Ashton’s face screwed up. He stumbled over to a nearby wall and leaned against it. “This is why,” he growled, “I can’t stand those bloody angels!”
Raven put in, “In that case, you’ve done very well to become a police inspector, haven’t you?”
“Shut it, you! Ah, bugger it all. Now I feel a right idiot for being so wary, wondering what on earth was going on. I’m just here trying to do an honest job. I just wanted to catch Crow, the Phantom Thief.” However rough around the edges he was, Ashton really did his job seriously.
Octavia thought for a while, then said, “About that, Ashton. As far as you can tell, do the items Crow has targeted up until now—or else already stolen—have anything in common?”
“Anything in common? The owners, that sort of thing?”
Raven’s eyes widened, but soon enough, his customary smile had returned. Nor did he ask any questions. Right before his eyes, Octavia nodded confidently.
Ashton, righting his posture, shook his head. “Nah. When I was assigned the case, I rifled through all the files we had from the investigation, but the owners couldn’t be more different. Nor were they acquainted with each other. My first guess is always a personal grudge, and I investigate accordingly, so there’s no doubt on that account. Incidentally, the types of items he targets also appear to be all over the place. The only clear common thread seems to be that he’s targeting Demonic Heirlooms.”
“I see. In that case, have you ever seen this girl before?”
“Huh? Is this to do with the queen’s request you mentioned a moment ago?” asked Ashton. “Oi, no, wait! Are you sure you can show me that? If I see it, won’t I get drawn into your whole dispu—”
Octavia thrust the photograph under Ashton’s nose as he tried to back away. She knew there was a chance that Ashton would notice what else was shown in the photograph, but she didn’t much care. After all, they were both pursuing the same Phantom Thief; she had begun to feel a budding camaraderie with him.
Ashton cowered. “W-With the picture this close, I won’t be able to see much more than her fa—” Suddenly his eyes widened. It was plain that he had noticed something.
“Have you noticed something? If so, I’d like you to tell me.”
“No,” he stumbled, “nothing, really—”
“However much you investigate, it will be futile, Octavia.” Suddenly, from around a corner, a voice called Octavia’s name. As the speaker approached, flanked by two men in black suits, Octavia blinked.
“Edward.”
She had only called him by his name, but Edward raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue. “There’s nothing to be done about your lack of decorum, is there? You are to address me as ‘Your Highness.’”
“Ah, sorry. I just can’t seem to shake this reluctance to address you respectfully...”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Anyway, what are you doing here?” Octavia went on, ignoring him. “Are you hoping to catch Crow, the Phantom Thief?” Thinking that he might have noticed something, Octavia probed him judiciously.
Edward only snorted. “Surely it’s only natural that I would want to keep an eye on you.”
Ashton made an extremely irritated face. Raven covered his mouth with his hand, as if he were trying to stifle laughter.
Still smiling herself, Octavia took her time in seeking confirmation. “Is that all?”
“Who do you think you’re speaking to?”
“Well, if that’s all, then fine. Suit yourself.”
“I am not here at my leisure, either. But my victory is already as good as decided, since you won’t be able to find that girl.”
“What does that mean?”
Hearing the change in Octavia’s tone of voice, Edward let out an audacious laugh. “If we were to find the girl first, you wouldn’t be able to. Even a child could follow such simple reasoning.”
“You’re not telling me that you’ve already found the girl, are you? It hasn’t even been three days since the audience!”
“We are in the Kingdom of Angelus. And I am a prince of the royal family of Angelus. Let me counter your question. What made you think that I couldn’t find her?”
Even so, it would have been impossible to find the girl in such a short span of time—unless, that was, one had known of her identity and whereabouts from the very start.
Hat cried, “Don’t tell me this ends with us finding out that uncle of his was harboring the girl this whole time!”
Octavia had the same fear as Hat. If that were the case, she would have to rethink everything, starting with her hypothesis that the girl had some connection to Crow, the Phantom Thief.
“All you can do is struggle in vain,” said Edward. “I’ll amuse myself by watching you struggle and by disposing of any scoundrels who might be lurking about.” With a last furtive glance at Raven, Edward walked past Octavia’s party and left.
When they could no longer see Edward and his men, Ashton inquired of Raven, “Does that prince have it in for you or something?”
“Yes, though all I did was say hello to his fiancée recently. How frightful! This is why I can’t stand vir—”
“Let’s go, Raven! Ashton, please guide us.” Octavia raised her voice to drown out that word that was best left unspoken.
Ashton goggled at her for a moment, but he didn’t seem to want to explore the matter any further. He shrugged, then walked toward the far end of the corridor that Edward had entered from.
They were shown to a large exhibition hall near the rear of the art museum. Sitting forlornly atop the glass display stand in the center of the room was the music box. Standing in front of it, Ashton murmured, “There are a number of Demonic Heirlooms on display in the Royal Museum of Art, though their powers have been sealed by the queen. This music box is one of ’em.”
Just like the map from the train. Sometimes given as gifts to nobles, the Demonic Heirlooms had become fairly scattered throughout the kingdom. Since she had come to the Royal Capital, Octavia had learned that they were popular as works of art. Many people wanted to own a piece of history, apparently.
In most cases, the Heirlooms were still strictly tracked, so if Octavia had carelessly tried to register one she would have found herself charged with burglary. Therefore, unless one of them was obviously running amok, Hat had ruled that they should not take action. Though the queen’s seal only rendered them dormant, as long as they were not activated—in short, as long as no one tried to use them—they were safe to be around.