Dillon returned when Herald won the card game for the 4th time. 4 games, 4 wins. Since they were all perfect victories, people looked at him with eyes mixed with envy and jealousy.

“Did you use some strange trick? How can you win right away! And all 4 games!”

“I think he’s in cahoots with the owner. The owner brought him here with great hospitality!”

“Come to think of it, that’s true. There must be something going on?”

The suspicion sparked by someone spread quickly. When people clamored that it was a trick, not only the dealer but also the owner stepped in to explain that it wasn’t the case.

The owner sent Herald a look hoping he would join in the explanation, but unfortunately, he had no intention of doing so. It was true that he had used tricks. As they say, the hand is quicker than the eye, and deceiving these guys was easier than eating snacks while lying down.

The reason Herald used tricks to win the game was to focus people’s attention on him. That way, it would be easier for Dillon to find the room in question. As things proceeded according to plan, Herald pushed all the chips towards the dealer and stood up.

“I’ll donate all these chips for the next winner favored by the goddess of fortune.”

In an instant, the jeers mixed with disbelief and suspicion turned into cheers. People not only praised Herald but also swarmed to the game table like bees to participate in the game with an enormous amount of money at stake.

“Wait a moment! This game has a maximum of 4 players!”

“We’ll distribute the prize money fairly to all tables, so please calm down everyone…!”

While the staff were trying to calm down the excited crowd, Herald followed Dillon towards the side with long red curtains hanging. Behind the curtain was a side door. As Herald tried to open the door and enter, Dillon blocked him.

“If you go in directly, your clothes might absorb strange smells, so I’ll go in and bring that man out.”

“That would be the same for you too.”

“Well, I live alone, so it doesn’t matter much for me.”

“It doesn’t matter for me either, as I can stay somewhere else until the smell fades away.”

Despite Dillon’s objections, Herald entered directly. In the small room, not even half the size of his bedroom, people were sprawled out, intoxicated by drugs and alcohol. There was no game table in sight. It seems the people here gathered for something illegal other than gambling.

Herald immediately found the person he wanted among those collapsed on the floor like corpses and lifted him by the nape of his neck. With an incomprehensible groan of “Ughh,” the man who was forcibly made to stand up narrowed his unfocused eyes and looked at him.

“Who…?”

“Olben, right?”

“That’s right, but…”

Found him accurately. Herald left the disgusting place while holding Olben by the collar. Dillon, who had been waiting at the entrance with his nose pinched, followed behind.

Herald, who had come out of the building entirely, threw Olben into an alley.

“Ugh!”

Thanks to falling hard enough to let out a short scream, Olben came to his senses and shouted in surprise upon seeing the tall men surrounding him.

“Wh-who are you guys!”

He was a bit disappointed as he had intended to give him a good beating if he didn’t come to his senses.

“You don’t need to know who I am.”

The dawn light had already filled the dark alley. Not wanting to waste any more time unnecessarily, Herald asked directly.

“Did you kill Megan?”

“…!”

When the name of his dead wife came up, Olben’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

“I-I didn’t kill her!”

Olben shouted with a trembling voice, his body shaking like an aspen tree.

“I didn’t kill her! Really! When I got there, that woman was already dead! It wasn’t me, I really didn’t do anything…!”

Olben, who had been incoherently claiming his innocence, suddenly rolled his eyes until only the whites were visible, and pointed at Herald.

“That’s right! He sent you, didn’t he! He’s trying to frame me as the culprit and then slip away like a rat! I, I warned him beforehand, but he still sent you to do this!”

“He?”

“Don’t play dumb! Fredrick Benjamin, I know he sent you!”

Herald’s lips curved up smoothly as he watched Olben yelling so hard that spit was flying.

After that, Herald, who had persistently questioned Olben and extracted information, organized his thoughts.

Olben knew that his wife was reporting every move of Grace Benjamin, Lily’s mother, under Fredrick Benjamin’s instructions. So when he saw the murdered Megan, he naturally thought Fredrick had done it and went to confront him.

Not to resent or seek revenge for killing his wife, but to extort money. And Fredrick complied with Olben’s demands. I don’t know how much he gave, but judging by the fact that he’s been holed up in an illegal gambling den until now, it seems he was given quite a lot of money.

There must have been a good reason for Fredrick to give a large sum of money to silence Olben.

In a normal situation, one would think that Fredrick silenced Olben to cover up his own crime, but Herald thought differently.

Fredrick Benjamin was definitely not the culprit. If he had been the culprit, he would have reported Olben instead of putting money in his hands.

All circumstantial evidence pointed to Olben as the murderer, and it would have been much cleaner to frame him and close the case. This was true even if Fredrick wasn’t the culprit.

Then why didn’t Fredrick report Olben and instead gave him money?

“Khaak, ptui. He told me he wouldn’t report me if I kept my mouth shut…!”

As Herald looked down at Olben, who was cursing Fredrick even spitting, he twisted his lips at a sudden thought.

That man is also waiting to find out who the real culprit who killed Megan is. Using Olben as bait.

“Has anyone else come looking for you besides me?”

Herald asked kindly and gently, unlike before. Olben looked at him in bewilderment at the sudden change in atmosphere.

On the other hand, Dillon inwardly clicked his tongue and shook his head. When Herald acted like this, it meant he was harboring some dark scheme.

“Ah, no, no one has come… You’re the first.”

“Then keep hiding diligently.”

Clink, clink, the sound of coins falling continuously made Olben’s gaze naturally turn to the floor. Soon, he discovered gold coins rolling on the dark floor and opened his eyes wide as if they were about to pop out, hurriedly picking up the money.

“If you hide well without being discovered by others, I’ll give you more money later.”

“You’re not going to arrest me, but give me more money?”

Herald answered with a smile instead. Having received a positive signal, the corners of Olben’s mouth stretched wide as if they would reach his ears.

“Oh my, of course! How could I refuse! I’ll hide so well that no one will be able to find me!”

Olben bowed his head, not minding that it touched the ground dirty with dust and filth. It was amusing how his attitude changed just for a few coins, when he had been pointing fingers and cursing earlier.

Leaving behind Olben, who kept bowing and saying to be careful, Herald emerged from the complex alleyways and ordered Dillon.

“Put a man on that guy.”

“Should I assign a guard?”

“Of course not.”

Herald laughed as if amused.

“I don’t have a hobby of guarding trash.”

That doesn’t seem like something someone who gave a lot of money and asked to hide well without being discovered would say. Dillon tilted his head, puzzled by Herald’s actions that were difficult to gauge.

“There’s only one thing that guy needs to do.”

Herald continued, looking at the eastern sky that was gradually brightening.

“Just report when and by whom Olben was killed.”

Lily stared at the bedroom door all night without sleeping, but Fredrick didn’t come until morning when the maid brought the washing water. When she asked the maid, she said Fredrick had left the house as soon as the investigation was over.

Only after confirming that Fredrick was not at home did Lily finally feel relieved and smooth her chest. Then she looked at the maid who had brought the washing water. It was the apprentice maid who said she had cleaned Lily’s bedroom yesterday.

She knew that apprentice maids were often sent to clean where Lily couldn’t see. But not for the washing water. This had always been brought by veteran maids, so sending an apprentice maid meant there was dissatisfaction with yesterday’s events.

I guess I can’t use the existing maids after all. Lily sighed softly and looked at the apprentice maid again. She couldn’t look directly at Lily’s face and kept her head down. Her neatly folded hands were as white as paper.

She must have been quite scared by yesterday’s events. Lily felt a little sorry for the apprentice maid, but didn’t show any sympathy. She too wasn’t completely off the list of suspects. The possibility couldn’t be completely ruled out.

“When you were cleaning yesterday, didn’t you see the box under the dressing table?”

When Lily asked, the apprentice maid was startled and shook her head so violently that her hair flew.

“I didn’t steal anything! Really!”

“I asked if you saw the box.”

“Th-the box…?”

Judging by her reaction, the maid really didn’t seem to have seen the box. If so, it means it disappeared before this maid cleaned the bedroom, and at that time Fredrick wasn’t at home.

‘Could Fredrick not be the culprit?’

But there’s no one else who would do this besides Fredrick. Lily looked at her reflection in the washing water. She didn’t know who took one shoe and the letter, for what reason, and whether she could get them back, but one thing was certain.

‘I need to make a personal maid.’