"————!"
At that moment, everyone present felt a sudden chill, causing an involuntary shiver in their hearts.
The source of this chill was Rozen, who had fallen silent, his facial expression completely vanished.
"Rozen-sama!"
"Rozen!"
"Rozen!"
Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki called out, seemingly wanting to approach, but were stopped by Rozen raising his hand.
Rozen released his grip on the spear, expressionlessly gazing at Astrid.
However, Rozen's demeanor ignited a glimmer of hope in Astrid's heart.
Because...
"You've been searching, haven't you? For the truth behind the Akabane clan's massacre!"
Astrid hurriedly spoke.
"I know the truth about the Akabane clan's massacre. As long as you don't kill me!"
In other words, Astrid intended to use this information as a bargaining chip with Rozen.
But Astrid miscalculated one thing.
"Indeed, I've been searching for the truth behind the Akabane clan's massacre," Rozen said calmly. "But how do you know I don't already know the truth?"
"This..." Astrid was momentarily stunned, then murmured, "Do you still believe that Akabane Tenzen was the one who annihilated the Akabane clan?"
Of course not.
Rozen had long known that Akabane Tenzen couldn't possibly be the true culprit.
"Although that guy tried to take all the blame upon himself, he didn't consider that I'm no longer the clueless kid I once was."
Rozen's tone was utterly indifferent.
"In the past, amidst the ruins of the Akabane clan, he told me that he committed the massacre to use the 'Crimson Wing Blood' to create a creation that surpasses the banned dolls, namely the Machine Doll."
But now, Rozen was well aware that such a thing was impossible.
"If the 'Crimson Wing Blood' alone could create a Machine Doll, then Machine Dolls would have emerged long ago."
Although the 'Crimson Wing Blood' was unique, in this world, there were individuals and bloodlines even more special. If the 'Crimson Wing Blood' could enable the creation of Machine Dolls, others would have already researched and developed them; there would be no need to pursue them to this day.
Machine Dolls are automata modeled after gods, or rather, they are gods themselves. How could they be so easily created from the bloodline of a distant eastern island nation?
Therefore, this reason, in Rozen's current view, was pure nonsense.
Not to mention...
"At that time, Akabane Tenzen hadn't even reached the final stage of a magus. No matter how talented he was, his strength was at most on par with the 'Thirteen' of this academy. With only such power, could he single-handedly annihilate the entire Akabane clan?"
Absolutely impossible.
The Akabane clan was a family of puppeteers, descendants of Onmyoji. Even if, at that time, automata hadn't been fully popularized in Japan, forcing them to use refined wooden puppets for combat, combined with the two major family secret technique, the 'Crimson Wing Formation' and 'Puppetry Arts,' the clan's strength was by no means inferior to that of powerful puppeteers.
Such a clan's strength couldn't be said to instill fear in the world, but to annihilate it single-handedly? Even if the Wiseman came, it would be impossible. Even if Edward Rutherford wielded 'Lemegeton' and attacked, defeating the Akabane clan might not be impossible, but annihilating the entire clan would still take quite a while.
Yet, at that time, Akabane Tenzen, who hadn't even comprehended the 'Mind's Eye,' single-handedly wiped out the Akabane clan. No matter how you look at it, it's unreasonable.
Unless...
"Akabane Tenzen had assistance, or rather, there were other masterminds behind the massacre."
Rozen stared directly at Astrid.
"If I'm not mistaken, the mastermind behind this should be the Izanagi clan, right?"
Rozen's words caused the members of 'Setsugetsuka' to hold their breath, and Astrid's eyes widened.
Obviously, Astrid hadn't expected Rozen to have guessed the mastermind.
However, this wasn't difficult to deduce.
"In Japan, if anyone could annihilate the Akabane clan, besides the military, it would be their arch-enemy, the Izanagi."
Rozen disregarded everyone's astonishment, speaking as if discussing something unrelated to himself, his tone still indifferent.
"Moreover, before the Akabane clan was massacred, there were already signs between the two clans."
That was something Rozen had noticed even in his childhood.
For example...
"Why did the Izanagi want to form a marriage alliance with the Akabane clan?"
Rozen still remembered that when he was training at the Akabane household, one day, the Akabane clan and the Izanagi decided to form a marriage alliance.
The Izanagi intended to marry their princess to the Akabane clan, their arch-enemy, which led Rozen and Raishin to accompany the family to the Izanagi's stronghold, where they met Hinowa, Subaru, and Mutsura.
At that time, Rozen had already suspected: the Izanagi were pillars of the nation, backed by the state itself, wielding immense power, essentially the royal family of the distant eastern island nation. Why would such a royal family marry their princess, the future heir of the Izanagi, to the Akabane clan, not only their enemy but also a family expelled from the political center, reduced to a mercenary clan?
Emotionally and logically, this shouldn't have happened.
"If the Izanagi valued Akabane Tenzen's talent and wanted to make him their son-in-law, that would be understandable. But in the end, they were willing to choose between me and Raishin, which is inherently unreasonable."
At that time, Rozen, though talented, didn't possess the 'Crimson Wing Blood' physique, merely an adopted son, with no reason to be eligible for a royal marriage.
At that time, Raishin, though inheriting the 'Crimson Wing Blood,' lacked magical talent, making it even less likely for him to be favored.
Within the Izanagi, there were many who strongly opposed this matter. Rozen had never forgotten the hostility and animosity from the other clan members at that time, proving that this was a marriage met with opposition, yet it was still pushed forward, which was truly puzzling.
Therefore, considering various signs, and recalling Magnus's statement, "Don't trust the Izanagi," how could Rozen not suspect the Izanagi's involvement behind this matter?
Rozen had only three uncertainties.
"Why did the Izanagi want to annihilate the Akabane clan?"
This was the first question.
The Akabane clan and the Izanagi were indeed arch-enemies, harboring mutual hatred for a thousand years. With the rise of the automaton civilization, the Akabane clan's 'Red Wing Formation' and 'Puppet Technique' would have their place, poised to shine in this era. The Izanagi likely felt threatened and wanted to eliminate the Akabane in advance. This wasn't impossible.
However, this led to the second question.
"Why did the Izanagi want to form a marriage alliance with the Akabane?"
This was another perplexing matter.