As soon as he came closer to the bright opening of the tunnel, he heard the voices of two people talking to each other. Zion stopped and hid behind a pillar still in the dark corridor.
After glancing outside, he could see many trees as the entire place was surrounded by greenery. Birds chirped and flew freely in the sky above the heads of two people. One was Prince Linton, and another one had a cloak draped on his head and body.
The detective frowned. This cloaked person was likely to be the mastermind or someone close to the mastermind who had planned the murder. After hiding carefully, he shifted his focus toward the people who were talking beneath the sunlight.
"Are you sure no one followed you?" The cloaked man asked in an emotionless tone.
Zion could only see the lips of that cloaked man that were in a relaxed position as if that person didn't have any worries. Then he glanced at Prince Linton shaking his head. "I'm positive. The servant has resigned."
"He should have followed you." The cloaked man sighed in distress. It almost felt like he was sad for some reason. "I had a big surprise for him."
"Surprise?" Linton was confused as he tilted his head. "Wasn't that only a servant?"
Zion's brows furrowed at that. From what he heard, this cloaked man seemed to be waiting for him in his previous identity. So it was safe to say that he wouldn't be taking that disguise ever again. They really knew that he was following the prince, didn't they?
The only relief was that he knew how to change his identities at random. So none of these people could figure out that Vincent, the senior servant, and the human servant were the same person.
"Not just a servant." The cloaked man suddenly said as his lips curved up to form a smile. "He was a spy. Someone is onto us."
Before anyone could get a chance to dwell on that thought, he waved his hand and said, "You can go back and don't come here for a few days. I will find you later when I'm in need." After that, the man turned toward the dark forest and slowly stepped in that direction.
Linton nodded and pursed his lips. It seemed as though he wanted to say something. He opened and closed his mouth.
Zion could tell that the relationship between these two people was awkward. Just when he thought he wouldn't hear that person speaking, the prince spoke with a trace of hesitation in his voice. "Are you sure you want to do that to your father? After all, he…."
The cloaked man's feet paused, and he turned back all of a sudden. It seemed as if his entire aura changed from a gentle person to someone who had hidden intentions and killing intent. The man stared at Linton for a long time before letting out a cold chuckle. "Should I thank you for reminding me that, uncle?" The man emphasized the last word he spoke before he turned around and dashed toward the jungle.
Prince Linton's body was stiffened, and when he was sure that the cloaked man had left already, he sighed in relief. "That person is dangerous. Thank God that I managed to appear on his good side." After that, he also walked toward the dark corridor where the detective was hiding behind a pillar.
Zion moved and instantly went inside the darker path without daring to think of anything else. He didn't want to be caught so soon when he nearly figured out the mystery. After reaching a safe place, he would think about what just heard. As he approached the hidden door, he hid behind another pillar on the side while waiting for the prince.
When Linton came, he didn't have the slightest clue of how someone had followed him and heard his conservation with the cloaked man back then. The prince did something on the wall that Zion noted with his keen eyes and walked out of the corridor, following behind the man.
After half an hour, when Zion finally managed to come back to the inn with his aristocratic identity, he laid on his bed and started pondering about the things he heard a while ago.
It seemed the murderer had many spies in the brothel who were keeping an eye on almost everyone who had just joined, and coincidentally when Zion came, he caught their eyes and attracted their attention. They might have told that man in cloak everything.
As for the surprise, Zion wasn't too keen on knowing what it was! He was sure that it wouldn't be good anyway. But he planned to find the place that was connected to the brothel through the dark corridor. That area seemed to be a forest on the outskirts of the kingdom, or at least at the place where Rhesus's men couldn't enter.
Secondly, he had managed to identify who that cloaked man could be: crown prince Bradley himself!
Thinking of this, Zion tilted his head. Why did it seem like this case was too simple? He had already found the mastermind behind the murder, and he just had to find the evidence, but he vaguely felt as if he had left something out.
This feeling was the same when he had picked up the knife back then wrapped it up in cloth within the crown prince's room. It seemed as if everything was staged so nicely that anyone trying to solve this case would walk in the direction the murderer guided them.
Zion frowned once he realized this and quickly fetched out that knife.
In any case, this was the only lead he had. So he might as well go out and search for the place where the murderer bought it. He gripped the knife tightly and got off of his bed.
He kept the knife on the table beside the bed and grabbed a piece of leather. After that, he got ready to create a cosplay face mask. Of course, he would call it a cosplay since he already was in a fantasy body.
Since he needed to change his attire from scratch, he wouldn't depend on the system all the time. It cost him points! So it was better to use leather, paint, glue, and other things he found earlier to change his identity!
What do you think? Is the murderer the crown prince? Or is there a deep rooted secret in this place?