I sat there blankly, unable to accept the reality before my eyes.
But then, a piercing laugh rang out.
The culprit—Wilhelm, the Grand Duke’s Son.
“Hahaha! I knew it! I knew it would happen!”
The black shadow wavered wildly.
The Grand Duke’s Son chattered excitedly.
“There’s no way you could release that photo! Maybe someone like Sir Albrecht who knows nothing could, but there’s no way you could show that photo to the public! I knew from the start you’d pull a show like this!”
He spoke as if certain I had burned the photo.
Unbelievable, but apparently the sudden burning of the photo wasn’t caused by Wilhelm, the Grand Duke’s Son.
‘Then… Grand Duke Katrin?’
But he looked the same as before?
His face remained proud, without a trace of shadow.
‘Then who on earth burned the photo…’
I couldn’t guess the culprit at all.
Well, if I had no abilities, that’s how it would be.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
“!”
Charlie.
The young, naive but trustworthy officer I had entrusted the photo to.
I couldn’t see him standing beside me.
A pitch-black shadow blocked my view.
“Mr. Charlie. You…”
“It’s all my fault! Mr. Hayes trusted me and left the photo with me, but I…”
It fell away, as easily as nothing.
The shadow was stripped away.
“I ruined everything.”
His face, pale as a sheet, appeared.
‘…Why would Charlie do that?’
My mind churned.
Was he under someone’s orders?
Or threatened?
Or… betrayal?
But there was no time to think further.
“So…”
The Grand Duke asked in a leisurely tone.
“You’ve been running your mouth all this time, and now you have no evidence?”
His voice was triumphant, as if cornering his prey.
“Everything you’ve said so far relies on that photo existing, doesn’t it?”
The Grand Duke was right.
Without the photo, nothing could be proven.
“If the photo doesn’t exist, then everything you’ve said is nothing more than unpleasant agitation without any basis.”
“But the photo did exist! Even though it’s burned now, Sir Albrecht saw it. Isn’t that right, Sir Albrecht?”
“Hmm…”
My hope faded as he made an awkward expression.
“To be honest, I’m not sure. I did see a photo. It seemed somewhat similar to your description.”
“Then…!”
“But before I could confirm the specific details you mentioned, the photo burned.”
“…”
Looking down at the black soot on my hand, he continued.
“I don’t know. Was that photo really proof of the Grand Duke’s Son’s crime as you claim? Or…”
He hesitated, then said the words I didn’t want to hear.
“Was it something that contained your own shame, something that had to be burned before being shown to the public?”
“…!”
That was a ridiculous conspiracy theory.
A story with no evidence, only plausible circumstances.
But to the public, wasn’t my earlier passionate claim about the Grand Duke’s Son being Taylor John no different?
“That photo certainly didn’t pass through the Grand Duke’s Son’s hands. Yet it burned. So I have no choice but to suspect you as the culprit.”
I slowly raised my head and looked around.
People’s eyes were no longer as friendly.
Many, like Grand Duke Calan, still believed me and didn’t listen to Wilhelm, the Grand Duke’s Son’s words, but there were just as many on the opposite side.
In an instant, I was backed into a corner.
“Wait a moment.”
Walter stepped forward urgently.
“I also clearly saw two photos. Their contents must have been as Mr. Hayes described.”
Katrin sneered at him.
“How strange. Wasn’t it you who suggested a trusted intermediary since you couldn’t trust each other’s words? I cannot trust the baseless testimony of someone who came forward to accuse me.”
“Of course you would say that.”
Walter replied calmly.
“But besides me, there is one more reliable witness who knows the contents of that photo.”
“And who is that?”
“The fiancée of Wilhelm, the Grand Duke’s Son. The Princess of the Allied Kingdom.”
“Oh!”
“……!”
Walter was right.
She would surely remember the contents of the photo.
‘She had one of the photos herself.’
Not only that.
I recalled the Princess of the Eastern Region had once asked a question related to the photo.
A question I couldn’t answer at the time.
[The Princess asks: What was behind the large velvet sofa in the photo studio that day?]
There was an iron support stand.
A stand that had been moved aside to transport the body.
[Who was the uninvited guest captured in the photo?]
It was a corpse.
A corpse killed by Wilhelm, the Grand Duke’s Son.
[Lastly, what was the flower in the Grand Duke’s Son’s hand?]
That flower was a disguise to hide his bloodstained hand.
A decisive piece of evidence proving the Grand Duke’s Son’s crime.
Thinking back now…
Those were questions that couldn’t be asked without knowing the answers.
So…
‘The Princess knew from the very beginning what was in the photo and what the Grand Duke’s Son had done.’
She held the key.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned to one place.
The one who had been silently watching the situation unfold.
The noble lady wearing a white veil.
“…”
Slowly.
The Princess shook her head.
“The Princess says it’s groundless.”
Her cold-faced attendant muttered like a parrot.
“She says she does not wish her name to be involved in this absurd commotion, so please handle it yourselves.”
“That’s impossible! You—!”
“Stop. The Princess says she doesn’t want to be involved.”
Grand Duke Katrin blocked me and sneered.
“How embarrassing. To show such disgrace to a precious guest who traveled all the way from the Allied Kingdom. This is an international humiliation.”
The implication was that those who caused this humiliation would not be dealt with lightly.
‘…Is it over like this?’
Regret washed over me.
If I had secured more evidence.
If I had known why the Princess refused to testify.
If I had been more careful with the photo.
If I had one more witness.
If I had more time.
…If I hadn’t had Lure taken away like that.
Surely, the outcome would have been different.
But now, the Grand Duke was clearing the scene.
He was trying to end this commotion and finish the matter.
Of course, the Grand Duke’s family wouldn’t escape unscathed.
They had faced a very plausible suspicion in public.
Their range of action would be greatly restricted, and they would be followed by deep suspicion for a long time.
Attempts to prove Wilhelm, the Grand Duke’s Son, was Taylor John would continue.
But I wouldn’t see the end.
‘I’ll surely be killed before that.’
As I sank into deep helplessness…
“Wait! I object!”
From afar, an unbelievable sound reached me.
A familiar voice.
“Do you think the Imperial Palace garden is some street brawl where anyone can barge in?”
The Grand Duke shouted in irritation.
“Guards! Stop that person from entering!”
But it was useless.
For some reason, the guards couldn’t stop the intruder.
Then the owner of the familiar voice appeared.
The person whose voice made me doubt my ears.
The one who stepped into the garden was…
“Lure!”
It was Lure Poiren, who had gone missing.
“I have evidence! Physical evidence to accuse Wilhelm, the Grand Duke’s Son as Taylor John!”
Gasping for breath, Lure shouted.
One day earlier.
‘This is frustrating…’
Lure was hiding inside the narrow coffin in the carriage.
The driver of the carriage was, of course, the culprit.
‘I should have escaped before the culprit returned…’
She regretted it, but she didn’t regret jumping into the carriage at the last moment.
When she had carelessly fallen inside the culprit’s carriage.
Lure had witnessed a decisive piece of evidence.
‘That’s the evidence the teacher has been searching for. If I can safely take that, this game is our victory!’
Taylor John was an evil serial killer.
That bastard deserved to rot in hell.
So she couldn’t go back without this evidence.
‘…But where is this carriage going?’
The carriage kept running without stopping.
Neither slow nor fast.
It had a clear destination, and it didn’t seem to be chasing anyone or in a hurry.
That was all the information she could gather from inside the coffin she couldn’t escape.
‘What would the teacher do in this situation…?’
After a moment’s thought, Lure shook her head.
‘The teacher would just break everything and escape.’
She could break the coffin and the carriage, and maybe even the culprit.
The teacher’s methods were not a good reference.
‘Let’s think from the culprit’s perspective, not the teacher’s. Where is Taylor John going now?’
Lure recalled the chase that morning.
The culprit had desperately chased the teacher.
But in the end, the teacher escaped through an alley.
The culprit, having lost the teacher, must have been in a bind.
He wandered the streets for a while, stopped by his hideout for about ten minutes, and then returned.
‘What did the culprit do during those ten minutes?’
The culprit seemed to have come and gone empty-handed.
If his purpose in visiting his hideout wasn’t an item… a person?
Perhaps he met someone and asked for advice?
‘Anyway, it’s clear the culprit’s objective changed when he returned.’
If he were chasing someone, he wouldn’t be this relaxed.
‘If he gave up chasing Mr. Hayes… then what is the culprit trying to do?’
Soon, Lure found the answer.
A familiar sound reached her ears.
‘This sound… could it be?’
Familiar noises came through.
The sound of people soliciting passing students.
Complaints and chatter about difficult classes.
Even the bustling noise from a nearby café.
No doubt about it.
This was near the gate of the Public University.
“Excuse me, have you seen a student named Lure Poiren?”
The culprit’s voice sent a chill down Lure’s spine.
‘…He’s looking for me.’
He was grabbing passing students and asking about Lure’s whereabouts.
The only saving grace was that he didn’t seem to have seen Lure inside the carriage that morning.
It was only natural.
Lure herself had only caught a brief glimpse of the culprit through the carriage window.
Even though they had a chase right in front of each other, the culprit had never directly seen Lure.
Even if he had seen a female figure, there was someone else more suspicious than Lure.
Balthazar.
That is, Ms. Posha.
“Lure? I don’t know…”
“Uh… why would an undertaker be looking for Lure?”
Fortunately, the culprit’s search wasn’t very successful.
Everyone hesitated to answer easily.
A man dressed in black from head to toe, driving a black carriage.
He looked like an undertaker straight out of a fairy tale.
Not many people would willingly give information to such an ominous figure.
‘He’s not very good at gathering information.’
Lure steadied herself.
It was creepy that the culprit was tracking her, but at the same time, it was an opportunity.
Because it meant the culprit was moving among places and people familiar to Lure.
Sure enough, soon.
A good opportunity came.
“Lure? She went to see the professor yesterday and hasn’t come back. Maybe she’s skipping class?”
“Then where is that professor?”
“Fourth floor of this building.”
The carriage stopped and shook lightly.
She felt the culprit get out.
“Hey, why is that guy looking for Lure?”
“You answered without even knowing that. What if something happens to Lure?”
“Geez, that’s why I sent him to the professor. If he’s suspicious, the professor will call security or something.”
Ursula scolded, and Shelman grumbled in reply.
“Do you think I didn’t think of that? I may not be as good as you or Lure, but I’m also a student in the Department of Investigation.”
“Right.”
“Geez. Do you want to keep doing that?”
They seemed to be moving away.
Before her friends could leave the carriage, Lure urgently whispered.
“Hey! Hey, help me!”
“?! Lure?”
“What are you doing in there?”
No time to explain.
“I’m trapped here. If that guy finds me, I’ll be killed. Get me out of here fast!”
A sudden emergency.
But this was the only Public University in the Empire’s Department of Investigation.
Students were prepared for unexpected situations.
Ursula and Shelman looked at each other and nodded.
“Wait a moment.”
“I’ll get you out soon.”
—Creak!
Soon, the coffin in the carriage opened.
“Lure!”
“Are you okay?!”
The two pulled Lure out and sat her down.
“This coffin is weird.”
Ursula spotted the structural flaw at a glance.
“It’s designed so you can only open it by releasing a lock at the foot. How could the person lying in the coffin unlock that? So that’s why you were trapped.”
“There’s no way a person carrying a coffin like this in a carriage is normal. Lure, that man is a criminal, right?”
Shelman said worriedly.
“You should get out of here. We’ll call the police and deal with him somehow.”
But Lure shook her head.
“He’s not someone you can catch that easily.”
The evidence Lure had found herself.
Without that evidence, it was impossible.
‘But it’s hard to run away with this evidence…’
That wasn’t all.
This was the middle of a crowded university campus.
Someone would see Lure running away.
And without thinking, they’d tell the culprit…
‘Should I ask Ursula or Shelman to switch clothes? Or ask them to hold onto the evidence for me?’
…No.
She couldn’t pass the danger to her friends.
Her opponent was a serial killer who might do anything.
“…Hey. I have a favor to ask.”
After organizing her thoughts, Lure finally spoke.
“Can you close the coffin lid for me again?”
“What?!”
“Close the coffin lid, close the carriage door, and make it look like nothing happened. And when the culprit comes back, can you say this?”
As Lure’s story continued, her friends’ faces gradually turned to shock.