Chapter 9
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Brooch and the Investigation
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“How could I not? I was the one at the scene of the crime. And it’s impossible to avoid seeing Cherry Sinclair when she’s on the front page of the newspaper every single day.”
Ethan retorted, folding the newspaper with an incredulous look. Inspector Marcel watched him and shook his head.
“Why are you so hell-bent on this investigation? Aren’t you already on the fast track to Police Commissioner, as long as you produce decent results?”
Ethan’s father, Duke Lancaster, had disapproved of his son’s decision to renounce his title and become a police officer.
But his high birth wasn't something that could be erased, and his special promotion within the force was considered a foregone conclusion.
“So it would be best if you didn’t stir up trouble by poking at the Sinclairs.”
Inspector Marcel advised Ethan. Messing with the Sinclairs was just that dangerous.
“I didn’t become a police officer because I wanted to be the commissioner. If I wanted honor, I would have just inherited the Lancaster dukedom.”
Ethan was a man with a strong sense of duty as an officer. He was also an unusual person in many ways.
He had abandoned his ducal title to join the police, and for a high-ranking noble, he carried himself with a complete lack of decorum.
However, despite his somewhat delinquent and cocky side, his abilities were universally acknowledged.
A genius with a sword, a prodigy with a gun. Those were the nicknames he had earned while attending Lubridge Benton College, Graydon’s royal academy.
“More importantly, Inspector, have you seen today’s edition of the Benton Daily? There isn’t a single word about that monster.”
At Ethan’s words, Inspector Marcel sighed, his face weary.
“The order from the higher-ups was to avoid causing a panic until the truth is ascertained. You should try not to dig too deep either.”
Hearing this, Ethan considered asking just who these ‘higher-ups’ were.
But he had a good idea of who would pull such a stunt. It felt like he already knew the answer before he even started looking.
Just then, Inspector Marcel asked him a question.
“By the way, what’s that brooch you have there?”
A glittering brooch was resting in the palm of Ethan’s hand. It was an ornate piece decorated with a golden flower and a rubellite gem.
“There was a woman who hacked the monster to death with an axe.”
Ethan was certain it had been a woman. The voice, as bright and lovely as rolling pearls, had undoubtedly belonged to a woman.
The next thing he remembered was her eyes.
She wore a mask, so her eyes were the only thing visible.
Beautiful golden eyes, as if forged from molten, high-purity gold, were deeply etched into his mind.
“With an axe… she hacked that monster to death with an axe? Did you see the size of that thing?”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? I find it very strange myself. My younger sister said she witnessed the scene firsthand. It would be a difficult feat even for a grown man, but a woman killed that hulking beast all by herself.”
“By herself… That is strange indeed.”
Watching the inspector’s surprised face, Ethan held up the brooch in his hand.
C. S.
The initials were engraved on it.
Even if that woman was the savior who had rescued Aurora, she was still a suspicious individual who had fled the scene. Moreover, though it was just a hunch for now, he felt she might be connected to that unidentified monster.
‘C. S. The same initials as Cherry Sinclair.’
Their eye color was the same, too.
The thought crossed his mind, and Ethan let out an involuntary scoff. It was a truly ridiculous notion.
Cherry Sinclair was a woman who detested such remote and rough neighborhoods, and besides, she was physically weak.
He handed the newspaper he was holding to a nearby constable and left the yard of 61st Street.
Inspector Marcel called out to his retreating back.
“Where are you off to?”
“I received a tip that a large number of firearms were illegally smuggled in from the Briwood Kingdom. Thanks to you, Inspector, it seems there’s nothing more for me to do here, so I might as well check that out.”
“Who was the informant?”
Ethan pulled a bag of chocolates from his pocket, unwrapped one, and tossed it into his mouth before answering.
“I’m about to find out. I’ll be back.”
His attitude was far from proper, but after his own fashion of a dutiful farewell to Inspector Marcel, he headed out.
* * *
Benton, Westmore, Honderf, and then Kintne.
It was a total of four stops from the capital’s Benton Station to Kintne Station. After getting off at Kintne, a short carriage ride deeper into the mountains would lead to Brunel.
No cars or trams. It really hit me just how sophisticated my life in the capital had been.
The great thing about the train was, of course, the convenience of travel. I had departed in the morning and arrived by the afternoon.
‘I’m finally here!’
In Brunel, the village where I would build my shelter!
I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked up.
Perched like a fortress on a hill at the outskirts of Brunel village, a solitary mansion came into view.
It had to be the one mentioned in the novel, the secluded mansion in the village where Vanilla had lived.
Actually, it was so hidden by the dense trees that all I could really see was the mansion’s chimney. It was an eerie estate, the kind you’d see in an American horror movie.
‘Looks like the kind of place a monster would come out of.’
I swallowed hard. A chill seemed to emanate from the mansion.
I had arranged to purchase the mansion through the Brunel village chief, who was to introduce me to the owner, Vanilla.
‘So the mansion belonged to Vanilla.’
As I mentioned before, the mansion was a fortress, securely situated on a hill. In front lay the village, and behind it, a mountain ripe for foraging various things.
Furthermore, though it was a small village, it had all the essential establishments for survival: a grocery store, a general store, a clinic, a weapons shop, a restaurant, and an inn. The entire village could serve as a survival camp.
‘It would be great if I could buy the whole village.’
Of course, I knew that was impossible. There are many things in the world that money can’t buy.
After circling the mansion, I decided to wait for the owner, Vanilla, to complete the purchase.
But no matter how long I waited, Vanilla didn’t show up. After asking around, I learned that she was away for the day and I wouldn’t be able to meet her until tomorrow.
‘Not a good start. I wonder if this is a bad omen for tomorrow.’
Shaking off the ominous feeling, I had no choice but to spend the night at the village inn.
* * *
That night, in the capital city of Benton.
Ethan grabbed the scruff of a man’s neck as he floundered in a dead-end alley. He then drew his baton from his belt and swung.
*Thwack—*
“Ugh!”
The man, struck by the baton, collapsed to the ground.
Ethan wiped his weary face and sat on the back of the fallen man.
“Hey, do you know who I am?”
Ethan muttered, running a hand through his hair in irritation. The man beneath him could only let out pained groans.
Pulling a revolver from his pocket, Ethan opened the cylinder. Three of the six chambers held bullets. He took a new cartridge from his pocket and loaded it into an empty chamber as he spoke.
“I’m not usually at the level to be chasing after scum like you. So what does it mean that I came to get you myself? It means you’re fucked.”
A rather crude curse escaped the lips of Ethan, who looked like he would adhere to gentlemanly and archaic etiquette.
The man he had just caught had been apprehended on the spot while meeting with an illegal arms dealer.
“Spit it out. Most of the guns illegally smuggled from the Briwood Kingdom are slated to go down to some backwater village, right? And you don’t know which village that is yet.”
In the Kingdom of Graydon, it was illegal for civilians to possess firearms. From Ethan’s perspective as a police officer, this was certainly a matter worth investigating.
Ethan spun the fully loaded cylinder with a click. Hearing the sound, the man groaned in terror.
“I-I really don’t know. I’m just a courier who receives and delivers the goods!”
“You expect me to believe that? You were caught red-handed, you bastard.”
Ethan tapped the man’s head with the muzzle of his revolver in annoyance. The man tensed, his neck stiff. The collar of his shirt was already soaked with sweat.
“I’ve confirmed that Harrison Howard is involved. Isn’t this the Sinclair family’s doing? Answer me.”
In Graydon, the name ‘Sinclair’ carried as much weight as Ethan’s own Lancaster family.
A magnate like Sinclair could easily pull off smuggling firearms. If they had the will.
He had told Inspector Marcel that he had received a tip, but Ethan had seen it with his own two eyes: Jose, an illegal arms expert from the Briwood Kingdom whom he had been monitoring, meeting secretly with Harrison Howard.
There was no proof, only a very strong suspicion.
‘On top of that, Cherry Sinclair is avoiding my calls.’
Whether she knew something or not, Cherry was proving difficult to even get on the phone. It was as if she were deliberately avoiding him.
“The Sinclair heiress suddenly took out a loan for 100 million gold and then disappeared. Is this related to that?”
Despite Ethan’s question, the man remained silent, only letting out groans of pain.
Ethan took a notebook from his uniform pocket. Opening it, he saw a photograph cut from a newspaper.
Eyes that sparkled as if inlaid with gold, and cherry-colored—that is, a deep pink—riot of curly hair. The woman, wearing a cute cocktail hat and smiling brightly enough to show her pearly white teeth, exuded a bubbly vivacity.
He could see why she was called by the deeply embarrassing nickname, the ‘Starlight Lady.’ She had a glamorous and lovely appearance that would immediately draw one’s gaze in any crowd.
‘But…’
The rumors surrounding Cherry Sinclair mostly painted her as a profligate.
A gossip girl who loved extravagant parties, spent money like water, and was constantly embroiled in all sorts of scandals.
It was also said that despite her difficult personality, she was indecisive and incompetent, not the right material to lead the Sinclair family. She was the type of person Ethan despised most.
And now, it seemed she was also connected to the arms smuggling case.
‘Cherry Sinclair…’
Ethan hated when things didn't go according to plan. He also hated leaving questions unanswered. The monster incident was one, and this arms smuggling case was another.
However, the Police Commissioner was already hushing up the case, having concluded that it was related to Harrison, and by extension, the Sinclair family.
‘Well, it was the Sinclair family that made the current commissioner, so that’s understandable.’
Cherry Sinclair was getting on his nerves. And Ethan was the type of person who couldn’t rest until he brought whatever was bothering him right before his eyes to examine it himself.
Ethan’s cold gaze fell to the man pinned beneath him.
“I just had a good idea.”