Inside the private box of the Soaring Theatre, Byron, whose crime had been exposed by the Detective, immediately knelt on the ground, his emotions out of control, fists clenched, loudly recounting his motive for the crime to the surrounding police officers.
According to Byron, he was originally a playboy, constantly flirting and womanizing, and relying on his wealth, he was always changing girlfriends and often frequented nightclubs.
At one performance, Byron became infatuated with Adele, who was a dance star, but even with his status and wealth, it was still difficult to approach Adele. So Byron thought of starting with the other dancers around Adele, gradually learning about Adele's preferences and movements through them, and then making his move on Adele. The target Byron said he chose was Maria.
By becoming Maria's sugar daddy, Byron hooked up with Maria. Under Byron's methods, the naturally flirtatious Maria fell in love with him, and the two often met in private, including the secret meeting in the restroom during the interval of this performance, which was arranged beforehand.
Byron originally intended to use Maria as a stepping stone to approach Adele, but what he didn't expect was that Maria would cling to him. When Byron wanted to leave Maria, she started holding on tightly, demanding to marry Byron and threatening to expose all sorts of things about Byron if he didn't agree. Byron and Maria argued in the restroom over these conflicts, and eventually, in a fit of rage, Byron killed Maria.
"It's all that bitch's fault... If she hadn't been so persistent, I wouldn't have done it. It's all her fault... We were clearly just playing around, but she had to bring up marriage. It's all her fault. If she hadn't forced me, I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have..."
Kneeling on the ground, Byron murmured tremblingly, while beside him, Douglas and a group of police officers watched everything in silence.
This is a typical crime of passion! Including Douglas, the police officers present defined the case before them as such. They had seen similar situations before.
"Playing with lust will ultimately lead to being trapped by it. Every one of us should follow the teachings of the Holy Mother, be faithful to each other, and respect relationships and marriage."
Seeing the scene before him, Ed replied with a concluding remark, and Douglas, who was beside him, also nodded after hearing it.
"Ah... Brother Ed is right. Someone like you who likes to play with other people's feelings will eventually get themselves into trouble. I didn't expect Brother Ed not only to be good at investigating cases but also to have studied the scriptures." Hearing Ed's words, Douglas immediately said with certainty, patting Ed's shoulder as he spoke. His tone was much more intimate than his previous reluctance, which made Dorothy feel a bit nauseated.
'It's "Brother Ed" now... This Officer's attitude changed quite fast.'
"Hehe, Officer, you flatter me. As a Detective, it's only right to know a little about everything." Ed said so, then he looked at Byron in front of him and spoke again.
"Then, there is still one question, Mr. Byron, after you killed Miss Maria, why did you use blood writing to frame Miss Adele?"
Ed finished asking his question, then silently stared at Byron kneeling on the ground. After a moment of silence, Byron spoke again.
"Yes, it was because of resentment... After I killed Maria, I realized that Adele was even further away from me. I killed someone for her, and she doesn't even know I exist... I truly love her, but she hasn't even looked at me properly once. I might never get her true feelings in this life. This feeling makes my heart feel like it's being gnawed by ants."
"So, I started to hate her. I wanted to drag her down, put the title of a murderer on her, and make her not so dazzling anymore! Make her pay the price for ignoring me!"
Byron spoke excitedly, recounting a story of love turning into hate with rich emotion, which made the police present sigh with emotion.
"Hmph, an emotional lunatic. Even I haven't seen someone like you before. Take him to the car!"
With Douglas's command, the surrounding police officers swarmed forward, lifted Byron, and escorted him away. After seeing Byron escorted out of the private box door, Douglas turned around and looked at Ed with a face full of smiles.
"Haha, Brother Ed, I didn't expect you to solve this case within the stipulated time. Your observation and deduction skills have really opened my eyes." Douglas said boastfully to Ed. This important case was solved so quickly, and he had a share in this achievement, regardless of whether the police played a major role in this case.
"It's nothing. The reason I was able to solve the case so smoothly is also thanks to your trust and cooperation, Officer."
With a smile, Ed replied to Douglas. After that, Douglas and Ed started chatting. During this time, Douglas kept showing favor to Ed, and his attitude had changed greatly compared to before.
"Alright, now it's time for us to escort the suspect back to the police station. Since the real culprit has been apprehended, there's no need to block the news anymore, Brother Ed. You can look forward to tomorrow's newspaper."
After Douglas said a few words to Ed, he got up and left. After seeing off the police, Dorothy immediately controlled Ed to leave the spot. Shortly after, he arrived in front of a familiar door. After opening the door, he entered Adele's room. At this moment, she was sitting on the sofa, smiling as she looked at Ed who had just entered the door.
"Oh, the great Detective is back. Thank you for clearing my name." Adele said, looking at Ed. After looking him up and down, she continued to speak.
"I really didn't expect, Mr. Ed, that you're not only skilled in Detective work, but also a good hand at writing scripts and acting. If you can't continue your Detective work in the future, you can come to me. I think you could become a very excellent screenwriter or actor."
Adele said this. Listening to her words, Ed raised his eyebrows slightly and then spoke.
"It seems Miss Adele, you are very clear about the situation on our side..."
"Of course, this is my territory after all. I still have some small tricks. I saw the play you performed just now with my own eyes."
"I have to say, the culprit you manipulated acted quite well, an emotional lunatic... a very interesting character. His last lines really touched me, I almost believed it. If someone really had such strong feelings for me, I would definitely respond, wouldn't I? Detective~"
With a playful expression, Adele looked at Ed and said teasingly, as if hinting that Ed might have similar feelings in his heart. Ed, however, responded calmly.
"Given Miss Adele's charm, I believe there are quite a few people who think this way. I just put myself in their shoes for a moment to be able to act like that. Putting yourself in others' shoes is one of the necessary abilities of a Detective."
Ed said so, subtly rejecting Adele's teasing with these words. Seeing that Ed didn't show any emotion because of her words, Adele didn't show any dissatisfaction either, but continued to answer with a light chuckle.
"Yes, there are many such people... It's truly a regrettable thing that you, Detective, are not among them." As she spoke, Adele took another sip of black tea. After finishing it, she finally brought the topic back to business. She continued to ask Ed.
"So, let's get back to the main topic. The police have already taken that flesh puppet Byron to the police station. What are you planning to do next? You can't keep controlling him, can you?"
"Of course not. In a little while, Byron will 'commit suicide' in the carriage on the way to the police station. In utter despair, the killer will use poison hidden on his person to end his life. This way of death fits his true cause of death, doesn't it?"
Ed replied casually. Hearing Ed's words, Adele answered while holding the cup in her hand.
"You are truly thoughtful, Detective. I'm glad you were on our side tonight..."
"Alright~ We owe you a lot this time. Captain, aren't you going to ask me questions? Ask now, I'll try my best to answer."
Adele said to Ed. She had promised Ed before that if he could help find the real culprit, she would cooperate with Ed's questions. After thinking for a moment, Ed asked the first question.
"These Wolf Blood Society guys, after failing to assassinate you, turned to trying to smear your reputation. For you, an Extraordinary, is this mundane reputation really important?"
"It is indeed very important, because this involves the accumulation of my Spirituality. It's not just a mundane matter." Adele said lightly. Hearing her words, Dorothy felt a slight surprise. Then Dorothy controlled Ed to speak.
"Accumulating Spirituality? You rely on reputation to accumulate Spirituality?"
"To be precise, it's not reputation but performance, it's desire. The main method of Spirituality accumulation I use is the 'Desire Dance Method'. Simply put, it's a method of collecting desires to obtain 'Cup'."
"'Cup''s spiritual representation is desire originating from biological instinct, especially appetite and lust. The convergence of desires can produce 'Cup'. When I perform on stage and become the target of desire, when the audience's desires converge on me, my Spirituality can grow." Adele replied to Ed. Dorothy immediately understood the principle.
'The convergence of desires can produce 'Cup', so becoming the target of a large convergence of desires can accumulate 'Cup'? So that's how it works.'
'This Desire Dance Method feels somewhat similar to the Eight Point Nest's Torture Method.'Shadow''s spiritual representation is fear, so by being feared, by becoming the target of fear, one can accumulate'Shadow'. And 'Cup' here is desire, mainly appetite and lust.'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. From this perspective, reputation is indeed very important to Adele. Due to the impact of the murder case, she might not be able to perform as she did before. If she became a "murderer", her popularity would definitely drop significantly, which would likely seriously affect Adele's Spirituality accumulation.
"Collecting the audience's desires to nourish 'Cup'?...That's interesting. Miss Adele, your popularity is so high, and your performances are always packed. I suppose the speed at which you accumulate Spirituality must be quite fast."
Dorothy controlled Ed to ask Adele tentatively, but her answer was very direct.
"Naturally. With my current popularity, the Spirituality gained from performances is much faster than eating people. No wonder those guys set their sights on this."
Adele responded indifferently, while Dorothy continued to ask questions.
"Then the next question, what exactly is your society? What kind of grievances and hatred do you have with the Fetal Garment Cult Wolf Blood Society? Why are they trying to target you in every possible way?"
"Grievances and hatred? Heh, Detective, you're not one of us 'Cup' people, are you? It seems you don't know that in this era where blood-eating is prevalent, there's no need for a reason for hatred among 'Cup' Extraordinary. In the eyes of a 'Cup' who practices blood-eating methods, the most delicious meal is always another 'Cup'."
Adele said with a serious tone. Hearing her words, Dorothy felt a chill down her spine. According to this statement, the Wolf Blood Society was coveting Adele's body, and it was a covetousness related to eating.
"A few years ago, the Wolf Blood Society, for the sake of hunting, raided all the other 'Cup' societies in Tivian, destroying almost all of them. The remnants of these societies gathered together to oppose the Wolf Blood Society and formed a new society, which is us,'Scarlet Heart'. I can be considered an important member here. I caused them a lot of trouble before, and there are many among them who can't wait to serve me up on a plate."
Adele continued to speak. Her words reminded Dorothy of what Mosans had said before: under the threat of the Tayi Sect Wolf Blood Society, many "Cup" societies that did not primarily practice blood-eating methods united. Now it seemed that this was the Scarlet Heart.
"Listening to you, the power of the Wolf Blood Society is quite large in Tivian..."
Ed said with emotion, and Adele also nodded in response.
"Of course, not just in Tivian, but throughout Prit, the Wolf Blood Society has influence. Among the three major factions of the Fetal Garment Cult, the Wolf Blood Society has the largest power in Prit."
"Three major factions of the Fetal Garment Cult? Are there more organizations like the Wolf Blood Society within the Fetal Garment Cult?" Listening to Adele's words, Dorothy frowned. She controlled Ed to speak seriously, while Adele looked at Ed with some surprise.
"You don't know? It seems Detective, your knowledge of the hidden world still needs improvement. Since that's the case, I'll give you a little lesson."
Looking at Ed, Adele held up three fingers and then slowly explained.
"The Fetal Garment Cult was originally a cult that revered the Cup Mother, but because the Cup Mother has never given a divine oracle since this epoch, the actual objects of worship of the cult have shifted from the Cup Mother to the Cup Mother's many divine offspring. Among these divine offspring, there are three who are the most powerful, reaching the level of true gods."
"They are, respectively, the Lord of All Beasts, the King of Gluttony and Hunting, the Eternal Hungry Wild Master, Gluttonous Wolf. And the Incarnation of Raging Waves, the God of Tides and Waves, the Eternal Thirsty One feared by all sailors, Abyssal Serpent. And also the Wings of Plague, the Symbol of Sickness and Corruption, the Eternal Filthy Carrion God, Plague Vulture."
"Gluttonous Wolf, Abyssal Serpent, Plague Vulture... They correspond respectively to the branch paths of 'Cup': Treading the Path of the Beast, which is primarily 'Cup' and secondarily'Shadow'; Wave Path, which is primarily 'Cup' and secondarily 'Light'; and Plague Path, which is primarily 'Cup' and secondarily'Silence'. Among the current Fetal Garment Cult, the main objects of worship are these three."