IARMDH - Chapter 78



“We need to find the root cause to find a cure, but he said there are no cosmetics left.”

Beichi also looked at a loss.

“I’m just guessing, but it’s similar to the symptoms of addiction.”

“Symptoms of addiction? Does that mean Henry was poisoned?”

“It’s more like when you get sick from eating spoiled food rather than an addiction. So I guess it’s because the cosmetic ingredients have gone bad or are moldy.”

In any case, it meant that you had to see the nutritional cream for yourself to know. Erne sighed and wiped his face.

Although he was a man known for being cold-hearted and not shedding a single drop of blood when stabbed, he was not an ungrateful man.

If it weren't for Henry, Erne would have been another test subject, an incorruptible corpse. An autopsy would have been performed.

If it weren't for Henry's connections, who had secretly stolen his body and called in a medium to revive him, Erne might have ended his life.

“Haa, I can’t leave Sir Henry like this.”

Judith was the one who owed Henry a debt. He had never once refused her help. He even took care of the store for her.

“Erne, shall we first go to the store where Sir Henry bought the cosmetics?”

Even if I wanted to help Henry, there were too few clues.

In times like these, the first thing to do is to check the crime scene. Erne and Judith headed to Bakeville.

And there they met a very unexpected person.

***

“Mr. Smith?”

Smith, the evil moneylender.

He was there. Judging from Smith's normal face, he probably didn't buy any cosmetics. Judith thought for a moment and asked.

“What are you doing here, Mr. Smith? Did you lend money to the guys who sell nutritional cream here?”

“No.”

He suppressed his extremely displeased expression and answered. Then he turned his head and looked at someone. Brother Luhmann lowered his head at Smith’s gaze.

“...Huh.”

Judith barely managed to hold back her screams when she saw the faces of the Luhmann brothers. It was extremely rude to scream in front of someone whose skin had been turned inside out.

“Did they put on makeup too?”

Erne was also quite surprised. Considering the Luhmann brothers’ occupations and their appearances, it seemed unlikely that they would take care of themselves by applying cosmetics.

“You said you were getting married last time and started taking care of your skin, but it looks like you applied the nourishing cream from this house.”

“Haha, I’m going to take care of each one and try to get married.”

Somehow their skin glowed that day.

“Those crazy guys were putting makeup on their faces and bodies, thinking they’d get married, and then they got married.”

Smith clicked his tongue loudly. Brother Luhmann felt embarrassed and couldn’t raise his head. Judith felt sorry for Brother Luhmann, thinking that they had worked together once.

“Is it a crime to take care of yourself because you want to get married? Those who take advantage of that earnest desire to sell you strange cosmetics are the bad guys.”

Brother Luhmann looked at Judith with moved eyes at her words. However, he continued to scratch his entire body as if it were itchy.

Henry only applied it to his face, so his face turned red, but Brother Luhmann applied it to his body as well, so his symptoms were more severe. Brother Luhmann's shirt was stained with pus and blood from scratching.

“I don’t think the Countess uses this cosmetic. Has anyone you know been exposed to it?”

"Yes."

Judith answered briefly and looked into the empty shop. It was a mess as if the Smiths had done a thorough cleaning.

“Did anything come out?”

“I only saved one.”

Smith held a piece of torn cloth between his fingers and shook it. Judith held out her hand, asking if she could look at it. Smith obediently handed the piece of torn cloth to Judith.

It didn't look like a cloth used for clothing. It looked like a handkerchief or a piece of cloth used for wiping items.

“There’s nothing here?”

She wondered if there were any letters or patterns on the piece of cloth, but there was nothing.

“It smells.”

"Smell?"

“It smells like Nikar in there.”

Nikar was the name of a drug used to remove the smell of blood from clothes, furniture, etc. In sunny areas, Nikar was widely used by butchers and hunters who skinned animals and sold them. In shady areas, it was widely used to remove human blood.

“Doesn’t that mean you’ve been in a place where the smell of Nikar is so strong that it clings to the fabric? I know a place like that.”

Even in the underworld, aka the back alleys, Smith was quite the savage.

Especially in the underworld near the capital, no one was willing to confront Smith.

“But didn’t these guys touch my subordinates? What does that mean?”

Among Smith's subordinates, they were the most famous, and everyone knows them, the Luhmann brothers. That is,

“We can conclude that he doesn’t know me very well.”

Satisfied with his reasoning, Smith let out a hoo-hoo laugh. This was clearly a scene of sound reasoning, but Smith’s laughter seemed so mean. Was it because of his mood or his job? Judith tilted her head for a moment.

“Are you from out of town?”

When Erne asked, Smith nodded.

“And he is a wanderer.”

Smith said, pointing to Brother Luhmann, who was scratching his chin.

“Just look at our kids. Anyone can tell that they look like they’re going to have a tough time, right?”

“Yeah. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like it would do anything legal.”

“But you sold that nutritional cream shamelessly even after seeing those guys’ faces. If you were someone who stayed in one place, you probably wouldn’t have sold it for fear of repercussions.”

If you keep working in the back alleys, you'll meet them someday. But they also sold nutritional cream to the Luhmann brothers.

“It was originally planned to make a killing and then run away!”

“It’s pretty good.”

Erne nodded as if Smith had a point.

“Hahaha, if you’re stupid, you won’t even be able to pay interest on loans.”

Smith looked at Judith, smiling pleasantly.

“Does your lover have a good eye for people?”

“Hey, lover?”

Come to think of it, she never really explained to Smith who Erne was. Smith guessed between Erne and Judith.

Smith can tell at a glance that he's not a servant, but he follows Judith around every day. At first, he covered his face, but now he walks around with his face uncovered.

Doesn't that mean he's Judith's lover?

At first, when she was widowed, he deliberately covered his face because she was afraid that people would think she was with a man. So that it would be ambiguous whether he was a lover or a bodyguard.

But now that her husband has passed away and some time has passed, she must be carrying him around openly. It looks like she is paying off her debts as well. Smith wonders if she is planning to merge her household soon.

“We’re not lovers.”

Despite being misunderstood countless times, Judith waved her hands in embarrassment.

“Why are you so embarrassed? You can live with a man even though your husband is not alive.”

Smith didn't seem to want to hear Judith's explanation from the start. He immediately changed the subject. Judith missed the opportunity to explain that she and Erne were not lovers.

But Erne is indifferent? Judith glanced at him.

Erne was listening to Smith and the Luhmann brothers' descriptions of the guys who sold cosmetics with a blank expression.

It was just a misunderstanding, so it doesn't really matter? As Judith looked at Erne, who seemed to be fine, his lips started to pout for no reason. Judith hurriedly put her lips back in.

It's normal for them to be indifferent. They have been through many misunderstandings as lovers. It's natural for them to get used to it.

But why did he get upset? The moment Judith thought of herself as ridiculous, Smith called Judith.

“Madam, you’ll have to step forward and help catch that guy.”

“Me?”

“Yes, listen. If I release the kids on a large scale to catch those scammers, they’ll hear about it too.”

It could have been done covertly without extensive intelligence gathering, but that would have taken time.

In the meantime, those guys could have run far away, and above all, Brother Luhmann's condition was getting worse by the day.

“People in the same industry will be wary, but you won’t be. Besides, wouldn’t you like to get help from the security forces? If you’re not going to make a stew out of the Count of Rhineland, then you can use it.”

Smith would drive them underwater, and Judith would spread nets with the marshals in the open air to catch them. That was Smith's plan.

“And I have a favor to ask. I heard that noblemen also bought a lot of nutritional creams and arthritis medicine.”

They too are probably starting to experience side effects.

“Wouldn’t all of you be so attached to each other? If they put their heads together, a cure will soon be found. Please find that cure for our children as well.”

It would be quicker for the noble Judith to rescue Luhmann than for Smith to cross several bridges and use his hands.

“Mr. Smith, for free?”

Judith would naturally do her part to catch the fraudster for Henry, but isn't it a separate matter to get a cure for the Luhman brothers?

“If you waive one month’s interest, as soon as a cure is discovered...”

Smith waved his thick index finger wildly in front of Judith's eyes.

“Didn’t Madam say that your friend was attacked by those guys? Without our information, it would be difficult to catch them quickly.”

“For that information, I’ll mobilize the police to catch those crooks, but Mr. Smith, developing and securing a cure is another matter. You have to do your math, you’re in the financial industry.”

“...Finance?”

Does usury fall into that category?

Erne briefly questioned Judith's choice of words, but Smith was too busy calculating in his head to hear her.

“I’ll give you a late payment coupon. It’s a coupon that allows you to pay late with interest whenever you have a hard time. Up to 3 times without a late payment fee.”


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