaning and laundry, though at the level of elementary school home economics. She must be able to do by herself what she usually leaves to the servants.
This was the daily life of an aristocratic girl in Ciel-Terra.
Although there is a pretext of “because you don’t know what kind of environment you will marry into”, it was more a product of the culture of pressure to be able to do things “because it is normal to be able to do this” and “because it is embarrassing if you can’t do it”.
Although Iris (René) was an adult in her previous life, she had only lived 10 years in this world. Although she could at least read and write and had some knowledge of society, she was actually quite grateful for the education she received in grammar and sociology.
Incidentally, no matter how you try, you can’t fake knowledge, academic ability, or proficiency, so the tutors were in a position to know which was which.
“… Excellent. Iris-sama, you may be a math genius.”
“Thank you…”
A study room with a single blackboard and a single desk. Iris (René) was praised by her geometry and mathematics teacher, who was teaching a class for her alone.
He had a curly roll of hair on his sides, so Iris (René) called him “Mozart” in her mind. Giving strange nicknames to teachers has been a privilege of students since the dawn of time.
Chojiro, who had lived on Earth in a previous life, had graduated from a university with a science degree, and was praised when he solved a math problem that, by Japanese standards, would have been at the middle-school level. It was natural for her to be able to solve problems at this level, so it was a little painful to see Mozart-sensei’s impressed gaze on her.
“Iris-sama is a magician, isn’t she? I teach magic as well. Unfortunately, Lady Catherine did not have the aptitude for it, so I have only taught her theory, and finished her studies in magic.”
“Heh, is that so?”
A surprising fact. It seems that Mozart-sensei was a magician.
If anything, music seems more suited to his appearance.
In fact, the required education as an aristocrat included magical theory (and practice, if you have the talent). Catherine didn’t do the practice because she has no talent for magic, and the theory was already off the timetable because she had already completed the class.
“Excuse me, sensei, but what is your level of magic?”
“I’d say, using the common adventurer’s level classification, I’m at level 2 in basic magic, and level 1 in elemental fire magic. I am ashamed of myself. My job is to teach the first steps, and this is enough, while I am being negligent. What about you, Iris-sama?”
“I am level 3 in water and wind. And some others.”
“At your age, level 3 is nothing short of amazing.”
All magic has a “level” for convenience and difficulty of learning.
The level of magic you can use is the benchmark for measuring your ability.
Mozart-sensei’s practical ability is only “pretty good for an amateur”.
If one were to describe “Iris’s” ability, one would say, “It’s amazing that she is already a full-fledged professional at her age”, but not much more than that.
But even so, she probably would have grown in ability as she matured, and would have become a big player. If only she had not been noticed by René.
By the way, the strength of the person inside, René, was “as strong as the strongest magician of the human race” at present, and will become even stronger in the future … It was hard to use high-level magic, but there was never a magic that was too difficult for her to use. There are only some types of magic, such as holy magic, that cannot be used.
But Iris (René) thought that she should not be proud of her ability. Even though the Dullahanization had reduced ter magic power, her magic could not penetrate the knight’s “Turtle Formation”.
No matter how high your magic power is, it’s meaningless if you’re using it without thinking.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to see a little of Iris-sama’s magic.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. If there is any sign of magic, people will know that I am a fake.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right. I am sorry.”
Mozart-sensei laughed apologetically.
She felt that this conversation was out of line, but the entire castle was now protected from detection and information-gathering by a magic circle set up by a magician in attendance. The only thing she should have been concerned about was some low-tech eavesdropping.
–Well, I don’t know if I care about that, but I’d better keep emotional detection on…
Perhaps there may be someone on the inside still trying to find out what Iris (René) was up to, to determine if she was a fake or not.
Iris (René) would solve the next problem and gradually expand the scope of her emotional detection.
In the first place, there were no people in the place where eavesdroppers could eavesdrop. The gray emotions of the servants passing in the corridor, like tired overtime office workers, flowed in.
–I don’t catch anything that looks particular. I need to widen the scope a bit more…
Iris (René) was about to do just that when she suddenly sensed the alertness of someone nearby.
–What? Who!?
She didn’t think the reaction had been particularly alarming until a moment ago, but it suddenly turned into a tense alertness. Like an employee at the moment a director comes out while they were comfortably walking down the hallway.
She wondered if she had encountered the Earl, but as far as she could tell from the reaction, she hadn’t. Instead, she had encountered someone, that was heading straight for the study room where Iris (René) was.
–You’re getting a little worked up about coming to me? That’s a strangely negative reaction, but…
As she waited with a tightened resolve, there was a discreet knock at the door.
“Come in.”
Mozart-sensei called out, and a male servant entered.
He was a young man with a slightly timid air, with no distinctive features in his appearance.
“I have brought your geometry class materials.”
“Thank you very much.”
He dropped the triangular and semicircular panels he had been carrying onto the lectern with a thud.
They were the kind of rulers commonly used at school to draw shapes on the blackboard.
He bowed to the teacher and to Iris (René).
But his emotions were strange, especially when he looked at Iris (René). His negative alertness flared up.
The man left the room, but stopped for a few seconds just outside the room, then scuttled away.
“Sensei, who was that?”
“Diaz-san, I presume. He has been assisting me recently. He said, ‘I’m at this age, but I want to deepen my knowledge’, and he wants me to help him while he teaches me himself.”
“I see…”
-No way… this guy?
Suspicious. Too suspicious. It’s not bad for anyone to suddenly become interested in learning, but it’s too suspicious when you consider the emotional reactions involved.
“Umm, Sensei. I’m sorry, I just need to use the restroom…”
“Go ahead. But be warned. Once you leave this room, you are ‘Lady Catherine’.”
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