He took a pleasant sip of tea and then placed the steaming cup on the table.
"It is said that this is tea from Monan Yushan, and it is indeed well-deserved. I wanted you to have a taste, but unfortunately they were worried that I would take the opportunity to poison it."
Colby smiled wryly.
I glanced at our officer who was monitoring the room through the glass at this time, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was making a fuss.
"They are also doing it for your own good...after all, you have already committed enough crimes."
"Oh? But you are not someone who likes to add insult to injury."
"..."
"This tea was given to me by a friend of mine. You may know him if you used to live in the small town of Vig. His name is——"
"I'm not good at remembering people's names."
"...However, maybe someone will mention it to you-"
"There is no need to test me. I am nothing more than a witness in the eyes of Lord Shenxingguan. She will not tell me any unnecessary information."
I glared at Colby.
In fact, it was not out of anger that I interrupted him again and again, but because I did not want the officer who was currently observing us to discover any clues.
Apparently Colby also understood my intention.
"I admire your selflessness, Mr. Detective."
"Stop talking politely. Lord Shenxingguan asked me to come to see you just to chat with you?"
I rubbed my hair and looked around with my peripheral vision.
The floor of the entire room was replaced with a layer of sand. This design really puzzled me. Could it be to prevent the old wooden table from making too much shaking noise?
It’s really putting the cart before the horse and guessing.
"Mr. Detective, what are you planning to do in the future?"
"I don't know. However, Shen Xingguan probably needs me to go to the imperial capital, and I think she will pay the corresponding travel expenses for me."
"It appears that you will also be involved in the charges against me."
"Maybe."
"That's it."
Colby, who was always cautious, actually showed a sad expression at this moment.
"Sure enough, I failed to become a respected lord."
"If you misinterpret my words to mean this, then I will have to say a few more words."
Although I don't want to comfort Colby, his belittling words are tantamount to insulting the efforts I have made, so I have no reason not to defend myself.
"Indeed, you are the real culprit who killed Miss Schimmel and Earl Normanstreet, and caused huge panic. You deserve it."
In fact, I have made quite a few mistakes.
And Colby is not someone I can blame lightly.
"However, as far as I know, your decision has achieved great benefits and long-term stability for Fulvos... At least during the negotiations, you fulfilled your duties as a lord. The people of each district are
After hearing that you were arrested, many people took to the streets to protest, so you have undoubtedly gained the respect of most people, and in terms of results, you have lived up to His Majesty's expectations."
It is inevitable that these words from me are a bit unconvincing, but fortunately, my purpose from beginning to end is just to make myself accept all the unfair treatment in front of me with peace of mind.
"Are you among the 'majority'?"
"My willingness to come to see you is the highest respect I can express to you."
"Um......"
Colby nodded slightly.
"What an impeccable answer, Mr. Detective. If I didn't know you well enough in advance, I would have been convinced by you sooner or later."
...are you still so cautious until now?
"I'm too lazy to try my best to please you. But then again, knowing how to deceive yourself at the right time is a valuable talent. For a cautious guy like you, trying to believe your own lies is definitely better than obeying other people's instructions.
Easier to do, right?”
"So, being a self-deceptive person can really help me stop feeling guilty. However, I have mentioned this point to people around me several times - people who are regarded as 'chess pieces' will never be able to escape from the 'chessboard' throughout their lives.
The fate of the 'chess pieces' is unchangeable. Deceiving yourself and others can only buy you short-term comfort, but it will make the 'chess pieces' lose the meaning of their existence forever in the future."
"This is just sophistry."
"Haha... No, this should be the consensus."
Colby smiled, then picked up the tea cup and drank it in one gulp rather boldly.
"Most people don't even know when they have become someone else's 'chess piece', but I am different. I take the initiative to enter the 'chessboard'. Once I start to deceive myself and others, I will no longer have any confidence in myself."
A clear understanding of value, like these tea leaves——"
He sprinkled the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup on the ground, which naturally attracted my attention.
"As long as there is no extra hot water, they become dispensable."
The remaining moisture on the tea leaves drew traces after traces on the sand.
Hmm... And the water marks seem to be spreading regularly. I'm sure I'm not dazzled.
"The friend who gave me the tea paid a huge price in order to break free from the shackles of the 'chessboard'. His sufferings are closely related to mine and provided me with important reference. I sincerely thank him."
The heavy table blocked the movement of the water marks, so the officers outside the glass still did not notice anything unusual.
"His tea has always been treasured by me, but who would have thought that the first time I enjoyed it would be in a place like this, haha... What a helpless retribution."
Finally, I saw clearly the pattern drawn by the water marks:
It looks like a kneeling camel.
"...Retribution? Since you think so, let me give you a piece of advice."
Deciding to stop this conversation, I took a deep breath and stood up tremblingly.
My leg accidentally hit the corner of the table, and then the table shook and screamed "dong! dong".
"If I were you, I would have killed myself out of shame."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading!——I preached while looking down at Colby.
I turned around, closed my eyes, and tried my best to calm down the excitement in my heart.
About ten seconds later, when I was about to leave, I suddenly remembered something and looked down at the ground:
The sand disappeared.
Illusion...
...
"Has your luggage been packed?"
I opened the window, and the morning sunshine jumped into the room with the sweet chirping of birds. The air was very fresh, and it smelled vaguely sweet. The breeze blew on my face, sweeping away the fatigue from last night.
"Almost...you went to see the adults the day before yesterday?"
"Yes, but we were monitored the whole time, so we talked about insignificant things."
"Is anyone giving you a hard time?"
"No, as you can see, I came back intact."
"What about my lord? In other words, what did you tell him?"
I looked back at Xue, whose eyes were full of calm, as if she didn't care how I would reply.
"I advised him to live."
"He won't listen to you."
"I guess so."
"Let's go downstairs."
Xue seemed to be planning to end the topic, picked up her backpack and walked out the door.
"Hey, slow down and wait for me."
...
Today is the day to "escape" from Woolworth.
According to the agreement, the magician Beilin will help us avoid the multiple inspections at the city gate, but before meeting her, I need to meet Manda first.
Crossing West Thirteenth Street, I habitually opened the door of the cafe with my head buried in my chest.
Manda was sitting in the corner and I was sure she had spotted me.
"I thought you didn't dare to come."
I heard such ridicule as soon as I sat down.
"This is my line. After all, I still have a bunch of messy things that I haven't reported to Officer Manda."
"If you are referring to the contents of those four letters, there is no need to waste any more words."
"...So you received the letter."
"Well, I've been very busy recently, so I haven't had time to reply to you. By the way..."
Manda frowned and looked at me.
"Why do you look a little...aged?"
"Well......"
I was shocked.
It's only been four years... This guy is too sharp, right?
"Oh, because I'm also very busy~~"
"Don't be perfunctory."
"You are not allowed to torture a person who is about to travel far away."
"Well......"
Manda narrowed her eyes with suspicion.
"When will you leave?"
"Three hours later."
"..."
"I think I need to talk to you face to face. After all, I can't seem to be able to pay off the favor I owe you right away - of course, there is still money I owe you. But I promise I won't forget it, once -"
"Who do you think I am?"
"A rare benefactor."
"Um...are you an idiot?"
I was speechless, but at that moment a waiter came towards us.
"Sir, what would you like to drink?"
"...there's beer here."
Manda said quietly.
"beer?"
"That's right! You must try our beer, you will definitely be satisfied!"
It's rare to meet such a warm waiter. Let's have a drink... No, forget it, I need to stay awake.
"Let's try it next time. Just have the same coffee as hers."
"OK, just a second."
I smiled at Manda.
"How can you drink in a cafe? That's weird."
...
In the next hour or so, I briefly told Manda my experience in the small town of Vigo. As Rita’s new host, she had the right to know what the former town meant to Rita, Qianzhihe and others.
What kind of existence is it? Furthermore, the guilt in my heart may have accumulated too much. If I don't let it out, the memory will lose its original appearance due to long-term compression.
I talked to myself, not caring how much Manda understood, just like an old man who was about to die talking about how to arrange his funeral.
"...That's pretty much all I remember."
After a short silence, I made this conclusion.
"Forgive me for being verbose, I know that my narrative skills have always been poor - I believe you understood this when you accompanied me on the case. In short... what I want to express is that you really helped me a lot.
.....It even changed my plans for the future, so I need to solemnly say thank you. Thank you, Manda."
"..."
"Miss Manda?"
"No, you're welcome...well, don't say these strange things suddenly."
Manda turned her face to the side.
"Besides, when faced with that kind of situation, no one would just sit idly by."
"No, if that were the case, I wouldn't have made myself so embarrassed."
Recalling the many desperate scenes in the past, I am deeply aware of my incompetence, always acting impulsively, and often missing opportunities... Although I successfully escaped death, this was just the blessing of God.
What's more, I also killed Ferrinold.
The person who shouted that he was going to betray me remained silent until his death, but I, one of the initiators of the chaos, survived. It's so unfair.
"I heard that you are about to become an official police officer. Your seniors are not making things difficult for you, right?"
"how come?"
"Well, come on."
"Why do you have to use the tone of an elder...but so do you!"
At this time, the hourly bell sounded.
"Bon Voyage."
"Oh, why don't you try to save me?"
"It's not like we're going to the battlefield."
Manda frowned slightly, then smiled slightly proudly.
"I'm not that naive."
This quite impressed me.
"Well... by the way, don't forget to write to me."
"..."
"I don't care, it doesn't matter anyway, the main thing is...Rita! It will miss you!"