We went to find Alice so we could have dinner together, only to discover that she was already eating in Christina Fenelbia's room. She hadn't even bothered to check whether we'd eaten yet. How heartless.
"Sis Li, traitor."
"Ms. Eis! How did I become a traitor?!"
"Alice, why didn't you invite us to dinner?"
"I could tell all of you had a lot on your minds. I didn't want to disturb you. But... it looks like you've all worked things out."
I refused to accept Alice's excuse.
Then I turned to Christina Fenelbia and bowed my head apologetically.
"Miss Fenelbia, I'm truly sorry for causing you so much trouble. We'll pay you back for the room, so please don't worry."
"It's alright. It's only a small amount."
"Miss Tina, you're pretending."
Alice immediately saw through Christina's emotions, causing Christina to awkwardly avert her eyes.
So Alice was right.
Still... pretending?
Would someone from the Fenelbia family really care about a little money? The Fenelbia family was practically the most powerful noble house in Asrangari, second only to the royal family.
...Well, every family has its own problems. I shouldn't pry into someone else's affairs. Since Christina cared enough to hide it, I had to pay her back.
"Miss Fenelbia, how much do I owe you?"
"5 gold coins in total. That includes breakfast and dinner."
5 gold coins. Cheaper than I expected.
Then again, I had a single room, while Grace and Ethefelis shared a double room. Christina and Mira also shared a double room.
The meals included with the stay were probably determined by the room type, while the dinner Alice was eating had likely been ordered separately.
"What about Alice's meal?"
"I'll treat Miss Alice. After all, I'm asking for her help."
Christina was only helping us because of Alice.
To nobles, honor meant more than anything. Accepting someone's help without repaying the favor was considered disgraceful and shameless.
"...Alright."
After paying her back, I left the selfish Alice to finish her meal and headed to Grace and Ethefelis's room for dinner.
I asked one of the attendants to bring my dinner there as well, and I also ordered an extra serving for Ethefelis.
The only problem was...
"Alice, why are you here?"
"I know I was wrong for not inviting you to dinner, but don't look at me like that! None of you would tell me what happened. I didn't know what I was supposed to do..."
As Alice spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.
Grace immediately pulled her into a hug and gently stroked her head.
"There, there. Don't cry."
"Tell me what happened."
Alice looked at us with curiosity.
But every one of us instinctively looked away.
"..."
None of us knew how to explain it.
Or rather...
It was simply too embarrassing.
Then Alice shouted tearfully,
"You're still not telling me! You don't even think of me as your friend!"
She pushed Grace away, ran to the bed, and buried herself beneath the blanket.
...Sigh.
There was no helping it.
She genuinely thought we were shutting her out.
I really should tell her someday.
Just... after I prepared myself.
"We'll tell you when the time comes. For now, let's focus on dealing with the Phinto Powder."
"Right."
The moment she heard we'd tell her eventually, Alice happily poked her head out from under the blanket.
"Really?!"
"Really. By the way, what happened when you and Miss Fenelbia went to the police station earlier?"
I deliberately changed the subject before she could ask when we'd tell her.
"The chief didn't believe Miss Tina and refused to help."
"Miss Fenelbia is the daughter of a duke. The police chief actually refused to cooperate? She's also acting under the king's orders. Didn't she tell him that?"
"No."
"That's strange. She has a simple way to solve the problem immediately, yet she refuses to use it."
Grace was right.
She could have resolved everything simply by exercising her authority, yet she deliberately chose not to.
It was incredibly strange.
Why wasn't Christina using it?
...Did she have some other objective?
If so, we'd better resolve this case as quickly as possible and distance ourselves from Christina Fenelbia.
I turned toward Ethefelis.
"So, Ethefelis, did you find a secret passage?"
"I did. Behind the kitchen cabinet."
There really was one.
Alice looked at Ethefelis with sudden realization.
"So you weren't going to the restroom after all. You were searching for the secret entrance."
"Restroom?"
Ethefelis looked at me in confusion.
I gave her a thumbs-up.
"It was a good excuse, wasn't it?"
"No."
...Wasn't it?
Given the situation back then, could I really have come up with a better excuse?
<>
After Jacob's group left, Christina and Mira returned to their room.
Once Alice was gone, they finally began discussing private matters.
"Mira, how much did we spend today?"
"1 gold 11 silver 28 copper coins."
"...Sigh. That's quite a lot."
Christina let out a sigh.
To be honest, as the daughter of a duke, she normally wouldn't consider that expensive.
The catch was...
It was her own money.
Christina had come to this city under the king's orders, meaning every expense could be reimbursed by the crown.
However, for a certain reason, she insisted on paying for everything except the lodging herself. She also refused to invoke either the king's authority or the Fenelbia family's influence to force the police into cooperating.
That stubborn principle left her wondering how much longer she'd have to stay in this city.
"And how much more is this going to cost? It took us three days to get here, and we've already spent another three days in this city. We finally found a promising lead, yet the police chief still refuses to cooperate. If only he were here..."
"You mean Lord Bylett?"
"Yes. He'd definitely find a way to get us inside so we could search for the secret passage."
Christina sincerely wished that the young noble bearing the Bylett family name would suddenly appear in the city and devise a solution to the Phinto Powder case.
"Milady certainly thinks highly of Lord Bylett."
Mira smiled teasingly.
"Do you like him?"
Christina immediately answered with an expression of pure disgust.
"Don't be ridiculous. He's a walking nuisance. The only thing he's talented at is coming up with plans."
She made absolutely no effort to hide her disdain for Bylett's personality.
Mira, however, wasn't convinced.
"So... you're just being tsundere?"
Christina slowly turned her sharp, all-seeing gaze toward her maid and called her name in an icy voice.
"Mira."
The moment she saw that expression and heard that tone, Mira knew she had crossed the line.
She immediately dropped into a full dogeza.
"My deepest apologies! I overstepped!"
"Watch what you say from now on."
"Yes, milady!"
Satisfied that Mira had reflected on her mistake, Christina turned her gaze toward the night sky outside the window.
The mind that had earned her the title of the Brain of God was already working tirelessly, searching for a way to solve the Phinto Powder case.