CH 2.9

The Crown Prince frowned and said, “What are you doing here? I’m sure I already warned you. If you don’t want to be deported, stop being a nuisance.”

“Well I was just lying on my bed when I suddenly heard silly rackets. Apparently the Western Empire set fire to ruin the grand banquet,” replied Johannes, pausing for a moment while looking at the Crown Prince. Though he was smiling, his eyes were cold. “I came here to check out what all that utter bullshit was about.”

“…!”

Crown Prince Rael snorted. “It’s a known fact that Count Shobek was nearby when the fire broke out. Well then, we’ll soon find out what really happened.”

With that, he turned to look at Marie.

“Go on, keep talking. Why was this fire an arson?”

“I want to know as well.”

Marie, burdened by the gaze of the rulers of both empires, swallowed a lump in her throat as she answered, “Firstly, it’s because of the direction of the flames.”

“The direction of the flames? But everything has already burned down. How can you determine the direction of the flames?”

“Take a look at this instrument first,” Marie pointed to the charred violin. “The scorch marks are directed towards the wall. Not only this instrument, but also that one and the remaining scorch marks in that cabinet.”

As their eyes followed Marie’s finger, their expressions widened in astonishment.

Indeed, all the charred marks were facing the wall. “If the fire had started from the wall-mounted lamps, the scorch marks would be facing the opposite direction.”

“…that’s plausible. However, that alone is not strong enough to claim arson. Do you have any other evidence?”

Of course, there was. This time, she pointed to a charred wooden pillar that had collapsed due to the fire. “The direction in which the pillar fell is also unusual. If the fire originated from the wall lamp, the pillar should have fallen in the opposite direction.”

“Why is that?”

“When a pillar collapses due to a fire, the latter starts burning and loses its foundation, causing it to fall in that direction.”

Once again, astonishment filled everyone’s eyes. Marie’s words made perfect sense. Indeed, when they examined the fallen pillar, they all noticed that it had collapsed in one direction.

“There are a few more pieces of evidence besides that. When a fire starts from that ignition point and spreads, it consumes materials that can fuel the fire. Looking at the ashes and remaining traces here, the direction is also…” Marie carefully explained the findings she’d made.

As Crown Prince Rael, Johannes, Kiel, and Prime Minister Oren listened to her, their eyes grew wider and wider. It was hard to believe that she was just an ordinary maid; she exhibited a level of expertise akin to that of a professional fire investigator. ‘What on earth…?’

Meanwhile, as Marie looked into their eyes filled with amazement, she felt a sense of unease. It seemed that once again, she unintentionally drew attention to herself. Not only the Crown Prince but also Emperor Johannes of the Western Empire and Prime Minister Oren.

However, she couldn’t stop there. She walked to a certain spot and continued talking. “When we consider all these factors, the initial point of ignition appears to be here. Furthermore, I’ve discovered additional conclusive evidence of arson at this location.”

Everyone anticipated the movement of her mouth.

“What is it?”

Marie put her hand towards the timpani that’s placed at the ignition point. The upper part of the timpani was completely burned, but as she wiped away the soot with her finger, something appeared.

“This is candle wax.” It was candle wax that had turned black! Everyone looked at the candle wax in shock.

Prime Minister Oren sighed heavily. “Candle wax… I see. The culprit used it to start the fire.”

It was enough evidence to prove that the fire was undoubtedly arson. Silence fell over the room for a moment as everyone looked at her. Until now, no one had been able to find any clues, but a mere maid quickly discovered evidence of arson.

It was truly mind-boggling.

Their eyes, filled with astonishment, seemed to be asking, ‘Is she really just a maid?’ The Crown Prince’s confusion, especially knowing that Marie was involved in the previous incidents, was even greater.

Then, suddenly, applause rang out. “How impressive. Truly remarkable.” It was Emperor Johannes III of the Western Empire, wearing an expression of genuine admiration. “To deduce such a fact from a scene filled with nothing but ashes, truly remarkable.”

Emperor Johannes thought, ‘How interesting. Truly intriguing.’

The memory of his episode when he collapsed came to his mind.

Was the incident at that time really unrelated to that maid? Based on what he’d seen now, it didn’t seem that way. ‘I came to find Princess Morina, but unexpectedly stumbled upon an intriguing individual. She’s fascinating, enough to arouse my curiosity.’

Meanwhile, sensing Johannes’ gaze, Marie felt inwardly anxious. It was already troublesome enough to have the Crown Prince’s attention, and now it seemed she’d inadvertently caught the interest of the Emperor of the Western Empire as well.

‘I don’t want to get involved with Emperor Johannes III, just as much with the Crown Prince.’

However, she couldn’t turn a blind eye if she wanted to save Jane, and the cat was already out of the bag anyway.

“So, do you have any idea who the culprit is?”

Everyone looked at her in response to the Crown Prince’s question.

After she’d already demonstrated her expertise, no one thought it was ridiculous to ask the maid.

“……”

Marie swallowed the lump in her throat. Not only was she under the watchful eyes of the Crown Prince, but also those of the Emperor of the Western Empire, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, and even the Prime Minister. It felt like her life was truly falling apart.

‘Sh-should I pretend not to know?’ She worriedly pondered. If she were to reveal her deductions to them, she would undoubtedly attract even more attention.

As she struggled to open her mouth, a troublesome situation unfolded. The Crown Prince nodded and said, “As expected, it’s difficult to find the culprit. In that case, I have no choice but to interrogate those who were suspicious.”

Johannes’ face hardened at the Crown Prince’s words. The suspicious individuals he was referring to were delegates from the Western Empire who were present at the scene of the fire.

“I don’t understand what you mean, Ran. Are you implying that you will unjustly persecute the innocent Western Empire?”

“Whether they are innocent or not will be determined through investigation. But it is a known fact that Count Shobek showed suspicious behavior at the time of the fire.”

“Do you think the Western Empire will comply with such unjust demands? In case you haven’t noticed, the West Empire knights stationed at the border are holding incredibly sharped spears. I wonder, if you, exhausted from the subsequent wars, can withstand those spears.”

“Are you threatening us?”

“Well, it seems like you, Ran, are the one making threats.”

The atmosphere between them became rapidly chilly. Sensing the tension that could potentially escalate into political warfare, Marie tightly closed her eyes.

‘No! Not Count Shobek… The culprit is most likely someone else. What should I do?’

She really didn’t want any more attention.

However, pretending not to know would lead to a diplomatic crisis. In the end, she reluctantly opened her mouth while internally screaming.

“It’s highly unlikely that Count Shobek is the culprit,” Marie said, and both the Crown Prince and Emperor Johannes turned to look at her.

“How come?”

“It’s because of several clues left at the scene.”

“Tell me.”

Under the scrutiny of everyone’s gaze, she sighed. It felt like she was digging her own grave.

“To cut to the chase, the culprit is likely someone with a petite stature resembling that of a child, of high status, familiar with the inner workings of the Crystal Palace, and someone who people would least suspect. Furthermore, they are more likely to have caused an unintentional fire that escalated, rather than a premeditated fire.”

“…!”

Once again, everyone was amazed. Her deductions were incredibly specific.

“Why do you think that?”

“Firstly, the footprints,” Marie pointed towards the floor of the staircase leading from the storage room to the outside. There, the footprints of those who had stepped on the ashes from the fire scene were jumbled together.

“But isn’t it difficult to distinguish them because they’re so jumbled together?”

“Yes, but upon closer inspection, you will find a distinctive set of footprints.”

“…?”

She pointed to a footprint in the middle. “This footprint is less than half the size compared to the other footprints; it’s almost like that of a child, standing out as distinctly different from the others.”

“But how can you be sure it belongs to the culprit? Couldn’t it be from one of the investigators at the scene of the fire?”

“The direction of the footprint is only towards the outside. Unlike most of the other footprints, which are oriented towards both the inside and outside.”

“…!”

“The traces of the said footprints are quite scant. They’ve been erased by subsequent footprints.” Then she continued, “Plus, access to the area has been restricted after the fire. If someone with such a small build had come, they would’ve easily been noticed. Therefore, considering the circumstances, this footprint was made at the time of the fire.”

Her deductions sounded plausible, so everyone nodded in agreement.

“So, why do you think the culprit is familiar with the Crystal Palace?”

“That’s simple. It’s because of the equipment used to start the fire.”

“Equipment?”

“Yes, judging from the composition of the wax residue at the ignition point, it appears that the culprit used a candlestick kept in this storage area to start the fire.”

That was a fact that she could deduce from her experience working at the Crystal Palace. The wax residue found at the ignition point matched the candlesticks kept in the storage area.

“I see. The culprit must be someone who knows this place well enough to be aware of the candlestick being stored here.”

A person with a small stature like a child, who knows every nook and cranny of the Crystal Palace.

In that case, that eliminated Count Shobek of the West Empire as the culprit, given that he was of tall stature.

“Yes, especially considering that there were many people coming and going before the grand banquet, there must have been witnesses, yet the suspect wasn’t identified. It suggests that the culprit is someone familiar among those who frequently visit the Crystal Palace. Being someone commonly seen, they wouldn’t raise suspicions.”

“Then, what about their high status?”

“That’s also simple. It’s because of this candlestick.” Marie held up the candlestick that had been discarded in a corner of the storage area. Most of the candlestick had burned, leaving only a portion of the handle. “It’s originally one of the candlesticks stored here, but the culprit used and discarded it before starting the fire.”

“It’s completely burned, with only the end part remaining. How can you deduce their status from that?”

“It’s because of this metal handle.” Everyone looked at the candle handle she pointed to. However, they still couldn’t find anything suspicious.

“There are numerous scratches on the part where the handle is attached. These are marks caused by someone unfamiliar with handling candlesticks.”

“……!”

“In other words, the culprit is someone of high status who has never directly handled a candlestick.”

They nodded unconsciously. Indeed, none of them had any experience handling a candlestick.

t/n: i know i said i didn’t have time to check for errors but the use of the term ‘arson’ wasn’t a mistranslation on my part. idk why the author used that despite marie claiming later on that it wasn’t premeditated… anyway