Chapter 36: Disaster in the Night
Chapter 36
36.1
When Oulidsi said: "The wood was put on something else."
There was a low murmur of uproar from the crowd.
Osborne Karagaran froze for a moment, and was about to speak when Prince Rokolan glanced down at him condescendingly.
"Osborne Karagaran," Prince Rokolan said calmly, "I've said before, I don't care about anything else. I only care about who is responsible for this fire. No one will stop me from finding the person truly responsible for this fire."
Osborne's cheek twitched slightly, and he swallowed back his words. Prince Rochlan turned back to Oulidsi.
"What evidence do you have?" he asked. "You know, under the Hydebot Code, an accusation without proof is defamation."
Olidisi smiled faintly.
She called out, "Zoe."
Zoe was stunned for a moment and responded, "Yeah."
Olidisi said, "Before Herson left the carpentry shop, you gave him a small piece of wood, right?"
Zoe was stunned for a moment before nodding hesitantly, "Ah... yes."
The apprentice looked bewildered and said blankly, "He made an appointment with Mr. Jones of South Hill. I'm going to Mr. Jones's house to fix a chip on his tabletop for free. The chip is small, so I gave him a scrap of material I used for practice."
Olidesi nodded and turned to Hesong. "It was a small piece of pine wood. You put it directly into the pocket of your leather vest, right?"
He Song was also a little stunned: "Uh, yes. If you didn't tell me, I would have forgotten. I did put it in my pocket."
As Hesong spoke, he fumbled in his pockets and found the small piece of wood in his right pocket. Oulidexi smiled, stretched out her hand with her palm facing up, and Hesong subconsciously placed the wood in her palm.
"Next," she said, her voice light, "you'll see the evidence in the wood."
As she spoke, she turned sideways and took out a small silver knife from her boot. She scraped the surface of the wood lightly with the knife.
With a "swish" sound, a layer of fine, silver-white and slightly yellowish powder floated up under the silver knife.
Seeing this, Hersong and Master Catherine were surprised. The neighbors also stared with wide eyes and whispered, "Hey, I've never heard of pine wood being able to produce such powder. What is that?"
Prince Rokolan also looked at the piece of wood. He looked at Oulidesi suspiciously: "Your explanation?"
Oledsi smiled softly: "Let me do a little experiment - everyone!"
She raised her voice and looked around at the neighbors. "Excuse me, does anyone have any white sugar? Regular baking sugar will do."
There was a murmur among the crowd, and a young girl stepped forward boldly: "We run a bakery, and we have white sugar."
Olidisi nodded slightly and said, "Hesong." Hesong responded, and Olidisi said, "You hold this piece of wood."
Hesong stretched out his hand and placed the wood in his palm; Oulidesi took a small bag of white sugar from the girl in the bakery and gently sprinkled it on the wood in Hesong's hand, as if cooking a delicious dish.
People looked at Oulidisi curiously, and Oulidisi smiled and said, "Please watch carefully."
People held their breath and stared at the piece of wood sprinkled with white sugar. Even Prince Rokolan was a little dazed. Oridesi raised the silver knife in his hand and gently scratched the wood.
"hiss!"
As soon as the knife scraped across the wood, a violent spark burst out around it; the edge of the entire piece of wood suddenly "hissed" and ignited with an orange-red flame!
Hesong's face suddenly changed, and he subconsciously threw the wood in his hand away.
A flash of fire flew out like a meteor, and someone cried out in surprise; the Flying Knights from the Royal City were quick-witted and quick-handed, and with a snap of the metal bucket in their hands, they dropped the burning wood to the ground.
Osborne Karagaran shouted angrily, "Eulidesi Aquitas, you witch, what kind of witchcraft are you playing! This is ignoring the prince's safety and disrespecting him!"
Euridsi ignored him and just stared at the burning wood trapped in the bucket; it fell to the wet ground with a slight "crackling" sound.
The Flying Knight moved the bucket away. The small wood fire had gone out, and a pungent smell that seemed to be a mixture of caramel and sulfur was faintly emitted in the air.
Upon smelling this scent, one of the knights in the Flying Knights suddenly said, "I think I've smelled this somewhere before..."
Another knight said unconsciously, "Ah, it's the flame enshrined in the temple, isn't it? It's the 'God's Flame' ignited by Sun Crystal and Silver Dust."
Olidisi curled up the corners of his mouth slightly.
"That's right," she said, looking up at Prince Rokolan with a calm expression. "This is the flame used in the temple. It's also the famous alchemical experiment at Sara Advanced Academy, the 'Flame of God'."
Prince Rokolan frowned slightly and looked at the knights around him. One of the knights explained in a low voice, "Your Highness, just mix the powder of Sun Crystal with Silver Dust, add a little sweet powder or sugar, and with just a little friction, you can instantly burst into a violent flame. Sometimes, even without friction, just high temperature, these things can burn on their own. Therefore, this flame is widely used in temples and is called the 'Flame of God.'"
Prince Rokolan half-closed his eyes and repeated coldly: "Sun crystal powder and silver dust..."
Olidesi sighed. "Yes, someone sprinkled these powdered fragments of sun crystal and silver dust on our wood. No matter who started working in the woodworking shop—Master Catherine, He Song, or Zoe—the slightest friction would immediately cause a fire. Zoe was just too diligent, so she secretly got up at night to practice alone, and happened to be the one who 'started the fire'."
As she spoke, she looked at the thin Zoe with some pity. "After the fire, the evidence left by these powders was burned clean. If Herson hadn't happened to bring out this small piece of wood for old Mr. Jones, allowing us to discover the existence of Sun Crystal and Silver Dust, I'm afraid Zoe would really believe that she had caused the fire herself."
He Song couldn't help but mutter, "It's a great strategy to make Zoe sincerely believe that she is the culprit of the fire..."
The apprentice Zoe stared at Oulidsi blankly, and suddenly burst into tears.
The apprentice's cries echoed in the alley at night, and the neighbors who heard the cries all showed embarrassed and uncomfortable expressions on their faces.
Someone unconsciously whispered, "This fire... is definitely not right. It's the coldest season, and it's been raining for the past few days. Where did the fire come from? How could it suddenly become so big?"
"Well, how could a thirteen-year-old apprentice sawing wood produce such large sparks? It doesn't make sense."
"Yes, a carpentry shop is most afraid of fire. I've seen Catherine do fireproofing for the shop before—the walls and roof were plastered with clay and lime, and it was done very carefully. How could someone in a carpentry shop not pay attention to fire prevention? That really doesn't make sense."
The crowd began to chatter, their voices gradually growing louder. Someone tugged at their child's hand and whispered, "Hey, are you really learning how to make this in your academy? 'Flame of God'?"
A young man answered loudly, "Of course it's real. It's very interesting. That silver thing is Silver Light Dust. The master in the academy told us about it!"
"Then, this wasn't an accidental fire, it was murder!"
The crowd was talking one after another, their voices growing louder and louder, like a pot of boiling water that was beginning to boil more and more violently.
Osborne Karajalang looked at all this, his fingers already trembling slightly; he subconsciously turned sideways and looked at the other members of the Karajalang family:
Duke Caragaran had his eyes half closed, Lady Agnes had a cold expression, and Cecilia didn't even look at him.
All the Karagalangs lowered their eyes and looked at the ground, silent and quiet, as if they were just spectators.
Osborne Karagaran gritted his teeth, turned around, took a step forward, and shouted, "Your Highness, even if there are sun crystals on this wood, it can't prove that I did it! Euridice Arquitas is slandering me!"
Prince Rochlan stood quietly, the hem of his golden robe lifted slightly by the night breeze. With his eyes half-closed, he spoke in a low voice, "So, tell me, who would have spread this dangerous alchemical kindling on the wood?"
Osborne choked slightly.
Olidisi smiled and answered for him slowly:
"The carpentry shop's work was Hesong's source of income, and Master Catherine and Zoe had invested all their savings in it. The fire completely destroyed the carpentry shop's studio—people in the carpentry shop would never destroy their own business."
She paused, looked up at the prince, then glanced at the crowd before continuing, "Sun Crystal and Silver Dust are materials only accessible to the High Priest of the Temple and the Master Alchemist of the Academy. They are difficult to refine and their stock is extremely scarce, making them extremely expensive. We are common craftsmen, and it's simply impossible for us to possess materials like Sun Crystal and Silver Dust."
Some people in the crowd began to nod. Olidisi stared at Osborne Karagaran coldly, and his tone gradually became sharper.
"In the entire city of Ravenmont," she said, "there are only three places where you can get these materials."
Prince Rokolan understood what she meant. He raised his eyes and looked coldly in the direction of the Karagalan family.
The prince said calmly, "In Ravenmont, the only places where you can obtain advanced alchemy materials are the Sara Higher Academy, the Temple of the Goddess Gaia, and the Ravenmont Castle of the Karagaran family."
Olidisi looked at Osborne Karagaran with a straight and clear gaze.
"Osborne Karagarang, and I accuse you, of course I have evidence," she said.
Osborne froze slightly, and a fine bead of sweat oozed out of the tip of his nose; Oulidsi slowly approached him with a half-smile on his face.
"Sun crystal and silver dust are fine powders. Once they get on you, they're very difficult to clean completely. This afternoon, you brought them to the carpentry shop and scattered them throughout the workshop. To conceal your actions, you carefully changed all of your clothes, cloak, and shoes."
Euridsi said this and stood in front of Osborne Karagaran. Osborne couldn't help but take a step back.
Olidisi raised her chin slightly, lowered her eyes, and looked down at him condescendingly, with a smile on her face.
"Unfortunately, there's one thing you didn't replace."
Osborne unconsciously showed a hint of fear. Ollidsey said softly, "Sir Osborne Karagaran... do you dare to let someone check your whip to see if there is any Sun Crystal or Silver Dust on it?"
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