Chapter 1707: Chapter 1707

In the living room on the second floor of Pops Antique Shop, the doors and windows were shut tight. The curtains, however, were left open, allowing sunlight filtered through the gray fog to bake the interior, making it even hotter. But Detective Vidi was certain that his current agitation had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature. He desperately wished he hadn't heard a single word of what had just been said.

"You're exactly as I imagined..."

Even knowing he shouldn't voice any opinions, the middle-aged detective couldn't help but speak, his tone attempting a jest. He hoped to ease the awkward atmosphere that had settled over the living room. After jotting down the sordid details of a nobleman's debauched life, he shook his head with a wry smile, as if trying to fling all his troubles away.

"Alright, I've noted all of this. Now, about the small-caliber handgun you have registered at City Hall, would you permit us to inspect it?"

"Of course, but the gun is in my coat downstairs."

Jenkins pointed toward the floor beneath them.

The detective nodded again, not forgetting to add an explanation.

"We don't believe you're a murderer, of course, but this is a routine inspection. Please understand."

He then questioned Hathaway, Briny, and Julia, confirming Jenkins's whereabouts over the past few days, before finally closing the black-covered notebook.

The middle-aged detective glanced at the influential figures around him. Seeing that they all remained silent, he announced that the routine questioning was over.

The oppressive, stuffy atmosphere in the room seemed to vanish with his words. The detective tactfully took his leave first, using the excuse of retrieving the handgun from downstairs. Once the sound of his footsteps faded, Jenkins turned to the three dukes.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Six heirs have been assassinated in succession. That's what's going on. The cause of death is the same as Victum's last week—a bullet to the head, a blade through the heart, and the throat slit. There are also needle marks on the bodies, and tests have detected an unknown toxin. In short, we can't pinpoint a specific cause of death; any one of the wounds could have been fatal. The police suspect they were all inflicted simultaneously."

Duke Douglas Gerrod explained, then had the silent servant standing behind him hand Jenkins a thick, brown, waterproof document pouch.

Jenkins unfastened the string and pulled out the files, discovering they were all related to the murders.

"I don't believe you would kill anyone, nor do I believe you'd hire an assassin. It's obvious that their deaths do nothing to change your position in the line of succession."

The duke remarked, his eyes gazing out the window.

"Right now, the most suspicious individual is that foreigner, Horas Luther. We suspect certain parties in Cheslan are trying to stir up trouble... so you must be exceptionally careful during this time. Although the heirs murdered so far are low in the line of succession, this could very well be a diversion to mislead us. Williams, you must be vigilant about your safety."

The old duke stressed his point. Jenkins nodded, still puzzled by the whole affair. After a moment's thought, he turned to the officers from KalFax Field.

"May I see the bodies? I think if I can see for myself how those unfortunate souls died, it would help me maintain a sense of alertness."

It was a strange request, but with a nod from the dukes, KalFax Field consented.

Including Victum's, all seven bodies were now stored in the morgue at KalFax Field's city headquarters. It wasn't Jenkins's first time here, but even the summer heat couldn't dispel the morgue's bone-deep chill.

The coroner, who looked like a butcher in his dark-red-stained apron and mask, pulled the bodies from their refrigerated compartments and laid them out on several "beds" pushed together for Jenkins to view. Although the royal family had paid for ice to preserve the corpses, Victum's body, having been dead the longest, was already showing signs of decay.

Just as the files described, the bodies were covered in wounds, most of which would have been fatal. Wearing a mask to block the smell, Jenkins swept his Eye of Reality over them, confirming there were no supernatural traces. He then turned to the accompanying coroner.

"Have the priests from the Church of Death and End been called in to have a look?"

While teachers and writers weren't necessarily followers of the Sage, those in the coroner's profession were very likely believers in Death or a pseudo-god allied with the Church of Death. Thus, the coroner didn't take offense at the implied doubt in his abilities and explained in a thick Nolan accent.

"Only bodies sent to the morgue outside the city can be examined by the Church of Death and End. The bodies here are handled by our own internal coroners at KalFax Field."

Thinking of the delicate relationship between the churches and the secular authorities, Jenkins nodded in understanding. He looked down again at the neck of the cold young man before him. There was an undisguised puncture mark, clearly made by a needle.

"Can you analyze the components of the poison in the blood?"

"It's very difficult. Not because the toxin is rare, but because each of the deceased has more than one type of poison in their system. It looks like someone mixed various lethal toxins together in a solution, spun them together, and then injected the mixture into the victims in more than one location."

He pointed out other, less obvious needle marks on the corpse. Jenkins studied them for a while longer but found no further clues.

After leaving KalFax Field, Jenkins went straight to find his divination teacher, Audrey. But she wasn't home, so he had to travel out of the city to the Evergreen Forest to find her.

By the time he stepped out of the carriage, holding today's Nolan Daily supplement and his cat, it was already afternoon. By the time he found Audrey and explained the situation, asking for her help with a divination, the sky to the west was already streaked with the colors of sunset.

They ate dinner together in the Evergreen Forest. During the meal, Audrey asked about Dolores becoming the heir and teased Jenkins about winning an entire country with a single stroke. Audrey was already friends with Alexia and knew about her situation, so she didn't press for more details.

After dinner, Audrey was suddenly in high spirits. She decided to emulate the ancient diviners and teach him as a master would a student. She found a clearing by the forest lake where the stars were visible, and they both sat on the grass. Audrey quizzed Jenkins on his recent progress and, upon learning that he hadn't attempted any divination, paused to think.

"So, have you 'witnessed' destiny again recently? I've noticed something unusual about your eyes. That purple hue wasn't there before, was it?"

She was one of the very few who had noticed the change in his eye color. However, she didn't think much of it, simply assuming that Jenkins's talent was so extraordinary that gazing upon destiny had begun to transform his eyes into something more mystical.

The lesson under the stars continued until about nine o'clock, at which point they formally began their attempt to divine the truth behind the deaths of the royal family members. Feeling inspired that night, the lady of the Church of Destiny chose the rarely used method of "water scrying."

But she didn't intend to use a special vessel to hold the liquid and then probe the currents of fate beneath its surface.

Audrey gestured to the lake beside them.

"I'm going to use this lake for the divination."

She enlisted the help of the nuns from the Church of Destiny who resided in the forest. Together, they placed 365 candles around the lake's edge and lit them all.

Then, holding a quarter of a candle dyed purple, Audrey prepared to lead the ritual. The candle symbolized "Destiny," a reflection of the Lying God's star of fate. Of course, the Lying God himself, standing right beside her, knew perfectly well that he possessed no such divine authority.

The female diviner had changed her clothes and was now wearing a brown, floor-length robe. After asking everyone to step away from the lake, she held the candle, closed her eyes, and walked barefoot across the grass toward the water.

As she moved, an unnatural wind stirred, sending ripples across both the grass and the lake's surface. Jenkins watched from a distance, leaning against a tree. He saw the spirit in the air grow chaotic, and then a purple luminescence rose from the center of the lake, spreading like a morning mist across the water.

Holding the candle, Audrey did not stop at the water's edge but walked straight into the lake with her eyes closed. The water lapping at the shore first soaked her bare feet, then slowly crept up her fair legs, climbing the fine, almost imperceptible hairs on her delicate skin, drenching her robe as it rose.

As Audrey waded deeper, the water level rose steadily, submerging her waist. Her hands, still holding the candle, slipped beneath the surface. Miraculously, the candle did not go out; its faint, flickering light remained visible, wavering beneath the water.

Soon, Audrey's head was also submerged. Her long, disheveled hair fanned out across the surface, swaying with the movement of the waves, a rather terrifying sight in the darkness of the night. As she ventured deeper, her hair, too, disappeared from view.

Suddenly, a black object rose from beneath the water. It was her brown robe, which had floated to the surface. The current then carried it to the grassy shore. Latest content publıshed on novel-fire.net

Jenkins held his breath, his eyes fixed on the position of the faint candlelight, trying to decipher the meaning and symbolism of this grand ritual.

Divining ordinary matters rarely required such a complex ceremony. But as Audrey's student, the female diviner always enjoyed showing Jenkins something new. To other diviners, this would be an enviable opportunity. Not every teacher was willing to demonstrate such dangerous and peculiar rituals for their students, let alone impart all of their knowledge.

Thinking about his own lack of progress in the art of divination, Jenkins felt a twinge of shame. He fixed his gaze on the lake's surface even more intently, hoping to see something out of the ordinary.