Polymath Redux – Chapter 42

Polymath Redux – The idiot’s guide to political misinformation
Chapter XLII

“Geez! How many times do I have to say it?! We don’t even know who this ‘Lazzaro Zeder’ even is! Why would Tau go through all that effort to kill someone he’s never met before?!”

The cramped interrogation room was flooded with the loud voice of a young maiden. Her name was Alice and her childhood friend Tau had been taken in as the prime suspect for the murder of a top official of this country. It was a situation beyond Alice’s comprehension, yet she still felt it was her job to prove his innocence. Unfortunately this task had proven much more difficult that initially thought as the ones who kept her childhood friend detained were adamant on the point that he was indeed the culprit.

“Stop messing around! There can be no one else except him!”

The man in charge of the interrogation of the young maiden slammed his fists upon the table with enough force to cause a crack. This man was the Supreme Commander of the Royal Knight Commission, Vladimir Zandora. After the Catastrophe of Fire he had thought to retire from his post yet amidst such thoughts this annoying situation had risen, preventing him from doing so. Thusly he grew exceedingly frustrated at this nonsensical issue. He knew that the girl was telling the truth; having checked her records she and the prime suspect were confirmed to only have recently entered the city for the first time.

As she had said, they had no motive to kill the Grand Cardinal. With his wrath clearly conveyed the girl who had shown such vigor before had become meek. They had been going around in circles with no clear result turning up and both of them were at their wit’s end. He checked the papers and went over the case once more but no matter how many times he read over it there was only one real conclusion. That it could only have been Tau who was responsible for the murder.

It couldn’t have been anyone else and that was because of the special properties exerted by the murder weapon. The murder weapon was the Sacred Sword and the only one who was able to wield it was the Chosen Hero, Tau. It was because of this very specific reason that the Commander was adamant to plant Tau as the culprit and be done with it.

“Listen carefully now. The Grand Cardinal, Lazzaro Zeder was murdered using the Sacred Sword. That sword can only be wielded by the chosen hero, meaning your friend, there is no other conclusion.”

“Like I’ve been telling you! After Tau pulled out the sword there was this large explosion that knocked us all out and when we came to we were back at the village chief’s residence!”

Alice answered back with confidence. Even to Commander Vladimir there was nothing wrong with what she was saying; onlookers have confirmed something akin to an explosion taking place at the time and place she had specified. Yet that was exactly the problem, that there was nothing wrong her words and her words were saying that Tau was innocent.

The most suspicious part was that they were knocked unconscious yet were taken back to the village chief’s residence. How? Commander Vladimir did not doubt her words because the truth was that the explosion did indeed take place and that it wasn’t just them but some people nearby were also knocked unconscious. Just having a quick glance at the girl he could tell that she was no experienced warrior thus meaning that she couldn’t have resisted the explosion.

She was unconscious and so was the ‘chosen hero’, Tau. Then who was it that took them back to their lodging? According to the girl she was unconscious thus she didn’t know and it could be that this may be the deciding factor to solving the case. Having asked the prime suspect beforehand, he had also told a similar story even without consulting each other so they were most likely telling the truth.

Both Commander Vladimir and Alice had been stuck in the room for over three hours and it was evident that they wouldn’t get any more information from just locking themselves in.

The Supreme Commander gave out a supreme sigh.

“There’s no point in continuing this conversation.”

Having reached his wit’s end he tried to shoo Alice away as she would only become a distraction in the investigation.

“Then what happens to Tau? Aren’t you going to let him free?”

“No.”

He answered with an iron voice.

“What?! How come?! I’ve already told you that he wasn’t responsible; that it was someone else! You can’t just keep an innocent person in gaol without proper evidence!”

Annoyed by her persistence the commander reprimanded her with a stern voice and sharp gaze.

“Look kid this decision was brought down by King Lionel Crom himself. There isn’t anything I can do about it.”

“But-!”

Alice tried to protest once more but was interrupted.

“Enough, leave.”

It was clear to Alice that she would be making no allies here. However it was impossible for herself to prove Tau’s innocence; she needed someone who could help her but she was new to this city and knew no one. Then a certain someone had come to her mind; if she could procure ‘her’ help then the situation could potentially be salvaged.

Unable to contest the commander’s gaze Alice had no other choice and had left the interrogation room. On her way out she was allowed to briefly see Tau and was guided to an underground cell where he was being kept. What she saw was a horrible sight.

He was tied and hung up by his hands as blood dripped from the side of his face from having taken severe beatings. He was roughed up in the process of trying to get either information or a confession out of it, but he had remained unresponsive. The Royal Knights, the iron protectors of this country only grew frustrated as they were unable to ascertain the obvious truth from the primary suspect. With the lack of evidence stacked against them there was no real way they could make their own arbitrary judgment.

“Tau!”

Alice ran up to the bars and called her childhood friend’s name. Considerably distraught at the treatment of her friend she glared at the two knights who were keeping a guard on him.

“Alice… are you alright? They didn’t do anything to you?”

Alice shook her head, slightly teary eyed.

“No, I’m fine. But they’ve hurt you so much… does… does it hurt?”

Tau returned a wry smile.

“I- I’m fine. I can take this much so don’t worry about me and return to the village for now. There’s nothing more you can do in this city.”

“What are you talking about?! How can I leave you behind?! Don’t worry Tau! I’ll definitely prove your innocence and get you out of that prison!”

Alice replied with vigor, to which Tau was slightly confused and worried about her. He knew that she wasn’t a child and was actually quite capable if she applied herself but she also had a naïve side to her. It was that which worried him the most; just what was she going to do prove his innocence?

“Alice, I’m thankful for your enthusiasm but it might be better to just stay put. There’s no real evidence that I was the one who killed the Grand Cardinal so hopefully I’ll be freed soon.”

Of course Tau wasn’t sure if that was exactly how it would play out but for him that was the best case scenario. The only problem was about just how long he had to be confined, as for now it was indefinitely, which was worrisome.

Alice shook her head and replied with a confident gaze.

“Don’t worry I have a plan.”

“A plan?”

Tau asked.

“Yes, I’ll gain the support of that lady. Morgana Daltress! If it’s her then she can definitely do something about your predicament. They say she’s the champion of the people after all, so I’m sure it will work out!”

With that Alice ran off, leaving Tau and the Royal Knights for the Daltress Manor.

…

Distressing over the unfortunate turn of events for this case, King Lionel Crom sat upon his throne with an unpleasant expression cast upon his face. He was currently alone in the large throne room as he had dismissed all of his subordinates to leave it alone for the time being. Normally since the throne room was the center for all government affairs it would be impossible to make them leave but was somehow able to do so currently.

For the king who wanted to monopolize the Hero’s status this was the worst case scenario possible. The Grand Cardinal, Lazzaro Zeder had been slain in the most flashy and horrific manner that gave little room for doubt as to who was truly responsible. Even still, he wanted to keep all information regarding this case a secret and thus had left investigations up to his most trusted Royal Knight Commission instead of the regular army. This was to keep the information restricted to the inner government but since there were already too many witnesses to the Grand Cardinal’s death it was only a matter of time before everything went public.

The only boon in all of this was that it was Lazzaro Zeder who was killed. For many years now the Royal family and the church had been at odds in the method of government. The king could only hope that this ridiculous conflict would be subsided now that the ringleader for the opposing faction was gone. Still, as much as he wanted to just wave this off and free the Hero, that would be an action unbecoming of the seat of the throne.

The best thing the King could hope for was to be able to prove the hero’s innocence. However that too held its own demerit as it would mean that there was someone else capable of using the Sacred Sword. As he continued to mull over the situation one of his guards had entered to announce the appearance of a certain figure.

“Your Majesty, the First Prince, Leo Crom has arrived.”

Accompanying that announcement, a slender and regal looking man had entered the throne room with a refreshing smile. He was the First Prince, Leo Crom, a man with silvery hair as opposed to the Crom Royalty’s golden hair. This fact alone put Leo had odds with the king but simple hair color should not be the basis of judgment thus the King had ignored that fact until recently.

A few years ago the prince himself had suddenly decided that it would be no good for his father to be associated with an anomaly and left Xagontetia of his own accord. It was a mystery as to where he went but seeing his son come back in one piece with no injuries was a load off the king’s shoulders.

“Greetings father, it is good to see you against after these long five years. Yet even after such a long time you look as well as ever; I am relieved. Though I must admit this city has gone through a great change, almost to the point that I had thought I was at the wrong city.”

“Oh~ Leo, you are back. I’m glad that nothing bad had befallen you. And yes, this city has changed a lot in recent times, all thanks to Morgana Daltress.”

“Morgana Daltress? Ah, that new minister of defense that you had promoted. Yes indeed she is quite the hot topic amongst the populace; I had the pleasure of hearing all about her during my way here. I’d really like the opportunity to meet her.”

“Indeed…”

The king wanted ask where and how he had been living and spending his days but alas he couldn’t. The king prided himself in his children’s freedom, which was also why he had let his youngest daughter join the dangerous adventurer profession. So for this case too he had placed his trust in his first son and did not bother to ask any questions.

“Yes, father. By the looks of it you have been mulling over something serious. Mayhap I would be correct in assuming this has something to do with the murder of the head of church? By the Chosen Hero?”

The King paused for a brief moment trying to figure out how he had known. Information regarding the case had been private. Where rumors already in circulation?

“Mmm, yes it is quite the predicament, but how did you know? Have rumors already begun circulating?”

The first prince smile and walked forward.

“It is simply an educated guess father; a deduction gathered from the information present.”

“By that you mean?”

“The first point of oddity is in this room father. That the throne room, the center of this nation’s activity remains empty means that something of major has come to your attention that has made you worry. In all honestly there is no way this room would be so easily vacated given its importance in the governance of this nation. And in this country there are two specific powers that rule, the first is the Royal family and the second is the Church. That you have managed to vacate this room means that the church had lost power, most likely from its head being killed.”

The king sat stunned at his son’s deductive reasoning. Of his children, Leo was the one who showed the most intelligence and promise in becoming the next king of Xagontetia. Yet he had arbitrarily withdrawn his seating from the succession to the throne. ‘A shame’, the king thought. Leo Crom was not a fighter but more of a strategist, he would have been a frightening asset if he had honed his skills further and stayed at the capital.

“Yes, but that doesn’t explain why you knew the chosen hero was involved.”

“That too is a matter of simple research father. The rumors that the hero had been chosen have been circulating as of late so it wasn’t hard to connect the dots. The Grand Cardinal, as elusive as he had been, remains a massive point of contention amongst the Royal Family and many others. It would not be such a stretch to assume that the Grand Cardinal wanted to control the Chosen Hero but that lead to a disagreement. ”

Leo explained. Of course this was all mere speculation yet the with the way he carried himself, as though a great actor of magnificence, the words were easily believable.

“I see, as impressive as I remember you to be.”

As the king complimented his son he fell into sudden contemplation, and he suddenly spoke up as an epiphany had struck.

“Yes…! Perhaps if it is you. Leo, if it is you perhaps you could come to the truth of this case. What do you say?”

“Of course, I would be honored to. Rest assured father, I will definitely get to the bottom of this case and bring to light the truth.”