Chapter Three - 4
1243, Lapis Lazuli Castle, France
4
“Oi, Snowy. Forget the river. What do you think? Do you think you can solve the mystery of how Raine and the others disappeared from the castle.”
“I think I understand. Or rather, I knew from the beginning.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you'll understand that eventually.”
Snowy pulled a dagger marked “VI” from their clothes and held it up in the air.
Without a word, they turned their back to Marie and went back downstairs and into the room.
Marie followed and began to lecture them.
“What are you doing with that dagger?”
“I just went off to a battlefield and a library, but I'm back now. By the way, Princess Marie. What did you think about Raine?”
“I'm not sure. Of course I loved him, once. But now I am afraid of him. I'm afraid, because he's come back as a headless undead. At night, he dons his armor and stalks the castle.”
“Why do you think the ghost is Raine?”
“Of course it's Raine. He's left something behind and is trying to tell me. Like the helmet on the floor. I'm sure there must be something he wishes to tell me. But I am afraid. If I ever see the ghost, I'll probably faint.”
“If the ghost is actually Raine.”
“Is Raine still alive?”
“Well, he certainly won't die.”
Snowy went down the tower stairs. Marie followed them.
“...Raine's body wasn't among those headless corpses, was it?”
“Of course not.”
“Then what on Earth is going on here? I don't understand. I don't know how the knights disappeared from the castle, or how their bodies were able to be found at Cross Spring, or how Raine could yet live.”
“Yes, your ignorance is truly without limit, Princess,” Snowy said mockingly. “Let's head back to your room and talk things over in private, shall we?”
“Very well.”
Marie and Snowy returned to Marie's room. They quickly shut the door before anyone could see them. Snowy brazenly threw themself into Marie's bed and gave a theatrical sigh.
“Well, Princess, you're full of questions. As the detective, I'm full of answers. Ask me the right questions and I'll unveil a brilliant, shining truth. Now's your chance.”
“Who was responsible for destroying the Order of my White Shield?”
“Well that was abrupt. It was Geoffroy. Your father, the lord of this castle.”
“I've been thinking my father might be the culprit for a while now. But that's impossible. My father hasn't set foot outside this whole time. How could he have moved the bodies to Cross Spring? Even if father had ordered someone else to do it on his behalf, they would have left footprints outside the castle. And they would have needed a horse. No, even with a horse, they couldn't have made it in time for the bodies to be discovered by that farmer.”
“Enough time?” The corners of Snowy's mouth twitched upwards. “Of course, neither that farmer, nor even Geoffroy have the special ability to transcend time. The corpses were moved using a fantastical trick. One that used the moon, sun, and cross.”
“The moon, sun, and cross?”
“By 'cross', I of course mean the stone one outside the castle, as well as Cross Spring. By the way, some people said something about Cross Spring moving, but that was nonsense. The lake did indeed move. But that only happened because it was moved. Cross Spring was created by the lords of Languedoc, who built a society completely separate from the dynasties to the north. The lake was artificially reshaped on the orders of feudal lords. It was a project that took centuries, but it's been forgotten by history, for the simple reason that nobody ever talked about it. And nobody talked about it because nobody cared. Nobody except for one man: Geoffroy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Geoffroy was born to the House of Toulouse. He would have been born in the 9th century. He was a lord who wielded great power, and had his slaves build a lake. A gigantic lake that connected to the Mediterranean sea. The south had been dependent on slavery for centuries, in contrast to the north, which had transitioned to a monetary economy. Perhaps because of that historical background, the lake was able to be completed and become what it is today. It was slaves who moved the lake.”
“I understand the lake. But what do you mean, father was born into the House of Toulouse in the 9th century? I don't understand.”
“It's reincarnation. Reincarnation doesn't respect past or future. God, explaining this is such a pain. Will you just hurry up and remember that you used to be Kimiyo, already?”
When Snowy said that, Marie felt an indescribable anxiety. A somewhat nostalgic, somewhat painful feeling struck deep into her chest. However, she wasn't sure what was causing it.
“Anyway,” Marie looked at Snowy with a pale face. “Cross Spring was made by man, is that it? Then what is the meaning of the other cross, the stone cross?”
“It doesn't mean anything. The shape of a cross is just perfect for fooling people. Even if it weren't a cross, it'd still function well enough.”
“So what is it? Is it a religious object after all?”
“No. It's a slide.”
“A slide?”
“Stop repeating everything I say. You sound like an idiot.”
“You're so annoying, calling me ignorant and stupid all the time. You're so arrogant!”
“Hey hey, I made her mad!” Snowy began laughing and burst into applause. “Sorry, let's get back on track. The huge stone cross is a slide. The surface was all smooth and slippery, wasn't it? Especially on rainy days, it got as smooth as a polished gemstone. The things that slid down the slide were the corpses.”
“And where did the corpses come from?”
“From the fourth floor window in the east tower.”
Marie remembered the secret window behind the movable wall. The stone cross was visible below the window.
“Here's how it happened. After the meeting, Geoffroy poisoned the knights and brought their corpses to the fourth floor. Then the threw the bodies out the window behind the secret wall. The corpses slid down the sloping roof, then fell in parabolic arcs onto the megalith cross below. The corpses, falling just to the left of the cross's horizontal axis, slid down the sloped arms to the center, and then down the vertical axis, parallel to the slope of the hill. Then they plunged into the river, which was swollen from the rain. Thus, the corpses were removed from the castle without leaving a trace.” (See figure)
“I can't believe a cross was used to dispose of bodies...”
“The window at the back of the secret room Geoffroy built and the stone cross were both designed for the sole purpose of disposing of bodies.”
“And the bodies just... fell into the river?”
“I'm not sure, but I believe Geoffroy experimented several times to prepare for his trick. For example, your mother, Princess, was used as a test subject. You saw your mother go into that room on the fourth floor and never come back, right? I believe the trick was still in the experimental stages at that time. I believe she was killed so he could examine the impact at the site where she landed, the presence of blood stains, and so on.”
“My mother was killed as an experiment...”
“Sorry for your loss.”
“But! Even if the bodies were thrown in the river, what then? The river flows towards the sea. How did they get to the banks of Cross Spring...”
Marie said that, but stopped mid-sentence as though she'd come to a realization.
“Looks like you figured it out. Yep, that river connects to Cross Spring. It wouldn't be a terrible plan to take the corpse out of the river and carry them upstream on horseback, but... nobody left the castle. If that's the case, then we can only assume that the bodies flowed upstream to Cross Spring. How can a corpse flow upstream? It's simple – if the river flows backwards, the corpse will go, too.
“I've heard of this. There is a river that flows backwards. It's somewhere to the north, I think.”
“The Seine. Other famous rivers like this include the Amazon River and the Qiantang River in China, although I doubt a pampered young lady like you bothers to remember the names of rivers in other countries. This backwash phenomenon is called a tidal bore, or sometimes a tidal wave. It's a phenomenon where the rising tide forms a wave that flows back into a river and cuts off its usual flow while pushing back upstream. For a bore to occur, the river must have a fan-like shape at its mouth and a steep slope. And above all, the differences between high and low tide at the river's mouth must be large. Tidal differences are trigger by the moon and the sun.”
“The moon...”
“Do you know how the moon effects the Earth? No, you've forgotten. You've been reset, right, Princess? You should have at least remembered this, but it can't be helped. Since ancient times, the moon has been an object of worship and used to read the calendar. It's a light in the darkness. However, the moon doesn't only act on the world at night. The moon's gravitational pull is what causes the tides, both the ebbs and the flows. Tides aren't caused by the moon directly, but by the difference in gravitational force between the center and surface of the Earth. The moon is just the controller. High tide comes when the moon is directly overhead, and low tide when it's on the exact opposite side of the planet. High tide comes twice a day. And it's not just the moon; the sun also has a gravitational pull. During the times of the new moon and the full moon, when the Earth, moon, and sun are all in alignment, the tidal effects of the moon and the sun combine to create the largest differences between high and low tide. In some places, the difference grows as much as 15 meters. Now apply this phenomenon to Lourdes River and the Gulf of Lion. The tide gradually rises to the east. Eventually, Lourdes River and Cross Spring stabilize, but the Gulf overflows due to the high tide. What happens then is the tidal bore, causing the water to flow up into Cross Spring. What happens if there's a dead body in the river at that time? Of course, the body will be carried back to Cross Spring by the backwash. Do you get it now? This is how the bodies of the knights disappeared from the castle and appeared at Cross Spring. The whole reason Cross Spring was created to begin with was to cause the water to flow backwards.” (See figure)
“I don't understand.”
“Gimme a break!” Snowy shook their head. “Well, you haven't even figured out the Earth is round yet, so it's understandable. Geoffroy used the moon, sun, and crosses to move the bodies. He'd been waiting for a day that was either a new or full moon and had heavy rain. He's a reincarnation of Kito, so he must know how tides work. After six hours, high tide would turn to low tide, but by then the bodies would have already reached Cross Spring.”
“So it was my father after all.”
“That's right.”
“What if the tidal bore, as you call it, hadn't happened?”
“It happens when it happens. Though it wouldn't change that the knights disappeared from the castle. Geoffroy being able to make it so the bodies would be found at Cross Spring was an optional bonus. It'd be more of a shock and a harsher tragedy. It'd open up more possibilities. For you, I mean, Princess.”
“Why... Why did my father plan such bizarre murders?”
“By committing this impossible crime, Geoffroy was able to escape suspicion. He knows that if he's exposed as the culprit, his knights will immediately revolt. Guess he's not that stupid.”
“No, I mean... why did he kill six knights?”
“Because of you, Princess.”
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