Pokémon Detective Case Files.

"However, the garden at that time was, in a sense, a closed space that no one could enter or leave at will—just like this locked, dark room right now. Apart from you few who left last, it was impossible for anyone else to sneak in."

"That doesn't make sense!"

Seeing that suspicion was about to be firmly placed on him, Lian Wu hurriedly retorted—

“The royal gardens have more than just the exit we used to leave through! Oh, right, there’s also the secret passage Luna led us into—this ‘secret room’ clearly has two doors! The murderer who killed the king could very well have escaped through that unguarded exit.”

"Oh? You mean the secret passage you used to sneak into the garden?"

Leclerc shrugged dismissively.

“Almost every important location in the palace has similar escape routes, so it would be strange if the garden didn’t have one. No one knows about this except His Majesty and a few of our close advisors. Besides…”

His tone shifted abruptly, becoming increasingly certain—

"As you all know, my office window faces the only way through that secret passage. If someone were to pass by, I couldn't possibly be completely unaware."

“But it’s just a window after all, isn’t it?” Yueju interjected. “Your eyes aren’t electronic monitors, and you can’t be staring out the window all the time while working. If someone were to sneak up under the window frame, they could easily avoid your sight, couldn’t they?”

"Do you think that just because I know about the secret passage, I won't send people to investigate it thoroughly?"

Leclerc slammed his knuckles on the iron table beside him, making a dull thud.

“I personally examined the footprints in the passage and carefully checked every entrance and exit of the secret passage. All the traces clearly show that only one group of people went to the garden, but no one left from there.”

“But we also have no reason to assassinate the king. What good would that do us?” Yueju calmly retorted.

"That is precisely the question I want to ask you—why did you attempt to assassinate His Majesty?"

The count slammed his hand on the table again, causing the oil lamp flame to flicker violently—

"Is it because the magician was ostracized after graduating, thus harboring resentment towards the kingdom? Or is it because the thief, seeing the wealth, coveted His Majesty and plotted against him? Or perhaps the monk believed the nonsense of that half-baked prophet and was determined to eliminate the so-called 'evil dragon possessing the king'?"

He gave a mocking laugh—

"I have absolutely no idea what the reason is."

"You...know about us?" Cattleya stared at the Count and asked suspiciously.

"I know a little about most of what happens within this kingdom."

Count Black Moon responded casually.

"If that's the case, why did you allow us to enter the palace in the first place?" Yueju keenly grasped the key point and immediately asked in return.

"This was my mistake, and I am responsible for making amends."

Leclerc closed his eyes sadly—

“I thought that although you had a motive, you wouldn’t be so foolish as to harm the King. Even when you first came to pay your respects, I had sent lookouts and guards around His Majesty—who would have thought that you would deliberately remain still then, waiting until you left the palace to sneak in and commit the crime again. And I failed to stop you in time due to a moment of carelessness…and made a grave mistake.”

“But we really didn’t kill the king. Look, we don’t even have any blood on us. Wasn’t he beheaded? Shouldn’t there be blood everywhere?” Lian Wu continued to use the [Negotiation] skill, still unwilling to give up.

“All three of you are experienced adventurers who have ventured into many dangerous places,” Leclerc said coldly. “For you, there are far too many ways to take a life without getting your hands dirty.”

His fingertips traced the staff leaning against the iron table—

"Mage, since you graduated from the magic academy with excellent grades, you must have at least mastered [Wind Blade], right? And Monk, you should be proficient in techniques like [Chi] that can injure without contact, right? As for thief..."

The count turned his gaze to Lian Wu.

The latter hurriedly retorted, "Even if I knew the [Throwing Dagger] skill, there's no way I could use that move to cut off someone's head without getting any blood on it!"

“That is indeed difficult,” Count Leclerc nodded understandingly.

"But you still have this in your belongings."

He picked up a seemingly ordinary roll of silk from the iron table; the fine threads gleamed faintly under the lamplight.

"This tool may appear as thin as silk, but its strength is comparable to thick iron wire. Simply wrap it around the victim's neck and then apply sudden force, and decapitation can be easily severed—"

The court count gestured as if he were strangling someone—

“There is a fountain in the garden where you can easily and comfortably wash the bloodstains off the silk threads after you have committed a crime.”

"I would never do such a thing!" Lian Wu struggled again excitedly, and the ropes binding his hands and feet tightened even more.

"Of course, I'm more inclined to believe that you all conspired rather than acting alone. That way, the blame would be lessened for each of you, wouldn't it?"

Leclerc shook his head, hiding his face in the shadows—

"My spy was murdered while protecting the king, and the tavern waiter lost his mind after witnessing a horrific scene—this must be the 'perfect crime' you all planned."

"Killing someone and then running back to the hotel to sleep, what kind of perfect crime is that?" Cattleya curled her lip in disdain.

“Count Leclerc, there’s no need for further bluster.”

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Yueju suddenly spoke in an almost lighthearted tone, thwarting the Earl's relentless offensive.

"Are you trying to scare us? If you truly believed we were the murderers of the king, you would have executed us by now. Why go through all this trouble to interrogate us here?"

The magician shifted his numb, bound body, finding a slightly more comfortable position—

“From the afternoon of the incident until now… even if we count it as midnight, although it’s only half a day, it’s enough for you, who practically holds the power of a country, to do a lot of things. Yet you’ve only brought us here now, which means—we, these ‘suspects,’ are not your primary target, but rather a last resort. Am I right?”

Count Black Moon fell silent.

Blueberry's speculation clearly hit the bullseye.

“Boss,” Gadriya suddenly spoke up.

If the crime scene was indeed a completely sealed room, as Leclerc claimed, then there is still one most obvious question that remains unresolved.

"You said the king's head was missing, which means you didn't find it at the scene, right? Otherwise, you should have said the king died with his head severed from his body, but you said Hugo's head was missing."

"Then please tell me."

The monk stared intently into Count Black Moon's eyes—

"Where did this crucial head go?"

Chapter 441 The Mire Below Rank

Rumors in the capital always seem to grow like mold during the rainy season, quietly changing form in the shadows.

The court rumor about the king's death has now spread like wildfire, transforming into a strange nursery rhyme that echoes eerily through the streets and alleys—

"The axe fell, the crown was lost, and the head disappeared into the rose bushes. The evil dragon flew away, leaving only an empty neck to peer out..."

The children clapped and sang, their clear voices carrying a naive yet cruel defiance of the terrifying. The adults listened silently, a chill running down their spines, yet no one stepped forward to stop them—

Some truths are safer to be told through nursery rhymes than to be spoken by oneself.

The death of a king should, in theory, be a cataclysmic event. However, this unified kingdom, which is held together by many ancient elements, has never had a sense of urgency that "a country cannot be without a king for a day."

Everyone tacitly reached an agreement, acquiescing to the appointment of the most powerful Earl of Black Moon, Leclerc, as regent, temporarily handling state affairs.

Everything would have to wait until more nobles and high-ranking officials, scattered throughout the country and holding other powers, slowly gathered in the capital like migrating camels, attended the funeral with dignity, and reached some kind of consensus, even if only superficially, on the incomprehensible beheading case, before they would begin to discuss the selection of the next king.

After all, if someone were hastily chosen, and happened to be the very person who beheaded the former king, the situation would be far too awkward—not out of moral condemnation, but purely out of procedural embarrassment.

However, during this brief lull in power, the printmakers in the capital and the craftsmen at the official mint had already quietly begun their work.

They cleaned the machines, adjusted the molds, and repeatedly sketched new patterns under the light, preparing for the work to come.

Now that His Majesty Hugo has been summoned by his ancestors, no matter how undignified his exit may be, the fate of those gold coins and copperplate engravings bearing his self-important profile, which were forcibly promoted by the king back then, is already sealed.

Existing inventory cannot be discarded, but the increased production lines will most likely have to be shut down.

Nobles no longer needed to demonstrate their loyalty by purchasing portraits of the king, since the return on investment in a portrait of a deceased king was far less than that of investing in a potential successor.

Ordinary people are more practical; they instinctively prefer older banknotes with more traditional designs and a more familiar feel—at least, those don't have a face that has just been proven to bring bad luck.

Everything was turning around calmly and methodically, as if what had died was not a king, but merely an outdated trademark.

.

At this moment when the power structure of the royal city was quietly being reshaped, the three Yueju, who had just been released from prison, looked at the sunlight they had only missed for a day and felt a sense of déjà vu.

“Right now, we have three main paths to choose from,” the magician said, counting on his fingers.

"First, continue to track down the bearded man; second, cooperate with the Earl to investigate the crime scene in the palace; third, we will go and find the head that Hugo lost ourselves."

According to the "parting words" left by the Earl of Leclerc, although the travelers were temporarily released due to insufficient evidence, they needed to thoroughly investigate the case to prove their innocence if they wanted to remain free.

If the three cannot provide a reasonable explanation for the king's beheading, then even if the count cannot bring them back to prison, they will not be allowed to set foot in the capital again.

"Hmm... tracking down the person who spread the rumors is probably the safest course of action."

Faced with the three fingers held up by the blueberry, the thief cautiously analyzed—

"The nursery rhyme that has recently appeared in the capital is obviously the same as the previous 'possessed by an evil dragon'. The person who spread it is most likely still in the capital, and even if they have escaped, they won't have gone too far. We can try to find the source of the rumor, just like we did at the Black Crocodile Tavern, and then find the bearded man's whereabouts. Even if we don't find him, at least we can show the Earl the most basic sincerity."

"This is Wanlong's backup plan, right? Don't be so conservative." The mage said dismissively, "I was hoping to make a fortune from this incident and buy a [Explosion Magic] skill book, a specialty of the capital."

"Blueberry, that magic can't be used in the maze, right? Isn't that just a waste of money?"

"Speaking of which," the magician abruptly changed the subject, "Lian Wu, we've come all this way to the capital. Are you really willing to lose a lot of reputation just because of this title that's been forcibly attached to you as a 'suspect in regicide'? Hugo is here too, so why don't we take the classic detective route?"

"It's a pity that the great detective is dead."

The thief spoke coldly, arms crossed with a look of disapproval, his voice slightly lowered—

"You've played Wanlong's mystery novels before. Every time, they're full of twists and turns, taking up most of the day to find physical evidence and piece together clues. It takes two or three days to finish... Instead of that, it's much more efficient to just wander around the city, take on missions, and find out how the case ends."

Yueju, however, seemed less than agreeable, turning to the last member of the team: "Cattleya, what do you think?"

"You can use the [Inspiration] skill to find the head; it saves time and effort, and the rewards are high."

The monk combed his long hair and succinctly stated his position.

This is not as good as going down the detective route—Lian Wu’s face immediately wrinkled like a steel plate that had been hammered by an old construction craftsman.

This time, however, we absolutely cannot place all our hopes on the dice roll. Because if we fail to give Leclerc an explanation and he is truly convicted of murdering the king, his character card might be destroyed.

"Then it seems there's only one way."

Lingju clapped her hands, as if she had expected this situation all along—

"Let's split up."

.

Perhaps because he had just criticized the host, investigating rumors in the capital was more troublesome than Lian Wu had imagined.

Fortunately, Lian Wu possessed a variety of strange and wonderful thieving skills. By completing a series of tedious little tasks such as cat's cradle, throwing stones, and buying snacks, he finally gained the brief friendship and trust of a street corner kid king.

After the thief's ears were filled with the children's rambling and illogical narration, he finally mingled with the children in the capital and figured out where the rumors came from.

Sure enough, the mysterious bearded man reappeared.

This time, however, he changed his appearance. He was no longer the drunkard who talked nonsense in the tavern, but an inconspicuous little vendor who set up a simple stall on the street, selling wooden flutes that would go out of tune when blown, clay whistles of questionable color, and toothy dolls made from scraps that looked sad.

His promotional tactic was simple: any child who could sing the nursery rhyme "The axe falls, the crown is lost" clearly and without stumbling in front of him would receive a small piece of candy wrapped in rough colored paper, so hard it could break teeth.

With such a simple method, nursery rhymes began to spread like wildfire among children, like a plague, as candy was distributed.

Following the directions the children pointed out, Lian Wu finally found the place where the bearded man had rented the cart on the outskirts of the capital, in a courtyard full of tire tracks and mud.

The owner of the cart was an old craftsman with his hands covered in sawdust, who was cursing and swearing at the cart that had been returned.

According to his description, the cart had been borrowed long ago, but it wasn't until this morning that it was found quietly parked back in front of the shop. The person who borrowed the cart didn't even say hello, let alone pay any extra rental fee.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have lent it to him!" The car owner spat, pounding the wheel rim he was repairing with a hammer, making a dull thud. "He just dumped the car here and drove off! If I hadn't gotten up early, someone else would have taken it!"

Lian Wu didn't ask any more questions. At the craftsman's suggestion, he paid a small "information fee" and then turned and left.

He deduced that the other party must have returned the car late at night, and since this person was so eager to get rid of this conspicuous vehicle, their next step must have been to try to leave the capital as soon as possible.

So the thieves decisively invoked the name of Count Leclerc of the Black Moon and approached the guards on the moat.

These guards were on high alert because of the king's assassination attempt. They had been on duty in shifts without sleep for two days, their eyes were bloodshot, and their tempers were like mischievous bombs that could explode at any moment.

Fortunately, one of the additional guards had seen Lian Wu talking with the Earl inside the palace, which allowed him to barely suppress his anger and share the intelligence with him in a muffled voice.

Since yesterday, the exit checks in the capital have become almost obsessive. No caravan is allowed to leave the city until His Majesty the King—may Arceus accept his soul—is buried.

Soldiers patrolled the city walls day and night with their wolfhounds, but no signs of breaching were found. Even after registering all residents who had left the city for special reasons, no one was found who looked suspicious and matched Lian Wu's description.

Lian Wu specifically asked if any toy merchants or candy vendors had left the country, which immediately drew a tired sneer from the guards.

"Come on, buddy."

A guy who looked like a captain patted Lian Wu on the shoulder—

"How could we possibly let someone who screams 'suspicious' just go out like that? Right now, there's plenty of clean well water in the city, and we don't need firewood for heating. The only people who can leave this capital, besides those winged Pokémon that can fly, are the coachmen who are responsible for carrying the garbage that can't be piled up in the city."