Chapter 27 Case File 1: Botanical Garden Mystery (9)
The Kingdom's knights made quite a commotion, and everyone in the mansion quickly came out to greet them. A stunningly beautiful woman from the Haff tribe, only about 1.4 meters tall, dressed in a lavender, white, and violet floral Victorian tea dress, with her hair styled in a tall, elegant bun, walked in front.
"Good day, fellow knights of the kingdom." The lady had platinum-blonde hair and a pair of almond-shaped eyes, the classic blue of the Haf tribe, but slightly lighter than Holly's, less innocent and more harsh.
Her facial features are very symmetrical, with big almond eyes, a round and small nose, and a cherry mouth, all perfectly distributed on her round little face. She looks like a doll that can only be admired from a distance and not played with.
In comparison, the Haff man following behind her looked a bit short and greasy. He looked somewhat like Holly and was probably Holly's second uncle, Whipson Ho Axe.
Logically speaking, Holly's foundation was not bad. However, this uncle had big bags under his eyes and looked much older than his actual age.
His eyes were lifeless, their pupils a hazy, grayish blue, and he looked as if his body had been hollowed out by alcohol and lust. His back was slightly hunched, and his gait was a bit unsteady.
Whipson's actual height is only about 1.2 meters, and visually he appears even shorter. This is actually a fairly normal height among the Hafu people, whose average height is between 1 and 1.3 meters. But when he stands next to his tall, beautiful wife, they instantly create the visual effect of Pan Jinlian and Wu Dalang.
Whipson was wearing luxurious clothes made of fine fabrics, but he looked like a lousy, alcoholic groom. There were yellow-brown stains on his collar and cuffs, and he looked really unkempt. He was not a good match for the beautiful woman at all.
The lady tucked a few strands of platinum hair away from her ears and gave a perfect curtsy to the crowd. "The criminal has been apprehended in the Holland case. I wonder why you all came here today?"
"Who said the criminal was caught?" Andre asked with interest.
"Second Aunt!" Holly said, "I didn't kill anyone. The deputy leader of the Kingdom Knights has agreed to release me!"
The beautiful Hav woman whom Holly called 'Second Aunt' was none other than the malicious Pertmin Ho Priss that Aunt Wolf had mentioned. In this world, people did not have the custom of taking their husband's surname. Even after marrying into a wealthy family like Axe and gradually taking control of this formidable 'business empire', this second daughter-in-law still retained her original surname.
The moment Pertmin saw Holly, she wrinkled her nose almost imperceptibly. At the same time, Jiang suddenly smelled a foul odor coming from the front. She said softly, sniffed carefully, and then covered her nose with her hands in disgust and turned her head away.
"What's that smell?" Andre asked quietly.
"It stinks." Jiang You lowered his voice and tried to describe it, "A smell of body odor, like the stinky smell of a group of sweaty men who haven't changed their clothes for a week on a hot and humid summer day..."
"Okay, stop talking." Andrei, feeling a little turned off by what she said, immediately stopped her, "Remember, this is called 'hatred'..." As he spoke, he couldn't help laughing: "...How come you, a lich, still need someone to teach you about emotions?"
"Hehehe, there's nothing I can do." Jiang You scratched his bones shamelessly, "This isn't my first time as a lich~"
——Hey, think about it carefully, she doesn’t even have a thick skin now, only a skull!
Andrei had no choice. This was the only lich he knew, and even though it was a novice lich who didn't know what emotions corresponded to what flavors, he could only use it reluctantly. The lich only had to detect the flavors of the emotions and interpret the meaning behind them.
"She 'hates' Holly... Does that mean she is the murderer?" Takumi asked in a low voice.
"Not necessarily." Andre said, "Let's wait and see. The investigation has just begun."
Andrei shook his one-shoulder cape and stepped forward. "Madam, I am Andrei Lu Huntington, Deputy Commander of the Kingdom Knights' Eston West City Branch, at your service. According to my preliminary investigation, Holly was in the greenhouse of the botanical garden on the night of the incident, concentrating on harvesting nightshades."
"The 666 perfectly preserved Nightshade flowers in these magical vessels prove that he could not have been distracted enough to commit murder during those few hours. Any magician or potion expert can verify this. And I happen to hold a [Dark Arts Professional Appraisal License] and a [Potionology Appraisal License], so you can trust my professional appraisal results."
Takumi's jaw creaked suspiciously: Good guy, Forensic Heroes (magic version).
"Since Holly is not the real criminal, we must reinvestigate this case. Please cooperate with us and reconstruct the events of the day of the crime."
Pertmin forced a fake, polite smile. "Is that so? Then please come in and discuss this in detail... Perhaps you would like to go directly to the botanical garden to see the site?"
"Let's take it one step at a time." Andre smiled. "Let's start our investigation from the mansion."
The mansion is a two-story villa in the style of a Victorian castle, but it does not use a variety of bright and complicated colors, but only a soft cream white.
The roof is a double-pitched roof with a sloping ridge, with two triangular roofs on the left and right forming the shape of a Chinese character "从". Beneath the towering eaves is a balcony with architraves, supported by ornate fan-shaped brackets, exuding a beauty that blends classicism with modernity.
There is also a dome tower on the side connected to the main body of the house, which is one floor higher than the main body of the house.
"Where is that over there?" Jiangyou pulled Holly aside, pointed in the direction of the tower and asked.
"The tower faces the botanical garden," Holly said. "The view from up there is great! Because it's surrounded by plains, there's no terrain blocking the view. In order to maintain the tower's view, we deliberately left a corner of the botanical garden!
"In that area, we don't plant tall trees that would block the view. Instead, we plant flowers and plants. We even use them to create all sorts of beautiful ground patterns that change with the seasons and festivals!"
"Who lives in the tower?"
"It's my second aunt, Pertamine. She often has migraines and can't sleep well when there's noise at night. My uncle snores when he drinks, so they often sleep in separate rooms. When she wants to be alone and quiet, she stays in the tower."
"Oh wow~"
Everyone filed in. Although this house was built by the Hafu tribe, it was obviously designed with the needs of normal people in mind. Each floor was designed with high ceilings and did not seem cramped at all.
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