“Don’t worry—you’re under my protection from now on. If that cur Theodore dares to harm you, he’ll regret it.”

  "Thank you, Your Highness!"

  Crawford knelt down, his face filled with excitement.

  "Stop kneeling—I dislike such formalities!"

  "Yes, Your Highness! I shall remember!"

  With Felena’s official recognition, Crawford finally let go of the anxiety that had weighed on him.

  It was not until he had to leave Langard to handle official business that he realized he had been far too careless.

  Unfortunately, before he could beg Felena for help, Berzera Ud had already silenced him......

  ......

  Back to the present.

  "You intentionally let us see them—but why?"

  The Investor asked with a smile.

  "There is, of course, a reason."

  Hulim Heyerar spoke slowly.

  "First, the location of Crawford’s murder."

  "It was at Mr. Filkorn’s manor. As the owner of the manor, Filkorn was inevitably held accountable."

  "At that time, Alicia Serions would certainly step forward to help Filkorn resolve the issue—and the matter would escalate into an investigation by us."

  "And if we launched an investigation, we would inevitably find the letter you gave Crawford outside the city."

  "Hmm, exactly~!"

  The Investor nodded with a smile.

  "And then what~?"

  "......After that, combining Felena’s reaction with the contents of that letter, we would naturally infer that there were most likely other pieces of evidence proving the mastermind’s identity. Thus, searching Crawford’s residence became inevitable."

  "In the end, we did find it......"

  "Hehe~, so you found the letter—but there was no proof that it was a trap set for you, was there?"

  "Of course there was."

  Hulim replied firmly.

  "The evidence is the letter itself found in the residence! That letter——"

  "You used mana-infused anti-counterfeit paper, did you not?"

  "Mana-infused paper? What does that prove? Mana-infused anti-counterfeit paper is common in communications between nobles, is it not?"

  "It is indeed common—but using such paper for that letter was highly unusual."

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "......"

  "Because mana-infused anti-counterfeit paper is typically used only for formal, etiquette-compliant correspondence between nobles! Who would use it for a secret letter?"

  "Just like your second letter—it was written on ordinary paper."

  "The only reason you specifically used mana-infused anti-counterfeit paper for the first letter was to ensure we would find it."

  "That is quite interesting~. Even if what you say is true, most people would assume someone was secretly helping us. Why did you instead suspect it was a trap?"

  "That would only be the case if you truly intended to help us."

  "Oh~?"

  "......You intentionally exposed the evidence to us, seemingly just helping us find the culprit to implicate the Third Prince. But if that were your only goal, you had no need to provide the clues to us—you could have given them to anyone else."

  "There was no necessity for it to be us, yet you left the clues for us anyway. It was as if you were hoping we would go after the culprit."

  "But is there really such a thing as a free lunch in this world? At that time, although we did not know the exact nature of your relationship with Crown Prince Drehack Serions, one thing was certain: you were definitely not a supporter of Alicia."

  "If you are not a supporter of Alicia, then what you did could not possibly be beneficial to us. That meant there must be a trap waiting for us behind the arrest of Berzera—the ambush you have set up now......"

  "If I guess correctly, you probably noticed the flaw in the letter yourself, did you not?"

  "......"

  "But you did it anyway. This means that compared to this minor flaw that might expose you, it was more important for us to find the evidence smoothly and come to arrest the culprit......"

  Clap! Clap! Clap!

  The Investor applauded again!

  "Beautiful! Truly a brilliant analysis! But......"

  The Investor looked at Hulim with a wide smile.

  "If you knew it was a trap, why did you still step into it? Miss Prodigy, are you not being overly arrogant?"

  As he spoke, The Investor spread his hands, gesturing to his surroundings.

  The area outside the temple was deathly silent.

  "Hear that? Although you have been trying to stall for time, those knights still have not arrived. Do you know what that means~?"

  "......"

  Hulim did not respond, simply staring silently at The Investor.

  Seeing this, The Investor smiled even more broadly.

  "I told you, I have plenty of time. You are indeed very smart, but do you think you can break through all these traps with your current strength?"

  "You are gravely mistaken! A prodigy who has not yet matured is ultimately just a prodigy—someone who will die when faced with a stronger power!"

  Hulim glanced down at the Magic Circle beneath her feet.

  "......Indeed."

  She then lifted her head, scanning the several people in the hall.

  "You have an A-rank and several B-rank powerhouses at your disposal—such ample strength, yet you still prepared such tactics. You are truly cautious."

  "Hehe, of course. I always plan for every eventuality, even if you are only a B-rank!"

  The Investor laughed triumphantly.

  "......"

  Yet in the face of the triumphant The Investor, Hulim’s expression remained perfectly calm.

  "Hmm?"

  Hulim’s composure made The Investor vaguely sense that something was wrong.

  But his men had been monitoring Hulim and her party since they left the city—he could confirm there were no powerful reinforcements following them.

  For a moment, The Investor was unsure where Hulim’s confidence came from.

  "......You seem to have misunderstood something?"

  Hulim suddenly spoke.

  "Misunderstood?"

  "I was not stalling for time with you—I merely wanted to extract some words from you. And now——"

  Hum!

  A black Magic Circle unfolded behind Hulim’s back.

  "I have asked enough questions."

  The Investor’s pupils contracted sharply.

  "That is impossible! Why can you still use magic!?"

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh......

  Hulim did not answer.

  Instead, countless black cutting threads filled the entire hall.

  "Dark Attribute Magic!!?"

  The Investor looked on in shock.

  "You have hidden your strength so deeply! Everyone, attack at once—kill her!"

  "Yes!!!""

  Several B-rank powerhouses quickly closed in on Hulim.

  Hulim watched them charge forward with a calm gaze, extending one finger and making a gentle slash in the air.

  clang......

  The pitch-black cutting threads suddenly shot out in all directions, moving so fast that almost no one could react.

  By the time they realized what was happening, the two leading B-rank subordinates had already been sliced through by the black threads......

  "I stalled for time to extract words from you......"

  Hulim waved her finger, and countless black cutting threads continued to hunt down the remaining B-rank powerhouses.

  "What were you waiting for?"