"I am not making subjective assumptions, and I will not doubt you based on subjective assumptions!"
"In other words, you have begun to doubt me?"
"Yes."
Seeing that the conversation between Manda and Xue became tense, in order to prevent it from affecting me, I sneaked to a seat farther away from them.
In this way, I can't hear what they are saying.
I have long seen that Xue seems to just regard Manda's questioning as amusement.
While she was looking back at Manda, she was still admiring the snowy scenery outside the window, picking up the wine glass and taking a sip from time to time.
At the same time, Manda turned the pen in her hand very fast.
Twenty minutes later, the quarrel-like conversation ended.
Manda stood up abruptly, her pen and notebook making a dull clanking sound on the table, and then she turned away without even looking at me - not forgetting to buy her own items before leaving.
Manda looked gloomy throughout the entire process.
I looked at Xue - she had no expression on her face.
When I sat back to my original seat, I found that Manda didn't seem to touch the glass of wine at all.
"...What did you do to her?"
"I just refuted her baseless statement."
"..."
I know Xue's poisonous tongue, and it's impossible for Manda to defeat her.
"Having said that, the questions that the trainee police officer asked were normal and were asked for the purpose of handling the case. In other words, no matter how easy it is to refute her questions, they are still worth learning from, even though you are not a good person." Is she saying that I usually ask nonsensical questions...
"Okay...but don't bully her. That guy is emotionally unstable and will be in trouble if he starts crying."
"...You really understand justice. In other words, you are like a loyal dog that protects its owner."
"Uh..."
Xue's words were much uglier than usual, and her tone was cold. I saw some fire hidden in her cold eyes.
Sure enough, because I stood on Manda's side, she was a little angry...
Well, even Snow can’t have no emotions at all.
"Are you angry?"
"No."
"You must be angry for such a frank answer, right?"
"...I just didn't expect you to follow me."
"I'm just a spectator..."
"..."
Snow turned her head to the side.
Indeed, from Xue's point of view, it was really difficult to accept that her acquaintances were watching her being interrogated by the police officers, both emotionally and from a standpoint.
"Excuse me, do you need a refill?"
When the clerk saw that Xue's cup was empty, he came up to ask her.
Xue didn't speak, and waved her hand gently in the air to show her rejection - I always felt that this action was in line with her character.
"Okay, it's my fault... I followed you without thinking about it, I'm sorry."
"..."
"In addition, Manda is just someone who assists me. I am mainly responsible for the case, so this kind of thing will never happen again."
"..."
"That...I promise you."
"You... still owe me a question, right?"
"...Eh?"
The faint voice of snow reached my ears.
"Last time, I didn't ask you a question, didn't I?"
I remembered.
This was before Xue accepted the bounty mission and left the city.
"Ah... indeed, you still remember."
"Is it okay if I ask now?"
"Okay."
Xue's face turned back, her eyes were somewhat tentative, mixed with other emotions, and her slender eyebrows were slightly frowned.
Maybe it was my misunderstanding, but as the next words were spoken slowly, Xue's eyesight also lowered little by little.
That's... Even when His Majesty the Emperor came in person last time, under the suppression of the strongest bloodline, I couldn't imagine it - Xue's expression.
"Do you think I am the murderer?"
The question is very short, and the sound of snow is very soft, but also very clear.
"Well... I think, at least for me, well... no, definitely not."
"..."
Heaving a sigh of relief, I picked up the wine glass and drank it as if to lighten the mood.
"...That cup belongs to a trainee police officer."
"I know, but didn't she drink it? We can't waste it..."
"No...she just took a small sip and ended up drunk, so she walked away."
"Eh?"
It turns out that this is what Manda looked like just now...
......
At the end of this month, I received an invitation letter from the lord.
He invited me to attend his inauguration ceremony at his Earl's Palace, which will be at six o'clock next Monday evening.
Regarding the inauguration ceremony... it is usually a ceremony held by the lord of a certain place to announce that he has officially begun to exercise power one month after taking office.
This type of ceremony generally includes two parts - the lord's speech and the party.
The invitations to the inauguration ceremony are other nobles, representatives of the masses and a small proportion of common people selected in proportion. From this point of view, I should belong to the last category.
"It's really good~~ Detective, I haven't had such good luck..."
Ferrinold stared at my invitation with envy.
"Ah~~ Since there is a party, food and wine must be indispensable... I really want to go to the Earl's Palace to eat and drink~"
"Wouldn't it be nice not to go? Mr. Hammons doesn't have an invitation letter either. Even if you receive it, you can't go."
"That's right...that big manager is quite unlucky too~~ By the way, Mr. Detective, where is the one you're monitoring?"
"Mr. Bradley has an invitation letter, I have confirmed it."
“I’m so envious~~”
It was no longer just envy, Felinold's tone became full of complaints.
"The lord is so ignorant that he didn't invite me. After all, I have the blood of a knight..."
"...You are no longer a knight, okay? Don't leave the mistake to the lord."
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"Detective sir, you don't understand...the title of knight is gone, but the blood of knight is still flowing in my body."
"Are you saying this just to deceive yourself?"
"How could it be? Detective, it is a knight's habit to treat oneself correctly."
"Absolutely self-deception."
"Eh~~"
Recently, for some reason, my speech has become much sharper than before.
Well... However, if the other party is Ferrinold, it would be excusable.
"By the way, Mr. Detective."
"What?"
"Detective sir... are you planning to go to the Earl's Mansion like this? I feel like you will be kicked out as a gangster by the guard at the door."
"...I suggest you speak up before I get impatient."
"So, Mr. Detective——"
Ferrinold pointed at me.
"Detective sir, your hair is so long that it reaches your shoulders, and you also have a beard, ah~~it's so sloppy~"
"Stop, stop rambling, I clean it every day, okay?"
"But it's true that it looks disgusting."
Then Felinold put his hands on his chest and twisted his body coyly.
"If this continues, I might not be able to accept the detective~~"
"...Please don't do this, I'm going to vomit."
This caused great visual damage to me.
"I want to beat him."
Even Gail couldn't help it.
However, the problem pointed out by Ferrinold does exist...Xue seems to have emphasized the same thing as me.
As a result, I have forgotten it until now.
"Detective sir, don't forget it."
"I know, I will solve it before going to the Earl's Mansion."
I have no objection to shaving, but do I still have to cut my hair...
I really hate haircuts...
When I was still living in the technological world, barbering was one of my three most hated professions.
"And oh~~ Mr. Detective."
Ferrinold interrupted my painful memories of the barber.
"So what?"
"Remember to prepare your clothes - Mr. Detective, you can't go to see the lords and nobles dressed like this, right?"
"Well..."
This is true...
But most of my money was spent on those portrait paintings, and the rest was only enough to barely maintain the supply of food...well, and wine.
In short, the current economic environment is very difficult.
As if he saw what I was thinking, Ferrinold took out a viburnum from nowhere with a proud smile on his face.
"You're welcome, take it and use it, Mr. Detective."
"...Where did you get the money?"
I think of Mr. Wyatt.
"You got it from selling the stuff stolen from the attic, right? I can't have it..."
"Wow... Detective, how do you know this?"
Ferrinold was slightly surprised, but soon returned to smiling.
"Don't worry, Mr. Detective, I've already spent all the money I got from those junk things."
"I don't even know what to say to you... What about this money?"
"It belongs to Mr. Hammons, ah~~ Of course he gave it to me on his own initiative. Detective, please don't worry."
"Hamons? Why would he do this?"
"There's no need to ask more about the reason~~ Just assume that I borrowed it from him, and you can use it without worry, Mr. Detective."
But at this time, I am pretending to be mysterious...
Well...if it's the big bank manager's money, then use it.
I accepted the Weiben given to me by Ferrinold.
"Remember to pay me back afterward~~ Mr. Detective."
Sure enough, I still have to pay it back...although that's what I originally planned.
"I know."
......
Regarding the lord's invitation to the inauguration ceremony, I only regarded it as an upcoming episode. After all, there are still cases to be solved.
Miss Schimmel is really pitiful. She was assassinated inexplicably. The person responsible for seeking justice for her is an extremely irresponsible private detective like me.
Speaking of which, a month has passed before I knew it.
Only half of the two months agreed with the lord are left.
If I fail, how will your lord punish me?
In the middle of the night, unable to sleep, I was thinking about this problem in bed. It was dark outside the window - gray clouds had imprisoned the moon for a long time.
Can light still penetrate the clouds and reach the ground...
Probably, even if I fail, the lord will not punish me too much.
But there is no doubt that Manda will be disappointed, Felinold will be disappointed, Xue will be disappointed, and I will lose those who might have believed in me.
To me, is this a very important thing?
Could it be that I took over the murder case just because I wanted to satisfy some people?
Perhaps, at the very beginning, this case did not represent Schimmel's death.
What I want to prove is not that I have the ability to be a detective.
So what exactly do I want to do?
What can I do?
I have asked myself these questions countless times.
Ah~~Damn it.
"Looks like I won't be able to sleep again tonight."
My voice is very dull in the silent night.
"Aren't you used to it yet?"
Gale is also awake, and he doesn’t know if he needs to rest.
"As long as I'm still human, I can't get used to insomnia."
"...Insomnia can't solve the problem, don't you know?"
"Even if it's clear, I'll still have insomnia..."
I murmured:
"Besides, I don't want to...I can't do anything..."