Raven said nothing.
“If we can but overcome this, you will be able to leave this place. I will make it so. You will be able to leave here as yourself.” Gripping the iron bars, Octavia peered unblinkingly into Raven’s eyes. “So please, do not flee from anyone but me.”
Octavia was sure that when he had said farewell, that was what he had meant. He had been planning to flee. He had thought that he would have to, after setting off the music box.
All the other witnesses had been so relieved that the music box had not run amok—sealed as it was by the power of the queen—that they hadn’t realized the significance of what had happened. The music box had been placed in Raven’s hands unexpectedly, and without thinking he had activated the music box simply while trying to protect himself.
Prince Henry, too, had realized that the impossible had happened. And he knew what experiments he had carried out in the past. But Octavia knew now that there was another—someone besides her who could safely activate an Imperial Heirloom.
The Phantom Thief.
A successful test subject... It would, of course, have been insensitive to ask what experiment had been successful. Raven had once told her that he wanted to be free. And she remembered Crow laughing—laughing at how the angels wanted so badly to use the Imperial Heirlooms.
The man she saw through the bars right now had been born and reared for that purpose.
“That’s all I came to say.”
“Are you really sure that’s all? Is there nothing else you’d like to ask me?” Raven queried Octavia.
Octavia was incredulous. “If I did ask, would you answer me honestly? I mean, you?”
“So there’s no trust between us then. What do you intend to do with me?”
“How like a criminal to ask that. But unfortunately, in this case, you were falsely accused. So I’m getting you out of here. Isn’t that obvious?”
“I don’t quite take your meaning. You’re a detective, aren’t you? So shouldn’t you expose the truth?”
“It’s not the job of a detective to make the truth known to the world.” Octavia smiled at Raven, who looked back at her suspiciously. “I’m happy being the only one to know the truth about you.”
Now that she’d said it, it felt right, and Octavia was relieved. She was set on uncovering this man’s secret, but she really had no interest in making it public knowledge. She just couldn’t let things end with him fooling her. That was all.
With a sigh of affirmation to herself, Octavia opened her eyes. “So this is what my grandmother meant when she said that I must try being fooled by a bad man. I see, I see. This is what that feels like.”
“Surely you’re not talking about your views on marriage under these circumstances?”
“If you’re really such a bad man, then don’t disappoint by fleeing from such pitiful threats as this.” Taking a step back, she gazed at Raven, who looked troubled somehow. These bars are in the way, she thought. She couldn’t observe him to her satisfaction. Therefore, she would have to resolve this matter at once.
“I’m going to free you, all right? And things will be as they were again. And then I will catch you.”
“Can you really call that freedom? I have my doubts.”
“You can’t have freedom without restrictions, or so my grandmother always said.” Laughing to herself, Octavia was about to turn away when Raven grasped the iron bars.
“Just how do you intend to rescue me?”
“That’s a secret. A detective wouldn’t tip her hand so easily.” With a wave of her hand, Octavia started to descend the staircase. Raven looked as if he still wanted to say something but couldn’t put it into words. To have a secret, like in a conjuring act, was not the exclusive purview of the Phantom Thief. Everyone had their own secrets.
Even detectives and the queens of fallen kingdoms.
Whenever Octavia walked away, she did so without hesitation and with an air of gallantry. Raven waited for the sound of her heels on the steps to fade into the distance; when it finally did, he sat back down in his chair somewhat roughly.
I didn’t think she would catch on quite this quickly. Raven had planned to make his escape as early as tonight, but this posed a problem. Now he thought that he would like to wait and see what she would do.
“What to do?” Raven muttered to himself, but no answer came. He did not mind being figured out by Octavia. Though her methods might have seemed crude, she paid close attention to her surroundings, and her instincts were good. It had been a lot of fun to watch her fret as she came to realize that he was Crow, the Phantom Thief, but couldn’t find any evidence to support her conclusion. Octavia was sharp enough that he found he had to dedicate himself to a game of cat and mouse with her, instead of simply working to expose her secret—that she was the successor to the imperial throne.
But thinking that he had been targeted by Prince Henry simply because of who Octavia was made Raven want to throw up. A swift escape would be the best course of action. Claiming the title of Marquis Osvard had merely been the outcome of winning a bet, so it was not as if he felt particularly attached to it. And it was only out of a desire to feel the liberation of using his own powers freely—and to toy with the royal family that had so mercilessly tampered with him—that he had started to play the role of Crow, the Phantom Thief.
Looking back on his life up until now, it would have been perfectly understandable if he had turned to thoughts of revenge, but he had never felt that urge. It had all been a game to him.
Come to think of it, Raven didn’t really know who he was or where he was from. Therefore he could be whoever he wanted to be and go wherever he wanted to go. Anything he acquired could be thrown away. That was his strength. And he thought it was a fair price to pay for playing dangerous games.
The only thing he had to do was ensure that the emergency activation key was not taken from him, but most likely there was no one capable of doing so. They had not managed it at the laboratory where he had been a test subject. That had been precisely what made him a success, in fact.