Free Web NovelThe click-clack of the train continued.
Monotonous, rhythmic.
Like some kind of countdown.
Pavela stared at the report on the table.
"But."
She said.
"Dr. Lovelace is dead."
"The Soul-Eater Sword is also gone."
"Yes."
"On the night of the Old City fire, Dr. Lovelace went to Duchess Erwina's villa."
"Then in the early morning, an explosion occurred at the villa, the entire building was destroyed by fire, and everyone died."
"Dr. Lovelace, Duchess Erwina, and all the attendants and guards present."
"All missing."
Pavela fell silent.
She picked up the photo again.
The more she looked at it, the more absurd it felt.
"So now the Pro-war faction's story is—"
She said.
"The ghost of caldberg is Usar's secret weapon."
"He infiltrated Victoria."
"Killed Dr. Lovelace and Duchess Erwina."
"And took the Soul-Eater Sword."
"Everything was the negligence of the Military Police and the Army General Staff."
"Exactly."
Eleanor said.
"And they are raising questions in parliament."
"How could a spy from Usar infiltrate the imperial capital so easily?"
"How could they kill a Duchess without being discovered?"
"Why didn't the Army General Staff receive any intelligence in advance?"
There was a hint of mockery in her tone.
"They are shifting all the blame onto the pro-peace faction."
"Claiming that the pro-peace faction, in their attempt to strike at political enemies, was negligent in their defenses, allowing an enemy spy to take advantage."
"Even hinting—"
"That perhaps the pro-peace faction itself is in league with Usar."
Pavela finished listening.
She was silent for a moment.
Then she suddenly laughed.
"What a clever way to shift the blame."
She said.
"Originally, they were the ones collaborating with the enemy."
"Now they turn around and accuse the pro-peace faction of colluding with Usar."
"The thief crying'stop thief'."
"And they succeeded."
Eleanor nodded.
"Because there is no evidence left."
"Dr. Lovelace is dead."
"The Soul-Eater Sword is gone."
"The pro-peace faction can't produce any solid proof."
"Even more, because Duchess Erwina is also dead, the Pro-war faction is now making a huge fuss over the Duchess's death."
She paused.
"Parliament is in chaos right now."
"The pro-peace faction's momentum has been halted."
"The Centrists is starting to waver."
"The situation has returned to a state of balance."
"Even—"
"It might even tip in favor of the Pro-war faction."
The train seemed to be speeding up.
The scenery outside the window blurred past.
As if time were accelerating.
Pavela looked out the window.
She didn't speak.
Her mind was racing.
This matter.
There were too many loopholes.
First.
That mecha was wrong.
The thug-iv she was piloting at the time had a completely different modification style.
Someone was impersonating her.
Second.
The timing was too perfect.
Right when «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the pro-peace faction was on the verge of victory.
Dr. Lovelace died.
The evidence vanished.
Third.
Why would Dr. Lovelace agree to meet with Duchess Erwina?
She should have known it was dangerous.
But she went anyway.
Why?
Pavela's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest.
Rhythmic.
As if she were thinking about something.
"Sister."
She spoke.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think..."
Pavela turned her head and looked at Eleanor.
"Why did Dr. Lovelace go?"
Eleanor fell silent.
A complex emotion flashed in her ice-blue eyes. freewebnøvel.com
"I don't know."
She said.
"My mother doesn't know, and neither does Marquis Hohenheim."
"She just said Duchess Erwina wanted to talk."
"And then she went."
She paused.
There was a hint of resentment in her voice.
"To be honest, I'm a little..."
She didn't continue.
But Pavela understood.
"You're blaming your mother and Marquis Hohenheim."
Eleanor nodded.
"Regardless of the reason."
Her voice was very soft.
"They shouldn't have let the Doctor go alone."
"That was Duchess Erwina's territory."
"She is a core figure of the Pro-war faction."
"Letting Dr. Lovelace meet her alone—"
She didn't finish.
But the meaning was clear.
It was too dangerous.
Dangerous to the point of being foolish.
Pavela looked at Eleanor.
Watching the emotions flickering in her ice-blue eyes.
Anger.
Self-reproach.
And a deep sense of helplessness.
"Sister."
She said.
"Hmm?"
"Don't worry too much, I don't think Dr. Lovelace is just dead like that."
Eleanor was stunned for a moment.
"What do you mean?"
Pavela leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.
"I mean..."
She paused.
"In my impression, Dr. Lovelace isn't someone who's so easy to kill."
Eleanor frowned.
"But the scene—"
"The scene can be faked in any way."
"Explosions, fires, bodies."
"Even witnesses."
"Can all be faked."
She turned her head and looked out the window.
"My intuition tells me that things are far from being beyond redemption."
"And Dr. Lovelace might not really be dead."
Eleanor looked at her.
Suddenly she reached out and gently rubbed her head.
"You."
She said.
Her tone carried a hint of helplessness, but more of it was indulgence.
"Always like this."
"I've told you many times, you don't have to comfort your sister in return."
Pavela didn't dodge.
She let Eleanor rub her hair.
Then she looked up and smiled at her.
Eleanor's hand paused.
Then she withdrew her hand.
She sighed softly.
"Little Pa."
She said.
"After we arrive in Victoria."
"It will be very chaotic."
"Extremely chaotic."
"You must be careful."
Pavela nodded.
"I know."
She looked forward.
"In the heart of the empire, a specter called the ghost of caldberg had disrupted the entire situation of the empire."
"And she."
"The real ghost of caldberg."
"Was sitting on a train."
"Heading toward the center of that chaotic vortex."
"What could she achieve there?"
"She didn't know either."
"Perhaps to find the truth."
"Perhaps to see if Dr. Lovelace was really dead."
"Perhaps—"
"Perhaps just to see."
"This farce."
"How it would finally end."
"The train's whistle sounded."
"Long and sharp."
"Piercing the murky sky."
"Victoria."
"Almost there."
