The night before the Memory Stone was to be reclaimed.
After hearing my suggestion, Rita couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
“Lady Cecilia, do we really have to make such a scene with this?”
Cecilia retorted, “Your Record Stone is already lost, and I said before—whoever brings me a Dream Eater’s tail can pass the assessment directly. It just so happens that you have one in your hands; isn’t that a bit too much of a coincidence?”
Rita didn’t know what to do with her hands, waving them in the air for a long time. Although her meaning was eventually conveyed to Cecilia, the way she expressed herself was still a confused mess.
“Even so… couldn’t we just forge a Record Stone? Or, to make it simpler, I’ve already accomplished something this impressive; if you just let me pass directly, no one would object, right? Besides, a lot of people have used the back door to pass…”
“If there’s already a way to pass the assessment directly, then why bother with the back door?” Cecilia questioned again, leaving Rita speechless.
What troubled Rita was the possibility that something about the three Dream Eaters might be exposed. Although that night, she had shifted all the blame onto Valfis and Cecilia believed it, letting this matter pass was obviously the best outcome.
Otherwise, if a single thread unraveled, her identity would no longer be hidden.
Cecilia wasn’t aware of Rita’s inner turmoil; she had her own considerations.
Assassination, riot, Siren, Dream Eater—had this series of incidents really come to an end?
And after so much effort, was their goal really to take her life?
That didn’t seem likely. All these clues together were like a twisted, ill-fitting puzzle. There was a shape, but the core pieces just wouldn’t fit together.
As if the most crucial piece was missing.
As if some mastermind was contentedly lurking in the shadows.
She’d specifically told Rita not to spread the news of the Dream Eater’s death, all to avoid alerting the enemy and to make the most of the opportunity at hand.
And Rita losing her Record Stone, plus conveniently having the tail of a Dream Eater involved in the plot, was simply a gift from the heavens.
Cecilia spoke earnestly, “Rita, this isn’t about showing off. You’re indeed the one who obtained the Dream Eater’s tail. You just need to say what you’re supposed to say and do what you’re supposed to do. That’s enough.”
Cecilia left half her thoughts unspoken.
Everything else, she would confirm with her own eyes.
She wasn’t withholding from Rita because she doubted her character; if Rita were truly untrustworthy, word would have already spread throughout the city.
She was only worried that if Rita knew her real intentions, she might slip up inadvertently.
At least for now, there was no flaw to be found.
As soon as Rita brought out the Dream Eater’s tail, Cecilia noticed that Dorothea, seated beside her, froze for a split second.
Excellent—her bait had drawn in the fish she wanted.
Whether it was a big catch or just a false alarm, Cecilia couldn’t say yet.
But if it was a big catch, reeling in too fast would only snap the line and let it get away.
When Dorothea got up and walked over to Rita, everyone’s attention was focused on the tail and ignored Dorothea herself.
But Cecilia kept her gaze on Dorothea’s every move, until Dorothea gritted her teeth and spoke:
“It’s true, Rita qualifies to pass this assessment.”
Although Dorothea seemed to have drawn a line under the matter, her gaze never left the Dream Eater’s tail lying in the box.
Now was Cecilia’s chance to strike.
“Rita, you’ve passed the assessment. Bring me that tail later,” Cecilia instructed. Everyone knew this procedure was just a formality, but Cecilia carried it out flawlessly.
Dorothea watched as Rita closed the box and took it back to the examinees’ seats.
Her reaction did not escape Cecilia’s notice.
Seeing the desire in Dorothea’s eyes, Cecilia deliberately waited until Rita was settled in her seat before casually asking:
“Lady Dorothea, you seem quite interested in this tail?”
Dorothea turned and replied, “Your Highness, Dream Eater tails are extremely rare. As a mage, of course I’m interested in such a superior material.”
Cecilia nodded slightly. “It’s of no use to me. In that case, let me gift it to Lady Dorothea.”
Dorothea’s long lashes flickered, and a strange look finally showed in her eyes.
It wasn’t the joy of obtaining a rare treasure, nor was it greed. Aside from her obvious eagerness, Cecilia even detected a hint of relief.
But those subtle emotions vanished in an instant as Dorothea quickly put on a mask of flustered decorum.
“Your Highness, it’s not right to take what’s dear to another.”
A polite refusal, but it was no different from her accepting Cecilia’s gift.
“In your hands, Lady Dorothea, it may truly be put to use.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness. Then I will accept.”
“I’ll have someone send it to you later. For now, let’s continue with today’s procedures.”
Though they were to continue, all the Record Stones had already been handed in. There shouldn’t be anything left to do, right?
The only thing left to consider was how Promy would pass the assessment.
While Rita was pondering this, Promy had already risen and walked to the front.
“Respected examiner, my Record Stone, like Rita’s, was lost during the riot. In the past few days, I’ve returned to the scene to search for it…”
This guy!
Rita’s heart skipped a beat. She knew full well how unlikely it was that Promy would find it, yet cold sweat still beaded at her temples.
Luckily, no one was watching her at that moment. Otherwise, anyone would have seen how her expression had darkened.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to retrieve the Record Stone.”
Phew, thank goodness. What a relief.
“Promy, your bravery during this assessment is known to all. Slaying a Broodmother and a Night Commander—such feats are rare even among the Holy Knights.”
Everyone already knew that Promy and Rita had both lost their Record Stones, and now Cecilia stood up again, surely to give Promy a way out.
“Even without the Record Stone as evidence, everyone here will vouch for you. We won’t let mere formality rob us of a future loyal knight. There’s no need to worry; no one can take away the honor that’s rightfully yours.”
This was even more straightforward than Rita’s case. She might as well have said he could advance directly, and no one would object.
It was all thunder and no rain.
Promy placed a hand over his heart once more. “Thank you for your magnanimity. In fact, there’s one more thing: to be safe, I set a tracking spell on my Record Stone. But for some reason, that magic was erased.”
Rita was startled again.
What? She’d never heard of that!
She’d simply discarded the Record Stone. If she’d known it had some strange spell on it, she would have destroyed it outright!
Her heart pounding wildly, she listened as Promy continued.
“At first I thought it was a matter of distance, but when I rushed back to the scene, I realized that wasn’t it. I’m almost certain someone found my Record Stone and erased the mark. But I can’t guess what their motive was.”
With those words, several eyes immediately turned to Rita, though only instinctively. She didn’t sense any real suspicion in those glances.
“It couldn’t be Rita. She lost her own Record Stone too. I think someone else must have stolen it to erase or investigate something,” Momoka analyzed to Arber.
“Exactly. Rita’s a victim too. If she was behind this, it’d be too flashy—there’s no need for her to lose her own stone and pass the assessment in such a roundabout way,” Arber nodded.
He didn’t know that Rita’s Dream Eater tail was genuine, assuming it was all an act between Cecilia and Rita, so his reasoning was fair.
Johnson chimed in from the side, “Besides, Rita and Promy killed the Broodmother and the Night Commander together. Rita even brought back a Night Commander’s carapace. Seeing how battered they looked, there’s no way it was Rita’s doing.”
“So, it must’ve been that Dream Eater we encountered. Though it’s possible someone else did it, I still think the Dream Eater is the most likely culprit,” Momoka continued to deduce.
“Why do you think that?” Arber asked.
“Because there are some things in there we shouldn’t have seen. Maybe info about the Insectoid camp, or other secrets that happened in between—anyway, it must be something important for someone.”
All their reasoning was based on missing information, but it was basically correct. Still, no one could imagine that Rita’s real aim was to hide her Dream Eater identity, so she remained above suspicion.
At least for now.
Only Rita knew—whoever picked up that stone, their goal must have been to access the information on it.
And if anyone did, her identity could never be kept secret.
This time, the roles were completely reversed.
The enemy is hidden in the dark, and we stand exposed in the light.