―― Now then, what will Sahaja do in this situation?
While I was thinking of discussing that with Sion and Alex, the door to the office was knocked on.
It sounded very hurried.
Our talk stopped at more or less a good point, so I gave a permission to enter. Who entered was the Primera Chivalric Order Commander, Bertrand. Dressed in the commander clothes, he spotted me with a ghastly pale face and immediately knelt before me.

"I apologize! Your Highness! Give me permission to cut my little sister down! I beg you!"
"… It won"t be a calm talk, huh. What"s the matter so suddenly, Bertrand?"

I don"t understand why he apologized and then said he wanted to cut his little sister down.
In order to hear the details about what was happening, I tried to first of all have him stand up, but Bertrand stubbornly shook his head and this time started rubbing his forehead on the floor.

"I truly apologize. I"m truly sorry to Your Highness… However, I only learned of it just now. Please let me tell you everything."
"… At any rate, please talk."

We can"t advance the talk like this. Because it couldn"t be helped, I urged him to talk, and with his body trembling, probably out of fear, Bertrand began talking.

"As you are aware, I have a little sister. A real little sister related to me by blood. That little sister, who had looked strange recently, had something like this."
"That"s…"

Bertrand presented something like a black turban and a small white bag.

"These were found on the desk in my little sister"s room some time ago. A maid attached to my little sister discovered them. There was no letter. Just those two items, put in a noticeable place."
"Oi, Freed… This is."
"Yeah…"

I nodded to Alex, whose tone of voice changed.
I carefully examined the black turban I received from Bertrand. At first glance it was pitch black, but when moved it sometimes s.h.i.+ned, as if something was sewn in.
This peculiar black turban.
Of course, not only Bertrand, but also I and Alex knew what it was.

"… It"s one of the methods to contact Sahaja"s a.s.sa.s.sin guild, huh."
"That"s right."

When I gave my answer, Bertrand"s body trembled again, and he affirmed.
This black turban. It"s known as a way for customers to contact Sahaja"s a.s.sa.s.sin guild.
When you make up your mind, you wrap it around a tree branch at your residence (It"s not necessarily a turban. Depending on the a.s.sa.s.sin guild, the item seems to vary). Then the guild contacts you with their location.
n.o.body does it jokingly. If they did, they"d be killed by the guild for deceiving them. Only those who truly have business with the guild use it. That"s the common sense of Sahaja.
But in Wilhelm, only those with high social status or important positions know of it, such as me, Alex, or a chivalric order commander like Bertrand.
And yet, why does his little sister know?
And what"s the strangest is that his little sister had the "black turban".
The black turban is in particular known as a way to contact the famous a.s.sa.s.sin guild "Black". It"s completely different from making a request to just any a.s.sa.s.sin guild. Both in price and in compensation for betraying them.
Bertrand talked desperately.

"When I received it from the maid, I didn"t think it was the real thing at all. I thought it was a mere coincidence. My little sisters knows nothing about Sahaja. However, I"ve heard from Lord Alexei that recently Sahaja has been moving suspiciously and soon a war might break out. I didn"t think it was serious, but then I investigated the bag I saw. And then――"

Under Bertrand"s gaze I checked the contents of the bag. Inside were madeleines and financiers.

"Confectioneries?"
"They aren"t ordinary confectioneries. Of course, they aren"t something made in our kitchen. Naturally, they aren"t sold in town either. I asked the magician we employ to investigate them. These are infused with medicine that renders one unconscious."
"Ah!"

Alex"s eyes opened wide.
Bertrand said emotionally.

"A peculiar medicine was specially mixed in. There"s no way my little sister would be able to obtain them alone. Moreover, there"s the recent state of my little sister I heard of from maids. Lately she seems to often shut herself in her room and cry alone. Maids surmised that her state is because she"s at a complicated age, but perhaps…"

Silently placed black turban and confectioneries with medicine in them. Her silently shutting herself in and crying.
What can be guessed from that――.
A quiet voice resounded.

"That turban. It"s unmistakably from Sahaja"s a.s.sa.s.sin guild. And your little sister was made to partic.i.p.ate in some scheme. What"s more, against her will. She couldn"t say anything, she couldn"t leave anything else, she could only communicate it by leaving those behind. Some oath of silence was forced on her. Even so, she wanted it noticed and left hints behind――. It sounds reasonable to conclude that from the situation. The problem is what in the world she is doing."

What Sion stated was the same as what I thought.
Then I noticed something.
A few days ago, who did Lidi say she invited to a tea party?
Didn"t she say it was the former Marquis Lowe"s daughter?
The confectioneries are infused with medicine that renders one unconscious. It"s often used for kidnappings.
I could tell my complexion changed.

"… Bertrand. One question. Where did your little sister go… after leaving those?"

My voice was hoa.r.s.e.
Prostrating himself even more, Bertrand said.

"To visit Lady Lidiana… Princess Consort. Yesterday, my little sister said she was going to the Royal Castle the next day because she was invited by Princess Consort. I came here precisely because I realized that! My little sister should have come for a tea party some time ago. This is no longer a joke. However, we might still be in time. Before my little sister does something stupid, please, stop her. And please let me cut down that foolish little sister with these hands! I came to ask for that! Where is my little sister, no, Lady Lidiana!"
"d.a.m.n it! Freed! Where"s Lidi having the tea party!!"

Having understood the situation, Alex shouted, but by that time, I was already running towards the door, leaving the three of them behind.

"O, oi! Wait, Freed! We"re going too!"
"Follow me if you want!"

I said over the shoulder to Alex and left the room.

"Y, Your Highness!?"

The royal guards on both sides of the door looked surprised, but I ignored them. There"s no time to explain the situation.
The place where Lidi"s having the tea party is not far from here.
Cain had warned me to be on guard, and yet I made the mistake of being careless because she was nearby in the royalty quarter. Even though I predicted Lidi would be aimed at.

"Lidi…!"

It"s alright. There"s been no reaction from Lidi"s Royal Flower yet.
If Lidi senses dangers and calls for me, the Royal Flower should react.
That"s why she should be safe. Lidi should be there safe without anything happening.
Although I thought so, my heart made an unpleasant creaking sound.
I"m so anxious it feels like the world will start spinning.
My chest painfully tightened.
My beloved, the only person I can love. Just thinking that something could happen to her sends a black, violent, destructive impulse through my mind.

―― Try doing something to Lidi, to my mate. I"ll absolutely never forgive it.

But, for heaven"s sake, I want nothing to happen to Lidi.
I want it to be a needless anxiety.
―― I want to be in time.
With only that in mind, I ran through the corridors with all my power.

To be edited