"The real master?"
Alice raised her head and looked at the gentle man before her. A hint of confusion appeared in her eyes.
At that moment, Aizen walked over, reached out, and gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Just as I said from the beginning, your actions were the most suspicious. You found the box, and you were also the first person to press a petal. That made you an easy target for everyone else's concentrated attacks."
"If so, weren't you trying to find the manor's master? Why did you decide I wasn't one?"
"Because I don't believe someone capable of designing a game like this would be such an idiot that he'd put himself in a difficult position first."
Aizen rose to his feet and looked down at Alice as he continued.
"I have no evidence that you aren't the manor's master. Perhaps you're simply an exceptionally skilled actress. But I would rather believe that the real manor master would arrange the setting beforehand, then let the others discover the traps he had laid out one by one.
"Besides, since this ring can be activated by sensing something, and there are broadcasts throughout the villa, I believe there's no need to set it to an automatic mode. When someone's score reaches zero, the manor master hiding somewhere can still remotely detonate the bomb. In that case, there's no need at all to determine whether the ring corresponding to that petal contains a bomb."
Only then did Alice break into a smile through her tears. She stood up again, visibly much more relaxed, crying with joy.
"Thank you... Thank you for being willing to believe me... Thank you..."
Aizen maintained his smile. For someone accustomed to deceiving others, it was difficult even for him to tell which of his