The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 466: The Third Believer

Murder is a crime.

The laws of this world, hidden beneath a veneer of civilization, remained rather primitive. They served more to uphold the power of the upper echelons than to see justice done.

Had the man saved not his daughter but a member of the nobility, even the murder of a few ruffians would have been overlooked, for an aristocrat would have vouched for him. He would not only have been acquitted but, had the nobleman been sufficiently charitable, might even have received a handsome sum of money.

But unfortunately, he had saved only his daughter.

Regardless of his motive, the man had broken the law. The fact that his victims were thugs could only slightly mitigate his sentence, along with any possible sympathy from the judge and jury.

On his way to the church, the man had washed the blood from his hands and face in a pond and smeared mud over the stains on his clothes. Now he sat before the confessional, anxiously awaiting the Lord's judgment.

His trembling body betrayed his terror; he couldn't bear to imagine what would become of his young daughter if he were hanged for murder.

Even if relatives took her in, the man couldn't be sure that the poor folk would be able to care for the girl.

After hearing the man's confession, Lu Li genuinely considered advising him to turn himself in to the police.

He raised his eyes to the words carved into the wooden screen: [Only truth can win the hearts of men].Truth, then...

Lu Li picked up the quill and wrote, "I can help you, but first, I must know: do you repent for the sin you have committed, or do you simply fear... the consequences?"

The man whispered the written words aloud. The tremor in his hand traveled to the paper. His confused muttering held the tone of a lost sheep. "I... I don't know..."

He couldn't answer for certain, but that meant there was still hope.

Lu Li wrote, "Tell me your name," and passed the still-wet note through the opening.

"Arthur Green Pierce. Arthur is my church name, given to me by the priest."

Lu Li wrote, "Green, you have sinned, but everything has a cause. The blame does not lie with you alone. You now have a chance to atone and save your fallen soul." He tried to recall the words priests typically used to persuade their parishioners and wrote something to that effect.

The trembling in the rough, calloused hands behind the screen gradually subsided. Green Pierce pleaded, "Lord, tell me what to do..."

Lu Li wrote, "Do you know a woman named Olivia Kiken and Viscount Levais?"

Fortunately, the trial did not reject the note, and Green Pierce was able to read it.

"Olivia... I don't know her, but I know Viscount Levais. He lives in Typhoon."

Typhoon.

Lu Li committed the city's name to memory and wrote, "Find Viscount Levais. Olivia will soon go to him. Save her before she falls under the wheels of his carriage. Help her. Your path to redemption lies with her."

The tragedy might have already happened, but it was worth a try. This gave Green Pierce a "true" path and, perhaps, a chance to save the unfortunate woman.

But just in case, as he passed the note through, Lu Li wrote another: "Remember: until you help her, do not get caught by the police. If the tragedy has already occurred... take care of what comes next. For example, say your goodbyes."

"I will remember the Lord's words."

Green Pierce left. The sound of his footsteps gradually faded.

Just as on the previous floor, the scene began to change. Time in the church accelerated, then returned to its normal pace with the appearance of a new figure.

The new silhouette did not head for the confessionals on the sides. In the quiet, organ-less sanctuary, bathed in the light of the setting sun, a fragile figure walked between the pews and stopped in the front rows, hidden from Lu Li's view.

The trial did not reveal Green Pierce's fate to Lu Li through others. Only quiet prayers reached him.

Gradually, muffled sobs of a young girl mingled with the prayers.

Another figure approached the girl and asked softly, "Child, what happened?"

"Father, my father is dead..."

In the confessional, Lu Li lowered his eyes.

He already knew how it had ended.

"Arthur? What happened to him?" the priest asked in surprise, using Green Pierce's church name.

"Some ruffians were hurting me, and Father rushed to help and... killed them. He ran, but they caught him and... and..." Sobs choked her grief-filled words.

"Hush, child... it's all right... everything will be all right."

"He... they killed him... in front of everyone... how could they..."

"Evil will be punished. Arthur has returned to the arms of the Lord. Do not grieve for him..."

Lu Li listened in silence to the daughter's sobs and the priest's consolations until they left the empty church.

Swish... swish...

Lu Li turned his head at the sound.

Two blurry silhouettes appeared against the carved screen. Two women were sweeping the floor, chatting softly.

"Did you hear? Viscount Levais's carriage ran over Olivia..." one of them said.

"Who's Olivia?" the other asked.

He had seen this scene before.

Lu Li's efforts had only slightly altered the course of events; the outcome remained the same.

After silently listening to the nuns' familiar story, Lu Li watched as darkness fell beyond the screen.

The second trial was over. The result was, once again, a failure.

Lu Li picked up the oil lamp and opened the door.

As expected, the walls and steps had fallen into even greater ruin. The corners of the stairs were completely worn smooth, as if no one had walked them for decades. The time-eaten walls had faded, and in the thinnest places, the true nature of what lay beyond them showed through.

An endless, despairing abyss.

If the result on the next floor was the same, this place would become even worse.

Then the abyss, now hidden behind the walls, would reveal itself to Lu Li in all its terrifying completeness.

Holding the lamp, Lu Li descended the ruined steps in silence to the carved door on the third floor.

He opened the door. The soft daylight and the sound of an organ seemed capable of making one forget the horror that reigned outside.

Lu Li looked at the new words carved into the screen.

[A wise man knows what to do and what not to do. A fool does not].

[To admit one's own powerlessness is harder than death].