Chapter 52 Arrogance
"Don't make that expression, everything is obvious." The arrogant criminal suspect expressed his contempt for them, and his words were as fast as a bullet fired from a gun barrel.
"Graybridge Harbor, Shadow Chaser, and my connection—the only answer that fits all three is the Saman family. For a high-ranking figure from the Kite Heart Guards to come and investigate, it could only be a murder involving an important figure, or even multiple murders. The only way to avoid the Soul Guard's last words is to kill them with one strike, leaving them no time to speak. The safest way is to slit their throats and destroy their vocal cords—and judging by Mr. Baartman's posture, he's always subconsciously protecting his neck... Newly hired, have you seen too many bodies with slit throats lately?"
Jolini Batman's pupils shrank, but he was much calmer and composed than his brother. He just said coldly, "It's a crude and far-fetched conclusion."
But he had to admit that the other party was a smart person as he was able to quickly piece together the truth in such a short time.
"So how did you determine the death toll?" Knight Commander Yialos asked with interest. He was in his prime, his features somewhat dull, yet he possessed the calm composure that comes with years of high office. Nova had heard of him. This Knight Commander was known for his meticulousness and meticulous attention to detail, earning him the nickname "The Iron Curtain of the Royal Family."
"Based on the available information, the Shadow Chasers' leader has specific requirements when selecting his targets. If we categorize him by serial killer type, he's more likely to see himself as a 'savior' enforcing justice, selecting the 'culprit' in his mind."
The dark-haired young man seemed unafraid of being labeled an accomplice of the rebels due to his "too deep understanding." Instead, he dissected the shadow lurking in the darkness with a chilling certainty. "For unknown reasons, this is his first attempt, and it's also a transformation. So he won't kill too many, but he won't leave behind what he considers a threat either. How many powerful figures can the Saman family possibly have? Ten or less is the most reasonable number."
"Very fascinating." Knight Commander Yialos slowly raised his hands and clapped gracefully. "Unfortunately, this doesn't clear you of suspicion. The story of the shipwreck, the cargo box, and Lady Rose is equally strange and moving, like the poetry sung by a bard. But please forgive me for not believing everything you say so easily."
He nodded slightly to his subordinates beside him, and Bartman immediately pulled out two portraits and dropped them on the table. On them were the faces of two unfortunate killers printed in ink. Nova only recognized one of them, the one captured by the God's Blessed One. The other had been reduced to a heap of rotten flesh by the tyrannical power of the sea god Odileus before he could even see his face.
"Two sheriffs from Graybridge Harbor have disappeared without a trace," Bateman said coldly. "Their colleagues testified that they were ordered by Nit Saman to kill a nobleman—that is, you, Mr. Nova Brody."
Dean Rabelais on the side suddenly raised his voice: "Wait, what? I don't know this! Are you saying that my student also encountered a stupid assassination?!"
Which good guy would choose his own direct subordinates as killers for assassination? I don’t know whether to say that he is confident and frugal, or just too stupid.
Knight Commander Yialos nodded slightly to the old man. "Please forgive my impoliteness—but both sheriffs are high-ranking waiters. They are more than capable of dealing with an ordinary person. This is an indefensible fact."
The other party's voice was soft but resounding, and the sense of pressure rose like a tide: "So, how did you survive the assassination of two warriors, Mr. Brody?"
"How ridiculous, Your Excellency Knight Commander Ialos. Are you condemning an innocent victim? Why didn't he die miserably as the evildoers wished?" The old man took a step forward, his voice cold.
"The member of the Saman family who tried to kill Mr. Brody died a miserable death, and the killer is nowhere to be found, while your student, an ordinary person, is unharmed. With all due respect, such a coincidence forces us to make some unpleasant associations." The other man was still elegant and calm, but he never gave in.
"The Shadow Chaser dared to murder the general of the Imperial Border Guard, murdering a distinguished Earl with silver blood. This deeply worries Her Majesty the Queen." The Knight Commander, clad in a silver helmet, exuded an icy aura of coercion. "For the Queen, for the King, and for the glory of the Silver Iris—Mr. Brody, please give me an honest and reasonable explanation before my patience runs out."
Nova suddenly felt a familiar pressure—the God's Blessed had used the same trick to scare him when he first met him. But soon, he felt an inexplicable lightening of his body. The previous discomfort that had made him break out in a cold sweat seemed like a mere reminder from someone.
So, under the Knight Commander's somewhat stunned gaze, the black-haired young man unexpectedly ignored everyone. He even took a few steps forward and picked up the two portraits that had been thrown on the table from under Yialos's nose.
His behavior was so natural that Baartman forgot to stop him immediately. The air was like stagnant cement. Only the culprit slowly raised the portrait and carefully examined the killer's face against the sunlight, as if he was completely unaware of his current dangerous situation.
Dean Rabelais's face was already very grim. He wanted to pull his students out of this ominous quagmire. Ideas popped up in his mind one after another, but he rejected them one after another - but soon, everyone heard a soft sneer.
"Knight Commander Yialos, all your doubts are based on the fact that I am an ordinary person who lacks training, is weak and helpless." The man shook the two portraits carelessly, his eyebrows drooping, and behind his pale and nervous young face, there was a creepy thing faintly revealed.
He raised his eyes with a half-smile, his smoky grey pupils like the ancient, desolate moon, revealing a sharpness and brightness not possessed by humans, as well as a faint, breathtaking madness. "But why do you keep emphasizing that I'm just an ordinary person... yet you dare not look me in the eye?"
The natives of the continent of Ambrose believe that desire lies within the eyes. The Etilo virgins blindfold themselves, both to demonstrate their piety in offering all their desires to the gods and because they use gaze to cast high-level spells, including imploring the gods to descend—in a sense, gaze is a form of eros.
…
The two knights left. Before leaving, Dean Rabelais stared at the student for a long time with a very complicated look, and finally patted him on the shoulder.
"you……"
"Teacher, stop talking. I know what's going on." Nova interrupted him calmly.
——Don’t talk, don’t get involved, don’t get involved.
"You have no idea," the old man wanted to curse him. But looking at the boy's increasingly thin shoulders and the faint dark circles under his eyes, he finally sighed.
He knew his student too well: if he didn't want to say something, no one could get him to say it; if he didn't want to do something, no one could force him to do it. Even he, a teacher who had been with him for five or six years, sometimes couldn't guess what the other person was thinking.
He could only vaguely sense that the other person seemed to be forced into a great and dangerous tsunami. He was alone in it, unable to be touched, unable to be saved - only struggling endlessly in exhaustion.
In the dean's office, the two silver-helmeted knights' aura was subtly suppressed by an ordinary man. As the other man stepped forward, the ink-printed portrait slipped from his hands and was carelessly stepped on across the assassin's frozen face, making a slight crunching sound.
Bateman instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword. He didn't know what was wrong with him, because the other person's words suddenly felt absurd, and he vaguely felt from the black-haired young man the sudden loss of control he had felt when he first knelt on one knee under the throne. It was as if everything he had would be completely reduced to his puppet if this person saw him.
...Is it an illusion? Or is it because this person looks like a madman talking nonsense?
"That's very rude, Mr. Brody." He heard his boss beside him say coldly.
The black-haired scholar leaned forward towards the silver-helmeted knight until he could clearly feel the calm and mist-like breathing, as if he could break the fragile throat with just a light pinch of his hand.
"Your eyeballs twitched upward to the right, trying to find an excuse. Your fingers subconsciously curled toward your weapon, I put pressure on you... Now you're frightened and trying to disguise yourself, but it's too stiff and clumsy. And then there's the suppressed tension, anger, and subtle disdain—who are you comparing me to? Who do I remind you of?"
The other person's gloved fingers had touched the hilt of the Knight Commander's sword at some point, as if tempting him to pull it out and chop down at the crazy and terrifying black-haired devil in front of him.
"In what way am I similar to him or her? Personality, appearance, ability, or perhaps..."
The last word was barely a whisper.
"--identity?"
As the Knight Commander's pupils suddenly shrank, the man suddenly took a few steps back with a bored look on his face, creating distance between them. He lowered his eyes in boredom and said, "So boring."
He sneered, pulled off the glove that had just touched the other person's sword hilt, and threw it on the ground indifferently.
"You don't dare to kill me, nor do you dare to look me in the eyes...Should I regard this farce as a sweet kiss?"
"—Arrogant man!" Bateman roared, his sword half-drawn. The Kite Heart Guards represented the king's dignity, and no one had ever dared to be so presumptuous in their presence.
The other party ignored him and said, "If you only want to come here to worship the power of my god, please do not use such rude methods next time. You have frightened the old man's fragile heart."
Bateman didn't quite understand what he was saying. He just wanted to personally take this skinny, arrogant bastard who barked like a spoiled pet dog back to jail. However, his boss was silent for a moment, then leaned slightly towards him, and then left without saying a word. He could only glare at the man coldly and chase after him.
"Your Excellency, Knight Commander Yialos, please give my regards to Her Majesty the Queen."
The guy even raised his voice lazily behind them. Batman saw that his boss's steps had not stopped, but his back looked a little stiff.
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