Morrison Detective Agency (3)
Felicia took the book from Alan. Though she majored in the Faculty of Magic, her older brother—the crown prince—was quite skilled with the sword, so she had a decent eye for swordsmanship herself. After silently flipping through the twenty-seven-page volume, she rested her chin on her hand.
"You really expect me to believe someone drew this just from reading Shuren Chronicle? It's ridiculous."
"That's what I think too. Meia, what's your take?"
"I agree with you, Young Master."
"Oh? So Meia knows her way around a sword too?"
Alan chuckled at Felicia's words. Meia replied politely.
"It's expected of anyone serving House Mueller to have trained to a certain level in swordsmanship."
"Meia's probably stronger than me."
Felicia and Stella's eyes widened at Alan's words.
"Is that true, Alan?"
"It's famous that I'm the weakest in our family. There isn't anyone in House Mueller weaker than me."
Alan shrugged. It was indeed a well-known story in the imperial capital. The youngest son of House Mueller was a dullard with no talent for the sword. There were surely people who looked down on him for it. If he weren't from House Mueller, trucks full of people would have picked fights with him by now.
Meia spoke as if to comfort him.
"You're more than skilled enough, Young Master."
"Save the flattery."
"Fascinating."
Felicia had sensed from the moment they appeared together that Meia was no ordinary fighter, but hearing it straight from Alan felt strangely off. A master who openly admitted to being weaker than his maid, and a maid consoling her master like that. What an odd pair. Felicia could even detect a hint of pity in the way Meia looked at Alan.
"I'm curious. Who taught you swordsmanship, Meia?"
"My lady taught me personally. Our house's sword style didn't suit her, to begin with."
Felicia nodded in agreement at Alan's explanation. House Mueller's swordsmanship was the empire's signature power sword style. It exuded overwhelming momentum, earning it the name Lion Sword—and its sheer ferocity made direct clashes something to avoid. If you tried to block it, it would simply crush you under its weight. In murim novel terms, it was a domineering martial art that smashed through defenses without mercy.
In truth, domineering styles advance quickly, but the backlash means they age faster once their peak passes.
Alan had heard as much directly from Duke Mueller. Their style shone with unmatched power at its peak, but once that time passed, one had to step aside. That was part of why Duke Mueller had even trained Alan in it—to find some way to refine the Lion Sword.
Alan, of course, had zero interest in any of that.
"Lady Mueller herself? In person?"
Felicia looked shocked, and rightly so, Alan thought. His mother, Sharna Blanc von Mueller, was known only as an Eastern noble and a Kun'Rung half-blood. She rarely appeared in imperial high society, making her the epitome of mystery.
"...That's correct. Lady Mueller taught me herself."
Even Meia's matter-of-fact response couldn't hide Felicia's astonishment.
"Is the duchess a swordmaster herself?"
"Mother's so reclusive that hardly anything's known about her, but surprisingly, yes."
Alan shrugged. His mother was astonishingly proficient in Kun'Rung swordsmanship—the Eastern style classified as such in the empire—surpassing anyone else in the realm. Even his father, Duke Mueller, had said that in their youth, they'd drawn even in spars.
"Borrowing Father's words, it was 198 wins, 198 losses, and 2 draws back in their younger days."
"Good heavens."
"Unbelievable."
Alan smirked at Felicia and Stella's reactions. He hadn't quite believed it himself at first, but after watching her train Meia, all doubt vanished.
...Never make Mom mad.
Alan shook his head inwardly. He'd seen exactly why his father always watched his mother's mood. How could someone smile while drilling you that mercilessly? Even the devil instructors at Nonsan Training Camp would throw up their hands against her.
"...I'd love to hear more, but let's get back to the point."
Felicia set the book down.
"It's too refined to have been drawn just from reading a book. It feels like whoever did this posed the movements themselves or used a live model."
"The princess sees it the same way."
"It's suspiciously elaborate. And I have no idea what they plan to achieve by spreading it around."
"That's my question too. My brother mentioned rumors that someone actually got results from it."
Felicia frowned slightly at Alan's words.
"Someone actually saw results?"
"Just rumors. That's what he said."
Alan took a sip of his milk tea.
"That's why I'm curious who drew this. Makes me wonder if someone's trying to spark bloodshed in the academy."
"Bloodshed?"
"What do you think would happen if someone came forward claiming real results from this?"
Alan tapped the book he'd taken back with his index finger. His gaze shifted to Stella.
"Evans. What would you do?"
"...I'd do anything to get my hands on that book."
"Exactly. And they drew not one or two pages, but twenty-seven. What does that tell you?"
"They're planning a turf war."
Alan nodded at Felicia's words. Meia added,
"Right now, it's just ending in bets and spars, but I've heard some people have gotten hurt in the process, Young Master."
"That's why we collected them. Good work, Meia."
"It's nothing."
Felicia looked puzzled at the exchange between Alan and Meia.
"...Collected? You mean this?"
"Yes."
Alan set down his empty teacup.
"Meia gathered up the drawings and bound them into this book. Unless the artist makes a volume 2 and copies more moves to distribute, this is the only complete collection of the sword techniques from volume 1."
"We destroyed all the duplicates."
"Good job. Anyway, we collected them for a reason."
"If left alone, the competition could overheat. Is that why?"
Felicia was sharp. She pinpointed the reason Alan hadn't voiced. He gave a faint smile at her response.
"That's why I'm taking this to the Morrison Detective Agency."
"Morrison Detective Agency... Ah! The detective club!"
"I don't expect much since they're fellow cadets, but."
Alan grinned.
"Princess Lin came to me worried about the same thing. Care to join, Princess?"
The imperial princess didn't refuse. Felicia beamed.
"Sounds good. I accept your invitation, Alan Edgar von Mueller."
Morrison Detective Agency. Among the academy's clubs, it was one of the venerable ones with a long history. Named after its founder, Morrison, it drew cadets with all sorts of odd jobs to entrust.
"I wish we'd stop taking these trivial lost-item gigs."
"Then we'd run out of club funds, President."
"I know, but we could take on a big case, make a name for ourselves! Prove we've got real detective chops!"
Lenox, president of the Morrison Detective Club, slammed the desk.
"This cadet assault case is huge, damn it!!"
Across from him, a girl with grass-green hair—Diavela—was flipping through books on the shelf.
"President, you're too loud."
"Belstar, why are you so obsessed with books in a detective club?!"
"I'm just the consultant. And I already advised against getting involved in that cadet assault case."
Her tone was icy. Adjusting her glasses, Diavela continued.
"It's better not to indulge in pointless heroism if you want to live longer, President. Excessive curiosity doesn't help with survival."
"You're too cold!"
"Cold is better. Staying calm and collected helps you live longer."
Lenox deflated at her blunt words.
"I didn't become chief of Morrison Detective Agency to live this boring day-to-day!"
"...To be precise, you're the president."
"Diavela, you're ruthless!"
"Better than a president with hot air in his head."
Diavela closed Shuren Chronicle volume 2, which she'd bought at a premium after much effort. These days, the Morrison Detective Agency was little more than an errand-running service.
Lenox thrashed about.
"If we're just doing errands, we should've joined the Adventurers' Guild...!"
"No amount of lamenting changes that we're doing exactly what they do."
"Ughhh..."
As Diavela stood to leave, the door opened. Lenox shot up reflexively.
"Welcome! Morrison Detective Agency!"
A customer, it seemed. Diavela looked up—and her green eyes widened at Alan striding in through the open door.
"...Lord Alan?"