Chapter 434 (1/2)
421 Magi Craft Meister
13 Stronghold Enhancement Arc
13-09 Explanation
The party sat around a large table. The Marquess sat at the head of the table with Jin to his left and Reinhardt to his right. Berthie sat next to Jin. Elsa sat next to Reinhardt. Saki and Karen sat across from the Marquess.
Reiko, Noir, Neon, Edgar, and Lisa stood behind their respective masters. Mine stood behind Elsa, alongside Edgar.
As soon as everyone settled down in their seats, the butler brought tea. It was a fragrant green tea.
Well, the letter delivered by the post rider didn’t mention any details. But would it be all right to assume your purpose of visiting is for my sympathy?”
“Yes, Marquess. That’s the main reason for our visit. In line with this, there’s a gift from Elsa.”
“Hmm, what is it?”
“Please take a look at this first.”
When Jin glanced over, Elsa took off the coat that Lisa was wearing.
“Oh ….”
The Marquess widened his eyes. Karen, the butler, and the servants who were there were also breathtaking.
“… Her name is Lisa. She’s an Automata I created.”
“My name is Lisa.”
Lisa bowed normally instead of with courtesy since she was a maiden Automata.
Everyone who saw her the first time had their eyes nailed to her gestures and appearance.
“… I created her to take care of her surroundings. Did you like it?”
Elsa spoke in a lower tone than usual. After all, her self-consciousness regarding how hard to deal with the Marquess had not been wiped out yet.
“Oh, oh, I like her! Her name is Lisa, you said? Are you giving this child to me?”
“Yes, if you like her.”
“Of course, I do! She’s cute.”
“Master, I’ll be in your care.”
“Lisa, do your best, okay?”
“Yes, Miss Creator.”
Thus, Lisa became an Automata of the Marquess’ family.
The Marquess took her hand and said,
“I’ll be in your care as well, Lisa.”
The Marquess realized that her hand was warm, so he asked Elsa about it.
“… Yes, Lisa’s body temperature is comparable to humans.”
“Oh, is that right?”
Karen raised her voice in astonishment. It was uncommon for Automatas to possess warm body temperature.
“Hmm, Elsa, you’ve become a really good Magi engineer …. Is it the result of becoming Jin’s apprentice?”
After sipping his tea, Jin decided to carry out the other matter at hand.
“Your Excellency, may I speak with you privately? I have something to report.”
“Hmm? … I understand. You guys, please leave the room until I call upon you.”
“Thank you very much.”
The butler and employees went out of the living room. All that remained were Jin, Reinhardt, Berthie, Elsa, Mine, Saki, Karen, and the Marquess.
“Is this okay?”
“Yes, thank you. … Then, I’ll start the report. I found the criminal who poisoned Your Excellency.”
“What? Even though the security knights of the empire haven’t been able to identify the culprit yet? Who was it?”
“It was Marcus Grinwald.”
Jin mentioned the conclusion first.
“Marcus … you said?!”
The Marquess’ face became grim.
“Yes. And Marcus was being manipulated by someone. These are the two points that have been clearly proven.”
“… How did you find out?”
“First, I thoroughly investigated Marcus’ room in Viscount Georg Randol’s residence. I found traces of arsenic in the liquor that you like. Some other documents confirmed the poisoning.”
Jin explained. He then held his tongue while observing the Marquess’ reaction.
With his eyes closed, the Marquess appeared to be thinking about something. It was Saki who broke the silence.
“J-jin, is that true? I know of Marcus. Did he really poison grandfather?”
“Lord Jin! If that were true, then wouldn’t Viscount Georg Randol be the mastermind? Unforgivable!”
Karen’s remark was the reaction that Jin and Elsa wanted to avoid the most. That was the reason why Jin investigated Marcus.
“… Karen, please calm down.”
As Jin was trying to explain in more detail, the Marquess stopped her. With his eyes still closed, he spoke of the past.
“… I know that the Viscount was very ambitious in advancing his career. It would be fine as long as he was doing it for the country. At least, I assumed so and treated it that way.”
Perhaps because of his age, the Marquess was calm.
“… The Viscount knew I wanted Elsa to be my wife, so he offered to arrange the engagement. The liquor he brought at the time was really delicious. So when I mentioned that to him, he started to send me the liquor regularly ….”
The Marquess opened his eyes after finishing his sentence.
“The one bringing the liquor to me was always Marcus Grinwald.”
“Regarding the liquor, do you have any left? Investigating it would be able to get more concrete proof.”
The Marquess shook his head at Jin’s remarks.