Chapter 1 Enter Jack the Ripper! Christina greets the morning from the Hope family’s Midgar villa. She switches between sleeping in the dorms and sleeping at her villa whenever the mood strikes her. As of late, though, she’s been staying exclusively at the villa, and her mood has nothing to do with it. For her, it’s a matter of self-preservation. “Is it morning already?” She looks up in surprise upon seeing the sunlight streaming in through her curtains. There are faint bags under her eyes. It’s clear how obsessively she’s been collating documents related to the incident. She sets her pen down on her desk and does a big stretch. Then she picks up the documents and sighs. “Bringing charges against someone is harder than it looks…” Her documents list out the full events that transpired and testimony backing it all up, but the way things are going, it looks like Eliza’s actions are going to be deemed an accident rather than a crime. The official story is that the whole thing was just a freak tragedy that took place when a bunch of teenage academy students got wrapped up in a terrorist attack and panicked at the stress of having their lives in such danger. “Earl Shoddi Goodz has been covering up and fabricating evidence. I had no idea the Thirteen Nightblades’ influence was so vast.” Not only were they perfectly happy making up stories and suppressing the truth, but they didn’t hesitate to kill if the need arose. Christina herself has felt like she’s being watched. That’s why she started sleeping exclusively at the villa. “Their corruption is spreading. I can’t beat them, not on my own. And as for the Hope family’s strength, well…” Her father has no interest in getting involved with the case. To use his words: “How exactly do we benefit from saving some no-name noble girl?” The Thirteen Nightblades’ power is why their tyranny stands unopposed. Everyone just looks the other way. “I don’t…I don’t have that kind of power.” Political power, military power, financial power, institutional power… If you have power, you can get away with anything. That’s just a fact of living in Midgar. “How do we benefit from saving a no-name noble girl, huh?” They didn’t. Doing so wouldn’t change the world one bit. Christina knows that from a noble’s perspective, her father is right. However, that’s not enough to satisfy her. There are people doing evil, and the fact that she can’t punish them makes her feel completely powerless. Christina has no idea how to reconcile those emotions. Perhaps if she were stronger, she would be able to stamp out evil. Stamp it out…the way Shadow does. Christina can picture it in her mind’s eye. She can see herself mowing down the Nightblades, vanquishing the wicked, saving the weak, and defending her nation. She laughs at herself. “Okay, that’s enough of that.” All she’s doing is making herself feel worse. She lets out a long exhale and rubs her tired eyes. Then she takes the documents about Eliza and the Nightblades and stores them in her drawer to take her mind off things. Instead, she pulls out another set of files. “Shadow…and the Shadow Garden…” The new files contain the investigation Christina’s been conducting into the Shadow Garden in her free time. “It appears as though the Shadow Garden began operating over a year ago, but I can’t track down any details. I assume Shadow’s been leading them that whole time…but again, I can’t find details. I swear, it’s like I can’t get confirmation on anything.” She flips through the papers. They’re packed full of clippings from wanted posters and newspaper articles. “The reporting in the north side of the kingdom is atrocious. It’s been confirmed that Shadow operates up there sometimes, you know! How is it they barely have any mugshots, and the quality of the ones they do have is so terrible?” Despite her grumbling, her expression slowly brightens as she looks at the papers. “The man has a tremendous sense of duty. That’s why he walks his bloodstained path, and it’s why he can’t exist where the light shines. But he’s out there vanquishing evil. Unlike me…” She laughs at herself again. Then there’s a knock on her door. “Come on in.” A middle-aged man steps inside. Christina uses the full force of her dark knight talents to shove her documents into the drawer at record speed. “Good morning, Father.” “Have you not been sleeping, Christina?” “No, no, I was just doing some thinking. Did you need me for something?” “I assume I don’t have to tell you this, but don’t do anything that will anger the Thirteen Nightblades. No good would come of getting on their bad side.” “………” Christina doesn’t say a word, and the nod she gives him is brief. It’s the most resistance she can muster. “Things are about to get very chaotic. There’s no telling what could happen to the Hope family if we do anything rash.” “Chaotic how, Father?” “Ah, right, I forgot to tell you.” Her father lets out a sigh. “Shoddi Goodz is dead.” “What?” “The whole aristocracy is on edge, and the Nightblades are furious. The capital is in turmoil.” Christina watches her father leave, then hurriedly gets dressed and heads to the scene of the crime. Alexia walks down the Goodz estate hallway. “There’s bloody footprints here, too…” The dark-red stains continue across the rug. “Please don’t touch anything, Princess Alexia. We’re still collecting evidence.” Alexia glares at the knight chaperoning her. “I’m not an idiot, you know.” “Princess Alexia!!” On hearing her name, Alexia turns around. “Christina?” There, she sees Christina, the girl she got to know during the big incident. “I heard that Earl Shoddi Goodz was dead,” Christina manages as she tries to catch her breath. “What happened?” “Someone murdered him. The Knight Order is investigating the scene as we speak.” “Oh, wow…” “They won’t let me in the actual room yet, so I was checking the hallway.” “Why the hallway?” “Take a look at these footprints.” Alexia points at the bloody tracks going down the hall. “Don’t they seem odd to you?” “They do seem to stand out more than I would expect.” “That’s strange, too, but what’s stranger is how little of a hurry the killer was in. They just killed a bunch of people, yet there wasn’t any urgency in their gait.” Alexia walks alongside the footprints and matches their stride. “If anything, it looks like they were walking slowly,” Christina agrees. “Weird, right? Most people would want to get out of there as fast as they could. The killer must have had nerves of steel.” “It’s like they were confident they wouldn’t get caught or something.” “You might be more right about that than you think.” “What do you mean?” “It was the Thirteen Nightblades who silenced Earl Shoddi Goodz.” “Seriously?” “He drew too much attention during the case. It’s no surprise they would want to get rid of him.” “But even so, why do it now?” “That’s the one part I can’t figure out…” Just as they find themselves at a loss, Alexia’s chaperone calls, “They say you can go in now, Princess Alexia.” Alexia turns to Christina. “Shall we?” “I’m right there with you.” The chaperone takes them to the Knight Order member in charge of the scene. “I’m Gray, chief of the Knight Order’s criminal investigation department,” the man says. “Please make sure you don’t touch the body or move anything in the room.” “Got it,” Alexia replies. “I’m going to get back to work. If you need anything, give me a holler.” “Will do.” The first thing Alexia is greeted with when she steps inside is the overwhelming smell of blood. But of course—the pile of corpses in front of the door has been left untouched, and beyond them, Earl Shoddi Goodz’s body is bleeding from the head as it stares upward. Alexia crouches beside it. “Looks like the cause of death was a single blow to the forehead. But that’s no ordinary weapon…” Throughout the room, members of the Knight Order are rushing around working. Christina, on the other hand, simply stands by the door in a daze. “What’s the matter, Christina?” Alexia asks. “They said we can go in.” “Huh? Oh, right, coming.” After snapping back to her senses, Christina hurriedly follows Alexia inside. “If you’re not feeling well, you might want to just leave.” “No, I’m fine. That thing stuck in the head…” Christina stares curiously. “Is that a playing card? What an odd design.” “It’s from Mitsugoshi’s high-end line. I think it’s a limited edition.” “We might be able to narrow down who bought it, then.” “I wouldn’t be so sure. With a company as big as Mitsugoshi, even their ‘limited edition’ products get print runs in the thousands.” “That would take a while to go through…” Christina looks down at Earl Goodz. “The ace of spades, huh?” The earl died with his eyes wide and a shocked expression. Sure enough, the card lodged in his brow is the ace of spades. It’s almost as if the skeleton knight on the card’s design is symbolizing the man’s death. “Why use a playing card?” Alexia murmurs. “Earl Goodz’s dark knight academy grades were nothing to sneeze at. This man was a skilled dark knight, yet the killer impaled his forehead with a normal old paper card. That would have taken some serious magic.” “Paper conducts magic at a rate of less than ten percent. That’s nothing compared with something like mithril, and plus, it would have taken incredibly precise mana control to overcome the paper’s natural resistance. Why did they choose such an obtuse method, I wonder?” “I have no idea, but it certainly helps pinpoint our perp. We’re looking for a dark knight with huge mana reserves and highly precise mana control.” “In other words, this isn’t just some random murderer we’re dealing with. If it was, they would never have used a playing card like that.” “No, they would have been more efficient about it.” “They were clearly working with some kind of purpose. The card, the footprints, it doesn’t add up. Perhaps it’s some sort of code that only those in the know can decipher.” “They could have been making an example of him, or satisfying a grudge, or sending some kind of message… You might be onto something.” The two of them spend some more time standing in thought before the corpse. Eventually, a male voice breaks the silence. “There are witnesses?! Are you serious?” It’s Gray, the man in charge of the Knight Order operations there. “There was, sir,” a knight replies. “Apparently, the servants were merely unconscious. Several of them woke up and are able to describe the culprit.” “And? What did they look like?” Alexia and Christina strain their ears. “According to the staff…it was a clown drenched in blood.” “I’m sorry, what?” “They say a bloody clown appeared out of nowhere, and a moment later, everything went black. The next thing they knew, it was morning. They’re all reporting the same thing, so I have to imagine they’re telling the truth.” “And none of them got a good look at the killer’s face?” “No, sir. It was hidden under a clown mask. They say the killer seemed ‘tall,’ but that might just have been the costume talking.” “Did you get anything else?” “No, sir. We’re canvassing the area, but so far we haven’t found any other witnesses.” “Keep pounding that pavement. If they were dressed like a clown, they must have stood out like a sore thumb. We’re dealing with an absolute wacko here.” Gray watches his subordinate go, then sighs. “A clown costume, a playing card… This is a strange case,” says Alexia. Gray frowns. “Why, if it isn’t Princess Alexia. Don’t you know it’s poor manners to eavesdrop?” “I think the killer was trying to leave some sort of specific message. Do you have any idea what that might be, Chief Gray?” “You’re overthinking things, Princess. This here is an open-and-shut case.” “How so?” “Our culprit is some rich person who had a bone to pick with Earl Goodz. They used their wealth to hire some hotshot assassin, and it turned out the assassin was a homicidal nutjob. Simple as that. Amateurs tend to assume that mysteries are these complicated affairs, but people’s motives are always dead simple. The only killers who go and leave messages are the ones in Ms. Natsume’s novels. Are you a fan of her Churlock Holmes novels, too, Princess Alexia?” “No, I just—” “Aren’t they fantastic? I own every one she’s put out. But the thing is, they’re interesting because they’re fiction. Reality is far more boring.” “I’m not a Churlock Holmes fan! Why would you think I have an ounce of respect for that woman?!” “Oh, you mean you prefer the Case Clawed series? The one where a drug turns a famous detective into a kitten?” “That’s not what I’m saying at all! I’m just worried there might be more to the case than meets the eye!!” “Oh, I see. In that case, I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. As I said, we’ve already narrowed down the culprit’s profile. Someone rich with a grudge against Earl Goodz.” Chief Gray flashes the two girls a smile brimming with confidence. “Someone like, for example, Miss Christina.” “What? I had nothing to do with this!” “Why so flustered? By the way, I’m not the only one who suspects you.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Let’s just say you’ve made yourself some enemies in high places.” “You’re talking about the Nightblades…” “Now, I must be getting back to work. Gotta collect evidence so we can catch the culprit.” Chief Gray turns to leave and drops a catchphrase. “One truth prevails… Ms. Natsume’s novels really are fantastic. You should check them out.” With that, and with a hearty chortle, Chief Gray leaves. “Well, he’s not wrong when he says that you have more reason than most to be happy about Earl Goodz’s death,” Alexia remarks. “I told you, I didn’t do it!” Christina cries. “Well, yes, obviously. But that’s not how people are going to see it. I’d watch my back if I were you.” “It sounds like the Nightblades are coming after me.” “I do wish I could offer you more help, but…people tend to get testy when royals meddle with judicial proceedings.” “No, no, I completely understand the position you’re in. That testimony you gave was more than enough.” “I really am sorry.” “And also, I would be lying if I said Earl Goodz’s death didn’t help me out. I need to think things over and figure out how I want to play this.” “This could certainly help the trial turn in your favor.” Christina nods. “There’s something you should see, Princess Alexia.” “What is it?” Christina leads her over to Earl Goodz’s desk. “There are traces of a big coffee spill all over the desk.” “Sure, and pieces of a broken cup all over the place. It’s no surprise that its contents would have splashed onto this.” “Look at the shape of the stain, though. It’s a perfect rectangle.” “You’re right! That means there was something here on the desk. Something shaped like a document…” “So the coffee spilled on the document, and someone took it. That’s why the coffee stain has that big rectangle in it. It’s the only logical explanation.” “But nothing’s supposed to have been removed from the crime scene.” Christina lowers her voice to a hush. “Then it was either the killer who took it, or the Knight Order.” Alexia’s expression hardens. “It could be dangerous to trust the Knight Order more than we have to. We’ll need to keep an eye on them.” “Yeah. Be careful out there, Princess Alexia.” The two of them spend a bit more time surveying the room, then part ways. Later that day, after school, Christina waits in her Midgar Academy classroom so she can talk to Kanade about the attack. Kanade is the girl who exposed Eliza’s crimes back in the white fog incident. Naturally, doing so earned her the enmity of the Nightblades. “Th-thanks for waiting, Christina.” Kanade looks terrified, and she’s constantly checking her surroundings. There’s still a handful of students getting their stuff together before heading home, but there’s no guarantee whatsoever that that would stop the Despohts from taking extreme measures. “Did you hear about what happened this morning, Kanade?” “Yeah, of course. I never imagined something like that could happen to the earl…” “The situation’s changed now. Both for the better and for the worse.” “For the worse?” “That’s right. You have a target on your back. I’m sure of it.” The blood drains from Kanade’s face. “……?!” “The only reason the Despohts didn’t attack you earlier was because they were confident they didn’t need to. The way they saw it, there was no need to take that kind of risk. But with Earl Goodz dead, all that’s gone out the window.” “As in…they’re at a disadvantage now?” “Exactly. They don’t have the luxury of protecting their image anymore. They’re coming after me, too, of course. I have a suggestion I wanted to run by you—” Right as Christina is about to elaborate, they’re interrupted. “AHHHH! Wh-what is this thing?!” A pathetic-sounding cry echoes through the classroom. “What’s wrong?” Christina calls over to the male student who yelled. By that point, the only people still there are Christina, Kanade, and the guy who let out the cowardly shriek. The dark-haired boy turns around in a panic. In his hand, he’s holding something that looks like a document. “Ch-Christina…,” he stammers. Christina digs his name up from the depths of her memory. He’s not particularly remarkable, but he inexplicably ends up at the center of attention just often enough for her to barely remember him. “You’re Claire Kagenou’s brother, um…Cid Kagenou, right?” “Y-yeah, that’s me. Can you take a look at this? It was just lying here.” “What is it?” The documents are dirty and stained. The stains come in two colors, black and red. The black stains have a faint coffee odor to it, and the red ones…well, they smell like blood. “Is that…?” The moment Christina takes the documents, she freezes. These papers contain the details of the events of the Eliza Despoht incident, the costs associated with the cover-up, and a list of people involved with notes hinting at their motives and interests. These are the documents that were missing from the scene of Earl Goodz’s murder. Christina hurriedly double-checks to make sure there’s nobody else around. “Where did you find these, Cid?” she asks, taking care to keep her voice level. “Uh, they were just sticking out of that desk. I figured someone left them here by accident.” The desk he’s referring to is one of the ones in the classroom. Each student is assigned a desk, and the one Cid is pointing at is Christina’s. “My desk?!” “Oh, that’s your desk? Sorry, I should’ve just left them be.” “No, I’m glad you spotted them.” “See, that’s what I figured. I’m glad you didn’t forget them.” “Did you see what the documents said?” “Huh? I mean, I kinda got a glimpse…” “Ah…” Christina’s voice darkens. “So you saw them.” “Shoot, was there something private in there?” “Very, very private, yes.” “Well, I only got a tiny look, so it’s kinda like I didn’t look at them at all. How about we leave it at that, and I’ll see you tomorrow?” “Hold it!” Cid makes an unexpectedly swift beeline to the door, but Christina grabs him by the back of his collar. “Sorry, but I can’t let you leave.” “What?” Cid says, sounding like he can’t be bothered. “C’mon, there’s no need to get violent.” “I’m saying this for your own sake. You don’t want to wake up with your head cut off, do you?” “Wait, you’re gonna cut off my head?” “I’m not going to cut off anything. The problem is, I don’t know if anyone saw you. If they find out you read these, they’ll come after you for sure.” “Who’s ‘they’? I’m not really following any of this, but I feel like this is your fault for leaving something like that in your desk.” “I didn’t.” “Huh?” “I didn’t put the documents there.” “But then, who did?” “Someone who wanted me to read them.” The air seems to chill as a quiet, hard-to-describe unease falls over them. There’s someone out there who stole important documents from the scene of a murder and went out of their way to put them in Christina’s desk all the way over in the academy. In fact, that person might be watching them at that very moment. Christina certainly stands to benefit from the situation, but it’s still unsettling, not knowing what the mystery party hopes to achieve. Then, out of nowhere, Cid speaks up. “Oh, wow, gosh, there’s something written on there.” “What are you talking about?” From where Cid is standing, all he should be able to see are the documents’ backsides. “The backs of the papers are stained red. Don’t you think it kinda looks like letters?” “You’re right!” Christina turns the papers over, and sure enough, there’s a message written in blood. It’s a little runny, so the message is hard to make out, but… “‘Jack the Ripper.’ Is that a name?” “Maybe that’s the person who left the papers in your desk,” Cid offers. “But who could they be? And why give these to me…?” Christina inhales sharply as she sinks into thought. “Dunno, but I gotta get going.” “Hold it.” Once again, Cid tries to flee, and once again, Christina catches him. “Uh, my sister’s in a coma, and I’ve been so worried I can’t sleep at night, so I really need to get going so I can look after her…” “I know about you sister’s situation, but I can’t let you leave. You’re not safe.” “I’m fine. I can protect myself.” “As I recall, your grades are a lot closer to the bottom of the class than the top. I’m telling you this for your own good.” “I mean, you’re not wrong about that, but still.” Christina ignores Cid and turns around. “And, Kanade, you can’t go home, either.” “Wait, me too?” Kanade asks in surprise. “That’s right. This is actually what I was trying to suggest earlier, but as of today, the two of you are going to be living at the Hope family villa.” “Ugh,” Cid grumbles. “Oh, thank goodness,” says Kanade. “That’s such a relief.” Two very different responses. “We don’t have a choice here, not if we want to keep the two of you safe. The Hope villa is well guarded.” “Ugh.” “Thank you so much, Christina.” “Now, let’s collect our stuff so we can head there.” And just like that, the three of them begin living together. When I kill people, I have a couple of rules that I kinda sorta vaguely try to obey. One of those rules is that I generally try to avoid killing people I’d feel sorry for. Another rule is that if they’re a bad guy, it’s probably okay to give ’em the ax. “Cool, no problems here.” I just double-checked, and I’ve been following all my rules today. “Gotta say, though, I wasn’t expecting things to play out like this.” As a result, I now find myself in Christina’s reception room. “Would you like some, Cid? We might never get another chance to drink high-end Mitsugoshi coffee again, so we have to make sure we drink enough to last the rest of our lives!” Kanade the broke aristocrat happily chugs her coffee. Her timidity from back in the classroom seems to have gone without a trace. She’s a pretty girl with dark eyes and dark bobbed hair. “You can have mine,” I offer. Gamma sends me more than I’ll ever be able to get through. “Wait, really?! I love you, Cid!” After receiving an awfully casual declaration of love, I lean back on the sofa and sigh. I never expected to get dragged into staying at Christina’s place. I worry that this might not be appropriate background-character behavior…but then I realize Kanade is giving off the biggest background-character energy ever as she downs a lifetime supply of coffee, so maybe this is actually fine. “Cool, no problems here.” Looks like I’m leading a deeply unproblematic life today. “Can I have your chocolate, too, Cid?” “Nah, the chocolate’s mine.” “Boo, what a jerk. I hate you, Cid.” I swiftly rescue my share of the chocolate out of Kanade’s hand. These are the expensive new matcha truffles Mitsugoshi just released. Gamma sent me a sample package last month. I’m surprised Christina managed to get her hands on any, considering that the preorder backlog is over a year long. So this is what major aristocrats are capable of, huh…? Once again, I’m jealous as hell. “The sofa’s from Mitsugoshi’s fancy furniture brand… And the chandelier, rug, and tableware are from their high-end lines as well…,” I mutter. Man, these people must be die-hard Mitsugoshi fans. That said, just how many pies does Mitsugoshi have its fingers in? As I pop the matcha truffles in my mouth, I hear a knock on the reception room door. “I’m coming in.” It’s Christina. Kanade shifts gears at a startling speed and bows her head low. “Thank you so much for having us over!” “You really don’t have to be so formal about it. The bedroom’s all made up, so let me show you where it is.” The two of us follow Christina out into the hallway. Between the gorgeous carpet, the decorations on the walls and ceiling, and the works of art adorning the hall, this place puts the impoverished Baron Kagenou house to shame. “Seventeen million… Fifty-four million… Nine million… Two hundred million…,” Kanade quietly mumbles as she walks beside me. “What’re you doing?” I ask. “Hyeep?! You heard that?” “Yep.” “I was just estimating how much all these works of art cost.” “Oh, huh.” I take a good long look at the vase Kanade just valued at two hundred million zeni and burn it into my memory. “This here is the dining room. We’re going to be eating here tonight. And right beside it…” Christina guides us through the villa with practiced steps. Then, after ascending a spiral staircase, she comes to a stop before a set of double doors. There are two dark knights serving as guards right in front of them. “Here we are.” With that, she opens the doors to reveal the spacious bedroom within. “Oh, wow! It’s like the kind of room a princess would have!” Kanade cheers as she rushes over to the bed. “Okay, uh…” “Cid, your bed’s the one on the left.” Christina points to the bed in question. “Okay, I gotta ask—”
Chapter 90
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