Chapter 163

Both Adel and the girl with a knife pointed at her stood frozen in shock.

Adel was thrown into confusion by the scene, which was nothing like she had expected, while the girl seemed unable to grasp her situation properly.

It was then that outside interlopers shattered the silence.

“Kyaaaa!”

“W-who are you!?”

“Guard! Guard, help us!!”

To be honest, their actions weren’t the smartest choice.

By shouting, they might provoke the agitated culprit into making a wrong move, and the girl in front of them could end up in a terrible situation.

However, Adel was an exception.

There was no way she’d use her sword against an innocent civilian, even if the guards fainted at the sight of the attacker.

‘This isn’t the place… I need to find another one!’

Quickly retrieving her sword, Adel abandoned the dazed girl and hurried up the next flight of stairs.

But on the next floor, she still couldn’t find what she was looking for.

The layout of the third floor was almost identical to the second, and while there were fewer people, there was still a palpable sense of life.

This was far from the bizarre area filled with doors that a mouse would have seen.

On the fourth floor, there wasn’t even a room to speak of, just a large space filled with desks and tables.

The fifth floor held nothing but a huge bell and a wide window.

And that was it.

There were no stairs leading further up in sight.

“Where on earth…?”

Her disheartened mumbling echoed emptily.

***

The next day, the Donengarten Estate was turned upside down.

A mysterious stranger had attacked the tower of learning overseen by the Lady, incapacitating the guards and wandering around inside before making a getaway.

The Lord was furious about the incident and ordered an immediate search for the culprit; however, the search efforts faced significant difficulties.

The guards, unable to see the assailant clearly due to being ambushed in the dark, could barely comprehend the testimonies from the girls inside the tower.

“I-I think they had long hair!”

“No, I think they were wearing something like a hood. And they seemed big.”

“Huh? They didn’t seem big? Their weapon looked huge, though.”

The guards thought the girls couldn’t remember properly, probably due to the confused circumstances, but the truth was that it was a combination of the ‘magical mask that obscures appearance’ prepared by the Lenart Family and the ‘gem that blurs presence’ handed over by Dorothea.

Unless someone with sharp senses detected the truth, ordinary girls had almost no chance of seeing through Adel’s disguise.

Of course, even without physical evidence, suspicion could still emerge.

It was only natural that doubts would fall upon Dorothea and her group, especially since the incident coincidentally occurred right after their arrival in the territory.

However, the party was never actually interrogated.

“Of course. It must be quite a burden to interrogate someone so respected as the Lion Duke’s Bloodline or the chief instructor of the school.”

“That person is in an atmosphere where they wouldn’t doubt that ‘the honorable member of the Lion Duke’s Bloodline’ would commit such a trivial crime. It seems the other vassals can’t speak up even if they suspect us.”

At Sophia’s words, Adel simply smiled awkwardly.

While her actions weren’t necessarily wrong since it was to save a person, encouraging the Lord during breakfast, who kept saying things like ‘I will definitely catch the culprit’ or ‘I will show Adel the capabilities of the Donengarten soldiers,’ was something that weighed heavily on her conscience.

At this point, she wondered if they were merely joking without realizing it.

The three of them, engaged in light conversation, eventually turned their attention to Dorothea, who sat in silence at one corner.

She stared grimly at the water mirror, her expression reflecting the fact that she had not slept a wink since last night.

“Hey, did ‘the Tin Knight’ have any results?”

“… I know the space is warped. But the spell is too bizarre. It’s completely outside of what I’ve ever seen.”

Just as skilled swordsmen know how to handle various weapons like spears or arrows—not just swords—seasoned wizards usually possess some knowledge of other magical schools beyond their own specialty.

Otherwise, effective response would be impossible.

However, Dorothea was at a complete loss when trying to unravel the enigma surrounding the mysterious magic, if it even was magic at all, cast throughout the tower.

Clearly, this frustrated her greatly; her face reflected significant displeasure.

“Um, I wonder if Rapunzel is okay? She’s been trapped there for three days already and hasn’t eaten properly.”

Hoping to lighten the mood, Adel glanced at the water mirror and spoke.

She had received news that their first rescue attempt had failed, and apparently, she was quite dejected, spending most of her time curled up sleeping.

Her cheeks had grown quite gaunt, and while the ‘guards’ initially provided her with decent meals, after several failed escape attempts, it seemed that now she only received a bit of water and grain flour once a day.

The group suspected this was likely a means to sap her strength.

“She should be fine for now. After all, the fact that they still give her food means they must have some use for her.”

“If it’s difficult to break in from this side, how about helping her escape from that side?”

At Sophia’s suggestion, Dorothea shook her head, having likely already considered this method.

“I’ve already sent a mouse to wander around. Just because it goes down those stairs doesn’t mean it can really get down.”

“What about breaking out entirely?”

“I doubt it has the ability to break through the walls, and even if it could, there’s no guarantee it would safely land on this side.”

Dorothea clicked her tongue softly.

“Since it’s a space based on the same ‘tower,’ there’s likely something we can discover by thoroughly investigating this tower.”

“Can’t ‘the Tin Knight’ just investigate himself?”

“Do you really think they’d let an outsider in during this situation? Tsk, knowing this would happen, I should’ve refrained from creating such a commotion.”

“It’s important to turn this crisis into an opportunity!”

The Tin Knight’s response made Dorothea look utterly confused.

“Do you just say whatever comes to mind?”

“Uh, no. Surprisingly, it could be effective.”

Even Sophia jumped in to support the Tin Knight, causing Dorothea to listen to what she was saying with increasing seriousness.

“Do you think it’ll actually work?”

“At any rate, staying silent won’t erase the suspicions against us. Unless you plan to give up?”

Sophia asked with a grin, her face radiating encouragement.

You could almost sense that if Dorothea were to say ‘I don’t have to save her anyway, so I’ll just give up,’ there would be no objections from anyone.

Thus, Dorothea found a sense of determination rising within her.

She nodded her head.

***

“Oh my, are you serious, Lady Adelheid?”

“Yes. We wish to assist in resolving this incident.”

“Of course, I’d be incredibly grateful if you would do so…”

The Lord had a rather complicated expression upon hearing Adelheid’s offer.

To dispel any feelings other than joy from his face, Adelheid recited the lines prepared by Sophia.

“You graciously welcomed us without demanding any sort of promise, my Lord. To repay your kindness and to resolve any possible ‘misunderstandings,’ we felt we could not remain idle.”

“You can talk about kindness all you want, but what misunderstandings do you mean?”

“Isn’t the timing of this incident suspiciously orchestrated?”

Adel narrowed her eyes slightly and lifted her chin, recalling Sophia’s advice to appear as ‘arrogant’ as possible while delivering this line.

“… ? Do you have something in your eye? Do you need a handkerchief?”

“Cough. No, not at all.”

Adel quickly gave up on that tactic. Memorizing lines was one thing, but trying to act out facial expressions on the spot was a whole different beast—especially for someone like Adel.

Some people simply have an aptitude for these kinds of things.

After a small cough, Adel continued speaking.

“The most straightforward way to avoid suspicion when committing a crime is to prepare other suspects. A case occurring just after our arrival in this estate naturally draws attention to us.”

“That can’t be! How could a noble Lion Duke’s Bloodline commit such a petty crime?”

“I appreciate your trust, my Lord, but others may not see it that way.”

Surrounding vassals began to glance away or cover their mouths at her words.

While it was possible to press them here, following the script would be a poor move.

“Of course, I don’t mean to imply that’s bad. I would’ve suspected it too. The issue isn’t the person wondering, but rather the one who had them wondering, if you catch my drift.”

Adel took a sip from her cup of tea, trying to moisten her parched mouth as she spoke shameless lies.

It was hard not to feel parched, uttering such blatant falsehoods while knowing the truth.

You couldn’t help but wonder about people who could fabricate lies so naturally without at least breaking a sweat.

Worrying about whether her awkward acting might lead to embarrassment, she was relieved when the simple-minded Lord naturally followed her intentions.

“You’re saying it was orchestrated to cast suspicion upon you, meaning the culprit intentionally chose the night of your arrival to commit this foul act?”

“Exactly. This plot attempts to tarnish both our friendship with you and the honor of your esteemed Lion Duke’s Bloodline. Therefore, we wish to assist you in capturing the culprit.”

“Oh, in that case, I can’t possibly refuse! Please assist us in uncovering the culprit, Lady Adelheid.”

While internally muttering, ‘I’m really sorry, my Lord,’ Adelheid was further motivated by the fact that this was all for the sake of the girl.

“The culprit wandered the tower looking for something. I believe there’s a high chance that clues left behind or the ‘something’ the culprit was looking for are still within the tower.”

“However, Lady Adelheid. The soldiers have already carefully searched the interior but found nothing significant.”

“Searching physically isn’t the only way to conduct a search. We have a wizard experienced in such matters, so if you grant her the authority to investigate the tower, she will surely uncover its secrets.”

“Really? Do you have someone like that? Ah, now that I think of it, there was a woman wielding a staff. Is it true that many wizards have peculiar personalities? I suppose that attire was a reflection of that.”

The Lord nodded, as if in comprehension, and Adelheid sighed with relief that Dorothea wasn’t present.

“Alright then, right away-”

“-Just wait a moment.”

Just as the Lord was about to grant his permission, a woman who had been silent stepped in.

She was a woman of quiet grace with an intelligent aura, speaking calmly.

“Due to last night’s incident and the soldiers’ search, the children in the tower are quite shaken. If unfamiliar individuals are to roam about again in this state, the stress on the children will be considerable. Please reconsider, my Lord.”

“Hmm, Lady. I’m not unaware of your concerns, but to be fair, finding the actual source of this turmoil would benefit the children, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m not against the investigation itself. They just need a bit of time to regain their composure, so please grant them some time.”

“What the Lady says is absolutely correct, my Lord.”

“Young girls of the prime age shouldn’t have to deal with such an ordeal; they need time to recover.”

With the Lady’s words, the previously passive vassals all chimed in.

The only ones maintaining silence were the military personnel, including the knights assigned to guard.

The Lord contorted his face for a moment in thought, subtly glancing at Adelheid.

“Um, Lady Adelheid, would you grant us a day’s reprieve? After that, I’ll ensure the tower is completely cleared for your investigation.”

Adelheid momentarily looked down.

On the surface, it appeared she was withholding her displeasure, but in reality, she was trying to hide her astonishment.

It was just as she had heard from Sophia.

Like a general from a distant land realizing the southern winds truly did blow, Adelheid accepted the Lord’s statement.