Chapter 403: · The Truth Behind the Death of the Golden Princess

【"In this way, the analogy discussed just now holds."】

【Waver continued: "If it were a ritual to make the Golden Princess beautiful, the timing of the celestial bodies would not match. However, if it were a ritual to transform another woman into the Golden Princess, comparing Venus to the Sun, the magic would hold."】

【"If using the Sun and Moon, the position must be an Opposition, and the position of Saturn, which governs form, must also be at 120 degrees. However, the case of comparing Venus to the Sun is a different matter."】

【"Although it is an analogy, the fact that Venus is a planet remains unchanged. This means that as long as the Moon, Venus, and Saturn are each at 120-degree positions, it suffices."】

【Waver waved his hand, and Reines moved her hand, causing the celestial chart floating in mid-air to rotate accordingly.】

【"The actual timing should be about a month ago, consistent with the timing of the auction where Izellma obtained the cursed object."】

【Mick: "Hey, hey, is that Golden Princess really the maid from over there? Then Karina was present at the debut party; how do you explain that? And when the Golden Princess's corpse was discovered too..."】

【Waver: "At the debut party, the hall was not only a distance from the balcony, but they only introduced the Golden Princess and the Bai Yin Princess, right? Using a Homunculus or a mechanical doll to replace them would suffice."】

【"Simply not using magic, just having a servant of similar build wear the same clothes wouldn't be a big problem. Because if only one side had a maid accompanying them at the debut party, it would arouse suspicion; Lord Byron would likely spare no effort to cover it up."】

【"As for when the Golden Princess's corpse was discovered, it is even simpler. This ritual was not meant to last even if it were effective; after all, it is Cinderella."】

【"Whether it is Perrault, Basile, or the Brothers Grimm, the result is the same: the magic cast on the protagonist will be dispelled after the banquet ends."】

【"After scattering the corpse of the real Golden Princess and locking the magic lock on that room, Touko Aozaki's ritual was likely dispelled as well."】

【"By the way, whether the Crown-rank Mage's plastic surgery was so thorough that even the magical wavelength matched, or the room's lock was replaced with one dedicated to Karina, it doesn't matter, right?"】

Waver: "Really, it was a scam from the very beginning."

Feng Xi: "That's right, the Golden Princess was already dead from the start."

【"May I interrupt?"】

【Inorai spoke up: "Since you say it's plastic surgery, the goal was ultimately to imitate the original Golden Princess, right? However, the fake Golden Princess that my clumsy disciple performed surgery on reached a realm surpassing the real one. Why is that? Is it the clumsy disciple's ability? Or because of the cursed object used?"】

【"Both Touko Aozaki and the cursed object had an influence."】

【Waver said indifferently: "However, there is a more important reason. You should be very clear about the utility of beauty in magic; people who see beautiful things become beautiful—this is part of beauty in magic."】

【"The Golden Princess and the Bai Yin Princess were designed to complement and enhance each other's beauty, also known as complementary beauty. However, the Golden Princess herself cannot see her own face, and neither can the Bai Yin Princess."】

【"Even if reflected in a mirror, at that stage, it would damage their beauty."】

【"Therefore, to use this ritual, from a certain stage, a third person is needed."】

【"Hmm..."】

【Byron groaned and staggered backward.】

Rin Tohsaka: "Cannot see her own face, what does this mean?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "Could it be..."

【Waver: "Of course, when deciding to perform surgery on Karina, Byron likely didn't have such an intention; he was just anxious about losing the Golden Princess and tried his best to fill that void."】

【"Nevertheless, the ritual was established with the arrival of the third person; the maid Karina, who had always been watching the Golden Princess and the Bai Yin Princess, attained the same beauty, bringing the ritual to a higher stage."】

【"Wait a minute, Teacher."】

【Svin raised his hand: "If according to what you said, Teacher, wouldn't the Bai Yin Princess also reach ultimate beauty with the birth of the new Golden Princess?"】

【"That point is simple."】

【Waver looked at the Bai Yin Princess and said: "Miss Estella, you cannot see, can you?"】

【Bai Yin Princess: "... How did you know?"】

【Waver: "It is said that the Golden Princess cannot hear; this is likely a common pattern of honing magic by closing off one sense."】

【"The Izellma ritual has been completed to the point of branding the closure of one of the five senses into genetic traits. Even Touko Aozaki's plastic surgery followed this aspect, stripping away Miss Karina's eardrums."】

【"By the way, there are no mirrors in the Golden Princess's room, which is also to match your room."】

【"You are arranged as a pair in life levels such as eating and sleeping; whether there is a mirror is also too significant in a magical sense. If you want to match one side, it is much easier than not having one."】

【"Of course, they should use magic to avoid inconvenience in daily life, such as using magic similar to bat acoustic measurement, etc.; there are many methods available. However, fundamentally, they certainly cannot see."】

【"She did not enter the same cycle of beauty as the Golden Princess."】

【"However, I don't think Touko Aozaki, who performed the surgery, didn't foresee this result."】

Empress: "Trading the five senses for beauty, what a pathetic approach."

Fiore: "This is what is called having gains and losses."

Sola: "No wonder there are no mirrors in the Golden Princess's room."

【"Hmph, although I don't remember, I have probably imagined it."】

【Touko Aozaki narrowed her eyes and said: "By the way, the one who commissioned me to exclude the El-Melloi classroom was Lei Jina over there."】

【Being pointed out, Lei Jina was not panicked at all; it seems she was already prepared.】

Shishigou Kairi: "The employer is actually this maid; I didn't expect that."】

Caules: "Why do this? Was she instructed by someone, or is she afraid of the truth being exposed?"】

【"The reward she offered was to tell me the truth about the Golden Princess's beauty."】

【Touko Aozaki laughed: "Oh my, I see, so that's how it is?"】

【"Hmm, you didn't lie; you were able to tell me, you just didn't say that the true face was crafted by me. However, since that's the case, I have no reason to hide the identity of the client."】

【Reines looked at Lei Jina and said: "Then, was it you who framed me for the murder of the Golden Princess?"】

【"..."】

【Facing Reines's question, the maid did not attempt any rebuttal, and the Bai Yin Princess standing beside her also remained silent.】

【Reines: "What's wrong? Karina, who visited my room with the Golden Princess, should have been you in disguise. Whether you want to refute or just go along with it, at least try saying something, how about that? By the way, it wouldn't hurt to have your master say it."】

【The maid still didn't speak; her attitude was solemn, and even when teased, her expression didn't change.】

Rin Tohsaka: "Really, if I didn't already know Mio was another murderer, I would have thought she killed her own sister."】

Waver: "Even though she isn't the murderer, she makes herself look like one."】

Caules: "What on earth is she thinking?"】

【Atrum: "Hmph, the clever Lord El-Melloi II should have deduced even this part."】

【Waver: "Are you saying everything should be said by me?"】

【Atrum: "That is of course; you were the one who boasted that the case was left to you to handle. Since that is the case, isn't it a detective's duty to get to the bottom of the case and turn everything inside out, from blood vessels to internal organs?"】

【Waver: "Sigh... The real Golden Princess should have died from the side effects of the research. The Izellma ritual reached a dead end and had already eroded the genetic traits of the experimental subject. If it were consumed any further, dying in the process could be said to be a certain inevitability."】

【"However, Lord Byron did not stop there, at least not until this debut party."】

【"Tiadra, who was once the Golden Princess, died, but he invited Touko Aozaki, and Karina, who was surgically transformed into the Golden Princess, achieved success beyond imagination. This result perhaps strengthened a certain determination in the Bai Yin Princess and Karina who served her."】

【Islor: "Does that mean the Bai Yin Princess will also die sooner or later?"】

【Waver: "No, compared to that, there is a more urgent problem."】

【"At that debut party, many mages should have thought that if it were them, they might be able to reach the Root. What if the Mage's Association heard of such a possibility?"】

【Touko Aozaki: "Hehe, Sealing Designation."】

【Waver: "Strictly speaking, the Golden Princess and the Bai Yin Princess are not mages, so perhaps they won't be subject to Sealing Designation. This was originally Izellma's research, not limited to one generation. However, the Zhong Ta cannot let go of figures who show the possibility of reaching the Root; this point is certainly correct."】

Darnic: "Hehe, how pathetic. The goal that a family has been striving for has been impossible to achieve from the very beginning."】

The Grand Duke: "Hmph, this is the means by which those in power maintain their rule; it is truly pathetic and disgusting."】

【Touko Aozaki: "So, before escaping, the Golden Princess's corpse needs to be exposed. Hmm, speaking of which, the Bai Yin Princess and the maid originally intended to escape after the corpse was exposed, right?"】

【Waver: "The reason for framing Reines is likely the same. As long as you drag other factions—if possible, well-known mages from the opposing aristocratic faction—into it, the matter cannot be resolved by Izellma and Baljelleta alone. In this regard, Reines is an impeccable candidate."】

【"Because of someone, I have some fame in the Zhong Ta."】

【Reines said self-deprecatingly: "In short, it wasn't entirely a lie that the Golden Princess wanted to escape; she likely considered it seriously."】

【Waver: "Basically, Lord Byron should have known that this was the real Golden Princess when he saw her corpse. After all, the person who dissected the real Golden Princess into pieces was you. By the way, there is no need to emphasize the reason for the dissection, right? As a mage, for the sake of future progress, obtaining various data from the specimen is a matter of course."】

【Byron: "..."】

Rin Tohsaka: "The Golden Princess was actually dismembered by this old man."】

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "This point is not surprising."】

Caules: "Truly, even after death, she is being squeezed for her last value."】

Waver: "Pathetic. Seemingly a glamorous princess in front of people, but in the end, she was just an experimental subject."】 ===== CHAPTER 405 =====