Chapter 183 – Suspicion

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The next day, Leticia visited the office of the Royal Magicians 3rd Unit captain.

“Was that you, yesterday?”

The room was messier than usual.

Gawain did not like to do such detailed work.

However, when he was appointed captain, Marius had ordered Leticia to make sure that he kept his office tidy, and so he had somehow managed to maintain a certain standard up until now.

Leticia remembered the differences.

“What do you mean?”

Gawain said with a questioning look.

He seemed normal.

His eyes went back down to the newspaper that he was reading.

“I’m busy right now. We can talk later.”
“What are you doing?”
“Thinking about a serious matter that will affect the future of this country.”
“What is that…?”
“To be precise, which horse to bet on for the tournament this weekend.”

Leticia looked at Gawain without emotion. And then she opened her mouth.

“That’s the Ardenfeld Times.”
“It is.”
“The Ardenfeld Times doesn’t cover the races. They oppose the idea of the royal family sponsoring such an event.”
“When you’re as experienced as me, the list of horses is easily memorized.”
“What were you doing last night? Between eleven and twelve.”
“Drinking with Henry. Go and ask him. We were together until midnight.”
“Yes. Henry did say that.”
“See? We had a lot of fun talking about things that I can’t repeat…”
“I went to the restaurant and confirmed that neither of you were there. Henry then confessed that you told him to say the two of you went out drinking. He was actually training in the gym.”
“…Well, he was worried that he was putting on some weight.”
“Tell me what you were actually doing. Otherwise, I shall demand that you return all of the money you borrowed from me at once. With interest.”

Leticia said sharply, as if there was no room for argument.

“Alright, alright. I’ll tell you.”

Said Gawain.

“It was a few days ago that I realized what danger you and Luke were getting into. Not that you were doing anything that was obviously suspicious. But Luke left enough traces for me to notice. Probably…he did it deliberately.”
“He did…”
“He made it very clear that he wanted my help. I can respect that. And so I kept an eye on his movements. And then you started this dangerous infiltration. I had to pretend to be one of them, and then surprise them with an ambush.”

Gawain scratched his head.

“Well, you probably wanted to avoid being identified, and so you didn’t use magic. Well, it all worked out in the end, anyway.”
“You really are…”

Leticia sighed. As always, he was soft towards his friends.
At the same time, he held his forehead with hesitation, as if remembering that moment.

(He is so different from how he was on that day.)

Perhaps it was because she had lived without ever thinking of romantic matters, that she thought of things that were so unrealistic.

Lack of experience made her too idealistic.

She sighed at her own foolishness.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. There was something ominous in the sound.

The man who entered was tall and thin like a nail. Five soldiers stood around him.

“I apologize for the sudden intrusion. I am Clau Arling, a judicial officer of the Supreme Court.”

He showed them his identification.

“You must be Leticia Risettestone, vice captain of the 3rd unit.”
“Yes.”
“You are under suspicion of conducting illegal investigations in regards to the Count Wilhelm incident. I must ask you to come with us.”

Leticia’s eyes widened a little.

“Wait.”

Gawain said in a low voice.

“It was I who gave the order. The responsibility is mine.”
“Captain…”
“Silence.”

The voice rang.

“We are aware of that as well. As the captain, Gawain Stark, you are under the same suspicion. And so you must come with us as well. You will be detained for at least two weeks. But depending on how things progress, it could be longer.”
“Who gave the order?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

And so the handcuffs that sealed magic were placed on their wrists.

(They should not have been able to identify me. I left no traces last night. More importantly, things are moving too quickly. This must have been part of a prior plan.)

She considered the option of fighting and running away.

However, as they were going through official procedures, any wrong moves now could have a negative impact on the whole Royal Magicians Order.

That was probably what the enemy wanted more than anything.

In order to weaken Ardenfeld, chipping away at the order’s power was important.

At worst, things might lead to their dissolution.

(I will just have to trust you…)

Leticia thought.

(You would notice. You will find it…)

Next Chapter

Expelled From a Black Magic Item Craftsman Guild I Was Picked up as a Royal Magician