Chapter 49
John is dead.
When Emily heard this, she felt as if something in the air had completely broken.
A deep-seated fear permeated the air. She looked down at the waitress kneeling on the ground wiping shoes, pulled out several large bills from her handbag, threw them at her, and shouted, "Get out!"
Two have already died, there are four left. Could she be next?
This action clearly hurt the waitress's self-esteem. She lowered her head, picked up the tip from the floor, left the room, and closed the door.
Emily was extremely agitated. She stood up and paced back and forth in the room in her elegant red high heels. She couldn't stand being there for even two hours.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Emily's heart leaped into her throat. She draped a luxurious purple velvet shawl over herself to calm herself down. Fortunately, she saw Tia and quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
But Tia looked terrible, her eyes were red, and she seemed to have suffered a great injustice.
Emily opened the door and asked with concern, "Honey, what's wrong?"
Tia felt a chill run down her spine and a slight nausea. She whispered, "I received a card."
Emily had a bad feeling. "Tia, you need to have your own judgment."
Tia shook her head weakly and placed the card in her hand.
This relationship was incredibly precious to her, even a perfect friendship. Perhaps that kiss changed something, but the other person remained the one she trusted most.
She couldn't believe that Emily was the one who killed her husband.
Emily's hand trembled slightly as she held the card and read aloud the words, "...a lowly pheasant trying to dress itself up as a phoenix."
Tia questioned, "You and my husband are having an affair, aren't you?"
Emily shook her head and saw on the back of the card a photo of her embracing the Earl as they walked into a hotel.
“How do you interpret this photo?” Tia asked her.
“It’s a misunderstanding, I…” Emily tried to reach out to comfort her, but was dodged. “Tia, I’ve made countless mistakes, but I’m sincere towards you. As for the Count and me, it’s not what you think between us.”
Tia took a deep breath: "Then what a sacred relationship you two have! You were photographed like this just two months after my wedding to him."
“I was drunk, Tia, nothing happened between us, you have to believe me,” Emily said. “You were just used by someone with ulterior motives, and so was I. I was tricked into coming to this ship, and someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes.”
“You’re full of lies. I shouldn’t have had any illusions about you,” Tia said, looking into her eyes. “Emily, from now on, we will have nothing to do with each other, not even hate. After we get off the ship, I will have the police reinvestigate my husband’s case. You’d better watch yourself.”
"Tia! Don't you have any suspicion about the person who delivered the letter? Just one photo, and you've ruined our relationship?"
“You’re like a venomous snake coiled around my neck,” Tia said.
"I'm a viper?" Emily was clearly angry upon hearing this, her face immediately darkening. "It was your husband who took advantage of me while drunk, he was the one who kept harassing me, it's all his fault, I'm just asking him to take responsibility, what right do you have to say that to me? When we were having sex, he never mentioned you, how would I know he was married?"
Tia was deeply disappointed in her: "In this photo, he's wearing a ring on his hand. Emily, you're a complete scoundrel."
He's still full of lies.
In an instant, Emily's frustration was undeniable, but she felt no remorse whatsoever. "Tia, I was pregnant with your husband's child, so I should receive a share of his inheritance."
The person in front of her had become completely unfamiliar. Tia remained silent for about three minutes, and finally had nothing to say to her, so she turned and left the room.
Emily was her dance teacher. On stage, she was dazzling, like a bright star, unattainable. Tia had always followed in her footsteps to become a stage actress. When they were able to perform on the same stage, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night.
She had thought they loved each other amidst the sunset's glow, even if it wasn't accepted by the world, but in reality, these were just her fantasies, now all gone.
-
Rossi dismissed the crew and quietly slipped into John's room, with Odell following closely behind.
The cruise ship has one more day to reach the island, and if no action is taken, death will soon befall them.
John's body had been pulled from the bloody water and placed in the same cabin as Armstrong. On the surface, it appeared that he had been knocked unconscious, cut his wrists, and died from excessive blood loss.
The two searched the room thoroughly, turning over wardrobes, under the bed, suitcases, clothes, flower pots... everywhere was in disarray, but they found no clues.
Rossi didn't find what she was looking for either, so they went back to the room and lit one cigarette after another.
When Lydia came in, she choked so badly that tears almost welled up in her eyes.
Odel stubbed out his cigarette and asked, "Isn't that woman coming?"
“I went to see her, but she didn’t open the door for me,” Lydia paused. “She didn’t seem to be in a good mood.”
Rossi smiled coldly and said nothing more.
Odell: "Could she be the murderer?"
Lydia bit her lip, expressing her doubt: "A woman killing a man in his prime? Is that even possible?"
“Who knows what they were doing at the time?” Odell said irritably. “Didn’t you and that crew member take things further?”
Lydia stood up, her eyes blazing with anger: "If all you can do is spout useless nonsense, I suggest you cut your tongue out."
Odell: "Why don't you give it a try?"
“We’re discussing John’s cause of death,” Lydia said meaningfully, arms crossed. “Why do you always like to escalate conflicts?”
Rossi turned to look at him. "Two people have already died. What were you doing last night?"
Odell shrugged. "I sleep in my room."
Lydia's alarm suddenly blared, and she asked sharply, "No one has given you an alibi; you are highly suspicious."
“You’re saying I’m a suspect,” Odell retorted, “but what were you doing at the time?”
“I went back to my cabin after the party, and the girl in the bunk across from me can vouch for that,” Lydia said, her suspicions growing as she saw his agitated state. “Where is Mr. Rossi?”
"Me?" After some consideration, Rossi took a sip of her drink. "I was very busy yesterday."
Odel: "What are you busy with?"
“Last night at midnight, I went to John’s room and chatted with him for a while,” Rossi paused, “After that I went to the card room and chatted with a few people until about two o’clock, then I went back to my room.”
What could you be talking about for so long? Lydia silently stood up, took a step back, and leaned against the wall. "In other words, besides me, you all had time to commit the crime here."
Immediately after speaking, he felt fear; danger was closing in step by step.
What if these two people team up?
Odel ignored her. "Where's that detective who was playing house?"
“I saw her this morning,” Lydia said. “She has a high fever.”
Odel expressed his doubt, then thought of the card he had received not long ago: "That badly burned?"
"What a pity, I was hoping she could do me a favor," Rossi said, seemingly with a sigh.
Odell continued, "Did she have any companions on this ship?"
Yes, there was that boy named Leon. The relationship between the two of them was obviously not simple. Lydia thought for a moment and said, "No, it was the crew who found her condition was not right when they delivered the meals this morning."
A strange expression appeared on Odell's face. He poured himself another glass of red wine and took a small sip.
The card said that if he could kill one of the remaining people, he could escape death, and obviously the one who was bedridden was the best choice.
Lydia turned to Rossi, "What exactly did you come to this ship for?"
Rossi smiled and said, "Little girl, if you don't want you to know about men's affairs, then don't ask too many questions."
The three men suspected each other and harbored their own secrets, but they had no choice but to huddle together. No one spoke, and the room fell into a deathly silence.
Lydia, being the only woman present, grew increasingly uneasy. She pulled her coat tighter and asked, "So what's our plan?"
Rossi: "Tonight, we'll be staying in one room."
Lydia exclaimed excitedly, "Are you kidding me?"
Odel stared at her with a blatant gaze, then burst into laughter. "This plan is ridiculous. Are you trying to protect Lydia?"
Rossi and Odel were both middle-aged men in their thirties. Rossi, needless to say, was muscular and a former mercenary, so his skills were not bad. Odel, on the other hand, was a truck driver who loaded and unloaded goods all year round, so his strength was also considerable.
Compared to the previous two victims, Armstrong was an elderly man in his fifties, and John was a slender office worker. They were completely different from the previous two victims.
Lydia realized this; Odell had already left the room, and Rossi didn't seem to want her to stay.
She had to find her own way to make a living.
-
Time passed slowly. Odel stood at the top of the stairs, observing the room where Rina had stayed, when he suddenly heard people below discussing that Peter was missing.
Who is Peter? If he's an employee, he's probably taking a break somewhere. Anyway, while everyone else is busy unloading, he'll sneak off to a corner and smoke a few cigarettes.
This is only natural.
Odell didn't take it to heart. With a cigarette in his mouth, he exchanged a few witty remarks with a few ladies passing by, making them giggle and cover their mouths. He seemed quite at ease in the crowd.
He enjoyed the feeling of being supported. He liked women who were enthusiastic, obedient, cute, and young. On the other hand, he found those who would rebel and disobey annoying. Of course, he also liked women who dressed revealingly. After all, they dressed like that on purpose for him to see, so they were birds of a feather.
Thinking of this, Odel felt heartbroken again. His beloved wife had chosen to jump off a building. He loved her so much.
Although they occasionally argued, as long as she cooked dinner after get off work and did not go against her duty, he almost never said anything bad about her.
He might lose control when he's drunk, but the next day, he'll always buy her small gifts from a roadside stall to apologize.
He didn't think he was wrong. Everyone has moments when they lose control of their emotions, and couples should be understanding of each other.
What can be done? That woman just can't understand this.
After finishing his last cigarette, Odel ended his sentimentality and thought about the female detective he had played house with. Before making a move, he wanted to have a good wild time with her.
In the evening, he began his operation.
While everyone was in the dining room for dinner, Odell put on gloves and carefully opened the door to the room using lock picking tools.
The room was pitch black, with the curtains drawn tightly shut. In the quiet room, even the sound of the waves seemed particularly jarring.
The woman must be sleeping, he thought.
Odel slowed his pace, held his breath, and recalled the layout of his room as he slowly approached the bedroom. But as he stood at the doorway and his hand touched the armrest, he suddenly felt a chill down his back.
Odel felt something standing behind him, its presence so strong it couldn't be ignored, which sent chills down his spine.
He glanced at the shadow on the wall, drew the dagger hidden under his coat, and in the instant he turned his head, stabbed it down hard, intending to kill with one blow.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; the moment he turned around, his hand bones were crushed.
With a dull snap, the dagger slipped from his hand, and intense pain shot through his body. Before he could cry for help, the rope tightened around his neck, making it difficult to breathe. Odel knelt on the ground, completely unable to resist.
And this all happened in just a few seconds.
A man weighing 85 kilograms was strangled with a rope and easily dragged into the shower.
The man was completely immersed in darkness, but his eyes shone with an eerie brightness, like a wild beast whose territory had been invaded.
Odel met his excited gaze and dared not move. He felt as if he had been gutted and made into a specimen, a plaything to satisfy the other's needs.
He tasted the bitterness of death, and his mind was filled with despair.
-
Midnight.
Rina's condition was not optimistic; her body temperature had reached 39 degrees Celsius. Kurosawa Shiran realized that the medicine was not working, and her emotions became increasingly difficult to control.
But Odell denies being the murderer and claims he doesn't know about the antidote.
He needs to find an antidote as soon as possible.
A piercing scream came from outside the door, interrupting Kurosawa Shiran's thoughts. She grabbed her coat and went out to check the situation.
Tia rushed out of Emily's room in a panic, not noticing the person in front of her, and bumped into him head-on. Then she tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground.
“…Someone, someone is dead,” she broke down, tears streaming down her face. “Emily is dead…”
Kurosawa Shiran glanced at her, then stepped over to check the situation.
Indeed, there was a woman in a pink nightgown lying on the carpet with her eyes wide open, a small amount of blood mixed with saliva coming from the corner of her mouth, and her body was still warm, so she probably hadn't been dead for long.
People staying on the second floor of the cruise ship poked their heads out, and crew members ran over.
Rossi walked into the room without changing her expression, checked Emily's breath, and shook her head.
Tia leaned against the wall to stand up, staring at them in disbelief. "How could this be?"
Rossi narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Kurosawa Shiran. This boy stood out in the crowd, not only for his appearance but also for his aura.
They might be the same kind of people.
Having learned from the previous two cases, the crew quickly dispersed the crowd, moved the body to the lower cabin, and sealed off the scene.
Rossi lit a cigarette, a faint smile playing on his lips, and called out to the boy, seemingly casually, "What were you doing just now?"
Kurosawa Shiran turned to look at him and said, "Find the murderer."
Rossi stood at the door of Odell's room and knocked a few times, but his gaze never left the boy.
After a moment, there was no sound from inside the room. As if sensing something, Rossi gripped the gun in his pocket and asked sternly, "If you can't give me a reasonable explanation, I can only assume you are the murderer."
After a few seconds of stalemate, Kurosawa Shiran lowered his eyes, concealing the coldness in them.
When faced with an attack from a wild beast, the human body will trigger a flight response; this is a survival instinct selected through evolution. Rossi felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that his intuition was wrong—they were not the same kind of people at all.
His unique aura and oppressive presence were simply terrifying; Rossi had never been so close to death.
Just then, a heart-wrenching laugh suddenly came from the deck.
Lydia, still in her pajamas, ran onto the deck, gesturing wildly and laughing loudly.
"They're all dead, hahaha, they're all dead! No one can leave this ship alive!"
"Lucy came to find me. It must be Lucy. Only she wants me dead. She must be hiding in the shadows watching me, just like back then, hahahaha."
"Only death can bring peace."
The two men stood there, looking down at the woman who was going crazy on the deck, their faces expressionless.
Rossi pulled out his pistol, fired a shot into the air, and said with a smile, "Perhaps we can work together to find the killer."
Kurosawa Shiran didn't say anything, which was taken as tacit approval of his actions.
Upon hearing the signal, the companions hiding in the shadows came out with their guns and pointed them at the people on the ship. In an instant, chaos erupted on the deck, and everyone on the ship was in complete panic.
One fact is clear: they encountered pirates.
In less than ten minutes, the tourists were taken to the restaurant and tied up with ropes, and the crew and captain were also taken out of the wheelhouse, unable to press the alarm.
"What are you crying for? If you cry again, I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"
One of the men rummaged through the tourists' personal belongings, stuffing wallets, watches, and jewelry into a bag.
Lydia slumped to the spot, watching everything unfold before her eyes. Her laughter gradually ceased, her heart pounding as if it would burst from her chest.
She stared at Rossi in shock: "What are you doing?"
“I once helped my boss escort a shipment of diamonds, but his attitude angered me, so I killed him, and his secretary ran away with the diamonds,” Rossi said. “When I received the invitation, I also received photos of the diamonds. Since he had come all this way, I certainly wasn’t going to let him off easily.”
Lydia said hesitantly, "You're absolutely insane."
Rossi observed him, then nodded very politely.
The crew and passengers were all taken into custody; all that was left were Rossi's men and the others.
Lydia: "You think this will lead to the murderer?"
“As you can see, this is the best way. As long as you find my diamond without any problems, you won’t have any issues,” Rossi said, seemingly emphasizing. “Of course, if a ghost wants to kill you, there’s nothing anyone can do.”
Lydia felt like a new recruit on the battlefield, her mind blank, but her heart pounding wildly.
She suddenly saw the boy standing in the shadows, his expression obscured, but he seemed free. "What about Leon? Is he one of your accomplices too?"
Rossi turned to the side and glanced at him with interest. "He's not."
Lydia looked puzzled. "What about Odel?"
"He's just unlucky. He angered the wrong person. The card he received didn't save his life; instead, it brought disaster upon him," Rossi said. She had just kicked open Odell's door and found him lying in the shower, barely alive, tortured beyond recognition. "He's still alive, but his spine is broken, his lower body is permanently paralyzed, and his throat is damaged, so he can't speak."
Lydia felt a chill run down her spine: "Did the murderer do it?"
Rossi smiled and said in a low voice, "There's something on the ship that's a hundred times more terrifying than the murderer."
It was a bloodthirsty monster by nature.
Lydia slowly looked away from Leon, swallowing hard. "Where's that female detective?"
Rossi: "She's been poisoned."
Lydia: "Not a fever?"
Rossi: "Are you really an intern?"
Lydia: "I received my graduation certificate."
“It seems you and the professor have a good relationship.” Rossi turned and left, following Kurosawa Shiran to the cabin where the bodies were kept. Odel was also lying on one of the beds, breathing heavily.
"I'm willing to help." His plan was meticulous, the only flaw being the person in front of him.
He hadn't expected there to be such a guy on the ship, like a bomb that could explode at any moment.
Kurosawa Shiran, wearing black leather gloves, pinched Emily's face and quickly found something inside.
“There’s a diamond in her throat,” he said.
Rossi immediately moved closer upon hearing the sound, but then, remembering something, she distanced herself from him. "What?"
Kurosawa Shiran picked up the tweezers beside her and pinched an irregularly shaped diamond from her throat. It was sparkling, but stained with blood.
"Have the crew and passengers been counted?" he asked.
Only one? Rossi stared at the woman's throat, his brow furrowing slightly. "One person is missing."
“Peter.” His voice was devoid of any warmth or inflection. Kurosawa Shiran placed the diamonds and tweezers on the plate beside him, showing no interest in them.
Unlike Rina, he couldn't deduce any useful clues from these things.
“It was him.” He actually knew? Was it because they were both crew members? But now wasn't the time to think about that; there were more important things to deal with right now. Rossi paused slightly, then added, “So we need to hurry.”
Kurosawa Shiran was suppressing some kind of emotion that was about to erupt. She didn't say anything more and went upstairs back to Rina's room.
He stayed by her bedside all night, trying his best to exhaust himself, but the thought of Rina's kiss always aroused him, and his animalistic side kept clamoring.
His kisses were merely insatiable and relentless demands, while Rina's kisses aroused desire.
"Has your sister kissed anyone else before?" Kurosawa Shiran lay down next to Rina, her voice softening with a coaxing and seductive tone as she affectionately pressed her forehead against Rina's. "Why is your kissing skill so good, sister?"
Rina did not respond.
Kurosawa Shiran tightened his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, "No matter what happens in the future, we should be together. So after you die, I can only cast your ashes into a necklace to wear, so we will never be separated. You would have wanted that too, right?"
In a daze, Rina heard someone say that they wanted to grind her bones to ashes. She wanted to hit them, but her body was like a pile of burnt ashes, and her pajamas were soaked and stuck to her skin. She just instinctively sought coolness to cool herself down.
She was still somewhat conscious, so the situation might not be too bad, but her body temperature was still rising. Kurosawa Shiran buried her head in her neck and rubbed against her.
Rina has fallen into a dream.
She returned to her home, listened to the clearly audible scales, and went upstairs to her study on the second floor.
The man stood by the window, the violin resting against his shoulder, his left hand on the fingerboard, playing a wonderful piece, his movements elegant and absorbed in the music.
It is Monti's "Czardas".
The sounds of those musical scales had been echoing in her hazy memory, but this time they were clear and bright.
She tried to piece together a complete piece using fragmented scales in her mind, but no matter how many times she tried, it never sounded as beautiful as she remembered. She could control the bow speed and dynamics very well, but unfortunately, the difficulty of the piece was not in the technique, but in the emotion.
The father infused the melody with rich emotion; every note conveyed a tender caress and a resilient warmth.
And her playing, the little child said, "A complex and painful sadness, sister, are you very sad?"
The scene shifts, and this time Rina is playing the violin, with a beautiful little child standing behind her.
The music gradually faded, and the last note dissipated into the air.
Rina turned to look at the child, closed her eyes, and then felt a piercing scream in her mind. The music became shrill, and immense fear gripped her. She suddenly felt a surge of pain, wanting to stop, wanting to shatter something, but something began to frantically crawl into her mind.
She saw a cat that was bleeding but not quite dead, its hazy eyes turning.
And then, the poor child held her and cried, and then began... to disappear.
"Sister, will you save me?"
"That's not your fault. Everything will happen in its own time. Forgetting is just the beginning. You don't have to make the biggest sacrifice."
Memories flooded her like a tide, and she fell into illusion, falling endlessly.
Until a pair of icy hands cupped her face, gently stroking her eyes, nose, and lips in a soothing manner.
elder sister......
elder sister.
She does have a cute yet hateful younger brother, a little tail with extremely low morals, practically none, and a complete lack of emotional boundaries.
Lina felt as if she had been pulled out of an abyss on the verge of drowning, her mind a complete mess, and it took her a long time to recover.
She opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and her dark eyes reflected the person beside her.
It turns out he really was that annoying little tagalong.
Kurosawa Shiran was taken aback: "Sister?"
Lina unconsciously rubbed her fingertips against his palm, breathing heavily.
Her memories were slowly returning, like a verdict. She realized that she had only made mistakes and errors, and that she should indeed stay here.
Her experimental drugs were used on her younger brother, and even the death of Kanon couldn't stop it. There was also Takizawa Nanase, and all those who changed her little by little were hurt because of her.
What is this all about?
In that brief moment, she glimpsed her life filled with countless mistakes.
Regardless, she felt a deep disgust for her own filth.
She was momentarily moved, opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.
Kurosawa Shiran was momentarily stunned, then her blue eyes curved into a smile, tinged with a hint of wickedness and eeriness: "Thank goodness my sister woke up, I almost wanted to have them all killed."
Rina: "..."
It's good to be alive, don't be so sentimental. People have to pay for the sins they commit.
She said, "The first person has a problem."
The man named Armstrong died under very suspicious circumstances.
Kurosawa Shiran had been hiding her turbulent emotions, but upon hearing this, her smiling face instantly fell. "I have a problem too, didn't you sense it, sister?"
Despite being wrapped in a blanket, Rina was still hard to miss.
Fortunately, her headache worsened, her consciousness became increasingly blurred, and she closed her eyes, falling into a coma again.
We can ignore that little bastard.
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