Chapter 228: |
Chapter 228
Raymond’s face grew heavy.
In fact, he doesn’t like Seytil or the fourth queen.
How many times have they wronged him, especially in Seytil’s case? In a way, it could be said that he had been punished.
‘But that doesn’t mean I can let this horrible thing happen.’
If this is Kairn’s doing, then he had crossed the line.
He had to pay for his sins.
“Yes, your majesty. We will catch the real culprit.”
Raymond nodded firmly.
Seytil lay in an ornate coffin reserved for royalty.
It was the first time Raymond had ever seen Seytil’s face so calm.
It was then that he realized that Seytil was dead.
‘The cause of death is head trauma.’
There didn’t even seem to be a need for an autopsy.
The head of the struck-out was caved in.
It was an injury that could not avoid death.
“Cameron, please make a video of this scar.”
“Yes, sir.”
Cameron, by the way, was a wizard who specialized in light attributes.
Taking videos and storing them in magic tools was his specialty.
Later, Raymond touched the body and was stunned.
‘’It still have some warmth?’
According to witness testimony, Seytil’s death was about nine o’clock.
Later, it was found after 1 a.m. and was moved.
He had been lying in the cold for more than four hours in the night.
‘It’s about 10 a.m. It’s been more than 12 hours since he died, and there’s still so much warmth in his body?’
When he took my rectal temperature, it was 33 degrees.
His temperature dropped, but it was too high considering it had been over 12 hours.
“I’m sorry, Cameron, but I want you to record what I’ve just said. 10 o’clock current time. Rectal temperature of 33 degrees.”
“Yes, I wrote it down.”
Raymond decided that it would be advantageous for the Wizard Tower to keep a record rather than for him, at a later trial.
Even Kairn wouldn’t be able to ignore the Wizard Tower’s record.
A post-mortem examination followed, and he found a number of things he didn’t understand.
‘Haven’t his lower limbs stiffened yet?’
Stiffness progresses downward from the neck area.
Twelve hours is the time to stiffen not only your lower limbs, but also your hands and toes.
However, the joints of the lower limbs were still soft.
An even more decisive oddity.
After death, the blood pools in the direction of gravity, resulting in large spots.
According to the testimony of the witnesses, the body was moved after being left for about 4 hours, so there should be two types of spots.
Spots that appear when you first fall down and spots that appear after you change positions after moving.
But there was only one kind of spot.
‘Even though it hasn’t fully fused yet, there are still stain spots? It’s been 12 hours? It doesn’t make sense.’
The meaning of these clues only tells him one thing.
The time of Seytil’s death was around 1 a.m., not around 9 a.m., as the witness testified!
‘Earl Rodden came to me as soon as he killed Seytil!’
Raymond clenched his fists.
Apparently, Kairn had tried to kill Seytil at about nine o’clock in the evening when Raymond was alone, but he hadn’t been able to time it because Seytil hadn’t moved as he wanted.
So it seemed that he was telling a false time.
‘Anyway, these clues can clear my name.’
Raymond asked Cameron to memorize and record all the clues he had just discovered.
“Is it done?” Duke Raif asked.
In this world, forensic science is a completely unknown discipline.
Not only Duke Raif, but everyone didn’t understand what Raymond was doing.
“No, it’s not enough.” Raymond shook his head.
Yes, it wasn’t enough.
This is just a clue to clear the name.
“We need to get some clues to catch the culprit.” Raymond said firmly.
Next, it was time to check the scene of the incident.
* * *
The scene of the incident was literally a deserted back alley.
Fortunately, the site was well preserved.
It was the place where the royal family died, so all the people shunned it.
“Your Excellency the Duke of Raif, Your Excellency the Marquis Penin!”
The knight guarding the scene saluted.
Raymond groaned.
There was blood splattered on the walls of the alley.
‘You have to look at it properly, so you can estimate what was going on at the time.’
It was time to grit his teeth and investigate.
There was an awkward voice.
“Would you like me to join you?”
It was Earl Rodden!
“You?”
Raif twitched his eyebrows, but Earl Rodden didn’t back down.
“I am the head of security in the capital. We have the authority and duty to watch this investigation.”
Of course, it was because of anxiety.
He wanted to see what Raymond would do.
The Duke Raif asked Raymond with a glance, and Raymond nodded thoughtfully.
‘I’m rather good. If you keep him with me, I might be able to get some important clues.’
Raymond said to Cameron.
“As part of the investigation, please record all of our future conversations.”
Seeing Raymond’s intentions, Cameron’s eyes lit up.
He intends to use the conversation as evidence in the future.
Raymond examined the bloodstains.
“If we can determine the shape of the bloodstains, we can infer what happened at that time.”
It was a branch of forensic science called “bloodstain pattern analysis.”
The tail direction, length, and distribution shape of the bloodstains are calculated backwards in physics to reconstruct the current situation at the time.
As Raymond examined the bloodstains, the scene flashed back to his mind.
Raymond asked Earl Rodden.
“According to the witnesses, how did the perpetrator strike His Highness Seytil?”
“…… It is said that you two got into a quarrel and you swung the mace from the front…… No, I don’t.”
The Earl Rodden hurried up to the Duke of Raif’s fierce gaze.
Even if he was the prime suspect, he hadn’t been found guilty yet, so of course he had to speak up.
“Then His Highness Seytil must have been struck while standing?”
“Absolutely…… Yes.”
Raymond’s eyes lit up.
‘You’re wrong. If you look at the direction of the vector of the bloodstains, Seytil was struck on the head in a crouched position.’
He remembered it yesterday.
Seytil was drunk on something.
As he staggered and ducked, it was clear that the perpetrator had attacked.
This again made it clear that the perpetrator had given false testimony.
“Can I see the instrument of the murder of His Highness Seytil?”
“That’s …….”
The Duke of Rife stepped up.
“What are you hiding? It’s a necessary document for the investigation, so bring it with you.”
“…… Bring it to me.”
The knight of the guard brought a mace piled in cloth.
The form of a dromedary.
It was easy to carry, so it was the most popular mace for self-defense by healers.
“Marquis Penin, it’s the same mace you usually carry.”
They look exactly the same. The old parts were similar.
It seemed that after keeping an eye on Raymond’s mace, he prepared something as similar as possible.
But Raymond wasn’t just trying to identify the type of weapon.
‘It’s hard to determine the culprit based on the clues so far. I need more conclusive clues.’
If he’s right, there’s conclusive evidence in the tools used in the crime.
Indeed, Raymond found a part of the mace stained with blood.
Have been!
Conclusive evidence!
‘This is enough to determine the culprit!’
“Cameron, can you leave me a magic video of the crime tool? In particular, zoom in on this area and leave as much detail as possible.”
“Well, what are you doing?” Earl Rodden asked, his face puzzled.
Raymond grinned.
“We want to keep a record for a more accurate investigation.”
Earl Rodden fell silent.
There was a look of apprehension on his face.
‘No,’ he replied. There’s no way he’ll be able to find the culprit. Don’t be anxious.’
So, what’s the point of leaving a bloodstain on record?
To the knowledge of Earl Rodden, it was no use.
Unfortunately for him, it meant a lot.
Raymond pointed out that the area was not just a bloodstain.
Crucial evidence to identify the culprit was hidden in the bloodstains.
* * *
Some time passed, and the day of the long-awaited trial arrived.
“It’s finally the fateful day.”
Kairn looked in the mirror and smiled.
The time has come to declare doom to Raymond.
Kairn took the judge’s seat on behalf of the king, dressed in the garb of a Supreme Court justice.
“I will begin the trial.”
Thousands of people were sitting in the audience.
It is a trial that may decide the fate of the kingdom.
From Princess Sofia, to the Chancellor Galman, to the Duke of Raif and so on. Most of the kingdom’s leading men were present to witness the outcome of the trial.
Raymond stood on the defendant’s bench, and Earl Rodden appeared as the complainant.
“For the protection of the Witness, the Earl Rodden will speak on behalf of the Witness. I solemnly swear that all my remarks today have been by the Witnesses.”
Personal protection.
Raymond had already noticed that Earl Rodden had eliminated the witnesses. It would be better if there was at least one mouth that knew the truth.
“As many of you have witnessed, at about 8:30 p.m., there was a quarrel in the streets of the Orange section between His Highness Seytil and the Marquis Penin.”
Earl Rodden looked around the courtroom at ease.
“Later, according to the testimony of witnesses, at about nine o’clock there was a second quarrel in a deserted back alley, and the Marquis Penin struck His Highness Seutil on the head with a mace, at which time His Highness Seytil died from his wounds.”
The audience murmured.
Raymond’s supporters all reacted by saying it was ridiculous.
Some booed.
However, the nobles of the Kairn sect sneered coldly.
“You’ve been hiding your true colors.”
“It was all a pretense to be for others.”
“Illegitimate, that’s what it is. I’m scared that I’ve been deceived by someone like that.”
Looking at the audience, the corners of his mouth twisted.
“Does the defendant have something to say?”
It was a relaxed voice.
There was no chance that Raymond would show any evidence to turn the tide.
But Kairn was stunned.
Raymond didn’t look frightened at all.
Rather, his eyes seem to be full of something.
‘What is it?’
Presently Raymond spoke
“May I ask you a pre-trial request?”
“May I use my noble rights to ask someone else to defend me?”
“Absolutely.”
It was the right of the nobility to hire a lawyer to defend themselves.
“Who are you going to designate as your lawyer?”
Kairn looked at the figures in front of the audience.
The lawyer must be knowledgeable, Christine, Sophia, or Lao. It would be one of these.
But a completely unexpected voice answered.
“The defence of His Excellency the Marquis Penin will be undertaken by me, who will soon be his teacher.”
From the far corner of the courtroom.
A beautiful woman of gorgeous appearance stood up.