When I returned to the Zeavert house, I first sent Neurath to call Max. I had the bathtub ready, instructed the maids to give Clara a full body wash, and whispered a few words of confirmation before having them escort her to the bathtub. I then had Lily get changed and told her to go to Father’s room.
I told Norbert to pass on other instructions to the maids and headed with Schunzel to Father’s room. I would like to have a meeting with my father as soon as possible. That girl wouldn’t be able to eavesdrop on our conversation if she’s in the bath with multiple maids.
“You shouldn’t have bothered to bring up the subject.”
“I’m so sorry, Father. I will take care of this matter.”
When I briefly explained the situation, father became angry, but not as enraged as I expected. He was probably expecting us to be targeted as well. I explained in more detail when Neurath and Max joined in. Lily was then called to join us after.
By the way, I was also informed that our carriage was delayed because it almost ran over someone on the way. It was probably the work of the other side who wanted to get in our way. Whoever was responsible for stalling the carriage was probably the one who was targeting us.
“Why did you suspect her?” (Father)
“Lily.” (Norbert)
The examiner, or rather Norbert, passed the question to Lily, who was a bit surprised by the sudden mention, but she quickly nodded and answered.
“Ye, yes. When Welner-sama, who had gone down a side street, came back and said that it was murder, Clara didn’t seem upset. I thought she was too clean looking for a refugee parent and daughter.” (Lily)She was also calmer than I expected, especially in a world like this where monsters roamed around and death was closer to people than in my previous life. That said, I didn’t want to scare her, so I was a little worried on how I should approach her, but she seemed okay.
“How did Neurath and Schunzel see the situation?”
I asked them this time. They looked at each other and nodded, then Neurath spoke up first.
“If there were really four culprits and Clara escaped after she heard their conversation, it would be unnatural for all four of them to attack only her father. At least one of the four should have gone after Clara.” (Neurath)
“I also thought that her reaction when she heard Welner-sama’s name was somewhat unnatural and intentional, and the fact that she called him Noble-sama when she spoke to Welner-sama, it seemed as if she already knew his face.” (Schunzel)
“I smelled blood when I approached the area down the side street. I concluded that some time has passed since the murder happened. I guess she may just be following a script that was given to her in order to approach me.” (Welner)
“We have a policy of managing the Triot refugees in family groups, so there should be some information around regarding her family, but if we can’t find anything, then something strange is at play. It may also be possible that some random family member would pop out of nowhere and complain because their family member, Clara, has been taken by me. Well, it should happen soon, and we will find out what they intend at that time.”
Max nodded.
“Also, the body of that man, her father, is strange. First, there are no wounds from self-defense.”
“Wounds from self-defense?”
Lily tilted her head, so I explained briefly.
“When someone tries to cut you with a knife, you usually try to protect yourself with your hand, but in doing so, you will get a wound on your hand or arm. That wound is called a self-defense wound.”
Wound received from hesitation in the case of a suicide could also be recognized as self-defense wounds, but I shouldn’t have to explain that much right now. But still, long live a certain boy detective cartoon.
Max confirmed my point by saying, “His hands were clean, with no self-defense wounds or blood on them. Perhaps, it was the first blow, which cost the man his life. The rest of the wounds were probably inflicted on the corpse.”
Father asked me with a look as if trying to verify my intentions, “I understand that much. So what are you going to do now?”
“First, Lily, I need you to draw Clara’s true purpose.” (Welner)
“Okay.” (Lily)
“But I don’t need you to observe her directly. Instead, I want you to draw her face as you see it, but not too clearly.” (Welner)
“Ye, yes?” (Lily)
She tilted her head quizzically, so I just explained it lightly.
“If you observe her too much, she may think that something is wrong. It’s easier to gather information if we could just use her image to ask others if they have seen someone who looks like her before.” (Welner)
“I see. I’ll try to draw some pictures.” (Lily)
“Please.” (Welner)
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