Although he had not even been able to fully compose himself, Fenrir left the mansion immediately after receiving Kevin's report.
"..."
"Get in the carriage."
Deep suspicion hung over Fenrir's face as he sat with his arms crossed.
'Died like that? And so suddenly, too.'
Of course, Ivan's condition must not have been very good. After all, he, too, had been stabbed by a sword.
Although he managed to escape the church by drawing a magic circle, his life was in danger if he could not receive treatment.
So, at first, Fenrir thought he had died from the injury.
However, Kevin said this.
"I thought so too, and I went to the site to check... but it doesn't seem to be the case."
"You say it doesn't seem like it? Why?"
"That is..."
Kevin was about to answer Fenrir's question immediately, but he chose his words carefully, as if something were weighing on his mind.
"...It would be best if you checked that part yourself. Grand Duke"
Then, glancing at Presepe and Hannah, who were looking at him with bewildered expressions, he continued speaking in a subdued voice.
"The Knights said they plan to hand over the body to the Imperial Palace. Also, the situation at the place where Ivan's body was found is unfavorable again, so..."
"Send someone straight to the scene. Tell them not to touch anything."
"Yes?"
"I'll go and see for myself."
If you examined the body, you could roughly determine the cause of his death, but it would still be somewhat different from what you saw at the scene.
So Fenrir immediately stood up from his seat.
"I apologize, Lady Presepe, but it looks like you will have to have breakfast alone. However, I will definitely be back before dinner. So please rest well."
Leaving an apology for Presepe.
And as soon as Fenrir got into the carriage, Kevin gave him a heads-up.
It seems like Ivan was murdered by someone.
'Murder?'
From Fenrir's perspective, it wasn't such bad news. After all, Ivan was one of the people who had to be killed anyway.
However, he never imagined that Ivan would die so futilely at the hands of someone else. Besides, he must be the only person immune to his magic. Who would dare commit murder against a great sorcerer?
"If it's not a person, then there is."
The reason Fenrir suffered no damage from Ivan's magic in the first place was also due to Vidar's help.
In the end, the only one he could think of was just one person... no, just one monster.
"Just as you helped me, aren't you helping Ivan? And you are the one who helped Ivan escape. Wasn't it?"
As he had told Vidar, Fenrir suspected him.
But what about Ivan's death?
Was it perhaps to prove that he hadn't helped Ivan?
"...No."
Fenrir muttered to himself.
"There is no reason for him to express his sense of injustice to me to such an extreme degree."
Actually, he wondered if there was another ulterior motive.
Vidar's own goal, which he hadn't told anyone, including Fenrir.
It was the moment Fenrir, lost in thought, was frowning. That was when the carriage came to a slow, gliding stop.
"Grand Duke, we have arrived."
Kevin's voice was heard, and Fenrir opened the closed carriage door.
Then he furrowed his brows.
It was because of the terrible smell.
"They say there was a fire on Zixent Street late last night."
...So, the smell of burnt wood.
Just like in the Forbidden Forest.
"It was an uncontrollably strong fire, and since Zixent Street had such a bad reputation, no one stepped forward to help."
The narrow and dirty Zixent Street was completely covered in soot. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire street had turned into a ruin.
And here and there on the street, charred corpses and spheres were visible.
"It is said that although the Imperial Palace sent a knight order, they were merely a token gesture."
Living as a beggar on Zixent Street was bad news for them, but it wasn't much of a disadvantage for Emperor Dietrich either.
No, actually, it would have been better. Since the troublesome street gangs would all have been killed or disbanded, it was practically like cleaning up without any effort at all.
And it was only then that Fenrir realized it belatedly.
What Kevin meant earlier when he said that 'the situation where Ivan's body was found is not favorable.'
"...Ivan."
“This way.”
Kevin led the way, and Fenrir walked with him to the deepest part of Zixent Street.
A few knights surveying the street, which had already been blackened by fire, bowed respectfully to Fenrir. Fenrir merely nodded in return. Then, with an expressionless face, he glanced at the piles of ashes. They had burned beyond form, making it impossible to even recognize their original appearance.
"As the Grand Duke had mentioned earlier, he drew a magic circle to leave the area, but it seems he could not go far due to his severe injuries."
"..."
"Since Zixent Street is a place where ordinary residents rarely walk, it would have been the best place for Ivan to hide."
Kevin, who had been continuing to speak, soon came to a slow stop.
It was a dead end located in the deepest part of Zixent Street.
"Grand Duke Fenrir."
Siegfried, whose face had turned subtly pale as if he had been waiting in advance after hearing Fenrir's warning not to disturb the scene, approached Fenrir.
"You need to rest at the mansion, but things are going strangely..."
Siegfried looked at Fenrir with a slightly worried expression, but Fenrir did not meet his gaze. Nor did he answer Siegfried's words.
Instead, a corner of an alley.
"...That one."
He spoke while looking at the grotesque corpse, which had burned black and was reduced to nothing but bones.
“It’s Ivan.”
"Yes. You're right."
Siegfried let out a sigh and answered.
"If his right arm hadn't been severed, I wouldn't have even recognized him. It's safe to say that he was practically nothing but bone."
He thought he might be able to get some information by looking at the scene, but that was a vain hope. Ivan wasn't the only one who had burned. At best, all he could get from a scene like this was a feeling of disgust.
"..."
Fenrir looked down at Ivan's body in the dry daylight, then slowly bent his leg. He then looked down at Ivan's left hand and ankle.
"So this is why you said it seemed like he was murdered."
Ivan's left hand and ankle bones were both shattered to a pulp.
Just before Ivan cast a spell on Presepe at the church, Fenrir also broke Ivan's wrist. However, he literally broke his wrist; he did not completely shatter his finger bones like that.
Furthermore, both ankle bones, not just one, were completely shattered.
The reason was obvious. They must have injured his ankle like that to prevent him from escaping, and wouldn't even leave his hands alone to stop him from using magic while struggling.
...Ah. Perhaps it was to mock him, or to drive Ivan into extreme terror.
"At first, I thought there might have been a fight with the gang from Zixent Street, but even they couldn't have done this to Ivan."
Siegfried continued speaking.
"I thought Ivan was the one who killed Noah DeVern and Attar Hanan... What on earth is going on now?"
Fenrir did not answer.
He simply slowly rose from his seat. Then, looking at Kevin and the Knights, he parted his lips.
"I think we can hand over the body as is. Of course, given how it burned, all we can get is bone dust."
"Move the body."
No sooner had Siegfried given the order than the knights began to move Ivan's body onto the stretcher they had prepared in advance. Of course, Ivan's completely burned body crumbled at the slightest touch, so they seemed to be having quite a hard time, but there was no other way.
"Grand Duke, I will now return to the Imperial Palace as well. Please rest a little longer. I will contact you immediately if there is any progress in the investigation."
As he was already injured and resting at the mansion, he felt extremely uneasy. He wanted to return quickly, but far from leaving, Fenrir grabbed Siegfried's shoulder.
“Knight Commander.”
"Grand Duke Fenrir...?"
"I have a question that just came to mind."
And then he asked a strange question.
"The Demon King who lived in the Forbidden Forest."
"... Yes?"
"Can you explain that Demon King to me?"
***
Fenrir's mansion was still under tight security.
In reality, no matter who tried to sneak in, they would be caught and subjected to a terrible fate before even setting foot in the mansion.
However, there were times when even such strict security was of no use.
Like right now.
The mansion's flower garden.
High up in a very tall tree. Amidst the profusely blooming flowers emitting a fragrant scent, an intruder was positioned.
It was Vidar.
However, Vidar did not do anything. He did not target Presepe while Fenrir was away, as Ivan had done, nor did he approach her by spouting pleasantries, as Noah DeVern had done.
Just after casting a barrier invisible to others...
He sat idly on the tree, staring at only one spot.
"..."
Presepe, looking troubled by the day, was reflected in Vidar's blue eyes.
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