Chapter 9

“Something unusual?”

Luke flicked the loose thread in his hand carelessly onto the floor. For the moment, he was a suspect under interrogation, but in another sense, this was also a chance to seize a clue.

Theo pulled a single sheet of paper from between the documents and slid it across the desk toward Luke.

The neat, familiar handwriting was his own; Luke’s list of sentries, submitted in his capacity as Captain of the Special Unit.

At the beginning of every month, each captain submitted how their unit’s guards would be assigned. The administrative division compiled these into a single list and finalized the roster. Since Luke’s Special Unit had relatively few permanent members, he simply rotated the remaining soldiers into the schedule, distributing the shifts as evenly as possible so no one bore too much of the burden.

“The names you submitted don’t match the soldiers who actually stood guard.”

“You mean the men from my unit didn’t serve their turns according to my roster?”

Theo studied Luke with a meaningful expression, then gave a small nod.

“When I asked your men in advance, they all said that the guard duty had been handled solely by a soldier named Fael.”

It seemed that whenever another soldier’s turn came up, Fael would personally step forward and insist on taking it. Guarding a warehouse through the night was hardly a task anyone relished, so the others had no reason to refuse.

In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for soldiers to quietly switch guard shifts among themselves without reporting it to their captain. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] If the matter caused no trouble, captains often looked the other way.

But for one man to take every shift was certainly odd. Luke recalled Fael’s face earlier, his subordinate trembling with fear.

“Do you have nothing to say about this?”

Luke narrowed his eyes. Interpreted another way, this could be damning. It was easy enough to claim that he had ordered Fael to stand every guard shift, precisely so he could smuggle army supplies without raising suspicion.

After all, if a different face appeared each time something was stolen, the risk of discovery would be far higher. But the instant Theo spoke, a sharp thought struck Luke.

The military stores had vanished, and though he was the prime suspect, he was not the culprit. Which meant someone else was. Putting together what he had just learned, the most likely suspect was obvious.

Theo watched him closely, noticing the faint narrowing of Luke’s eyes before his usual sly smile returned.

“So, Fael must be a real pushover. I thought he was just a coward, but it looks like he even cleans up after his squad mates.”

If Luke’s suspicion was right, now was not the time to speak recklessly. He would need to confirm it later on his own.

“Best not to speak ill of your own men. Are you saying you had no involvement in Fael taking all the guard shifts?”

Luke kept his mouth shut and simply nodded.

“…Very well. Let’s move on.”

Theo turned the page with practiced ease.

“Captain Luke, what did you do on your last leave?”

Luke sank into thought. Why was he asking that all of a sudden? He tried to recall.

Lately he had been so preoccupied with creating a happy ending for the man sitting across from him that everything else slipped by unnoticed. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] He could hardly even remember yesterday, let alone his last leave.

“Hmm, let me think…”

“If you’re pretending not to remember, I’ll remind you.”

“Hey, who said I’m pretending?”

“During your recent leave, you attended a dinner party at the Marquis of Hanus’ estate.”

“Oh, right.”

Luke clapped his hands as the memory returned.

“Yes, I did.”

It was the truth, so there was no reason to deny it. If he kept denying everything, the suspicion would only grow heavier. Not that it could get much worse at this point.

“You’ve never had any ties to the Hanus family. I’m curious how you came to attend that party.”

Luke fell silent for a moment.

The Hanus family was deeply entrenched in maritime trade. He had thought that through their connections, he might learn something about the Kingdom of Memburn, with whom the Empire still maintained a tenuous truce. If he could use their information network, it might prove advantageous. That was the sole reason he had sought an approach.

By chance, however, the Marquis of Hanus himself had suggested a meeting, citing something about his daughter. Luke had no reason to refuse. He had hoped to gain information, but instead had stumbled across some peculiar circumstances. Before he could dig deeper, though, he had been branded the culprit in the supply thefts and dragged into this mess.

“They were the ones who invited me first.”

“And why was that?”

Luke had wanted the meeting, but technically, it was they who had extended the invitation. What had the marquis said at the time? Something about his daughter being a fan of Captain Luke.

Now that he thought about it, it was the same with Duke Raiden before; why were these men so eager to introduce him to their precious daughters?

“Let me think… He said his daughter was a fan of mine, didn’t he?”

In this place, he couldn’t reveal too much. The safest course was to share only those ‘facts’ he could afford to mention. As he pieced together the memory and answered, Theo’s hand twitched slightly.

“And why are you asking about that?”

“You’re aware the Hanus family runs a vast maritime trade network, aren’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Evidence of smuggling has recently been found in their operations.”

Luke’s eyes widened a fraction.

“The palace’s relevant bureau is investigating in secret. And in the course of that inquiry, there was a report that military supplies might be involved.”

Luke slowly stroked his chin, deep in thought. Theo studied him carefully. If anything, his expression looked less like surprise and more like, ‘So it really was them.’

“So, it isn’t confirmed yet, just a preliminary finding?”

“Captain Theo, let’s only discuss what’s backed by solid evidence, shall we?”

The interrogation continued for nearly thirty more minutes. Luke answered steadily regarding his alibis, yet whenever Theo’s questions veered close to the heart of the matter, he dodged them with vague replies. After all, this issue had only recently surfaced, and Luke had been named the chief suspect solely because of Fael’s testimony.

In other words, aside from that testimony, no decisive evidence yet existed.

“This concludes the first inquiry.”

Theo gathered the documents, adding that until the next session, it would be best for Luke to remain confined. At last, the dreary time seemed to be over. Theo too rose, gathering his papers. But instead of leaving, he lingered, staring intently at Luke.

“What now?”

“I just realized there’s something I forgot to ask.”

“Again? What is it this time?”

Surely everything that could be asked had already been asked.

“When you were invited to the Hanus estate, what did you talk about?”

“…What?”

“You said the marquis’ daughter claimed to be your fan. Tell me what you discussed.”

“And what does that have to do with the investigation?”

The corner of Theo’s mouth twitched slightly. The change was so subtle that only the keenest eye could have caught it.

“Of course it’s relevant. The very conversation could serve as evidence. If your reason for being invited was truly trivial and unrelated to this case, then you should have no trouble saying so.”

‘Is that so?’ Luke searched his memory. If he left out the part where he had asked about the Kingdom of Memburn, what was left of that conversation?

“The marquis’ daughter said her ideal man was someone extremely strong.”

“And?”

“She said she wanted to marry a man strong in both body and spirit.”

Theo’s brows twitched.

“Oh, that’s right. She also said if her husband were a soldier, she’d feel perfectly secure!”

Luke, pleased to have recalled it at last, smiled without realizing it.

“And?”

“And what?”

“What did you say to her?”

At some point, Theo had closed the distance from the doorway and was looming over the desk. Luke blinked, then finally replied.

“I said that if she wished, I could introduce her to some fine soldiers I knew.”

The predatory glare Theo had been giving him melted away instantly at that answer. Luke tilted his head. Was this really such an important matter for the investigation?

“…Very well. I’ll note that response.”

“Oh, Theo, while we’re on the subject, what about you? As a match for the marquis’ daughter, I mean. If you’d like, I could put in a word for you—”

Bang!

Before he could finish, Theo slammed the door shut behind him and strode out, as if the notion wasn’t worth a second of his time.

“That man… what a temper.”

Luke clicked his tongue and shook his head. A moment later, the guards entered and informed him it was time to return to his quarters. Luke followed obediently back to the dormitory. On the way, he thought only of one thing.

How he might create an opportunity to confront the true culprit, how to uncover the evidence, and in what direction to resolve it all.