"Boom—"

Thundercloud City, as its name suggests, has rainy thunderclouds all year round, and the sky may have been clear just now, and then immediately there were dark clouds and heavy rain from the sky.

Solandelle's sleep quality tonight was terrible, she had insomnia at first, then she woke up after a few minutes of sleep, and she slept until midnight, and finally fell into a deep sleep, but an inexplicable chill spread throughout her body, making her wake up from her dream.

Solandale rubbed her eyes, poked her head out of the bed, and it turned out that the wind was blowing too much and blew the window open, no wonder it was so cold.

At this time, it was raining heavily outside, and the thunder illuminated the haze that filled the sky, and the rain was swaying in the air, making the sound of ghosts crying wolves under the blowing of the strong wind, and kept splashing into the windows and hitting the wet floor.

Solandale put on her slippers and trotted over to reclose the window, locking it all and preparing to go back to sleep.

"Boom-" Without warning, her pupils dilated violently, and her heart rate climbed to extreme levels in an instant.

Someone...

Through the faint light of the candle torch at the bedside, Solandale could see that the floor by the window was covered with wet shoe prints, spreading all the way to the darkness on the other side of the room, as if something was lurking.

She was pretty sure it wasn't her own shoe prints, nor the shoe prints of Burton's departure—it wasn't raining at the time.

These shoe prints, which appeared after she fell asleep, meant one thing...

Right now... There was someone in the room...

Who is it? ...

The cold breath swam through Solandelle's body like a poisonous snake, and the silence around her was like a grave, except for the sound of torrential rain hitting the windows, and the oppressive feeling was like countless arthropods crawling on the scalp and heart.

I have to say that after experiencing the sniper rifle assassination, Solandale's psychological quality has been tempered a lot, she did not show fear or panic, but pretended not to notice anything, walked to the side of the bed and muttered "so thirsty", her hand seemed to be going to take the water cup at the head of the bed, but it was actually a crossbow stretched out next to the water glass.

Just as Solandale was about to touch the crossbow, a familiar voice came from the darkness: "Do you want to kill me?" Little princess. ”

This voice made her stunned immediately, and hurriedly picked up the candle torch and turned around: "No?!" ”

In the darkness, Chino's face was shrouded in shadows and blurred, but under the light of the candlelight, he could vaguely see the amber eyes reflecting the candle flame, and occasionally heard the sound of liquid dripping on the floor, thinking that he had been walking in the rainstorm for too long and was soaking wet.

Solandale asked hurriedly, "No, are you alright?" Now that Thundercloud City is locked down, the entire Legion of Guards is looking for you! ”

Chino didn't answer the question, he stretched out his hand wrapped in a soaked white glove, his fingertips quietly dripping with droplets, and slowly pointed at the crossbow at the head of the bed: "Can you please hand it to me?" Thank you. ”

Without any hesitation, Solandel directly picked up the crossbow and handed it to Chino.

Chino took the crossbow, plucked the arrow, pulled the string, and took aim, the arrow pointing at Solandale's heart like a beast's fangs, and silently pulling the trigger with his fingers.

Solandale subconsciously took a step back, but quickly took a step forward, returning to his original position, looking at Chino with a clear gaze.

Chino: "I've targeted a lot of people. Take a step back, I can read. Take a step forward, and I can understand it. But I don't understand a step back and a step forward like you. ”

Solandelle: "Backwards because I'm scared because I'm being pointed at by a crossbow." ”

Chino: "And what about taking a step forward?" ”

Solandelle: "You're the one with the crossbow, and I have nothing to fear." ”

Chino didn't speak, only the sound of the crossbow trigger spring reaching the brink of firing, and the Grim Reaper spreading its hideous claws.

"Click..."

Chino's fingers were pulled to the limit of the shot, and he was about to trigger a crossbow shot that pierced through Solandale's heart, but he didn't move on, he put down the crossbow, and his white-gloved hand stretched out from the darkness: "Little princess, give me your hand." ”

Solandale held out his hand to Chino.

Chino took Solandelle's weak, boneless little hand, pulled it into the darkness, pressed it to his lips, felt the temperature above it with his most sensitive part, and then said softly: "Your hands are cold, go back to the bed, don't catch a cold." ”

Solandelle was very obedient, obediently returned to the quilt, pulled up the quilt, and then looked at Chino in the dark, and asked with concern, "No, why are you here?" There are sentry posts all over the vicinity of the mansion, and this is the most dangerous place for you! ”

Chino: "To be honest, I don't know why I'm here. Maybe it's to see if you're just as stupid as they are. ”

Solandale said firmly, "I always believe in you!" Even if they say that you attacked your brother, I still believe that you were framed. ”

Chino: "Why?" ”

Solandale blurted out, "Because you're my friend!" ”

Chino: "When you make a judgment about something, you should not rely on your relationship with the other person, but analyze it based on facts - just because you treat someone as a friend does not mean that you can trust him for no reason - it is very dangerous to be tied up in a personal relationship, it can affect your judgment. ”

Solandel pursed her lips, not knowing what to answer.

Chino: "Think again? Why was I framed? ”

Solandelle's red lips opened and closed, pondered for a moment, and quickly raised his head and said, "There are many doubts about my brother's assassination. ”

Chino: "For example? ”

Solandale: "Like... Before the attack, I saw the reflection in the bell room of the cathedral and sensed danger from that direction, but the administrator Grabo said that the assassination took place in a private house... Here there is a divergence of information. ”

Chino: "Did Bolton investigate later?" ”

Solandale: "Investigated... The guards said that no trace had been found in the bell room of the cathedral..."

Chino: "So what? What do you think of it yourself? ”

Solandale looked confused, and hesitated to say, "I don't know... I thought I could see it clearly, but they said I was delusional because I was under too much stress after stress. Indeed, I was nervous and wondered if I was really wrong... To be honest, I don't know..."

Chino: "If you can't even believe in it, how can you use it as a basis?" ”

Solandale bowed her head in disbelief, not knowing what to answer.

Chino: "Think again. ”

Solandale clung to the quilt and fell into deep thought, and after a long time, she suddenly realized something: "Motive! ”

Chino: "Go on. ”

Solandelle: "Unless a person is a madman, a person must have some kind of motive for committing a crime, whether it is material or mental, whether it is voluntary or forced, and he must be able to gain a positive benefit from committing a crime - or a relatively small negative loss. ”

"But in fact, you and my brother have no grievances, and they have only had a relationship at the New Year's feast, and you will not gain any benefit from killing my brother at all. So, you don't have a motivation to do it at all. ”

Chino: "We've only known each other for half a year, and what you see about me may be just the tip of the iceberg, and you're so sure I have no motive to assassinate?" It doesn't take so many reasons to kill someone, it may be for money, it may be to vent anger, it may be that he is not polite, or it may be... He can't appreciate music. ”

"Click." There was a snap of fingers in the darkness, followed by a wry smile from Chino: "Do you know what people say about me - Chino Van Helsing is a madman." ”

Chino's retort made Solandale very stressed, and he was at a loss for what to do and couldn't speak.

Chino: "So, in terms of motivation, what do they think of me?" ”

Solandale's voice visibly weakened: "They say... You're a Bloodthorn Assassin... Took the golden assassination order against my brother..."

Chino: "Look, the motive is here. ”

Solandale hurriedly said, "But that's all hypothetical! Although Administrator Grabo produced two golden assassination warrants, his statements were all 'I guess', 'I think', 'I think'... There is no substantial evidence for his words, at most they can only be regarded as a line of thought, and cannot be used as evidence! ”

Chino: "Is there a second suspect besides me?" ”

Solandelle: "The bearer of the golden assassination order is 'Wintersuit', and according to their guess, you are the same Wintersuit, so until there is no other evidence to break the suspicion, you are the only suspect..."

Chino: "You see, this speculation seems empty, but in fact it is not low. ”

Solandale's voice was so thin that it was barely audible: "But I don't believe it..."

Chino: "Then think again. ”

Solandelle was like a puppet being manipulated, and she scrambled to take the folded clothes at the foot of the bed and find her small notebook inside.

During the day, accompanied by Lorna and some of her personal guards, she explored the streets where Burton was assassinated, the houses that were recognized as the scene of the assassination, the cathedral that she thought was strange, and the suspicious places in the surrounding area.

Because of her noble status, she can also directly enter and exit the physical evidence room, and is accompanied and guided by a professional alchemist, who has conducted a comprehensive survey and analysis of all physical evidence.

Throughout the investigation, Solandelle recorded all the places she thought were suspicious in a small notebook, hoping to find a breakthrough and help Chino clear his suspicions.

She has no strength, and her connections are not as extensive as her brother's, and her only advantage is that she has read a lot of books, and her mind and pen are her only weapons that can help Chino.

At this time, Solandale opened the small notebook, read the details recorded on it one by one, and muttered: "Other doubts... I think... Gun! The weapon used to assassinate my brother was a weapon called a "sniper rifle" that had been seized from a visitor from outside the world. ”

"According to the records, the time when the sniper rifle was stolen in the Star Fort was the 2nd day of the Red Lotus, when you were in Twilight City, with me and Lorna, it was impossible for you to go to the Star Fort thousands of miles away to steal!"

Chino: "It doesn't mean anything, I don't have to steal it myself, I can have someone steal it, and bring it back to me after stealing, and you won't notice the whole process." ”

Solandale: "But it doesn't make sense! There are so many means of assassination, why go to great lengths to steal a sniper rifle? ”

Chino: "Because I've fought many times with visitors from outside the sky, and I've faced this weapon, and I know how far it can go and how powerful it is. Assassination with a sniper rifle is hundreds of times more successful than other weapons. ”

Solandelle was nervous by Chino, she anxiously flipped through the small notebook, and said, "However, that gun is a weapon of a visitor from outside the world, and you are not a visitor from outside the world, so you can't shoot so accurately..."

Chino: "I have a lot of talent for shooting. And the rune replica of that sniper rifle, I tried firing it a few times at the shooting range of the Imperial Palace, and one of the shots also hit the dummy in the head, and many soldiers were able to provide confessions for the Inquisition. ”

Solandelle's hand turning the page began to tremble slightly, and her thoughts were already confused: "But... Lorna also thinks you're not a prisoner..."

Chino: "Other people's judgments have nothing to do with you. Lorna thinks I'm not a prisoner, and you think so too. If another person thinks I'm a criminal, will you follow me blindly? As I told you just now, it is very dangerous to be tied up in personal relationships, and it can affect your judgment. ”

Solandelle was very aggrieved in her heart, and tears had begun to accumulate in her blue eyes: "No... Don't do this... I really believe in you..."

Chino: "Belief that can't even say why, is a blind belief, it's like a whirlpool, it's not obvious at first, but it swallows you up little by little over time. Now, you have two options—"

"One, you find a reason to believe me, and that reason doesn't have to be shocking or perfect, but it must be convincing enough and not glaringly flawed."

"Second, you now shout Bolton's name and ask him to break down the door and arrest me. I assure you that I will not resist, I will not resist arrest, I will even directly confess my guilt, and I will accept all the confirmed and unproven charges, and I will not fall behind. ”

Solandale bit her lower lip, her teeth almost sinking into her lip, and her daytime determination had been torn apart and overwhelmed.

"Click." There was another snap of fingers in the darkness, and Chino smiled and said, "I'll give you a suggestion, choose the second one." Imagine an Assassin who could not be caught by the entire Legion of the Guard, an assassin who was helpless even to the great Prince of Burton, who was captured by the clever Solandel Van Dogouland after breaking into the boudoir at night! The Grim Reaper, the annihilator of visitors from outside the sky, was finally defeated at the hands of the nine princesses of the royal family! Ah~ It will be a good story that will be passed down for a long time, and your name will be sung by the troubadour over and over again. ”

Solandelle's grievances couldn't hold back, tears fell on the quilt, and she whispered, "I don't choose... I don't want a good story... I just want you to be nice..."

Chino: "So you're going to pick the first one?" ”

Solandelle clutched the notebook tightly, her fingertips almost tearing the paper apart, her thin shoulders trembling with sobs: "But I don't know... I really don't know how to help you..."

The wind came, the candles flickered, and it was the figure that came out of the darkness to the bedside.

Chino stretched out his slender index finger, wrapped in a white glove, and pressed it against Solandelle's eyebrows, using just the right amount of force to make her feel a sense of power without poking her.

Solandale looked up blankly, her face full of tears, and looked at Chino in distraction: "No? ...”

"The hint has been given to you." Chino kept poking his forehead, "Think again." ”