novelraw Chapter 107 : The Diversity of Humanity
Chapter 107 : The Diversity of Humanity
Chapter 107: The Diversity of Humanity
Elaine Declon’s appearance was very cute, even somewhat childlike. Although she was about the same age as Levi, she looked just like a high school girl—slender, with large round eyes that radiated the ease of someone who had never been beaten down by society.
But the very first words she spoke after sitting down were shocking.
“Lady Sister wasn’t killed by me.”
She sat on the chair, her wide eyes staring straight at Levi and the others.
“I loved Lady Rosalie the most. How could I possibly kill her?”
“………………………?”
It had to be said, everyone was stunned at those words. But Elaine didn’t care about their reactions at all. She simply continued speaking on her own.
“I know what you’re all thinking. John was my boyfriend, but Lady Sister took him from me, so you think I hated her. But it wasn’t like that at all. I never hated Sister, not even a little. And when John and Lady Sister got married, I was actually very happy.”
“You… were happy?”
The Chief Inspector scratched his head in confusion, as if he couldn’t understand human speech anymore.
“Yes.”
Elaine stared at them and nodded again, firmly.
“John was my prince. At that time, he broke into my life. He was smart, humorous, witty, and very cute—of course, he can’t compare to you, Detective, naturally.”
At this point, Elaine glanced at Levi, a little embarrassed as she tried to explain herself.
“But back then, to me, he was my treasure, my supreme prince. So, when he was with Sister, you can’t imagine how happy I was! My most admired Sister chose my prince—this proved that my judgment wasn’t wrong! And I was honored to be able to offer my treasure to Lady Sister. I thought that this way, everyone would be happy! So when Lady Sister brought this matter up to me, I felt very honored…”
“Hm……………”
Levi glanced to his sides. The Chief Inspector had the expression of “Who am I? Where am I? What am I listening to?”, and old Mr. Howard raised his brows, clearly surprised.
“All right, I think we’re drifting off topic. Let’s get back on track.”
Levi managed to wrestle the strange atmosphere back into order.
“Some say that after the ball yesterday, you were alone with Mr. John, and you were seen by Miss Porto. Is that true?”
“Ah, yes, that’s true.”
Elaine nodded.
“May I ask what you and Mr. John were talking about?”
“John said he loved Lady Sister, but he also loved me, and he hoped I could be with him too.”
Elaine’s face lit up with happiness at this.
“I was happy too, but Lady Sister didn’t seem so happy… She looked very angry.”
“………………………”
Levi tapped his temple lightly. He was starting to feel the same confusion as the Chief Inspector.
“And after that? Where did you go?”
“I told John to go be with Lady Sister, but he was terrified and refused to go back. So I took him to the lounge. We stayed there the whole night.”
“Can anyone confirm this?”
“There was a bartender in the lounge at the time. I think he can testify.”
“Good. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Levi glanced at the record Annie handed over, nodded, and said,
“Please sign and seal here.”
“Of course.”
Elaine stepped forward, checked over the record, signed it once she confirmed it was correct, and then pressed her fingerprint as instructed.
Levi fixed his gaze on her, then suddenly asked,
“Miss Porto had a gun. Did you know that?”
“Of course I knew.”
Elaine’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“I was the one who went with her to choose it! It was inlaid with pearls and rose petals—so beautiful!”
“Hmm…”
“Please make sure you catch the one who killed Lady Sister and avenge her!”
Elaine repeated her plea before finally leaving the room. Levi pressed his fingers against his forehead and looked at the Chief Inspector.
“Send someone to question that bartender, see if what this young lady said is true.”
“All right.”
The Chief Inspector picked up the communicator, issued the order, then listened for a moment before nodding toward Levi.
“The bartender confirmed it. He said a man and a woman came to the lounge. The man was crying bitterly, while the young lady was calm, even comforting him. He thought they were a quarreling couple. Later, the two stayed on the lounge sofa almost the entire night, hardly leaving.”
“Is he certain?”
“He left several times during the night, and even slept for a while, but every time he woke up, they were still there.”
“To get from the lounge to the suite, one would still have to pass by the stairs, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then we’ll leave it at that for now.”
Levi stretched, and old Mr. Howard yawned as well, smiling at Levi.
“Never thought the youngsters nowadays were this bold, eh?”
“I actually think it’s fine.”
The Chief Inspector didn’t mind either, chuckling.
“If I had such luck, that would be great. But of course, Detective, no matter how many women there are, I’m sure they’d all be willing with you.”
“Who knows. But from the accounts of the maid and Miss Declon, it’s clear that the feelings Miss Declon had toward Miss Porto, and Miss Porto toward Miss Declon, were quite different.”
Levi rubbed his chin, speaking in a low voice.
Just then, a calm, cold voice broke in.
“That sort of situation happens often in girls’ schools.”
“Oh?”
Levi turned his head. Sitting by the typewriter, Annie lightly stroked the cold, hard metal keys as she spoke.
“Is that so, Miss Branson?”
“Yes.”
Annie nodded.
“In girls’ schools, older students often take care of younger ones, like elder sisters. And some of the younger girls really regard the older ones as their sisters, even believing there’s nothing in the world more important than Lady Sister…”
“That makes sense.”
The Chief Inspector nodded in agreement.
“Do you remember what that young lady said earlier? She called Mr. John her treasure. But it didn’t sound like she was talking about a lover—it was more like an object. Like a subject finding a rare treasure and presenting it to the Queen. If the Queen liked it, then the subject was happy… that kind of feeling.”
“Just not sure how the so-called treasure feels about it himself.”
Levi took another sip of tea, then looked at the Chief Inspector.
“Bring in the lucky Prince, please.”
When John entered the room, he looked entirely deflated, his head hanging low, a picture of despair. His once boyish and charming face showed none of the joy from last night. Sitting down, he gave a small nod to the three of them. Clearly, Miss Porto’s death had dealt him a heavy blow.
“Before we begin, may I ask you a few questions, young man?”
Before Levi could begin, old Mr. Howard cut in. Levi gave him a look—his eyes were sparkling with curiosity. All right, if he wanted to indulge in gossip, let him indulge.
“Of course, sir. What would you like to ask?”
“We just spoke with Miss Declon. She said she was happy to give her boyfriend to Miss Porto… What do you think of that?”
At this, the old man’s energy came surging back, his face alight with interest.
John fell silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.
“She was very happy… In fact, she was the one who told me to approach Rosalie.”
“……………Oh?”
At this, Levi and the Chief Inspector both sat up straighter.
Well now, that’s something worth staying awake for.
“What do you mean?”
“Looking back now, it really was a bit strange.”
John let out a sigh.
“When I first dated Miss Elaine, I thought she was just a sweet, lively, enthusiastic girl. Honestly, I really liked her, even thought about marrying her. But whenever she was with me, well… three sentences wouldn’t pass without her bringing up Rosalie. She was always saying her Lady Sister was the most beautiful, the most perfect, the most outstanding person in the world…”
Here, John gave a bitter smile.
“At the time, I did find it strange, but since Rosalie was also a woman, I didn’t think too much about it. I simply thought Elaine admired her deeply. Then she said she wanted to introduce me to Miss Rosalie, and I agreed.”
John sighed again.
“Indeed, after meeting Rosalie, I realized she was truly a rare beauty in this world. And she had a certain aura, making people unconsciously want to draw close to her. But at that time, I had no improper thoughts toward her. Instead, after that meeting, Elaine came to me and asked how I felt about Rosalie. Then she said to me, ‘Do you want to marry Lady Sister?’”
“………………………”
“At the time, I was shocked. I thought Elaine was testing me, so I swore I would never stray. But then Elaine got angry. She thought that me not wanting Rosalie was disrespecting her Lady Sister… Then she told me she hoped I would marry Rosalie, and in that way, she herself would also be willing to stay with me forever. I just… well, I was only an ordinary man. Maybe rich people just liked playing games like this?”
Levi and the others exchanged silent looks. No need to ask—both Rosalie and Elaine were beauties. Faced with this, what adult would choose? Obviously, the best was to have both.
For the rich and powerful, having lovers outside was nothing unusual. And since Elaine herself agreed, unless John cut himself off, wasn’t it best to have it all?
“But Miss Porto didn’t know about this, did she?”
Old Mr. Howard quickly pinpointed the key. If all three had been willing, then there wouldn’t be much to say. Young people fooling around was understandable. But the problem was—John knew, Elaine knew, yet Rosalie did not.
That made things interesting.
“Yes. I even asked Elaine privately what Rosalie would think of this. She swore up and down that Lady Sister would definitely be happy, that it would be a surprise for her…”
“………………”
“But after I married Rosalie, I realized Elaine’s thinking was likely just her own wishful fantasy.”
“Oh? How so?”
“Rosalie was very strong-willed, very self-centered. I don’t know if all rich people are like that, but in her eyes, the world seemed… very simple.”
John hesitated before giving his opinion.
“Put simply—whatever she wanted, would be hers. She had never experienced rejection. But conversely, she also had a very strong possessiveness toward her own things. Often, when I wanted to say something, she wouldn’t listen at all. On the other hand, when she wanted to do something, she didn’t care about my opinion.”
John sighed again.
“I knew what the Porto family thought of me—that I was just in it for the money. But the truth is, I never wanted those things. I knew how others judged me. So I didn’t plan to ask for much. But Rosalie—if she wanted to give me something, she gave it. She wouldn’t allow me to refuse. Like this honeymoon trip. I originally wanted to go with her to some places, not spend too much money. But without even asking me, she directly booked tickets for the Arctic Star. That’s something I could never afford…”
Hearing his complaints, Levi and the others couldn’t help feeling some sympathy. A man who couldn’t control the household finances—how miserable was that? Levi thought if John stopped thinking so much and just enjoyed being a kept man, maybe life would have been more pleasant.
“All right, back to business.”
Having heard enough gossip, Levi decided it was time to return to the point.
“Last night, when you spoke privately with Miss Declon, what did you discuss?”
“Actually, she came to me first.”
John hesitated, then began.
“She said that day was my birthday, a good occasion, and that we should tell Rosalie everything. But I thought Elaine’s idea was too naive, so I tried to talk her out of it. If Rosalie found out Elaine’s thoughts, honestly, I had no idea what might happen. But in the end… Rosalie overheard us.”
“In other words, Rosalie found out you approached her because of Elaine’s prompting, and also learned Elaine’s true thoughts?”
“………………”
John silently nodded. Levi and Mr. Howard exchanged glances.
That explained what the maid had seen.
“And you didn’t return to your room?”
“How could I dare? With Rosalie like that, if I’d gone back, she would have killed me! Honestly, after that, my mind was a blur. I didn’t even know what was happening. When I finally came to, it was already morning…”
“And where were you then?”
“Probably in… the lounge. Sorry, my mind was really a mess last night, I can’t remember clearly… At least when I woke up this morning, I was in the lounge, with Elaine still by my side…”
“By the way, did you know Miss Porto had a gun?”
“Of course. That’s why I didn’t dare return… If I had, she really would have pulled the trigger!”
“Hmm… Thank you for your cooperation.”
Levi took the record, had John sign and stamp it, then dismissed him from the room.
The group sat in silence for a while, until old Mr. Howard chuckled and broke it.
“Seems like even good fortune isn’t so easy after all.”
“If everyone agreed, then it would have been good fortune. But for Miss Porto, this was nothing but a nightmare.”
Levi muttered.
“There are still two more people. Let’s continue questioning.”
“Who’s next?”
“Butler Byrne.”
Levi’s lips curled into a faint smile.
“I’d like to see just what it is he’s been hiding.”