A few minutes later, everyone, including Dave, was sitting in front of Daneel while waiting for him to shed light on exactly how he had managed to identify the threat to their lives in order to save them at the perfect moment.
After he had given that statement, the Head had only smiled in response and then flicked his fingers to make Jessica faint.
After that, he had walked to a particular location in the corridor and stamped his foot down, resulting in a formation that had been laid down around the building breaking into pieces.
It had been concealed in the most ingenious of ways, and it was only after it had been exposed that they were able to see that it was one which blocked them perfectly from any and all surveillance, while also putting out a fake image that would have fooled most surveillance methods.
Even messages going out would be blocked, so unless someone was aware that something was going to go wrong, no help would have arrived, and those three daggers would have found their marks.
This revelation had shocked them all to the core, and made them look upon Daneel in a new light. Most of what had happened still didn't make sense, but what was clear was that this had all been preplanned to make sure that no help would arrive. After all, the case was supposed to have been solved, and there would be no reason for there to be extra surveillance on them.
Even if there had been extra surveillance, it was a Hero level formation which Jessica seemed to have obtained somehow, and most normal Heroes would have been hard-pressed to identify it and break it to come save them.
Only the Head was strong enough, but he was supposed to be engaged in further interrogating Letitia so that he could find out if there was anyone else involved in this matter.
In other words, their deaths had been predetermined.
But… Why? Why had Jessica been in the garb of the assassin? Why would she want to kill them? What could she hope to obtain? And how could the King even have known that something like this would happen?
Looking forward to the answers to these questions, everyone present waited, but it looked as if the king wanted to savor the moment for a little while longer.
Finally, after noticing that those in front of him were reaching a breaking point where they might just decide to attack him in case he didn't give his reasoning, the King of Lanthanor opened his mouth and began to speak.
"I'll be frank with you. For the longest time, just like I mentioned before, I was also fooled. I thought I was on the right track, and because I had obtained that track after a lot of hard work, I was inclined to believe that it was correct. Step-by-step, I reached Letitia, and after she gave the explanation regarding what had happened, at first glance, it all seemed to fit in perfectly. At that point, I think it was an inner wish to resolve this matter as quickly as possible which pushed me towards accepting that she was the culprit so that I could end all of my investigations. However, as I had a habit of doing so, I took a step back and looked over the entire thing, again, and that was when I understood that I had actually been…lead to Letitia, instead of reaching her on my own, as I thought I had done."
All those present leaned forward as Daneel continued, and seeing this, his tone actually took on an additional aspect of slight pride.
"It is said that the best trackers require but a single clue to find the location of even the craftiest beasts. In this issue, when looking back, I found one major incongruency, and that was actually what led me down a pathway of revelations which involved things that I hadn't even paid mind to before. What I am referring to… is the incident where it became clear that Mind Control was the reason behind all of you seeing that assassin."
As expressions of confusion appeared on most of the faces in front of him, Daneel smiled and continued.
"You see, after talking to Letitia, I got a clear gauge of her intellect and skill in making plans. It took years of meticulous planning to pull off the act of entering your group. So, when thinking about the whole thing with that information, it just didn't…fit. Think about it. The entire reason why we were even placed on the track of Mind Control was that we were clearly exposed to that image where all five of the seeds were being targeted by someone invisible. The reasoning given was that it was a plan implemented by Letitia where in its aftermath, Dave would expose himself as the culprit and then kill himself to close the entire matter. True, it was my actions which prevented that, and it had looked as if I had thwarted the plans of the one behind it all. But if someone with Letitia's brains was really the one behind it, wouldn't they have chosen a much safer option? There was no reason, at all, to expose to us that it was Mind Control. After a little bit of time, while Letitia lay low, she could simply have ordered Dave to write a suicide note saying that he was the culprit before killing himself out of guilt. That, too, would have closed the matter, and there would have been no way whatsoever for anyone to interfere. However… Using that kind of shoddy method allowed me to create a plan where it was easily confirmed that someone else was the culprit. In fact, even that concealed attacking formation that was meant to target someone from the Central Continent was not something that Letitia would have chosen to use, as again, it would throw doubt on the story of the five seeds. Again, she wouldn't have done that. From there, step-by-step, I was able to reach Letitia, and normally, everything would have ended there. However…this incongruency that was revealed to me led me to rethink the entire matter."
Drinking a bit of conjured water and keeping the smile on his face as he saw the enraptured expressions of those in front of him, Daneel spoke again.
"I read someone once say that 'when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth'. The truth that was shown to me was that there might be someone else behind this, and it set me on the track to ask some very important questions.
"Is there a different explanation that can explain the facts, even if it has some grey areas?
"Could Letitia, herself, have been manipulated to implement her plan in that way, so that she could be framed as the culprit?
"Could there be someone else who could benefit in some way from this matter?
"It was in the process of finding these answers that I began to connect the dots. When that illusion of an assassin was attacking the five seeds, four of them had bunched together to protect Jessica. From that, itself, it was clear that she was the treasure of the group. Going back to the testimonies of the others, this was displayed, too, because they all expressed emotions of extreme attachment to her. Before Letitia arrived, she was actually the center of attention of the group, with Scarlet being deeply interested in her, Dave pursuing her, and Memphis and Matthew treating her like their little sister. Basically… She fulfilled the conditions for the first part of Letitia's technique perfectly. She had a perfect group of people who might be ready to sacrifice themselves for her. Also, those who are guilty often find themselves almost unconsciously trying to show themselves as innocent. Even in the most experienced of criminals, this behavior is seen. Since the beginning, Jessica was the most vehement in stating that she and the others shouldn't be the suspects, and this didn't even fit that well with her 'innocent' description."
Expressions of awe slowly started to appear as the dots which had all seemed inconsequential came together, like a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces had all been painted the same color.
"The grey area was clear: I don't know how she could have obtained the technique, or overpowered Letitia. But I had a working theory, and there was an easy way to see if I was right. If Jessica was behind this, she would fear Letitia's mind being skimmed, which might reveal something about her. She seemed to have already used Mind Control to erase all memories of herself being responsible in Letitia's mind, but traces can still be found. Before that happened, it would be best to carry out the sacrifice and obtain power. After that, she would have time to make more plans to blame others, which she seems to be an expert in doing, or use some other methods to make herself look like the victim. I confess that I am not perfect: I knew that she would do this tonight, before the Head would skim through Letitia's mind, as she must know that by tomorrow, Letitia's mind would be stable enough. The Head had identified this after an examination. If so, after this sacrifice, she must have planned something to make sure that she will remain hidden. This is another grey area, and I think it is time I ask the Head to speak, so that he can give us the answers."
With a nod, the Head spoke up.
"I have checked Jessica's mind forcefully, and even though she placed safeguards against it, I broke through them, even if it meant injuring her in the process. Jessica was always the one with the weakest talent in the group, and her goal had always been to use something forbidden to increase her power. That is why she was secretly building contacts with those from all other sects, who all were attracted to her due to her 'cute innocence'. By the way, that is also how she obtained the formation she just used. Anyway, she was able to hear about Letitia, and the whispers in the Eternal Blossom Sect that said that she could have a very valuable technique. On the day that Letitia arrived, Jessica used a one-time Hero-level trinket that she had obtained as a gift from a pursuer to overpower Letitia and take her under her control. She found out her plan, and when she looked for ways to obtain the technique, herself, she saw that there was a process where the test could be placed by someone who had passed, as the objective of the one whose Inheritance is the reason behind the Eternal Blossom Sect's existence was always to propagate his techniques to those whom he deemed worthy. Jessica took the test, and surprisingly passed. She saw the opportunity where she could use the first pathway which grants the most power, and she edited Letitia's plan to make everything happen in this way. Her last step was to grow in power with this sacrifice and then visit Letitia to kill her using a sudden burst of power as 'revenge' for killing her friends(she would have framed Letitia for this, too.) She would attribute this 'burst of power' and increase in talent which she would have obtained from the sacrifices to the rare chance where a Mage can break out of their proverbial shell in times of crises. She would have gotten more resources, and happily entered another group to repeat the process. King, you…have really averted a disaster. How can I ever hope to repay you?"
The answer from the King was simple, and so prompt that it made the Head go speechless.
"Oh, it's nothing. A treasury or two will do. All right, fine, I jest. But how about five weapons, instead of just one?"