Became the Academy Romantic Phantom Thief

Chapter 87

87 – The Scoop

“So did you check?”

“Yes.”

Gadget slowly opened his mouth.

“The Grace family recognized it.”

A sentence written at the bottom of the letter sent anonymously.

Grace provided the information.

Along with him, the Grace family’s seal was also stamped.

After confirming it, the police immediately asked the Grace family to clarify the authenticity of the letter.

The reply that came back was this.

‘After checking, the seal is genuine and not counterfeit.’

That really meant that Grace provided the information.

“I can’t understand why.”

I was told not to reveal the thief’s information, and then he himself informed me of this fact.

“Couldn’t it be someone other than Lord Grace?”

“That makes no sense. Anyone who wants to use Grace’s seal will eventually have to be accepted by the head of the family.”

If you didn’t do that and acted on your own, it would be tantamount to causing a catastrophic injury to the head of the family by adding to the exaggeration.

“Even if it was led by another Grace, the influence of the family head would have worked after all.”

“Why did you bother to do this?”

“Okay. Did you want to insult us openly?”

If this article were released now, of course all the arrows of criticism would be directed at the police.

As the commissioner, he was going crazy and jumping. The person who put pressure on you suddenly changed and attacked you. Even with the contents they ordered themselves.

“Maybe. Is it a plan to use us as a stepping stone to increase your reputation?”

“Whatever it is, it seems clear that we have been taken advantage of.”

With a bitter smile at the dejection, the commissioner repeated washing his face dry.

“What shall we do now? I’d rather formally protest against Grace…”

“If you say you’re angry right away, you’re really going to die. I just have to hold my breath and endure it.”

“…Then, is there any special response?”

“I can’t help it. It is better to remain silent until public opinion calms down.”

No matter how much he is treated as a hero of the country, a single individual commits such an unscrupulous act against the public authorities.

Gadget frowned and swallowed his anger.

I didn’t even know in my dreams that this was all a phantom thief’s plot.

***

“What bullsh*t is this? Are you saying the cops hid it on purpose?”

“·······.”

Rachel, reading the newspaper, exploded in anger, and Sharon didn’t react as if she was deep in thought.

“These are crazy people. How did you come up with the idea to conceal such important information?”

“Rachel. Calm down for now.”

“No, that makes no sense! In the end, if it is revealed someday, you don’t know that there will be an aftermath?”

No wonder she was angry. Perhaps all the other citizens feel the same way as Rachel.

This kind of anger will naturally lead to the next thought.

“What would have happened if it wasn’t for Grace?”

Rachel grumbled and she reacted exactly as I expected.

“Isn’t it called a hero for nothing? You could have just shut your mouth and passed it on, but for the sake of people, you put on a gun and revealed everything.”

I let out a sigh of relief because it felt like the plan had worked.

This was the only way I could get out of Grace’s clutches.

To make the board much wider so that the opponent cannot easily touch me.

With this scoop, public opinion will change drastically. People’s anger will be directed at the police, not me, and as a reaction, the favorability towards Grace will go up.

As long as people’s attention is so excessive, even Grace cannot move easily. In particular, if it is revealed that the informant was false, public opinion may be overturned, so I cannot deny it.

In addition to that, when this flow hardens, it becomes a painting in which each other helps each other.

In other words, because I am the villain, Grace, the hero, shines even more. The opponent will also decide that it is better to use this structure than to break it by force.

The important thing is that the sketch the other person had drawn was completely erased and turned into a flow led by me. From now on, I was the one who had the initiative.

“By the way, even a phantom thief is a madman. I never imagined that you would rob the palace.”

Then, Sharon, who had been silently keeping her mouth shut, brought up her story.

“Something is strange.”

At those ominous words, I asked nervously for no reason.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s been several days since Raven raided the palace, but it’s been quiet so far, because it’s not possible just by hiding the police.”

Rachel tilted her head at Sharon’s point.

“Then what?”

“There is a high probability that the royal family and the government who suffered the damage also condoned the fact. In other words, Grace, who belongs to the council, must have known.”

It was indeed a sharp reasoning. When Rachel heard that, too, she blinked with a somewhat surprised expression.

“…But you didn’t whistle because you knew?”

“If it was something like that, I would have shot the royal family rather than the police.”

“Huh? Why the royal family?”

“Looking at the current situation objectively, it is normal for the royal family to be more suspicious than the police. Isn’t it strange that even though they suffered damage, they are hiding it?”

“Um… I know.”

Rachel, who at first had an opposing opinion, gradually came to agree with it and gradually came to terms with it.

“However, in the article, only the police are being shot. As if there was an intention.”

“What could be the intention?”

“That’s what you think. For example, it’s all someone’s design.”

It gets hot. Isn’t it too much to reason to that extent as soon as you see the newspaper?

Still, it seems that the phantom thief is not involved in this case yet.

Or do you know, but you’re not talking about it?

She is obviously embarrassed that a child who had been silent and didn’t say anything until she was studying just now suddenly becomes so talkative when she becomes a detective.

Even Rachel, who showed the reaction I wanted at first, was completely persuaded by Sharon and began to have doubts.

She’s such a dangerous woman. No matter how much she thought about it, she was definitely Sherlock.

[Whoops. What would it be like?]

‘Goddess, please stay quiet unless you tell me.’

Don’t eat popcorn on the sidelines for nothing.

“Hey. What does it look like to you?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. You’ve been silent since before.”

I hesitated at the arrow that suddenly flew at me, wondering how to respond.

I was worried that if I answered incorrectly here, I might give Sharon room for doubt.

Of course, with that in mind, I made an alibi the other day using the scholarship screening as an excuse.

It was a rather unpleasant ending to be relieved with that alone.

“Okay. It’s certainly strange, but wouldn’t it be a bit too early to make any conclusions yet?”

“I don’t think so. After all, all that has come out now is one article.”

It’s a knight anyway, it pours out after a while. I wouldn’t miss out on a scoop like this, except for the newspaper I reported anonymously to.

Of course, right now, I’m going to keep myself in check to see if this is true, but there’s a high probability that the police won’t issue a corrective report even after time passes. I’d rather not give a stance and be consistent with no reaction.

Then other newspapers will realize that this is real, and jump on the bandwagon and pour out additional articles. Even if you want to go back at that time, it will be after all the people have already known about it.

We talked a lot about newspapers after that. In fact, what we need to be aware of in this scoop is not such a conspiracy theory, but the thief’s actions.

The robbing of the palace was a much more serious matter than any previous case.

Of course, if you dig into it, you just rob an empty villa, but the fact that the princess and the thief met doesn’t change.

Yes. The newspaper mentions that Princess Victoria encountered the phantom thief.

Fortunately, the story behind the hostage situation was omitted from the article, but the fact that they met was enough to become a hot topic.

“Why was the princess in the palace?”

“Sure. There are no details, so there is no way to know.”

Actually, I’m a phantom thief, so I know everything about it.

I still don’t know. I have no idea what the princess is doing.

Perhaps the most enigmatic figure is none other than the princess.

“Oh, it’s too late to read the newspaper. Her sister must be whining to herself.”

“…Isn’t the treatment of your sister too rude?”

“I have to act as her older sister to treat her.”