WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 141

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The World Thinks of Us as It Pleases (3)

A bombing attack occurred.

I rushed to the blast site without delay. From a crumpled car, I pulled out Leutern, one of the palace's true VIPs, bleeding badly.

His injuries were a fractured leg and minor burns. He looked out of immediate danger, but only because of the premium mana stone cube around his neck, my gift.

It was the core of 「Spherical Aura Guard」, one function of an artifact worth millions of dollars.

"Transport him now."

I gave the order to the medics who arrived moments later.

Once Leutern II was carried away, I stepped back and calmly scanned the devastated blast zone.

"Leave the scene as it is. Nobody touches anything."

After blocking the police and other knights from approaching, I awakened the virus inside me.

Ssssss.

My vision turned blue, and the activated residue across the blast site rose into view.

Mana fragments scattered where the flames had torn through. I traced their flow and checked whether the clues took the shape I intended.

The impurity wavelength of the mana stone used as the explosive charge. The distinct alloy scent left behind as Gigantes-made parts melted down.

Everything was exactly as designed.

"All evidence collected on site is to be transferred to Sentinel headquarters, to my office."

I gave the order to the staff officers and returned to the Order.

......Just as I brought the evidence into the knight office and was about to begin full analysis, murmurs from the corridor swelled into shouting.

"Sir Knight. Nobles from the imperial palace are outside right now."

A staff officer ran in with the report. After hearing Leutern II had been attacked, multiple palace factions had rushed over to learn the truth.

"From this point until this case is closed, refuse every interview."

I rejected all of them outright.

"Even Duke Leutern said he intends to come in person-"

"Tell them politely this is for investigative transparency. An imperial knight does not involve himself in palace political struggles. We pursue only the truth."

Even the staff officers did not know what was behind this explosion. That was better for them too.

Among my closest circle, only Schatz and Yukia, who built the bomb, knew.

"Yes, sir."

The staff officer relayed my words exactly to the palace nobles.

After that, the real investigation and analysis began.

I brought in the Empire's top mana scholars. To guarantee objectivity, I summoned well-known scholars, endowed professors from Imperial Central University, and mages from the Magic Tower, then demanded cross-verification of the bomb debris and mana structure.

But from their analysis, they put forward only one thing, a very faint wavelength from the mana stone used as the explosive medium.

That trace could be found in mana stones from a mine owned by Julius, but also in stones from twenty to thirty other mines.

So no clear identification was possible, and every expert reached the same conclusion: "A bomb crafted with extreme cunning so the trace cannot be tracked."

Uncertainty that could split the palace.

"Sir Knight. This is the report produced by Professor Edward and Professor Miller of Imperial Central University after conducting their research in completely independent environments."

A few days later, the staff officer set down another thick file.

"The two professors are in perfect agreement on blast power, component composition, and detonation method."

"What about the Magic Tower's guarantee?"

"Mage Ezel Runselot personally collected mana response data at the scene right after the incident and completed comparative verification. Sentio Magic Tower therefore guarantees that the possibility of internal or post-incident evidence tampering is extremely low."

"......Ezel did that?"

"Yes. Sentio Magic Tower dispatched Mage Ezel as their top forensic specialist."

Without realizing it, I had ended up using her abilities.

It left a bitter taste, but there was no helping it.

Just as I intended, the "evidence" was complete.

* * *

Leutern I was on his way to visit his hospitalized son again at the Imperial Royal Hospital.

Drip, drip.

In the silence of heavy night rain striking the car, he received the bomb analysis report officially announced by Knight Maximilian.

"......Looks like that bastard really did it."

Leutern I clenched the documents tightly in a veined hand.

"Duke Leutern. Please stay calm. The physical evidence is still not definitive. No matter how fierce the political struggle gets, murdering a royal to erase them, even for Julius, is too extreme......"

His trusted aide tried to dissuade him carefully, but Leutern's rage did not cool.

His son, Leutern II, had survived by sheer luck. At the moment of the blast, the premium mana stone cube around his neck had activated.

If not for that miraculous shield.

His son's body would have been blown apart so badly they could not even recover a full corpse.

"......Stay calm, you say?"

Leutern I exhaled harshly and forced down the killing intent rising in his chest.

"Yes. Even so, would Julius really do something this extreme?"

"He got scared first. Expulsion from the House of Nobles was already an extreme move."

Leutern had only meant to cut off a few limbs, but Julius kept suspecting him and could not endure it any longer.

"The timing is absurd too. Rumors spread that my son was gathering power at Lilac Vita, and this happened immediately after."

More than anything, the blast power was the issue.

Firepower built for a perfect kill.

That bastard had intended to kill Leutern II for certain.

"......Leave every part of this investigation to Knight Maximilian."

The aide advised him again in a steady voice.

"If it is Knight Maximilian and House Ebenholtz, no pressure from the palace will shake him. In the previous internal audit of the Order, did he not audit Knight Adria transparently and fairly, then conclude no charges?"

Maximilian upheld principles. He was transparent, and he did not yield to pressure. From the start, he was a man with enough power, authority, and stature to do that. So he had no reason to forge evidence in this case or frame someone by force. That had become the dominant view inside the palace.

"......If that bastard is truly revealed as the one behind trying to kill my son."

The deep wrinkles in Leutern I's face twitched grimly.

An old father nearing eighty, with even his lust for power faded. In the years he had left, he now had only one treasure to protect in this harsh world, his son.

"I will exterminate his entire clan."

A beastlike killing intent filled Leutern I's eyes.

* * *

Suspicion is not a phenomenon.

It is another form of distrust.

So as long as distrust remains, suspicion is never resolved. It only burns more and more out of control.

All I had to do was remain transparent, then burn them with the spark that would set that distrust ablaze.

"Glad to meet you. I am Sentinel Knight Maximilian Ebenholtz, chief investigator of the Leutern II bombing case."

In the Sentinel Order conference room, I seated one representative each for the major palace houses around a round table. After the attack, most palace nobles had buried themselves inside the palace, so most attendees were proxies.

"To guarantee objectivity, we have invited top authorities in each field to this room."

I introduced the experts seated behind the round table one by one.

Edward, endowed professor at Imperial Central University, emeritus Professor Miller, a giant in mana engineering, and Mage Ezel Runselot of Sentio Magic Tower.

Each time I called a name, the noble representatives bowed politely. They knew these experts' authority and reputation well.

"Before the full briefing begins, I have one request. If anyone here is carrying recording tools or devices to record today's meeting."

I swept my gaze across the faces around the table. A flicker of tension passed.

"Place them on the table so the recording is clear. This investigation has nothing to hide, but leaking to the press is strictly forbidden."

They glanced at each other in brief confusion, then coughed awkwardly and pulled recording devices from their coats.

Mana stone-based, magic-based, machine-based, voice-recognition scrolls, quite a variety.

"Good. Then we will begin the case briefing now."

I gave a dry briefing on the exact time of the incident, precise location, and scene preservation status.

Then I projected photos of the key evidence recovered on site onto the screen.

"We will now hear direct expert analysis and findings on the recovered evidence. Professor Edward?"

White-haired Professor Edward stood and cleared his throat.

"Yes. Our analysis of debris recovered on site confirms this bomb was a dual-ignition magic bomb that detonates highly compressed mana in an instant. In particular, the outer shell and major components used multiple special alloy steels, with western and eastern materials mixed together......"

The moment he said east, the nobles' eyes sharpened. The eastern Empire was where Gigantes, destroyed a few years ago, had been located, and Gigantes was on the real list of suspects.

"We also identified the wave pattern of the mana stone used as the explosive charge. The stone type is Curio. There are currently twenty-eight mines where this stone is extracted. One of them is a mine owned by Julius."

Silence swallowed the round table.

One palace representative raised a hand.

"I respect your scholarship, Professor, but is there absolutely no chance that evidence was intentionally manipulated during the investigation, or that unfavorable fragments were omitted?"

Professor Edward turned to me.

I nodded calmly and spoke.

"All evidence and analysis data will be disclosed transparently without concealing a single detail-"

"I personally verified the scene condition."

Ezel Runselot stood up before anyone else.

"I am Ezel Runselot, sixth-rank mage of Sentio Magic Tower."

Sixth-rank mage. At some point, she had become a mage with considerable authority.

"I deployed to the scene right after the incident and collected mana response data. When I compared that mana data against Professor Edward and Professor Miller's physical analysis results, the fragment composition and mana residue trajectories matched perfectly. Therefore I can state with full confidence that the possibility of evidence tampering, whether by internal investigators or by anyone afterward, is 0%."

Ezel sat back down with a dry cough.

"As you just heard."

"Today's meeting is only a briefing to share investigation progress up to now. The investigation to catch the culprit behind the bombing targeting Leutern II will continue without exceptions, and all evidence secured in that process will be disclosed transparently, just like today."

Right as I was about to close the round-table session.

"We understand the investigation. Even so, should not House Leutern, the direct victim in this incident, at least be allowed an interview with you, Sir Knight?"

The Leutern representative spoke in a hard tone.

"Yes. Of course."

I nodded willingly.

The sparks of suspicion were already planted in their hearts.

Now it was time to ignite them.

......

"Sir Maximilian. Speak with this person."

The Leutern representative set down a crystal orb.

Now that terminals were standard, crystal orbs were relics of an older age.

They did have one advantage. Mana-wave interception was far harder than with terminals.

"Please speak."

"...This is Leutern, Sir Maximilian."

Leutern I's hoarse voice came through the crystal orb.

"I heard the briefing. I reviewed the experts' findings carefully too. But no matter how I think about it, I cannot shake the feeling that you are being excessively cautious in this investigation."

Leutern I continued, as if forcing down his anger.

"One candidate source of the trigger mana stone is a mine owned by House Julius, and among the bomb fragments were special alloys once produced in Gigantes. What do you make of that?"

"It is true some fragments match components produced in Gigantes, but that alone cannot identify the culprit."

"That is exactly what I mean by too cautious. The clearest motive also belongs to Julius. You know what is happening in the palace too, do you not."

I shook my head.

"Let me be clear. I have no interest in the palace."

No interest. I just wanted to kill every last one of them.

"So far these are only circumstantial coincidences. Unless concrete physical evidence appears-"

"There would be no physical evidence left. He likely killed the operative who installed the bomb in the vehicle as well. Given Julius's temperament, that is exactly what he would do."

Leutern I's voice rose, and the crystal orb trembled faintly.

I answered calmly.

"Duke Leutern. The investigation is solely our responsibility."

I let a slight edge of displeasure into my tone.

"Please exercise restraint."

As a knight, I could not show even a trace of being swayed by palace nobles.

"...It seems I got a little heated. My apologies."

Leutern let out a long sigh.

"Yes. In any case, witness questioning is scheduled for tomorrow, and I will interrogate those points then as well......"

......

Julius sent a proxy to appear at the Order instead of appearing himself. Given the special circumstances of a bombing attack, I chose to accept it.

"Because of Gigantes, there are many misunderstandings about me, but I swear this was not my doing."

Julius stated it firmly through a crystal orb, just as Leutern had.

Of course it was not your doing.

"Yes. I am also not concluding it was anyone's doing. I will not overlap the Gigantes embezzlement allegations with this case either."

"...I know. Still, Knight Maximilian, there is one thing I want to ask you."

"What is it."

Even before the interrogation began, Julius tried to lay out his own suspicion.

"The reason Leutern II survived, that mana stone cube."

He distrusted Leutern. The situation itself was moving in that direction.

"Did anyone inside the palace know exactly that the cube had a protective function capable of stopping an explosion?"

"Hmm......"

I stroked my chin and stalled, pretending to think.

"The one who gifted it, me, the craftsman who made the cube, and."

I spoke in a low whisper.

"Leutern II himself."

"..."

In that instant, Julius fell silent. Silence settled for a long while. In the still interrogation room, only Julius's heavy breathing came and went.

"I see."

At last, he murmured with a sigh.

"So that is how it was......"

I could roughly predict what he was thinking.

"Leutern II knew he had a reliable way to protect his own life. So he knew he would not die even if a bombing attack occurred."

Suspicion becomes conviction, and conviction breeds hatred.

"Knight Maximilian."

His voice rang coldly through the crystal orb.

"Have you ever considered that this incident might be staged?"

Julius was now assuming that Leutern II himself was behind the Leutern II bombing attack, in other words, the culprit.

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