Chapter 8
At that moment, Henry, who had taken a step back, glanced behind me and tilted his head in surprise, a question mark practically appearing above it.
“Huh? Detective?”
I turned around to see Detective Novae approaching ever so slowly, looking rather hesitant. He stopped a fair distance away and cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ah, well. Ahem. What seems to be the matter?”
Detective Novae rolled his eyes around as though he were a dignified professional. Somehow, he looked utterly shameless. And apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“You! You bastard! I’ll kill you!”
“Whoa! Ma’am!”
“Aaaagh!”
Before Henry could stop her, the old woman pointed an accusing finger at Detective Novae and charged at him. She grabbed him by the collar and slammed him straight onto the floor.
Had she been a wrestling champion in her younger days or something…?
“Ma’am! Please spare me!”
“Die! Die!!”
From what I could tell, she’d come to lodge a complaint about the way he’d handled a previous case.
I deliberately took a wide detour around the battlefield and headed for the stairs. I’d dealt with all kinds of unreasonable people in my life, and I knew better than to get involved in situations like this.
Besides, I’d already helped clean up one of his messes before. Henry was right there, too, so even if I ran away, Detective Novae probably wouldn’t get beaten to death.
That is, unless the director dragged me into it.
“Aaaaaagh! Somebody save me!! Ariel! Can’t you solve this?!”
“What? Who’s solving what?!”
“…There isn’t anyone named Ariel here.”
I’m not Ariel. I’m Yoon Se-a.
But the moment I met the old woman’s blazing gaze, I realized it was already too late to escape.
Good grief. Why is my life so ridiculously eventful?
After plenty of screaming, cursing, and physical altercations, the four of us finally sat down together to file a case report.
Of course, the old woman was still fuming with rage, while the self-proclaimed detective grandpa sat there looking thoroughly dejected, his already sparse hair half torn out as he nervously watched her.
Regardless, we were now in the middle of taking her statement.
“So, could you tell me exactly what happened?”
This had better not be something trivial. If it is, I’ll make sure you get home in peace and quiet.
However, the old woman’s expression was far from reassuring. Tears streamed down her face as she raised her voice, practically sobbing as she poured out her grief and resentment.
“My daughter died because of this old fool! How can someone like him even call himself a detective?! Bring my daughter back! Bring her back, I tell you!!”
Just as I’d expected, she’d come to complain about how he’d handled her case. Judging by the previous report I’d seen, the case involving the marquis’s family that he’d dealt with a few days ago had been an absolute mess as well.
As for this old woman’s case… Well, I hadn’t expected much to begin with. And if his incompetence had resulted in someone’s death, he would’ve been facing disciplinary action if he were a police officer.
Perhaps Detective Novae knew that, too. He’d been sitting with his head bowed, fiddling with his fingers ever since we’d arrived. Come to think of it, I’d found it strange that he’d only shown up after all that commotion.
He must have realized something had gone wrong when he saw someone he’d dealt with before returning to the office. But perhaps he’d figured there was nothing he could do to fix it.
Still, if he’d been frightened enough to assume the worst before even hearing what she had to say, this couldn’t have been the first time something like this had happened.
How on earth had he managed to keep working as a detective?
I gently tried to soothe the old woman, who still couldn’t stop crying, and spoke in a kind voice.
“Ma’am, I’m Detective Ariel. I recently joined the office. If you tell me exactly what happened, I’ll do my best to resolve the matter for you.”
The old woman studied me from head to toe for a moment. Whatever thoughts crossed her mind, they only seemed to make her sob harder.
“Yes, it’s all right, ma’am. You can tell me everything—”
“And they hired a newbie at this miserable excuse for a detective agency! I can already tell what you’re like! You’ll probably be even worse than him. Is there a single employee who’s better than the director?! Oh, what a miserable fate I’ve been dealt!”
…Did this old woman really just insult me to my face?
“Waaaaah!”
Watching her beat her chest and wail in anguish somehow left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Well, her reaction was actually quite logical and understandable, but still…
With no other choice, I stood up and picked up a document that had been lying on Detective Novae’s desk.
“This is a security certificate I received as payment for solving a case after being personally hired by a noble family yesterday. You can see the amount, can’t you? A whopping seventy thousand gold.”
“S-seventy… Seventy thousand? You really received that much as your fee?”
“Yes.”
I quickly took stock of the old woman’s appearance. The hem of her skirt was torn, her hair was matted, and her hands were covered in calluses and scratches. She certainly didn’t look like someone who lived comfortably.
People tend to yearn for what they don’t have, and they admire those who seem to acquire it with ease. And that was especially true in a society with a rigid class system like this one.
“I primarily deal with noble clients, so under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t take on a case like yours. However, from what you’ve told me, it seems you hired our director and encountered some problems with the way he handled your case. So I won’t charge you anything close to my usual fee. After all, I’m simply cleaning up the mess.”
I deliberately emphasized the final sentence.
The old woman fell silent for a moment, alternating her gaze between the security certificate and my face. Judging by her reaction, my performance had been convincing enough that she hadn’t even considered the possibility that I was lying.
After all, how could she possibly know that, until today, the only noblewoman I’d ever met was the Marchioness of Schwart?
I sat there calmly, putting on an air of refined elegance. The old woman’s face, which had looked as though it might crumple at any moment, gradually relaxed. She began contemplating something with a serious expression.
Did I offend her? She did grab me by the hair first, though…
Besides, I felt I’d earned at least this much consideration for my trouble.
As I continued watching her, she eventually seemed to reach a decision. She began stealing cautious glances at me.
At last, it seemed she’d developed at least a tiny bit of remorse toward me.
Hmm. That’s good enough.
After all, the person who holds the power to make decisions is the one who controls the situation.
I straightened my back confidently and casually crossed my legs.
“Now, then. Shall we begin?”
“…”
I met the old woman’s eyes and gave her a slight nod. Her trembling shoulders gradually stilled, and her ragged, tearful breathing finally subsided.
“…My daughter died. But the city watch says it was suicide. My girl would never have done something like that. I’m certain my son-in-law killed her!”
“What makes you think that?”
“My daughter and I came to this detective agency before, and we hired this quack detective. But do you know what he did? He said my daughter’s suspicions weren’t true. And then he even got caught following my son-in-law—!”
Following him?
“Wait a moment. What exactly did you hire the agency to investigate last time?”
“I asked him to keep an eye on my son-in-law! That bastard was seeing another woman, and my daughter was wasting away day by day because of it. That’s why I asked him to follow the man! And now this old fool has gotten my daughter killed!”
I followed the direction of the old woman’s accusing finger to look at Detective Novae. Then I quietly sighed and organized the facts in my head.
“So, you suspected that your son-in-law was having an affair, so you hired our detective agency to investigate. But our director got caught following him, and as a result, your daughter ended up dead. Is that right?”
“Yes! That’s exactly what happened!”
I nodded slowly.
If the situation had unfolded exactly as she described and the discovery of the surveillance had led to the murder, then there was indeed a strong possibility that the victim’s husband was responsible.
“I’m sorry to ask, but who discovered your daughter’s body?”
“I did. I’d sent my daughter a letter, but she never responded, and I began to worry. So I went to her house. No one was there, but something felt wrong. I called out my daughter’s name and went into the storage shed. And there she was, my poor girl, hanging from a rope, dead!”
Large tears scattered in every direction.
Despite having cried so much already, the grief of losing her child showed no signs of easing. The old woman sobbed loudly, her voice hoarse and raw.
“She was hanging… And where is your son-in-law now? Have you held the funeral?”
“The city watch found my son-in-law and informed him of what happened. And would you believe it? The moment that bastard took custody of the body, he had her cremated! There were marks on my daughter’s neck that looked like knife wounds! He didn’t even let anyone examine them properly!”
“She was cremated? Even though there were stab wounds?”
The city watch seemed to be the equivalent of the police in this world. Were the police here riddled with corruption? Or was it normal for bodies to be cremated on the very day someone died?
It was just like the case involving the marquis’s family. Why was everything being rushed through so quickly?
“The city watch said they were just creases in her neck. They claimed the marks were too thin to be caused by pressure or a blade, so they refused to investigate further. Then they declared it a suicide after just one day and had her cremated immediately! How could they do something like that?!”
Something was definitely wrong here.
Preserving a body was the most basic rule of any death investigation if there was even the slightest indication of foul play. That principle would have held true even centuries ago.
And yet, they’d burned the body after listening to the one person with the strongest motive to commit the murder?
“Would it be possible for me to visit the house where your daughter died?”
“Of course. There’s no point sitting here talking about it. Let’s go to the house.”
The old woman looked at me with tear-filled eyes and grasped my hand.
“As long as I can clear my poor girl’s name, I’ll do anything. Please, I’m begging you. Catch that bastard!”
They say the grief of losing a child is like having one’s heart torn apart.
Suddenly, it occurred to me that I might understand that pain better than anyone else.
After all, I’d experienced the feeling of having my own insides torn out not long ago.
I gently enclosed the old woman’s damp hand between both of mine, hoping to place within them the only promise I could make.
“I’ll do everything in my power.”
