Chapter 2590

However, the moment his words left his mouth, A Er Rui Ke discovered he was far from as carefree and calm as he had imagined.

He grabbed Jin Chen's hand, his fingertips unconsciously tightening, the force enough to make Jin Chen frown slightly.

A Er Rui Ke, as if to conceal his loss of control, kissed Jin Chen's lips again, his voice becoming somewhat muffled in the friction.

"In a sense, we're even, aren't we? You deceived me once, I deceived you once—very fair."

Jin Chen: "……"

He took a deep breath, pushing back slightly the A Er Rui Ke who was almost kneeling on him, trying to gloss over things with a kiss.

Jin Chen leaned back against the chair, raising his hand to rub his forehead.

"So," he reopened his eyes, looking at A Er Rui Ke whose eyes flickered with a hint of nervousness and anticipation, and asked the most crucial question.

"That night, after Joshua had already poisoned Vincent, how exactly did you manage to sneak into the heavily guarded Ao Er Jia Manor again to give him a second dose of poison?"

"I've checked all the eyewitness testimonies, and found no evidence of you appearing at the Zhuang Yuan during that time."

A Er Rui Ke heard this question, a cunning light flashing in his green eyes.

"No, dear, you got the order wrong." He laughed, his tone relaxed, "The poison I administered was the first."

"What Joshua Craine administered was the truly lethal……second one."

Jin Chen heard this, sat up straight, somewhat bewildered: "What?"

A Er Rui Ke appreciated his surprised expression, deliberately drawing out his tone with a hint of teasing: "How? My dear Detective, are you about to start formally interrogating me?"

Jin Chen felt helpless: "A Er Rui Ke, I'm not interrogating you, I just want to know the truth."

A Er Rui Ke, however, suddenly took the initiative to avoid Jin Chen's approaching again, trying to deflect his kiss with a soothing gesture.

He stood up, walked to the window, his figure appearing somewhat inexplicably lonely in the dim light.

He leaned against the cold wall, facing Jin Chen, his lowered voice no longer carrying the previous teasing.

"Vincent Orga was indeed one of the few people I could call a friend, and also one of my most capable and trusted subordinates whom I planted in the noble class of Bukgang Port City to liaise with the black market forces."

Jin Chen immediately recalled that line from Vincent's letter: "Betraying someone I once truly loyal to, who gave me trust."

It turned out that he was actually A Er Rui Ke.

"The power and influence of the Orga Earl Family were dwindling day by day; Vincent urgently wanted to change the status quo, to pull off a big score, to amass huge wealth for the family, and also to gain recognition and promotion from London."

A Er Rui Ke continued, "So, I recommended him to London, letting him secretly connect with nobles who also wanted to eradicate the Griffin Gang, to assist in completing a secret mission to infiltrate the core of the Griffin Gang."

He paused, his voice tinged with cold mockery.

"But I didn't know that Joshua Craine was a pawn sent by the Griffin Gang to infiltrate the Orga Family."

Jin Chen frowned slightly: "You didn't know Joshua was a member of the Griffin Gang?"

"Yes." A Er Rui Ke nodded candidly, "but this didn't affect my later detection, through other channels, of Vincent's abnormality."

"He became impatient and greedy; I suspected he might have been promised huge profits, playing both sides, even using me and the allied forces to think of defecting to the Lun Dun black market."

A Er Rui Ke's eyes grew somewhat harsh: "He is profit-blinded, abandoning the most basic cooperation loyalty; once he succeeds, I and my subordinates' allied forces could be exposed, becoming his stepping stone to climb upward, and all that awaits us is a dead end."

Jin Chen couldn't help but secretly admire A Er Rui Ke's sharpness and decisiveness.

Even without knowing exactly who the opponent was, and without knowing Joshua's identity, he could predict that Vincent would be harmed due to mission failure and a falling out with the Griffin Gang's undercover agent.

So he laid out preparations in advance and decisively eliminated the hidden danger.

"But since you don't know it's Joshua, and may not even be aware that the black orchid poison is the Griffin Gang's new mark after changing leaders," Jin Chen raised another doubt, "how did you happen to choose the same poison?"

A Er Rui Ke turned his body, gave a light laugh; the harshness in his gaze toward Jin Chen faded, leaving him still gentle.

"My dear Detective, this isn't difficult; I only needed to infer that as long as I guessed that Vincent had caught the eye of that unnamed undercover agent, and was reluctant to let him die, using a trace amount of poison would suffice to cover tracks."

He spread his hands, tone relaxed: "As for what poison exactly… does it matter? After Vincent dies, the official coroner will likely only detect the last one, also the highest-dose lethal toxin; the bit of poison I put in will hardly be noticed."

"I originally just wanted to push suspicion onto the Griffin Gang, never expecting that, by a twist of fate, I and Joshua would end up using the same poison."

Jin Chen's heart stirred slightly.

Yes, given the era's crude autopsy techniques and investigative methods, it's very likely to be misjudged as a single poisoning incident.

Jin Chen did not continue to press for details.

A Er Rui Ke, however, held nothing back, continuing to explain: "In the days after the incident, when the Court Inspector intervened in the investigation, I covertly investigated and quickly confirmed Joshua Craine's true identity; at that point I realized this case would likely, due to involving nobles and complex background, be transferred to my Detective Agency."

He walked a few steps closer, bent down to look at Jin Chen sitting in the chair, reached out and gently stroked his cheek, his eyes complex.

"So… I need a brand‑new detective who looks clean and reliable and is willing to follow my lead. I need him to, step by step, suspect each of the preset suspects along the clues and hints I laid out beforehand, and ultimately… have all the evidence point to Qishuya Kelaien."

Jin Chen: "……"

He finally understood.

Why, after their relationship was established, A'erruike's attitude toward this case became somewhat subtle—seemingly cooperative but not truly invested, sometimes even revealing a perfunctory wish for the case to be closed quickly.

A'erruike carefully observed the subtle expressions on Jin Chen's face, then suddenly straddled him, his shirt left open to reveal his firm abs and chest, his gaze locked straight into the depths of Jin Chen's eyes, surging with emotions too complex to put into words.

"All right," he said, his voice a little hoarser than usual, "My explanation ends here. So, my dear detective, in your view, who is the real culprit—me or Qishuya Kelaien?"

Jin Chen set his face, gave a soft hum, and poked his chest with his fingertip.

"You've deceived me for so long, schemed against me for so long, and still have the nerve to ask?"

A'erruike seized his restless fingers, brought them to his lips and kissed them, then reaffirmed his point with righteous confidence.

"I said it, we're even—you deceived me once, I deceived you once. It's perfectly fair."

Jin Chen almost laughed out of anger at his logic, "No wonder you accepted my identity so quickly afterward and didn't kick up a fuss—you were waiting for me here!"

A'erruike lowered his head to kiss him again, mumbling, "This shows we were meant to be a pair—even our deceit is in perfect sync."

Jin Chen sighed helplessly, "Then how am I supposed to… tell John later?"

A'erruike immediately gave him a dissatisfied glance, his tone sour, "John Olga again! Do you care so much about his feelings?"

"Just tell him directly—Wensente Oerge betrayed his black‑market accomplices, intending to sell everyone out for personal gain; he more than deserves to die. That's simply the fact!"

However, the moment the words left his mouth, A'erruike suddenly realized something, and the fingers resting on Jin Chen's shoulder twitched.

"Do you not know how to talk to John, or are you just not planning to forgive me?"

Even if you hand me over to the court, they would only convict Joshua of the last poisoning as the true culprit, unless......

Alrek grabbed Jin Chen's hand and pressed it against his own chest, the corner of his mouth hooked in a half-smile, but his eyes were complex and faintly sorrowful.

His fingertips pressed hard, almost digging into Jin Chen's hand back, his eyes locked onto him, word by word, as if he wanted to rip open his own heart.

You want to tell them everything about me, tell the nobles and gentlemen of Buck Harbor about my schemes and identity in the black market, so that you can successfully have me executed.

Jin Chen: "......"

He sighed, reached out to cup Alrek's cheek, his thumb lightly brushing the corner of his slightly reddened eyes, "I think you want to succeed in angering me to death first."

Even if Alrek hid it well, Jin Chen could sense his deep unease from the suppressed anger when he just described Vincent's betrayal, and from this almost unrestrained tension and fear now.

He even gave off a feeling……that no matter whether Jin Chen offered him tolerance, pain, or a deadly poison, he would accept it resolutely.

Jin Chen no longer gave him a chance to indulge in wild thoughts, lowered his eyes and kissed him.

This was a kiss with no more secrets or barriers.

Alrek's reason was nibbled away bit by bit by the gentle offensive, melting, as if countless tiny currents flowed through his body, igniting every inch of his flesh, and he could only sink into this fatal attraction.

"Chen……answer me." Alrek panted lightly between kisses, but his fingers stubbornly clung tightly to Jin Chen's shoulders.

"The murderer is Joshua Cline."

Jin Chen brushed Alrek's slightly sweaty brow, "I will stand with you to witness the Griffins' Gang's utter downfall, Joshua's hanging, and……the eventual peace that Buck Harbor and Beyaer City will finally welcome."

Alrek closed his eyes and tightly returned the embrace of the person before him.

【Detected Villain Blackening Value -20, total 5!】