Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 78

There is a term known as the “crime of probability.”

Was it Edogawa Ranpo? 

A mystery novelist who took his pen name from Edgar Allan Poe, the pioneer of modern detective novels.

The first of his novels I encountered was probably “The Red Room.”

It fits eerily well with this case.

“It might be possible to kill someone this way, or it might not. That would be left to fate.”

By adopting an extremely indirect method of murder, which has a low certainty of success, one can reduce the likelihood of one’s crime being discovered.

Implied intent.

—No, probably, in this case.

It still resembles others in its heavy reliance on weaponry.

Frantically rotating the small gray cells in my brain, I delve deeper into thought.

“Faust, you just muttered whether there was no chance to poison the thorns of the rose.”

“As I mentioned, if there were a clear intent to kill Robert-sama, such methods would not be considered.”

Was there really any intent to kill in the first place?

Recently, I’ve heard about Robert-sama from Miss Marina and Queen Liesenlotte.

It’s quite elusive.

Initially, I believed that no one in this world is not resented.

I thought it must be a murder driven by resentment.

However, Robert-sama was an anomaly.

He was a person of great character, and similarly, he precisely understood the extent of his own authority.

If Robert-sama were to be killed, no one would defend the perpetrator, which would lead directly to the extermination of their family.

Would anyone, regardless of their nature, take such a risk to plot the assassination of Robert-sama?

It’s better to live honestly, there’s no room for such foolish acts as those pleaded by the desperate.

In short.

“From the start, there was no intention to kill Robert-sama. Should we consider that?”

“How could one come to think that way?”

At the circular garden table.

Over the past five years, the investigation was led by the head of the Wesperman family, voiced by Miss Marina.

“If you were truly serious about the investigation, then it’s strange that the perpetrator hasn’t been found.”

“We were serious about the investigation!”

“I believe that. That’s why. That’s why we need to change the direction of our thinking.”

If this case is to be considered a poisoning.

It would be by means that are unimaginable to ordinary people.

If considering external injuries.

“There was only a scratch as if grazed by a rose’s thorn. Then it’s reasonable to think he died from being pricked by a thorn, from touching that poison.”

“Lord Polydoro, I understand what you mean. However, the growth of roses involves battles with diseases and insects. It’s not uncommon for them to get sick—”

“That’s exactly why, wasn’t Robert-sama affected by a poisoned rose? Trying to find out the cause.”

And thus, he died.

Was the perpetrator not intending to kill Robert-sama from the start?

At most, they might have thought to kill a single rose in his prized rose garden.

“If a single feather from a crane were plucked, would it not lighten the mood?”

Such thoughts flicker in my mind.

Repeatedly.

In short.

“The perpetrator never intended to kill Robert-sama. Perhaps, an impulsive anger. Although understandable rationally, it was unbearable. Perhaps they wanted to execute a small revenge by killing one of the roses in this precious garden. That’s a possibility.”

“Is there such a foolish story! How many roses do you think are in this rose garden!!”

Queen Liesenlotte stands up, surveying the surroundings.

From the garden table, she views the roses.

Not a single one had withered.

Gardener Lord Michael must have maintained them well, pruning or treating any that became diseased.

Similarly, Robert-sama would have done the same.

If an important rose had withered, he would surely have touched it to determine the cause.

Noticing my gaze, Queen Liesenlotte speaks in a small, yet dignified voice.

“Marina von Wesperman.”

“Yes—yes!”

Miss Marina’s voice twisted as if her stomach or heart was being crushed, reminiscent of a frog squashed by a carriage after a rainstorm, croaking at its death.

“You should have investigated. The Wesperman family must have investigated. How much do you remember from that time?”

“As the head of the Wesperman family in charge of the investigation at that time, I will answer! Everyone who petitioned Robert-sama on the day of his demise, and of course, even the petitioners from a week before — we investigated their backgrounds thoroughly—”

“Did you check the roses themselves?!”

Queen Liesenlotte, still standing, grabbed Miss Marina by the collar across the garden table.

Miss Marina shouted desperately.

“The day after Robert-sama passed away, everyone involved with him wept, as a rain of tears poured down! It was impossible to conduct a scene investigation to check all the roses! Initially, since the palace, being heavily guarded, was the scene and the number of people who met Robert-sama was limited, it was assumed that the perpetrator would be found through investigating their interests—”

“That’s just an excuse! Both you and I!!”

Queen Liesenlotte appealed with a pained expression, having realized that she too was part of the cause, not having thought of this possibility before.

However, would anyone have considered such a thing?

“But indeed, poison was brought to the scene. Before meeting Robert-sama, were there inspections of personal belongings?”

“Petitioners usually surrendered blades such as knives and swords to the knights guarding the palace. Of course, body searches were conducted, but…”

“What about the poison?”

She muttered softly.

Whether or not the poison could have been brought in, that was the issue.

“A very small vial, small as a pinky finger, could possibly have been brought in. However, knights and pages always accompanied Robert-sama when he met with petitioners. It would have been impossible to mix poison into the beverages at the garden table. And the body searches were certainly thorough. Considering the risk, to bring in poison—”

Michael spoke with a trembling voice.

Michael himself understood, but then, was there a gap to sprinkle poison on the rose?

He questioned it.

“Again, I ask. Was there a gap to plant poison on a rose’s thorn? That is crucial, Lord Michael.”

“Robert-sama often became furious at the improper petitions of the petitioners. When he struck them down, they were sometimes left alone in the rose garden for a while to calm down.”

“Meaning?”

The conclusion had already been reached, but the answer was sought.

“As Lord Polydoro suggested, there was indeed a gap to plant poison on a rose’s thorn. Indeed, there was.”

Michael’s response.

There indeed had been a gap.

However, this was merely an assumption by Lord Faust von Polydoro.

As to whether it was true, that was still far from certain.

“Marina von Wesperman.”

He called her name.

Addressing the head of the Wesperman family, then in charge of intelligence.

“I heard you investigated the backgrounds of petitioners up to a week before, but you mentioned that it rained the day after Robert-sama died?”

“It rained once, two days before he died. That is certain!!”

Miss Marina raised her voice in desperation.

Understood.

There was only one thing to do.

As said before, whether this is truly the truth, even I cannot be sure.

However.

“Let’s reinvestigate. If we simply interrogate each petitioner for those three days, it should not take a week. The other party can hardly refuse if it’s an investigation regarding Robert-sama.”

To conduct the investigation, there is nothing problematic about the action itself.

It is worth trying, just to see.

Moreover, upon calm consideration, it is not necessary to question everyone.

Only those who had the opportunity to poison the roses, who could have evaded the eyes of the palace knights and Robert-sama’s pages, need to be questioned.

“Marina von Wesperman. At the time, do you know the name of the knight, the squire, who was accompanying in the petition to Robert-sama?”

“The investigation records have been brought to the royal palace! Right away!!”

That is good.

It shouldn’t take much time.

“Let’s interrogate in order of likelihood. However, there are indeed some disturbances mixed in.”

“Disturbances?”

Michael-dono whispers in a sweet voice.

It is noise.

To put it a bit more stylishly, one might call it ‘noise’.

Though I didn’t voice any opposition to what was spinning like a storm in my brain.

“I’ve mentioned it once. If there was no intent to assassinate Robert-sama, it makes no sense to bring in poison.”

I tap the garden table with my rough, calloused fingers.

Even if all my suspicions were correct—this still makes no sense.

If found during a body check, appropriate actions would be taken.

Death could even be a possibility.

Who would take such a risk for such a foolish act?

It just makes no sense.

“…”

Michael-dono falls silent for some reason.

Hmm?

I wonder and stare at Michael-dono’s face.

After a brief silence, Michael-dono mutters in a trembling voice, both sensual and yet shaken.

“If it was a habit, what then?”

“A habit?”

What kind of fool carries around a small vial of poison as a habit?

Born assassins?

Even they wouldn’t be so careless except at the time of an assassination.

“People with such habits wouldn’t exist, not even among blue-blooded nobles who spin webs of deceit, much less among the common folk. Moreover, they wouldn’t even have the means to obtain poison.”

“They do exist.”

Where?

As I ask this, I notice Michael-dono’s face turning pale.

What has this young man realized?

“The ones who have this habit exist. Those who convert all their belongings into jewelry or precious metals, wearing them on their travels because they have no other choice. Thieves and murderers, for some, it’s a way to survive. Facing groundless scorn, such as rumors of cannibalism or kidnapping, due to prejudice against their way of life.”

I understand what you mean.

It was something no one had thought of.

It would never have risen to the surface of the investigation.

Frankly, it makes no sense.

Killing Robert-sama would only lead to dire straits without any benefit.

The protected group of discriminated people.

“The possibility exists that, unable to discard their habits even after being given a safe haven by Robert-sama, they kept their last weapon, the possession that could take down formidable foes.”

Michael-dono mutters as if confessing.

He must be reluctant to speak of it.

He wouldn’t want to believe it.

It makes no sense.

It makes absolutely no sense to Michael-dono, and he wouldn’t want to believe it.

But for Michael-dono, having realized it, it is unforgivable not to speak of it.

As a servant to Robert-sama, it is unforgivable.

“The nomadic tribes. It is possible for us to have poison, acquired during our long history of wandering, as property, as our last weapon.”

“It’s not decided yet!!”

Queen Liesenlotte shouts, drowning out Michael-dono’s sweet, raspy voice.

“Such foolishness must not be! It must not be!”

A scream.

Queen Liesenlotte, still standing, trembles.

Her face is not enraged but pale.

Her lips are tightly clenched.

“Robert pleaded with me. He wanted to give the nomadic tribes a place to live and work. Of course, Robert was not blind. It was not just out of deep compassion, but because the nomadic tribes wandering within the Anhalt Kingdom have been a problem for centuries. They cause issues with the settlers and then flee without solving or taking responsibility for them. Our ancestors in the Anhalt royal family have thought countless times about exterminating them.”

Past knowledge.

The history of persecution of the nomadic tribes is different in this life.

The Holocaust by the Nazis, the Nuremberg Laws, and the victims of massacres come to mind.

Also, the face of poverty-driven drug dealers, thieves, robbers, and as a contributing factor to crime increase surfaces.

I had not seen a clear solution even before I died in my previous life.

It circles my brain involuntarily, and my face twists in anguish.

“But Robert proposed one solution. Despite opposition from those around him, and after numerous debates in convincing me, the Queen of Anhalt, he finally set a course to employ the nomadic tribes. Now, they are not causing clear problems in this royal city.”

I had heard that.

I had already heard it.

Either annihilate them completely or grant them everything and assimilate them as citizens of the kingdom.

For Queen Liesenlotte, it must have been a watershed decision after much agonizing,

 heeding the advice of Robert-sama.

“That Robert was killed by those he sheltered…”

Queen Liesenlotte articulates softly.

“It must not be. You understand, don’t you, Faust?”

“…”

I am unable to respond to Queen Liesenlotte’s words.

Nothing is decided yet.

There is no evidence, and frankly, it’s all just speculation.

But I could not exclude the nomadic tribes from the list of suspects.