The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Episode 165 Suspect Isaac (9) - Journalist When Isaac visited the victim's home and knocked on the door, a gaunt-looking middle-aged woman appeared. Her cheeks were sunken, her lips lacked color, and her skin was rough. She looked at Isaac with a voice tinged with wariness and fatigue. "Who are you?" "I'm from the Dracrois Detective Agency. I've come regarding a request that Eduard Morel left while he was alive." "He made a request to a detective agency? My husband?" "The content was: 'I cannot explain the specifics of the situation, but I am pursuing something dangerous' and 'If anything happens to me, please recover the materials I've left behind and reveal the truth.'" It was a complete lie without a grain of truth, but the effect wasn't bad. Curiosity and questions appeared in the wife's eyes. "...Please come in for now. Cough!" It wasn't wealthy enough to be called rich, but at least it was a much more respectable detached house than where the suspect Cloe had lived. However, with the head of the household dead and the remaining wife clearly ill, the atmosphere of the house was somehow desolate. After tasting the ordinary black tea that was neither good nor bad that the wife served for guests, Isaac carefully asked a question. "Are you perhaps not feeling well?" "...Yes, I have a slight cough. The doctor said it's because the air here isn't good, so I should move somewhere else." "I see. Are you thinking of moving houses?" "I'm still considering it, but honestly, I don't want to if possible. This house holds memories with my husband." Speaking at length seemed difficult for her, as the wife covered her mouth again and repeated dry coughs. She frowned deeply, then took medicine from a container on a nearby shelf and swallowed it without water. Isaac watched the medicine intently, then soon changed the subject. "The client didn't explain to us at all what he was specifically investigating or what kind of danger was approaching. Do you perhaps know anything about it?" The wife shook her head. "His personality was so stubborn and obstinate... Even when people around him said it was dangerous or told him not to touch such things, he never listened. He also disliked me interfering with his work." "You must have had a hard time, madam." "It would be a lie to say otherwise. Still, I liked how he didn't yield to external pressure and remained consistent..." The wife, who had briefly lowered her head, soon asked with a desperate attitude. "Does the fact that he left such a request mean he had a premonition that something dangerous would happen? Could his death also be connected to that? Does that murderer, some employee or whatever, have some connection too?" "We can't know at present. As I mentioned, we only received a request for post-incident handling. However, if we examine the materials your husband investigated while alive, we might be able to find something." "...I understand. Please come this way." As the wife led the way forward, Isaac pretended to follow behind while secretly taking one pill from the wife's medicine bottle and hiding it in his pocket. "This is his workroom. Please understand that it's a bit messy. He wouldn't let me touch this room at all. He said he would take care of cleaning and everything himself, so absolutely don't touch anything. That's why it's like this." "I see. May I look around for a moment?" "Yes." Isaac looked around. Bundles of paper were stacked in layers here and there, and a musty, damp smell wafted from various places. Every time he touched documents, dust would stick to his fingertips, but Isaac didn't mind. That was proof that this scene had been well preserved. 'It would be easier to clean it spotlessly without leaving a single hair behind. Creating dust naturally like this would be difficult.' But those behind the scenes wouldn't have just left it alone merely because they might be discovered. They were probably just waiting. For an opportunity to quietly clean up this place without watching anyone's reactions and without drawing much attention. After becoming conscious of the wife's pale complexion and the medicine in his pocket, Isaac began his search. Perhaps prepared for unforeseen circumstances, the information Eduard had gathered was divided into several branches, but Isaac was someone who could proudly say that document organization was at least one of his specialties. After deciphering various codes and piecing together scattered fragments, the full picture was soon revealed. [Augustin Darnoua. A businessman, politician, and former doctor of the Republic. A descendant of the Darnoua Marquis family, local dignitaries. Though they greatly declined during the Republic's establishment process, he still inherited a vast fortune. In his youth he worked as a doctor, but from a certain point instead of seeing patients directly, his business-oriented aspects strengthened as he began selling pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. His business greatly prospered, successfully multiplying his already substantial wealth even more, and by actively investing this earned money in charitable works, he gained great renown. Voices praising him as the father of orphans, the saint of Chaudronbourg, and such are not small, and based on this he has also entered politics.] [Looking at it this way, he appears like a picture-perfect paragon of virtue, but when you actually observe the process of his continuous success, there are many questionable points. To put it in one word, he is excessively clean. You might ask what's wrong with that, but originally the business world and political circles are in themselves hellish quagmires no different from muddy swamps. Even if he walked carefully, those wallowing in filth beside him wouldn't have just watched and let him be. After all, what unscrupulous businessmen hate most isn't the workers leading strikes from below, but conscientious and clean competing businessmen. The fact that until Augustin gained such renown, there wasn't a single proper instance of the common sabotage or scandal is unnatural no matter how you think about it.] [Pharmaceutical company president John Ermano. Killed by being struck in the head with a blunt weapon by a worker who harbored resentment over unpaid wages. Government accountant Charles Crunel. Died when his carriage plunged off a cliff on a rainy day. Local gang boss Dean Taka. Died of shock after taking illegal drugs in a pleasure district. These people, who at first glance seemed to have no relationship at all, all shared the common trait of either being hostile to Augustin or being in positions that hindered Augustin's growth. Even this only gathered those with clear direct causal relationships. If you include those indirectly connected to Augustin or cases where incidents were quietly buried even after death, it wouldn't be strange if there were far more victims.] [My prediction was correct. The worker who beat John Ermano to death and was then executed by firing squad. The coachman who drove Charles Crunel's carriage off the cliff. The prostitute who was embracing Dean Taka at the moment he died. All of them either grew up in the orphanage that Augustin established or received Augustin's patronage from childhood. If all of this was intentional on Augustin's part, then what on earth has that man done? Was the saint of Chaudronbourg actually a criminal who used the children he saved as assassins?] [The investigation is encountering difficulties. The circumstantial evidence is certain, but there's no decisive physical evidence that the perpetrators killed his obstacles under Augustin's orders. It's as if someone cut the middle of a long thread with scissors. Above all, the big problem is that most of the parties involved in the incidents have either lost their lives or are in places inaccessible to ordinary people, like prisons. Is it really possible for humans to throw away their lives so completely for another human being?] [Lately I've been feeling strange gazes from those around me. My boss keeps pressuring me to stop useless delusions and just do my assigned work well, but is this really just simple performance pressure? Or does he also have some connection? I considered reporting to the police, but if I speak without proper evidence, I'll only be judged as crazy. Above all, there's no guarantee that 'they' aren't also within the police. Isn't Augustin already a political heavyweight who's acquainted with the Premier?] [My wife's physical condition seems to be getting worse lately. When she said she felt better after taking medicine and I asked where she got the medicine, she said it was from Darnoua Company. That Darnoua of Augustin's. I told her never to use medicine from there and to get medicine from somewhere else, but my wife's reaction wasn't favorable. I know the reason. Most of the medical practitioners in Chaudronbourg receive support from Darnoua Company, so unless we go to another city to get it, there's no proper way to obtain medicine.] [The investigation still isn't progressing. I can't trust the company or the police. While drinking alone in frustration, the chatter of the drinkers at the next table struck my ears particularly strongly. They were talking about a master detective who solves all kinds of cases in the city. Though the conversation was actually more about the detective's appearance than their deductive skills. I secretly laughed at their foolishness. Yes, I too had once tried to rely on that master detective. But after learning that their surname was Dracrois, I was horrified and kept my distance. An aristocrat from the old era. And a friendly collaborator of the Darnoua family. It's hard to believe their friendship was severed after the revolution. Some of the cases related to Augustin were concluded by none other than the Dracrois family. And in a clean manner that prevented others from digging into various things.] [I was invited to a drinking session by my company supervisor. From his subtle tone, I realized this was their final ultimatum. I might be able to handle it alone, but I can no longer bear to involve my wife in this. I suddenly feel sorry for treating my wife harshly for a while. Once this matter is resolved, I must offer a proper apology.] "......" Isaac quietly stood up from his seat. The wife with a haggard complexion asked. "Did you... did you find out something?" "It's difficult to give a definitive answer yet." However, Isaac added. "If anything gets resolved, it will certainly be thanks to your husband."