Octavia nodded, silent. It was one of the reasons why her father had been reluctant to give her a societal debut. Falsifying one’s lineage in front of the queen, who was herself an angel, was unforgivable. As a result, one’s blood must be tested before one could greet her. The device used to perform the test had been created by the empire and lent to the angels by Octavia’s ancestors. It was not so powerful as to deserve the name of ‘Heirloom.’ All it could do was display the relationship between the blood offered to it and the nobles in its register. But Octavia’s father, who denied having fathered her, had not wished for her to receive the test.
“According to what I’ve heard, the marquis, who had come to the party as a mere servant, sustained a scratch from that device by complete chance. The results said that he was the son of the late marquis, and a commotion erupted among the partygoers.”
“So that’s why he inherited the title of marquis at such a young age...”
“Whatever the sequence of events might have been, we couldn’t just leave him alone, now that we had determined he was a marquis.”
If he had been left alone, it would have been tantamount to ignoring the test they had always used to determine the lineage of the nobles. The angels were not typically interested in human disputes of power, but they would not forgive any act that could undermine their own authority. Whatever those around him might have thought about it, Raven the servant boy had to be elevated—to become Marquis Osvard.
“Then I suppose,” Octavia began slowly, “he’s suffered quite a bit. Or has he?”
“I should say not. I tend to doubt that his detection was really an accident. Although I suppose he did lose his family in that great fire.”
However one looked at it, it didn’t seem like an enjoyable past. Octavia resolved to ask Raven himself about it. But there was still a small doubt in her heart.
Given who we’re talking about, isn’t there a chance that he fooled the test?
He possessed the emergency activation key that could command the Imperial Heirlooms. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that he could fool a mere device.
“Well, regardless, in our judgment, he conducts himself with all the refinement of someone born to such a noble status. He also seems to have managed his land well, as we have heard no complaints from the people living there. Young ladies around his age have compared him to a figure from an old folk tale, calling him ‘Cinderella Boy.’” Eliza paused. “Lady Octavia? Is something the matter?”
“Ah, no. Sorry. I was just thinking something over.”
“You need not worry. You have a marquis working as your assistant! He must be awfully fond of you.”
“I keep telling you, it’s not like that.” But with the way Eliza was beaming at her, Octavia decided to give up on correcting the misunderstanding. If they carried on like this, they’d never be able to proceed with the matter at hand. “Enough about him, though, really. Let’s get back on topic. I know that making any contact with the queen would be dangerous, but it would also be folly to withdraw at this point. I think I will accept the queen’s request.”
At Octavia’s declaration, Eliza’s expression became serious again. “So you will succeed the Earl of Reine?”
“I may, or I may not. However...” Octavia recalled something that Raven had said after she had dragged him from the audience chamber and was about to caution him for his behavior.
I thought that running away was the Phantom Thief’s prerogative.
The only reason that Octavia hadn’t grabbed Raven by the front of his shirt right then and delivered him to the police was because she hadn’t had a comeback. She didn’t care about the peerage or the mansion, that was true. But when she’d heard about how her grandmother had fought for the title of Earl of Reine, she’d realized that she was attempting to throw away a thing her grandmother had worked incredibly hard to build.
More than anything, Raven’s eyes had asked her an important question. Are you a detective or a fugitive?
Now, sitting here with Eliza, Octavia gazed at the flickering flame of a lamp hanging on the wall.
“I already received the same request from you,” declared Octavia. “As a detective, I wish to be of service.”
After looking at Octavia carefully for a moment, Eliza nodded. “Understood. In that case, please do. You are free to make that choice.”
“I’m still against it!” cried Hat.
“Don’t worry. If I fail, I’ll simply flee to the ends of the earth,” Octavia replied to both of them, laughing. In fact, if she used the Imperial Heirlooms, it would probably be possible to evade capture. Whether or not that could truly be called freedom was another matter entirely.
“Our problem is that we have far too little information,” Eliza went on. “My uncle has an advantage in that respect. Since we last discussed the case, I have continued my own investigation, but as I feared, no information worthy of note has emerged. If this case were so simple, I wouldn’t have brought it to you in the first place, Lady Octavia.”
“I suppose you’re right. But don’t worry. Looking at this photograph a second time made me realize something.”
“What is it?”
“Look at the doll in the photograph.” Octavia did not point at the doll the girl was holding, but at the antique doll lying on the floor. Eliza, now with fresh eyes, immediately looked up at the mantle above the fireplace. Seeing that Eliza had noticed the same thing, Octavia nodded.
“It looks just like Ann, doesn’t it?”
“Y-Yes. It does. Exactly like her. Could it be that the doll was stored in the place shown in this picture?”
“Look at the painting on the wall,” Octavia said. “I don’t know how often you read the newspaper, but that painting has been the subject of some discussion lately.”
Eliza frowned. It appeared that she didn’t recognize it. But, although Eliza had rather simple interests herself, she did receive Octavia’s reports. She said, “Could this be the painting from that investigation you carried out the other day? The one that was said to have been painted with the paint set from the Imperial Heirlooms?”
“The photograph is small, so it’s difficult to tell, but it certainly looks very similar. It could be that the paint set prefers to have people paint this image in particular.”
“Surely you aren’t saying that all the objects in this photograph are Imperial Heirlooms...?”
“That, or imitations of them.”