Chapter 1248

After half a minute of silence, Mr. Henry Mafaer, who was constantly wiping his sweat, finally couldn't help but say:

"Alright, I admit it."

"Hmm?"

Now it was Xia De's turn to be surprised, because the murderer was not this gentleman who had just invited him to play cards.

"I admit that I went to that corridor to meet a girl for a date. Yes, I actually have a childhood sweetheart, but my father is always thinking about arranging my marriage. At home, I have never actively refuted any of my father's instructions, but only this matter, only this matter..."

He seemed to have a breakdown, covered his face and began to cry, then suddenly said loudly:

"Oh, I love you, Emily. Yes, I love you. Now I want to say these words, and tomorrow I will go to propose to you. I can no longer endure this concealment."

"I thought you solved the case so quickly to go back and find Princess Lei Lei Qianya and Miss Louisa as soon as possible."

"Is this... considered a scandal?"

Xia De asked Princess Yin Luna, who considered it for a moment:

"For the Mafaer family, it certainly is. Emily Churchill is only a baron's daughter; this marriage will not receive a blessing."

Xia De nodded and pointed a finger at the little princess, who naturally knew what it meant. Now only one person remained.

"In this way, Mr. Mafaer's suspicion is cleared. As long as we obtain the correspondence between him and Miss Emily Churchill, we can confirm that what he said is true. So, you two..."

People's gazes followed Xia De's words and moved back to the two remaining people on the sofa. The valet looked in surprise at Raphael Birmingham, who was wearing a black tailcoat on the other side of the sofa. The handsome young nobleman took the lead and pointed at the valet with a surprised expression:

"It really is you! I knew it, how could the Duke's son commit such a terrifying murder!"

Here, he was clearly pointing at Mr. Mafaer, whose suspicion had basically been cleared, but he was actually also referring to himself.

The inarticulate valet, George Wayne, looked at the finger pointing at him in surprise, stammering as he tried to explain but didn't know how to prove his innocence. He looked at Xia De for help, only to find that Xia De was also looking at him seriously:

"Mr. George Wayne, for what reason did you appear in that corridor at that time?"

The detective's sharp gaze made his scalp tingle, as if those eyes were looking directly into his soul. The valet shrank his head:

"I, I..."

Such a stern interrogation and the detective's sharp aura caused his spirit to fall into a brief chaos. And just at this moment, the tightly closed door was hurriedly opened, and Tifa, wearing a black and white maid dress, walked in carrying Xia De's coat and holding an orange-white cat that was poking its head out.

The small cat looked quite uneasy here, and only after seeing Xia De did it meow and dash over. Getting this cat out of the house was not easy; even if Tifa went, it was almost impossible, which is why Xia De had Tifa bring his coat, allowing Mia to come to Yodel Palace as well.

"Look, my detective assistant has returned with another assistant. Miss Tifa, thank you for your hard work."

He said to Tifa with a smile. The black-haired girl pursed her lips, nodded with a smile, and then stood behind Xia De again.

Xia De, holding the cat, asked the people behind him:

"Have you all heard about the many rumors concerning me?"

But Xia De shook his head:

"That cat that is more useful than a police dog? I heard it mentioned when my daughter was reading 'The Hamilton Detective Stories'... I mean, when I was reading them."

Duo Luo Xi's detective stories were currently the most popular and best-selling pulp fiction, and even the sales of the "Steam Bird Daily" had tripled because of them, opening up more distribution areas. People certainly knew that the stories within the detective tales had fictional elements, but most people believed that the real components accounted for the majority.

Therefore, the cat in the stories that could often play a huge role

—which was the patch Duo Luo Xi used to fill in the Ring Mage abilities she couldn't write about—was truly believed by readers to possess extraordinary abilities.

"Alright, since the valet George Wayne is unwilling to admit it. Come, Mia, take a sniff."

Xia De had someone bring the murder weapon and let Mia sniff it. If anyone else did this, they would certainly be considered crazy, but when Xia De did it, everyone felt it was very appropriate, because in the stories and rumors, he relied on this cat's keen sense of smell to solve one bizarre and confusing case after another. The significance of Duo Luo Xi's stories lay not only in her personally, but also in making Xia De the most famous, if not the most outstanding, detective of this era.

"Meow~"

The cat held by Xia De was forced to sniff the murder weapon with a look of disgust, and then Xia De carried it toward the two people on the sofa. The valet took a deep breath and stopped speaking, while the young and handsome Mr. Raphael Birmingham, after some not-so-obvious panic, pointed at Xia De in disbelief and said:

"Wait, you actually trust a cat's judgment? No, this is unfair, I refuse to let that cat come near me!"

"But that cat has indeed solved many difficult problems. I saw it in the story of 'The Missing Third Coin' solved by Detective Hamilton. Oh, I also saw it when I first met Detective Hamilton."

Princess Yin Luna said with a smile. "First meeting" referred to the time she and her friends were injured while using turtle shell divination at the Prophet Association.

Her words were also agreed upon by others.

"Yes, I also saw it in the 'Elder Living Alone' chapter."

The eunuch attendant sent by His Majesty the King to supervise the progress of the case also said.

Tifa stayed in the room. After the door was tightly closed, she walked up and gently hugged Xia De, but quickly let go:

"Are you all crazy? That's just a detective story, how can you believe it?"

Seeing Xia De getting closer and closer, he stood up abruptly:

"Even if you brought a police dog, it would be better than this. No, I don't accept this result!"

"What result? I haven't given a judgment yet."

Xia De asked seriously. The young man subconsciously wanted to retreat, but then realized he was standing in front of the sofa.

Xia De held the cat toward the valet, but the cat didn't react. Then he pointed the cat toward Raphael Birmingham, and the cat still didn't react.

Xia De quietly poked its butt.

"Meow-woo~"

Mia immediately meowed and turned around, claws out, ready to scratch Xia De.

Xia De's gaze became sharp:

"Mr. Birmingham, I didn't expect it to really be you. Why did you murder Daniel Philip?"

Seeing this result, everyone looked at Mr. Raphael Birmingham with scrutinizing eyes, and the latter opened his mouth wide:

"This... how is this possible! This is too crazy! I cannot let a cat frame me. No, I don't accept it!"

"You cannot explain the reason for your appearance in the corridor!"

"To swap gifts!"

"You have no witnesses!"

"That's because this matter cannot be known by others!"

"Others have legitimate reasons!"

"That valet doesn't!"

"You have been acting strange since just now!"

"I have clearly been normal the whole time!"

"I bet you will be haunted by the victim's vengeful spirit!"

"You actually cursed me!"

"My cat has already smelled the blood on your right hand!"

"It was clearly the left..."

He froze, the rapid exchange of words causing him to subconsciously say something incredible.

"Left what?"

Xia De tilted his head slightly, his left eye wide as he looked at him.

"Oh?"

Everyone understood, and Mr. Birmingham's mouth opened even wider:

"I, you, I, you, you this..."

Seeing this, Xia De

threw the cat to Tifa behind him, while Mr. Birmingham had already rushed up with his fists clenched:

"You damn **"

He used a swear word.

"If you have read 'The Hamilton Detective Stories', you should at least know that I am good at throwing cards and fighting. Unfortunately, this point is not fabricated by Miss Louisa."

Xia De raised his hand to brush aside his fist, turned sideways and bumped forward, causing the charging Birmingham to lose his balance and fall backward. Then he suddenly raised his leg, kneed his abdomen fiercely, and while the latter let out a wail from his throat, he grabbed his hand and turned around for a beautiful shoulder throw————

Boom!

Clap, clap, clap~

Applause rang out; the truth of the case was uncovered. Except for the murderer wailing on the floor, only Little Mia was very dissatisfied with this. Even while lying in Tifa's arms, it remained very dissatisfied.

"How about you, tell the truth, what did you actually go to that corridor to do?"

Xia De did not forget to ask the valet who had been cleared of suspicion. The latter looked at Mr. Birmingham, who was lying on the floor, hunched over and wailing, and subconsciously swallowed his saliva:

"I'll say it! I'll say it! I went to peek at the guests attending the banquet. I heard that several very beautiful ladies had also come."

Although he was cleared of suspicion, his job was considered lost... Hopefully, the number of eunuch attendants at Yodel Palace would not increase by one because of this.

"But we still don't know what the motive for the murder was."

Yin Luna watched this scene with great interest and said. Xia De then pulled Mr. Birmingham up, grabbed his collar, and asked:

"What was the motive?"

"You damn..."

"Your Highness, he said he fell in love with Daniel Philip. But the latter did not accept this immoral romance and rejected him tonight, which made him kill in a fit of rage. Let's use this as the closing statement; ending this case quickly is the point. And using this kind of gossip to attract the citizens' attention means no one will pay attention to the location where the case occurred."

"Oh, you damn devil! You call yourself a famous detective? You cannot tarnish the reputation of the Birmingham family! I killed him because he knew I was keeping a mistress outside and wanted to use this to blackmail me into quitting the pursuit of Princess Yin Luna! At the time, I was so angry I lost my head. Oh, my God, what have I done?"

Birmingham, who was choked by his collar and unable to breathe, cried as he spoke.

Xia De let go of his collar and let him lie on the floor crying.

He wiped his hands with a handkerchief, turned to the little princess, and said:

"Look, Your Highness, the case is closed. I think we can report this matter to His Majesty. Tomorrow's newspaper can set aside the smallest corner to explain this case at its discretion. However, it is better not to let the public know too much about the truth."

Yin Luna Cavendish looked at him with a flushed face:

"Very good, Knight, your performance was very good. This is definitely the most interesting..."

"Ahem."

"I mean the most unforgettable birthday banquet."

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