{Chapter 57} A Little Post-War Discussion
"Even if you say that," Anna scratched her cheek in response to Philsey's question, "you can consider it intuition."
"Intuition...?" Philsey seemed to be stuck on that word.
After a moment of stunned silence, he burst into a hearty laugh, something he had never done before.
"Intuition... I was actually defeated by something so ridiculous... How absurd... Hahaha..."
Watching Philsey, who seemed on the verge of losing his mind, the old butler bowed apologetically once more, then lifted Philsey and carried him away.
From here on out, Philsey and his remaining followers would likely be imprisoned until the investigation team from Latimir arrived.
The team would then escort Philsey directly to the royal capital for trial, where he would face judgment for his various crimes.
"Anna, your intuition is as sharp as it was when you were a child," Helga said with a relaxed smile, patting Anna on the shoulder.
"...Such precise intuition, Anna, you're amazing!" Atala chimed in, clearly impressed.
"Anna Senpai's intuition... It's like those legendary prophecy-type spells, being able to uncover an assassin without any prior clues," Louise marveled.
"Prophecy... That's a bit of an exaggeration... Haha..."
Feeling as if the simulator had been subtly mocked, Anna let out a dry laugh, her heart uneasy.
"...By the way, the forest's magical beast rampage is still ongoing."
Although they had reported Philsey yesterday, which had lulled him into a false sense of security, now that he had been captured, the magical beast rampage in the forest remained unresolved.
Looking at the current state of the border knights, who were in complete disarray, Anna sighed.
"Why does it feel like we have to deal with the magical beast rampage too?"
However, in the end, Anna and the others didn't have to take action.
The knights who were not severely injured and who supported Anna volunteered to handle the task.
"Lady Anna, you all must be exhausted. Leave this to us!"
Anna wasn't sure why her title had suddenly become "Lady Anna" in their mouths, but since they were willing to take on the task, she had no reason to object, especially since she was eager to take a break.
"...Oh, I forgot to ask something earlier," Anna suddenly realized as she sat on the sofa in Louise's living room.
"I forgot to ask Philsey why he wanted to assassinate me."
"That can wait," Louise said, savoring a spoonful of freshly made ice cream.
"Mmm! There's nothing better than dessert after a battle!"
"...Why do you have ice cream, and the rest of us don't?" Helga protested.
"To be precise, Anna Senpai and Atala's ice cream is still being made. You're the only one without any," Louise replied with her signature mischievous grin.
"Are you targeting me?"
"Exactly. If you say, 'I am willing to hand Anna over to Lady Louise Latimir,' I might consider making you some ice cream too."
"Who would ever say something like that!"
"I'm not some object to be handed over," Anna interjected, feeling a headache coming on as the two began bickering again.
She couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
"By the way, where is that Philsey Bill being held now?" Atala, who had been sitting quietly like an unwitting third wheel, suddenly asked.
Grateful for Atala's timely change of topic, Anna also looked at Louise with curiosity.
"He's in the basement."
"The basement?" Atala tilted her head in confusion.
"This mansion likely has a section of its basement converted into a prison," Helga, being a fellow high-ranking noble, understood Louise's meaning.
"It's a classic layout for large estates like this."
"I thought he'd be held in the garrison's prison or the jail outside the city..." Anna was surprised.
"Those places aren't secure enough. For someone like Philsey, who has his own followers among the pureblood faction, keeping him here is much safer," Louise explained, taking another bite of her ice cream and accidentally smudging some on her lips.
"Anna Senpai, I really think you should look into your family tree. There might be some bad blood between the Garland family and the pureblood faction that's making them target you so much."
"Even if you say that," Anna said with a bitter smile, "our family tree... has been lost for a long time..."
"Huh?"
"Since our family fell into decline, the family tree was lost after we moved out of the royal capital."
"Maybe it's still in your old family home," Helga suggested.
"After all, your family moved in a hurry back then. It's possible the family tree was left behind in the old house."
"That's possible..." Anna felt Helga's theory made sense.
"So, we'll have to go to the royal capital at some point?" Louise frowned, her eyes darting suspiciously between Helga and Anna.
"The royal capital of Rianved Kingdom..." Atala murmured, lost in thought.
"We could also try to get some answers out of Philsey," Anna mused.
"Philsey... There's definitely a lot to ask him."
It was surprising to Anna and the others that Philsey had managed to recruit so many members of the border knights into his faction.
After the battle, it was calculated that nearly 80% of the border knights in the town had sided with Philsey.
To put it bluntly, if it hadn't been for Atala, a D-rank ranger, sniping Allen and the other stronger fighters, it was questionable whether Anna and the others could have survived the onslaught.
"Atala, we really owe you our thanks this time."
"...Oh, no... There's no need to thank me," Atala stammered, her face turning red as she waved her hands dismissively.
"I was the one who initially tried to assassinate you, Anna... I'm just grateful that you didn't hold it against me and trusted me enough to share everything with me..."
"Speaking of which, Anna Senpai, how did you know so much? Some of the things you knew, even I hadn't uncovered..." Louise looked at Anna suspiciously.
"You don't actually have prophecy magic, do you?"
"My class is a knight. Even if prophecy magic exists, knights can't learn such high-level spells!"
...After some light-hearted laughter, even Helga, whom Louise wasn't particularly fond of, ended up enjoying the top-notch dessert service at Louise's home.