Chapter 792: Chapter 30: No Need for Assistance (Part 2)

Gongsun Ce shook his finger: “You only saw the sword light and the damaged armor, didn’t you? Achieving this effect is a piece of cake.”

He picked up an orange from the fruit platter, used telekinesis to peel off a piece of skin, and then virtually covered it on top.

“The perpetrator pre-damaged the armor and then disguised it as intact. All they need to do is remove the disguise at the right moment… Yuankai, give me some light.”

Mo Yuankai flicked out a rice-sized object. Gongsun Ce hid the “rice” inside the orange peel, then lifted the peel, and the rice exploded instantly with a flash of light.

“Of course, the methods used by the Creation Realm Skill are certainly more refined, but the principle should be similar: a simple triggered trap, and the effect of being just broken is thus achieved!”

Orianna covered her mouth with one hand, her face full of “why didn’t I think of this”, Mo Yuankai nodded approvingly. Gongsun Ce stood up, looked at the silent silver-haired woman, and spoke full of self-satisfaction: “What do you think, Knight Alandia?”

Alandia spoke for the first time: “I agree with this hypothesis about the armor.”

“Great!”

“And then I want to know if you have any guesses about the identity of the perpetrator?”

“As easy as pie.” Gongsun Ce tapped his forehead with his finger, “Think about the traits of this perpetrator! He is well-informed, capable of grasping the progress of your maintenance work; he has far-reaching connections, capable of easily causing traffic jams, and can alter the Mnemosyne records; he is a Creator Realm Mage, and also has the ability to enter a secret chamber—put all this information together, the perpetrator’s identity all but leaps out!”

There are three keys to the secret chamber, respectively held by the captain, the mage, and the queen; the central records are located inside the palace; the traffic jam was caused by the royal family’s carriage… could there be any other answer?

Gongsun Ce snapped his fingers and smiled: “The perpetrator is Her Majesty the Queen of Morton, Albion Annie Morton!”

Orianna stood up immediately before the anticipation on her face faded, and she angrily reprimanded: “Mr. Gongsun, I demand you retract this disgraceful accusation immediately! How could Her Majesty the Queen do something so bizarre!”

Gongsun Ce spread his hands, saying excitedly: “I have plenty of reasons! Because of the great purge by the Dawn Knight four years ago, there’s already bad blood between the royals and her; with the parliamentary seat change coming, if it were a normal duel she’d likely become the new captain; the Colored glaze Disaster is about to hit, and the country needs new combat power.

At this time, a case of framing and blame-shifting serves three purposes at once. The queen could use this opportunity to restrict the power of the Dawn Knight, suppress the strength of the Knight Order, and she could also effortlessly send my brother to Supibia. She achieved all her goals with ease!”

Orianna’s face turned red with anger: “This… you are simply misconstruing Her Majesty’s intentions with vile thoughts! I cannot accept your reasoning!”

“Calm down, alright? I believe the Dawn Knight has more authority to speak than I do… because the one who truly witnessed the scene was herself.”

Everyone in the room looked at the Dawn Knight. Gongsun Ce swallowed, suppressing his nervous emotions, and asked: “Knight Alandia, at this point can you please tell us? What exactly did you see in the secret chamber back then?”

As a knight, Alandia could not accuse the queen. As a detective, she couldn’t make an unfounded assertion. Hence, this clumsy woman could only respond with silence to such a deliberate slander.

But now, the situation was different. Gongsun Ce, not a citizen of the country, could speak his deductions without burden. After all the deductions were complete, they only needed her affirmation as a witness to conclude the matter.

Hopefully, this assumption was correct.

Hopefully, today’s investigation wasn’t in vain.

Hopefully, his efforts would enable the Dawn Knight to reveal her difficult secret…

He watched the female knight nervously until her lips moved.

“I saw Her Majesty the Queen.”

“—Alright!!”

Gongsun Ce jumped up in excitement, casting a triumphant glance at the shocked Orianna, and walked to the Dawn Knight with a sense of satisfaction and pride, asking: “Wasn’t I right, Miss Alandia?”

He anticipated the knight would give him a smile, praising his intellect, and commending his courage to voice his deductions.

But Alandia did not smile.

She continued to look at him in her usual manner, her gray eyes deep as a lake, carrying the calmness of a machine.

Gongsun Ce felt uneasy, and repeated: “…Miss Alandia?”

“This does not mean the perpetrator is Her Majesty the Queen. Precisely because I personally rejected this assumption, I did not disclose it. At present, it will only lead to unnecessary quarrels and do nothing to resolve the case.”

…?

No benefit?

What are you talking about? The facts are laid out before your eyes. You… what are you still doubting?

Gongsun Ce felt a bit anxious: “No. Hey. I don’t understand…”

Alandia’s response took on an instructive tone: “Just as I’ve told you many times, Mr. Gongsun. We can make countless reasonable guesses, but we can only find one correct deduction.

Your guess is very reasonable, but there are still flaws. I would like you to explain one issue: if the perpetrator is indeed Her Majesty the Queen, why would she deliberately wait for my arrival?”

“In order to… to ensure the trap is triggered at the best timing! That way she can…”

The Dawn Knight began to press: “What if she was discovered by someone else in advance? What if I caught up with her? If His Excellency Loningleth arrived early and entered with me, how would Her Majesty handle these unexpected events?”