The scene of the assassination was the flower courtyard in the Royal Palace. As opposed to calling it a flower courtyard, it’d be more accurate to call it a flower garden next to the inner court. I met her there the first time. Yes, I was referring to the one whose name I don’t even want to recall. There was a pond there. While it was set up for Mommy Elizabeth, I rarely ever saw her go there.
The Valkyries cordoned the flower courtyard. However, owing to my identity, I still managed to persuade them to let me in. The poor official died by the side of the pond. He didn’t die from drowning. Actually, not entirely due to drowning would be more precise. He was stabbed from behind then tripped into the pond where he drowned. There were still dark red stains on the surface of the water. He must’ve bled to death.
I examined his corpse, which was temporarily placed aside. He was fat, but not the water tank size type of fat. At most, he was a middle-aged man who was living in a tad too much luxury. You could tell that he had offered all of his intelligence to Empress Elizabeth from his glossy forehead. He wore a shocked look at the time of his death, which was a sign that he never expected to be assassinated.
The things he had on him had been placed aside. There were keys, accessories and a letter that had been open due to being soaked in water. Under normal circumstances, I would consider it an important clue; unfortunately, I recognised that it was the royal family’s seal. It appeared to be nothing more than the invitation from the royal family. The rest was cash and his family crest. He didn’t have much cash on him. His gold coins were still wet, as a matter of fact. His family crest was perfectly fine, which meant that we could eliminate the possibility of him being killed for money or a personal vendetta.
“Does he have any grudges with anyone or debts or did something happen at work? For instance, corruption and the such?”
“Sorry, but I do not know about any of that.”
“I guess that’s fair…”
I sighed. The Valkyries in the garden were only in charge of watching over the corpse, not investigations, after all. I really wanted to know the fellow’s identity. There were countless possible reasons to kill someone. Oftentimes, it was to silence people or for money. The official might’ve committed corrupt deeds, and someone caught wind of it, which eventually led to him being silenced. Otherwise, they might’ve eyed his status or money. All of those possibilities had to be explored.
There was only so much that his corpse could tell me. He only had so much on him; or rather, I think that he had slightly too little on him. Not necessarily in the sense that he didn’t have much in terms of items, but… The copy of the invitation was placed in his pocket. He kept a wallet and keys in one pocket, while his accessories were worn on his body.
I touched his tiny breast pocket only to find nothing. The tiny pocket was as ordinary as they came. It seemed to be there for superfluous purposes as opposed to practical purposes. I didn’t think you could even fit a napkin in there.
The Valkyries certainly were experts at getting rid of corpses. There were no noticeable marks or things left behind.
I heard someone approaching from behind. The Valkyries drew their swords one after another and aimed them in the direction of the approaching group. I glanced over to see it was the pope. He came over with a few people, all wearing stern looks. Logically speaking, it shouldn’t have had anything to do with the old church. The incident took place in the Royal Palace, and the victim was a finance official who served Her Majesty. I doubted it had anything to do with the church.
“Your Majesty.”
The pope didn’t mind the Valkyries’ blades. I pressed my hand down on their blades. I looked to the pope, who approached with an emotional expression and big strides. He desperately walked over to me in a similar fashion to a rabbit. Baffled, I asked, “What’s the matter, Pope? What do you want? This doesn’t have anything to do with you? Or does it?”
“In reality, not that much.”
The pope was panting a little. The holy hoary emblem at his chest shone. He looked up to looked at me with a nervous expression. In a serious tone, he explained, “Your Majesty, strictly speaking, it is not entirely unrelated to us because this official was one of our loyal believers. He provided us with lots of assistance and was one of our members. I believe it was the new church that assassinated him, which is why I specifically came here to have a look.”
“The finance official died in the Royal Palace, and the person who he devotes his loyalty to is Her Majesty. Her Majesty needs his corpse. Nobody is to come near it without her orders,” asserted the Valkyries.
The Valkyries showed no signs of backing down. I looked at them and then the pope. The pope looked to be in a dilemma and anxious.
The finance official was their main source of financing and their loyal believer, yet was assassinated during a critical time. If you put anyone else in the pope’s shoes, they’d want to investigate the case, too, as they’d fear cover ups and sheltering. If it was an ordinary assassination, the pope wouldn’t concern himself with it. In this case, however, if the new church assassinated someone from the old church in the Royal Palace grounds, then there was the possibility that it was a collaborated effort between the royal family and the new church. That was the pope’s concern.
I extended my hand out: “Let him take a look. Let them examine his corpse. It’ll be fine. If we don’t allow them to examine it, it will suggest that we’re suspects.”
“Your Majesty, I must preface that…”
“I know that you’re loyal to Her Majesty, but I’m her son. If you refuse me, I’ll go consult her now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty…” The Valkyries moved aside.
The pope gratefully nodded. I stood next to him and solemnly said, “I swear on the Rosvenor name that the royal family isn’t involved with this assassination. We are completely ignorant on the matter. The Valkyries are currently investigating and hunting the culprit, so you don’t need to worry. We will not shelter anyone. Assassinating someone is an insult to Empress Elizabeth. We will not forgive anyone involved.”
“I feel reassured, then.”
The pope lightly knelt down next to the corpse and quietly prayed for his soul. I stood next to him and watched him sadly touch the dead’s belongings and pocket.
The pope touched the dead’s pocket then stood up with a look of horror. He backed off and raised his voice: “That’s weird…”
“Hmm?” Confused, I asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s gone… it’s gone… the holy hoary emblem… is gone!!!”
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