Chapter 191
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: The Culprit
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Anyone else might have been startled by the number of shadows, or perhaps too flustered by their mere retreat to notice right away.
But she, accustomed to formal events, recognized it at a glance.
The ghosts of London weren't backing away out of fear of Rimon or wariness of something.
If anything, it was the opposite.
As if paying homage to a great king.
Or welcoming an immortal hero.
Within an atmosphere of utmost strictness and courtesy, a hidden excitement and thrill stirred the shadows.
Even a victory parade for a triumphant general wouldn't match this.
Yet here were the ghosts of London, not even living people, showing such reverence to a mere performer.
It was only natural that Rose began to suspect Rimon's true identity.
"My identity...? Well, it's complicated if you dig too deep, but this should suffice for now."
But Rimon didn't waver under her suspicious gaze.
As if to say, you're only asking now?
He just chuckled softly and replied.
"I'm the one asked to investigate the Witch Murder Case."
Rose's face hardened immediately.
Though she'd been making mistakes lately from lack of sleep, she was sharp enough to piece together a lot from that alone.
"...Are you referring to a witch from the 27th Magical Lineage?"
"It's clear the one who asked me is a witch."
"So, in the end, you infiltrated the earl's household on purpose to catch the killer who murdered the witch."
"Don't blame Julia. She just happened to hire me while looking for a good musician."
Rose gazed at Rimon with complicated eyes for a moment as he readily admitted to spying for the earl's family.
Then, she suddenly nodded.
"I see. So that performance was the witch's handiwork after all."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"...It wasn't?"
"What do you mean?"
"N-Nothing... Please forget I said anything."
Rose, having convinced herself, panicked, and now flushed red as she tried to take back her words.
Watching her shift from serious to oddly clumsy, Rimon gave her a dubious look.
Perhaps noticing his gaze,
she cleared her throat to suppress her rising embarrassment and quickly changed the subject.
"Why reveal this now?"
"Oh, this? I figured we'd save some time."
"What do you mean?"
"Truth is, I initially suspected your earl's family as the culprits. The reason... well, you can guess."
Rimon grinned.
Rose nodded readily in response.
"Yes, I understand."
The Azure Dragon Clan's position in London.
The power and prestige of the 27th Magical Lineage.
And the concealed murder case.
Considering everything, investigating House Cis-Serpent first was only logical.
Rimon continued calmly to Rose, who accepted it composedly.
"So my first move was wandering around London to see if there were any bad rumors about witches."
"Did you think public opinion might have led us to hunt witches?"
"No, but if you had, you would’ve at least manipulated public opinion beforehand."
Rimon smirked mischievously, and Rose didn't bother denying it.
They were the righteous Azure Dragon Clan.
And shaping public opinion in their favor to protect the clan's honor was justice to them as well.
"But there weren't any bad rumors about witches. Not a single one—it was suspiciously clean."
"So that's why you cleared us as suspects?"
"Not yet at that point."
Rimon shook his head.
The Azure Dragon Clan was too prime a suspect to dismiss on that alone.
Though additional reasons changed things.
"Not until I learned you opposed the Magic Lord's grand plan to dispel this London fog."
"...How did you know that?"
"Let's just say that's why I was asked to investigate the Witch Murder Case."
Rose looked incredulous as he casually mentioned a state secret known to only a handful even in the Great British Empire.
Undeterred, Rimon pressed on.
If the Witch Murder Case stemmed from the Great London Duel Realm, the culprit shared the Magic Lord's goal: eliminating Twilight Hour.
Conversely, Rose, who opposed Carl, was highly unlikely to be the killer.
"The most decisive proof is this very situation."
Even so, like a narrow-minded detective clinging to the last shred of doubt,
Rimon had brought her out to the streets during this 'time' as the final evidence of her innocence.
That is, the countless shadows surrounding him.
He concluded while gazing at them.
"If you were the Witch Murder Case culprit, the ghosts of London wouldn't be this docile."
"...You know quite a lot about London."
"I've visited a few times before."
Rose thought to herself.
That's nonsense.
The intricacies of the Great London Duel Realm and Twilight Hour weren't simple enough to grasp from just a few visits.
But he was investigating the Witch Murder Case.
So it made sense he'd know details about the London Duel Realm.
"Now that I'm cleared as a suspect, you want my cooperation in the investigation."
"Exactly. Even if you're not the killer, you must have info on the Witch Murder Case."
"I have no obligation to share information."
"But you could show mercy by providing info to the victim's associates. Right?"
Rose looked troubled at Rimon's sly grin.
The Witch Murder Case was a top-secret matter the Azure Dragon Clan was investigating cautiously.
No matter that a witch had asked him, she couldn't casually disclose it to Rimon, whose exact identity was still unclear.
"Can you promise no leaks to outsiders?"
"Of course."
"Very well. I'll tell you what I can, at least the broad strokes."
In the end, Rose opened up.
It wasn't just compassion.
The witches of the 27th Magical Lineage were on high alert and in hiding after the string of murders.
With contact impossible, sharing some info through Rimon was necessary to assure them the Azure Dragon Clan weren't enemies.
"Honestly, we don't know much about the case ourselves. Just what we heard from Jessica."
"Jessica—as in 'Peering Jessica'?"
"Yes."
Rimon looked surprised at the name of one of the 27th Magical Lineage witches—and the fifth victim of the Witch Murder Case.
Rose calmly explained the situation.
"She was the first to notice the case, started investigating, and became our collaborator."
Witches typically operated in the shadows, so even those of the 27th Magical Lineage hadn't initially noticed the murders.
Jessica was the exception.
Inheriting the 'Peering Jessica' lineage made her adept in primordial and scouting magic, so she sensed the anomaly early on.
After thorough investigation, she realized someone was targeting witches and secretly contacted the Azure Dragon Clan.
"She went straight to you instead of other witches? Why?"
"Probably couldn't trust fellow witches."
"...That's way too convincing."
Rimon clicked his tongue.
Witches were inherently individualistic and enigmatic.
Unable to trust even those from the same 27th Magical Lineage, seeking external allies was very witch-like.
Sirma had pulled him in for the same reason, after all.
"Jessica continued her own investigation even after contacting us. Seems she found a crucial clue."
"'Seems'? So you don't know what it was?"
"She was killed right before handing over the key evidence."
"Here in London, finding and killing a witch faster than you?"
Rimon looked baffled.
Outpacing the space-shifting Azure Dragon Clan in London itself? Absurd.
Rose replied matter-of-factly.
"Normally impossible. But they struck during the one time it was feasible."
"Hmm?"
The moment Rimon grasped her implication, his expression turned odd.
The shadows encircling them began to writhe.
As if crying out silently.
Seeing the shadows clamor wordlessly, Rose's face stiffened. Lightning-fast, she drew her sword and charged at Rimon.
As Rimon twitched an eyebrow at the sight,
Splatter!
A spray of crimson blood stained the fog.
Rose had slashed something that had just lunged from beneath Rimon's feet.
Thanks to her, Rimon, who had meant to stomp it flat, only got blood on his pants and tsked.
But the situation wasn't over.
The moment thick shadows draped over their feet, more of the same creatures burst forth one after another.
"What the hell are these?"
At a glance, they resembled the ghosts of London—shadows with only outlines, no substance.
But each was less human than monster... no, questionable if alive at all, with grotesque forms that furrowed Rimon's brow.
Rose said tersely to him.
"Stay behind me."
"...And do what?"
"Don't leave my side no matter what. These aren't like the ghosts of London."
I can tell that much, Rimon nearly retorted.
He shut his mouth.
Seeing Rose, her usual diligence and seriousness replaced by a rigid tension as she eyed them warily, he narrowed his eyes.
"Hey, Countess. Don't tell me these 'bastards' you mentioned earlier are..."
"Yes, exactly."
Nodding to a disbelieving Rimon, Rose continued softly.
"These monsters are the ones who killed Jessica."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
When they enlisted Jessica as a collaborator, Rose had received a magic tool from her for contact.
One day, Jessica messaged that she'd obtained a vital clue and was being pursued—help, hurry.
Regrettably, Rose hadn't arrived in time to save her.
Two reasons.
One, it happened during 'Twilight Hour.'
Two, she and House Cis-Serpent's knights were blocked by obstacles en route to rescue Jessica.
Those obstacles were the 'shadow monsters.'
The bizarre entities made entirely of shadow that Rose was now slashing apart with her sword.