GILBERT
“SO THAT’S IT, hmm?”
After Stale and Vest summoned me back to Vest’s office, where I’d dropped off those documents, they explained the situation. I nodded along, a hand on my chin.
I’d sprinted out of my office the moment the flustered guards summoned me, only to be met with a development far greater than I could have imagined. We suddenly had an incredibly helpful lead, even if we didn’t have any physical proof of a crime yet.
I glanced at Prince Cedric, who seemed perplexed, and realized not even the prince himself understood how abnormal his gifts were. It was ridiculous enough that he could memorize all the guests in the ballroom at a glance, but capturing their appearances and outfits on top of that was unthinkable. As prime minister, I’d need to reevaluate him in light of this extraordinary development.
Prince Cedric was the second-born prince—now the royal prince, with his brother as king—of the United Hanazuo Kingdom. He was also slated to become the postmaster general of the international postal service. Once I’d learned of his outstanding exam results, I realized Pride had scouted yet another person of incomparable talent. I’d mistaken Prince Cedric for a fool during his initial stay in Freesia, but my opinion changed in light of this.
“Prince Cedric,” I said, “when I ask you about someone, would you please describe their appearance? They’ll be people you’ve already met, of course.”
I needed to confirm the accuracy of Cedric’s memory to avoid making false accusations. When the test began, I asked him about royals who attended every ceremony, princes who changed their attire for the occasion, young noblewomen wearing a different color of lipstick than usual, and I even threw in a few trick questions. Cedric described every last guest without fail.
It stunned me to find someone who memorized even more details than I did in my capacity as prime minister. Vest and Stale were equally surprised. They remembered unique conversations, but certainly not the colors of the women’s lipstick. Even the colors of their dresses were hazy memories for us. While my memory was better than the average person’s, even I couldn’t contain my shock at Cedric’s uncanny perfect recall.
“Your memory is most impressive,” I admitted once we were finished. I had to take a deep breath to steady myself. “In that case…”
I turned to Stale and asked if I could borrow the guest list and a pen. Stale complied; it was one of the few times he did so without complaint when it came to me. He looked straight into my eyes, and we traded nods before I returned my focus to Cedric.
“To start, I’d ask that you list everyone who was present when Princess Pride collapsed, beginning with every guest whose name you know.”
Cedric readily agreed to the task, drawing a smile from me as he did. He recoiled slightly at the sight.
“Thank you very much, Your Highness.”
I reviewed whose names were on which pages, preparing to check them off, and asked Cedric to begin. The prince, still a bit frightened by the looks of it, listed every last person he could remember. Vest and Stale set down their work, watching avidly as I checked off names one by one. Despite the palpable tension in the air, I smirked. The more names Cedric recited, the closer we drew to an answer.
We’re finally going to have a lead.
I alone seemed to have total confidence in both my and Cedric’s memories. My smile only grew. Once he finished listing names, we moved on to describing the appearances and characteristics of the guests I hadn’t checked off. This would surely lead to someone we could question.
If we could just get the culprit to reveal how they did it, we’d be able to do something about Pride’s condition. If it was poison, there had to be an antidote. If the assailant was a Freesian guest—someone using their special power—we could capture them and make them deactivate the power.
I snapped out of my fantasies and asked the prince to pause. Then I told the maids outside to bring Prince Cedric tea to soothe his throat. Right now, he was our only link to the culprit and the truth behind Pride’s slumber. We couldn’t abuse him for information, as eager as we were for answers.
Prince Cedric resumed reciting names, and the maids arrived with four cups of tea about halfway through. I passed the prince a cup, as if I’d calculated the exact moment his throat would dry out. Prince Cedric accepted the cup readily before returning to his work. Then, at long last, he reached the end.
We’d narrowed down the list to the double digits, including guests who had escorted invitees. I flipped through the pages and smiled. Stale grinned as well, though he tried to hide the expression from Vest. We were on the verge of pinning down the culprit, and once we had that, the rest would be simple.
Freesia had methods of making people talk—methods more forceful than simple questionings. Stale grinned wickedly, as though imagining the ways the culprit would scream and cry as we coaxed the information out of them.
As if in answer to the glint in Stale’s eyes, I began, “In that case…”
My respect and gratitude for the royal prince of Cercis and that extraordinary memory of his welled up within me. At the same time, rage burned through my chest at the suspect we were narrowing in on.
“I shall now describe to you the appearances and characteristics of the remaining guests on this list.”