Chapter 93

Let's get started! Here's the second half of the short, concentrated series!

Hartis, who had been completely ignoring the ongoing condemnation, finally looked up from the tattered dress she had been examining with a magnifying glass on the table.

"Shin-kun, Fried-kun, I've been looking closely at the cut marks on this dress with a magnifying glass, and I noticed that about two finger-widths from the tip of the scissors, there's a small nick. It seems to have been caused by accidentally cutting something hard, like a pin. Can't we identify whose scissors these are?"

"That's great! Let's check it out right here! Fried-kun, you have no objections, right?"

"Yeah, then you go get Celia's sewing tools from her locker. I'll be there to supervise."

"Celia, can you give me the key?"

"Sure."

Celia handed the locker key to Shin. The two of them went to the girls' locker room, and Shin opened the locker while Fried watched to confirm that Shin took out Celia's sewing box.

"...Peeping into girls' lockers, Fried-kun, you're such a low-class guy."

"You might switch them, you know. If you're going to say that, you're just as guilty."

"I'm Celia's fiancé, so it's not a big deal for me."

With that, the two of them returned to the party venue and, in front of everyone, took out the scissors from Celia's sewing box and showed them to everyone.

"Take a look. These are Celia's scissors. There's no nick anywhere. You can see they were used carefully and kept in good condition. This dress wasn't cut with Celia's scissors."

A sigh of relief escaped from the audience, and Fried looked disappointed.

"It wasn't Lins who cut it either!"

Powell ran over, shouting, carrying a sewing box under his arm, and slammed it on the table. He had a smug look on his face.

"...How did you get that, Powell-kun?"

Shin asked, and Powell replied, "From Lins' locker."

"How did you open it?"

"I broke it."

Everyone in the venue was speechless, and Lins screamed and almost fainted. Fried quickly caught her.

"...How stupid can you be? That's already a crime."

"Look! These are Lins' scissors! There's no nick anywhere!"

Powell showed the scissors from the sewing box, and Hartis examined them with a magnifying glass.

"...There is one."

"Eh?"

"There's a nick, about two finger-widths from the tip."

"Eh? Eh? Eh?"

Shocked, Powell's shoulders slumped as Picard commented, "Powell-kun, are you nearsighted...?"

Well, it's a bit unfair for Picard to say that, thought Shin.

Hartis inserted the scissors' blade into the cut on the dress and made the same cut mark.

"See, it matches perfectly. The dress was cut with Lins' scissors."

Fried, holding Lins who was about to faint, strained to speak.

"Is that even evidence?"

"You're the one who brought it up as evidence, Fried-kun."

Shin replied, exasperated.

"You guys are dirty! You must have planned this with Hartis beforehand to frame Lins!"

"That's impossible. You've had this dress all along, right? There's no way anyone could have known about the cut marks until Hartis-kun found them just now. How could you have prepared it in advance? Stop making baseless accusations."

"You're saying it's all Lins' own doing!"

Powell also shouted, but Shin remained calm.

"No one said that. Think about it, who brought the scissors? I never said anything like that, did I?"

Though he didn't say it, all the graduates' eyes were white with shock.

"Lins was also doused with water! You did that too!"

"Ah, about that, we already know who the culprit is. The student council has already investigated it."

Shin's statement shocked both Fried and Powell.

"Bullying in the school is a serious issue. So, we immediately investigated when we heard the report. We have solid evidence, though we haven't made it public yet."

"Why didn't you make it public?"

"To protect the reputation of a specific female student."

"Are you kidding me! You're still covering for Celia even now!"

"...Do you want to embarrass yourself further?"

Shin's low, angry voice, which no one had ever heard before, silenced the venue.

"There's not a single piece of evidence that proves Celia is the culprit. All the evidence points to Lins' own doing. The ones trying to frame Celia with false accusations are you guys. If you don't mind the consequences, we can continue. Hartis-kun, bring it over."

Hartis brought over a plaster cast, which he explained.

"After Lins was doused with water, Shin-kun and I investigated the school. We didn't find any water marks on the ground around the school, as the testimony suggested it was dropped from the second floor. However, if someone was doused with water, it means someone at the school had filled a bucket or something with water. So, we checked the water sources in the school. As you know, hand pumps have a limit to the height they can pump water, so there are no water sources on the second floor."

He then flipped the plaster cast over.

"These are the footprints left at the water source in the courtyard next to the gym. We took a plaster cast of them and preserved them. As you know, shoes are custom-made by craftsmen, one by one, by hand. The shape, size, and even the width of the stitching on the soles are all different. Moreover, shoes wear down and change shape over time, and each person's wear pattern is unique, influenced by their walking habits, weight, and build. We collected these under the supervision of the principal, and the principal's signature is on the plaster cast. Please take a look."

The graduates in the venue leaned in to examine the footprints.

"Thank you, Hartis-kun. By comparing the footprints, we can clearly identify whose shoes they were. Celia, can you take off your shoes?"

Celia took off her shoes as instructed, and Shin, kneeling at her feet, placed the cast over her foot.

"...Celia, your feet are surprisingly big."

"...Yes."

Celia blushed, embarrassed.

"You can see, right? These aren't Celia's footprints. The size is different. This means the person who left these footprints is a girl with smaller feet, doesn't it?"

"Yes..."

Fried was shocked. Indeed, the footprints were smaller than Celia's feet.

"Then... could it be..."

Fried's voice was distorted with pain, and Hartis replied.

"Yes, we thoroughly investigated. We started with Lins' shoes. These are Lins' footprints. They match perfectly with the leather shoes Lins wore at school. The size, stitching, and wear pattern are all the same. We borrowed the shoes Lins left in the drama club room when she changed into her evening gown."

Hartis flipped over the girl's shoes and placed them next to the plaster cast on the table.

"Just because that doesn't mean Lins doused herself with water! She might have just walked near the water source!"

"Strange, but the area around the hand pump in the courtyard was uniformly wet."

"The water source is supposed to be wet, right?!"

Fried retorted, not understanding.

"On the contrary, water sources are designed not to get wet. The stone blocks around the water drop area are designed to drain water. The area around the hand pump shouldn't get wet every time it's used. The fact that the area was wet and footprints were left is strange. The ground was wet around the footprints, which the principal also confirmed. It's as if the person who left the footprints doused themselves with water from a bucket there."

"Just because that doesn't mean Lins is the culprit..."

"That's why I didn't say Lins doused herself with water, and to protect her reputation, the student council didn't pursue it. If you hadn't brought it up, this incident would have been forgotten."

Fried fell silent, realizing that the student council had done the right thing by not pursuing the bullying incident once the culprit was identified.

Lins was now lying on the floor, pretending to be unconscious, twitching. Fried stood up, wanting to say something but unable to, his face turning blue.

A female student who had been in the audience approached Fried with a scary look and suddenly slapped him hard across the face!

"EEEEEEEEEE!"

Even Shin was surprised by this turn of events!

The first-year girl who slapped Fried was none other than Mirene Bistrius, the fiancée of Shin's younger brother, Ren!

"I saw everything from the beginning, brother."

"M-Mirene..."

"Your obsession with your sister has been a long-standing issue, but this time, I can't take it anymore! Stop disgracing yourself by trying to disinherit the prince I respect, Shin-sama!"

"...What do you mean, Mirene-san?"

"This cool, aloof guy who pretends to be sophisticated is actually my brother!"

"EEEEEEEEEE!"

Shin had no idea about this!

"It's not surprising you didn't know. When he was a child, my brother, the third son, was adopted into the Black Marquis family, which had no male heirs. Embarrassingly, this man is my real brother!"

"That's how it was..."

Shin understood that his brother's cool demeanor and authoritative attitude might have been due to his background as a duke's son. His somewhat rebellious nature might also have been influenced by this.

"My brother always used to say that he should have been the one to be the queen. After Shin-sama became engaged to Celia-sama and I to Ren-sama, he only thought about pulling Shin-sama off the throne..."

"Ah, I get it! Fried-kun, you've always hated me, haven't you? That's why!"

"It's because... it's because you didn't choose Mirene!"

Shin thought, "That's a bit much to say." They were supposed to have a tea party with the duchess, and Mirene was the second or third choice if Celia didn't work out.

SLAP! A second slap landed on Fried's cheek!

"Who asked you to do that?!"

"When you were five, you said you wanted to become a princess and marry a prince!"

"Stop taking a five-year-old's fairy tale dreams seriously!!"

SLAP! A third slap hit Fried!

"Stop! Stop, Mirene!"

Shin's younger brother, the second prince, Ren, rushed over to hold Mirene's hand.

"Sorry, brother. I have no intention of taking your place as the crown prince. I know best how great you are, having seen it up close. I think it's best to leave the country's affairs to you. I'm happy just to assist you. Please don't misunderstand."

Ren gently embraced the still struggling Mirene to calm her down. Shin was relieved to see that Ren and Mirene's relationship seemed to be good.

"Brother! Stupid brother, I deeply apologize!"

Mirene also knelt and bowed deeply, showing the utmost respect.

"Neither I nor Ren-sama have ever thought of such a grand scheme! We have always seen how much Shin-sama and Celia-sama have done for this country, and we fully understand that they are the most suitable to be the king and queen!"

Ren also knelt next to Mirene and bowed deeply.

Shin and Celia were at a loss, seeing Ren and Mirene bow so deeply.

"...I understand, Ren, Mirene-san. Anything can happen, so if something happens to me, I'll count on you two to continue as you have been."

"Then!"

"Yes, of course, we'll let this go. Let's just say nothing happened. We'll consider this a simple sibling quarrel and move on."

"Thank you!!"

The two bowed even deeper.

"Fried-kun, and Powell-kun."

Shin called out to the two, who were now deflated.

"Can you leave now? I want to continue the party."

"...Alright."

"I'm sorry."

Fried and Powell, heads hanging low, started to leave the venue.

"Wait."

Shin called them back.

"You forgot something."

Shin pointed to Lins, who was still lying on the floor, pretending to be unconscious. Powell brought a stretcher from the venue, and he and Fried placed Lins on it.

"Let's go."

"Alright!"

The two carried the stretcher with Lins out of the venue. Shin couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu, thinking, "I've seen this before..."

"...The heroine being carried out on a stretcher at both the opening ceremony and the graduation party, what's up with that?"

Shin couldn't help but laugh at Celia's comment.

Clapping his hands, Shin called out, "Alright! Let's continue the party!" The audience cheered, and Jack, munching on his food, watched with a smile. Silfa, serving Jack's plate, teased him.

"Jack-sama, you didn't get to do anything at all. I thought you'd definitely say something."

"Munch... Swallow. Shin would handle it on his own, of course. Don't underestimate a viscount's survival skills."

"...What are those survival skills of a viscount?" Silfa asked, puzzled.

"Listen, a viscount like us is the perfect target for higher nobles to vent their frustrations. Whether you side with the winners or the losers, you'll end up losing in the end. In situations like this, it's best to stay hidden and quiet!"

"Jack-sama, you've grown!"

"No, Shin has grown. He'll make a great king. He's become so impressive that I can boast about being his childhood friend."

"We can't afford for him not to. And, Jack-sama, you too."

Silfa hugged Jack from behind, pressing her well-developed assets against his neck.

If someone asked me what genre of novels I've read the most in my life, the answer would be "mystery novels."

It turned out to be more of an investigation than a mystery, though.

"I Will Not Break My Engagement" is now available from Ichijinsha.

Additional unpublished perspectives and episodes, numerous illustrations, and special short stories for store purchases.

"Book-Off, Honya Club, Manga King Club, and others (excluding some stores)."

Currently being adapted into a manga!

(Design for the in-store POP)

See you in the next volume! (If it gets published...)