“Huh? The fire incident at the Viscount Benjamin’s residence 2 years ago?”

When Austin asked in a tone as if he wasn’t aware of such an incident, Herald glared at him with a bitter laugh. The Crown Prince, suddenly alert from the intense gaze that seemed like it could have stabbed him several times if looks could kill, exclaimed:

“Ah, right. That did happen. And you suspected Derius was behind that incident.”

It was fortunate that he remembered, even if belatedly. If he hadn’t remembered till the end, it would have not only been disappointing but the conversation would have dragged on longer.

“Actually, after hearing your story, I also felt something was odd, so as soon as I returned that day, I immediately investigated. The fire incident at the Viscount Benjamin’s residence 2 years ago was indeed an accident.”

Austin continued, stroking his chin.

“If it were a murder, there should have been traces of homicide on the body of the deceased Madison Benjamin, but the autopsy results showed no such evidence. Above all, Derius had no reason to kill Madison Benjamin, the previous Viscount Benjamin.”

Hearing Austin’s conclusion, Herald crossed his arms and tilted his head quizzically.

“Then do you think the Second Prince has a reason to dig into the Viscount Benjamin’s residence?”

“Well, that’s not the case…”

“Let’s assume the Second Prince is the culprit who killed Madison Benjamin.”

Herald leaned his body towards Austin, resting his chin on his interlocked hands.

“There are mainly two reasons why the Second Prince might have killed Madison Benjamin. Either there was a grudge, or he killed him to silence him. Which do you think it is?”

“Obviously the latter.”

If there had been a grudge between Derius and Madison Benjamin, rumors would have surely spread, but he had never heard such stories. He couldn’t find any notable connection between the two either.

“But don’t you think setting fire to the mansion is too extreme just to silence someone? If that was the goal, it would have been more efficient to lure him out secretly and kill him. Like how they killed the tail Frederick Benjamin put on Liliana Benjamin.”

“Well. I’m not sure about that either, but there must have been a reason why it had to be done that way. And it’s clear that the Second Prince failed in silencing Madison Benjamin.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that… Ah!”

Austin, belatedly realizing the meaning of Herald’s words, exclaimed as he abruptly stood up.

“So that’s why he’s digging into the Viscount Benjamin’s residence! He’s trying to finish now what he couldn’t finish 2 years ago!”

Herald, nodding to express that he had the same thought, said:

“Judging by how he stayed quiet all this time and started moving again a month ago, the Second Prince must have realized around that time that things weren’t fully wrapped up. But seeing how he’s not killing the Viscount Benjamin couple like he did 2 years ago, it seems that simply killing them won’t be enough to silence them.”

Austin, calmed by Herald’s composed voice, sat back down and replied:

“I think so too. Moreover, Count Stacy, who is Derius’s loyal subordinate, approached the Viscount Benjamin couple. He even went as far as inviting the two to the party celebrating your receiving a title.”

Party. That word made his heart ache as he recalled what happened with Lily yesterday. The wound was too deep to heal in just one night, and it was still bleeding profusely. The pain was so intense that Herald hid his contorted lips behind the teacup, pretending to drink.

“Plus, he killed the tail that Frederick Benjamin put on Liliana Benjamin. No matter how I think about it, he clearly has some other scheme besides killing.”

“…”

“Ah, could it be that Derius is looking for some kind of object? Maybe Madison Benjamin hid that object, and that’s why he’s searching for it.”

Herald’s lips, as he put down the teacup again, showed no trace of pain.

“To think that far. You’ve grown a lot while I haven’t seen you.”

“…You and I are the same age.”

“We may be the same physical age, but there’s quite a difference in mental age.”

“…”

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, it was all true, so Austin couldn’t say anything and instead glared at Herald.

“As I said at the beginning, all of this starts with the assumption that the Second Prince is the culprit who killed Madison Benjamin and set fire to the viscount’s residence 2 years ago.”

Herald continued, undeterred.

“So we need to find evidence that the fire at the Viscount Benjamin’s residence wasn’t a simple accident but an arson, and that Madison Benjamin was murdered. It would be even better if we could figure out what the Second Prince was trying to hide.”

“I get what you’re saying… but it won’t be easy.”

Austin furrowed his brow as he continued.

“It’s already been 2 years, and most of what could be called evidence was destroyed in the fire. The autopsy results also showed no signs of homicide.”

“Still, we have to try. If we back down here, nothing will be resolved.”

Herald’s face, as he looked at the Crown Prince, was more resolute than ever. Austin, caught up in the gravity of the moment, nodded vigorously.

“Alright, let’s do it. Then I guess we should first look at the investigation report of that incident. If we find any discrepancies there, we can use that as a starting point to dig deeper.”

“I’d also like to meet the investigator who was in charge of that case.”

“I’ll look into it right away.”

Austin immediately called his aide and ordered him to bring the investigation report of the fire incident at the Viscount Benjamin’s residence from 2 years ago and to summon the investigator in charge. Of course, all orders came with the condition ‘discreetly’.

“It might take a little while. Want to play chess while we wait? It’s been a long time.”

Herald shook his head at Austin’s suggestion and stood up.

“No. I have something else I need to look into, so I’ll leave first. Call me when everything is ready.”

“What are you going to look into? Is it related to what I asked?”

Herald didn’t answer, but Austin took it as an affirmative and smiled as he patted his shoulder.

“It’s good to work hard, but take it easy and think about your health. Even if you have the stamina of an iron man, you might break down if you push yourself too hard.”

Herald chuckled and pushed away Austin’s hand.

“I have no choice if I want to return to Kardin as soon as possible.”

“Huh, you want to return to Kardin that badly? Why? Is it because people around you are pressuring you to get married?”

“…”

Herald’s eyes darkened. While there was pressure to marry, the biggest reason was Lily. He was enduring with patience for now, but the moment this patience ran out, he was sure to make an irreversible big mistake.

So he had to leave the capital before that happened. As the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder, Herald firmly believed that if he left for Kardin where he could never see Lily, his feelings for her would disappear.

[This is the timeline separator]

During the party, Frederick, who had returned to the Viscount Benjamin’s residence, ordered his aide to thoroughly investigate what kind of relationship the Viscount Benjamin family had with the Count Stacy family.

The aide who had left to carry out the order returned late the next afternoon.

“Here are the materials you asked for.”

Frederick put down the ledger he had been looking at and immediately checked the materials. He didn’t even respond to the aide’s words that he would take his leave.

The first thing that caught his eye was the phrase ‘close relationship’.

Before meeting Lily, Frederick had investigated the Viscount Benjamin family. He had looked into it very carefully as there shouldn’t be any problems with the title he was going to acquire for a large sum of money. Among these was a list of noble families close to the Viscount Benjamin family, but the Count Stacy family wasn’t on it.

Wondering if his memory was wrong, he checked the materials he had investigated before, but no matter how many times he looked, the name of the Count Stacy family wasn’t there. Yet in the newly investigated materials, it said ‘close relationship’, which was baffling.

It wasn’t just close, but close enough to invite each other to family birthday parties. Lily even sang a congratulatory song at Kennedy Stacy’s birthday party, which showed that the two families were not in an ordinary relationship.

But the fact that Count Stacy refused Lily’s desperate plea to save her mother was probably due to the Second Prince’s influence.

“Hmm.”

Frederick stroked his chin, mulling over the conversation he had with the Second Prince the night before. Starting from the fact that Lily’s deceased father had a habit of stealing, to the claim that he had stolen the Second Prince’s possession, and then asking Frederick to take responsibility and find it.

“Whatever it is, you’ll know it’s mine the moment you find it, so don’t worry.”

After recalling even the last words he left, Frederick tilted his head quizzically.

“Is it something stamped with the Second Prince’s seal?”

It seems likely given how confident he was, but that makes it even more questionable. Usually, seals were only used when one needed to clearly identify themselves, like in letters or invitations.

In other words, there’s a very high possibility that the Second Prince’s item stolen by Madison Benjamin was a letter or an invitation.

“It’s complicated.”

Feeling the need to organize, Frederick wrote down on a white paper what he had found out or traced so far in chronological order.

[The Viscount Benjamin family and the Count Stacy family were originally close.] [2 years ago, a fire broke out at the Viscount Benjamin’s residence, killing Madison Benjamin, severely burning Grace Benjamin, and leaving her with a mental illness.] [Liliana Benjamin asked Count Stacy for help but was refused. It was probably due to the Second Prince’s influence. The reason was Madison Benjamin’s kleptomania.]

“…Could it be that the Second Prince killed Madison Benjamin?”

At this sudden thought, Frederick’s eyes narrowed slightly. The fire incident at the Viscount Benjamin’s residence had been concluded as a simple accident, but anything was possible. The Second Prince had the power to change a homicide into a simple accident.

If that’s the case, it means the item the Second Prince is looking for is important enough to have warranted killing Madison Benjamin to silence him.

“Things are turning out more interesting than I thought.”

Frederick’s lips curved up smoothly into an arc.