Chapter 7

“I understand that you’re trying to save Sullivan, Detective.”

Foldrin smiled bitterly.

“But do you have any proof that I killed him? Do you have proof that I possessed those share certificates? I don’t know where you got them, but they have absolutely nothing to do with me!”

“They have nothing to do with you?”

Shiorin shot back coldly.

Then she slowly walked toward Miss Sullivan, who was trembling.

Meeting her eyes, Shiorin spoke gently.

“Miss. This is the kind of man he is. Do you still want to protect him?”

Sullivan’s eyes reddened.

“Foldrin must have persuaded you. You accidentally witnessed the murder, and he convinced you to take the blame for him.

‘Keep insisting until the end. You’re a noble, and your rank is higher than a baron’s. Eventually you’ll be released. Then we’ll use the money and start over together.’

Something like that, right?”

At that moment, Foldrin’s legs gave out, and he collapsed into his seat.

Every word was correct.

Not a single detail was wrong.

Those were the exact words he had said.

Point by point.

His voice trembled as he shouted,

“That woman is a witch! A witch, Sullivan!”

Just then, Daniel quietly placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered something.

Foldrin flinched.

His shoulders shrank as his lips trembled.

After a long struggle, Sullivan finally seemed to make a decision and raised her head.

But unfortunately…

Shiorin’s hopes were crushed.

“Detective… I really did kill Gallagher Longstein.”

Ah…

Shiorin closed her eyes in despair.

Sullivan had chosen not to abandon Foldrin after all.

Catherine beat her chest in frustration.

Lady Sullivan bit her lip.

Meanwhile, Foldrin smiled in relief despite the cold sweat covering his face.

“Do you have any other evidence?”

The judge asked.

Turning around with a dark expression, Shiorin replied in a quieter voice.

“…I would like to submit my final piece of evidence.”

Then she suddenly walked into the spectator section.

As she approached, Foldrin’s breathing became increasingly uneven.

Step. Step.

She stopped in front of him.

After giving him a look filled with contempt, she walked farther inside.

Her destination was a young blonde woman seated behind Foldrin.

“You’re Hera Stone, correct?”

Foldrin spun around in shock.

At the same time, the woman flinched, her eyelids trembling.

“Since when have you been seeing Foldrin Argus?”

“Is this woman insane?!”

Foldrin shouted.

But Daniel and the guards restrained him before he could rush at Shiorin.

The young woman trembled violently and bit her lip.

Seeing her reaction, Sullivan’s face slowly lost all color.

“Let me ask again. What exactly is your relationship with Foldrin Argus?”

“W-we’re nothing to each other. I don’t know why you’re suddenly asking me…”

“Nothing to each other?”

So you’re really going all the way with this.

Hah.

Shiorin let out a humorless laugh and exchanged a glance with Daniel.

He nodded.

Then he began searching Foldrin’s pockets while the guards held him down.

Foldrin struggled wildly.

“Hey! You bastard! Who do you think you are, searching my pockets—!”

“Then what is this?”

In one swift motion, Shiorin twisted the woman’s arm and pulled something from inside her coat.

To everyone’s surprise, it was identical to the item Daniel had just taken from Foldrin.

A ticket.

And not only did they look the same.

“They’re nothing to each other, you said? Then why do both of you have tickets for a ship leaving for Centmon today at six in the evening?

And if we check the seat numbers…”

She smiled coldly.

“Your seats are right next to each other.”

“That’s impossible! Aaah!”

Sullivan screamed.

Shaking her head in disbelief, she finally burst into tears.

Her heartbroken sobbing filled the courtroom.

No one could speak.

The cries of a woman betrayed by the man she loved were too painful to ignore.

Shiorin handed both tickets to the judge.

Then she continued.

Her voice was incredibly polite.

Respectful.

Almost as if she were sincerely requesting the greatest possible mercy.

“Your Honor. The final evidence I wish to submit is…”

She looked directly at Sullivan.

“The testimony of Miss Vera Sullivan herself.”

The judge looked at Shiorin.

After thinking for a long moment, he glanced at Baron Longstein, whose expression had become complicated.

Then he turned to Sullivan.

Finally, he repeated his earlier question.

“Miss Vera Sullivan.”

“…”

“Do you have any final statement?”

Sullivan looked up at him with tear-soaked eyes.

In the face of such a cruel reality—

A broken laugh escaped her lips.

Neither quite laughter nor crying.

At last, she confessed the truth.

“I didn’t kill him, Your Honor.”

“…Continue.”

“The person who killed Gallagher Longstein in Northling Forest on the morning of September 4th…”

Her voice shook.

“…was Foldrin Argus.”

“…”

“…I was stupid enough to believe that bastard…”

Tears streamed down her face.

“…and I took all the blame for him.”

***

“Ow!”

Shiorin stared at her arm with a miserable expression.

Daniel paused with the syringe in his hand and smiled slightly.

“You’re being a bit dramatic.”

“I really hate needles!”

“This is usually how seven-year-olds react.”

“Ugh!”

Grinding her teeth, Shiorin glared at him.

If it weren’t for that bastard Foldrin, she never would have suffered like this.

Because the injection Daniel was giving her was—

An antidote.

A poison neutralizer.

That bastard…

Foldrin had been unbelievably thorough.

The crafty psychopath had coated only Shiorin’s and Daniel’s teacups with poison beforehand.

As a result, although everyone drank the same tea, only the two of them were poisoned.

The moment Shiorin touched the cup and realized the truth, chills had run down her spine.

“I thought I was going to die. Thank goodness Daniel is a doctor.”

It was the first time in her life she had truly felt the fear of death.

Her heart had pounded wildly.

And guilt overwhelmed her because Daniel had become involved because of her.

But when she told him about the poison, he had remained remarkably calm.

While Foldrin slept, the two of them secretly identified the poison.

It was Siltarmon.

A deadly toxin capable of stopping the heart within twenty-four hours, even in small amounts.

Daniel reassured her that an antidote existed.

Then he helped her gather evidence while secretly treating the poisoning.

Together, they completely fooled Foldrin.

The next morning, they left his house pretending nothing was wrong while he personally saw them off.

Afterward, they deliberately closed the detective agency and obtained the antidote.

This was Shiorin’s third and final injection.

Daniel insisted that three doses were necessary, just to be safe.

Even though he hadn’t injected himself once.

“But are you really sure you’ll be okay?”

Still sprawled across the sofa, Shiorin asked worriedly.

Daniel nodded and gestured toward himself.

“Look at me. I’m perfectly fine. I really am. I actually have a resistance to it.”

“…What? A resistance?”

“Haha. Well…”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I was a very curious person. During my years as a doctor, I got myself into a few incidents.”

Shiorin blinked.

“What does that even mean?”

Getting into incidents involving poison?

Then…

“…Were you a troublemaker?”

Daniel suddenly burst out laughing.

He held his stomach and laughed for quite a while.

Then he nodded enthusiastically.

“A complete troublemaker.”

“Wow. That’s honestly shocking. I was the exact opposite. I was a model student.”

As memories of Kim Ha-kyung surfaced, she became a little depressed.

She had studied her entire life.

Only to die in an accident at thirty-four.

Then, in this life, she had nearly died again at twenty-five.

That bastard…

Just as she was getting angry thinking about Foldrin—

Wait. He’s not a bastard anymore. He’s a dead man walking.

A grin spread across her face.

She remembered the trial.

The look on Foldrin’s face when he was sentenced to death had been incredibly satisfying.

“So why are you smiling like that now?”

Watching her emotions change every few seconds, Daniel checked the syringe again.

“I definitely administered it correctly…”

Shaking his head, he found himself smiling too.

Soon afterward, exhausted from several days of nonstop work, Shiorin fell fast asleep.

After quietly cleaning up the scattered items around the room, Daniel carefully headed to the third floor.

Creak.

The door opened.

Moonlight filled the silent room.

The first thing he saw was the bed Shiorin Berche had once used.

It looked rather small for a man of his size.

Slowly, he lay down on it.

Then he removed his thick-rimmed glasses and gently placed them on the table beside him.

For the first time, his hidden features were fully revealed.

Thick black hair.

Strong, straight eyebrows.

Piercing blue eyes.

Beneath his sharp nose, soft pink lips contrasted perfectly against his pale skin.

“…”

Staring blankly at the ceiling, he slowly raised his right arm and covered his eyes.

Silence filled the room.

Then—

A chuckle.

The corners of his mouth curved upward.

Holding back his laughter, he laughed quietly to himself for a long time.

The bed shook slightly beneath him.

Eventually, he lowered his arm.

The innocent, gentle expression he always wore had vanished completely.

Under the moonlight stood the face of a man who looked wild and dangerous.

Nothing but his expression and gaze had changed.

Yet he seemed like an entirely different person.

The smile slowly faded from his lips.

Then Daniel murmured to himself.

“Shiorin Berche…”

His voice was ice-cold.

Gone was every trace of kindness.

“…you really were hiding something.”