“Are you sure Princess Flora hasn’t noticed his identity?” he asked.
“She didn’t care about him in the slightest back then. They barely had any chance to interact. Even I didn’t notice until yesterday.”
Although they had attended the same academy, they lived in different worlds. Stewart sneered.
“Hmm...”
Duke Gregory didn’t know how much Rio’s appearance and impression had changed since back then, so he could only accept those words at face value. However, he had his apprehensions.
The fact that the possibility cannot be entirely dismissed is rather dangerous...
That being said, he didn’t want Stewart to feel daunted by that possibility, so he purposefully chose not to point that out.
“Is there anyone else in the current Restoration who knew him before?” Duke Gregory asked.
“From the academy, there’s Queen Christina and Lady Roanna. And I think there was another female student who was in the same group.”
“If there are other people who know of Amakawa’s other identity, asking them to testify that he’s the same person is one definite method of proof.”
The more testimonies there were, the more trustworthy it would be.
“But Queen Christina is currently indebted to him. Princess Flora is smitten as well, and Roanna will always obey those two. If I asked them for help, they may crush our chance of exposing his sin in advance.”
“Hmm. So we need someone we can silence if we’re to seek assistance from others,” Duke Gregory said. “Come to think of it, you said there was someone he was close to back then situated around him now. Who might that be?”
“Celia Claire. She was a professor at the academy back then.”
“Oh, that woman. If I recall correctly, she currently lives at his mansion.”
“Yes. I’m almost certain she’s chosen to be with him despite his identity.”
“I see.”
If Haruto Amakawa was really Rio, that was a natural conclusion to make.
“Back then, he used his position as a student to take advantage of a kind teacher. Professor Celia is being deceived. She just doesn’t know his true nature...” Stewart growled bitterly, having respected Celia as his own teacher.
“If she’s staying silent despite knowing his past, that would count as assisting a criminal—an illegal matter that should be tried.”
“Are you suggesting we threaten her?”
“She’s a potential candidate. If the threat works, she’d be easy to manage as a witness,” Duke Gregory said with a shallow smile.
“I think the other female student would be easier to silence than Queen Christina or Princess Flora. And she doesn’t live with him, unlike Professor Celia...”
Unwilling to threaten the teacher he was indebted to, Stewart nominated Elise Brandt, the other student who had been on the scene, as a witness.
“Then we’ll consider that person a candidate too. It’s better to have more options whether we actually approach them for assistance or not. Is there anyone else from that time who knows of him?” Duke Gregory asked.
“He was isolated in the academy, and I don’t think he knew anyone outside... But I can’t be certain,” Stewart said hesitantly, unsure of his answer.
“Then maybe we can consider the others close to him as candidates.”
“What do you mean...?”
“For example, his little sister. A relative of his should naturally know about his past, no?”
“A little sister? As far as I know, the man named Rio didn’t have a sister...”
“Please don’t tell me you’ve got him mistaken for someone else at this point.”
Duke Gregory gave Stewart a dubious look, sending him into a fluster.
“O-Of course not! I’m pretty sure of it. There are just too many coincidences.”
How incompetent. We’re trying to prove whether those coincidences were inevitable or not.
They were trying to use those coincidences as the basis of their evidence, but in a way, that was nothing more than an assumption that abandoned all logical reasoning.
It was by no means easy to prove objective inevitability. Doing so could even require the use of dirty or high-handed methods. Duke Gregory looked down on Stewart harshly, wondering if he understood that.
“Well, it’s fine. Either way, in order to bring him down, we’ll need to make an attack eventually.”
In any case, it was Stewart who would handle the matter. All Duke Gregory had to do was encourage him to move for him.
“Right.”
“In fact, it might be better for you to just show up in front of him.”
“Why is that?”
“Wouldn’t you want to take another look at Amakawa’s face? You may find something new if you observe him with the knowledge of his other identity.”
“Good point...”
Now that he thought about it, Stewart had never paid close attention to Haruto Amakawa’s face before. Before censuring him, it would be best to confirm what he looked like at least once.
“The problem is how to get you near him. Princess Charlotte handles all the public relations of that mansion. It isn’t easy to get a meeting request granted.”
It wasn’t impossible to visit the mansion without an appointment, but if they weren’t friends with Rio, they would risk incurring Charlotte’s wrath.
There was significant meaning in the fact that a high-ranking royal was serving as the point of contact for a regular noble. They had built such a strong wall, even a duke like Gregory hesitated to visit unannounced without having a good reason.
“What do we do, then?”
“We have no choice but to wait for him to leave his mansion and make contact in some way. It will require monitoring movements at the mansion, but you can leave that to me.”
“Thank you.”
Since he left the mansion quite often, Rio was actually one of the residents who was easier to meet. It wouldn’t be that hard to track when he went out if Duke Gregory placed a few castle guards under his command nearby to watch the mansion.
“That aside, do you have a duty at the Restoration right now? I need you to be available to move as soon as he leaves the mansion.”
“I’m a knight of the Restoration right now, so I assist in the patrols of the castle. My assignment is the area around the guest house though...”
“In that case, I will arrange to have you transferred to the area around his mansion. I’ll also speak to the supervisor of that area to give you the freedom to move around. That way you’ll have an excuse to give your father, yes?”
“Y-Yes, I would appreciate that!”
With Duke Gregory’s cooperation, something that would have been difficult for Stewart to do without connections was easily made possible.
“Also, there’s one thing I’d like to ask of you...”
“What is it?”
“The Restoration’s uniform will stand out, so can you lend me Galarc’s uniform?” Stewart asked, looking down at his own uniform with a self-deprecating smirk.
Duke Gregory saw a glimpse of the inferiority complex Stewart had over his uniform and nodded with a knowing look.
“Very well. I will have that arranged,” he said.
“Thank you very much!”
Stewart thanked him happily for the umpteenth time that day.