Lita still couldn’t figure out what had happened.
First of all, setting aside the question of why she would throw away the Record Stone—after all, in her panic she had been carrying Promi while hastily pulling out both their stones and discarding them.
The Dream Demon’s true form had already been revealed, and there was no way to know whether Promi would be unconscious for a few seconds or a few days. Of course, the sooner they could leave, the better.
Although it was still locking the stable door after the Wolf had bolted, the moment Lita revealed her small wings, her identity had already been compromised; everything she did afterwards was simply to make her identity seem less suspicious.
Back to the main point—why did the other party take the Record Stone?
“Lita, are you even listening to me?”
Cecilia’s voice rang in Lita’s ear, pulling her back from her wandering thoughts.
“Sorry, Lady Cecilia, I wasn’t listening.” Lita honestly admitted her mistake.
Cecilia wasn’t angry, but instead patiently asked, “What were you thinking about?”
“I was thinking, if Promi’s Record Stone really was taken by someone, then that person must have known it existed, right? So what would they want with it? Is there something shameful recorded inside, or do they just want to know what happened?”
Lita voiced her thoughts directly, hoping Cecilia could guide her out of her confusion.
However, Cecilia didn’t answer. She simply looked Lita up and down, her gaze so intense that it made Lita’s skin crawl.
She hadn’t seen Cecilia look at her like that in a long time. That kind of stare felt like it was digging out everything she was thinking—it was the source of Lita’s fear of Cecilia.
“W-what is it?”
Cecilia spoke bluntly: “You’ve learned to think. I’m a little moved.”
What! I’ve always been able to think!
But even so, when Cecilia praised her, Lita didn’t feel so awkward. In fact, it filled her with a sense of accomplishment—though there was no time to savor it now.
Cecilia rubbed Lita’s head. “You’re right, but you’re only one step away from the correct answer.”
“What one last step?” Lita puffed out her cheeks, unable to keep up with Cecilia’s logic.
“If the person who picked up the Record Stone didn’t want others to know its contents, then there could only be one person who’d do that.” Cecilia stopped rubbing Lita’s head.
“W-who is it?” Lita hadn’t realized the seriousness of the problem yet.
“You,” Cecilia answered.
Lita felt a chill run down her spine, as if an icy current crawled up from her feet straight to the top of her head, freezing both her movements and her thoughts.
Even as Cecilia scratched her chin again, Lita didn’t even notice.
“The Record Stone only records what happens to you and Promi. Aside from the owner, the only other suspect is you.” Cecilia withdrew her hand from Lita’s chin.
“But when you came back, you only brought a Wolf, a Carapace, and a pile of broken Vines. Plus, you don’t have the ability to break magical spells, so you’re not the suspect.”
“So, the answer is your second guess—the person wanted to know what you two experienced. Now let me test you: when was Promi’s mark on the Record Stone erased?”
Cecilia posed a question, leaving Lita stammering for a long time with no answer.
“It happened while she was unconscious. If Promi could sense the Record Stone on the way back, there’d be no reason for her to hide that she’d marked it.”
Seeing that Lita couldn’t answer, Cecilia did it for her:
“For one, she needed to pass the test; for another, the contents of the Record Stone were crucial to the whole team. Unless retrieving it was impossible, or it would drag in others, she wouldn’t give up on it.”
“Lady Cecilia, how do you know all this?”
“Didn’t I say? She’s from the Royal Capital. Even if I’m not familiar with her, I know enough.” Cecilia replied.
Thinking things through really wasn’t Lita’s strength, but she didn’t have to—Cecilia had already laid the answer before her.
And it was the answer Lita needed most.
“Skilled in magic, able to sense the mark, find the Record Stone, and erase it; accompanied us, so knew Promi was unconscious and the Record Stone was gone from her body. Isn’t there only one person who fits?”
Exactly. Every word Cecilia said made sense, and all clues pointed to a single person.
The creator of the Record Stone—Magister Dorothy.
But, why would Dorothy do such a thing? Did she have an unavoidable motive?
When Lita thought of this, she realized she’d made a mistake.
In Momoka’s eyes, and just now in Cecilia’s, she herself had no reason to discard the Record Stone.
The important thing wasn’t whether Dorothy could do it, but why she would do it.
“All right, back to the main topic.” Cecilia cleared her throat. “Just now, I said I want you to personally deliver that Tail to Dorothy.”
Lita returned to her room, stuffed the Tail she’d acquired into a box, and set off directly.
Dorothy’s residence was rather remote, not a public Inn, more like a Guesthouse if Lita had to describe it.
She searched for a long time before finally finding the spot Cecilia had marked for her, hidden in a small corner, and knocked on the door.
With a creak, the door opened on its own.
So this was magic? How convenient.
Lita complained in her heart, walked down the straight corridor, and came to the room whose door also swung open for her.
Dorothy was seated at a desk in the room, several unsigned Record Stones laid out neatly on the table. Lita couldn’t tell if they were finished products or not.
“You’re here?” Dorothy lifted her eyelids and glanced at Lita, then stretched a hand out from under her robe and pointed at the table. “Just put it there.”
“Yes, Lady Dorothy.” Lita respectfully took the small box from her arms and set it on the table.
Dorothy didn’t even look at the box, just nodded slightly.
“Lady Dorothy, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait a moment.”
Called back by Dorothy, Lita slowed her steps and turned around.
“Lady Dorothy, is there anything you need me to tell Lady Cecilia?”
“Mm.” Dorothy grunted, “This Tail, where did it come from?”
Here it comes!
Just as Cecilia said it would.
That was exactly what Cecilia had instructed at the time.
“When you get there, you don’t have to do anything special. If she stops you, you can answer truthfully no matter what she asks—but remember, report every word she says to me as it is.
“But, there’s one exception: if she asks where the Tail came from, just make something up. You don’t have to convince her—just let her know you don’t want to tell her. No… here, answer like this…”
Lita steadied her footing and changed her stance: “It’s like this, Lady Dorothy. I picked it up.”
“Picked it up? Do you think Dream Demon Tails grow on the ground like grass?” Dorothy’s face darkened.
“No, I really did pick it up! I also picked up the Severed Leg of the Lord of the Night along with it. They fought each other and both got badly hurt—otherwise, how could I possibly get these things?”
Lita waved her hands frantically, embellishing the story of how she obtained the Holy Knight’s test proof—only the main characters and the setting were switched. But she really had picked up the test proof. Her storytelling was vivid and lively.
Previously, Lita had explained to Cecilia how she got the Carapace of the Lord of the Night—saying that a Dream Demon and the Lord of the Night had fought, both were badly hurt, and she’d just picked up what was left.
Cecilia had even worked that version into her plan, letting the late Sumili take Lita’s place in the story.
If she had to take the blame for Sumili, and get chased and stabbed by Momoka, why shouldn’t Sumili take the blame for her?
“And the Dream Demon?” Dorothy asked.
“Dead. Otherwise, how could I have gotten the Dream Demon’s Tail and body fluids? Things were urgent then, so I didn’t have time to explain everything to Promi before giving her the fluids.”
Full of holes—anyone could spot the impossibility if they just pieced together the timeline.
But this was exactly the effect Cecilia wanted.
The information Dorothy had and the information Cecilia knew were not the same, so Dorothy would have to piece together her knowledge with this new information.
No matter if Dorothy was colluding with Sumili or in touch with the insect tribe, she was bound to spot the loopholes in Lita’s story—loopholes only those with extraordinary information could recognize.
Thus, it was possible Dorothy would inadvertently reveal a fatal flaw.
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