The group of three knocked on the cottage, and Risti took the lead in opening the door.

“Miss Risti,” began the leader of the group, a black-haired woman. Her eyes were bright and piercing, not unlike that of the Moons in a particularly clear night. “Your father enquires after your well-being.”

“I suppose my name was too obvious,” Risti muttered. “Should I have changed it? No, it’s not like I’m running away from home or anything, and that would make father worry, no?”

She paused. “How many letters has he received?”

The black-haired woman glanced at the man to her left, a faint smile on her face.

He nodded, the cloak draped around him trembling. “Six, milady.”

“Nothing’s missing, then.” Risti rubbed her nose. “Well, I shouldn’t keep you guys at the front door. Welcome to my temporary home, auntie.”

The black-haired woman rubbed her hair, prompting Risti to scrunch up her nose. It was a look Dia had never seen before, but what had interested her the most was how Risti had called her ‘auntie’. It wasn’t like Risti was the only one with a tetra-folder aunt — Dia had one too — but it was still interesting to learn new things.

She shot an inquisitive glance at Risti, who was now invested in showing the woman around. Her party members hung back at that sight, and Dia felt some odd sense of camaraderie with them. They were all in the same boat, after all — people who were staring at two relatives interacting with each other.

“Come on in, you guys,” said the black-haired woman. “And be very polite. This here is the president’s daughter, so unless you don’t value you—”

“Auntie.” Risti’s words were calm and quiet, but they were enough to make her quiet. “You know I don’t like that.”

“Right. Of course, sweet cheeks.”

The formal attitude she had adopted earlier had vanished with the wind, as if it was all just a formality. Everything had changed the moment Risti had called her ‘auntie’, which could only mean that there was a divide between the public and private sphere.

A divide that was usually restricted to nobility. Most noble families usually made use of certain words that denoted familiarity to trigger changes between private and public dialogue. Dia had her own experience with that — when she wanted to be spoiled by her father, she would call him ‘dad’, but when they were discussing important things or were talking in a formal tone, she would call him ‘father’.

Of course, all this was in the past. Even if Dia wanted to, there was no way she could ever relive that anymore. Her identity had been all but abandoned, her family entirely distant. There was nothing she could do about it.

Watching Risti interact with the black-haired woman brought her both joy and sorrow. It was a reminder of the pretty things in life… and of the things that she could no longer touch. Stifling the urge to cry out, she turned to look at the city outside.

“Right,” said Risti, pulling the woman over. “This here is my aunt, thrice removed.”

“Uh.” Dia tried to imagine the family tree, before remembering that she didn’t really care about genealogy and whatever other stupid baggage that went with it. “You definitely didn’t tell me that bit, though.”

“It’s awkward,” Risti replied. “Anyway, this is Norn, my auntie. She’s the leader of the Seekers of Truth, the Verdant Interrogator.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Norn, extending her hand. “These are my party members.”

“That’s Hein, my assistant.” She gestured at the cloaked man who had spoken earlier, before indicating her other party member, a woman wearing a mask. “And that’s Skald. Together, we make up the Seekers of Truth, a party focused on discerning the veracity of facts and evidence.”

“I’m…Dia. I’m honoured to make your acquaintance.”

“Dia?” Norn repeated those words, her eyes shifting over to Risti a moment later. “If not for the fact that my niece has told me about your circumstances, I would have believed it. Pitiful child, for your sense of self to be eroded in such a manner…but that’s what a loyal bodyguard should be like, no? I see why Risti approved of you.”

Dia wanted to ask what she was talking about, before abruptly understanding where Norn was coming from. If she wasn’t wrong, Risti must have written letters about the friends she made, along with the Moon Lords. Included in those letters were probably information about the loyal bodyguard who was taking the heat for the fugitive princess.

“What do you mean?” Dia, who wanted to check if her guess was correct, asked.

“Nothing much. It’s just that you truly believe yourself to be Princess Dia. It’s admirable, but…” Norn shook her head. “But it’s equally unfortunate too. Your real self can’t exist in such a case.”

Coughing twice, Dia feigned a polite smile. Like her odd niece, Norn had clearly taken leave of her senses — she had probably used a skill to detect falsehood when Dia was introducing herself. Naturally, since that was her freaking name, Norn’s skill had probably indicated that Dia was telling her truth.

However, since Risti and anyone related to her through familial bonds or friendship had a hole or two in their brains, Norn had clearly thought up a very ridiculous explanation for why her skill was reacting that way.

Was it really hard to acknowledge that she was Princess Dia of the Lustre Dukedom?

Throwing that thought aside, Dia clicked her teeth and decided to just acknowledge reality. Even if she revealed the truth at this point, Norn would only chalk it down to her determination and nothing else. “Lamentable, I guess. Duty is as duty calls.”

“Well said,” Norn replied, before taking a seat. “Alright, you two probably know why I’m here, right?”

“To ask about the murders that happened,” Risti replied. “Yes, auntie. Still, doesn’t father know that I won’t lie about things like this? Why would he still need to send you over even after knowing that I’m here?”

“He didn’t have much of a choice,” Norn replied.

“Oh.” Risti thought about those words for a moment, and then nodded. “They’re still trying to pull him down?”

“Yes.”

Dia narrowed her eyes. From those words, she could tell that there was probably something like a power struggle going on in the Folders’ Association, and her father was in the middle of it. In that case, it would probably make sense why Risti left for somewhere faraway, like Licencia.

The Folders’ Association had its headquarters in the continent capital, Grandia. Few ever travelled out of it, but…

Some things didn’t quite make sense, though. Why would someone at the seat of power care about a princess from a dukedom? Lily and Farah came from territories that were ultimately under the same sovereignty, but now that she thought about it, Risti’s hometown was the continent capital, Grandia.

There were all kinds of talented personages there. Why would Risti think so highly of a duke’s daughter?

She dallied with those thoughts for a moment, throwing them aside a moment later to focus on the conversation. Their little talk had taken a serious turn while Dia was thinking about Risti’s circumstances, veering off into the topic of power struggles within the Association.

Apparently, there was someone eyeing the position of president in the Folders’ Association. By itself, that wasn’t a bad thing, but the perp was an unscrupulous one. Many of the current president’s supporters had vanished without a trace, and there was only enough evidence to hint at the person behind those incidents.

Dia turned her gaze to the others standing behind Norn instead. Hein and Skald had taken out a Moon Phase set without her knowing, and they were already in mid-game by the time she noticed their actions. From the sheer smoothness of their actions, she had a feeling that they were very used to doing this.

“Dia,” Risti called out, pulling her attention away from the exciting game going on. Dragging her feet over to the aunt-niece duo, Dia tried to look alive.

“Are we doing the interrogation bit now?” Dia asked.

“Yes,” Risti replied, pulling out a chair. “Come on, Dia, sit down. No need to be polite with my auntie; she’s not here to take you in or anything.”

“That might not be the case,” said Norn. “I might require you two to follow me for the time being, if…never mind. Just focus on telling me what you saw on that night first. Try not to miss out anything.”

Dia nodded.

“Good. Let’s start with your assessment of the murderer first,” said Norn. “Forget about your testimony — I’m going to activate a skill, and you are to relive the memory of you confronting the murderer. Okay?”

“A skill?” Dia asked.

“Yes. With it, I can share your senses at that time; it’s better to let us professionals note down the scene and the smaller details you might have missed.” Norn paused. “Of course, if you don’t want to…”

Dia took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

Norn locked gazes with her for a moment, and then nodded. “Very well. Let us start.”