Caught in a Dilemma

Princess Chloe was certainly not going to spill the whole truth so willingly. The information she provided was undoubtedly a mix of truth and lies to avoid exposing her own actions.

However, basic information like this, which could easily be verified, was likely quite trustworthy. As such, Lynch did not doubt that this object truly had the potential to point toward a manifestation grade mystery relic.

A so-called manifestation grade meant that once the relic went out of control, the hazard was equivalent to the descent of an evil god, representing one of the absolute highest tiers of mystical threat.

Consequently, rank four destruction grade and rank five manifestation grade mystery relics were extremely high-priority dangerous items. Those already known to the world were usually secretly contained by national governments and major churches. Any operations regarding them were subject to strict controls and heavy surveillance from multiple factions.

As for those destruction grade and manifestation grade mystery relics that remained undiscovered and existed only in legends, they were terrifyingly unstable variables. They often possessed extraordinarily powerful effects, constantly enticing their possessors to use them and fall under their thrall. Once used even once, escaping their grip was nearly impossible, driving the possessor to use them a second and third time until the relic spun completely out of control.

Even in a contained state, relics of this grade constantly radiated mysterious filth into their surroundings, threatening everyone nearby every single second. Their dreadfulness was not the least bit inferior to a projection of an evil god. Hearing the description just now had sent Lynch's heart pounding wildly in his chest; he strongly suspected this was a sign that he had already established a faint connection with the mystery itself.

【Have some confidence, Lynch,】 the gentle lady thoughtfully offered him comfort. 【There's no need to suspect.】

'Thank you, Captain Confidence, I feel much worse now.'

Lynch let out a sigh. He seriously suspected he had a masochistic streak running through his blood, because at this moment, far from backing down in fear, an intense curiosity actually welled up inside him.

Since the connection was already staring him right in the face, why back down now? He might as well accept his fate and dive straight in. Besides, this was a mysterious event that most people wouldn't encounter in several lifetimes. If he had previously just wanted to spite the princess and the count, now Lynch was genuinely intrigued.

Looked at this way, the gemstone itself was irrelevant. What truly merited attention was the manifestation grade mystery relic it pointed to. After thinking briefly, Lynch pressed on immediately, "So what effect does this Gate of Whatever actually have? And why can Flaming Red Lips locate it?"

"I don't know," Chloe replied expressionlessly. "These are legends from over a thousand years ago, back in the Fourth Age. How would I know? Besides, no one knows if it's real or fake. It's not even certain whether the Gate of Falsehood and Reality exists. Flaming Red Lips is merely a gemstone with a backstory."

Huh? If you don't know, why hide the gemstone and play innocent? Don't tell me you stole it just because you thought it looked shiny and pretty.

Musing silently on this, Lynch didn't expose her actions. Instead, he gave a half-smile and nodded. "Fair enough. Then let's talk about something you should know. How did this key to a manifestation grade mystery relic fall into your hands?"

"That has nothing to do with the theft, Detective," Her Highness said with a somber, stern face. "Do your job, and don't ask about things you shouldn't."

Lynch narrowed his eyes, his smile sharp as a needle as he spoke without a shred of politeness: "You are a princess, and I am a detective. Investigating cases is my profession, not yours. Whether information is relevant to the case is not something a princess gets to judge—that is a detective's job. If you feel a princess can assess information for a detective, why invite me here in the first place? Or do you perhaps not expect me to solve the case, catch the thief, and recover the gemstone? If so, please say it directly. As a gentleman of Lande, I certainly wouldn't force a noble lady."

Princess Chloe took a deep breath, lowered her gaze, and said, "It was a piece of jewelry I selected from the royal treasury when I left home."

"Your Highness Chloe," Miss Valente, sitting beside him, put down her coffee cup and spoke with an elegant smile, knowing there were nuances Lynch might miss. "Are you implying that the Salter royal family has fallen into a financial crisis, leaving them with no choice but to give a royal princess special items with ulterior significance as accessories? That would be sensational news, especially coming directly from the mouth of a princess of Salter."

"I..."

"Or is the Kingdom of Salter deliberately letting you bring an item with such special significance into the borders of the Kingdom of Lande, without giving a thought to the impact and destruction it might cause Lande? If that is truly the case, this is no longer a mere theft. The mid-to-high-level officials of the Kingdom of Salter's Protocol Department might end up strung along a full row in front of the palace square."

"I misremembered—it wasn't brought from home," Princess Chloe lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers as she said sullenly. "When I went home for break this time, a citizen of the kingdom presented it to me as a treasure, so I brought it along with me."

Lynch let out a faint smile, knowing full well she was still lying. However, the timeline did fit. No one had heard of this gemstone before, but a few months ago, after Princess Chloe returned to Rhine from Salter, she deposited it in the bank vault at Edmond Douglas Bank. It must have been obtained during that trip from who knows where.

The question was, why would she bring such a thing to Lande? Surely she didn't bring it just to show off?

Holy crap!

A sudden chill ran down Lynch's spine. Could the hiding place of the Gate of Falsehood and Reality actually be right here in Lande—more specifically, in Rhine? Was that why she specifically brought it to Rhine, just to locate that dangerous thing?

Is she insane?

The way Lynch looked at Princess Chloe completely changed. But on second thought, no—if that were the case, she wouldn't need to steal her own item. There was bound to be someone else behind the scenes. Under normal circumstances, the item would have fallen into that person's hands, but she wanted to keep it for herself, which was why she stole the gemstone ahead of time while putting on a big show of diligently searching for it.

In other words, a group of people was lurking in this city, plotting to uncover something equivalent to the descent of an evil god, waiting to detonate this landmine at an unknown moment?

Who was the person behind her? Someone from the Hall of Order? No, the Hall of Order didn't have that kind of standing. She was a princess of a nation; to make her wary, their status had to be even higher. Still, the Hall of Order definitely had a connection to the figure behind the curtain, or else the princess wouldn't have found it inconvenient to reject the Hall of Order's recommendation.

Could it be the ones putting pressure on the Hall of Order? He remembered Inspector Bruno mentioning that Duke Vane, Mayor Howard Hoffman, and Chairman Grant were applying pressure behind the scenes, demanding they solve the case swiftly.

The duke could be temporarily ruled out. This was his domain, so he likely wouldn't act recklessly, and he had to shoulder the political ramifications of a royal family member being robbed; it was completely normal for him to apply pressure. But the pressure from the mayor and the chairman was a bit strange—it seemed to stem entirely from the railway investment.

Wait, the railway project. The princess represented the railway investors, while the mayor and chairman were promoters of the railway plan. The railway project linked them all together.

Could this mystery relic also be related to the railway project?

Or rather, was the entire railway project incident tied to this manifestation grade mystery relic? Is that why those related photographs possessed such potent mystery, killing off numerous people involved—killing Donnie the reporter, killing Klin from the archives, and almost indirectly causing Officer Natalie's death?

The more he thought about it, the more alarming it became. Lynch looked at the princess and count across from him, then at the three police officers from the Hall of Order, feeling entirely lost on what to do for a moment.

It seemed like a simple theft on the surface, but the deeper he probed, the broader the web grew. Before figuring out what these people were truly after, Lynch didn't dare make any hasty decisions. Yet throwing his hands up and walking away was out of the question either. No matter whose hands the gemstone ended up in, there was no guarantee that person wouldn't suddenly go mad and cause a massive catastrophe.

That would be a major disaster capable of destroying a city or even a kingdom. Whether strangers lived or died might not matter to him, but he couldn't just stand by and let Officer Natalie, Miss Valente, or the landlady be killed.

Perhaps before getting to the bottom of everything, having the gemstone under his own control was the only safe course of action.

However, if he exposed Chloe as the thief right now—setting aside the fact that he didn't have a shred of proof and couldn't possibly accuse a princess based on mere word—even if someone believed him and found the gemstone on the spot, the gem would only end up in the hands of the mastermind or Princess Chloe.

No, he couldn't act rashly. It was best to maintain the status quo for now and gather as much information as possible first. Besides, the gemstone had been in Princess Chloe's hands for months anyway; a few more days wouldn't hurt.

"I generally understand the situation now, as well as the gravity of the matter. We'll leave it at this for today. I will begin investigating, and if I need any cooperation from you two, I will visit again." Lynch offered a nod and a smile to the three police officers. "Gentlemen, rest assured as well. I will do my utmost to uncover the truth and recover the lost item as quickly as possible."

Saying that, Lynch let out a long breath. Perhaps he was just scaring himself, but before ascertaining the truth, he couldn't bring himself to trust anyone who might be connected to this affair.

No, there was still one person he could trust.

Lynch and Miss Valente exchanged a smile, rising together to take their leave.