Pokémon Detective Case Files.

6. Just as the king was discovered murdered in the garden, the bearded man who spread the rumors reappeared. This time, he rented a cart, disguised himself as a toy vendor, and used candy to lure children in the capital to spread the rumor that "the axe falls, the crown is lost." After spreading the rumor, he disguised himself as a garbage collector and abandoned his belongings, including the scepter, in the garbage dump outside the city.

7. Due to the bearded man's actions, although Count Blackmoon immediately sealed off the palace with his men after the incident, news of the king's beheading still leaked out. Meanwhile, Luna Silvia, one of the count's secret agents, went missing after the incident. Leclerc arrested three travelers on the night of the incident, but released them after only intimidating them, and did not pursue charges against the waitress Emily for murder. This may mean that the count did not consider them, who had entered the garden through the secret passage, as the true suspects in the king's murder.

8. It's unclear whether this is related to the king's murder, but after the incident, a barrel of three-year-old cider went missing from the Black Crocodile Tavern's cellar. This might be related to Luna, as Hugo XVI instructed the travelers to "send some more cider when you have time" when they left the garden; perhaps this contained some kind of coded message.

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"After analyzing it point by point, the only unusual person in this incident, besides the bearded man who is suspected of being the murderer, is Luna Silvia... Didn't the Earl send anyone to look for that guy?"

As Yueju spoke, her gaze kept drifting towards Lopa, the bodyguard behind her, clearly hoping that this confidant of the count could reveal some inside information.

The guard sighed and shook his head, saying, "This shouldn't be revealed to outsiders, but I haven't heard of the Earl issuing any such order. Besides, Luna, as the Earl's subordinate, has served the King faithfully for four years until she was transferred to the Garden a little over a month ago. I don't think Luna has any potential to harm the King."

“It’s precisely because she was transferred that it’s more likely,” Yueju countered. “Wouldn’t Luna, as a close courtier, feel resentful at being alienated for no reason?”

"Aren't you Luna's friends?" Lopa rolled his eyes. "Since you know Luna, you should know that with that free-spirited and unconventional personality, how could she possibly hold a grudge against His Majesty for something like this?"

"........."

Countless memories flashed through their minds like a revolving lantern, and the three travelers fell silent for a moment.

Regardless of her identity in another world, judging solely from Luna Silvia's actions and words along the way, she does seem to be a character with somewhat insufficient intelligence...

This raises another question—why would Count Leclerc bring Luna under his command? And why would he plant her as a spy next to the king? Wasn't he afraid of leaking secrets?

In any case, the trail went completely cold here.

Time was running out, and the three travelers were all nearing their physical limits. There was only one thing left to do.

"If Hugo were here, perhaps the clues we've summarized above would be enough to completely reconstruct the whole incident..."

Lian Wu, who had recently experienced the detective's reasoning skills firsthand at the hospital, couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

“But I don’t think all our efforts today were in vain.” Yueju patted her partner on the shoulder.

"Just like Pokémon battles, being able to predict your opponent's actions in advance is certainly a tremendous advantage, but even if you can foresee everything, you may not necessarily become the best Pokémon trainer. Adaptability and fully enjoying the excitement and fun brought by the unknown can also help you reach the same level."

The monk, Gadriya, raised an eyebrow, sensing that her words were subtly directed at someone.

Before she could protest, the magician took the scepter directly from Lian Wu's hand.

Since she had run out of action points, Lanju no longer cared about leaving fingerprints—she had no plans to investigate anyway.

As the cold metal touched his fingertips, the magician immediately noticed the exquisite weight distribution of the scepter. The curves and carvings on the scepter also demonstrated the ingenuity of the court artist. No wonder Hugo would carry it around and play with it all day long.

Only the striking indentation on the staff's head, like the single eye of a wandering night spirit, silently reveals its difference from ordinary works of art.

Lopa frowned slightly as he watched this scene.

The scepter was, after all, royal property, and according to custom, it should have been confiscated immediately upon discovery. But he remained silent—disturbing a mage preparing to cast a spell was not a wise move.

"Stand back a bit," Yueju said to the others. "The success rate of casting this spell isn't very high. If it's accidentally pointed to the ground or the sky due to human interference, then our last chance will be wasted."

He closed his eyes, gripped the scepter with one hand, and held it horizontally in front of his chest—

"Calling upon lost things with lost things, seeking the broken threads with broken threads, what binds you is the knot of cause and effect... Show me where your broken body is!"

As the last syllable fell, the magician suddenly opened his eyes, his blue irises now completely covered in silver-white.

He released his grip on the scepter—but the king's authority did not fall; instead, it hovered in mid-air, slowly rotating as if guided by invisible threads, ultimately pointing firmly...

The Black-Eyed Crocodile Tavern behind the group!

All eyes were focused on the slightly trembling scepter. Yueju, however, had no scruples and decisively increased the power of her magic, following the floating scepter toward the tavern.

The workers stopped what they were doing, staring in disbelief at this extraordinary scene. The tavern owner and his daughter exchanged horrified glances, shielded behind Lian Wu and the others—even without their protection, they dared not step forward to stop them.

The scepter led the magician through the cluttered front hall, spiraling up the narrow staircase, and finally hovering before a low wooden door—the entrance to the tavern's attic.

“That attic used to be our storage room,” Emily whispered urgently behind Cattleya. “Because wild Pokémon kept sneaking in, we emptied it out, locked it up, and stopped using it a long time ago. We moved everything to the basement.”

As Lingju pushed open the door, the dust kicked up danced in the sunlight streaming through the window.

The attic contained the old signboard used by the Black-Eyed Crocodile Tavern, yellowed flyers, discarded wooden tables and chairs, and a few broken brewing tools. Because the items had been organized, it wasn't cluttered.

But it is precisely because of this orderliness that the thing in the middle of all the clutter stands out so much.

It's an oak barrel that looks quite old.

"It's the barrel of cider that went missing from the cellar!" the tavern owner exclaimed as he squeezed through the doorway.

Seeing that the scepter was no longer moving, Lingju dispelled the spell and quietly approached the barrel.

The lid had already been pried open, and loose nails hung askew on the edge. He took a deep breath and ripped off the final seal—

Sure enough, not a drop of wine remained in the barrel; only the rich aroma of cider wafted out.

But at this moment, no one noticed the aroma of the wine, because the more pungent smell of blood had overwhelmed everything else.

Inside the bucket was exactly what they had been searching for: a bloodied head.

The king's eyes were wide open, his frozen gaze a mixture of shock and resentment. Beside his head lay a gardening axe, its blade still stained with dark red blood.

Seeing this scene, Yueju smiled and turned to look at Lianwu—

"Hey, you know what, Hugo is really here."

It just seems he can no longer reconstruct the original case.

Chapter 449 The Response of the Unstoppable Harmony

The moment the blueberry lifted the lid of the bucket, revealing King Hugo's head, the silent bodyguard Lopa, who had been following him, suddenly snapped out of his shock.

Ignoring the astonishment of those around him, he swiftly pulled a brass whistle from his pocket, puffed out his cheeks, and blew it with all his might—

Suddenly, a piercing whistle shattered the tranquility of dusk.

Immediately afterwards, a dense sound of footsteps echoed through the street. At first, it was just a few scattered sounds, but it quickly coalesced into a rhythmic thud, interspersed with the clanging of metal plates clashing together.

"How is this going?"

Emily pushed open the attic window and looked down, and couldn't help but gasp – at this moment, the tavern was surrounded by layers of fully armed palace guards, several times more than when the tavern was raided yesterday.

The blueberry remained calm, gently closing the bucket lid and sealing the king's head and the blood-stained gardening axe back into the darkness.

Then, without changing his expression, he turned to Lopa—

"It seems you had this planned all along?"

"It is the Earl's order."

The guard calmly met the magician's scrutinizing gaze—

“The Earl instructed that once the case makes a breakthrough, we should report it immediately and simultaneously take you three key witnesses into custody.” He paused, then added, “You’re just unlucky—this tavern isn’t far from the palace; a single whistle would be enough to summon the entire guard. Judging from the commotion, reinforcements are arriving sooner than expected, and the Earl should be here shortly.”

Lian Wu and Gadriya exchanged a glance, both seeing the solemnity on each other's faces—looking at the densely packed armed guards downstairs, it was probably a pipe dream to try to break through by force and luck this time.

"If the Earl really wanted to frame us, he would have done it in the dungeon long ago. Why wait until now to make such a big fuss?"

Yueju bent down to pick up the scepter that had rolled to the ground after the spell ended, and slowly walked to Lopa.

The weight of the cane reminded him of the chips in a casino whose weight could never be accurately calculated—always tilting towards the side that would cost more.

“This is the Earl’s decision.” Lopa’s tone was as calm as if he were reading a proclamation. “Your fate is not in the hands of an executor like me. Whether you leave the capital alive depends on your own performance in the future.”

"Oh."

The magician whistled, his tone light and flirtatious, as if teasing Bobo in the palace gardens—

"Since you can't make the decision, then let someone who can make the decision do it."

Once the bodyguards disappeared at the top of the stairs, Yueju turned to her two companions.

"It seems this part of the story is now entering its final act," Lian Wu said, arms crossed.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Cattleya frowned slightly. “Should we go through a [reflection] process?”

“There’s no need.” Blueberry directly pointed out the source of the unease—

"The king's funeral is fast approaching, and all the kingdom's dignitaries will gather in the capital. From Leclerc's perspective, if he can't identify the true regicide by then, he'll inevitably be put on the defensive. Therefore, although the count doesn't seem to believe we're the murderers, judging from this turn of events and the attitude of his men, the court count doesn't mind using us as scapegoats—Wanlong wouldn't have devised this plot without reason; if she wants to end this story perfectly, she ultimately needs to provide some kind of explanation."

"So... it's time to deduce the murderer now?" Lian Wu raised an eyebrow.

Just then, steady footsteps sounded outside the attic—

"If you are only now beginning to deduce the true culprit behind His Majesty's murder, then I can rightfully throw you back into the dungeon."

As dusk settled, Leclerc, with her silver hair tied up and dressed in a jet-black tuxedo, pushed open the door and entered without any ceremony.

He held the king's scepter in his hand, followed by Lopa and two other palace guards, like four silent shadows.

"What have you been saying all along? My daughter and I have simply been running the tavern honestly. Apart from serving that drunken madman last month, we have absolutely nothing to do with the king's death..."

The tavern owner, who knew nothing about the case, hurriedly shouted—leaving aside his daughter, the father was truly innocent.

The count waved his hand, giving a knowing look. Two guards immediately stepped forward and led the father and daughter away from the attic. Seeing that Lopa was still following behind him, Leclerc waved his hand again, sending the guard away as well.

The doors closed, and now only Count Black Moon, three travelers, and the head of Hugo XVI, resting in a wine barrel, remained in the dimly lit attic.

“Count Leclerc…” Yueju tried to speak, but was immediately interrupted.

“Before we begin any negotiations,” Leclerc said, his gaze passing over the mage’s shoulder and landing on the oak barrel, “I want to see… the remains of that man, and offer my condolences as a subject.”

This courtesy was indeed commonplace in this era, but Blueberry held her staff horizontally, blocking the Earl's path—

“I’m sorry, but this head is our only bargaining chip. As helpless travelers, we must ensure our own safety first.”

Count Black Moon seemed enraged by these words and waved his hand impatiently—

"Don't take yourselves too seriously. Even if you're looking for a scapegoat, do you really think you're qualified?"

He took a step closer, deliberately raising his voice—

“To tell you the truth, even if you had found nothing these past few days, I wouldn’t have executed you outright. After all, the royal family also needs to act logically—too many people witnessed you leaving the garden, and His Majesty had just appeared before the guards—it’s hard for people to believe that someone could be murdered in such a short time. In comparison, it would be easier to deal with the aftermath by identifying that old gardener, Sande, as the murderer.”

"You want to send an innocent person to the guillotine? And you want to silence all the witnesses?" The female monk frowned, seemingly basking in the sense of justice that came from her long years of training.

“If you are foolish enough, I wouldn’t mind letting you join their ranks.” The count narrowed his eyes, his gaze unusually sharp.

"Of course, let's set aside the murderer for now, and the so-called silencing is just your imagination. I have no intention of causing unnecessary bloodshed. In this era, all it takes is to find a pretext to exile someone to the frontier, and you can completely deprive them of their right to speak. Even if they know a lot of inside information, to outsiders it's just the ravings of a madman."

He shifted his tone, softening slightly: "However, considering how hard you've worked, I could choose a smarter approach… For example, I could use this opportunity to bring down the King's uncle—that prince who's always coveted the throne—and claim that the assassination was carried out by his assassins. Then, you would become my witnesses at His Majesty's funeral, accusing my political enemies. As compensation, I would give you a generous reward you couldn't refuse. Isn't that a much better outcome than death?"

"It will not only damage your reputation, but also increase hostile forces. What kind of ending is that?" Yueju raised an eyebrow and complained.

"Then," the count's gaze pierced the magician, "do you perhaps have a choice that is more convincing to me than these?"

Blueberry fell silent.

To be fair, based on his experience dealing with Count Ducham Leclerc of the Black Moon, although he was an absolute power-hungry official, his moral standards were surprisingly not too low—at least he rarely resorted to pure violence to solve problems unless absolutely necessary.

Judging from the opinions I've heard these past few days, since King Hugo XVI allowed Leclerc to wield absolute power, the kingdom's governance has actually shown signs of improvement. The king seems to have curbed his extravagant nature in the palace, behaving like a docile puppet, and the common people in the capital, like Emily and her father, are living in relative peace and contentment.

Given the backgrounds and experiences of the three travelers, as well as the absurd rumors that circulated about His Majesty in his early years, this country should have already fallen into a terminal state.

However, the man before them seemed to exert some kind of check on that incompetent monarch.

A powerful minister who holds absolute sway over the court and a dissolute king—either one could bring down a country. Yet, when the latter becomes the former's puppet, a bizarre and harmonious relationship emerges.

Ironically, the puppeteer's power came precisely from the king's personal promotion...

Something seems off.

"Would you please move aside from me?"

Leclerc tapped Yueju's arm with the broken head of his scepter.

The magician remained motionless, a look of realization gradually appearing on his face.

"Hey, get out of my way!"

The count tried to bypass the cranberries to check the barrel containing the head, but the magician grabbed his arm instead.

"Before that... you have to answer one question for us."

At this moment, Yueju's tone was no longer frivolous.

"What's the problem?" Earl Black Moon raised an eyebrow.

"Yesterday, before we arrived at the palace for the second time, who exactly ordered the guards to surround the Black Crocodile Tavern?"

The count's face darkened.

"You can't answer that? Then let's summon the captain of the guards who surrounded the Black-Eyed Crocodile Tavern yesterday. I think we can ask him in person who assigned this task."

Leclerc remained motionless, like a sleeping baboon.