Chapter 18

And that brings us to the present...

『So, where are you going, Anna, Lucas?』

They had a panicked look on their face. They looked around and tried to make a dash for the gate. But Akio wasn't going to let that happen. He covered the distance between them in an instant using magic and appeared in front of the gate.

『Wha-』

『Nuh-uh. Listen to what I say first.』

Akio cleared his throat and spoke in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

『Listen, everyone! These two are the ones who cursed your Madam.』

This caused confusion among the people.

『Hear me out, this girl is the Madam's personal maid, Anna. She applied curse powder to the dress she was wearing. It was applied just before the Madam went out to have dinner. And the butler, Lucas, who was in charge of serving the food at the dinner, used a mana igniter to activate the curse as the Madam ate the food to make it seem like she was poisoned!』

The people in question did not stay quiet either. Anna shouted.

『We will not stand baseless accusations! What proof do you have, huh? Are you sure it was not you who did it?!』

『Now, now, there's no need to get so excited. I will tell you the proof now.』

Akio pointed at the piece of cloth that Anna was using to tie her hair.

『Untie that and rub it on your skin.』

Anna turned pale as soon as he heard that.

『O-okay. Fine.』

She slowly reached for her hairband and took it off. Her hand was shaking. She held it in her and tried to rub one side on her forearm. However, Akio was watching closely.

『Not that side, use the opposite one.』

She turned even paler after hearing that. She turned to the opposite side even slower than before. Just before she reached her forearm, she completely stopped. She silently stared at the cloth. Her hand was shakier than ever. She was feeling light-headed from all the pressure.

Akio was amused by seeing this.

『Ah, you can't? I guess, even you know that you cannot remove any type of powder completely from a cloth made of fiber without washing it. But don't worry. You will not be alone when you are outlawed. We will send your partner with you.』

All this while, Lucas was secretly trying to destroy the mana igniter. It was a small tool and could easily be destroyed. It had a perk that it could be destroyed without leaving any trace behind. Once hit with a suitable amount of force, it would automatically engulf itself in a blue flame and burn away itself into thin air. Lucas had dropped the igniter from his pocket as quietly as he could and was just about to step on it when Akio grabbed the igniter from the ground in a second.

『Oya? What are you trying to destroy here? You were about to destroy a very valuable piece of evidence.』

Akio said it in a joking tone. A mana igniter will have its mana code the same as that of the person who last used it.

『As you can see, this, is a mana igniter. On checking the mana code, we will find that it belongs to Lucas. But, I don't think that's necessary. After all, he was caught red-handed trying to destroy evidence.』

The Madam was listening to everything Akio was saying. She started walking towards Anna and Lucas slowly.

『I'll take it from here, Akio.』

『Roger that, ma'am.』

She faced the mansion and started speaking.

『Everyone, as you all know, our trade partners have cut off their trades with us and we are receiving no profits even though our reports show no change. I arrived at a conclusion about a week ago. Someone from this mansion had been embezzling our funds. They had been marking up the prices of goods' expenses and keeping the profits for themselves. I had almost found the perpetrator when this happened.』

She turned to face Anna and Lucas next.

『I am sure you two must have gathered a fortune from your deeds. But to be honest, I didn't suspect you two until the end. Or rather, I didn't want to suspect you. You tried to suffocate me. But you never decided to check whether I was really there or not did you? 』