How are we supposed to find anything in here! There’s no way we can check every single item one by one!"

  Miko Kedar grumbled in frustration.

  Alicia Serions couldn’t help but feel at a loss as she stared at the overwhelming collection of books. In the end, she sighed and said helplessly:

  "I guess we’ll have to ask some guards to come in and help us search."

  After all, this was a noble’s residence—and a noble who had just met a tragic end, no less. Alicia and the others could pass off their presence as coming to pay their respects by viewing the deceased’s belongings. But bringing guards in to search would completely change the nature of their visit.

  Still, given the current circumstances, they had no other choice.

  "No need to go to all that trouble."

  Hulim Heyerar spoke up suddenly.

  "Hmm?"

  Miko and Alicia both froze in surprise. It was then that Alicia noticed that ever since Hulim had stepped into the study, she had been staring intently in one direction, saying nothing.

  "Hulim, did you find something?"

  "I’m not sure if it counts as a discovery......"

  Hulim walked straight toward the desk that appeared to be Lord Crawford Banoren’s.

  Once she reached it, she opened a cabinet beneath the desk and pulled out a book.

  Miko and Alicia crowded around her, peering curiously at the book in her hand.

  It was just an ordinary work of literature—nothing special at all.

  Just as Miko was about to ask what this was all about,

  Hulim flipped the book open casually. It fell open to a specific page, and tucked neatly between its pages was a sheet of letter paper.

  "Look. Found it."

  Miko and Alicia glanced from Hulim to the letter in her hand, then back at Hulim again.

  "???"

  Confused question marks practically floated above their heads.

  How had she found that so easily?

  ......

  Inside Crawford’s study.

  The three of them read the letter carefully, cover to cover.

  As they had suspected all along.

  The letter detailed the predicament Crawford had been facing, and even "helpfully" provided a way for him to escape it.

  And it was from this letter that Hulim now gained a clear understanding of the entire incident.

  Based on the contents of the letter, it could be inferred that Crawford had originally been a mole planted in Felena Serions’s faction by the Third Prince, Theodore Serions.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  But later, when the Third Prince fell out of favor, and Crawford decided that Felena was the more worthy ruler to serve, he had betrayed Theodore outright.

  The Third Prince Theodore had been enraged by Crawford’s betrayal, resolving to eliminate the traitor once and for all.

  The letter stated that the only way Crawford could save himself was to take the initiative to confess to Felena that he had initially been a spy sent by Theodore.

  At the same time, he needed to declare that he had completely defected to her side, ready to swear absolute loyalty to Felena.

  To help Crawford pull this off smoothly, the letter also mentioned that enclosed with it were the names of other moles and corresponding evidence. As long as he handed these over to Felena, his plan was sure to succeed.

  "......It seems he really did hand over the evidence to Fourth Sister. And judging from her attitude lately, she must have fully accepted Crawford after his confession."

  "Yes......"

  Recalling Felena’s words from earlier, Alicia nodded in agreement.

  "I’m afraid he didn’t just confess his own role—he also told Fourth Sister that Theodore was planning to kill him. That’s why the moment Crawford was assassinated, Fourth Sister immediately concluded that Third Brother was behind it. But......"

  "Who exactly wrote this letter? Could it really be someone from First Brother’s faction?"

  "No...... It’s not that simple."

  Hulim shook her head, disagreeing.

  She pulled out the first letter they had found and carefully compared it with the new one.

  Without a doubt—they had been written by the same person......

  "This individual...... has an even deeper agenda."

  Hulim put both letters away and handed them to Alicia.

  "Keep these safe. We don’t need them anymore—they’ll serve as evidence to accuse the Third Prince."

  "Alright."

  Alicia took the letters and stored them carefully, then asked:

  "What do you mean by an ‘even deeper agenda’?"

  Hulim thought for a moment before replying:

  "This person might have ties to the First Prince’s faction, but I’m more inclined to believe that they belong to a force independent of any of the imperial heirs. On the surface, everything they’ve done seems to have inadvertently incited a full-scale war between Fourth Sister and Third Brother, and even dragged you into some trouble—ultimately leaving the First Prince as the sole beneficiary."

  "But this is just like the water plants floating on the surface of a lake, which make people think they can see the bottom. Beneath this layer of obstruction lies much deeper water—and far more darkness that the light cannot reach......"

  ......

  ......

  Inside the palace of the Ninth Princess, Alicia Serions.

  "Hulim, we’ve identified the person who fits all the criteria."

  Alicia announced.

  "That was fast—it’s only been a day."

  "Mainly because the requirements were so specific: someone connected to Third Brother, an old acquaintance of Crawford’s, and a wind-elemental mage. There was almost no one else who could fit all three conditions."

  "Wait a second, there’s something I don’t understand."

  Miko raised her hand and asked, confused:

  "Why are you and Alicia so certain that the wind-elemental mage must be an old acquaintance of Crawford’s?"

  "Regarding that question," Hulim replied, "at first, we only thought it was a strong possibility. But after finding the second letter, we can be absolutely certain that the culprit was someone Crawford knew in the past."

  "Huh? Why is that?"

  Miko still looked confused.

  "Because one of the goals of the person who wrote these two letters was to ensure that we would find evidence pointing to the Third Prince as the mastermind. That warning at the end of the first letter—‘Beware of old acquaintances’—wasn’t meant for Crawford. It was meant for us."

  "So the person who ultimately killed Crawford had to be someone from his past. Even if Theodore hadn’t originally planned to use this person, the letter writer would have manipulated him into doing so."

  "Oh, I see......"

  Miko nodded slowly, still only half understanding.

  "Alicia, what’s the culprit’s exact identity?"

  "Berzera Ud. He’s an Imperial Highway Commissioner. On the day of the assassination, he was supposedly on an assignment outside the city, and he still hasn’t returned to Langard."

  "In other words, he has no alibi?"

  "Exactly. It’ll be almost impossible for him to provide a solid alibi. And honestly, his job made him the perfect candidate to carry out that assassination......"

  "Have we confirmed his current whereabouts?"

  "We’ve got him locked down. We can move out at any time—split into two teams. One team goes to find the imprisoned ice-elemental mage, the other to arrest Berzera."

  "Huh??? Wait a minute!"

  Confused question marks popped up above Miko’s head again.

  "Ice-elemental mage? Didn’t we say that person was already dead?"

  "No—we only assumed that person was dead before Fourth Sister Felena declared war on Third Prince Theodore."

  Hulim explained.

  "But the moment we found the second letter, that conclusion was overturned. The mysterious person who orchestrated all of this would never let that ice-elemental mage die. Moreover, they definitely hid him somewhere we could find him."