Chapter 17 Two Sides of the Same Thing: Infamy Within Fontainebleau...
"Why is it only being reported now that someone died yesterday?"
In Fontaine, a prestigious district, police officers are investigating a crime scene inside a villa.
Flesh, blood, bile, bones... a mixture of red, yellow, white, and black splattered on the floor, emitting a foul stench.
vomit.
Donatello suppressed the urge to vomit.
"If my daughter, Xia Wore, were here, she'd definitely cry in fear..."
Such a horrific crime scene was something he had never seen in his many years of special patrol career.
"The identity of the deceased has been revealed; he is indeed Count Sze."
Donatello's colleague, drenched in cold sweat, interrupted his self-talk, trembling like an inexperienced newcomer.
"The preliminary autopsy report is also out."
No, no, it's hard to call it a corpse anymore.
My colleague's eyes darted around, avoiding looking at the puddle on the ground.
"They can still get an autopsy report even though he's practically minced meat? Impressive." Donatello unconsciously touched the handle of his gun.
"Tell me, how was our poor count killed before he became like this?"
"Before becoming like this? No, Captain, you've misunderstood."
Although he tried his best to remain calm, the sound of his teeth chattering was still too obvious.
"Count Sze was smashed to pieces by the murderer."
!
Instead of ending the life with knives or guns first, they just smashed him to death...
That's absolutely inhuman!
"...Where's the murder weapon?"
It took him a long time to speak.
"It couldn't have been rolled over with a road roller, could it?"
"I picked some tooth fragments out of that pile of stuff; teeth are as hard as crystal..."
"That's the most terrifying thing, Donatello."
My colleague's face turned pale, and his Adam's apple bobbed.
"The murder weapon was just a gold trophy, a trophy about the length of your and my forearm."
"There were no gears, no mechanisms; the murderer simply used brute force to smash a person in a frenzied and disorderly manner."
"......impossible."
Donatello suddenly realized that he wasn't as brave as he had imagined.
He mentally simulated and imagined himself lying on the ground while an unknown killer raised a heavy object high and smashed it down on his big toe.
hiss--!
The fingernail was smashed open by a heavy object, and the bone beneath shattered like a glass bead, fragments mixed with flesh and blood clumped together—and that was only a small part of it...
It would be shameful to back down, but Donatello couldn't help but tuck his toes in, his face covered in cold sweat.
How can a human possess such power? Is he a monster?
...No, it's a monster. Humans couldn't possibly commit such horrific atrocities.
This evil person must be apprehended as soon as possible to prevent him from continuing to harm citizens!
"Poor Earl, may your soul rest in peace... Send the order! Find eyewitnesses, search for clues, and prioritize strong adult males in the vicinity—"
"Stop! Stop! What are you doing!"
Autigne—Mirusin, the Shadow Court agent—jumped and interrupted him:
"It's all wrong, all wrong!"
"Wrong?" My colleague frowned disapprovingly. "Is it a robust woman?"
"No!" Ottigne was so angry that the antennae on her head began to twitch.
"Don't let fear cloud your judgment. Open your eyes and look at the crime scene!"
The crime scene? Indeed, there are some areas that haven't been thoroughly examined yet.
“Look at these words written in blood!” Melissa reminded him.
"The one who killed this man was a lynx... Is he provoking us? How arrogant!" The colleague was furious.
"Something's not right!"
"...Wait, what's the location of this writing!?"
As experienced special patrol team members, although they were momentarily blinded by fear, they immediately noticed the anomaly after being alerted.
Donatello stretched out his finger, making a writing gesture, and tapped it on the wall.
...The killer left blood-written words below it.
Donatello's height is just over 1.8 meters, which, based on human anatomy and the approximate distance between fingertips...
"1.6 meters tall!? The murderer, a lynx, was a dwarf?"
The special patrol officers exclaimed in surprise: "This is completely against human biomechanics!"
"No, it's still a little short!"
Autigne still had her little brow furrowed.
Still not right? Then there must be some clue that has been overlooked.
Everyone in Fontaine knew that the Melusin family were the best scouts, so Donatello had no doubts and immediately began to search the scene again carefully:
Footprints were left on the blood-soaked carpet, and the depth and length of the indentation were measured... The suspect's weight was not as heavy as expected?
The safe, made of fine iron, looked as if it had been torn apart by a wild beast; its contents were nowhere to be found. Had the murderer taken them? But the bloodstains were broken and discontinuous—was it taken after the murder?
Valuables were neatly arranged and there was no bloodstain, indicating the murder was not for money...
After scanning the bedroom, Donatello entered the luxurious and spacious bathroom, where pink stains from the water covered the floor.
The murderer even took a shower?
"How arrogant and cold-blooded they are."
The officer shook his head, feeling an overwhelming sense of disgust and aversion.
There are bloody handprints on the mirror, go take a look.
Meilushin didn't refute, she just reminded him.
"good."
The scratches on the mirror show that the murderer didn't like to trim their nails.
Donatello glanced at it briefly at first glance:
The fingers are relatively slender, the palm is narrow, the finger joints have a softer outline, and the joints are shallower.
......
The adult's face began to stiffen, and his eyes became serious.
Second glance:
The skin is delicate, the palm lines are shallow yet clear, and there are few wrinkles.
The look of disgust faded, replaced by disbelief.
Third Eye:
The muscles are not fully developed, and the handprint is soft with weak texture.
"......"
Donatello's expression changed drastically.
"Did you notice anything, Captain?"
His colleague looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Did you see anything, human?"
Meiluxin looked at him knowingly.
"......"
The adult opened and closed his mouth, and in the opulent villa filled with the smell of blood, he revealed the truth with mixed feelings.
"The suspect, 'Lynx,' is a teenager whose hands are not yet fully developed."
How is that possible?!
*
Catnip is such a wonderful thing.
Those two children, it wasn't a wasted effort.
The boy with fluffy ears and a short tail sat on the roof of the White's house, wearing a scarf and a hat, carefully burying his face in the catnip jar.
call--
His calves swayed involuntarily, and although his cat ears still drooped listlessly on the brim of his hat, they were no longer taut.
The anxiety and stress caused by becoming human were greatly alleviated.
call--
So comfortable...
No, we can't continue like this!
Mainkun bit his lip with his sharp teeth and resolutely stuffed the jar of mint back into his pocket.
Next, we must work hard to find my brother.
The half-demon bent his knees and jumped off the roof, his bare feet landing on the cold ground of the Gray River. The sensation, so different from that of a cat's paw pads, made Mainkun feel nauseous.
"......"
The boy, with a gloomy face, pulled out a jar of catnip.
call--
Comfortable......
The half-demon shook his head, somewhat dazed, and walked into Gray River Street.
"Look at that little dwarf, he's dressed so strangely."
The people here seem to have eyes like eagles, constantly surveying the dilapidated territory. As soon as Mainkun appeared, a few eyes fell on him.
"......"
The gaze was not malicious, but it still made the boy restless and uneasy.
"His upper body was completely covered up, but his legs were bare. What a weirdo."
"......"
While the statement was true, it still disgusted the boy.
Sometimes I really want to cut off these overly sensitive hairy ears.
Mainkuhn expressionlessly pulled out a jar of catnip.
call--
"He probably didn't have any money; he wasn't even wearing shoes."
suck--
"Impossible! The trench coat may be made of ordinary fabric, but the scarf is clearly a high-quality item..."
call--
The more you inhale, the quieter the sound becomes; the more you inhale, the less anxious you feel.
Comfortable......
Human conversations can no longer be heard, and human sight can no longer be perceived.
Ah, it feels so good... There will never be sadness again.
The gloom had almost completely vanished from the boy's face. The half-demon swayed slightly, stumbling and staggering as he entered the tavern.
"Hello, I..."
He tucked his nails in and tapped the door, which was engraved with rose patterns, with his knuckles.
"They're here!"
The burly man in front of the cabinet glanced at his height.
"......"
The burly man crouched down to look at Maine's face under the brim of his hat.
Naïve, shadowy, vertical pupils fierce and scattered.
He looked like a typical troubled teenager.
"We don't serve brats, get out! If you come back in, we'll kill you."
"No, I won't argue with you."
The nepetalactone in catnip was stimulating Maine's nerves, making him feel good and even willing to communicate with people in small amounts in human form.
"I have something important to do..."
"Get out!"
The burly man ignored him and reached out to push Mainkuhn's shoulder.
"Hey, Wayne!" Seeing the burly man charging towards the young man, the tavern patrons immediately called out a warning:
"Hold back your strength! Just get him out of there, don't hurt him!"
Wayne was naturally strong but didn't know his own strength, and the boy looked thin and small. If this blow landed... hiss.
The guest dared not think about it anymore.
"I already said..."
Amidst the gasps of the crowd, the thick arm had already reached for the boy's chest, but the little guy neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he quickly stretched out his slender arm and grabbed the strong man's clothes.
"Hey! Get out of the way!"
Some guests couldn't bear to watch anymore.
"I'll tell you everything!"
He bends his elbow and raises his hand, as casually as if he were holding an umbrella.
"I have something important to say!"
"ah--!"
Amidst gasps of surprise from the humans, Mainkuen effortlessly lifted the burly man with both hands, using his slender body as a pole to spin him around twice like a windmill.
"....."
All the attempts to dissuade or remind them were silenced; everyone stared in disbelief at the thin boy at the door.
After turning the burly man's head until he was as dizzy as he was, Mainkun gently set the human down and repeated his demands as if nothing had happened.
"I heard that you can buy intelligence here..."
I remember that nobleman saying that a child killed the villain who kept him, which prompted a four-hundred-year-old man called the 'Supreme Judge' to crack down on human trafficking...
Brother, could they have already been rescued? We need information...
"......"
The tavern was completely silent, and pairs of eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.
Little Navia and her butler Myles arrived at this time.
"What's wrong? Why is the tavern so quiet today?"
The little girl, carrying her small parasol, skipped and hopped into the Rose Society's tavern and intelligence exchange office, where she first saw the tall and burly bartender.
"Uncle Wayne, why do you look like a cat with its tail pinned down? And who's next to you... oh!"
Next was Maine, with his droopy ears.
"It's you!"
With its long, bushy animal ears and thin clothes, Navia recognized the strange-behaving boy at a glance!
The half-demon glanced at her, still dazed.
"!!"
It was...it was that kind old man and the child I had frightened!
With just one glance, the false excitement brought on by the chemicals immediately subsided considerably, and Maine's short tail puffed up under his trench coat.
"......"
Not daring to utter another word, Cat's Eyes frantically scanned the tavern as Maine began searching for an escape route.
The window is open, charge!
"Hey, young master! Don't rush off!"
The old butler swiftly grabbed the boy's trench coat.
"Feel sorry..."
Facing the old man he had once threatened and intimidated, Mainkuen felt too guilty to resist and only dared to whisper a sentence:
"...If I'm angry, I'll get my revenge however I want..."
The voice was too soft; Miles almost didn't hear it. He looked down and could only see cold, wild vertical pupils.
Am I finally starting to hallucinate? Surely not.
"Oh dear, young people are just too impatient."
The old man adjusted his glasses, ultimately choosing to ignore Maine's inhuman appearance and trust his intuition.
"Good boy, I just want to apologize for almost hurting you last time. Give the old man some face."
"......?"
The cat looked back at him, bewildered.
Am I... hallucinating from inhaling catnip?
Okay, okay~
The blonde girl was the first to break the awkward silence.
"I haven't seen you in Grey River. Are you a new neighbor?"
The gun, disguised as a parasol, was thrown into the corner. Navia extended her right hand to the gloomy boy, who was only a few years older than her:
"Let's get to know each other again. I'm Navia, Navia from the Rose Society."
With her eyes fixed on the half-demon's bare feet and her mind filled with the blunt, unsharp knife that had once been pressed against the old steward's neck, the girl, as beautiful as a yellow rose, gave the half-demon a bright smile.
"Have you heard of the Rose Society? It's a grassroots mutual aid organization."
"So, is there anything I can help you with? Don't hesitate to ask! Just let me know!"
"......"
So flashy.
Mainkuhn pinched his long, pointed nails in his pocket, then looked at the girl's slender, soft hands.
I dare not hold it.
A note from the author:
----------------------
This book is going to be available for purchase tomorrow, kids! For your consumer rights, I need to remind you all again—
This is a rather peculiar, bizarre, and unconventional fanfiction with a redemption theme.
It is a story about a few reliable people, including but not limited to the main characters, who guide a lonely child and a confused monster with love, teaching, and tolerance. It is a story about the "main characters" (such as Navelette) saving the "villain" Mainkuen. It is a gentle yet cruel story.
In the future, Maine will interact with more people in the form of a cat, being petted, hugged, stroked, loved, and even adopted... in human form as well.
But only when all the truth is revealed, all the sins are exposed, and the demonic and human natures are fully dissected and presented, can he receive true, pure love and acceptance.
After reading the first dozen or so chapters, you probably have a general idea of the tone of this story. If you can accept it, see you tomorrow! If not, please be very careful when purchasing! I love you all, so I hope you are happy!
10,000-word update upon entering the paid section!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
