Scarlet Moon Goddess Irina

A gentle breeze drifted through the window, causing Irina's silver-white hair to flutter.

Irina reached up to smooth her hair and said leisurely, "Sir, you may not be aware of certain rules—in recording a statement from a noble, the other party is entitled to have a maid or butler accompany them. When you approached me earlier, my maid was about to follow, but you stopped her. Perhaps she was also taken aback by tonight's events and, in her daze, didn't protest. But I remember it clearly."

"So you think I'm not a proper security officer?" Grace asked with interest as she looked at Irina.

"At least you're not a normal security officer. The security officers in Seraphite are famously strict about following the rules, since this is the royal capital," Irina replied confidently.

"Congratulations, you're right," Grace couldn't help but clap her hands, then continued, "In that case, allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Grace Mingteneva, affiliated with the Kingdom of Night's Mysterious Bureau. I am an Extraordinary, currently holding the third-tier rank of Fighter!"

Since you are a princess from a foreign land and clearly well-informed about Extraordinary matters, I see no need to conceal such details.

Extraordinary, huh? So the Mysterious Bureau must be the Kingdom of Night's organization that manages Extraordinary incidents. But you're third-tier… is there really a rank called 'Fighter' in the third tier?

Irina's eyes brightened slightly, and after a flurry of thoughts, she asked, "So, do you not only suspect that there's something wrong with this case, but even believe that an Extraordinary was involved?"

Grace swung the pen from side to side and said, "No, Your Highness, I believe you misunderstand. I don't think there's anything particularly amiss with the case—I still consider it a straightforward suicide. My presence as a member of the Mysterious Bureau is simply because this is Silverleaf Academy, and the deceased was a mentor."

Irina understood; after all, Silverleaf Academy is different from other places. Had the deceased been of another status elsewhere, no one from the Mysterious Bureau would have come.

"Your Highness, do you still believe this was a homicide?" Grace asked with a wry smile.

The girl before him, based on what is known, is only about fifteen—a child. How could she perceive something that others have not? Insisting this is a homicide at her age might just be the overzealous imaginings of youth.

Though Grace appeared to be in her twenties, she was actually thirty, and in her eyes, Irina was merely a child.

"Yes, I still believe it's a homicide. So, Mr. Grace, may I see the statements from the four individuals?" Irina said earnestly.

"What if you find nothing amiss?"

"Then I'd like to stay and listen to the remaining testimonies."

Hearing this, Grace found it somewhat troublesome. She truly believed the case was clear-cut, intending to stop questioning after Irina's turn—there wouldn't have been any further statements.

But seeing the determined look in Irina's eyes, and considering her status, Grace had no choice but to shrug and say, "Alright, if you want to see the statements, here you go."

She pushed the notebook toward Irina, who quickly began to read.

First was the statement left by Robony's wife, Aileen. Grace had inquired about recent events and the couple's relationship, and Aileen had replied that they had always been loving, with nothing unusual happening lately. In fact, her husband had been busy preparing for today's celebration, though his influence was limited to the Foreign Languages Department, making it hard to invite others from different departments. Yet today, he had successfully invited Princess Irina from the Kingdom of Moonlight.

She also mentioned that her husband had recently been secretive with two students—Frederick and Lomingfu.

Next was student Frederick's statement. He mentioned that he and the mentor had been busy preparing for tonight's banquet, even planning a magic performance—a metamorphosis act—with all the props ready, but the plan fell through.

Additionally, Frederick noted that the mentor couple was not harmonious; they had never had a child, and after medical examinations confirmed that the issue lay with Robony, the couple frequently quarreled, and Robony often stayed out at night.

The third page contained the statement of Scandine, another instructor from the Foreign Languages Department. He stated that he was fairly familiar with Robony, but had lately been preoccupied with handling disputes between his wife and his mistress, so he hardly saw Robony. He added that only Robony knew about his mistress, and he had once suspected that Robony might have leaked that secret.

Scandine wasn't sure if Robony and Frederick had planned the magic performance, but he had heard rumors about discord between Robony and Aileen.

The fourth page was from another of Robony's students, Lomingfu. He said he wasn't sure if there was discord between Robony and his wife—despite studying under Robony for the longest time, he wasn't particularly close to him, since Robony's favorite was Frederick.

However, he did know about the planned magic performance between Robony and Frederick, as he was responsible for procuring the props. Robony and Frederick had listed many items for him to purchase.

On that page, Lomingfu detailed all the props he had bought, and notably, among them was the dagger that Robony used for his suicide.

"I know the answer now." Irina set down the notebook and looked at Grace. "We're very fortunate—if all these recorded details are true, then the murderer must be among these four. Do you know who it is?"

Grace couldn't help but chuckle and shook her head, "I don't know, but these testimonies are absolutely authentic, because I used an Extraordinary device that prevents them from lying… unless one of them is an Extraordinary, in which case they would be immune to its effects."

"Oh? May I ask what negative side effects your Extraordinary device has?" Irina asked curiously.

The topic shifted so quickly that Grace paused before replying, "It makes me have to use the restroom more frequently."

Irina understood—an awkward side effect indeed.

Then Irina continued, "With a device like that, solving cases must be quite easy for you, right? After all, you can just ask someone directly if they're the murderer."

"Exactly. Previously, I also asked Mrs. Aileen and the other four, and each one denied being the murderer."

"But you also said that this device doesn't work on the Extraordinary."

"Yes, so do you think the murderer is an Extraordinary?"

"I already mentioned—the murderer must be among these four. Since all four have been cleared by your device, the murderer must be an Extraordinary."

Irina looked at the open notebook and gave an extremely affirmative nod.