After finishing this big job, Esdeath took off her coat hood and returned to the inn to continue sleeping.
Two hours; it only took two hours.
Although she had just accomplished something big, Esdeath did not feel nervous.
Instead, feeling slightly tired from her recent exertion, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
…
At eight o’clock the next day, Esdeath had just woken from her sleep when she heard a loud, rhythmic knocking at her door.
She got dressed and opened the door to find three Security Officers dressed in blue security uniforms standing there.
The man in the lead smiled and said, “I am Kantar, a Security Officer of Black Stone Town.
Someone has reported you in connection with the murder of Mayor Gray last night.
Come with us.”
Esdeath’s heart tightened.
She didn’t understand where she had been exposed.
No one had seen her yesterday; there shouldn’t have been any flaws.
Her fists slowly clenched.
Facing the three Security Officers, should she run or go with them?
Esdeath gripped the doorframe and said, “I was sleeping all last night; how could I be involved in a murder case?”
“Little girl, are you saying you don’t want to go to the Public Security Bureau with us?
I imagine a law-abiding citizen wouldn’t be so resistant to going to the Public Security Bureau to clear their name.”
Kantar’s expression was calm and nonchalant, but his words struck directly at one’s psychological defenses.
Esdeath thought to herself that she really shouldn’t have committed the crime in the town.
Although no one cared outside the town, the town itself was under Imperial jurisdiction.
And since she had killed a big shot like the mayor, it was only natural that the Public Security Bureau would take notice.
If she had known, she would have left the town last night.
Esdeath realized she had thought of this world too simply.
In a society where people live together, there are not only the laws of the jungle, but also restrictive rules and regulations.
“Fine, I’ll go with you.”
Esdeath followed Kantar to the Public Security Bureau.
“Please sit down.
Coffee or black tea?”
“Coffee.”
The deputy poured a cup of coffee for Esdeath.
Kantar did not ask Esdeath to sit on the sofa but took her directly to the interrogation room.
A small room separated by an iron window, combined with a single table and chair, exerted a great deal of pressure on a person.
Esdeath looked at the three people in front of her.
Invisibly, she had fallen into their rhythm, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
Kantar took out a fountain pen and a notebook, sat in the seat opposite Esdeath, and said, “A farmer in the town named Wahl told me that a blue-haired girl asked him yesterday afternoon where the mayor’s house was.”
“A blue-haired girl is very rare.
A little inquiry led us to you, and you happened to be staying at the inn last night.”
Damn it, she didn’t expect that asking for directions would actually make her a suspect.
Esdeath said immediately, “I was just curious and asked, does that mean I killed the mayor?”
Kantar smiled and said, “The murderer of the mayor accidentally left a small, half-bloody footprint at the crime scene, likely left after stepping in blood following the killing.”
“After comparing the size of the shoe, the target suspect was determined to be around 1.65 meters tall, and you fit the criteria perfectly.”
Esdeath still did not admit it: “I’m not the only person who is around 1.65 meters tall.
Can you conclude that I am the murderer just based on this?”
“Young lady, your mental fortitude is truly impressive.
You should know that every criminal we bring in always shouts ‘I am innocent’ as their first sentence, yet you are refuting the evidence.”
The deputy walked in carrying a black bag and dumped the contents onto the table.
Kantar put on gloves and looked through them: “Oh, my men just searched your room.
It seems we found ironclad evidence: a blood-stained cloak.
Don’t tell me you’re going to say this blood was left over from killing a deer.”
“And this pile of stolen goods, the mayor’s wife’s emerald bracelet—where did you get this?”
Looking at the items searched from her room, Esdeath felt a sense of powerlessness.
She had already lost the moment she agreed to follow Kantar to the interrogation.
What should she do at a time like this?
Run?
If she were wanted, she would have to live in the wilderness forever and could only enter cities in disguise.
As for pleading guilty and being imprisoned, heaven knows how she would be dealt with.
At this dead end, Esdeath couldn’t help but call out to the system in her heart: “System, what should I do?”
The system spoke up: “This system believes that as a villain, you only need to do what you want to do.”
That’s right, she only needed to do what she wanted to do.
Rules and laws were just things that constrained the weak.
So what if she was discovered?
Could these three people stop her?
Although the Empire was large, the world was vast; there was no need to worry about having nowhere to stay.
Esdeath grabbed at the air above her knees with both hands, looked up, and asked, “What do you want to do with me?”
Kantar weighed the bag of jewelry: “Naturally, handle it according to the law.
You assassinated the mayor’s family with heinous methods; by rights, you should be hanged.”
“However…”
Kantar changed his tone: “Esdeath, you are quite the assassin.
I’ve seen those corpses—one strike, fatal.
If you can work for me and assist the authorities in handling some tricky matters, it’s not impossible to show some leniency.
What do you think?”
Esdeath was slightly stunned.
This guy had been talking for so long, and it turned out his intention was to recruit her.
Work for the Public Security Bureau?
Heh, it turns out Imperial law is nothing more than this.
The slight awe she had felt for the Public Security Bureau and the law just moments ago vanished completely.
Esdeath suddenly understood that Imperial law was merely a tool for these bureaucrats; it was only used to constrain the weak who were useless to them.
“Fine, I have no choice.” Esdeath slowly stood up and exhaled, as if she had made a decision.
Kantar showed a confident, winning smile.
No criminal would refuse this suggestion, especially those at their wit’s end.
Using thugs as tools and collaborating—that is the way to rule a place.
“Squelch!”
Kantar only felt a pain in his chest.
A fair hand had already forcibly pierced through his chest.
He widened his eyes, disbelieving, and said, “How dare you, go against the Empire…”
Esdeath pulled out her blood-stained hand, and Kantar collapsed with a thud, dying on the spot.
“Your suggestion is good, but I don’t like you.”
A frontier town without even an army garrisoned, just these few Security Officers—how could they stop her?
“You, you actually!”
The two deputies hurriedly took out their pistols and opened fire on Esdeath.
In just one second, Esdeath had already arrived beside one deputy and neatly snapped his neck.
The shots they fired wildly due to nervousness and stimulation couldn’t hit her at all; Esdeath didn’t even need to exert herself to dodge.
She arrived in front of the last deputy, broke his gun-wielding right hand, grabbed his neck, and lifted him up: “It seems your decision to arrest me was a mistake.”
Before he could reply, Esdeath snapped his neck.
Esdeath took the jewelry bag, walked out the door, and many residents on the street looked at her with inquisitive eyes.
Esdeath found the house of the farmer she had asked for directions yesterday.
The farmer named Wahl saw Esdeath and was so scared he turned and ran, but he didn’t get a few meters before Esdeath caught up and snapped his neck as well.
Esdeath didn’t pay any more attention to the others; she rode her white horse toward the direction of the tribe.