Hal found himself whispering as he spoke to the detective, whose happy tone could be heard throughout their conversation, but in the same way, Hal could not contain his surprise
"What do you mean become part of the cult?"
"Relax, we are not actually joining it but pretending to in simple terms we will be going undercover as cultists ourselves, so get ready"
Hal stroked his chin for a bit. Could he really have found a way to infiltrate the cult, after he himself claimed to be so hard to trace? But come to think of it, a cult would need members, and those members would need to have a way of joining the cult.
"But how did you even manage to get their attention?"
The detective sounded unsure of his words as he spoke with a more hesitant tone.
"I think it has something to do with the purity of the soul flame, it's just that I haven't proven it yet, so I won't go into detail now, but we will speak about it more in detail when we meet"
"When are we meeting anyway?"
The vigour in the Detective's voice returned as Hal heard him say
"I want us to meet at the start of next week. Would that be a good time for you, Mr Hal?"
'Next week, huh?' and he would be returning to the mansion at the end of that very week, so as far as he was concerned, the time served him perfectly, and the Owl wasn't as strict with him moving about, so getting to the detective was not going to be that difficult.
"The time sounds perfect to me, just name the place we are going to meet in"
"It would be the most convenient if we met up at the place where we met last time, and luckily for us, the butler won't be there"
Hal knew that the detective was not trusting of people after their few interactions, but why would he have reason to doubt the very house that brought them together?
"Why don't you trust the Aquilia house? Is there something wrong with them?"
The detective took a few minutes to answer before proceeding to calm his voice to a whisper.
"It's not the young lady I don't trust, but her butler, things have not been so stable in the Aquilia house of late, especially when it comes to Lady Terisia's auntie Lady Relina Hansetia"
"What about her?"
The Detective's voice grew into more of a whisper, forcing Hal to lean forward just to get a glimpse of what he was actually saying.
"The Aquilia Family is an incredibly powerful family having control of one of Ortario's residential areas, the Port city of Elafist, and almost all trade in Haverfield depends on them, and as you happen to know, the previous prime minister was also from that family"
'Wow, that was too much power, with such a strong grip on the country's trade, no wonder there were the most powerful family, but every novel or anime Hal has ever watched taught him one thing.
That with such power in the family, there would always be those who want it all to themselves. Hal brought his attention back from his own thoughts and continued to listen to the detective.
"But now Lady Relina Hansetia controls all of it; she is the duke in Ortario, has control over the Mermaid's fin, the family's trading company, is the candidate to be the next prime minister, and after the death of the wife of the previous prime minister, she owns Elafist as well"
No wonder unrest would rise in the family, with so much power collecting in the hands of one person, the other family members would begin to feel a sense of unease, and it wouldn't go one way.
Lady Relina Hansetia would begin to realise the tension building around her and begin trying to resist it, eventually causing unrest in her as well, but the detective was not done with his story.
"To make issues even more messy with Mathers Grey Apulia, the previous minister, being Lady Terisia's father, hence she was the one meant to inherit Elafist and would be the one with the biggest grudge after her mother's mysterious death"
"And hence would be the person Lady Relina Hansetia doubts the most"
"Exactly, and according to what I have discovered, Mr Albert was a mere sweeper under Lady Relina Hansetia, but was suddenly made a butler to Lady Terisia when her mother died"
The detective was right to be suspicious of the butler, but how does that have anything to do with the case they were currently dealing with
"But how would he being a spy for Lady Relina Hansetia be a problem to us? Wouldn't she be happy that the curse is gone? Then, when she wins the selection, she can have the title longer and not have to worry about the curse"
The detective sighed
"It's because I believe that some members of the Aquilia house have connections to the cult and might even be aiding it, which would also explain their abnormal rise in power and how one of their members is always part of the selection"
The detective's reasoning made some sense, but Hal still felt like something was not adding up. Why would the Aquilia family willingly join a selection that would doom one of their own
"One question, in the past selections, haven't Aquilia family members gone missing? It is not that they won the selection each time"
Hal finally found himself a comfortable place on his bed as he listened carefully to the detective's reasoning.
"Yes, that is the tricky part, that is why I said some members, I believe that the Aquilia family must sacrifice some of its members as a deal with the cult to ensure that they keep getting the cult's support"
A deal that ensured that the Aquilia family would have a member as the high count every so selections, and in return, they would sacrifice some of their members.
It sounded like a reasonable argument, and also it would take a lot of power to establish such a firm grip on the country's trade, a power that can be granted by the position of the High Count.
"Your silence tells me that you are starting to pick up on what I mean, aren't you? Do you see why I now doubt the Aquilias?"
"Yes, I see what you mean, but there are still some loopholes in this theory of yours. For a cult so deeply rooted in the nobles, like you said, why haven't the other nobles benefited as much? Wouldn't that strike up an uproar?"
There was a silence as the detective's tone changed to that of worry
"I thought of that as well, but the thing is, I can't trace any other family with a connection to the cult., That's why I can't fully believe this theory, but the undercover mission should yield some answers, okay partner, I'll be setting off then"
"Wait, can I ask a question?"
The detective was hesitant to answer, but soon enough his voice resounded from within the cufflinks.
"Okay, go ahead, but make it quick"
"It's about the missing niece of the owl. Have you dug up something on it?"
"No, sadly, her disappearance was the most mysterious of all. It happened during the selection ten years ago, yet she wasn't part of the selection, and up to date, we haven't solved it, but that doesn't mean we gave up on it"
"What was her name? Can you tell me?"
The detective's voice was filled with a curious suspicion as he answered
"Lyrrah White was her name. Why are you asking?"
"I happen to be living in the White family manor, and she came up"
"Okay, if that's the case, I'd better go now"
The detective hung up, if that was the term the people of this world used, and with it, he fell back on his bed and fell asleep almost instantly.