I blinked in silence. The investigator seemed somewhat dissatisfied. It seemed that suspicions deepened in the look that looked at me. "What did you do before coming to this city?"
I think I answered that question very well. Although I had no intention of cooperating with the investigation, considering the housemaid's situation, I did it sincerely. The head maid shouldn't worry. She was my boss, my source of income.
"So, to put it simply." The investigator's finger tapping on the table gradually accelerated. "Miss Daisy Fager is from Blue Ben, a port in the south of the Empire, you have a younger brother in your family and you came to Midwinterre to get a job?"
I nodded. This was the false identity I invented to work as a maid. "The distance between Midwinterre and the south coast is not small, so why did you choose this city?"
"Just because."
"You really don't have any reason?"
"I don't have any."
As if contemplating something, the inspector crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Originally, I expected to go through this process after I was accused of assault. However, the investigation seemed more focused on me than on the assault itself. Now that I thought about it, the inspector said something as soon as he entered.
"I'll be blunt, we found a singularity in your identity. It might be annoying, but we'll have to get to this point."
A singularity? They must know I'm a survivor of Queen Island. But something was wrong. If they already knew my identity, there was no reason to conduct the investigation this way. They could simply warn me: "Miss Bertie, why are you using a false identity?"
"Miss Fager? You look young and innocent, so I'm going to say this as an older member of society." This guy was trying to provoke me. "It would be better for you to be honest in this investigation without lies. I'm not trying to persuade her with superficial words, but if that's what Miss Fager wants..."
As if he wanted to get confirmation from my own mouth, that means... It means the information about my identity is uncertain. This person wasn't simply investigating the assault on Baron Fedegail. Someone anonymous was investigating my identity through an investigator. Going as far as extorting some military intelligence services.
"Then, identify yourself." Who could it be? No way to know. Then there was nothing we could do.
Let's kill him. No, not that. You can't kill him; he's a civilian, not an assassin. Let's threaten him. This option seemed much better. Threaten him to open his mouth or close it completely to make things easier. That way, the head maid won't have problems either.
"Don't think too much. You're still young and have many possibilities ahead of you. But there are times, when we're young, when we can get caught up in useless things. If you try to hide something else, things will get bigger. You might be treated unfairly."
I changed my mind a bit. The investigator in front of me seemed sincerely concerned about me. I felt sorry for thinking about treating him like a partner of the merchant association. "Who?" Maybe I should hit him less and just threaten him. Whichever method was used, there was a problem that needed to be solved. "Who is it?"
"What?"
"Who is spying on me?"
For a moment, it seemed the investigator was frozen in place. I had hit the nail on the head and he was speechless. The door, which had been firmly closed, opened coldly. Beyond the door that opened sharply enough to hit the wall, a tall presence loomed. As if another wall had been made.
The large spectator was a very tall man, moderately thin, but somewhat menacing. The next thing I recognized after his extraordinary height was a stiff, wobbly straw hat. Wait, a straw hat? In an interrogation center in a big city like this? As soon as I was puzzled, my eyes met the somber eyes that sparkled in gold. Unconsciously, the other person's name came to my lips. "Rue?"
As if he knew it now, his soft, flowing eyebrows rose and then lowered. "Daisy Fager."
Rue, who casually called my name, lifted my chin. "Get out." Holding a brown bag full of vegetables and dairy products in one hand. Before I could ask how he'd gotten here, he started walking away. Should I follow you? My confusion was short-lived. I quickly rose before the investigator could stop me and chased after Rue. The investigator, who was sitting in a daze, finally regained his senses and followed us.
"Hey, wait! Who are you? This is not a place where outsiders can carelessly enter. Get out now!"
His back, dressed in an elegant shirt and a dark gray vest, shook slowly before my eyes. He wore a straw hat on top of a sharp suit. The notable imbalance seemed to further support Rue's brilliance. "Sir!" A young man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere stopped the investigator who was coming on our steps urgently.
"Eh, eh. Calm down for now. You don't have to be angry. The investigative work is already done. It is no longer in our hands."
"What? What does that mean?"
"If I could have your ears for a moment..." Their whispers were clearly audible to my ears. "Baron Fedegail has withdrawn the charges."
"What?"
"A letter of withdrawal of complaint has just arrived via his secretary. Isn't that somewhat funny? People are so impatient these days that if we don't catch the person instantly, they make a fuss..."
"That's not a problem. Daisy Fager's identity check is separate from the incident—it was ordered by higher authorities."
The fight between the two men only got longer. I left the police station pretending I didn't hear them. The warm spring sunset was pouring down, blessing the freedom I had gained after half a day. Higher authorities are watching me. Power to keep the police at bay and extract military intelligence in secret. Few people possess both.
"The boss must be an aristocrat." The aristocrat I didn't know was interested in me and the police investigator was unsure of my identity. This meant that I was not investigated because I was a survivor of Queen Island; rather, the fact that I was one was only information obtained while I was already being investigated. The other party was someone who got to know me after I got a job at the Weatherwoods. When all this information was gathered, there could only be one person that can be deduced to be the "higher authority" the investigator mentioned: The client. The guy who kept sending assassins to the Weatherwoods. He was trying to kill me now. As expected, the most plausible one was him. Of Rue I suspected at first, but if it were Rue, he'd torture me directly and hear the truth. That would be the easiest way. But if the client was an aristocrat, then the number of suspects could be narrowed down.
I, who was lost in my thoughts, suddenly raised my head toward the turret that was heard right in front of my nose. There was a dirty cart parked in front of the police station. It was a cart used to move fertilizer from farms. "Get in."
Rue, who climbed into the cart and sat on the straw, directed me with his head. Surprisingly, the butler-assassin was the one driving the cart. It was funny to see him gently lower his hat out of courtesy and pretend he only knew me. Are you a rider now? He really plays in all kinds of directions. A small child passing by suddenly exclaimed. "Wow! It's a country truck! Dirty!"
"Don't go near it. You'll get sick."
I jumped onto the cart before the attention of those around me increased. While I leaned my back at an angle, Rue held out the paper bag he held in his arms. "Why didn't you kill him? Then you wouldn't have bothered me with my work." What a deadly irritation.
I buried my head silently in the paper bag to admit my mistake. Quality potatoes and carrots appeared in sight with a fresh smell of dirt. I didn't see them this morning. Did he leave town to get these crops? As I gently raised my head, I saw Rue's face with his eyes closed. "What about the head maid?"
"Our precious boss let us off work early. I heard she had a place to stop and she's also busy." I convinced myself as I looked at Rue's angelically beautiful face. You used your hands. Baron Fedegail wouldn't have withdrawn the charges without him, nor would Rue have brought me personally to the past. But what did he do?
"If you continue to look at me like that, you'll burn a hole in my face." I asked cautiously, ignoring his blunt nonsense. "The Baron... did you kill him?"
The eyelids opened and the golden eyes were exposed. I looked into his eyes and whispered, "Is there something on my face?"
"You shouldn't say that anywhere, Miss Daisy. It's a perfect way for us to be misunderstood." Rue smiled with his back to the carriage. "At times like this, when you receive help, you can say things like: 'I won't forget what happened today until I die,' or say, 'I'll be your slave as a token of gratitude' or 'Let me lick your feet, my lord.'" Do you really think I'd say that?