"Hmm..."

Lux peeled off the masks of the two black-clad figures with trembling hands. He unbuttoned their shirts to inspect the cursed rune tattoos on their bodies, then withdrew his hand as if touching something filthy.

"How about it? Are they the right ones?" York asked.

"No mistake. These are the Shadow Attendants themselves. Both of us were involved in their selection process back then. We can’t possibly misidentify them… Sigh." Lux heaved a heavy sigh.

"Tch… This is big trouble now."

York scanned the gathered group with his eyes, biting his lip hard. His gaze flickered uncertainly.

His eyes held not just anxiety, but also… thick suspicion.

As if sensing something, Ellen, Anhans, Lux, and Nerlis quickly stepped back, creating distance from the others. Ellen drew her longsword. Anhans summoned his doll familiar. Lux pulled out a defensive magic item, conjuring an ice shield that enveloped him. Nerlis darted behind furniture, shielding her vital points.

The atmosphere instantly turned tense.

Chloe, Liliana, Molly, and Nia were still confused.

"Everyone, stay calm! Don’t do anything rash!"

York growled lowly, but this time, no one listened.

"Everyone… huh? Why suddenly…" Molly looked around in panic, her doll-like face filled with confusion and fear.

Ellen, her face grim, shot her a glance. "Still don’t get it? The two Shadow Attendants are dead. That means the killer isn’t them. So who else could have done it?"

"……Ah!"

Molly’s fear-slowed mind finally caught up, her face twisting in terror.

Initially, the two Shadow Attendants were indeed the prime suspects. That was correct.

But now that the Shadow Attendants were confirmed dead, who was the killer?

Or rather, who else was present?

"The killer… is almost certainly among us."

York said with a pained expression.

——————————————————————————————

Unbeknownst to them, in this tense atmosphere, "he" was momentarily dumbfounded, but quickly regained his composure.

What’s going on?

That can’t be right.

If all went as planned, the corpses of the two Shadow Attendants should have been dissolved by corpse-dissolving liquid!

According to the original plan, they should have been unable to find the bodies anywhere. This would naturally place the Shadow Attendants as the prime suspects, making everyone believe they were hiding in the mansion, waiting to take lives… Thus, vigilance against insiders would relax, making him harder to suspect or expose.

So why did things go wrong?

…No, calm down, he told himself.

This level of error was still within tolerance, not enough to affect the big picture.

Originally, if the plan proceeded smoothly, it would reduce his risk but might increase their unity. Now, although his chances of being suspected had greatly increased, suspicion among them had also grown. That was fine too.

Might as well go with the flow.

Adjust the next step slightly to deepen their mutual suspicion—

——————————————————————————————

"The killer is almost certainly among us."

York said.

Everyone maintained a subtle distance. Even Liliana and Nia, who were usually inseparable, had separated. Everyone was wary of the person closest to them… However, most suspicious gazes were directed at Ellen and Chloe, who stared each other down.

After all, they were the strongest present. Ellen, a senior Mystic Warrior of the Knight Order, was formidable with both strength and combat experience. Chloe, though lacking real combat, was a senior mage who, if she went all out, could demolish the entire mansion except for the barrier in an instant.

"But stay calm, don’t do anything stupid! This is likely the killer’s ploy to divide us—" York shouted at the two women, while Ellen yelled back, flustered.

"—And what about you, York? You’re also looking wary! How can I trust you!"

"Just put your sword down! And you, Chloe, stop preparing spells! Think carefully—why is this so coincidental?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why were the bodies hidden in the hall closet!"

"……"

The two women froze, the atmosphere easing slightly.

Indeed, why were the Shadow Attendants’ bodies hidden there? A closet was a terrible hiding spot—further investigation would have revealed them immediately.

"Right? Calm down. The killer must have deliberately hidden the bodies where we’d easily find them. This way, we’d eliminate the two prime suspects and turn suspicion on each other! The killer did this to make us fight among ourselves!"

For a moment, no one spoke.

"…"

I glanced at the others and cleared my throat. "So… there are still two possibilities? The killer could be one of us, or someone else hiding in the shadows—besides us and the Shadow Attendants. If it’s the former, we really need to be wary of each other. If it’s the latter… his divide-and-conquer tactic is already working."

"…Correct."

York gave me a slightly approving look, which I accepted politely.

But then Liliana suddenly jumped up, pointing at me with an angry expression. "Then… doesn’t that make you the prime suspect? Or rather, maybe you’re the killer!"

The others were confused, but Liliana kept chattering on.

"R-right, everyone? Because her disgusting bugs found the bodies! Maybe it’s her trap! And that thing, what’s it called? Reverse reasoning fallacy, right? Usually, the one who finds the body is the killer, isn’t that so?"

"……"

"Right? I think we should immediately—"

"—Enough! Calm down, Liliana!"

Before York could speak, Ellen clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What—"

"The one who finds the body is the killer? That doesn’t make sense fundamentally! I know you two have never gotten along, but this isn’t the time for childish tantrums!"

"Mmph…"

"There, there, Liliana’s just scared, right? Don’t yell at her, Ellen-chan." Anhans couldn’t resist playing the hero, winking at Liliana.

"Anhans… Sigh, forget it. This is getting annoying… Tch! So what now? What should we do? Why must the Zerah Family’s main line live so far out in the suburbs? If there were other houses nearby, we could find a way to call for help despite the barrier!"

"Yeah… why…"

Molly, who had been trembling nonstop, suddenly spoke up. Everyone’s gaze snapped to her. Startled, she waved her hands. "S-sorry! I was just thinking out loud… I’ve always found it a bit strange why you… the Zerah Family’s main line lives in such a remote place…"

"…That’s not important, right?" York replied casually, sounding impatient.

"—It is a bit strange," Anhans chimed in. "Our Florian Family and their Zane Family’s main lines are all in the city, not far from other branches. It’s convenient for errands and supplies. Why is only the Zerah Family so odd?"

York cut him off impatiently. "I said it’s not important! What we should do now is figure out if the killer is one of us, and try to reconstruct last night’s events!"

"Easy to say, but how?"

"The Barrier Recorder! Located on the top floor, it can’t control the barrier, but it records all feedback from it. If anyone entered or left the mansion from last night until now, it would have a record!"