Eternal Melody

She wants to trust him, yet she cannot do so because of her past experiences of being betrayed. The moment she learned about her childhood friend, something inside her broke. Her behavior recently is disgusting. What on earth is she doing acting jealous when she has such little information? She doesn't even know much about the girl yet.

It is normal to have a childhood friend of the opposite gender; it was the same for her. Nao and her cousin Hijiri are both guys. But, she still feels strange.

"Your imagination is wild, my dear. Those two are not a couple."

"That is true, but that girl likes Yuhi." Sumire only observed her for a few seconds, but it was enough for her. Occasionally the girl would stare at Yuhi for longer than she ought to. Whenever she talked to Yuhi, her tone seemed brighter.

Sumire sighed deeply. Sometimes she wishes she wasn't so sharp; if she wasn't, then she wouldn't have noticed such things.

"As long as that man loves you, it does not matter what others say."

Sometimes she wishes she could be more open-minded like Soujiro.

"You have not contacted me recently. Were you snooping around?"

She has not heard from Soujiro since she last stayed over in his residence for a short while. Even back when they were younger, he was not the type of person who communicated with her often whenever they weren't together. He would send a message when he intends to visit her, but he does not contact her again after he leaves until his next visit.

Her sweatdropped at the memory. When she was a child, his lack of communication troubled her a lot. But over the years, she adapted to it, and that is why she understood that he would eventually seek her out despite the silence.

"I was. I have gathered a list of corrupted nobles and was wondering if you want to join me on the purge?"

Sumire's gaze fell on the list. "Are these not people who were hostile against my family? Is that a coincidence?"

"Before the accident, I was already suspicious of these people. I consulted this with your eldest brother."

Her eldest brother was not blood-related to her or anybody in the family; he was adopted. But she only learned that after the accident.

"My eldest brother Raven was not in the manner that day. So he is alive but has not attempted to contact me over the last few years. Soujiro, do you know where he is?"

"Yes. Initially, we were working together to find the reason behind the accident. But after a few months, he disappeared. I have not heard from him since."

'That is suspicious. Perhaps did he find something, and that's why he disappeared?' Or maybe the enemy caught onto her brother discovering something and killed him? No, that man is not the type who would die easily.

"So, do you think these people might have contributed to the accident?"

"Yes. Does it not seem strange that a fire of that scale occurred? The fire spread even to the forest in the surroundings. There would be many ways for fires to occur, but not one on that scale; if it was an accident at most, it would have burned part of the manor. The only explanation for a fire of that scale is somebody did it deliberately."

She also had that same thought. But unfortunately, she tried her best to survive that day and did not look around for any clues that could be helpful.

"I fear the police was bribed and got rid of the evidence."

"Did you know who they named as the main culprit for this accident?"

"My brother Raven."

Soujiro nodded. "They even went through the trouble of revealing that he was adopted, thus creating a motive."

"The adopted child was jealous because he would not get any of the inheritance. The adopted child did not get along with his parents." Sumire repeated the titles she read from the articles Aki gave her.

"Right, he was named as the culprit. But fortunately, the police never found any evidence to detain him. That was why he could freely investigate with me. However, after his disappearance, people started to say that the police must have found evidence, and that's why he ran away."

Sumire sighed deeply. "From this, it seems like the entire police force was bribed. Because no normal subordinates could get away pinning the blame on somebody with no evidence. Somebody must have bribed the media too."

These are people/organizations they rely on to keep them safe, and yet look what they are doing? Bribery and corruption in this day? She supposes those are the two things that will never disappear in society.

"I think finding my brother right now is a priority. We can put aside purging these nobles lately. My brother most likely has more information."

She does not believe he participated in this and ran away. He must have discovered something.

"What about Tsueno Mamoru's case?"

"Attending the ball will help us learn more about the enemy. It is already clear that the Black Alice organization are the culprit. But there are many important officials involved."

"The Nagawa family. I am keeping track of their movements like you asked me to. But they are being very careful."

"Do you think they have noticed?"

"It should not be possible. The Nagawa family has a much lower standing in the elite world. But if they are able to evade the spies I sent, then perhaps they are more capable than we thought."

"Nagawa Mira is one of the founders of the organization; that should be enough to determine the Nagawa family's guilt. But," Sumire recalled her old classmate. "We cannot conclude that everybody in the family is related to the black Alice organization."

Moreover, based on what Evans said, Sano decided to take on the burden himself.

She does not want to blame the entire family if they did not know. Sure the Nagawa family did not treat her well, with the exception of Evans and her classmate Shuusuke. But that does not give her the right to blame them for something they did not do.

Soujiro placed his hand on her forehead, and Sumire extended her hand out. "Are you sick?"

"No."