“Wels’s daughter?”
“Yes. I examined the receipt for the military uniforms that Lord Louis found, and the trail led back to her.”
“That’s right, I forgot Wels even had a daughter…” Romello murmured, searching his memory.
“Yes. She’s twenty-two, older than Lord Louis. Her name is Salome, Salome Bella Anderson. Since Wels is still the head of household and under house arrest, she lives by herself.”
“All by herself? What about her other relatives?”
“Wels is estranged from his wife, and she has since left the mansion. Salome isn’t married yet either.”
“I see… I had a feeling it was someone close to him who bought those uniforms, but I suspected it was a subordinate. It was his daughter all along, eh? That’s surprising.”
“Why did you think it was a subordinate?”
“Even though Wels is under house arrest, he and Nort are still in communication. There are guards that watch every single person who comes and goes from that house, so it would be very difficult for someone on Nort’s side to sneak in. I figured that there must be an intermediary between the two of them. I assumed a subordinate would be more likely to do that than his daughter… So, what actually happened?” Romello asked Alf.
If Alf already knew who was responsible, he must have known more; or at least, that’s what Romello suspected. Alf had followed his orders to begin separating Nort and Wels, so his spy must already have the information.
“As you said, Wels and Nort are still connected. We confirmed that when my spy was working on cutting off contact between them. At that time, we discovered that one of Wels’s trusted employees named Ammos acted as the intermediary between him and Nort.”
“I see…”
“During the investigation, I thought something seemed strange. I realized that the acquisition of the military uniforms was actually quite sloppy compared to other cover-ups. What I mean by that is it was extremely simple to trace back the invoice to Salome. If he planned the attack after he was arrested, could he have secured those uniforms beforehand?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Louis answered Alf’s question. “The only reason the dignitaries came to Tasmeria was because of Father’s negotiations. It was all decided directly in person. Regardless of if it was Nort’s or Cordis’s idea to get the uniforms, they wouldn’t have been able to get them in advance.”
“I see. It does make sense that there would’ve been no way for them to do that.”
“Yes. I believe Salome must’ve somehow discovered Wels’s link to Nort and went rogue, or perhaps Nort contacted her directly. I don’t see how it could have been possible otherwise. Either way, Alf’s right—the cover-up was sloppy, so that means it’s very likely Salome went rogue. Anyway, how are the efforts to cut contact between Nort and Wels?”
“They don’t regularly send letters to each other as it’s only occurred a few times, but things are proceeding smoothly. We’ve confirmed where the letter exchanges take place. You can check those reports when you have time.”
“All right.”
“It will be in the report for you to read later, but we have secured a letter proving that General Gazell has no involvement. I’ve also received information from several other spies embedded there confirming this.”
“And what about the ore?”
“We’ve confirmed its current location. A portion of it was funneled to Duke Sligar’s domain in Rimmel…”
“I figured as much. There’s nothing to be done about it now, though. Have you gotten any definitive evidence from Nort’s or Cordis’s sides proving that Wels was involved?”
“They’re working on it. It’s a difficult thing to prove, but they’re taking the steps to do so. Berne is taking care of it, so please don’t worry.”
“I’m very confident we’ll come out victorious knowing that you and Berne are working on this together. Please continue with your efforts to cut Nort and Wels off from each other and collect additional evidence. And make sure not to leave behind any proof on Wels’s side about the attack. We also need to ensure that no reinforcements are coming from Nort and Cordis. The thing to fear most right now is another attack. If Wels makes a move, that would mean Cordis wasn’t far behind, and an attack on Rimmel right now would be disastrous.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now that we’ve cleared the general of suspicion, we can go ahead and share the information with him. We’ll have him and the Anderson House guard take care of the matter of the ore.”
“Isn’t that the job of the army?” Alf asked.
Romello frowned slightly. “If we involve the army, word will get out. Now, I’m not familiar with fighting, but if for some reason the guard isn’t able to take care of it, we’ll have to figure out how we can mobilize the troops. Honestly, I don’t want it to come to that, though.”
“I see… And how do you want to deal with Cordis?”
“We should leave matters involving Rimmel for Rimmel to take care of. But honestly…I’m torn on the matter. Although we can see they cooperated with each other, it doesn’t necessarily mean they worked completely hand in hand. Since they’re so far away from each other, there would be a delay in message delivery. And with that delay, it would be very difficult to work in sync. Even if something were to happen in our country, it’s not clear if we have the right to deal with it.”
“So in other words, the problem is who has the authority to deal with the issue. But, ultimately, Rimmel should deal with their own problems. We’re out to protect two different things, and because of that, we can’t hand over the right to command. Even if they seem willing to cooperate, we might not have time for that. And if something happens when we’re negotiating, we could lose the initiative and be unable to force the issue forward. Worse comes to worst, if they all moved independently, there’s a chance we could be defeated.”
“Ah, I see…”
“So, there’s no need to force them to cooperate? If the situation would worsen if they all act independently, we should avoid that. But on the other hand, it’ll damage their trust in us if we take care of the situation without notifying them at all… What if we share the information with Duke Grindel while still taking care of things on our end?”
“Yes, that’s probably the best course of action. But how should we deal with Cordis? It’ll be hard to make that decision and carry it out on our own.”
Silence once again fell on the room. Both Romello and Louis seemed lost in their own thoughts as Alf watched on. For the first time, the butler noticed both father and son had dark circles under their eyes that they could not conceal. They must have been working tirelessly while he was away; their clothes looked rumpled, which was highly unusual for them, and they both looked a little thin.
Alf wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Romello finally broke the silence.
“I can only think of one thing to do.” The prime minister spoke quietly, but the sound was enough to echo through the room. “Alf. You can get in contact with Berne, can’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
Romello turned toward Alf to look at him directly. His gaze was both serious and filled with great resolve. “In that case, I want you to give him the orders to eliminate Curtis and Cordis and install Miles as the next Duke of Sligar. The prime minister of Tasmeria, Romello Gib Armelia, will take all responsibility for the fallout. And, if necessary, I shall put my private seal on the orders.”
Alf stared at his master. It was highly unusual for him to not immediately acquiesce. Romello didn’t seem uncomfortable to be watched with such a testing gaze and just took it quietly.
“I think perhaps Curtis has a comparable number of guards to you, my lord. Taking that into account, surely you can understand that it would be exceedingly hard to eliminate either him or Cordis.”
“Yes, I know, but you and Berne are the only ones I know who are capable of doing it. I’ll give you all the personnel and money you need to get it done. I’ll take full responsibility for whatever happens, no matter what the result. Is there anything else you need to confirm about the order?”
“No, I think that’s all,” Alf laughed. The sound of it was so good-natured it would surely easy anyone’s heart.
“All right.” Romello nodded, the serious look returning to his face.
“Berne and I shall get to work. I’ll also continue the efforts to cut off communication between Wels and Cordis, of course. I’ll leave my work here to trusted subordinates.”
“Very well. Take care.”
“Thank you. I can arrange for anything I need myself, but I shall contact you if something else arises.”
“All right. Louis?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll do everything I can to support him.”
“Thank you, Lord Louis.”
And so Alf departed for Rimmel.