206: The Day Prior
Time returns to one day earlier.
Having spent enough time checking the guest room, Avril returned to the old wing where she was being confined along with Dylan and Listeard.
At the entrance to the floor her room was, she greeted the guard standing in the corridor with a polite “hello.” The guard almost returned a smiled but then looked troubled. He seemed uncertain over whether returning a greeting to the villainess condemned as a criminal was proper or not.
Then, upon noticing Listeard walking behind her, the guard’s expression became tense.
“Yo-your Majesty the King.”
“Nothing out of the ordinary?”
“Yes. Other than Lord Alois apparently coming to visit a short time ago.”
“I see. Thank you for your hard work.”
At Listeard’s words, which were spoken with a smirk, Avril gave another polite bow of her head to him. This time, he returned the greeting, albeit with hesitation.
Upon entering the room, a clearly different air from when they had left was drifting about.
“…It’s sweet, isn’t it?”
Avril smiled brightly at Dylan’s puzzlement.
“Yes. I left an incense burning here.”
“I believe there was a different scent when we left, though.”
“Indeed. That was the fragrance of the railflower, a flower that is our nation’s symbol. It has a refreshing aroma reminiscent of citrus, I believe.”
Seeing the puzzlement on Dylan and Listeard, Avril took out two small vials from a bag in the closet.
“I placed these two fragrances together into the incense burner. That’s why, at first, there was the scent of railflower. Later, it became a different fragrance.”
“? If you only mixed the two, wouldn’t they blend together to create a scent different from the two?”
In response to Listeard’s question, Avril picked up the dish remaining in the center of the incense burner and handed it to him.
“I learned about railflowers from Her Highness Emilia during a tea party, and when I read up on it in the library, I learned that the aroma extracted from railflowers is highly volatile and doesn’t allow other scents to approach it. For that reason, it is a fragrance which can only be enjoyed for an instant, is considered highly rare and valuable, and delights everyone.”
“…You are remarkably inquisitive for a villainess.”
Avril’s eyes darted about at Listeard’s jab, but Dylan stepped in to cover for her.
“Lady Avril will conduct thorough investigations on anything that might turn into a profit.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Yes! I love money and expensive things.”
She hastily tried to push through with her villainess persona, but whether or not it got through was unclear. Dylan, instead of letting Avril expose herself any further, rephrased the explanation for her, seemingly having understood everything.
“The sweet aroma used in the second half has quite the strong scent. That is to say, the scent would have been absorbed by anything placed in this room.”
“? Would the railflower, which evaporated first, not repel the later fragrance? It has the property of not allowing other scents, does it not?”
Listeard seemed puzzled at first, but he soon appeared to realize something. He continued to build on his own words.
“…I see. That makes sense. If this sweet scent lingers after the railflower fades— it becomes proof that it was placed in this room recently.”
That’s how it is.
As Avril nodded inwardly, Dylan complimented her with his gaze so that no one else would notice. It made her feel ticklish, the reassuring feeling of being understood without needing to give an explanation.
“I merely wished, after stepping out accompanied by a refreshing fragrance, to return to a room filled with a sweet scent.”
She tried to explain in simple terms that at no point did she expect anyone to place anything inside the room, much less act with the intention to set up a trap. How this was received by Listeard was unknown.
One thing was for certain, just as she had imagined, an unfamiliar document had been placed beside the incense burner. The two seemed to have noticed it as well, and more than that, it seemed to be just as intended. Listeard’s triumphant, meaningful smile was somewhat frightening.
“There is a suspicious document on that desk. It’s as if it’s saying, ‘Please, notice me.’ Since it’s here, let’s look inside.”
At that moment, the door to the room suddenly opened.
“!?”
There had been no knock, and the door was opened without warning, so Avril was startled. The one who entered was the maid who always delivered meals to the room.
“…?! Your Majesty the King?!”
Listeard glared at the maid with a piercing gaze.
“Why did you enter without knocking?”
“I’m simply here on Lord Alois’s orders.”
Her words, stammered out in shock, were understood to be nothing more than the unvarnished truth.
Mr. Alois doesn’t seem to have told this maid anything.
The maid was bewildered, but before her stood none other than Listeard, the King and also Alois’s master. She probably thought telling him wouldn’t be a problem. Without even a gesture of concealment, she revealed the truth without even trying to hide anything.
“I was ordered to clean the room at this time today… and I was told that if I gave notice, evidence might be hidden. Thus, I was to enter without knocking.”
“……”
I see, Alois’ scheme was to plant fabricated evidence while I was away. Then, upon my returning and becoming flustered at discovering it, have the maid report me.
It was so thoroughly prepared that she almost sighed out.
“Go back. Tell Alois that it went well.”
The maid confirmed that Listeard was holding a suspicious document in his hand before scrutinizing Avril. She seemed to understand that this was somehow different from what Alois had intended. However, unable to question the king for details, her eyes darted about.
That was when Listeard pressed the matter further.
“Go quickly. Don’t say anything unnecessary to Alois.”
“…! I-I humbly obey…!”
As if repelled, the maid left the room.
After the maid left the room and sound of the second door closing could be heard, Listeard gave a triumphant smile.
“—Dylan Sherrard, just as you foresaw, Alois did indeed fabricate evidence. It was a good thing indeed that we replaced the securely kept examination papers with dummies immediately after Avril Allingham was accused. That alone narrows down the suspects.”
Like I thought, the two of them arranged this. And Mr. Alois, intending to entrap me, was entrapped himself instead.
Avril had also understood that Dylan and Listeard had a purpose when they came to that room together. When they mentioned leaving the room, she realized it. They’re intending to set a trap for someone.
Normally, there’d be no need to deliberately inspect the room I had been using. Examining it in my absence would have been the natural course.
Hence why she lit two different kinds of fragrances, to leave an invisible mark showing what had been placed afterward.
Avril, not having thought that the two had tampered with the exam papers themselves, gave an inward cry of admiration, “As expected.” Then, Listeard jested lightly with Dylan.
“Your name is Dylan Sherrard, I believe? Would you not serve under me rather than Lawrence? As it happens, one chancellor who greatly detests dealings with foreign nations is on the verge of falling from power”
“You jest. Though it is a most gracious offer, I must respectfully decline.”
“How cold of you. Your advice to increase the number of successful applicants by one to prevent public backlash was brilliant. Thanks to that, a natural current for accepting ties with foreign nations has been created.”
“I owe Prince Lawrence far too many personal debts. I cannot be ungrateful to him.”
Apparently, the appeal that no other applicant was rejected because of Avril’s passing was devised by Dylan. It was something that, while appearing to help Listeard, in truth served to help Avril.
Lord Dylan’s quick thinking really is impressive.
Moreover, watching him gracefully fend off Listeard’s earnest invitation let her feel the strength of his bond with Lawrence.
Although Dylan might have been angered by Lawrence’s repeated requests to Avril, they likely trusted each other deep down. Along with that thought, Chris, who had supported Dylan since childhood, also came to mind.
The bonds between Lord Dylan and those around him are truly wonderful.
While Avril was musing on such things with deep emotion, the flow of the conversation suddenly turned toward her.
“I was also impressed by Marquess Sherard’s work.”
“?”
Completely caught off guard, Avril let out a startled “Nn?”
“Never did I imagine that by means of a trick with scents, the culprit could be identified and the trouble of interrogation avoided.”
This is not good.
“!? Coincidence, it was just a coincidence.”
Avril immediately smiled, and a dry “hahaha,” echoed through the old stone-walled room.
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