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At that thought, everyone turned toward the woman standing there, shock written plainly across their faces. She still stood with her back perfectly straight. If there was anyone who should have been suffering the deepest grief over Adrian’s death, it would undoubtedly have been this woman.

Her relationship with Adrian had long been an open secret within the Inspection Bureau. It was simply that no one had ever dared to bring it into the open. So what kind of strength was supporting her, allowing her to remain standing here and, without the slightest hesitation, shoulder the burden that had become dangerously unstable with Adrian’s death?

“Chief Inspector Luo, please explain in detail.” After a long silence, the oldest and most experienced Inspector finally spoke. Notably, the title he used no longer included the customary *Deputy*.

The other inspectors also seemed to regain some of their composure, though none of them said anything. From this moment onward, the Inspection Bureau had a new Chief Inspector.

Lauren nodded. Then she recounted everything that had happened, withholding nothing.

***

The story was not long, nor was the situation particularly complicated. Lauren quickly explained everything clearly. Yet the doubts clouding the inspectors’ minds did not diminish in the slightest. If anything, their brows furrowed even more deeply.

The Chief Inspector of the Inspection Bureau, a renowned Stage 9 expert in all of Maplefall Town, had been silently assassinated inside his own office. No matter how they looked at it, the incident was extraordinarily bizarre.

“So you’re saying… that little girl was the one who did it?” The Fifth Inspector, who had remained silent until now, voiced his own speculation.

“She used her harmless appearance to approach Chief Inspector Li, then suddenly attacked while he was off guard. That would more or less explain what happened.”

“But even if she could use her appearance to lower Chief Inspector Li’s guard as much as possible, how could she have killed him without making a sound? And how did she do it without triggering a single alarm before Chief Inspector Luo discovered the body?” Another inspector raised his question.

The Fifth Inspector had no answer. He could only remain silent. Indeed, Adrian was one of the most powerful Stage 9 experts in all of Maplefall Town. No one could kill him instantly in a single exchange. Even with a sneak attack. And Adrian was certainly not foolish enough to place complete trust in a strange little girl.

“What if it was poison? A violently lethal poison, one so potent that once he realized he had been poisoned, he was already incapable of doing anything.” The First Inspector, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in contemplation, slowly opened his age-clouded eyes and spoke.

The other inspectors nodded in agreement. If poison had been involved, then the absence of any alarm could be explained. Lauren said nothing in response to the speculation. In fact, she had scarcely spoken since earlier. Her gaze remained fixed on empty space, as though she were waiting for something.

Then, at last, the person she had been waiting for arrived. A bailiff hurried in from outside and handed Lauren a sheet of paper.

Lauren stared at the paper and read it carefully, over and over again. She scrutinized every word repeatedly until she was absolutely certain she had not misread anything. After a long while, she lowered the paper and rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly.

“The First Inspector’s guess was correct. Chief Inspector Li died from poison. The wound in his abdomen and the blood at the scene were both fabricated by the murderer after his death.”

Everyone present was stunned.

Of course, their shock was not solely because such a terrifying poison actually existed. It was also because the woman before them had arranged for the coroner to begin the examination so quickly.

And examining a corpse naturally required dissection. In other words, it meant cutting open the body of the man she still deeply loved. Yet she had shown neither hesitation nor attachment.

“Now is not the time for personal feelings.” As if she had seen through everyone’s thoughts, Lauren spoke coldly. Her voice was as cold as iron, just like the frigid hatred buried within her heart.

“But if poison was the cause, then what method did the murderer use to administer it?” the Third Inspector asked, raising another question.

In a poisoning assassination, the most important factor was always the method of delivery—or, more precisely, the medium through which the poison had been administered. Only by uncovering that could one usually uncover the truth.

“That is still unknown for now.” Lauren glanced at the report once more before continuing, “The tea and teacup, which were the most likely vectors for poisoning at the scene, were examined immediately. Neither contained any poison.

“However, traces of corrosion caused by a toxic substance were discovered on the floor. As for what medium carried the poison, that remains unknown.”

“……”

The room fell silent. If they could not even determine how the poison had been administered, how could they possibly track down the murderer? It seemed that the entire investigation had reached a dead end.

“What about that little girl?” The First Inspector suddenly asked, “Could we get anything useful out of her?”

“The interrogation is still ongoing.” Lauren replied, “But at this point, I no longer believe she’s the murderer.”

“Why?”

“Because if Chief Inspector Li truly died from poison, then she shouldn’t have been at the scene at all.”

“Or perhaps she was there deliberately?”

“Even if it was deliberate, she still wouldn’t have picked up that dagger and drawn everyone’s attention to herself. For a murderer who relied on poison, that would be stupid to an almost absurd degree.”

The greatest advantage of poison had always been its concealability. And that concealability wasn’t limited to the poison itself being difficult to detect. More importantly, it allowed the killer to create an alibi and distance themselves from the crime with relative ease.

But if the killer insisted on appearing at the scene to create confusion, then why use poison in the first place? Wouldn’t that simply be an unnecessary extra step? The other inspectors nodded, finding Lauren’s reasoning quite convincing.

“However, compared to her, I think another little girl deserves far more of our attention,” Lauren suddenly said.

“Who?”

“The third young miss of the Ye family.”

Everyone’s pupils contracted. The name ‘Ye family’ alone carried an immense weight.

“You mean… the poison was administered by the third young miss of the Ye family?” Even they had heard rumors about how the third young miss of the Ye family had suddenly shown up at the Inspection Bureau and shamelessly mooched food and drinks.

Thinking about it now, she indeed had both the opportunity and the means to commit the crime.

“I don’t know whether she poisoned him or not.” Lauren shook her head. Until the facts were fully uncovered, no conclusion could be drawn. Then, however, her expression suddenly sharpened. “But one thing is certain: the third young miss of the Ye family has disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” The First Inspector’s voice rose abruptly. How could a living person simply vanish without reason, especially inside the Inspection Bureau?

“…We only found the little girl named Jasmine. We never found Liana.” After a brief pause, Lauren continued.

“What did that girl Jasmine say?”

“She said Liana went to the toilet. But we searched every restroom in the entire Inspection Bureau.”

Of course, they had searched far more than just the restrooms. After the incident occurred, the entire Inspection Bureau had practically been turned upside down. Yet they had still found nothing.

“If that’s the case, then it must have been her.” The Third Inspector narrowed his eyes slightly. He had never liked people from powerful noble families, and so he never hesitated to assume the worst of them.

“There is no evidence for now, but she remains the most likely suspect,” Lauren said.

“So our highest priority now is finding her?” A sharp gleam flashed through the First Inspector’s eyes.

“That’s right.”
“But Maplefall Town is enormous. Where are we supposed to look?”
“She’s a member of the Ye family. Naturally, we start with the Ye family.”
“The Ye family…”

In the end… it had still come to this. Even they were reluctant to confront a colossal clan like the Ye family head-on. Compared to the Inspection Bureau, which had existed for barely over a decade, a great family with centuries of history behind it was the true giant of Maplefall Town. Unless absolutely necessary, they wanted no conflict with the Ye family.

“Actually, I have another theory.” Lauren suddenly spoke.

“Oh? Let’s hear it.”

“The Moon Demon.” Lauren parted her crimson lips and casually uttered those two words. Yet those two simple words represented the dark cloud that had hung over the Inspection Bureau for the past five years.