Clues do not point to people.
People use clues to point to people.
Forget that distinction, and an investigation becomes a hunt.
And noble society loves a hunt.
Especially when the prey is already dressed in white.
The corridor outside the infirmary quickly turned cold.
Eloise Berhardt’s first statement had not yet been officially disclosed.
But wherever three or more people gathered, a secret was no longer a secret.
The door had been shut, Clarisse held the record, and Arsene had wiped all expression from his face.
That alone was enough for people to imagine plenty.
And imagination always turns toward the easiest target.
Liana Bell.
A Saint Candidate.
The name closest to the Cathedral Wing.
The person most easily associated with white.
Liana said nothing.
She stood beside the infirmary door, her fingers interlocked.
Her fingertips had gone white.
Eveline was the first to burst out.
"If anyone says anything, I’ll speak first."
"No."
Liana answered immediately.
Eveline hesitated.
"Why?"
"Because we agreed not to speak in my place."
"I’m not trying to speak in your place, I just..."
Eveline swallowed the rest of her words.
Her face showed that she had realized where she had been headed.
She wanted to protect Liana.
But that desire could smother Liana’s words before they were spoken.
Clenching her teeth, Eveline said,
"I am angry. And this time, I will hold it in."
Clarisse wrote it down with perfect ease.
"Lady Eveline Rosette: suppressing protective impulse."
"You really write down everything."
"It is an important change."
Eveline looked dissatisfied, but said no more.
Liana looked at me.
No, she tried to look at me, then stopped.
Instead, she turned toward where the notice board had been.
There was no notice board in the infirmary corridor.
But Liana seemed to remember the four lines.
She spoke.
"I would like to request assistance."
Clarisse immediately asked,
"The person and the scope."
Liana turned her head toward me.
"The person is Instructor Leon Cart. The scope is... I would like you to determine whether what I am about to say is intended to prove myself, or to offer myself up as a sacrifice."
I stopped breathing for a moment.
Liana understood herself.
She knew what impulse she was feeling right now.
She felt wronged, so she wanted to explain herself.
Before anyone could suspect her, she wanted to lay everything out first.
She wanted them to inspect her room, her belongings, her body, even her honor.
Because she thought that would make her innocent.
But that was not proof of innocence.
It was a scene of sacrifice.
I said,
"I will determine that. First, tell me exactly what you were going to say."
Liana pressed her lips together.
"I was going to ask for my formal attire and room to be inspected in full. I was going to say that, because I am a Saint Candidate, I should be examined more strictly."
Eveline’s face immediately crumpled.
"What kind of..."
Seria spoke quietly.
"Wait."
Eveline stopped.
Liana waited for my answer.
I answered briefly.
"That is closer to a sacrifice than proof."
Liana’s shoulders trembled ever so slightly.
"I thought so."
"Innocence must be confirmed by procedure. A method in which a person first offers up herself cannot endure for long. Once you offer yourself up once, they will demand that you offer up more the next time."
Clarisse wrote.
"Leon Cart: notes risk of voluntary excessive verification becoming sacrificial."
Arsene watched us quietly.
He did not intervene.
He probably wanted to.
But Eloise had just told him,
“Please do not use my words to accuse someone first.”
Arsene could not easily break that promise.
At least, not yet.
Liana raised her head.
"Then what can I say?"
Before answering, I looked at Clarisse.
This was partly for the Archives Office to decide.
Clarisse considered it for a moment.
"If evidence connected to the Cathedral Wing is found, a Cathedral Wing candidate may request an official comparison procedure rather than offer an arbitrary explanation."
Liana asked,
"An official comparison procedure?"
"Yes. Not a personal declaration of innocence, but a procedure that compares the evidence against the actual specifications of the formal attire."
Good.
Just as expected of the Archives Office.
Do not inspect people. Compare objects.
Do not strip away someone’s honor. Examine the structure.
Liana slowly nodded.
"I would like to request that procedure."
Clarisse wrote.
"Miss Liana Bell: withdraws voluntary excessive verification. Requests official formal-attire comparison procedure."
A system window appeared.
[Liana Bell: Successfully suppressed sacrificial impulse]
[Shieldification resistance rate increased]
[Response to Cathedral Wing disguise evidence: proceduralized]
Good.
For now, we had avoided trying to stop the flames with our bare hands.
Now we needed to find water.
The question was who could conduct that comparison.
The Cathedral Wing knew Cathedral Wing attire.
But if the Cathedral Wing conducted the comparison, people would suspect bias.
The Archives Office knew the rules.
But it had limits when it came to reading a garment’s structure, tailoring, and embroidery differences on site.
To distinguish even noble ceremonial dress, we needed someone more specialized.
Clarisse appeared to have reached the same conclusion.
"We need consultation on attire and ceremonial specifications."
Arsene said,
"House Berhardt will send someone."
"Denied."
Clarisse cut him off at once.
Arsene’s brow shifted very slightly.
"The reason?"
"Consultation from the victim’s house may serve as reference material, but it cannot guarantee the independence of the initial comparison."
Good.
Arsene did not smile.
Instead, he quietly lowered his head.
"That is reasonable."
His expression was not at all that of someone who found it reasonable.
Clarisse turned a page on her writing board.
"Among the Academy’s preliminary candidates, there is someone qualified to advise on attire specifications. The social preliminary class. The Count’s House of Carmion."
At that moment, one very unwelcome name surfaced in my mind.
It couldn’t be.
Please, let it not be.
Clarisse said,
"I will summon Lady Adela Carmion."
Ah.
Of course it was.
A system window appeared before my eyes.
[Major Character Detected]
[Adela Carmion]
[Original Story Act 2 Villainess Candidate]
[Specialty: ceremonial attire, house crests, forgery detection, social warfare design]
[Danger Route: Fake Dress Incident / expulsion from high society / Academy destruction chain]
The fourth.
I cursed very quietly in my head.
I did not do so aloud.
There was a chance Eveline would hear it and repeat it.
Adela Carmion.
The villainess of high society who appeared in Act 2 of the original story.
Her weapons were neither a sword, magic, nor venomous words.
Clothes.
Invitations.
Colors.
Crests.
Etiquette.
With a single piece of cloth, she could turn someone from a noble into a clown.
And in the end, she became embroiled in the fake dress incident she had created and was expelled from high society.
That was the kind of person we needed right now.
I truly hated it, but we needed her.
We did not have to wait long.
Not long after being summoned, Adela Carmion appeared in the corridor.
Her first impression was vivid.
A deep navy dress.
Sleeves with almost no unnecessary ornamentation.
A single slender silver pin at her neckline.
Her hair was swept up flawlessly, and her steps were quiet.
Her gaze swept over people like that of someone taking their measurements.
She bowed to Clarisse.
"Adela Carmion. A candidate of the social preliminary class. I received a request to advise on attire specifications."
Her voice was calm.
Put kindly, it was precise. Put less kindly, it lacked human warmth.
She looked us over once.
Eveline’s crumpled handkerchief.
Liana’s white sleeve.
Seria’s pale lips.
My worn teacher’s coat.
Adela’s gaze stopped on my coat.
"Instructor."
"Yes."
"Is that coat intentional, or neglect?"
Eveline inhaled sharply.
The corner of Seria’s mouth twitched dangerously.
Liana’s eyes widened.
I said,
"It is a budget issue."
Adela considered that for a moment, then nodded.
"Then it is better than neglect. Neglect is a sin, whereas an insufficient budget is a structural problem."
Eveline muttered,
"I don’t like her."
Adela immediately looked at Eveline.
"I like Lady Rosette’s handkerchief. However, if you grip it like that, the embroidery thread will snap within three minutes. Do not resolve your anger in the palm of your hand. It is expensive."
Eveline dropped the handkerchief.
Seria finally gave a tiny laugh.
This time, I did not stop her either.
That was less a venomous remark than an accident.
Clarisse brought the situation back in order.
"Lady Carmion. In Lady Eloise Berhardt’s first statement, the following clues were identified: white sleeves, silver embroidery, resemblance to Cathedral Wing attire, and fastening in the opposite direction. We need a comparison with Cathedral Wing attire."
Adela’s expression changed ever so slightly.
Interest.
Cold, but unmistakable interest.
"If the fastening direction was reversed, then it was not Cathedral Wing attire."
Fast.
So fast that several people could not react immediately.
Arsene asked,
"Please explain."
Adela looked at Arsene.
Etiquette made her lower her head, but not her eyes.
"Cathedral Wing attire fastens from left to right. The reason is simple. It is so as not to interfere with the motion of holding the holy symbol in the right hand and receiving the oath document with the left. Reverse fastening can cause the sleeve to fall open during a rite, and is therefore prohibited."
Clarisse wrote.
"Reverse fastening on Cathedral Wing attire impossible. Prohibited due to ritual movements."
A little breath returned to Liana’s face.
But Adela promptly looked at her.
"Miss Bell. It is too early to be relieved."
Liana stiffened again.
"Yes."
"The culprit may be someone who does not properly know Cathedral Wing attire, or someone who knows it perfectly and deliberately got it wrong. The latter is worse. Incorrect clues are easy to use to create suspicion."
Good.
Accurate.
And cold.
Adela looked at Liana’s sleeve.
"May I raise your arm?"
Liana looked to Clarisse.
Clarisse said,
"It is permitted within the scope of formal-attire comparison. Physical contact requires the candidate’s consent."
Liana nodded.
"I permit it."
With the tips of her fingers, Adela lifted the edge of Liana’s sleeve only slightly.
She truly touched only the clothes.
She did not touch the person.
"Miss Bell’s attire is not the official Cathedral Wing candidate uniform. It is a Saint Candidate observation uniform. The sleeves are longer, and the thread is platinum rather than silver. If she had carried the tea, there is a high chance that the end of her sleeve would have touched the inside of the cup. There are no stains."
Liana looked at her own sleeve.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. And frankly, this outfit is unsuitable for a crime. It is too bright, too long, and too expensive."
Eveline murmured,
"Are there clothes suitable for crimes, too?"
Adela answered at once.
"There are. Dark colors, short sleeves, few buttons, and fabric that does not easily retain washing records. Lady Rosette’s training uniform is closer to that category."
"What?"
"That does not mean Lady Rosette is the culprit. I was only discussing the clothing’s function."
Eveline was rendered speechless.
Seria turned her head away entirely this time.
She was trying to hide her laughter.
Without wavering, Clarisse wrote,
"Miss Bell’s attire: structurally inconsistent with the statement’s clues. Possibility of disguise remains separate."
This time, Adela moved her fingers through the air.
As if she were unfolding an invisible pattern.
"White sleeves, silver embroidery, resemblance to the Cathedral Wing, reverse fastening. There are three possible candidates."
Everyone fell silent.
"First, a theatrical prop. It is made to resemble Cathedral Wing attire onstage, but is not used in actual rites."
Clarisse wrote.
"Theatrical prop."
"Second, a mock uniform for ceremonial education. To avoid damaging the actual attire, the fastening direction and number of embroidered details are made somewhat different."
"Mock uniform for ceremonial education."
"Third."
Adela’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"A forged uniform hastily copied from attire reflected in a mirror."
The entire corridor went quiet.
That statement immediately caught my attention.
A mirror.
Reflected attire.
That was why the fastening direction was reversed.
Someone had copied it not after seeing the real attire in person, but from a picture or a reflection in a mirror.
Or they had deliberately made it appear that way.
Adela said,
"Someone who knows clothes does not get the fastening wrong. Someone who does not know clothes gets the embroidery wrong. But these clues show the fastening is wrong while the embroidery appears correct. It is strange."
Arsene asked quietly,
"What does that mean?"
"It may have been made by someone who knows a little about clothing, to look as though it was made by someone who knows very little about clothing."
Adela casually dropped a bombshell.
Clarisse’s pen moved swiftly.
"Possibility of deliberate disguise production. Creator possesses at least intermediate knowledge of attire."
A system window appeared.
[New Clue Interpretation: Reverse fastening may not be a simple mistake]
[Risk of direct suspicion against Liana Bell decreased]
[Cathedral Wing disguise frame remains]
[Investigation of those with clothing knowledge required]
Good.
Some of the fire clinging to Liana had fallen away.
But it had not gone out.
It had moved to different kindling.
Seria quietly asked,
"Lady Carmion. Then what is the first thing we need to confirm now?"
Adela looked at Seria.
"Not the sleeves. The patterns."
"The patterns?"
"Yes. Finished clothing is difficult to hide, but a pattern is just a sheet of paper. We need to determine who saw the sleeve design for Cathedral Wing attire, who had access to the mock-uniform cutting room, and who borrowed white costumes from the theatrical prop room."
Clarisse wrote.
"Shift in investigation target: pattern accessors rather than wearers."
That was important.
If we searched people to find the wearer, rumors would get there first.
If we searched for those who accessed the patterns, records would get there first.
Liana let out a very soft breath.
"Thank you."
Adela looked at Liana.
"Do not thank me yet. Miss Bell has not been entirely removed from the line of suspicion. You have merely changed from good prey to bad prey."
Eveline flared up at once.
"Do you have to say it like that?"
Adela looked at Eveline.
"Do you need pleasant words, or useful words?"
"Can’t you do both?"
Adela paused for a moment.
"That is an advanced technique."
Eveline looked at me as though she could not believe this.
It was the look of someone asking, What is with her?
I did not answer.
Because I was thinking the same thing.
Adela Carmion.
As expected, she was not easy to deal with.
But we needed her right now.
And somehow, this world kept placing the villainess candidates I decided I needed right in front of me.
A system window appeared again.
[Villainess Candidate 4/4 Contacted]
[Adela Carmion: enters the incident’s main axis through attire consultation]
[Warning]
[Adela Carmion structurally reads other people’s flaws.]
[If neglected, she may enter the social warfare ruin route.]
The fourth.
Four private tutoring students.
None of them had officially become my disciples yet.
But the system already seemed to see it that way.
I sighed deeply to myself.
Adela looked at Clarisse.
"We need to compare the records for the prop room, the ceremonial education room, and Cathedral Wing attire storage. And if possible, it must be done today."
Clarisse asked,
"The reason?"
"Even if the fabric disappears, loose threads remain. But loose threads disappear when someone cleans. The limit is until the cleaning staff arrives."
Accurate.
Clarisse’s eyes gleamed ever so slightly.
Those were the kind of words an Archives Office assistant would appreciate.
Then an Archives Office assistant came running from the end of the corridor.
Out of breath, he handed Clarisse a folded sheet of paper.
"Assistant. This was found beneath the notice board in the central corridor."
Clarisse unfolded the paper.
Instinctively, I tried not to read it.
But the first line had been written too large.
Cathedral Wing disguise sleeve confirmed.
Demand investigation of candidate Liana Bell.
Liana’s face went white.
Eveline took a step forward, then stopped.
Seria pressed her lips together.
Adela narrowed her eyes as she looked at the paper.
Clarisse checked the bottom of the sheet.
Then she said,
"There is a time stamp."
Arsene asked,
"When was it written?"
Clarisse’s voice lowered.
"Before Lady Eloise Berhardt’s first statement began."
The air in the corridor froze.
Before the first statement began.
Yet the paper said, “Cathedral Wing disguise sleeve.”
Before Eloise spoke, no one should have known that clue.
Adela said very quietly,
"Then this is not a rumor. It is an advance notice."
A system window appeared.
[New Event: The Rumor Written First]
[Possibility of prior preparation rather than evidence leak]
[Attempt to forcibly ignite Liana Bell’s shieldification route]
I looked at the paper.
Then I recalled the four lines on the notice board.
No one speaks in another person’s place.
An unwanted conversation may be stopped.
Protection cannot be used as a reason to erase the wishes of the person concerned.
A request to stop cannot erase a review.
Good rules protect people.
But someone had pasted a sheet beneath the very notice board bearing those rules—a sheet intended to turn someone into prey.
Clothes cannot lie for long.
But people prepare their lies.
Long in advance.
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