Chapter 31Where the Monster Disappeared (9)

Translator: Kimmy

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“Heh.”

Billford forced out a laugh.

“It was like she read the question form ahead.”

“Exactly. She is sharp in observation.”

Alex recalled how the small lady’s eyebrows flinched when she said ‘corpse’.

Alex could tell Eva had a keen sense and despite the impression of her being fragile and terribly shy around strangers, she seemed to have some basic knowledge about ‘this type’ of work.

That was unusual.

“Well, they really don’t look like they are involved in this case”

“That’s true. But it must be done. Investigate if she is really ‘the’ Brigitta Emmerich and dig some information about that lady too.”

Billford made a curious face at Alex’s commands.

“What? That lady surely cannot be the culprit though? Based on her physical ability.”

“I know but just get it done. You’re talking too much, Billford.”

Alex ignored Billford who grumbled at his increased work and pulled out a gum from her pocket and chewed it.

Her face darkened looking at the newsboy yelling, ‘another murder case’.

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We really do need a lock.

Eva deeply sighed as she closed the door.

Brigitta was standing behind Eva. She still couldn’t understand what exactly just happened.

“Hey, Eva?”

“It’s going to be troublesome now.”

“What?”

“You are too innocent.”

“What?”

Brigitta asked back as she never had someone call her innocent.

Eva hopped on to the sofa and drank the tea Alex didn’t bother drinking at all.

There was a thin line across her round forehead.

Brigitta somehow felt uneasy.

Eva’s eyes were not sparkling adorably like usual and were instead worrisome.

Her back stiffened.

“Don’t you remember they talked about the two corpses found under Underhat Bridge? If the body was really found there, then it has to be that they have drowned there. But since the investigators came all the way here, they must have found something in the bodies.”

Eva chomped roughly on the cookies.

She looked like a squirrel nibbling on acorns though.

“They didn’t identify the bodies yet but they assumed their age range so it’s not been long since their death. So, that means the body has not decayed that much even though it was found in water. If they really are our neighbors then it is a bigger problem. Because that means they were in the capital all this time even after scamming you so you could be one of the suspects.”

“What?”

“It’s because you have a hostile relationship with them. It gives you motive.”

Eva pressed on her temples.

Hah, who knew I would experience the same thing twice.

She knew the investigators were just doing their job but then or now, she was unpleased with getting interrogated despite being innocent.

At least this time they were asking politely. Last time—– Ha. Yes, all thanks to the City Hall, and the new Emperor.

She shook her head as if shaking away her bad memories of the past.

Well, thankfully they were following the law this time. If they do anything offending I’ll report them.

Eva pledged with her lips pouting out.

Reporting is just a virtuous citizen practicing her rights!

“Bri, I’ll send you off and pick you up from work for now.”

“What?”

Brigitta’s eyes shook.

Shouldn’t it be the opposite?

She didn’t understand all the crime part but she understood that it was dangerous.

But then why is Eva…?

Eva looked at Brigitta with a hint of pity.

This Holkan was just, well-mannered, and kind but unfortunately, she was too innocent about the nasty and troublesome side of Lesa.

She poured the rest of the cold tea down her throat.

“Sigh.”

Eva closed her eyes.

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There was another article about murderer TT in the Morning of Honor Newspapers.

It was written in a serious tone: the two bodies found under Underhat Bridge were professor couples of Calleheim University and the two have been known by students and acquaintances as scammers.

It was also written that, perhaps TT”s murders are planned and done by someone who had a hostile relationship with the victims.

Eva read the newspapers and pulled her hair.

She looked at the man’s ring on the night table and frowned.

“…….Not now.”

She put aside the manuscript she failed to continue even a single word and picked up her coat to go pick Brigitta up.

Her steps towards the Palace were heavy.

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Brigitta was scolded by the Chief Commander in the morning.

“What the hell did you do! Why are those crow-like bastards asking all those weird questions!”

The table in the Chief Commander’s luxurious office was breaking apart at the Chief Commander’s fists.

Oh no, that one is expensive.

His assistant wiped away a tear.

His mentality would be split open like that when he requests for supplies later.

“Uh, Chief Commander. It’s not that I was involved because I did anything wrong.”

“Whether you did anything wrong is not the problem here. Why were you even talking with the bastards from the City Hall! Don’t you know how annoying and nasty the yellow journal* reporters are? They are servants of the demon who have no guilt making a virgin lady into a mother of 3 children all with different fathers! You think we are still under the reign of His Majesty Josef?! We can’t block the media now! Do you know how much I had to suffer to stop one article!”

“Uh, I really didn’t do anyth…….”

“I know!”

Crash.

The table finally split into two.

That handsome table was now to be fire wood.

And I would be to blame again for the limited budget again.

The assistant wiped away another tear and removed the table replacement cost from this month’s budget.

Brigitta finally left the Chief Commander’s office.

The Commander of the 1st Order patted her shoulders and the Commander of the 3rd Order held her hand tightly and called the chief commander a snob–she said in a volume only a swordmaster can hear– and promised to buy her a drink later and left.

The Chief Commander’s angry voice often reached the headquarters of the Royal Knights and most of the Commanders have been scolded this way.

“Hah, it’s so hard to work for a living.”

“I didn’t know sword masters had the same trouble as us, Commander.”

Huh?

Brigitta turned back

“Oh, Eric. What are you doing here?”

The man who was even bigger than Brigitta, Eric, was holding a bundle of documents with a tearful face.

Guessing by the wrinkles on the back of his neatly ironed uniform, he must have been sitting here for a long time.

“C, Commanderrr….”

“If you cry here I’ll make you run 10 laps.”

Eric desperately tried to hold back his tears.

He sniffed and reported.

Brigitta contemplated for a second if she had to replace her temporary assistant with someone else.

“Okay……While you were away, we were in charge of the guard duty of the Sun Palace and someone had escaped from there….This is the written explanation…..”

Brigitta felt dizzy looking at the bundle of documents he was handing over.

“…….Do I have to write one too.”

“Yes……”

She looked outside the window at the sky.

Lesa’s sky awaiting the Harvest Festival was too damnably blue.

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“…..H, Hey, are you alright?”

Eva tapped the person lying in front of her with the tip of her toes.

His messy blonde dirtied with black smears and sand must have been a very pretty color that shined under sunlight.

His tanned body flinched.

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Karlos was lost for words.

How did he escape?

“No, really, how did he escape.”

Diego managed to dodge the eyes of the 2nd Order of the Royal Knights.

Karlos didn’t come for one single day to investigate the gate situation and this happened.

He really is going to be something. A crown prince that successfully escaped from the two Rumilesas!

The Emperor praised the boldness of the Cartul bloodline.

Does Cartul teach escape strategies to their children or something?

“Besides, I told him I’m the man in charge? Yet he ignored that and ran away?”

If Diego didn’t understand that it meant ‘I am the Emperor’, Karlos was concerned about his slow wit but if he did understand what it meant, Karlos was concerned about his blind recklessness.

Karlos was concerned not for the sake of his ego but for the Chancellor’s wrath towards Diego.

What was Glenn even thinking?

He was so angry with Diego but yesterday in the office, he didn’t mention Cartul’s crown prince at all and solely focused on the West gate problem.

That bothered the Emperor even more.

He dismissed it at the moment because the gate situation was more urgent but Glenn didn’t even say one word of sarcasm he so often uses. And that was weird.

The Glenn the Emperor knew had an amazing talent for stabbing someone with words.

Anyway, it was about to get troublesome.

He didn’t officially announce that the crown prince of Cartul was here and nor couldn’t exactly classify Diego as a hostage or a guest, and the Foreign Affairs Division was still discussing what to do with the crown prince for days now.

So, he couldn’t even tell the 2nd Order who escaped and just told them to submit a written explanation.

It was all because the Head of Royal Guards’ implored that the Emperor needed to punish those who failed in guarding duty whether or not they were aware who they had to contain.

This is going to make them even more uncomfortable around me, damn it!

Karlos was a little sad.

It was because the people he had to force to write an explanation were the 2nd Order of Knights who he thought he became a little closer to–at least that’s what he thought.

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Yellow Journal*: terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales.