Chapter 14

I blinked quietly.

The investigator seemed dissatisfied. His gaze seemed to deepen with suspicion when our eyes met.

"What kind of work were you doing before you came to this city?"

I thought I answered that question well enough.

Although I had no intention of cooperating with the interrogation, I answered earnestly for the sake of the sergeant.

The sergeant must not get into trouble. He is my superior and my source of income.

"So, to summarize."

Tap, tap. The investigator's fingers tapping the table gradually sped up.

"Miss Daisy Packer is from the southern port city of Bluehaven, has a younger brother, and came to Midwinter to find a job, is that correct?"

Nod. It was the fake identity I created to work as a maid.

"Why did you specifically choose this city, given that the distance from the southern coast to Midwinter is not short?"

"Just because."

"Really nothing?"

"Nothing."

The investigator folded his arms and closed his eyes, as if deep in thought.

I wondered if this was the usual process when someone was accused of assault.

However, it felt like the focus of the questions was not on the assault itself but on me as a person.

Then I remembered what the investigator said when he first came in.

"Let me be blunt. We have found something unusual about your identity. It may be unpleasant, but we must address this issue."

The unusual aspect of my identity. So, they know.

'They know I'm a survivor from Queen's Island.'

But something felt off. If they knew my identity clearly, there would be no need to conduct the investigation this way. They could simply warn me, "Miss Berti, why are you using a false identity?"

"Ha. Miss Packer? Since you seem young and innocent, I'll give you a word of advice."

He seemed to be trying to reason with me.

"It's best to be honest and straightforward during this interrogation. I'm not trying to persuade you with sweet talk; it's for your own good."

As if he wanted to confirm it from my own mouth. That means...

'They are uncertain about my identity.'

He wasn't just interrogating me about the assault on Baron Fedegair.

Someone, anonymously, was using the investigator to dig into my identity, even going so far as to steal some military information.

"Confess your true identity."

Who could it be? Obviously, I had no way of knowing.

So, what can I do?

Kill him.

'No, no. I can't kill him. He's a civilian, not an assassin.'

Threaten him.

That seemed like a better option. Threatening him to make him talk or, conversely, to keep him quiet would make things easier. The sergeant would be less troubled too.

"Don't think too deeply. You're young and have a lot of potential, but you could get held back by unnecessary trouble. If you try to hide more, things could get worse. You might even be treated unfairly."

"..."

My mind changed a bit.

Because the investigator genuinely seemed to be concerned about my situation. It felt wrong to treat him like the Merchant Guild members.

'What should I do?'

Should I hit him less and threaten him?

There was something I needed to confirm.

"Who is it?"

"Hmm?"

"Who is watching me?"

The investigator's expression hardened as if he had been caught off guard.

Click.

The door, which had been firmly closed, opened smoothly. It was opened so roughly that it almost hit the wall. Beyond the door stood a massive figure, like another wall.

The newcomer was very tall, lean but somehow intimidating, with a noticeable height. The next thing I noticed was a stiffly swaying straw hat... What? A straw hat? In an interrogation room in a big city?

Before I could question it, my eyes met his melancholic golden eyes, which flashed with a bronze hue.

Involuntarily, I said his name.

"Roo?"

As if to say, "Now you know," his long, elegant eyebrows arched and then fell.

"Daisy Packer."

Roo called my name indifferently and gestured for me to follow.

He was holding a paper bag filled with vegetables and dairy products.

Before I could ask how he got here, Roo suddenly started walking.

'Should I follow?'

The decision was quick. I stood up and followed Roo before the investigator could stop me. The investigator, who had been sitting there blankly, finally came to his senses and followed us.

"Hey, wait! Who are you? This is not a place where outsiders can enter freely. Leave immediately!"

The straight shirt and dark gray vest in front of me swayed slowly.

Wearing a straw hat with a neat and elegant suit, the imbalance was striking, making Roo's eccentricity even more prominent.

"Senior!"

A young man suddenly appeared and stopped the investigator.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. There's no need to get angry. The matter has been resolved while you were investigating. It's out of our hands now."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Just listen for a moment..."

I could hear their whispers clearly.

"Baron Fedegair has withdrawn his complaint."

"What?"

"The withdrawal notice just arrived from his secretary. Isn't it funny? The man who was so aggressive about arresting you has now flipped like a pancake..."

"That's not the issue! What about the higher-ups? The investigation into Daisy Packer's identity was ordered from above, separate from the case..."

The argument between the two men dragged on.

I pretended not to hear and continued walking out of the police station.

The warm spring sunset blessed my newly regained freedom after half a day.

'The higher-ups watching me.'

The power to paralyze the police and the information-gathering ability to secretly extract military information.

It's rare for someone to possess both.

'The higher-ups must be a noble.'

An unknown noble seems to have an interest in me. And the investigator was not confident about my identity.

This means they are not investigating me because I am a survivor from Queen's Island, but they discovered this information during the investigation.

The person must have known me after I started working at the Weatherwood mansion.

When all this information is put together, there is only one person who fits the description of the 'higher-ups' mentioned by the investigator.

'The client.'

The one who keeps sending assassins to the Weatherwood family and now wants to kill me. It makes the most sense.

At first, I suspected Roo, but if it were him, he would have tortured me to get the truth. That would have been easier.

But if the client is a noble, the list of suspects narrows significantly.

Huff.

Lost in thought, I snapped my head up at a sudden scolding.

In front of the police station, a dirty cart was parked. It looked like a cart used to transport fertilizer from the fields.

"Get in."

Roo, who had climbed onto the cart and sat on the hay, gestured for me to follow. Surprisingly, the driver was the butler assassin.

He tipped his hat slightly and winked, which was amusing.

Are you now a coachman? You're quite versatile.

A passing child suddenly shouted.

"Wow! A country cart! It's so dirty!"

"Child, don't get too close. You might catch a disease."

Before more attention was drawn, I hopped onto the cart. Leaning back, I saw Roo holding out the paper bag to me.

"Shouldn't you have killed and buried them? Then things wouldn't have been so troublesome."

With a murderous and irritated tone.

I buried my head in the paper bag as if admitting my mistake. The fresh earthy smell and high-quality potatoes and carrots came into view.

You said you were gone all morning. Did you really go out of town to get these crops...?

Gently lifting my head, I saw Roo's face with his eyes closed.

"What about the sergeant?"

"We sent our dear sergeant ahead. He had a place to visit on the way out. He's quite busy."

I stared at Roo's angelically beautiful face and was certain.

You did something.

There's no way Baron Fedegair would withdraw his complaint without your intervention, and there's no way you would come to get me at the perfect time.

But what did you do?

"Staring like that will burn a hole in my face."

Ignoring his casual remark, I asked carefully.

"Did you kill the baron?"

His eyelids lifted, revealing his golden eyes. Looking into them, I whispered seriously.

"Did you?"

"You shouldn't say things like that, Miss Daisy. It's easy to be misunderstood."

Roo leaned back against the cart and smiled.

"In such situations, it's common to say, 'You have helped me. I will never forget this day as long as I live,' or 'I will become your slave as a token of gratitude,' or 'Let me lick your feet, Master.'"

Would I say something like that?