IARMDH - Chapter 153

“I thought you were going to make nails. Why are you taking so long to buy some nails?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Erne. Another murder. The police blocked off an entire alley, so we had to go around it to get there. That’s why we’re late.”

“You’re not late because you heard about what happened?”

“That’s true too, haha.”

Henry, who had been hit hard, smiled awkwardly and tried to cover it up.

“Who died again this time?”

Judith opened the door slightly and came out, asking as she heard Henry's voice outside the store.

“Don't be surprised.”

It wasn't exactly a secret, but Henry whispered, lowering his voice to heighten the tension.

“The person who died this time is the head of the Ouz clan.”

“Who are you? Mr. Ouz?”

“Wasn’t that human being detained by the security forces?”

Judith and Erne were surprised and asked back. Omar, the vice-chief of the Ouz High Council, had cooperated with the priest, so the chief of the Ouz High Council was also detained and questioned.

Judith and Erne heard through Cain that he had been insisting that he had only bought the elixir of drowning and had no idea that he was a traitor.

“A week ago, he was released without charge. Didn’t I tell you?”

Henry relayed the news he had heard from his old comrade in the police force. The investigation concluded that the only person who had contacted the priest and helped him was the owner of the house, Omar and that Ouz had only been used.

“Still, we had to pay a huge fine for buying goods made by traitors and sending them necessary supplies.”

Anyway, that's not what's important right now, Henry waved his hand.

“The upper house of Ouz was also judged by the judge.”

“What is a judge? He’s just a crazy guy who kills people.”

Erne clicked his tongue with an expression that said he would listen to all the noise.

But these days, when he walks down the street, he often hears the word 'judge'.

It was because of a series of murders that had occurred over the past few days.

Following the gangster Mastura, a lower-class nobleman who frequently broke property and committed violent acts, and a bar owner who trafficked people were killed one after another.

All were killed by being stabbed in the stomach and chest with daggers. There were no signs of resistance.

And they all had stick-shaped marks drawn on their faces, but they were all slightly different in shape. In other words, it could be seen as the work of the same criminal.

Another thing that those who were murdered had in common was that they had all committed evil deeds.

“Seeing you talking about the judge, I guess Ouz’s boss also committed some crime?”

“It’s not a crime, but I heard that if a small company presents a good product, they try to steal it. If they refuse to give it to them at a low price, they use their connections and money to ruin the company.”

Judith sighed at the familiar technique.

“It wasn’t just my incense that he tried to take away.”

It was an age-old tactic. Somehow the intimidation seemed familiar. Judith clicked her tongue.

“All the people who were ruined or almost ruined because of the Ouz Top cheered, and everyone was in an uproar because they died well.”

Everyone cried out that he deserved to be judged. This serial killing was not called murder, but a judgment or an execution.

He is called a judge, an executioner, an apostle of darkness, and some even call him a devil of goodwill, as he only kills bad guys.

Judith was put off by the unnecessarily grandiose nickname, but those who had suffered at the hands of the victims had no hesitation in supporting the serial killer.

It was not that she didn't understand that feeling, but it was also true that she felt uneasy.

“His Excellency must be busy again.”

“That is the fate of one in charge of the security force, Madam.”

Henry thought it was a good thing he left the police force. If he had stayed in the police force, he would have been running around like crazy, working on serial murder cases and tracking down missing priests.

“So when can we catch the priest?”

Judith sighed. Priest, this man often uses evil spells, but when she asks him to cast a spell, he does not use it.

The posters she had written to provoke the priests were useless. Judith felt frustrated seeing the godmother's magic spells gathering dust as she exhausted all her spiritual power.

Why doesn't Shadin use his magic? Did he really get hurt badly while cursing Akan and his other Followers? Or is he just saving up his strength to hit us in the back of the head?

Her head was in a mess of tangled, unsolvable questions. But one thing that was fortunate was that the export agreement with the top of Loprey went well.

“Anyway, Sir Henry bought the nails, so let’s finish this quickly, Erne.”

Judith tapped a wooden chest. The upper part of Loprey had been eyeing incense for a long time and demanded a considerable quantity from the first transaction.

Judith had informed them in advance that the incense was made by the Shartins, but the upper part of Loprey paid little attention.

It is said that in the Penco Kingdom, not much is known about the Shartins, so there is little prejudice against them.

Judith regretted for more than half a day that she should have exported it earlier. Anyway, thanks to that, she was able to export all the stock remaining in the mansion and the stock stored in the store.

And today was the day to hand over the incense to the top of the rope.

“If we had done it at the mansion, we would have finished it long ago, wouldn’t we, Miss Harrington?”

Erne, who had received a nail from Henry, was about to hammer it into the wooden box containing the incense but then looked at Judith. Judith waved her index finger from side to side.

“It’s important to be seen, Erne.”

In fact, it was more convenient to pack at the mansion since there was much more inventory at the mansion than at the store.

But the reason Judith brought the inventory to the store and packed it was to show off.

Look, our incense is still selling well. Even after the rumor spread that the Shartin tribe made it, we still get orders in large quantities. This was a performance that showed this.

“There will definitely be people who are shaken.”

Do all imperial people have ill will toward the Shartins? Some people must have pointed fingers at them because others pointed fingers at them.

What would those people think if they saw all these incense sticks being sold? Judith wonders if many people buy incense sticks regardless of the Shartins. Wouldn't they come to buy incense sticks?

Judith took advantage of that psychology. However, when she tried to pack it in a wooden box so that it could be loaded onto a ship, she had to buy it because the store didn't have any nails.

“You have to nail it tightly so that it doesn’t open even if the boat rocks, Erne.”

“Are you afraid I won’t be able to do even one thing?”

Erne frowned as if her pride was hurt. But soon she shook her head as she looked at Judith, who was smiling brightly at the wooden boxes piled up in front of the store.

A gentle smile appeared on Erne's lips as he picked up the hammer again.

If the incense sells well, then yes, that's good. It's much better than not selling at all.

He rationalized it as a good feeling because it was worth the money, but it wasn't true. Judith's mood had become his mood for a long time.

“Give me one more nail.”

“Here it is.”

While Erne was finishing hammering nails, Loprey came to get the items. Naturally, people and eyes gathered in front of the incense shop.

There was also one unpleasant gaze there.

***

“My mouth is torn, really.”

There was murderous intent in his gaze towards the smiling Judith.

“How can the fates of people with the same personality be so different?”

Isn't it so unfair that one person lives in hiding while the other lives happily ever after?

Judith Harrington, he didn't know who that woman was, but he knew she had been interfering with his every move since he was possessed.

He would have liked to block Judith himself, but there were a few problems.

First of all, Erne Rhineland never left her side. When Erne was away, that knight named Henry was always by her side.

He wanted to disguise himself properly and enter the Rhineland Mansion, but Tia was there.

Erne and Judith, who had caught a glimpse of his face, would have a hard time fooling Tia, who had grown up with him since he was little.

“Curse... No, no.”

A suitable curse came to mind, but Shadin quickly shook his head. Curses are not the only answer.

***

Huh...

Early in the morning, the incense shop was filled with Henry's humming.

Because the serial murder case was so gruesome, Henry came out before Ryan and inspected the store.

Couldn't someone break into the store in the middle of the night? Of course, that hasn't happened yet.

“It’s nice that the store looks empty.”

Because he had cleared out all the inventory at the top of the Loprey the day before yesterday, many of the scented candles that had been filling the drawers and shelves had disappeared.

Henry smiled and opened the window, so happy to see the empty space.

“Ventilation is a crosswind.”

Henry opened and locked the front door of the store and quickly went to the back door and grabbed the doorknob.

“What, why won’t it open? I think something is stuck.”

Someone put something right in front of the back door. Henry put his shoulder against the door and pushed hard.

When the door was half-open, Henry gasped, stumbled backward, and fell on his butt.

Henry, pale with surprise, couldn't take his eyes off the open door.

To be exact, from the flowing blood and the white hands on top of it.

Previous                Next

Support Novellate!