Chapter 37

“Clayton and I have located what seems to be Heider’s meeting spot—a tavern.”  

After the meal, the four of them gathered in Chase’s office. Chase was the first to speak.  

“As you all know, they’re quick to cut ties at even the slightest hint of suspicion, so we’ve had to proceed with extreme caution. The more you try to catch them, the deeper they hide.”  

Clayton nodded and added,  

“Since it’s the only tavern in the area, it seems to attract ordinary people as well. For now, we’ve compiled a list of everyone who enters and exits the tavern, day and night.”  

“And the owner?”  

“The investigation on the owner is complete. Nothing unusual was found.”  

Chase let out a long sigh of frustration.  

“We even had a few of our men pose as customers to observe the inside, but they reported nothing out of the ordinary.”  

Listening quietly to their exchange, Sabrina finally spoke up.  

“If they’re that meticulous, there’s likely a limit to the information you can gather by blending in as customers.”  

“….”  

“Don’t you think they might have some sort of set rules? Like always sitting at the same table or using certain items to communicate?”  

“Items?”  

“You know, things like passing messages through books on a shelf or using newspapers or posters on the wall to issue secret orders.”  

“….”  

“Even something as simple as switching the positions of the salt and pepper shakers could be a signal. In situations like this, where information is scarce, it’d be hard to notice such things.”  

Sabrina spoke slowly, recalling the detective novels she had read in her past life.  

After all, this was a world within a novel. No matter how clever Heider might be, it wouldn’t be completely free from such clichés.  

“Maybe there’s a restricted area only accessible to those with certain marks or tokens, or perhaps there’s a special service provided exclusively to them.”  

Elena, who had been listening intently with sparkling eyes, suddenly raised her hand.  

“When you mention tokens, something comes to mind.”  

Chase responded,  

“Are you referring to the pendant?”  

“Yes, Your Majesty.”  

Chase nodded and pulled a necklace from his inner pocket.  

“This must be your first time seeing it.”  

He carefully placed the silver pendant in Sabrina’s palm.  

“The symbol engraved on the front is Heider’s mark. The design on the back doesn’t seem to hold any particular significance.”  

“Ah, I see.”  

As Sabrina examined the engraving on the pendant, Elena began to speak.  

“I heard that His Majesty has already informed you of the general details of my situation.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”  

“Since that day, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the movements of the servants, especially the maid who used to serve my mother.”  

Elena clenched her fists and took a deep breath before continuing.  

“As a result, my suspicions inevitably turned toward my uncle and his wife.”  

Chase’s eyes narrowed.  

“Your uncle… do you mean the current head of the Evenheim family?”  

Elena nodded.  

“Yes, Your Majesty.”  

Chase asked cautiously,  

“What led you to that conclusion?”  

After a moment of hesitation, Elena replied,  

“The maid was reassigned directly under my uncle not long after.”  

“…!”  

“And when I think about who benefited the most from my parents’ deaths… my thoughts keep leading me back to him.”  

Chase and Sabrina exchanged glances. A tingling sensation ran through them, as if their instincts were warning them of something suspicious.  

“Most of the people the maid interacts with are connected to my uncle’s business, which only deepens my doubts. Although I can’t say for certain.”  

At that moment, Clayton, who had been silent, asked abruptly,  

“Do you have a list of the people she’s interacted with?”  

“Some of them.”  

Elena sighed softly.  

“I couldn’t identify everyone. Some of them are unregistered individuals, and quite a few are foreigners.”  

Sabrina tilted her head and asked,  

“Foreigners?”  

“Yes. You know my family operates a trading company, don’t you?”  

Sabrina nodded.  

“I’m aware.”  

“Since we trade with seven countries, merchants from those places sometimes come and go.”  

“Ah.”  

Elena rested her cheek on one hand and said,  

“When my father was alive, my uncle managed the trading company. With his extensive network… it’ll be nearly impossible to pinpoint anyone specific.”  

“That’s likely true.”  

Chase and Clayton nodded in agreement.  

Victor Evenheim.  

Elena’s uncle was a highly energetic and sociable figure who drew people wherever he went. His business acumen and political sense were exceptional, making him the leader of the noble faction.  

If one were to investigate everyone connected to Victor Evenheim, there wouldn’t be a single noble in the capital who wasn’t involved.  

‘There were even rumors back then. That Victor orchestrated his brother’s death… It was just tabloid gossip, but it was quite a famous rumor.’  

However, three years had passed since then, and no one remembered those rumors anymore.  

This was partly due to the fleeting nature of gossip, but it also attested to Victor’s remarkable political skills and ability to manage his image.  

Sabrina’s instincts told her that Victor Evenheim bore some responsibility for this matter. But the thought of uncovering evidence against him made her head throb.  

This wasn’t the kind of problem that could be resolved with a day or two of extra work.  

‘Directly stirring up trouble with Evenheim might provoke the nobles’ backlash. I’ll need to proceed cautiously.’  

While Chase, Clayton, and Elena reviewed the list of people the maid had interacted with, Sabrina quietly examined the pendant she had received earlier.  

The front bore Heider’s symbol: a dented bowler hat. The back was intricately engraved with an image of a man and woman dancing by the seaside.  

As she fiddled with the coin-sized pendant, Sabrina tilted her head.  

‘But this image… why does it feel so familiar?’  

She couldn’t recall the title of a painting or the name of an artist, but the style of the image felt oddly recognizable.  

‘Ugh, forget it. I have no idea.’  

Giving up on deciphering the image, Sabrina decided to focus on piecing together clues based on Elena’s earlier statements.  

Among the four present, Sabrina might have known the least about Heider, but she had the cheat code of the original story. It was bound to come in handy.  

Maid, Victor Evenheim, trading company, nobles, trade, foreigners…  

At that moment, Sabrina’s thoughts, which had been wandering over various keywords, came to a halt.  

‘Judging by how the topic of foreigners keeps coming up… could this be why the two of them visited Sahel in the original story?’  

Sahel.  

The moment a fragment of the original story, long forgotten, struck her mind, Sabrina’s eyes widened.  

“…I remember!”  

Clutching the pendant tightly in her hand, Sabrina exclaimed loudly. Instantly, Chase, Clayton, and Elena’s gazes zeroed in on her.  

“You remember? What do you mean?”  

Sabrina boldly extended the pendant toward Chase’s face and answered with determination.  

“This picture. I think I know what it is.”  

Chase’s eyes widened at Sabrina’s claim.  

“This picture has meaning? I thought it was just decorative…”  

“I think it does. But before I explain further, I have a question for you, Elena.”  

Startled like a rabbit, Elena quickly responded.  

“Yes, yes! Ask me anything.”  

Sabrina smiled faintly and asked,  

“You mentioned that the Evenheim trading company trades with seven countries, correct?”  

“Yes, that’s right.”  

“Do you happen to remember which seven countries those are?”  

Elena nodded vigorously and replied,  

“Of course. Alexia, Bellium, Cherot, Rodenberg, Moesen, Varkan, and…”  

Simultaneously, Sabrina and Elena uttered the same answer.  

“Sahel.”  

“Sahel.”  

Elena’s eyes grew so wide they seemed about to pop out.  

“How did you know?”  

Sabrina gently ran her thumb over the image on the pendant and said,  

“This picture felt oddly familiar, so I kept staring at it. But no matter how much I combed through Belfort’s artworks in my mind, I couldn’t think of anything even remotely similar.”  

Chase, folding his arms, agreed.  

“Yeah. Same here.”  

Turning toward Chase, Sabrina asked,  

“Your Majesty, do you remember when I first met you during my interview, I mentioned that I could speak Sahelian?”  

“Yes, I remember. That left quite an impression on me, which is why I chose you. You said you started studying it at a very young age.”  

Sabrina nodded.  

“Now that I think about it, the picture on the first page of my Sahelian textbook was identical to this one.”  

Though the memory had faded over time, it was a picture she had seen multiple times a day. It was bound to linger in her subconscious.  

“If we look into it, I’m sure we’ll find out more, but I believe this image is related to that country.”  

Sabrina continued in a calm voice,  

“Direct exchanges between Sahel and Belfort haven’t been happening for very long. Even when I was preparing for my interview, Sahel was still a very unfamiliar country. It was so hard to find study materials that it was a challenge just to get a book.”  

Looking Elena in the eye, Sabrina asked,  

“How long has the Evenheim trading company been engaging with Sahel?”  

Elena tilted her head as she answered,  

“It hasn’t been very long, I think. If I recall correctly, it’s been about three or four years…”  

As Elena trailed off, seemingly struck by a realization, Chase and Clayton, who had been quietly listening, also seemed to have lightbulbs go off in their heads.  

Clayton muttered under his breath,  

“The timing is quite uncanny.”  

Chase nodded in agreement.  

“It’s a plausible theory.”  

Clayton looked at Sabrina and said,  

“First, please let me know which textbook you used back then. I’ll investigate the image further on my end.”  

“Understood.”  

Elena raised her hand and said,  

“Then I’ll keep monitoring my uncle and aunt’s movements. Identifying the people they interact with privately might yield helpful information.”  

“Good idea.”  

Chase turned to Sabrina and said,  

“Speaking of which, that letter from Sahel a few days ago—about the First Princess’s wedding.”  

Sabrina nodded.  

“Yes, we’re preparing to send gifts and a delegation.”  

“Right. Sorry, but I’d like to adjust the plan.”  

“Pardon?”  

“Though we’re still lacking information… it might be more natural to visit directly under a reasonable pretext.”  

Chase smiled faintly at Sabrina.  

“If Sahel truly holds the key, there are things we can only uncover by going there.”  

It was a valid point. Waiting for everything to become clearer before taking action could end up backfiring.  

Understanding Chase’s intentions perfectly, Sabrina nodded decisively.  

“Yes, leave it to me. I’ll start preparing right away.”