Chapter 27: The Delicate Noble Young Lady

The newcomer was Tia, a girl with long, light blue hair dressed in a noble gown.

As soon as she stepped into the small shack, a heavy scent of blood mixed with the smell of dust hit her.

Covering her nose and mouth with a hand clad in a snowy white lace glove, Tia scanned the mess inside and the two corpses that had died in a gruesome manner.

Her sapphire-like eyes trembled violently.

All color drained from her face in an instant, and her stomach churned so much that she almost vomited on the spot.

A delicate noble young lady’s reaction upon seeing such a bloody scene for the first time was exactly as expected.

“What… what exactly happened here?”

Viola shielded her younger sister, Lily, tightly behind her.

Her face, stained with blood and dirt, was full of suspicion and wariness.

“Who are you…?”

To the side, Lily had seemingly not expected someone to burst in.

Though her slender body trembled, she still gripped the dagger from the floor.

A hint of coldness flashed in her dark eyes.

‘I’ve already killed two people anyway. One more won’t make a difference.’

“Wait!”

Viola’s voice interrupted Lily’s movement.

She tried hard to remember and finally overlapped the overly beautiful yet pale face before her with a blurry memory.

“I… I recognize you. You’re the one from the Bird and Flower Market…”

Tia managed to suppress the discomfort in her throat and took a deep breath.

She straightened her back slightly, attempting to maintain the etiquette befitting a noble.

Although her voice still carried a hint of instability, her tone was soft and sincere.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Celestia. I have come to find you because I wish to repay the kindness you showed by saving me back at the Bird and Flower Market.”

When she spoke that name, Tia specifically observed the two sisters.

Seeing that their faces remained blank, she knew they had never heard of her.

However, this was normal.

For those living in the slums, just surviving every day was hard enough.

Who had the time to pay attention to anyone else in the city?

Viola pursed her dry, cracked lips and responded in a low voice, “I — I am Viola. This is my sister, Lily.”

Tia’s gaze swept over the corpses on the ground again, her brow furrowing slightly.

“Can you tell me what happened here?”

Viola’s body stiffened for a moment.

She quickly recounted the excuse she had prepared in a low voice, omitting everything related to the Witch.

Afterward, a look of sympathy and understanding appeared on Tia’s face, and she nodded gently.

“So that’s how it is. In that case, are you willing to become my maids? The treatment for my maids is quite good. The weekly wage alone would be enough to treat your mother’s illness.”

Her tone regained a bit of the reserve and superiority inherent to the nobility.

Both Viola and Lily were stunned.

“Sister!”

Lily’s eyes lit up, and she grabbed Viola’s arm, shaking it.

In her view, this was undoubtedly a golden opportunity to escape their current situation.

The fact that the young girl before them could make such a request meant she was, at the very least, a noble young lady.

If they could obtain her help, they would be much safer in Hela City.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Viola looked at the corpses on the ground and shook her head.

“Thank you, but I’m sorry. We have no such plans.”

This noble young lady might not realize how much trouble they were in, but Viola did.

Therefore, she could not let the girl get involved no matter what.

A well-timed look of confusion and regret appeared on Tia’s face.

Just as she was about to say something more, a voice filled with arrogance and annoyance came from outside the door.

“Tch, such a heavy scent of blood. It seems a murder took place here not long ago.”

Inquisitor Raymond walked in with several other uniformed Inquisitors.

Behind them, Mephia stood with her arms crossed, looking cold and indifferent as if she were merely there to watch a show.

In an era of Magic Detection, as long as no Magic was used to cover it up, it was easy for the Inquisition to discover a murder within the city.

At that moment, Raymond’s appearance caused the temperature in the room to drop instantly.

After scanning the two corpses on the floor, his gaze finally landed on the eldest, Viola.

He asked with a sneer, “Can someone explain what is going on?”

Viola’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

She had not expected the Inquisition to arrive so quickly.

Feeling Lily’s hand grow cold and stiff, she did not hesitate to take a half-step forward, completely shielding Lily behind her.

“I did it.”

“Sister?!”

Lily cried out in shock and tried to rush forward, but Viola held her back firmly.

Viola repeated almost the same story, except she replaced the instigator and executor of all actions with herself.

Her tone was calm, but she did not dare meet Raymond’s gaze. Her fingertips dug deep into her palms.

Raymond listened quietly, tapping his arm rhythmically with his fingers.

Once Viola finished, he nodded, the smile on his face growing colder.

“So that’s how it is. Miss, you should understand the principle of ‘a life for a life,’ shouldn’t you?”

He paused, his gaze scraping over Viola’s pale face like a blade before glancing at Lily, who stood tense with her head down behind her sister.

The sneer on his lips deepened.

“It’s just that I suspect there are fabricated elements in your story.”

“It would be impossible for you to kill them alone. Your sister must have been involved as well, right?”

Viola’s pupils constricted suddenly.

Raymond showed a bit of mockery.

“Heh, what? Did I hit the mark? Your face is looking worse and worse.”

Pursing her lips, Viola pleaded, “Sir, please…”

“Shut up!”

Raymond waved his hand impatiently.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses!”

After speaking, he turned to the other Inquisitors standing ready behind him and said in a decisive tone, “Take them both away. They will be judged tomorrow at noon!”

However, the other Inquisitors looked at each other, their brows furrowed.

Judged?

They were going to judge these two young girls just like that?

Deciding a case based solely on a feeling?

Without even pursuing the truth?

They knew Raymond had lost face during the Witch Incident and now desperately needed a few trials to restore his prestige, but wasn’t this too irresponsible?

They were Inquisitors, not thugs.

They peeked at Mephia at the back of the group.

Seeing that she offered no other reaction, they stepped forward to seize Viola and Lily.

Raymond naturally noticed their subtle movements, which made him even more irritated.

However, just as an Inquisitor was about to touch Viola’s trembling shoulder…

“Is this the attitude an Inquisitor takes when investigating a case?”

A crisp voice filled with clear displeasure rang out, breaking the pressure Raymond was exerting and drawing everyone’s attention to the person behind Lily.

Tia took a gentle step forward and stood in front of Viola.

“If this is the standard for how Inquisitors enforce the law, then I will have to inform my father and ask him to travel to the Imperial Capital. I will have him petition His Majesty to conduct a strict investigation into the Hela City Inquisition.”