Chapter 43 – Tracking

Of course, he had also marked a few incorrect locations.

Because if he accurately marked only the locations where the resonance devices would be installed, it would surely cause a problem.

“You might not know, but that violinist Seraphine, who is with the count, is someone with a lot of ill will toward the order.”

She also, not wanting to fall behind him, had closely examined the gory cases related to the count.

Thanks to this, the outline of the count was somewhat captured, and Rashid’s past actions made sense, but

there was nothing on the count’s lover, the violinist Seraphine.

Since she had only grasped some connection, she had thought the main focus of the case was Count Gerard.

“Have you even dug into the count’s companion?”

“Isn’t it natural, since I know this much?”

“I didn’t look into it that far. By the way, weren’t you targeting the count?”

Rashid shook his head.

“The count is merely her sponsor. The one I am targeting is this woman.”

Rashid pointed to a newspaper article scattered on his desk.

There was a photo of the silver-haired violinist who would perform at the Choral Dome in a few weeks.

“Seraphine Arpeggia. She is a violinist and also a duelist. Did you know she was once called a Symphony Duelist?”

“No. This is the first time I’ve heard of it. Since I wasn’t interested.”

“Before she was with the count, she made a name for herself as a Symphony Duelist. She was a performer who showcased music and dueling simultaneously. Perhaps the count fell head over heels after seeing her artistic duels. Since he is someone who is somewhat sincere about art and crazy for it.”

She pretended to listen quietly to his story, but in reality, she was trying hard to forget his messy desk.

Purposefully averting her gaze from the various documents scattered on the desk, she asked,

“Until now, I thought you were targeting the count.”

“It must have looked that way. But in the grand scheme of things, the count is not that threatening an existence to the order. He supports it diligently, and if he has a sin…”

Rashid pointed to the woman in the article once again.

“it is that he is sponsoring this woman. And to make it clear, Seraphine is a cancerous existence to the order. She harbors a definite ill will toward the order.”

“Ill will? Is there a reason you think so?”

Since the connection with Vane Sanctum was involved from here on, Rashid also hesitated for a moment.

“Are you prepared to hear it? From here on, your brother will be involved.”

“Is that why you said those words? That it is separate yet not separate.”

“Your brother has done various things since long ago. Whether that was for the order or for himself is unclear. Anyway, Seraphine was a genius violinist from the Vocal Academy he established. She affected the opponent’s emotions, senses, and even nerves through her music. If she had grown up normally, she would have probably become a genius violinist everyone was wild about.”

After pausing to catch his breath for a moment,

Rashid’s words continued.

“she couldn’t. Since the moment her talent was discovered, she was thoroughly raised as a killing weapon for the order—no, for someone. What I mean is she specialized not in touching the opponent’s heartstrings with music, but in dominating and killing them. Moreover, her swordsmanship was superb, and the combination of those two made her a Symphony Duelist.”

Seraphine’s swordsmanship grade was Master level.

Her swordsmanship skill was also threatening, but her main specialty was indeed the violin that manipulated people.

“That woman harbors a clear ill will toward the order and the person who made her undergo such a terrible experience. The proof is that the targets she aimed at in the early days after fleeing the Vocal Academy were all members of the order. Though now she seems to target anyone indiscriminately.”

“Such a thing happened. I did not know.”

“She is preparing a concert at the Basilica Choral Dome. You know this, right?”

“Isn’t that what my brother prepared?”

“Yes. Your brother summoned her directly.”

She tilted her head.

“Does my brother know? Who she is.”

“He couldn’t not know. He probably asked knowing who she was. Since their mutual purposes would have aligned.”

She could realize what her brother wanted.

Because he had always been that kind of person.

“My brother had such thoughts. If so, I feel we should stop my brother…”

Rashid watched her reaction for a moment.

Because now, it was interesting just to watch.

She after doing some thinking for a short moment, she opened her mouth again.

“I will just not care. I have no intention of supporting my brother, nor do I intend to shield him. But if I had known this when I was an inquisitor, I think I would have agonized over it a bit. Whether to strike him or not.”

“Think about it more. Whether you would have struck or just let him be.”

“Are you testing me?”

“Of course. I am still not sure. Whether you are on my side or your brother’s side.”

She had no hesitation.

“If it were me, instead of striking, I would have talked with my brother again about the inheritance issue of the Sanctum family. I would have demanded a larger share of my portion in return for overlooking that matter. Currently, almost all the assets of the Sanctum family are attributed to my brother. Just like other daughters, there is almost no share for me, despite being the only daughter.”

There was a significant age difference between Vane and her.

Almost approaching the mid-twenties.

“In terms of inheritance redistribution, I am in a not-so-bad position. Since there are no other siblings between my brother and me. Come to think of it, it is strange. I heard that in the past, there were other brothers besides him…”

“Is that so? I am not interested in other people’s household matters.”

Because she grew up wealthy and lacked nothing in particular, she hadn’t thought about it, but

through the story just now, she could vaguely understand

why only herself and her brother were left in the family.

As she let out a faint laugh, Rashid harbored a question.

“What is so funny?”

“No. It’s just because I can predict what would have happened if I became an inquisitor.”

“Predict? I’d like to hear what kind of prediction it is.”

“If I remained unchanged and my brother remained unchanged, the resulting outcome would have been the same anyway. I am saying the end would have been bad.”

Firming up her thoughts, she continued.

“I cancel the words I said before and will root for you, Inquisitor. I should also hire a lawyer once I am certain. Since everything will be attributed to me anyway.”

Households…

why are they all the same, whether there or here?

‘Considering what Kaiser said, there is no particular lie. With this, has the distinction between friend and foe been clearly made?’

Since she had quite a distinct personality,

Rashid saw that the possibility of her suddenly stabbing him in the back was almost non-existent.

“Then, what is this marked indication?”

She pointed at the map on the desk with a gaze full of disgust and asked.

Rashid, who couldn’t care less about her gaze, answered.

“Your brother’s goal might be simple political rival removal, but Seraphine is different. Her malice is deeper than you think, and extremely twisted. If she only had hostility toward the order, the victims would have been restricted solely to the order’s people. But that wasn’t the case. The past victims are telling us this. She no longer discriminates.”

“Indiscriminate massacre? Something like that?”

Probably she didn’t know.

How twisted the mind of the villain Seraphine was.

“The Choral Dome located in Basilica is positioned on slightly high ground. So if she plays, the music will flow across the entire Basilica. But such opportunities are rare. She is probably aiming for something bigger.”

“Surely you aren’t saying she intends to cover the entire capital with her music?”

“Exactly. If she borrows the power of some mechanical devices from the Choral Dome and installs something like expansion devices in the areas I marked here…”

Rashid drew a giant circle covering the entire map with a permanent marker.

“Most of it is within the sphere of influence.”

She silently stared at the giant circle Rashid had drawn, then asked indifferently,

“What is the reason to do such a crazy thing?”

Hearing the woman who talked about a legal license to kill call it a crazy thing,

he was somewhat dumbfounded,

but in any case,

on the scale of madness, she was a mild case.

“I don’t know either. Or you can go and ask her. Why she is trying to do such a crazy thing.”

“But is it certain? Couldn’t it be just a guess?”

Rashid spread out a photo of a truck exiting the Magic Tower Academy for her.

It was a photo captured by a street CCTV that Rashid had secured.

“It is the truck that entered the count’s mansion. The mechanical devices loaded here are probably what I think they are. She intended to expand her performance with this and target the entire capital.”

Just as he said,

the photo showed mysterious mechanical devices piled up on the large truck.

“When did you investigate this as well?”

Before he could even answer,

there was a communication device ringing loudly.

Picking up the receiver, Rashid exchanged a few words, then spoke to her shortly after.

“Didn’t I tell you? A leopard cannot change its spots. It seems the count has left another artwork. My warning must have sounded like a joke to him.”

Preparing to head out immediately, Rashid looked at the mountain of items piled outside the office and asked,

“What is this?”

She, who followed him out, answered indifferently.

“Sent by the count. He even sent a vehicle. But I left it alone thinking you wouldn’t accept it. I was going to ask you and send it back, but will you accept it?”

Since it was a gift from someone who would die soon anyway, it wouldn’t matter much if he accepted it, but

the problem was the guy who would latch onto this in the future.

‘He must already be moving in the shadows. He will in all likelihood keep me in check through Lucian.’

Lucian Al-Hazen.

He was a fellow inquisitor and a troublesome leech who would soon latch onto him and pick a fight.

Since he couldn’t give him good bait,

Rashid was quite firm.

“Send it all back. Every single one of it, without exception.”

* * *

The crime scene they arrived at.

The atmosphere at the scene was considerably chaotic, and the surroundings were packed with a sea of numerous police officers and onlookers.

Investigator Edgar bowed his head first to Rashid, who had arrived immediately after hearing the news.

“You are here, Inquisitor. I was waiting.”

Edgar saw the sister accompanying him and the numerous clerics following behind her.

Because the number was so large, Edgar doubted his own eyes first.

“But… who are the clerics behind you? I have received support multiple times, but this is the first time I’ve seen this many clerics visit.”

It was not just one, but dozens of them.

Rashid answered nonchalantly.

“It is a natural authority of an inquisitor. I asked the abbot to bring all the available forces. Those clerics will be deployed to this case to assist me.”

Edgar asked, conscious of the police forces deployed at the scene.

“We are here as well, is this a case that requires even more clerics?”

Although the locations where the resonance devices would be installed were fixed,

the crime scenes the count left behind calling them art were completely random.

That was why.

Rashid had used his power to bring all the clerics who were cooped up in the monastery.

“Actually, even that is insufficient. Since I have a rough idea of what kind of case this is, I will deploy forces as much as possible throughout the capital to monitor from now on.”

The only thing they sought.

“Was the sound of a violin heard this time too?”

“Yes, there was indeed such a statement. They said they heard it faintly… is that related to this matter?”

“Of course. It has always been that way.”

Examining the chaotic crime scene, Rashid said.

“Collecting evidence will also be of little meaning. It is not a matter that ends just by putting him on trial.”

Edgar expressed his doubt.

“Then what should we do? If collecting evidence is of little meaning, could it be the work of a noble?”

“It must be a noble. Therefore, we must kill—no, massacre them on the spot.”

This was unavoidable, as the culprit’s status was a count.

“Of course, I will take the responsibility.”