Chapter 162 - <5>
After entering the Autonomous Guard's building, passing through a somewhat dim area, and climbing a staircase of exposed stonework, she arrived at the prison.
"Wow… it looks like a place an evil spirit user would live…"
Remembering a book she had read to the children, she couldn't help but mutter this in front of the old but sturdy-looking door.
"Hmm, but since it's Ritz, maybe more like a bear's den than a spirit user's?"
The young Birdfolk guard who had guided Anna here coughed, trying to suppress a laugh. It seemed he had been told not to be too friendly with Anna. Since the Autonomous Guard considered Anna a companion of the culprit, that treatment was to be expected, but it was a little lonely. Despite the rather long walk, he had barely responded to Anna's earnest attempts at small talk.
The young man unlocked the door and then turned to face Anna.
"I will be in the waiting room at the bottom of this tower. Please call for me when you are ready to leave."
"Okay. Thank you very much."
"No need. It is my job."
His words were stiff, but the man offered a slight smile. It seemed she had earned at least that much trust. After waiting for the young man to disappear downstairs, Anna muttered to herself, quietly but with a strength that was meant to convince herself.
"I will absolutely not say a single word of complaint to Ritz."
Ritz's absence was causing Anna a considerable amount of damage. Moreover, to hear that he had been framed as a murderer and would be judged for it made her unbearably anxious, wondering what she would do if he were sentenced to death. But she could never say such a complaint in front of Franz, who looked even more anxious than she felt.
Because she was so keyed up, trying to be bright and cheerful, she was afraid that the moment she saw Ritz's face, she would start complaining. But Ritz, trapped in a jail cell and unable to move, was probably far more anxious and frustrated. After all, he was the type of person who always wanted to be moving and doing something himself.
She took a deep breath in and let it out. Be the usual bright and cheerful self. She must not forget that.
"Alright!"
With her resolve firm, she pulled the door open.
"Huh?"
What appeared before her was a high-ceilinged, cylindrical stone space that gave off an open and airy impression. It was filled with light pouring in from four high clerestory windows. The room's stonework was exposed, without even a coat of plaster, but the sunlight gave it a faint warmth, and the dry autumn air circulated pleasantly, making it feel almost like a sacred space, like a church.
She had been imagining a horribly grim scene, with Ritz chained up and sitting dejectedly alone in a damp, dark prison cell. The reality of the prison's appearance was so far removed from her imagination that Anna was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Oh, it's actually pretty bright in here."
The cheerfully optimistic words slipped out of her mouth. She thought it might have been a bad thing to say about a prison, but it was too late.
"…Coming to a prison, and your first words are 'it's pretty bright'? How's that for a reaction?"
She turned her gaze toward the source of the resentful voice. There, with both hands on the iron bars, stood Ritz. Looking more pathetic than tragic, the sight of Ritz was less pitiful and more amusing, like one of the beasts from the Marguerite Circus Troupe before a meal.
"Well, I was imagining something more damp and dark and miserable."
"I'm in a prison, you know? It's plenty miserable, I'd say."
"Ehh? You don't look miserable at all, Ritz."
"Then how about you try taking my place?"
"No, thank you."
At her firm refusal, Ritz burst out laughing.
"I figured as much."
"Of course. Oh, this is the luggage you asked for."
"Thanks. Now I can change."
"I'll take the dirty things back and wash them, so make sure you change before I leave, okay?"
"Got it."
She handed over the luggage she had brought, and Ritz tossed it onto the bed. Despite his reply, he didn't seem to have any intention of changing and giving her the laundry right now. She wanted to wash them tomorrow, so she wished he would change before she left. With that thought in mind, Anna looked around for something to sit on. It seemed like she would be here for a long time, so she thought standing and talking would be awkward.
Looking at it this way, it was a bleak room. If possible, she decided she would try to bring some flowers or something tomorrow. Of course, that was only if the Autonomous Guard would allow it. In the end, the only thing to sit on was the sturdy-looking writing desk chair, so she decided to carry the somewhat heavy object in front of the iron bars.
She didn't know where to start talking to Ritz, who had been put in prison, and sat there in silence. Then, in a calm and gentle tone, Ritz asked.
"Are you okay?"
"Huh?"
"Even without me here, are you eating properly and sleeping?"
"…I'm fine. I'm not a child."
"Right, you're not."
Being teased made her forget the anxiety of Ritz's absence, but being treated so gently brought it all back. The truth was, she wasn't okay. She was eating and sleeping, but other than that, she was constantly worried about Ritz.
I want you to come back to my side soon. When I'm not with everyone, when I'm alone, before I fall asleep, I'm always, always thinking about you.
But if she said that out loud, she felt like she would break the promise she had made to herself before entering the jail. As she frantically tried to think of what to talk about, Ritz was the one who changed the subject.
"What about Ed?"
"Oh, Ed-san and Franz, they went out to do some questioning today."
"Just the two of them? They'll be a duo tomorrow too, right?"
"Nope. There'll be three of them starting tomorrow."
"…Who's joining? You?"
"Nope. I'm coming here again tomorrow. Anil-san is going with them for questioning."
"Anil is?"
She realized then that Ritz didn't know that Anil was cooperating with the investigation. It was then that she finally remembered that Anna was here to exchange such information. This was not the time for idle chatter.
"Anil-san came yesterday, and we talked about a lot of things."
Anna recounted the events of the previous day in as much detail as she could remember. She explained the condition of the body as seen by Edward, the inferences that could be drawn from it, and also the fact that it was still unknown why Ritz had been in that building.
Naturally, she also conveyed that Anil did not believe Ritz was the culprit and was convinced that his sister's lover was. And she also relayed Edward's view that the conflict between the Tashkur Liberation Front and the conservatives might be behind the incident.
"I see. So, as an outsider brought here by Anil, I was a convenient person to frame."
"Is that what it is?"
"That's what it is. Thanks, Anna. I've got a general idea now."
Though she had backtracked and gone on tangents, which took up a considerable amount of time, it seemed she had managed to convey everything properly to Ritz.
"Did you hear anything else from Ed?"
"Umm…"
She tried to recall her discussion with Edward. Then she remembered one thing she had forgotten to ask. Edward had told her to ask it.
"That's right! Ed-san's sword!"
"…So it's that."
For some reason, Ritz let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair.
"That thing's worth quite a bit, isn't it? Was he angry?"
"Eh? No, he wasn't angry at all."
"Then what about the sword?"
"Um, he wanted to know if you remember how long you had the sword with you."
"How long I had it with me…?"
Ritz tilted his head with a puzzled look. It seemed he didn't understand what that meant. In fact, even though Anna was asking the question, she had no idea why Edward was asking about his sword. Only Edward, who had ordered her to ask, would know.
"I definitely had it at the tavern. And I had it when I went to the woman's inn."
"So that means you had it until you woke up in the place where you were framed?"
"…That's how it would be."
"I see."
She didn't know what kind of hint that would give Edward, but it might be important, so Anna took a piece of paper from the desk and picked up the pen next to it. She opened the glass bottle of ink, dipped the pen tip in, and wrote down the words. Since she had gone to the trouble of opening the lid, the frugal Anna looked at Ritz, wondering if there was anything else to write.
"How about you, Ritz? Did you remember anything?"
Edward had told her to get a memo from Ritz if he had remembered anything about the incident. But Ritz dropped his shoulders dejectedly and shook his head with a small sigh.
"The thing is, I can't seem to remember anything in particular."
"Aww~"
"You don't have to be so critical. I never thought something like this would happen, so how could I remember all the details?"
"Were you drunk?"
"It's not that, but…"
Ritz said dismissively, stood up, and stretched. The cramped chair must have made his body stiff.
"But why did you go to that woman's house?"
She had been wondering about it since yesterday, but no one would give her a reason. Anna tried asking Ritz the mystery that was on her mind. As expected, Ritz froze mid-stretch.
"If you wanted to have a fun drink with a woman, you could have just stayed at the tavern. Why did you go all the way to her house? You shouldn't just barge into a stranger's house."
"Uh, yeah, you're right."
Ritz faltered. He was being extremely evasive. So she became even more curious and pressed on.
"I understand the feeling of wanting to talk more if you hit it off, but it was so late at night, I think it would be a bother."
"Yeah. You're right. It would be a bother."
"That's what I think. Besides, you can't offer any hospitality in the middle of the night."
"Yeah. Uh-huh. I know."
"Or was there a special reason? Like, was she someone who could offer some amazing hospitality, or, oh, did you get drunk and force your way in!?"
"No!"
Ritz's face, as he denied it with all his might, was utterly flustered. This was very suspicious.
"…I don't get it. Ed-san and Franz won't tell me anything either."
"Well, you see, it's the kind of thing you'll find out eventually…"
A thin layer of sweat had appeared on Ritz's forehead as he stammered. Even though the dry, stone-built prison was cool to the point of being chilly, she didn't understand what he was so flustered about that he was breaking a sweat. But for now, it didn't seem like Ritz was going to tell her why he had gone to a woman's house in the middle of the night.
Since she had sworn to herself in Ciedena that she would wait until Ritz told her, she couldn't press him any further. Reluctantly, Anna gave up her pursuit and let out a small sigh. Ritz scratched his head apologetically.
"Sorry. I'll definitely tell you in the future, so for now, please let it go."
"Okay."
After nodding, she remembered Edward's words. She looked up at the standing Ritz with a steady, upward gaze and asked timidly.
"When I become an adult, you'll spend the night with me instead of with another woman, right?"
"…Eh…?"
In the blink of an eye, Ritz's face stiffened.
"Am I not good enough?"
When she tilted her head, for some reason Ritz became extremely flustered, his eyes darting around as he turned to the side and answered in a mumbled, faltering voice.
"Well… if you're okay with it. I'd be incredibly happy, but…"
Not understanding why he was so flustered about drinking together, Anna tilted her head and nodded.
"? I'm fine with it. Besides, if we drink at home, we'll save money on alcohol, right?"
"Huh?"
"I'll be an adult soon, so let's not go out to drink; let's drink together at home, okay!"
When she declared that cheerfully, Ritz stared at Anna with a dumbfounded expression, then burst out laughing.
"Ritz~, what's so funny?"
"S-sorry, I'm just laughing at myself."
Then he clutched his stomach and burst into a fit of laughter, gasping for breath.
"Honestly, I don't get it at all!"
Still, Ritz's laughter didn't stop. When she crossed her arms with a sullen look, Ritz finally managed to stop laughing after a while and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Sorry, sorry."
Ritz said with a broad grin, sat down in the chair, reached out his hand from behind the bars, and gently patted the pouting Anna's head.
"You keep saying things that don't make any sense."
"Sorry. That was my misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?"
"Don't worry about it. I want to drink some delicious sake with you too. That's the truth, you know?"
"…Okay."
"By the time you're an adult, I'll work hard and earn enough to buy the best sake."
"Okay."
She didn't know what was so funny about it, but right now Ritz looked so happy and pleased that she decided to let the questioning go for another time. If they got into a fight here, Ritz would have to spend the time until Anna came tomorrow all alone in a prison cell, and she thought that would be hard on him.
"To do that, we have to get you out of here soon, right?"
"…Yeah, that's right."
Once again, Ritz let out a heavy sigh. It seemed he really couldn't remember anything.
Anna's schedule for today was to wait here until Edward and Franz came to pick her up. As long as they didn't know what the culprit who framed Ritz would try next, it seemed that Anna being here like this was the safest option. So there was still plenty of time.
In Franz's case, the safest thing for him was to be with Edward, so he was accompanying him on his rounds of questioning. If it weren't for that reason, Franz was certainly the least suited person for questioning, so he probably wouldn't have been taken to the entertainment district.
"Let's take our time and think. It looks like I'll be here all day."
"All day?"
Ritz asked back, and he seemed, if only slightly, very happy. If he was happy to have her here, then Anna was very happy too. She had been thinking it was a shame she couldn't participate in the questioning, but now she found herself thinking that it was more fun to just chat idly with Ritz, which was strange.
"I don't know what time Ed-san will be able to come, so I brought lunch too."
Anna took out a stone-oven bread with cheese filling, wrapped in a white cloth, from her own luggage. No matter how curious she was, she couldn't bring herself to be treated to a meal from the prison.
"See? Now we have plenty of time to think, right?"
"Yeah. Well then, I guess I have no choice but to try my best to remember."
"Yeah! Do your best!"
Looking at Ritz's rare, serious profile as he once again assumed a thinking posture, Anna felt a surge of happiness and secretly smiled to herself.
She had spent a lot of time with Ritz up until now, but it was rare for them to be alone together for a whole day. Even though they were on opposite sides of the iron bars, she was somehow happy about that.