episode_0155

The black and purple paper he took out from his pocket was clearly the paper I had made for that bastard.

The fact that we were able to find that paper even after a considerable amount of time had passed since the incident occurred… … . Are you saying you didn’t clean the room after that incident? On-site preservation?

No, when I thought about it, both the victim and the perpetrator were in the same room. Since there was no one to occupy the room, there was no reason to touch it.

An alibi that has disappeared, solid physical evidence that cannot be taken away, and even overwhelming suspicion.

I can’t back down anymore. Now, it’s time to show your true colors――

“Indeed… … .”

――You must be thinking so.

Well, you may be thinking that since he is not an ordinary detective but an investigator directly under the royal family, he cannot let his guard down until the end.

At the very least, if you come this far, you probably think you’re stuck in a trap that you can’t escape through any means.

There will be people who are embarrassed and deny it, and there will also be people who just calmly pretend it’s not true.

“It looks like that was the casting used in the incident at the time.”

But from their perspective as investigators, these were obvious methods that were bound to get caught anyway. Even if I act perfectly, I’m sure it won’t be long before I get caught.

They must have seen a lot of criminals while working as investigators, and they must have seen a mountain of criminals behaving like this.

Even if they did not meet those criminals in person, they are investigators directly under the royal family.

Just by reading the data on the cases that have happened so far, it would have been possible to know what behavioral patterns the criminals had and how they tried to deceive the investigators.

You will never be able to fool them with such clumsy methods as above.

So what should I do here? Should I give up everything and use physical force, or should I kill them with a curse?

no. I will not hinder them or push them by force.

“You’re not really surprised.”

“What… … . Because the investigator gave me information like a piece of cake. I just slowly made deductive reasoning based on that information.”

Move in ways they never thought possible. Take action that is not in their database.

Think of it the other way around.

“Inference, what do you mean?”

“Yes. We didn’t have a lot of information, so we couldn’t come to a conclusion, but at least we could guess what was coming next. So I wasn’t really surprised.”

The goal is to exploit the gap, thoroughly deceive them, and make them think they are on the same side.

“That sounds like you are saying that if you had more information, you would have been able to catch the real culprit. Am I mistaken?”

“The investigation is an information war against the criminal. If you have the information, there is nothing you can’t do.”

I crossed my arms while saying that, and the investigator who heard me didn’t show any outward signs, but he kept touching the corner of the notebook he was holding with his thumb.

“Hmm. okay. If we have more information, we can catch the real culprit… … .”

“Of course, it would be hard for you to believe that I, who was just a student and a suspect in the case, was offering help. Please pretend you didn’t hear what I just said.”

When he said that, the number of times he drooled on his lips and blinked increased significantly.

Yeah, that would be embarrassing. The animal that thought it would get caught in the noose if it took a few more steps suddenly hung itself in the noose with its own feet.

You might wonder if there is a part of you that believes in something. Or perhaps there is a gap in the noose. Should I snatch the noose? Should I take it out now? You must be anxious and confused.

What he chose was to push forward.

“I guess you already knew that you were designated as a suspect.”

“Rather than saying I already knew, I expected it from the moment you revealed that you were an investigator under the royal family. It’s called a woman’s sense. Hehe, it’s a little funny that the person who was guessing talked about persimmons.”

“… … The fact that you keep quiet even though you know means that you are confident that you can prove that you are not the criminal, right?”

“I think the story is a bit wrong. It’s you who has something to prove here, not me. Terra Earningstone. I am only a suspect and have not been confirmed as the culprit.”

I said that and looked at him, and when he heard what I said, he narrowed his eyebrows and groaned.

“It’s not over yet.”

“Yes. Keep trying.”

“This fetish has the extremely terrifying effect of brainwashing the opponent. To find the trigger conditions for this, we searched through A’s room. A piece of paper of the same material as this one was found in a corner of the room.”

As he said that, he took out a piece of paper divided into two pieces.

At first glance, the paper looked like ordinary torn paper, but I could tell. That was also one of the fetish items I gave him as a gift.

As I was quietly looking at him, he waved the torn paper and said.

” There are a total of four things that can be learned from this torn paper. This casting is activated by tearing, and it is disposable and cannot be used again.”

After pausing for a moment, he threw away the torn paper and continued speaking.

“And, the real culprit has the financial resources to prepare five or more sheets of this high-quality, expensive paper, and is a witch doctor so precise and excellent that no traces can be found in the castings he used.◦@ ◦

“It means that I am included in the last two items.”

“There is still more evidence. Charlotte, do you remember the day when the Spring Festival was in full swing?”

found. gap.

I cried out in joy and started using the curse to wreak havoc inside my body.

* * *

When I asked the last question, I moved the last chess piece in my head.

“The day when the spring festival was in full swing… … . Are you talking about it?”

If she is the culprit, it will show a huge gap as she is feeling great psychological pressure.

You will be told that you were with Princess Hermel. That single word will become a sword that kills a wild animal tied to a noose.

“Yes. You won’t say you forgot, right?”

After hearing what I said, she looked at me for a moment, then smiled bitterly and looked into the distance and said.

“How could I forget? As a result of that incident, my relationship with the Crown Prince completely soured… … . It was the day I made the extreme choice of breaking off the engagement.”

The story, along with the atmosphere, leaked to other places. Is this a ploy to get attention?

There is no way. I cleared my throat lightly to get her attention.

“Hmm! Hello Charlotte. Then, would you please tell me the story of what happened that day?”

“Yes, of course.”

She let out a small sigh, lowered her gaze to one side as if recalling the memories of that day, and slowly began to talk.

“First of all… … . On the morning the festival started, after breakfast, I met and talked briefly with Professor Priscilla.”

“What did you talk about?”

“I asked if I could spare some time for about a day. The professor refused, saying that if the student and professor were seen together, it could lead to a misunderstanding that they were receiving preferential treatment.”

This part was consistent with Priscilla’s testimony.

I nodded, opened my notebook, and checked the information I had gathered so far to make sure there were no lies in what she said.

“And then what?”

“And then… … . To enjoy the festival, I wandered around the street stalls. I stopped by a sugar cutting shop and looked at artifacts at a street vendor displaying them… … . and… … . Cotton candy… … .”

It was strange that as he continued speaking, there were more gaps in his words, so he took his eyes off his notebook for a moment and looked ahead.

She was frowning and pressing her temples as if something was strange.

“And then? What happened while you were enjoying the festival?”

“Ah… … . When I went to the rooftop terrace to take a quick break, I heard screaming from below. I realized it was a murder case when I went back to my class to avoid the commotion for a while. The Crown Prince told me.”

“There, there was an argument with the crown prince, who thought Charlotte was the culprit and moved on, and that day he announced the break off of the engagement with the crown prince. Is that correct?”

“… … Yes.”

caught.

“There are some shortcomings in that testimony.”

“What is lacking? No, I will only tell the truth――”

“The truth with all the holes in it is not called the truth. From now on, I will fill that gaping hole.”

Despite the headache that felt like my head was going to explode, I couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped me. I grinned and looked through my notebook to find crucial evidence.

“First of all, Student B, who had been brainwashed that day, killed Student A. What’s strange here is how B was able to undo A’s brainwashing and kill A. But if you change your perspective just a little, you can solve the problem.”

Not the brainwashing of “A. Third person. What if C, who handed over this fetish, freed B from his brainwashing? B, who remembered what had happened to his fiancee and what had happened to himself, killed A. This is the conclusion.”

“Here, C not only frees B from brainwashing, but also prepares another trick to hide his existence. The curse of death, which operates through hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, and certain triggers, has been placed on B.”

“When I went to see B in person, he was mumbling something incomprehensible and looking at something invisible. We were able to confirm that it matched the commonly seen hallucinations and images of victims suffering from auditory hallucinations.”

I closed the notebook with a thud. He continued speaking while looking ahead.

As the headache got more and more severe, my body was at its worst, but strangely enough, I felt the best.

“In that case! Is there anyone who is a witch doctor with the financial resources to prepare this casting, excellent curse skills, and a specialty in hallucinations and auditory hallucinations? Yes, it’s you, Charlotte La Rochelle!”

“Ah… … ?”

“Crucially, there is one person missing from your testimony! From the time you broke up with Professor Priscilla to the time you talked to the Crown Prince and announced the break off of your engagement! I was with Princess Hermel!”

As I finished speaking, feeling something dripping from my nose, I smiled in triumph, feeling my mind clearing up.

All physical and psychological evidence pointed to her. All circumstances were following her.

Like a mountain animal whose limbs are tied to a noose and cannot move. Now there was no room to move anymore. No matter how hard I struggled, there was no point.

okay. It was a perfect checkmate as always.

“Seo, senior! Blood, blood!”

“Uh, I know. Tsk. How on earth do you have to overwrite your memories so much that you get a nosebleed just thinking about them?”

“No! This is Princess Charlotte!!”

When I blinked at those words and looked forward, I saw her face holding her head with a confused look on her face.

“Me and Hermel… … ? Hermel, princess, princess… … ? No, Hermel… … ?”

Red blood, like mine, was flowing from her nose.

The blood was flowing with unusual force, making a red flower bloom on her pure white shirt.

“… … What?”

It was a moment when the game that was thought to be checkmate was completely turned upside down.