Ellen and Charlotte returned to the Imperial Capital.
Ellen asked what they should do with Lydia Schmitt's corpse, but Charlotte insisted that they must take it with them as evidence.
The discovery of the missing person from the temple in the Epiax Fortress was a very serious issue, regardless of the truth of the case, and it could not be anything but a piece of evidence.
Acquiring a wooden coffin at a midway stop, they placed Lydia Schmitt's body inside and made their way back to the Imperial Capital.
It didn't take long to return to the Imperial Capital from the harsh frozen lands.
People stared curiously at Ellen, who was dragging the coffin, but neither of them was in a state to care about the gazes of others.
"Reinhardt must have gone to investigate the Lich's tomb. That's what I think," Charlotte said.
Ellen nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Reinhardt was still in Darkland, investigating the murder that had occurred in the Imperial Capital, accompanied by the Imperial elite and Harriet.
Neither Ellen nor Charlotte knew what Reinhardt wanted.
However, as they dragged the coffin towards the palace, Charlotte suddenly halted in her tracks.
"..."
Seeing Charlotte stop, Ellen stared intently at her.
Ellen silently watched as Charlotte's face twisted in pain and despair.
"Ellen..."
"Yes?"
"I... I can't do it."
Charlotte's voice trembled violently within her despair.
"I... this... with my own hands... I can't... I can't do this anymore..."
Knowing that the truth she was about to uncover would shatter her, Charlotte no longer had the courage to take another step forward.
She had thought she needed to know something, to dig deeper, but now she felt that she couldn't handle the terrifying truth that seemed to be right in front of her.
Both of them had an intuition about something.
But intuition alone could not solve anything.
They needed to uncover the truth and have some solid evidence to be certain. Ellen looked quietly at Charlotte.
"Alright."
"..."
Charlotte could not go any further.
Ellen was also afraid, but she couldn't blame Charlotte, for she understood the fear and reluctance that made her want to collapse.
Ellen was scared to dig deeper into the truth of this matter too.
Although she didn't intend to stop, Charlotte couldn't bear to see the truth she had uncovered with her own hands.
"Let's go to Bertus."
They needed another source of power.
—---
Bertus was having a busy time.
There was an incident inside the palace.
The Imperial elite had gone to search the Lich's tomb, but it was uncertain whether there really was a monster there.
So, not only were they searching the palace, but also the entire Imperial Capital and even Roswin's residence.
They were being extremely cautious in retrieving the magical tome left behind by Roswin, as there might be some trickery within it.
The Emperor was busy, of course, and the First Prince was doing his part as well.
Hence, it was inevitable that he would be annoyed by the sudden request for an audience from his sister, who seemed to have briefly visited a distant place over the weekend.
There was no time nor reason to discuss personal matters, let alone the already-finished psychological warfare, as he was already swamped with work.
However, when Bertus found out that Charlotte had not come alone but with Ellen Artorius, and that the two had brought a mysterious coffin to the Winter Palace, he sensed that something was amiss.
And after seeing their unusually thick coats, he was certain.
They must have brought something serious.
"What's going on?"
But being tired and sensitive, Bertus decided to have them sit down first before asking the main question.
Charlotte remained silent.
So did Ellen.
Instead, Charlotte took out a quill pen from the table and began writing something on a piece of paper.
But Bertus noticed that Charlotte's hand was trembling severely as she wrote.
"...Why are you like this?"
Charlotte remained silent in response to Bertus's question, her head lowered, continuing to write.
Why write when it could be said aloud?
It was because it contained the possibility of an unspeakable, miserable, and terrifying truth.
Her handwriting was messy due to her shaking hands, but it wasn't unreadable. Ellen was silently staring out the window.
Bertus didn't have the time, but he waited patiently for Charlotte to finish writing.
If the usually strong-willed half-sibling was resorting to this, it meant something very important was happening.
"...Here."
The densely written paper was handed over by Charlotte.
Bertus slowly began reading them.
It was a well-organized summary of everything Charlotte had discovered so far, though the handwriting was chaotic.
It included Charlotte's past knowledge about the Demon King's whereabouts, Elena's incident, letter delivery and evaporation, tracking, the attack on Riverrier Lanze, and Olivia and Adriana.
It mentioned the visit to the Castle Epiax, the incident with the statue, the attack by Lydia Schmitt, and even the claim that the missing Lydia Schmitt's body was in the coffin they brought.
Each of these stories seemed unrelated, but they all pointed to one person.
Reinhardt.
[There is a high possibility that Reinhardt is related to the Demon King.]
The horribly distorted writing spoke of Charlotte's wretched state of mind, having had to write it down herself.
Putting aside the certainty of the evidence and the basis of the content, the shock brought by the sentence itself left Bertus speechless.
"It's nonsense."
That's why Bertus's first words after a long silence could only be that.
"I wish... I wish it was. Please, I wish it was... I really do... I really... really..."
Before Bertus, Charlotte's head hung low, her hands resting on her knees.
Tears fell on them, and Bertus stared at her with wide eyes.
More than the unbelievable suspicion, Bertus was appalled by the fact that Charlotte was crying in front of him.
"I... I tried... I tried, but... I can't do it anymore... You... you might... be able to do it... If you do it..."
If Reinhardt was involved with the Demon King, it would be a huge shock to the empire and the royal family, but it would also mean they had caught a very serious security threat.
Just as Bertus had completely snatched the control of the imperial succession by eliminating the revolutionary forces, Charlotte could have used this to re-enter the competition for the throne.
But Charlotte, holding onto this lead, handed it over to Bertus.
She even pleaded with him.
Please finish the remaining task.
The truth she was already half-convinced of was too painful, so she asked Bertus, afraid that if she uncovered it all herself, she would fall apart.
No, she had already fallen apart.
Ellen, gazing silently out of the window, embraced Charlotte's shoulders without a word.
She pretended to be expressionless, but Ellen, who had investigated this with her, must have been in no better state than Charlotte.
Ellen was not expressionless.
She was devastated.
Bertus alternately looked at Charlotte and Ellen.
The broken half-siblings. The devastated classmate.
And Reinhardt.
Seeing Charlotte sobbing, Bertus put the paper in his bosom.
Reinhardt was involved with the Demon King.
What would happen if this were true?
He had no time to worry about trifling matters like the incident in the palace.
Bertus quietly looked at the half-siblings who had been on the brink of collapse, now completely broken and pleading with sobs.
If this were true.
What kind of betrayal would Charlotte de Gardias feel?
Being used, used again, and only being used in the end.
Betrayed by everything she had sought in her quest for peace of mind.
Bertus, more than ever, felt pity for his half-sibling.
With more sincerity than at any other moment, he said.
"Don't cry, sister."
"..."
"I'll take care of it."
And so, he spoke.
Charlotte returned to the Spring Palace, and Ellen stayed with Bertus.
Bertus and Ellen opened the archives guarded by the Winter Palace troops.
"Confirmation of identity?"
"It has been confirmed that she is indeed the missing Temple graduate, Lydia Schmitt."
"I see."
Even though Ellen had vouched for it, cross-verification had been completed.
The missing Temple Royal Class student, presumed dead during the attack on the nameless monastery, Lydia Schmitt, had been found in the northernmost fortress of the continent, known as the Fortress of Epiax.
Lydia Schmitt had attacked Ellen and Charlotte de Gardias for an unknown reason and had been killed in the process by Ellen Artorius.
And within the pantheon-like structure at the epicenter, there stood a statue of a sorcerer presumed to have hidden the Demon King.
The day before the attack on the Demon King's Holy Knights, Reinhardt visited Elena's Scroll Shop with Lydia Schmitt.
Everything that needed to be known was diligently written by Charlotte and delivered without omission.
The conclusion was that Reinhardt was suspicious.
Ever since that cross-dressing incident he didn't want to recall, Bertus intentionally tried not to think about Reinhardt.
He had given up trying to understand why it had to be that way since it was an inexplicable situation.
'...This is driving me mad.'
If Reinhardt was connected to the Demon King, what was the meaning behind the cross-dressing?
Feeling that his thoughts were being drawn back to that incident, Bertus bit his tongue lightly to regain focus.
Ultimately, that cross-dressing incident.
Though he loathed the thought, Bertus couldn't deny that there was a clue there.
Bertus had already done something that Charlotte and Ellen didn't know and were too afraid to do themselves: digging into Reinhardt.
In a situation where Reinhardt wasn't thought to be suspicious, it could be dismissed, but if he was considered suspicious, it was an undeniable clue.
'The identity registration was last year, definitely.'
Last year.
His subordinate's report that many people lived without identity registration was correct.
However, when viewed from the perspective that Reinhardt was suspicious, it was strange.
Reinhardt suddenly appeared in the Empire last year.
Reinhardt didn't exist before then, at least not two years prior.
And another clue.
Reinhardt had admitted that the silver-haired girl he had encountered that day was him.
Why would he confess such an abominable act with his own mouth? So every time Bertus and Reinhardt met, they experienced bizarre situations.
There was no real need to mention it.
'It was me.'
Nevertheless, upon hearing that Bertus was investigating to find his siblings, Reinhardt blurted out the truth in a fit of panic.
Bertus didn't know why Reinhardt had cross-dressed.
The important thing was that Reinhardt had confessed something he should never have admitted under normal circumstances.
'Did he fear the investigation itself?'
He might have been afraid that Bertus would discover something he shouldn't know, so he confessed the truth before Bertus could touch any dangerous leads.
The embarrassment and risking death were problems of different dimensions.
Reinhardt had participated in the cross-dressing contest. The reason was unknown.
But as soon as he heard that Bertus was investigating under the assumption that the girl might be Reinhardt's sibling, he confessed the truth.
That meant,
If Bertus continued investigating Reinhardt, he would learn something he shouldn't.
"Bring me the date of Reinhardt's identity registration and the date Charlotte returned to the Empire for comparison."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"And Ellen."
"Yes?"
"There's a Rotary Club in the southern part of the Empire. Do you know?"
"...Yes, I do."
Upon hearing Bertus's question, Ellen nodded her head.
"Take the people and interrogate them. If necessary, bring them all in."
"…Understood."
Ellen slowly nodded her head and led the people selected by Bertus out of the palace.
Bertus quietly watched Ellen's retreating figure.
Was Reinhardt truly a sudden appearance?
And when did it all begin?
Just what was Reinhardt up to?
Bertus wanted to know.
The image of Charlotte sobbing miserably wouldn't leave Bertus's mind.
