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“W-What are you doing…!”

Diaz, captured by Iris Lune, was forcibly dragged into a nearby empty room.

His emotions were dominated more by terror than confusion.

Perhaps it wasn’t fear of Iris Lune herself, but fear of everything collapsing.

Iris Lune took out a short staff that she had strapped to her thigh, and swung it once.

“≪Silence≫… With this, what we discuss here will not be overheard.”

All surrounding sounds were completely cut off. It was a small area, encompassing only the two of them.

Iris Lune didn’t need something like this herself, but it was a measure to reassure her opponent.

“Before we talk, you probably already know from seeing this staff, but I am not the young lady, but Iris, her body double.

I’ll ask you directly. Have you been leaking information from inside this castle to Night Python?”

Diaz’s eyes went wide with surprise at the extremely straightforward question, without any preamble.

“W-What are you talking about…”

Diaz tried to play dumb for the time being. He might have thought it was just a trap. Certainly, there was no proof.

But Iris Lune, with her power to sense emotions, could read the swirling terror and guilt within him.

Iris Lune continued to stare intently into Diaz’s eyes, which were flustered and unfocused.

Then, he immediately broke down, bowing so deeply it was almost a 90-degree angle.

“…Yes, it’s true, I’m sorry!! I was told to constantly investigate which of the young ladies was the real one, and report back if asked…! They’re holding my family hostage!!”

– I knew it.

Of the two Lady Catherines, who was the real one and who was the fake? Only a limited number of people would be in a position to tell.

Catherine and Iris Lune themselves, of course, and then the maids who served them and the teachers for their studies and household training.

If he could cozy up to one of the teachers and get involved in the study sessions, he could constantly grasp the truth. After all, Catherine almost never skipped her studies.

Night Python had suddenly made Diaz awaken to academics for that very purpose.

Iris Lune wanted to say she didn’t care about the hostages, and even considered simply torturing Diaz on the spot to make him submit and become a double agent… but no matter how she looked at it, that wasn’t something that “Iris” should say or do.

Iris Lune considered what to do.

– But in that case, this guy is a hastily made insider.

…Hmm? If so, I feel like they would choose someone in an even better position. Like a maid in charge of directly taking care of Catherine or me… or they could just threaten the teacher without going through such a troublesome involvement…

Well, it was also possible that there was no family that could be conveniently taken hostage… but was that really the case for everyone?

“I wonder why they chose Diaz-san?”

“Eh?”

“To take hostage and make you listen to them.”

It was just a question that came to mind, but at that moment, Iris Lune sensed a burning terror.

This reaction… something was up.

“I don’t know… I don’t understand…”

“Is that true?”

“Eh…”

“I’m asking if you really don’t know anything.”

He broke even faster the second time.

Diaz immediately collapsed to his knees and entered a dogeza posture.

T/N: Dogeza is a posture of bowing while on one’s knees with one’s forehead to the ground. It’s a very sincere and apologetic gesture.

“Ah… I, I’m sorry! I needed money for my family! And I was doing well, but suddenly they…”

“…In other words, you were selling information about the Earl’s surroundings for money, and then suddenly they took your family hostage and made an unreasonable demand.”

Iris Lune was genuinely dumbfounded. So, Diaz had been spying and selling information even before the Earl started moving against Night Python.

They had casually fed him to keep him, and then when the time came, had him search for important information. To prevent betrayal, they had even taken hostages as a precaution.

No matter how forceful the method, increasing the number of new insiders would be troublesome. A loyal person would not betray their master and would likely feed false information as a double agent. It might be more rational to have someone like Diaz, who had already been selling information for money, do the job… perhaps.

– But this ability can also be used as a lie detector. The fact that it doesn’t work on people who calmly lie is the same as a real lie detector, huh.

It would be easy if it was always “kill with sword and magic and that’s the end,” but it was possible that there would be more interpersonal negotiations and intellectual probing like this in the future. This power would surely be useful.

“S-Still, how did you know…?”

“Ah, well… I was on guard for anyone trying to figure out the truth about me and the young lady, and you had this, like, secretive atmosphere, so…”

“…I see. Adventurers have sharp senses, don’t they?”

Since he seemed convinced, Iris Lune gave an ambiguous smile to gloss over it without saying anything unnecessary.

“W-What should I do…?”

Diaz said, desperate and grasping at straws.

“Well, this is just my personal opinion, but maybe it’s best to just stay as you are for now? If you consult with the Earl or make any strange moves, the hostages might be in danger.”

“Is that… alright?”

“I’m sure the Earl will help you. I hear he’s been going around destroying Night Python bases all over the territory.”

Iris Lune gave a deceptive reassurance.

It was a baseless statement, but the way she said it with such confidence made Diaz think it might be true, and he looked a little relieved.

“…Amazing. Even though Iris-sama is still a child, you’re much more composed than I am.”

– No, no, it’s because I don’t care about the young lady’s life or the hostages’ lives.

Diaz was impressed, but she kept the ugly truth to herself.

“I think it’s best to do as they say until the hostages are rescued. It’s just me saying it, but I don’t think they can target the young lady just by knowing the truth.

Just in case something unexpected is about to happen, maybe you should consult with the Earl… that would be a good idea, right?”

Since they might say, “Kill the young lady at the first opportunity,” she decided to drive the point home just in case.

“That’s right… yes, thank you. I’ll do that.”

“Then, let’s get back to work and study. This is top secret, okay?”

“I understand. I won’t say anything.”

When Iris Lune released ≪Silence≫, Diaz repeatedly bowed deeply as he left the room.

As he left.

Iris Lune used simple wind magic without chanting to cut off a few strands of hair from the back of Diaz’s head.

Diaz left the room without noticing it at all.

Iris Lune picked up the hair left on the floor.

And grinned.

– Alright, hair acquired. If it was just the wife, there would be nothing I could do, but if the children are kidnapped too, then it’s convenient. If they’re blood-related, I can track them.

A clue is needed for magic to find people. Items closely related to the person or parts of the body are often used. If she had the father’s hair, she should be able to find the children.

Long-distance detection consumes a lot of magic power, but the problem of magic power can be solved by ritual magic and dividing it among multiple people, and the Earl should be able to gather that many magicians. Or rather, Iris Lune could do it alone.

The problem is if they’re holed up in a hideout with detection-blocking magic in the middle of the wilderness or in a remote cave. Blocking detection in the city would be like saying, “We’re hiding something,” but you wouldn’t know if there was detection blocking unless you got close.

In fact, criminal organizations often have hideouts like that for emergency evacuation or for holding hostages.

…By the way, this is adventurer knowledge salvaged from Iris’s memories. It seems the knowledge of the person you possess floats to the surface as needed. Once the knowledge is extracted, it is copied into Renée’s head, but the knowledge that was not extracted before the possession is released will probably disappear from Rune.

– It’s a tactic that won’t work if Night Python is careful, but… I’ll just try it. It’ll be lucky if I can detect them.

I don’t care about the hostages themselves, but if the Earl discovers an undiscovered base, it will be another step forward.

“≪Person Search: Seek Person≫”

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