"You are very honest, Princess Maria."
Unlike what Maria had imagined.
Annan heard her words, yet his face did not show any hint of panic or fear.
He just nodded slowly, with a thoughtful expression.
He murmured softly, a focused look appearing on his face, "So you think that way..."
Speaking of which, Annan lifted his head.
He earnestly asked Maria, "May I ask, Your Highness, when did these thoughts begin to arise?"
Maria looked at Annan with suspicion.
She fell silent for a while, pondering something in her heart.
And Annan spoke slowly, in a gentle and friendly tone, "You don’t have to be too nervous.
"You know, I have sealed my spellcasting abilities. This is something everyone has seen."
Annan stood in Maria’s shoes, seriously helping her think, "If we follow the normal train of thought, even if I were indeed the murderer, I would not be the first to be suspected. So, Your Highness—please think carefully, where does your distrust of me actually come from?"
His words were filled with the candor of someone helping others.
His goal was clearly to help the other party find the troubles that plagued them, and practically help them solve any worries... With Annan actually helping herself, Maria found it hard to refuse his kindness.
Annan had realized from the beginning.
Perhaps due to the "Heart of Winter" talent, Maria’s character flaws were very apparent.
She was capable of feeling guilt, as well as fear, anger, and nervousness. Just like the opposite of Annan... like a puppet, she was exceptionally easy to manipulate.
Even under Merlin’s protection, faced with the current chaotic situation, she must have felt disordered and anxious inside.
At this time, rather than seriously analyzing, it would be more correct to say that Maria was throwing a tantrum. Venting the fear in her heart, turning the invisible hunter into a tangible enemy.
It was only natural for her to be wary of Annan from the beginning. The Soul Reaping Wizards were too restrained by the Heart of Winter... Perhaps that was the very reason for the existence of the Hands of Winter. They were there to counter these Soul Reaping Wizards.
Annan had guessed as much from the start.
But the problem was, Annan had already abandoned his spellcasting ability. To everyone’s eyes, he had done so because of Maria’s words.
And Maria Rime did indeed feel somewhat guilty towards Annan.
"... Are you saying that someone might have influenced my thoughts?"
Maria immediately grasped the underlying meaning in Annan’s words.
She pondered for a moment and quickly came to realize this issue:
"That’s not impossible..."
It was as if she had misunderstood Annan’s guilt; her tone inexplicably softened.
Because she knew that what "Gerald" said made sense.
Logically speaking, Gerald had sealed his own spellcasting abilities. No matter who killed Master Michelangelo or who got rid of Melvin, it was unlikely to be Gerald.
Therefore, Maria paused and still spoke softly her inner answer: "It was... from the very beginning."
"From the very beginning?"
Annan asked with some confusion.
This answer was something he had not anticipated.
... Although Gerald didn’t have a pleasant appearance, that shouldn’t be enough to attract such hatred, right?
"It’s because of the look in your eyes, Mr. Gerald."
Maria answered seriously, "In your gaze, I saw a childlike purity, an elder’s indifference, and a well-hidden... arrogance."
"... The look in my eyes, huh."
Annan clicked his tongue, feeling a bit of a toothache.
Does Maria believe that?
When it comes to looks, that can be quite metaphysical.
Even for Annan, he judges a person’s psychology from subtle expressions, speech, actions, clothing, and recent actions. What one can see in the eyes is more of what "one thinks one can see"...
However, unexpectedly, Maria seemed to have quite an accurate perception.
And what she seemed to see was not Gerald, but Annan, temporarily taking refuge in his body.
"I have a suggestion,"
suddenly, Giralda spoke from the side, "How about we four establish a Curse Binding here?"
Maria immediately asked.
"[Until the end of this incident, the four present cannot attack each other], using this Curse Binding to form a temporary alliance, what do you think?"
The proposal obviously took the other three by surprise.
This meant that... even if the murderer was indeed among them, none could attack him; they could only help the murderer kill the others, complete the succession ceremony, or watch coldly as others attacked the murderer.
Unless among the remaining three, one of them was the murderer.
In simple terms, Giralda’s proposal was to reset the situation to a "one-on-one battle" scenario.
The situation had already reached a stalemate once they learned that the murderer might not yet have killed anyone.
But after Melvin died, this balance was once again disrupted.
Annan understood his intentions.
—This was a surefire strategy.
Unlike before, there were now only seven of them.
As long as four people teamed up, it didn’t matter whether the murderer who killed Michelangelo was inside or outside the team, the result would be the same. They were certain to win.
What Giralda really meant with his proposal was...
—If anyone here did not agree to join the team, they would die.
Because they could completely go and find someone else.
As long as they formed a group of four, in other words, the "majority," then the minority would have no power to retaliate.
The ones inside the team may not all survive.
But those outside the team would certainly die.
"—Then we agree to team up."
The other three present reacted quickly, immediately consented, and drafted the Curse Binding at once:
"We hereby establish a Curse Binding—"
Giralda led the recitation: "Before the end of this incident, the four present cannot attack each other."
As his words fell, a strange trace flashed through the air.
The power of the [Oath] bound their hearts.
If they broke this Curse Binding, the curse would burst within them.
Seeing that everyone had indeed established the Curse Binding, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
After a short silence, Maria was the first to speak, her voice cool and juvenile: "Actually, I never intended to inherit the position of Tower Master.
"The Tower Master can’t easily leave the Wizard’s Tower... This is troublesome for me. My elder brother cannot inherit the title of Duke, so I must protect my younger brother Annan well."
Upon hearing this, something stirred in Annan’s heart.
Maria might be under some sort of "can only tell the truth" or "have to speak whatever she thinks" Curse Binding.
She talked more than was normal.
Thus, Annan, with a puzzled look, pretended not to have realized this and probed, "By the way, the Duke’s eldest son... what happened to him? Um, sorry, if it’s inconvenient to say..."
"It’s not really inconvenient to say, almost everyone in the duchy knows about it,"
Maria said, laughing self-deprecatingly.
Clouds of darkness still lingered in her eyes, never dispersing.
She spoke softly, "Because ever since two years ago...
"My elder brother has been sterile."