She Who Became Immortal

The Spade Castle and its surrounding castle town form what is known as a fortress city.

Geographically, it is located on the western edge of the kingdom, closest to the beastmen’s territory within Louisse, and also at the point where the Demon Forest extends northward.

For the beastmen to directly invade, they would need to cross the forest, and because the demon territory isn’t very deep, there isn’t much need to be wary of a demonic invasion. Thus, this region exists primarily to assert, “This is the Kingdom of Louisse,” and that’s what the Spade territory is.

The Spade Castle was planned and constructed with a strong emphasis on being a 'fortress' from the very beginning. It’s not just a fortress city; the very structure of the city excels at defense. To date, there has been no history of invasion, but the place was built with the anticipation of beastmen attacks.

In such a place, in the very center of the castle, in the courtyard—there lies a corpse.

To enter the courtyard, one must pass through the castle corridors, and there is no direct way from outside the castle into the courtyard. The courtyard, with an area large enough to be a small garden, contains a few small buildings used for storing firewood and such, and a training ground for the lord’s children. It is not a narrow space, but neither is it vast.

In the middle of the flower bed in the garden, where white flowers are blooming, there is a corpse.

The corpse of an adult male.

Judging from his clothes, he is likely of the noble class, not a commoner.

He lies there, buried in the soft soil of the flower bed, in a strange posture like an abandoned doll.

The external injuries—many lacerations as if he were mauled by a beast.

"Do you understand what this means, Captain of the Mage Corps?"

A middle-aged man, presumably the captain of the knights who preserved the scene, spoke. Regalo couldn’t recall his name but knew that he wasn’t well-liked.

"As much as I can tell, having just seen the scene," Regalo replied.

"You have quite the privileged life, strolling in during the afternoon. If you weren’t a mage corps member, I’d have punched you and thrown you into the nearest water body."

He glared at Regalo. There was no sarcasm in his words, just irritation at Regalo’s alcohol smell.

"My apologies. After all, I was off duty. And you are…?"

"Torton Legaciel, Vice-Captain of the Second Squad of the Spade Knights. We’ve met several times, Mage Corps Vice-Captain Regalo."

"Perhaps I wasn’t drinking then."

"I’ve heard you’re quite capable. We can’t determine if magic was used. But for the Mage of ‘Blast Pressure,’ a little alcohol shouldn’t be a problem."

"I hope I can meet your expectations."

With a casual shrug, Regalo focused on the corpse in the flower bed. Torton did the same, frowning.

It seemed more like the body had been dumped there rather than the man being killed on the spot.

An adult male, seemingly of noble rank, with lacerations covering his body that looked like they were inflicted by a beast’s claws. Yet, there were no bloodstains around the corpse. It didn’t appear that he was attacked by a beast here.

Moreover, Regalo had never heard of any beasts in Spade Castle that could maul a person.

"What do you think, Regalo?"

Torton asked, devoid of sarcasm or malice.

Of course, Regalo was already probing for magic traces. If any magic had been used, there would be residual traces of magical energy… but he felt nothing.

There were no traces indicating that the body was hidden by magic and then revealed.

"There’s no sign of the body being hidden and then the concealment spell being lifted."

Regalo continued his observations out loud.

"The possibility of teleportation magic being used is also slim, or rather, non-existent. If such a powerful magic was used, someone would have noticed, even if I didn’t. We can rule out that possibility."

So, what does that leave?

Regalo continued to ponder.

"Then what about other types of magic? There are no traces of concealment or any other magic. If that's the case, there's a possibility that someone from elsewhere targeted this place and dumped the corpse here. Sir Knight, was there anyone who witnessed the 'appearance' of this corpse?"

It was a confirmation.

If it were known how the corpse 'appeared,' Regalo would have been summoned in a different manner. The situation wouldn’t be so ambiguous.

"Well… As of now, here's what we've confirmed."

Even as he exhaled a boozy breath, Regalo calmly continued his analysis. Torton, somewhat subdued, provided additional explanations.

The discovery of the corpse occurred just a moment ago.

It was still before the noon bell—soon it would ring. The resident gardener had come to the flower bed as usual and encountered the corpse.

The lord's son and daughter had visited the flower bed this morning, but they hadn’t seen the corpse. If they had, there would have been a commotion. Since they were accompanied by guards and maids, it can be concluded that the possibility of overlooking the body is nil.

There were no traces of magic suggesting that the body had been concealed.

"So... it means that the corpse was brought here between the time the lord's son visited the courtyard and when the gardener discovered it."

A rather straightforward conclusion was reached.

Torton seemed to have no objections as he simply nodded.

"However… Regalo, who, for what purpose, and how was 'this' brought here? That's the issue."

Moreover, it had been brought in without being seen by anyone.

"And… who exactly is 'this'? From the appearance, he doesn’t seem to be a commoner… How could something like this happen?"

The cheap alcohol that had been clouding his mind was now completely gone, and Regalo had to deal with the numerous question marks emerging from the situation of the corpse.

Presumably a nobleman, the corpse showed numerous lacerations as if attacked by a beast.

A corpse had 'appeared' in the castle courtyard.

Yet, there were no magical traces.

No witnesses.

There was too limited a time for someone to bring in the corpse.

Why?

How?

In what way?

When?

Who?

For what purpose?

Among these, the only thing that could be barely narrowed down was 'when.'

But why was 'this' killed in the first place?

Nothing was known.

At least, not at the moment.

"Before I can conclusively say that information is—"

Before he could assert that information was lacking, another person burst in.

Wearing light armor indicating he was from outside the castle, likely a knight. His face showed the same urgency as the mage who had rushed into Regalo's room.

The knight didn’t head for Regalo but towards the squadron leader of the knights, and despite being out of breath, he straightened his back and spoke loudly.

"I have a report! The beastmen's negotiation— They claim their children were abducted by us! Several beastmen tribes have gathered at the castle gate!"