Chapter 184: One Hundred Eighty: Suspicion

One Hundred Eighty: Suspicion

Milaier's sudden shrill scream jolted Kelake awake instantly; he rushed upstairs and soon saw the shocked Milaier and Butler Walunte, who had arrived a step ahead.

Kelake caught the scent of blood in the cold air and felt an ominous premonition in his heart; he walked slowly to the open door of Count Bluebeard's bedroom, and the bloody scene that appeared before his eyes was as shocking as if the Grim Reaper had charged at him with a swinging scythe.

Count Bluebeard had died a miserable death on his own bed, his entire head smashed beyond recognition; the murder weapon was a Stone Statue of a strange, malevolent beast, its handle driven directly into Count Bluebeard's deformed left eye, the blood-soaked Stone Statue appearing all the more eerie and deranged.

Before he could even ponder why the Stone Statue of the Peering Shadow of All Things hidden in Kande's room had appeared here, Kelake, his mind in a state of chaos and numbness, felt soft warmth enter his arms; like a frightened little animal, Milaier threw herself into Kelake's embrace, trembling.

In his bewilderment, Kelake felt cold tears penetrate the clothes on his chest and touch his skin, like two cold knife tips pressing against him; he was at a loss, but eventually reached out to pat the beautiful maid's back, words dying on his lips, not knowing how to offer comfort.

Subsequently, the last person living in the Castle, the cook Hela, also arrived before Count Bluebeard's bedroom; upon seeing the dead Count Bluebeard, she was so terrified that her face turned bloodless, her legs seemed unable to hold her, and she sat down on the floor with a thud.

The moment he saw Hela, Kelake recalled his secret investigation of the Castle last night, and his first thought was that the murderer who killed Count Bluebeard was very likely Hela.

However, Kelake did not immediately reveal his identity, because he had no absolutely compelling way to prove who he was; the act of exposing himself as an Investigator who had snuck into the Castle to solve a crime was as foolish as a player who reveals their role at the start of a "murder mystery game."

Doing so would not only make him look stupid, but it might also attract the attention of the real murderer, who would very likely come to kill him, which would undoubtedly push him into danger once again.

It was true that his identity in this world was an Investigator, but the real Kelake did not know how to fight; perhaps even the little maid currently hiding in his arms in fear had more combat capability than him, for all he knew.

Looking at Miss Hela, the most beautiful maid in the Castle, who was sitting on the floor, so terrified that she could no longer maintain her elegance, Kelake could not help but feel a trace of confusion.

Could she really be the murderer? If so, wasn't this acting a bit too good?

No, her acting was indeed very good... at least in front of Count Bluebeard, when in public, she had never shown any signs of resistance or defiance.

The slight doubt Kelake had just lowered regarding Hela began to climb back up again.

Butler Walunte was the first to recover from the shock; although he always had a poker face—if one didn't look at his eyes, it was hard to tell his actual emotions—his gaze became deeper than usual, and his voice lowered: "From now on, no one is allowed to step into this room."

"I understand you want to protect the crime scene, but there are only four of us left in the entire Castle now; do you really think that by just leaving the scene uninvestigated, we will be safe?" Kelake was the first to reject Walunte's statement; facing the cold glare Walunte swept over him, his heart pounded, but he still stared back at him firmly. "This blizzard will likely last a long time. Do you think a murderer capable of killing Count Bluebeard in such a brutal manner would leave a scene that might contain evidence of their crime unattended until the weather clears and the Investigators arrive?"

"Impossible! And I am certain this murderer will dispose of the evidence of their crime in an even more extreme way. If we cannot find the real murderer first, there will continue to be victims among us until we are all dead!"

Butler Walunte raised his voice, his tone carrying a hint of anger: "On what grounds can you presume the murderer will kill again!?"

Kelake pointed at the Stone Statue stuck in the corpse's eye and said, "Seeing such a method of murder, do you really think the murderer is a person with a normal psyche? So, I am sorry, Butler Walunte, I cannot follow your instructions; although I may not be 'professional,' I do not want to sit and wait for death."

As he spoke, Kelake took a step back: "Of course, I know your concerns, so we will take turns investigating. When one person investigates, the rest of us will follow them, watch them, and every item they find must be shown to us. This way, we can investigate the scene while also protecting it from being tampered with as much as possible. What do you think?"

Walunte's face was gloomy, his gaze fixed on Kelake, though his focus was not always on him; it was clear he was thinking.

At this moment, Milaier, huddled in Kelake's arms, said, "I... I think Mr. Kelake is... making sense."

Walunte frowned; just as he looked at Milaier, Hela, who had been dazed for a long time, also calmed her emotions and regained some reason, saying, "I agree with Mr. Kelake's proposal; I think it is the correct choice, Mr. Walunte."

Seeing that all three people before him had rejected his words, Walunte's expression became even more unpleasant, but his sinister gaze only swept back and forth across their faces for a moment before he relented: "Very well, let us follow etiquette and listen to the opinion of our guest, Mr. Kelake."

This statement seemed like a concession, even displaying the hospitality of a noble's butler, but Kelake understood the deeper meaning in Walunte's words.

By emphasizing that he was a guest, he was pointing out how uncouth it was for a guest who had been taken in to dare to issue orders in someone else's home; furthermore, it was a subtle reminder to the two maids that he was an outsider, a jinx who had arrived at the Castle only to have the master die on the second day.

Without considering motive, and looking purely at status, Kelake knew his own suspicion was equally great; after all, in terms of identity, he was not part of Count Bluebeard's Castle and was the person least close to him.

"Investigator, who will go first?" Hela took a deep breath and looked at everyone.

"Mr. Walunte, please go ahead," Kelake said, looking at Walunte.

Walunte gave a light hum, "No, you are the guest; you should go first, Mr. Kelake."

"Alright," Kelake agreed immediately upon hearing this.

He had not expected Kelake to skip the back-and-forth of deferring to one another; his own sarcastic "modesty" had instead allowed the other party to seize the initiative, and his mood suddenly began to grow inexplicably irritable.