Chapter 793: Chapter 30: No Need for Assistance (Part 2)

Gongsun Ce couldn’t answer. He realized that there was a problem with the logical chain; this method of committing the crime was too risky. He couldn’t think of a reason for the culprit to take the risk of staying alone in the closed room, even if it was to make the Dawn Knight leave again, there should be a better way to solve the problem.

“Maybe she has some secret technique…” Gongsun Ce whispered, “A trump card even you don’t know about…”

The Dawn Knight threw out another question: “I assume you have investigated Her Majesty the Queen’s profile and know that her swordsmanship is quite ordinary. Then, by what means did she fake my attack?”

“This…”

Gongsun Ce was at a loss because he hadn’t done a detailed investigation. He stammered, “Perhaps she has been hiding her strength all these years…”

“Once again, you make an unfounded speculation. With this line of thought, you could explain anyone as the culprit.” Alandia said, “And the motive for the crime is too bold, even bizarre. A ruler willing to destroy a national treasure to suppress subordinates — the disparity between the risk and reward is so great that any rational person would balk.”

Gongsun Ce tried to argue: “This could be a chance to call my elder brother…”

“Before Mr. Mo Yuankai arrived, no one could be sure he had the power to repair the armor. You are using future happenings as a basis for past events, which is very dangerous.”

Gongsun Ce fell silent, sitting back on the sofa. Alandia continued pointing out issues: “Finally, you made a fundamental error. If you had verified your guess, you would have found that Her Majesty the Queen has a solid alibi — she was receiving an audience with the Prime Minister and Knight Macrow that morning, and everyone in the entire palace can attest to it.”

The eyewitness testimony was now useless.

With this, Alandia truly had no need to reveal any information.

The Queen was obviously not the real culprit. Even if someone claimed to have seen the Queen commit the crime, who would believe them? What purpose would it serve other than to muddy the waters?

“…”

Alright, it was all wrong.

How goddamn arrogant, like a fool.

Everything you’ve discovered, the Dawn Knight had already thought of.

Gongsun Ce attempted one last resistance, trying to appear dignified: “Alright, I guessed wrong. I guess I’m not as smart as you…”

But Alandia was not finished, she continued with her remarks: “The root of the error does not lie in ability, but in attitude. A biased stance will hinder your judgment. This is something to be wary of.”

Gongsun Ce wiped his face, lowered his hand, and said in a low voice pleadingly, “I did all this for your sake, do you understand?”

“And it does not help in finding the truth.” Alandia pointed out.

The atmosphere in the room gradually became tense, as if there was a faint smell of gunpowder in the air, with a sense of instability. Mo Yuankai and Orianna were both intending to say something to ease the tension, but the two people at the center of the argument had no intention to yield. The Dawn Knight remained serious and stern, the words of the discussion were awkward and anxious.

Disappointment and anger quietly burned, and without realizing it, Gongsun Ce began to sneer, provocatively saying: “Seems I shouldn’t have thought you innocent.”

“When solving problems, indeed.” Alandia nodded, “If you truly want to find the truth, the first thing you should do is interrogate me, the prime suspect, and extract as much information related to the case as possible. This is what I’ve been teaching you—observation, and calmness.”

“Ah… quite impressive. Great detective.” Gongsun Ce crossed his legs and said with sarcasm, “I really should learn from you, shouldn’t I? Go ahead and tell everyone, what earth-shattering deduction do you have to explain this broken case!”

“Remain calm, unwarranted anger will make you a mental weakling.”

“I’m furious, so what?” Gongsun Ce growled, “Expect me to keep a straight face like you every day? Sorry, I am human, not a machine, I can’t do it! Please, enlighten me with your famous deduction, if you have no idea, stop lecturing me with that attitude!”

Alandia placed her hand on the armrest, and in her usual tone said: “The culprit is an unknown Creator Realm Mage. He or she can freely enter and exit Shadow Mist City, possessing extremely strong illusion and mimicry skills, and is highly skilled in swordsmanship. During the previous regular inspection, the culprit sneaked into the closed room — or forged a key to the room — and then destroyed the armor in the way you previously speculated.

The culprit stayed in the room waiting for my arrival because his illusion ability requires a certain distance or medium to be effective. The culprit needed to ensure that the trap could deceive my detections, hence the risk.”

“An invisible criminal that doesn’t exist! An unfindable, invisible figure!” Gongsun Ce mocked loudly, “So convincing. He can become invisible and defy all sorts of limitations, his existence is practically the universal answer to any incident. Whenever something inexplicable happens, we can just attribute it to this person’s existence!”

Alandia interlaced her fingers, saying: “This is not a deduction, merely my speculation, as I have no evidence to prove this person’s existence. I also think this speculation is too far-fetched, hence I only mentioned it to a few people. If you have new ideas, I welcome you to discuss them with me.”

He wanted to continue rebutting, wanted to mock loudly, wanted to say the other was just a vain reputation, wanted to say she was utterly incapable. But only then did he remember that he originally wanted to help her clear suspicion, yet he hadn’t managed to help in any way.

Discussion? What is there to discuss?

Everything he said had already been thought of by the other party. He thought wishfully that he could accomplish something remarkable, but in reality, he was here being angry out of embarrassment because of his mistake, shouting at innocent people.

Like a ridiculous clown.

“Makes a lot of sense.” Gongsun Ce said.

The balloon of vanity was pricked by a needle and burst. He suddenly felt tired, weary. He no longer had the energy to fake appearance. He just didn’t want to admit his mistakes, didn’t want to admit he was doing something futile. Didn’t want to admit reality.

“Perhaps it’s really like this. I have nothing to say… I’m kind of tired, I’ll go rest first.”

He lowered his head, no longer looking at everyone’s expressions. He hurriedly went upstairs, as if he were escaping.

He felt somewhat uncomfortable. Because the fact was just as Kerky said, a small role like him could truly do nothing.

The Dawn Knight never needed his help either.