Reconstruction of a Crime
Reconstruction of a Crime
"I'm glad I came straight here!!! You scoundrel, to think you were scheming something this heinous...."
A one-armed man wrapped his arm around Ada, who still wore a blank expression with no idea what was happening, as if she were something precious, and shouted.
"No—how did you know...?"
And for Venom, the situation was even more baffling.
How could a member of the imperial family who had attacked the cult have followed him all the way here?
Not only had he pursued him to his hometown of Goldpool Valley, but the fury blazing in his opponent's expression made it seem as though he had even seen through the plan he had just devised.
"Were those dark wizards really planning to turn a child and a dog into chimeras?"
"I was foolish. When Yustaf and His Highness the Crown Prince read the manga, I thought you were overthinking things. To think you were actually preparing for it."
"I want to cut that wretch down this instant!!! How could anyone cross a line no human should ever cross!"
It was not only the man who appeared to be of the imperial family—the knightly figures standing behind him also radiated murderous fury.
Woof!
Rash, as if his part was now done, quietly stopped confronting Venom and returned to Ada's side to lie down.
Even though he was a dog whose expression was hard to read, the look on Rash's face as he climbed onto the cart and stared at Venom alongside Ada spoke clearly.
'You're done for.'
At the same moment, the knights surged forward and charged at Venom.
The Crown Prince gently smoothed Ada's hair with his left hand and checked whether she was hurt anywhere.
"Are you injured anywhere?"
"Yeah! Rash protected Ada."
Ada petted the puppy and smiled brightly, as if nothing at all had happened.
The Crown Prince looked at the puppy that had done such an admirable deed.
'He looks exactly like the puppy from Iron-Blooded Alchemist. Rupert... you can rest easy now. I've prevented the tragedy you drew.'
Thinking of how anxious Rupert must have been, and how he must have drawn with the hope that someone would help, he felt truly fortunate that he had noticed in time and prevented the tragedy.
"But mister, why are you hurt? Doesn't it hurt? Let's go to the church! If the mister there puts his hands on you, it doesn't hurt at all!"
"It's all right. I gained something more important than an arm, so it doesn't hurt."
"What kind of thing?"
"The future... I offered my right arm for the future of the empire."
The soldiers he had protected from the tunnel snake's attack.
This little girl and a single dog, saved from the dark wizard's vile scheme.
And the countless innocent victims who would have perished had the monstrous magic circle they were preparing been activated.
If protecting them cost him one arm, was that not a bargain more than worth it?
"Leon, take that wretch to the Imperial Intelligence Bureau so the truth of this incident can be thoroughly investigated."
"As you command, Your Highness!"
Venom had already been half beaten to a pulp by the escort knights.
After binding his body tightly with rope and searching him, Leon, one of the knights, headed back toward the Magic Tower to escort him.
"Let's go, little one. I'll see you home."
"Not little! Ada is a pretty lady, my brother said so!"
"All right, our pretty lady. I shall escort you home."
At Ada's pout, the Crown Prince lifted her up with his left hand and slowly began to walk.
Rash quietly followed behind them.
And the remaining escort knights, after debating what to do with the abandoned handcart, dragged it along as they all headed toward the Somerset Count's House.
***
"I can sense a very large amount of cannabinol accumulated within Sir Somerset's body right now."
"Cannabinol?"
"Yes. Given the amount, I suspect it has been building up for quite a long time."
Just what was this cannabinol supposedly accumulated in my body?
I didn't particularly smoke, and I didn't drink excessively.
At most, I had a little wine before bed.
My diet was also prepared with utmost care by the mansion servants for every meal, and even from a modern person's perspective, it was nutritionally balanced.
It wasn't as if this place was like Earth, where fish exposed to environmental pollution were loaded with microplastics.
"I truly cannot understand it. I haven't eaten any particular food in excess...."
"Cannabinol is a substance that is difficult to ingest naturally."
"Pardon? Is it perhaps a poison...?"
"No. It is a drug."
The Saintess looked at me with slightly wary eyes. That was understandable, since cannabinol was a component frequently found when treating the drug addicts scattered throughout the empire's slums.
She could not help but suspect that Rupert might be a drug addict.
"I have never once used drugs!"
"Cannabinol is such an unusual component that it is difficult to detect easily. At most, its common use is in Vitality Potions."
"There are drugs in Vitality Potions?!"
"Unless one drinks them like water, the amount is so small that it poses no problem."
"Because no one drinks Vitality Potions like water."
At the Saintess's matter-of-fact words, Rupert lowered his head in shame.
He had voluntarily confessed to the Saintess that he had been drinking Vitality Potions like water all along, and although the Saintess was horrified, she first removed the drug component called cannabinol that had accumulated in Rupert's body.
The Saintess said that this was probably why I had collapsed, and that there were no other abnormalities in my physical condition.
Setting aside what could not be helped for the moment, the mere fact that the Saintess had personally checked his health was close to a miracle, so Rupert became endlessly deferential.
'I heard some nobles donate hundreds of gold just to receive the Saintess's blessing once.'
Since he had effectively received such a precious thing for free, Rupert's head could only bow like a ripe stalk of grain.
Knock, knock!
Just as he was about to hear about the sacred painting, one of the reasons the Saintess had come in person.
Someone knocked urgently on the door of the reception room.
"Who is it! We have an important guest right now."
Rupert hurriedly checked the expressions of the Saintess and her party. Fortunately, they showed no particular sign of anger. But this was a grave discourtesy.
Alain and every servant in the mansion should know that he was currently speaking with the Saintess.
To knock so rudely on the reception room door.
It could be taken to mean that there was something more important than attending to the Saintess, so Rupert's palms grew sweaty anew.
In the medieval era, the law changed according to a person's status.
In particular, if someone of the Saintess's standing took offense at the rudeness and grew angry, it would not be strange for a count's house to be utterly ruined.
'I smell heresy from the author!'
'Waaaaah!! Let us behead the heretic, confiscate his property, and bestow the Goddess's grace.'
If fanatics of the Goddess Church swarmed in and caused a commotion, he had no confidence he could handle the aftermath.
"It may be something important. Let them in, Sir Rupert."
"No. How could there be anything more important than attending to you, Saintess?"
"It's truly all right. If it turns out to be nothing, then no harm is done, and if it truly is important, then it is better to learn of it quickly."
At the Saintess's words telling him not to mind her and to check, Rupert finally opened the reception room door with an uneasy heart.
Everyone in the household should know that the Saintess had come today, and that he was currently attending to her—yet someone had committed this rudeness.
It was because the thought occurred to him that perhaps something really had happened.
And outside the door, a maid of the household was waiting with a face drained of all color.
"What in the world is the matter?"
"M-Master Rupert, that is—there is grave trouble at the workshop... and now at the mansion's front gate...."
The maid, looking as flustered as if she had seen a ghost, could barely speak and only mumbled.
Seeing the maid's expression, Rupert tensed, wondering if something really had happened.
"You can speak slowly. Could you tell me again, step by step?"
"So, that is...."
Thanks to Rupert calming her down, the maid barely regained her composure and began to speak of the terrible incident she had witnessed and the shocking person who had arrived right after.
The incident began like this.
Yuri, a maid who had been doing housework as usual, cleaned every corner of the house with extra care today.
It was because of the news that the Saintess of the Goddess Church would be visiting the mansion.
Yuri, who had always been a devout believer of the Goddess Church, was so happy to be able to see the noble Saintess's face, even from afar, that she did not even notice how hard the work was.
Then Alain came to Yuri.
'This is Lady Amelia, the eldest daughter of the Bluewell Ducal House. She says she wishes to personally cook for the workshop staff, so please attend to her well.'
How could such a beautiful person exist in this world?
Like the Saintess she had just seen, she was a beautiful person who made Yuri realize that such people truly did exist in the world.
'Your name is Yuri, yes? I look forward to working with you.'
Yuri felt great fondness for Amelia, who smiled brightly even at someone as insignificant as herself.
As the daughter of a ducal house, no one would say anything even if she did not treat someone like Yuri as a person. Yet she was being this kind.
'My lady, I will handle the preparation. How could such delicate hands be touched by water....'
'It's all right. I've done this often at home, so I'm used to it now.'
Yuri felt that the daughter of a ducal house truly was different.
At Amelia's words that she had always cooked, Yuri simply stepped back and handed her the ingredients she asked for.
But—
'Oh my, why is this puffing up? Should I sprinkle a little more salt?'
Yuri could not stop her horror as she watched the dazzling magic unfolding in Amelia's hands.
Why in the world was she dumping that much salt with a large spoon?
No, more than that—heating the oil to fry something was fine, but when she said it needed fragrance and tossed in a whole fruit, Yuri thought she would faint.
Her knife work on the ingredients looked plausible, but the results were vegetables chopped into pieces of all different sizes.
The ingredients Amelia had brought herself were all expensive, top-grade, and fresh.
But once they passed through her hands, they were transformed into something close to unrecognizable waste.
Yuri recalled the manga volume <Iron-Blooded Alchemist> she had recently read.
In her eyes, Amelia was unmistakably an alchemist who transmuted ingredients into garbage.
At last, Amelia's cooking was complete.
Afraid to behold the result, Yuri involuntarily stepped backward.
'Yuri, thank you for your help. Shall we go deliver the food to the staff now?'
Yuri wanted to scream No! inwardly and stop her, but she could not muster the courage.
She had no choice but to carry the food to the workshop in Amelia's place.
"Food personally cooked by Lady Amelia! I'd eat this even if it killed me!!!"
"Food made by such a beautiful person must surely taste heavenly."
"Out of my way! I'll taste it first."
The artisans cheered at the sight of the food that had arrived.
And then they collapsed.