Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 453 Intertwined Bloodstained Branches

Chapter 455 Intertwined Bloodstained Branches

At the same time that the travelers were meeting the king, the Black Crocodile Tavern was suddenly surrounded by a large number of royal guards. The leading officer announced the closure of the tavern on the spot on charges of "spreading dangerous remarks and disrupting the kingdom's order," drawing the attention of passersby.

"Could this be the work of Count Leclerc?" Lian Wu was the first to analyze.

In terms of timing, the tavern was shut down precisely after their meeting with Earl Black Moon. Given the powerful minister's position, he clearly did not want the rumors to continue spreading, so sending guards to shut down the source was perfectly reasonable.

"During the previous meeting, he seemed to have mentioned 'addressing the source of the rumors,'" Cattleya whispered a reminder.

Yueju stroked her magic staff thoughtfully: "But thinking about it carefully, what's the point of shutting down the tavern now? That rumor was already spreading like wildfire when we entered the capital. It's too late to deal with the source now. Given that count's shrewdness, he shouldn't have made such an irrational move."

"Indeed, and he even specifically asked us to track down that bearded man." The thief nodded in agreement.

"Hey! Now's not the time to slowly analyze the case!"

The waitress abruptly interrupted the discussion, grabbing Luna and shaking her.

"Those guards are so fierce! We Black Crocodiles are just a small business, how can we withstand such treatment! Luna, you don't want to never be able to drink your favorite apple wine in the palace again?"

"Cider?" The gardening apprentice tilted his head. "I'm getting a little tired of it lately."

The waitress was struck dumb, collapsing to the ground. This waitress was also the tavern owner's daughter; if the tavern's reputation were damaged, her family, even if not bankrupt, would likely suffer a severe blow.

"...Feed?"

As if receiving some kind of divine revelation, the magician suddenly exclaimed in surprise to himself, "There was actually an option? We could actually help her?"

"Didn't King Hugo hint that he wanted to take a walk in the garden?" Lian Wu pondered for a moment, then said, "If we take the hostess to the garden now to ask for an audience, we might actually be able to persuade him to help."

"Oh dear, but I really don't want to help this person—" Yueju couldn't help but grumble as she thought about how her name was still on the Black Crocodile Tavern's blacklist.

"If—!" Seeing this, the waitress who had been slumped on the ground suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide open, "If you can help our Black Crocodile Tavern get through this crisis, I will make you all lifetime super VIPs! Free room and board!"

Free room and board—this is no small benefit for travelers. After all, inn expenses and daily food costs in the capital are considerable. If they can save this money, they can buy several useful adventure items.

"Isn't free food and lodging included, but not drinks?" The mage, still dissatisfied, tried to bargain. After all, while drinking at the tavern wouldn't improve one's attributes, it could sometimes subtly increase one's local reputation.

However, before his petty complaints could elicit a response from the waitress, he was met with a joint rebuke from his teammates: "Don't push your luck, Yueju."

"Yeah, it won't hurt to do a good deed once in a while."

"Garderia is one thing, but why is even a thief like you so full of a sense of justice?"

Lingju sighed helplessly, "Even if we're willing to help, we'd at least need this spy Luna's approval to let us into the garden she's in charge of, wouldn't we?"

"Want to visit the garden? No problem."

Surprisingly, the Black Moon Count's spy agreed with unusual ease.

"Really?!" Hope instantly ignited in the waitress's eyes. "Follow me!" Luna deftly bypassed the massive stone pillars of the palace's main gate, leading the group to a quiet path on the side. "This way, we'll be there in no time!"

"There's something I've suspected many times, but I still can't help asking," Lian Wu said, scratching his forehead with a furrowed brow. "Even if none of us intended to assassinate the king, isn't the palace security a little too lax?"

"Perhaps this is a foreshadowing of some future event by Wanlong," Yueju speculated, based on the game host's personality. "Maybe there will be a battle related to the capital in the future, and we can use this path."

"No problem!" the real-life spy said confidently, seemingly out of nowhere.

However, it turns out that Luna's earlier statement of "soon" was a complete lie.

The group followed her down a route completely different from their first visit to the palace, almost like traversing mountains and valleys—sometimes squeezing into narrow alleyways, sometimes scaling low walls, and sometimes darting into the garden area from the outside of the palace. Despite Luna leading the way, they surprisingly encountered very few guards along the way.

However, while this "secret passage" was unobstructed, it had to be passed by the window of Count Black Moon's office, next to the audience hall. Leclerc was sitting at his desk, and upon seeing this group of furtive travelers, he showed no surprise, merely nodding slightly. It seemed this was a court secret that the Count had managed to obtain through his spies. "This is it! The garden where Luna usually works!"

The gardening apprentices suddenly stopped in their tracks, and a breathtaking view unfolded before them—hidden within this deep palace compound was a magnificent garden, as beautiful as a primeval forest.

This garden seems to encapsulate the vitality of a palace, with lush fruit trees intertwining to form a natural dome. A stone fountain, carved with a majestic portrait of the king, stands quietly in the center of the courtyard, its waters murmuring gently. The air is filled with a refreshing fragrance, a few shy buds curl among the leaves in the flowerbeds, while gromwells gracefully flit among the branches above.

"Luna! Where did you bring this stranger in again? How many times have I told you, you can't just bring strangers in!"

A voice came from deep within the garden. An elderly man with a white beard, wearing a linen apron and carrying garden shears, was looking over with displeasure.

"Not a stranger! She's a friend Luna knows!" the spy, disguised as an apprentice, feigned ignorance and tried to explain.

"Just knowing them isn't enough—sigh, telling you all this would probably just go in one ear and out the other." The old man sighed helplessly, turning to the group, who looked a bit disheveled from their journey. "You must be Luna's new friends, right? I'm sorry, my apprentice has caused you trouble. My name is Sander, and I'm the gardener in charge of managing this palace garden."

It turns out he was the real manager of this garden.

"No, we're the ones who've caused Luna a lot of trouble," the waitress said apologetically. "I—"

Just as she was about to explain her purpose, a familiar voice rang out behind the old gardener, Sande, "Oh dear, have you all not left the palace yet? Do you have any other talents you'd like to perform?"

Hugo XVI makes another appearance.

He still held the scepter in his hand, and his other hand held a few freshly picked fruits in his fingers.

"Or do you have any new developments to report regarding that absurd rumor about the capital?"

"That's how it is," the magician Yueju stepped forward.

Seemingly sensing that the king was about to attend to official business, the old gardener Sander hastily stepped back: "I suddenly remembered that there are still a few plants by the door that have not been pruned. Please allow me to take my leave."

Hugo XVI did not stop them. Meanwhile, Cranberry took the opportunity to introduce them to a waitress at the Black Crocodile Tavern, who nervously explained their purpose.

"Hmph. You shut down this young lady's tavern because of that ridiculous rumor? I never gave such an overbearing order."

"Who gave this order? Could it be Earl Black Moon?" Yueju asked curiously.

"Without the king's decree, even Leclerc has no right to arbitrarily deploy guards." Hugo XVI's face darkened as he slammed his scepter heavily into the ground. "Waitress, are you sure the guards surrounding the tavern belong to the capital?"

"Yes, they are the guards who patrol the city regularly. I even recognize some of them."

The waitress said definitively that she wouldn't have been able to get to the palace if those people hadn't been willing to let her through.

"Is that so?" A cold glint flashed in the king's eyes, but his expression quickly returned to calm as he looked at the pitiful-looking tavern waiter and said, "I already know about this matter, and I will send someone to handle it soon—no, perhaps there's no need to handle it at all; your tavern's crisis will be resolved immediately. It seems there are other things besides the rumors that require my attention—"

"Could it be that someone in the palace is forging an imperial edict?" Yueju asked, being nosy.

"Oh? You want me to tell you the whole story from beginning to end?" Hugo XVI's face showed a mischievous smile. "Unfortunately, I'm not that kind of person right now. If you want to know the truth, you'll need to put in your own effort."

"At least give me a hint?"

"I reiterate, Leclerc is a man who will only obey the King's orders."

Having said all this, what more could the king possibly ask for?

"Oh, right, Luna." Before seeing the guests off, the king seemed to suddenly remember something and instructed the gardening apprentice, "I've been craving cider lately. Send some more over when you have time."

Upon reaching the garden entrance, one sees the old gardener Sande pruning potted plants, with several of the king's guards standing quietly to the side.

So, following the guards' directions, the group left along the official passageway of the palace and returned to the Black Crocodile Tavern. And there, just as Hugo XVI had said, the guards who had surrounded them had all withdrawn, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Although the reason behind this was unknown, the tavern owner's daughter kept her promise and readily solved the traveler's worries about food and lodging in the capital.

After two trips in and out of the palace, the day's journey ended in a blur, without even a glimpse of the bearded man.

Just as Yueju and the others began to wonder what the significance of this plot was—the next morning, a shocking piece of news exploded like a thunderclap in the capital.

Victor Hugo XVI has passed away.

His blood-soaked body lay beneath the thickest fruit tree in the garden, the blood soaking into the soil, while his noble black-haired head, along with the murder weapon, had vanished without a trace.