West Borough, 9 Hope Street, the prime minister's residence.
The current prime minister, Aguesid Negan, looked as though he had aged several years overnight. He was speaking with Earl Hall.
Though Aguesid was a leading figure in the Conservative Party, after his brother's assassination, Earl Hall was the only person he could think of to consult...
Only by handling the aftermath properly could they keep the kingdom's lumbering steam train from flying off the rails and falling completely out of control!
After hearing Aguesid describe the entire incident, Earl Hall frowned.
"Patrick Jason? He was a Devil who'd spent decades posing as a banker? If I recall correctly, my Bavart Bank just acquired his holdings...
"And Baron Larry was involved in the assassination too? What could have driven him to go that far?
"As far as I know, Baron Larry has always served in the military. He had no serious quarrel with Pallas..."
Duke Negan's full name was Pallas Negan.
Aguesid gathered his thoughts before speaking.
"That Devil was a Sequence 5, yet he suddenly sold off his holdings, abandoned an identity he'd spent over a decade building, and took an enormous risk to assassinate my brother...
"From that, we can reasonably surmise that someone—or some faction—put him up to it. Unfortunately, he was killed while fleeing... According to the Nighthawks, a High Sequence Beyonder did it.
"Oh, and before leaving, that person dropped a major arcana Tarot Card: The Tower."
"A Tarot Card? Is that the organization that opposes the Aurora Order and worships a being called the Fool? I remember reading a report along those lines..." Earl Hall asked after a moment's recollection.
"It should be that newly emerged, mysterious organization... They previously sent out a so-called Gentleman Thief, the Black Emperor, who appeared in Backlund several times..."