'So, Princess Irene, what's wrong with our Alice? I hope you don't want to take her out as the court magician of the royal capital because you heard of her ability.

The Count then laughed jokingly.
But Irene is not caught up in the laughter, and maintains a quiet coldness in her presence.

'Irene, let's drop Alice first. Make the Count think that he can cut Alice down as a lizard's tail if he has to. We'll drop the Count after that.

"Yes, Will."

A lucid reply comes from Irene.

It's my understanding that even though she's not good at brainwork, it's a personality problem and she's not that bad at it.
As long as she is able to demonstrate her true abilities, I have no problem entrusting her with the details.

Irene replied to the Count in a quiet, slow tone.

'No, I'm afraid I've heard more about the rumors that are not so good about her. Count, do you have a firm grasp of Alice's recent movements?

At Irene's words, the Count put his hand on his double chin and made a little thoughtful gesture.
I was impressed by the way Irene proceeded with her story, and I thought it was a good way to attack.

I was impressed with the way Irene was going about it.
Now, the Count's mind must be going round and round about whether this is a pursuit he can get away with without any sacrifice, or whether he needs to cut down Alice.

And after a good ten seconds of thought, the words that came out of the Count's mouth were these.

'Hmmm ......, if you ask me, I don't have a good grasp of her recent behavior. What are the rumors that Princess Irene has heard?

The Count's words did not elicit much of a reaction from the detective.
He was not necessarily telling a lie.
He might not actually have a detailed grasp of Alice's movements.

'I heard that she is experimenting with the creation of undead in this village in the Count's territory. She's also slaughtering a large number of villagers.

'What? Alice has done such a thing without my knowledge! I can't believe it. ...... No, wait, if you say so. ...... Princess Irene, who told you about this rumor?

The Count's statement was almost completely laced with lies, and the Detect Tri reacted strongly.
It seemed that the Count had shifted his thoughts to cutting off Alice in the current moment.

'Count, that is a top-secret information route of the royal court that we have, so we can't divulge it. But I have it on good authority.'

'Mmm, is that how it is? ...... Don't tell me that our Alice, or even that vixen, has done such a thing. ...... If that's true, it's definitely not something we can allow. It is an unpardonable act to do such a thing to the precious property of the royal family and the people I love,......!

Count Goldert looked indignant, and slammed the table with his fist.

But the Detectry tells us that his angry statement is clearly a lie.
It's cheap theatrics.

But it is this theatricality that tells the true story of Count Goldart.
He is a scoundrel who lies to save his own skin, and tries to pin all the blame on others.
If he had any remorse at all, he would not be acting the way he is now, even though we made him do it.

"Irene, it's confirmed. "Irene, it's been confirmed. The Count's angry outbursts are all clearly false.

"I knew it. ....... I can't stand guys like that. Will, can I snap now?

Irene's anger was palpable even in the thought-only conversation.
But I think it's still too early to turn the stage upside down.

From what the Count has said so far, it is clear that he was complicit in the destruction of Filia's village, or at least that he knew about it.

However, we still don't know why he did it, or what his motives were.
If he was a man of selfishness, that could not be his motive for destroying the villages in his domain.

Not yet. I'd like to get the Count's motive, if possible.

"Motive, motive. ......"

But the problem is, I can't think of any way to get him to give it up.
Maybe I should give up on trying to get him to talk about it and go to Alice.

However, as I was thinking about this, Count Goldart made this suggestion to me.

'But, Princess Irene. That vixen, Alice, is a woman with the skills of a court magician. If you try to capture her alive, you'll have to sacrifice a lot. He said he'd be back in a few hours. We should kill it by surprise when it comes back. Please help us, Princess, for your ability as a knight.

'............'

Irene fell silent.
I'm finally starting to feel disgusted with the man in front of me.

...... to keep her mouth shut.
I'm sure you don't want Alice to talk about anything else.

"...... Hey Will. I can't take it anymore.

"Yeah. I also feel that it is unreasonable to let her talk about her motives peacefully in this situation, even if it is emotional. Irene, can you take on the two guards in front of you and the one in front of the door at the same time, while still protecting me?

Foolish question. It's a piece of cake.

Well then, go ahead and do it.

Copy that.

Aileen's bouncy thoughts returned.