“What are you doing…!”
Captured by Iris (René), Diaz was forcibly pulled into a nearby vacant room.
His emotions consisted more of fear than confusion.
Perhaps it was not fear of her, but fear that everything would fall apart.
Iris (René) pulled out the short wand that was tucked against her thigh and gave it a flick.
“≪Silence≫. ……With this, no one around will be able to hear what is being said here.”
The sound of the room was completely cut off. It was a small area that encompassed only the two of them.
Iris (René) didn’t need this, but it was a measure to put the other party at ease.
“First of all, let me tell you something. As you can already see from this wand, I am not the young lady, but Iris, the double. Let me ask you straight to the point. Have you been passing on information about the goings-on inside this castle to the Night Pythons?”
Diaz’s eyes widened in surprise at the straightforwardness of the question.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
Diaz blurted it out for a moment. Maybe he thought he was merely being test. Certainly, there was no proof.
However, Iris (René) used her emotional perception to read the fear and guilt swirling inside him.
Iris (René) continued to stare into Diaz’s eyes, which were wandering and unable to fix their gaze on her.
Then he immediately made a sound and bowed as close to 90° as possible as though he was diving into water.
“… Yes, yes, I’m sorry!! I was told to always find out which one is the real lady and report back… if asked! They are holding my family hostage!”
–I knew it.
Of the two Misses Catherine, which one is the real one and which one is a fake? There are only a limited number of people in a position to tell which of the two Catherine’s is the real one and which is the fake one.
The only people who can tell which of the two Catherine ladies is the real one are the maids and the teachers who are in charge of the study and housekeeping training.
If they could get in touch with a teacher and get involved in the study sessions, they would be able to know which is real or fake at any time. After all, Catherine rarely missed a day of study.
This is why the Night Pythons had suddenly made Diaz so interested in learning.
She wanted to say, “I don’t care about hostages”, and she thought of the possibility of hitting Diaz with the right amount of force and turning him into a double agent, but no matter what she thought of …, it was not something that Iris would be allowed to say or do.
Iris (René) wondered what she should do.
–But if so, is this guy a rushed insider?
… Hmmm? If that’s the case, I’d think they’d pick someone in a better position for that. Maybe a maid of honor who’s in charge of taking care of Catherine and me directly, or … threatening the teacher without having to get involved in such a tedious way…
Well, it could have been that there was no family member who could conveniently be taken hostage, but … was that the case with … all of them?
“Why would it have been Diaz-san?
“Eh?”
“Take hostages and make them do what you say.”
She only said it because she had doubts, but at that moment Iris (René) sensed a burning fear.
There’s something more about this reaction.
“I don’t know…I don’t know…”
“Really?”
“Eh…”
“Are you sure you don’t know anything about it?”
The second time, he broke faster.
Diaz was already getting down to his knees.
“Oh… I’m sorry! I needed the money for my family! We were doing well for a long time, and then they suddenly…!”
“…In other words, they were paying you to give them information about the Earl’s personal affairs, and then suddenly they took your family hostage and started to act recklessly.”
Iris (René) was dismayed. In other words, Diaz was spying and selling information even before the Earl made his move against the Night Pythons.
Feed them appropriately, keep them, and have them search for important information when the time comes. To prevent him from betraying them, they carefully took hostages.
No matter how forceful the tactics are, it would be troublesome to add a new informant to the list. A loyalist would not be able to betray his lord, and would likely spread false information as a double agent. It may be more rational … to let a guy who was originally paid to pass out information for money.
–This ability, however, can be used as a lie detector. It’s the same as a real lie detector, though it won’t work on someone who lies with impunity. It would be easier if it was always ‘kill with sword and magic and be done with it’, but I can’t say that there won’t be interpersonal negotiations and brainstorming sessions like this in the future. This power will surely come in handy.
“But then, how did you know …?”
“Uh, erm… I was on the lookout for anyone who might be trying to find out the real identity of …… me and the young lady, and I got the feeling that you were hiding something from me.”
“…Is that so? Adventurers have sharp senses.”
Since he seemed to be convinced, Iris (René) smiled ambiguously and misled him, without saying anything else.
“Oh, what should I do…”
Diaz said, clinging to the wall.
“Well, my personal opinion is that it’s best to leave it as is for the time being. If we consult with the Earl or make any other strange moves, the hostages might be in danger.”
“Is that … all right?”
“I’m sure Earl-sama will help you. I hear he’s going around crushing Night Pythons bases all over the territory right now.”
Iris (René) said with deceptive comfort.
The words had no basis in fact, but when they were said with such confidence, it made Diaz feel that they might be true, and he looked a little relieved.
“… Amazing, isn’t it? Iris-sama is still a child, but she is much calmer than I am…”
–No, no, no, I’m calm because I don’t care about the life of the young lady or the hostages.
Diaz was impressed, but she kept the truth to herself.
“I think it’s fine to do as they say until the hostages are rescued. I don’t know how to say this, but I don’t think it’s possible to go after the young lady just because the real one is known. But if something unexpected is about to happen, you can consult with Earl-sama… or something like that.”
She might say, ‘Kill the lady when you see a chance’, so she’s nailed it, just in case.
“Yes… Yes, thank you. I will.”
“Well then, let’s get back to work and study. You must not tell anyone about this.”
“I know. I won’t.”
When Iris (René) released «Silence», Diaz left the room, bowing over and over again.
On his way out.
Iris (René) used a simple wind magic spell without chanting and cut a few strands of Diaz’s hair from behind his head.
Diaz left the room completely unaware of it.
Iris (René) plucked up the hair that was left on the floor.
Then she grinned.
–Yes, I’ve got the hair. If it’s just his wife, there’s nothing I can do, but if it means his children have been kidnapped too, that’s convenient. If it’s a biological child, I can track them down.
Magic to find a person requires clues. Objects closely related to the person or body parts are often used. If you have a hair from the father’s head, you can at least find a child.
Long-distance detection consumes a lot of magic power, but the problem of magic power can be solved by turning it into ritual magic and sharing it among several people, and the Earl would be able to gather a sufficient number of magicians. Or rather, Iris (René) could do it by herself.
The problem is when you have a hideout in the middle of the wilderness or in a cave in the middle of nowhere with detection blocking magic. It will interfere with detection in the city, it is like saying “I am hiding something”, but you cannot tell where there is detection disruption unless you get close to the place.
In fact, criminal organizations often have hideouts in such places for emergency evacuation and hostage taking.
… Incidentally, according to …, adventurer knowledge salvaged from Iris’s memory. It seemed that the knowledge of the possessed person came to her mind as needed. Once the knowledge is extracted, it is copied into René’s memory, but any knowledge not extracted by the time the possession is released will probably be lost to René.
–If the Night Pythons are careful, it’s a move that won’t work, but I’ll give it a try… If I can detect them, I’m lucky. I don’t care about the hostages themselves, but if the Earl finds an undiscovered base, we’ll be one step ahead again.
“…≪Seek Person≫”
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