Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 216 Inquiry and Investigation
For Li Wei, the case became very complicated.

If the poison was put in the wine glass, then all you need to do is find out who touched the glass.

Of course, many detective novels feature culprits poisoning lipsticks. However, according to Anne's test results, this is a rapidly acting, potent poison; even if mixed into lipstick, it would likely have taken effect long ago.

Therefore, based on the current situation, the most likely explanation is that the poison was placed in some kind of food and then ingested and digested by the queen.

But this makes it difficult to determine when the queen ate what she ate.

It wouldn't have been difficult to figure this out. Anne could have performed an autopsy on the Queen and examined the food residue in her stomach. Not only would she have been able to determine when she ate, but she would have also been able to find out exactly what she ate. This would have allowed her to find the murderer in the shortest possible time.

But... sigh, these unreasonable family members are really troublesome.

Of course, it's no use for Li Wei to criticize King Solomon now; it's his dream, what can he do about it?

We can only take one step at a time.

So Li Wei asked a guard for a room and then began questioning.

The first person he questioned was the Queen's personal maid, who entered the room pale and trembling.

"Please take a seat."

Li Wei gestured to his personal maid to sit down, then stared at her.

"I...I didn't do anything..."

The personal maid was clearly flustered, especially when she saw the fully armed captain of the guard standing nearby, she trembled with fear.

"This is not an interrogation, just a routine questioning. Please don't worry too much."

Li Wei comforted the maid, calming her down, and then asked her a question.

"Are you the Queen's personal maid?"

"Yes, it is."

"How long have you been serving the Queen?"

"It's been quite a few years."

The maid calmed down considerably when the topic came up.

“I have been serving the Queen since I was ten years old… Of course, she wasn’t the Queen then.”

"Um……………"

Li Wei took a closer look at the maid, who seemed to be about the same age as the queen.

"So, you've been taking care of her all along? Including her food, clothing, and shelter?"

"Yes………"

"So, let's talk about what happened today."

Seeing that the maid had gradually calmed down, Li Wei changed the subject.

"What did the Queen do before the banquet? Please describe her schedule for the day in as much detail as possible."

"this……………"

"Starting from when you wake up in the morning."

"Ok."

The maid nodded, then began to think.

"The Queen wasn't feeling well today. She slept until almost noon and didn't get up. She didn't have much of an appetite and just ate a little lunch..."

What is the reason for her poor health?

"Because of the king's banquet during his expedition."

The maid hesitated for a moment at this point.

"Actually, the Queen has always been like this. She gets nervous very easily, especially before important events and banquets. She will instinctively feel nervous and uneasy. Although she doesn't show any abnormalities after the event officially begins, she always has trouble sleeping the night before the event and eats very little that day."

"Hmm... what did she eat?"

"Half a loaf of bread and a glass of wine."

"only these?"

"Yes, everyone was there at the time. Because the Queen often does this, everyone is used to it."

"and then?"

"After lunch, the Queen took a walk in the garden and then took a nap, as she hadn't slept well the night before. She didn't get up again until the afternoon when everyone started preparing for the banquet. She dressed and then chatted with His Highness the Prince and Princess in the lounge until the banquet began."

"Um……………"

If what the maid said was true, then the Queen's schedule for the day was quite simple, which relieved Li Wei.

If the journey is complicated, then solving the case will be even more difficult.

"last question."

"Yes?"

When was the last time the Queen went to the toilet?

"Hey?"

Perhaps not understanding Li Wei's choice of words, the maid was somewhat puzzled, while Anne, standing beside her, calmly offered an explanation.

When was the last time she defecated?

"My God, how could you say such a thing...!"

The maid stared in horror, covered her mouth, and stood up.

“This kind of…”

"This is related to solving the case, please explain clearly."

Li Wei understood, of course, that in this era, and especially given the Queen's status, asking such a question was highly disrespectful. However, the priority was solving a case, and to avoid becoming one of those plucked chicken-like monsters himself, Li Wei felt he needed to investigate thoroughly.

"…………………"

The maid looked very troubled, but in the end, she still whispered.

"After waking from her afternoon nap, the Queen once..."

"Only once?"

"…………………"

The maid didn't speak, but simply nodded. Clearly, given her status, it would be extremely disrespectful to say anything.

"Thank you for your cooperation. You can leave now."

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, the maid breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave as if granted a pardon. Li Wei, on the other hand, turned to Anne.

"What do you think?"

"Based on current information, the poison was likely ingested after the victim's afternoon nap. Considering that the poison should have a solid outer shell, if it was not completely digested during the nap, there is a high probability that it would be excreted."

"So she must have taken the poison after her afternoon nap. According to the maid, the Queen went to the lounge after waking up from her nap and stayed there with the prince and princess until the banquet began."

As Li Wei spoke, he paused for a moment, then looked at Olivia on the other side.

"Olivia, Katie, I need your help."

"what's up?"

"Go find that maid from before, then take her to another room and ask her the same questions I just asked. Katie, please write them down."

"Huh? Is this really necessary?"

Both of them were somewhat surprised to hear Li Wei's words.

"In short, thank you for your help. Please follow the questions I just asked." "Okay."

Although she didn't know what Levi was planning, Olivia and Katie stood up and left the room together.

"so troublesome."

Li Wei sighed. If the maid's testimony was without fault and Anne's test results were correct, then it could only mean one thing: the Queen took the poison after her afternoon nap, and during that time, she was with the prince and princess.

So unless there is some evidence that they haven't investigated yet, the only possibility is that one of them was responsible for the poisoning.

Interrogating these people who feel they have special privileges is always very troublesome.

The same is true.

Why are you interrogating me!?

The prince slammed his fist on the table in anger, glared at Li Wei, and roared.

"Do you believe that I poisoned and murdered the Empress Dowager?"

"This is not an interrogation, but an investigation."

Li Wei sat behind the table, completely unconcerned about the prince's reaction, merely staring at him indifferently. It would be best if this case could be solved; if not, at the last minute everyone could go down together in a fight—Li Wei wasn't without ways to deal with dreams.

"I need to remind you, Your Highness, we don't have much time left. If you want to waste it, feel free; I don't care."

At worst, we can just confront King Solomon directly. This is a dream, not reality. Do you think Li Wei is afraid he'll call the police?

"...What do you want to ask?"

The prince took a breath and then sat down. Perhaps he sensed the indifference in Li Wei's tone, or perhaps he simply wanted to maintain his pride. But whatever the case, he obediently complied.

Please describe your itinerary for today in detail.

What is my schedule for today?

"It's about what you did today."

“I didn’t do much. When the sun rose in the morning, I got up and started exercising, then had breakfast, and then worked with my father to process the guest invitations for today’s banquet. At noon, I had lunch with my mother and the others. My mother didn’t have a good appetite, so she just ate a piece of bread and drank a small glass of wine—she gets nervous at times like this. I understand, because I get nervous sometimes too, just not as nervous as my mother.”

"and then?"

"After lunch, I went back to my room to rest for a while, then changed my clothes and went to the lounge. My mother and sister were there too, and we stayed there until the banquet started."

"What did you all do in the lounge?"

"Let's have some snacks and chat..."

"dessert?"

Li Wei raised his head.

"What snack?"

"They're just some very ordinary snacks...like promiscuous..."

"If possible, we would like to see the actual product."

Anne chimed in at this point.

"Is it possible to have someone make an exact replica now?"

"of course can."

The prince didn't know what Anne was going to do, but he nodded nonetheless, while Levi glanced at Anne silently before looking away.

He didn't need to guess to know that this young lady probably wanted to see what food looked like during the time of Emperor Arthur, and if possible, even try it... Whenever it came to archaeology, this young lady's mind worked incredibly fast.

After a moment, a messenger entered carrying a plate and placed it on the table.

"This is the snack we had this afternoon."

"Exactly the same?"

"Exactly the same."

The prince nodded, and only then did Levi and Anne begin to examine the pastries in front of them more closely.

The items were described as snacks, but most were dried fruits, such as figs, grapes, and dried apricots. Li Wei glanced at them briefly before looking away. These dried fruits were unlikely to contain poison, and most people wouldn't swallow them raw. Besides these, there were also roasted gingerbread and small cake-like pastries.

These don't look like places to hide poison, and even if they were, most people wouldn't swallow them directly.

Just then, Li Wei saw a strange dessert. It was a bronze cup that resembled a goblet, filled with a thick, honey-like substance, and there was a spoon next to it.

"what is this?"

"Ah, this is Klekosua. You haven't eaten it before?"

The prince's tone carried a hint of smugness. Levi shook his head, while Anne stared at the cup in front of her.

"I've only seen the records, I haven't tried it yet."

"It's actually very simple."

As he spoke, the prince reached out, picked up a spoon, and scooped a spoonful from his wine glass. He then placed the strange spoonful into a nearby water glass, and after a moment, picked it up and put it in his mouth.

"that's it."

“…………………?”

Li Wei also picked up another spoon, imitated the prince, scooped up a spoonful of that strange thing, put it into the water glass next to him, and after a moment, picked it up and put it in his mouth.

"Um……………"

Upon tasting it, Li Wei immediately perceived the flavor of the pastry. In terms of taste, it was somewhat like a thick, syrupy substance. Eating it directly wouldn't be very pleasant. However, after being soaked in the ice water beside it, the outer layer of the pastry became smooth and delicious, somewhat like chilled, slightly melted jelly. Sliding down his throat, he felt a cool, sweet sensation spreading throughout his body…

Well, I have to say, the ancients knew how to have fun.

"How is it? Pretty good, right?"

Seeing the expressions on Levi and Anne's faces, the prince proudly raised his head.

"This is not something that just anyone can eat. The preparation of Klekosua is very complicated, and only royalty and invited guests are qualified to enjoy it."

"It smells like roses."

Anne then spoke up, and the prince nodded.

"That's right, adding rose petals can also enhance the flavor, which is my sister's favorite taste."

"Did the Queen eat this today?"

"This... I'm not quite sure."

The prince paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"I've been busy memorizing and recording the guest list, and haven't paid much attention to what's going on with my mother."

"Thank you, you can leave now."

Livy made a gesture, and the prince frowned, seemingly very displeased that he was being bossed around like that. But in the end, he suppressed his anger and turned to leave.

"The scent of roses."

Anne spoke softly only after the prince had left.

“I also smelled a similar scent near the Queen’s mouth just now.”

"This stuff is indeed very suitable for poisoning."

Li Wei examined the dessert in front of him. It was clearly a viscous substance that needed to be swallowed. If one wanted to hide poison in it and have the Queen drink it, this would obviously be a very convenient method.

Hmm... As it stands, the scope has been narrowed down.

Li Wei gathered his thoughts.

According to the maid's testimony, there were only a few people in the lounge. Now, let's see how that princess behaves.

(End of this chapter)