Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

The man in the crew uniform, once subdued by Fanny, stopped struggling. Facing the pointing fingers of the surrounding passengers, he slowly began to smile.

His laughter grew louder and louder, until it bordered on madness.

Ebner, however, shook his head, looking at the feigning mad criminal, and said calmly: "You think you've avenged yourself, and now you have no regrets in life?"

No matter the reason for his murder, or if there was a heartbreaking story behind it, the fact remained that he attempted to frame Fanny.

Moreover, and more importantly, he was very likely being used by someone else.

The man in the crew uniform abruptly stopped laughing, suddenly raised his head to look at the detective who had exposed him, and gritted his teeth: "What do you know?"

I don't know anything... But you couldn't control yourself and revealed a lot of information when you killed Mrs. Penny last night, so you can't blame me for "Blight"-ing it out.

Ebner glanced at him and retorted: "Your enemy should be Inspector Russell, Mrs. Penny's husband... Why didn't you choose to seek revenge on him directly? Did you just want him to experience the pain of losing a loved one?"

He casually questioned him while recalling the information he had obtained through "Blight."

Speaking of which, this was also a "tragic" story.

The deceased, Mrs. Penny, was the wife of Mr. Russell, a senior inspector at the Trier Police Department. She was an arrogant, vain, and ill-tempered lady.

She had previously verbally abused Fors merely because her attire was not "up to standard" for the first-class carriage. Fanny, in defending Fors, also suffered her insults, and a physical altercation even occurred between them. This was the main reason the real killer could "frame" Fanny.

After all, everyone in the first-class carriage knew about that conflict, and from the motive, Fanny was definitely a suspect.

The criminal's method of killing Mrs. Penny was not complicated. He simply used a "sleeping" potion to knock out the arrogant lady and her attendant last night, inserted a dagger into her heart from her back, and then, imitating the lady's handwriting, wrote Fanny's name on the floor.

—Unlike Loen, Intis, known as the "Land of the Sun," had lights installed along its main railway lines, allowing trains to operate at night.

Finally, the criminal, using his identity as a "crew member" while performing carriage cleaning services, stole some of Fanny's "foundation" and sprinkled it near the corpse.

Thus, when Mrs. Penny's servants and bodyguards woke up in the morning, they naturally sought out Fanny first, leading her to be initially identified as the primary suspect.

The reason the criminal did this, according to him, was for revenge.

He was originally a skilled worker, but he was framed and imprisoned by his boss because of one of his patented inventions.

Later, he was extremely fortunate to escape prison during a riot and changed his name, fleeing to a small town in eastern Intis. He started a factory relying on his skills and funds provided by a friend.

Just as he accumulated a certain amount of wealth, got married, and had a daughter, feeling his life was entering a state of happiness and fulfillment, Inspector Russell appeared in the small town and recognized him as the fugitive from years ago.

So he had to flee again. What followed was that his patent was once again embezzled, his factory went bankrupt, his investing friend committed suicide due to debt, and the wives and daughters of both families were sold into brothels by gangsters.

He consequently harbored intense hatred for the inspector, which is why he managed to impersonate a crew member to assassinate Inspector Russell's wife, making the inspector also taste the pain of losing a loved one.

This murderer, who once held two technical patents, was an extremely intelligent person and also possessed an exceptional skill in imitating others' handwriting. This is why he wrote Mrs. Penny's dying message in blood, using it to frame Fanny.

However, his flaw lay precisely here... or rather, the flaw Ebner deduced in reverse... was that Mrs. Penny was actually left-handed, while the supposed dying message was written with the right hand!

It couldn't be blamed on the criminal for not being meticulous. After all, Mrs. Penny, fearing ridicule, had always been secretive about being left-handed and deliberately hid it. Without constant observation, it would have been very difficult to notice.

Earlier, Ebner, through a series of "hindsight" detailed deductions, successfully concluded that Mrs. Penny was left-handed, which naturally proved that Fanny had been framed.

Using the "shocking" effect produced by this series of "deductions," Ebner subtly provoked the criminal's mind with the "magic mirror," causing him to instantly "break down" and make the impulsive move of trying to escape.

In fact, the man had handled the evidence very cleanly. Without extraordinary means, Ebner wouldn't have been able to produce decisive evidence quickly.

At this moment, hearing Ebner's question, the criminal remained silent for a while, then, with a twisted face, recounted his past story, finally shouting:

"My factory went bankrupt because of him!

My friend died because of him!

My wife and daughter were sold into brothels because of him!

My happiness was destroyed because of him!

But... he's a truly just police officer. I can't kill him just because I hate him... After all, he was just doing his duty impartially...

But I can't take his life, yet I can take his happiness!

I want him to suffer an equal amount of pain!

It's a pity... my original plan was to kill his wife, then go after his son and daughter...

But it doesn't matter now... this is enough!"

The man said this as if all strength had drained from his body, and his head drooped once more.

Ebner, however, sneered, crouched down, and leaned into his ear, speaking in a voice meant only for them:

"You're acting well...

But the reason you didn't kill Inspector Russell was simply because you wanted to see the ideals he upheld collapse, for a just police officer to 'fall' from that point, right? You 'Coldblooded' one!"

The man's head snapped up again, and he asked in disbelief, his voice choked: "Who exactly are you?"

"I am Ebner Bryan, a detective." Ebner stood up, stating his name without a care.

Firstly, he had come to Intis in his "true" appearance, so his identity wasn't hard to uncover. Secondly, to complete Lilith's mission and thoroughly investigate the Deline family, he would inevitably interact with the upper echelons of Intis society, so a good reputation was an excellent "stepping stone." Thirdly, this was also to accumulate material for his film company.

The background story of this murder case was so dramatic that it would definitely be reported extensively by major newspapers and magazines, thus gaining both fame and popularity.

Finally, this "tragic" criminal was actually a "Coldblooded" Beyonder who had just advanced and hadn't completely lost his humanity. Ebner intuitively felt there might be more to uncover about him later.

At this moment, the surrounding passengers finally recovered from the brilliant deduction. A prominent merchant who had visited Loen even blurted out upon hearing Ebner's self-introduction:

"The 'Hero Detective'! So it's Backlund's 'Hero Detective'! No wonder his deductions are so amazing!"

Others who had heard of Ebner's reputation also suddenly realized. They either "educated" those around them about the deeds of the Hero Detective or jokingly looked at the criminal who had been tied up by the railway police, mocking: "To actually frame the woman of the 'Hero Detective,' this murderer is truly unlucky!"

"Yeah, if he wasn't unlucky, how would an inspector who just happened to know him pass through that small town?"

Some agreed, while others lamented:

"I've also heard of Inspector Russell's reputation; he truly is a just and selfless person... But he handled this matter rather thoughtlessly..."

"Russell's justice is merely legal justice... But is the law itself without flaws? Emperor Roselle even said that beyond legal principles, there's human sentiment..."

Some lamented, and naturally, some disagreed:

"What fault is Inspector Russell's? Even the criminal himself believed he was acting impartially and couldn't bear to kill him..."

The people in the first-class carriage naturally held high status, and they themselves represented "buzz." Seeing this, Ebner decided to quit while he was ahead. After completing the handover with the railway police, he took Fors and Fanny back to their private compartment.

Fors was still feeling sorry for the criminal, pondering how to help his family. Fanny's spirits weren't particularly high either.

At this moment, the orange cat lying in the compartment suddenly opened its eyes and said: "Kid, you must have guessed what's going on with that Inspector Russell, right?"

"I guessed it... Heh heh, there aren't that many coincidences... That criminal was probably just a pawn." Ebner nodded.

"To be precise, he might just be part of Russell's ritual to advance to a 'Devil'!"