"Who were those people?"
"How would I know? I told you, we were in our rooms." Zoe said, "A little after five, Simoya was exhausted, so we went up to a turret at the top of the castle to rest for a while. She slept until nearly seven. Then we heard someone ringing a bell downstairs, so we went down—it was Madam Bronbo inviting us to breakfast. She said the game was over and everyone could eat to their heart's content."
At that point, Zoe suddenly shifted from reclining against the back of her chair and lunged forward, planting both elbows on Hesta's desk. "And then came the important part!"
Hesta raised her eyes slightly. "Hm?"
"The man named Tang An on that list was Simoya's friend. He sat with us at breakfast, and we chatted while we ate. Then, all of a sudden, he lowered his voice and asked Simoya what role she'd gotten last night—I was stunned, and so was Simoya. Neither of us knew what he was talking about!
"I thought Simoya was going to tell him the truth, but she just gave a cold laugh and said, 'I'm not exactly a good role.' The man laughed too and said he wasn't either—his identity was Trion."
"Trion?" Hesta repeated the name. "You mean Trion?"
"Yeah, the baron who's still at the residence now," Zoe said. "Tang An said he'd been startled when he got his identity. It was the first time he'd learned that Trion had also been at the scene on the day the duke was murdered."
"Then he asked what Simoya and I were. Simoya said we were both thieves, and he asked, 'Thieves? What's the thieves' mission?' Only then did I realize that different identities might come with specific missions. For example, a guard—assuming