Caterina stared at Alans with a look of power that made the heir of the Pesa family a little unbearable.

"W-Is there anything wrong with this?" Alans didn't dare to make eye contact with Caterina's sharp gaze, avoiding the other's gaze, but it didn't seem like a weak heart, simply because he couldn't bear Katarina's aggressive eyes.

"Lesson Thirteen is a secret of the Empire, how did you know this news?" Although Caterina was reluctant to believe that there would be anything wrong with her childhood playmate, her gaze did not relax in the slightest, "Don't tell me, this is what your father told you again, and the Duke of Pesa should not be qualified to know such secret news." ”

"I don't think there's anything secret about it. Alans took two steps back, perhaps because of the exercise in front of Baron O'Brien during this time, Caterina had a lot of power in her, which made Alans almost breathless, "The last time I attended a dinner at Tiamat Palace, I heard a lot of people say this, and everyone knows it, is it really a secret?"

"Huh?" Caterina frowned, her eyes no longer focused on Alans, "you were at the dinner that day, why didn't I see you?"

Relieved by the knife-like gaze no longer in his eyes, Alans untied his bow tie to make his breathing a little more comfortable. "I saw you that day and said hello, but at that time you seemed so preoccupied that you didn't hear me. ”

Looking at Alans' aggrieved look, Caterina couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, especially when she thought of the conversation with Swain that day, she was even more embarrassed.

"yes, yes, I didn't notice you that day. Caterina laughed dryly, blushing and quickly changing the subject, "Who the hell did you listen to that day, Si...... Count Jericho is going to be the head of the thirteenth section?"

Alans looked deeply at Caterina, cleared his throat, and said, "I have heard several people talking about this, some of whom must have heard it from others, but I remember that when Foreign Secretary Menken spoke with Monsieur Joseph No. Metternich, the youngest son of the late Marquis of Metternich, he repeatedly mentioned the name of Count Jerichthorn, and on several occasions spoke of the Thirteenth Lesson. ”

Caterina looked at Alans strangely, as if he had something dirty on his face. "You eavesdropped on Mencken's conversation with Metternich?"

"Of course not eavesdropping!" said Alans, "I heard so much at that time, because my father wanted to find Minister Mencken for something, so he specially asked me to invite him. Chancellor Mencken seemed to be talking to Mr. Metternich about something very important, so I waited by and heard a lot. ”

"Your father, is there something to do with Mencken?" Caterina raised her brows, and the doubts in her heart became more and more solemn, "Is your family on good terms with Mencken?"

"By a general standard, my father had a good relationship with almost everyone. Alans shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands out, "Of course, by our family's standards, it should be average." ”

The devil knows what your family's standards are...... Caterina complained in her heart, but she also understood that the Duke of Pesa had a wide range of friends and almost all the important government officials, so it was not impossible for him to find Mencken.

"Can you, then, tell me what your father and Mencken talked about?" asked Caterina after a moment's hesitation, "of course, you can leave it to me, I can understand. ”

"I'm more than willing to tell you. Alans sighed, "But I don't know what they said. ”

"Is that so? I see. Katerina nodded, "Thank you for telling me so much." ”

Alans smiled, not an elegant smile of a noble son, nor a standardized smile of a duke's son, but a heartfelt, truly pure smile.

"It's not easy to hear you say thank you. He smiled, a slight hint of nostalgia on his face, "I have the impression that you have always been arrogant and different, even in the royal family, you seem so independent and independent. Therefore, I have always longed for and revered you, like a man chasing the sun, yearning for the dazzling light and worrying that if I get too close, I will burn myself to ashes. ”

Caterina looked at Alans in amazement, she had never expected to receive such an evaluation.

"It's a little scary, burned to ashes, am I like that?"

"Maybe you're not—" Alans sighed, his eyes down, "but, I think that Count Jericho, he's such a person, especially when he's around you. ”

Hearing Alans mention Sven, Caterina's eyes darkened. "But he was not any light, and in him there was only the shadow of the night and the coldness that the winter had taught him. ”

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"According to our investigations, after the end of the Civil War, there were three witnesses of a man resembling Manfred, all of whom saw a tall, tightly wrapped man in the neighborhood near Avenue Apu on the third day after the end of the Civil War, when His Majesty Alexander returned to Dweed. Considering that this man deliberately disguised his face, we suspect that he may well be Manfred. ”

Sven tapped his fingernails on the table one by one, and his eyes did not look at the young man who was reporting to him in front of him, as if he did not care about the other party's report.

"And the mere fact of being tall, and your reasoning, is not enough to determine that this man is Manfred. Now that you're standing in front of me, it can't be just that, right?"

Thesthso Wuelling clenched his fists, as rumored to be, his immediate boss, the new Earl of the Thirteenth Division, Count Swain No. Jericht, was indeed a difficult nobleman to please, this count was arrogant, empty-sighted, very different from the previous Count Hecate, and more importantly, he always guessed what others thought.

"Yes......" Cethersso took a deep breath, trying not to show his timidity in front of the new prefect, "According to the testimony of eyewitnesses, I have investigated the area through which this suspected Manfred man passed. The neighborhood he witnessed was a commercial area near Apu Avenue, but due to the war, the shops in the area were closed for a period of time, and there were few pedestrians, and because it was evening, not only did no one see the target, but the description of the target's characteristics was also very vague, but there was one thing that was unanimously mentioned by both of the witnesses. ”

Swain glanced at Thessame, and he noticed that the word she had used earlier was "I" instead of the "we" used at the beginning.

Cesarthso continued: "Behind the man who appeared to be Manfred, there was a man who followed him for a long time, and the two witnesses witnessed the target about eight hundred meters apart, and they both mentioned that there was a person following the target, because this person was a girl dressed as a young man, and he was wearing a tongue depressor hat that deliberately concealed his identity, so they were particularly impressed. From this point of view, the person who followed the goal should be deliberately following. ”

Swain leaned back, leaning back in his chair, quietly waiting for Thessathelse's next reasoning.

"Manfred's magic level is the top in the thirteenth lesson, with his magic perception, he shouldn't be unaware that someone is following him, if you extrapolate from this logic, this person shouldn't be Manfred. However, I went to that place on the spot, searched several times in the neighborhood they passed, and found something suspicious. ”

"That neighborhood is a dilapidated commercial street, and some of the shops there have even been destroyed by the war, so people who pass by there are basically passing by, and if they want to go somewhere else, the destination should not be on that street. However, the street led to the Cape Cathedral at one end and the former Ministry of the Interior building in ruins at the other, both of which were heavily guarded after His Majesty Alexander's return to Dwed, and the guards would pay close attention to anyone passing by them, especially the unusually tall figure of the target, which should have impressed the guards in both places, but I inquired, and no one remembered that a similar person appeared on that day. ”

According to eyewitness testimonies, Manfred walked in the direction of the setting sun, that is, from the direction of the Cape Cathedral to the direction of the Ministry of the Interior building, however, he was not seen at either end. If he was going from that block to the street, it would not make sense logically, since he was not going to the Ministry of the Interior and the Cape Cathedral, but just a short approach, there was no need to deliberately go to that main road, and he deliberately walked more than 800 meters, if he wanted to go around that block, it would be faster to walk from the periphery, and if he wanted to cross any block, he only needed to cross the alley, and there was no need to walk so far on the avenue, so I think that he deliberately avoided the Cape Cathedral and the Ministry of the Interior building, two places with many people, and took a side road that no one passed, most likely to avoid the crowds and avoid being noticed。 ”

"There are a lot of possibilities that don't want to be noticed, and that doesn't mean that the person who was seen was Manfred. Swain still looked at Cethurso indifferently, not at all persuaded by the other party's investigation and reasoning, "I said, I want stronger evidence." ”

"But we are Thirteen Lessons, not Imperial Court. Cesarthurso and Swain looked at each other, there was no fear in their eyes, "We don't need complete evidence, and sometimes suspicion is enough evidence, if we need complete and conclusive evidence to act, then I'm afraid we will never catch Manfred, to be precise, this thirteen lessons are also useless, because it is too easy for a magic to erase the evidence, and we can't reason with common sense." ”

Swain stared at Cethurso for a long time, his emotionless eyes could put a lot of pressure on him, and even the talented new employees in the thirteenth class were a little overwhelmed.

"Very interesting, Wu Yeling. Swain nodded, although the other party should be older than him, but Swain was more calm in terms of momentum, so that Cesarthurso didn't feel that he had an advantage in the grade.

"You are very ambitious, with this investigation and reasoning, bypassing Artemis and reporting directly to me, do you want to exchange for the rank of entry?"

"I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do. "You also know that Miss Hecate and the suspect are sisters and brothers, and although I and other colleagues are very willing to believe her, I think it is better to report it to you directly in order to avoid unnecessary trouble." ”

Thesthso bent over, he waited for a long time, but did not hear Swain's reply, until he felt a little soreness in his waist, and still did not move.

Just as he raised his head slightly, to see what was going on, the end of Sven's cane suddenly reached in front of his eyebrows, only a centimeter away from his face.

"Do you know the difference between being smart and being smart?"

Cethotherso swallowed and continued to keep his head down, not daring to move.

"Good. Swain withdrew his cane, "Looks like you understand. ”

Cesarthurso let out a sigh of relief in his heart.

"Do your job well, I hope you understand what it means to be 'do well'. ”

"Yes. ”