Chapter 21: The Enigma
Upon learning of the upheaval within the royal palace, the old king's expression showed little fluctuation. Having weathered countless storms throughout his life, he had long developed the habit of keeping his emotions hidden from his face.
The old king sat down, casually tossing his empty wine glass onto the table, and pulled over a napkin to carefully wipe the wine stains from his hands.
"Iron Hand, if this matter continues to be handled by you, how long will it take?"
The old king spoke as if no one else was present. The banquet hall was deathly silent. The officials and wealthy merchants all pricked up their ears, but they kept their bodies turned sideways or with their backs to the king, none daring to look directly at him.
"Three days."
The mission deadline was only three days, so Su Xiao answered succinctly. If he couldn't find the killer within three days, his identity as Iron Hand would be stripped away.
"Very well, I'll give you three days."
The old king was equally decisive, but he didn't say what would happen if Su Xiao failed to find the killer within three days. Some things didn't need to be stated so bluntly.
From the old king's earlier 'momentary loss of composure,' it was clear that the situation had spiraled beyond his control. The young princess's death in the palace's rear garden was already suspicious enough. If her death was merely a provocation, then the suicides of the queen and Commander Karen were part of a massive conspiracy.
Su Xiao led Bubu Wang and five imperial guards out of the banquet hall. These five imperial guards were under Su Xiao's complete command for the near future, serving as top-tier cannon fodder and muscle.
As he walked out of the banquet hall, Su Xiao began to think. From the current situation, it seemed the killer had almost eliminated all witnesses present, except for Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and the five imperial guards, in order to cover their tracks.
Commander Karen had died by cutting his own throat, while the other witnesses had all drunk poison to commit suicide. Based on Su Xiao's observations, the lethal poison the queen had taken was the same as that taken by the royal guards. In other words, someone had provided them with the same poison.
The act of covering tracks indicated that the killer didn't dare to confront the royal family head-on, at least not within the palace. That's why they were skulking in the shadows and destroying evidence.
One thing Su Xiao couldn't figure out was why the killer had gone to such great lengths to orchestrate a series of plans, even involving the queen and the commander, just to kill Sharlene Herbert?
What was so special about Sharlene Herbert? At least in Su Xiao's view, aside from having gotten intimate with a man far too early, this girl had nothing remarkable about her. Her physical fitness was average, her features were delicate but not particularly beautiful, and as for her figure... what kind of figure could a thirteen-year-old girl have?
Sharlene Herbert possessed no special energy within her body, nor was she a key figure in this power struggle.
Su Xiao's mind raced through various possibilities. After a series of deliberations, he was astonished to find that he had uncovered no valuable information whatsoever. Indeed, his deductive abilities were only mediocre.
Realizing this, Su Xiao wasn't surprised. He had never expected to rely solely on his own reasoning to find the killer. No one is perfect.
While Su Xiao lacked strong deductive skills, he had the position of Iron Hand. The Kingdom of Saint Sodom was a vast kingdom, formed from the territories of five kingdoms. Coupled with its fertile lands, the population of Saint Sodom ranged between 300 to 500 million. As for the exact number, with the current level of technology, it was impossible to count.
Given the technological level of the Shia World, this population was an astonishing figure. However, considering the immense size of the Shia Continent, such a population made sense. After all, this was the total number of humans, and Saint Sodom was the only human kingdom in the Shia World.
Even with hundreds of millions of people, the territory of Saint Sodom was sparsely populated. Therefore, the royal family strongly encouraged childbirth. For a kingdom with such advanced agricultural techniques as Saint Sodom, a large population might lead to poverty, but the likelihood of starvation was low.
Saint Sodom had a potato-like crop called 'Keba.' This plant had the resilience of weeds. If the soil was fertile enough, Keba could grow to the size of a washbasin.
Moreover, Saint Sodom possessed advanced techniques for growing crops like wheat. Plow-like tools had long been invented, and what was even more peculiar was that commoners in Saint Sodom actually understood grafting techniques.
If the technological level of Saint Sodom was similar to medieval Europe, then its agriculture was at least several centuries ahead.
This was why Saint Sodom could maintain such a massive population and wage war against the Necromancer Clan for a thousand years.
Within this vast population, there were naturally talents in various fields, such as detectives with exceptional deductive abilities.
Detectives were a popular profession in this world. Some great detectives even received recognition from the royal family. Their status was lower than officials but higher than merchants and other professions.
There were many famous detectives. With a single command from Su Xiao, all detectives in the royal capital would be forcibly summoned.
Not only detectives, but Su Xiao also needed others. This mission wasn't about killing a specific target; it was about deduction. Since his own reasoning was weak, he would use his authority to compensate.
An excellent detective was a necessity. Of course, Su Xiao also needed a 'know-it-all,' someone familiar with the various factions within the royal capital.
Beyond detectives and a 'know-it-all,' Su Xiao needed a complete and secure intelligence channel.
As for the detectives, Su Xiao certainly wouldn't go looking for them himself. That would be too time-consuming.
"Take this and find Joe Valentine. Have him bring the best detective in the royal capital here within two hours."
Su Xiao tossed the Golden Lion Pendant to an imperial guard. That guard quickly disappeared from Su Xiao's sight. Su Xiao's gaze shifted to another imperial guard. These men all wore metal helmets, revealing only their eyes, and they had no names.
"You go to the Second Princess. Tell her that Iron Hand temporarily needs her intelligence network in the royal capital."
Su Xiao certainly wasn't foolish enough to investigate this matter alone. He would mobilize every resource at his disposal to complete this hidden side mission.
At present, there was no clue whatsoever. The only thing Su Xiao needed to do wasn't to scour the world for leads, but to wait, wait for the killer to come to him.
This wasn't Su Xiao's delusion. Almost everyone who had witnessed the first murder scene was dead. Only Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and the five imperial guards had been to the scene and examined the young princess's body.
If the killer wanted to completely silence everyone, they would surely come to eliminate Su Xiao. As for Bubu Wang and the five imperial guards, the guards were somewhat worth eliminating, but Bubu Wang was unlikely to attract much hostility.
As long as the killer had the intention to eliminate Su Xiao, they would send an assassin. Once an assassin came, Su Xiao's opportunity would arise.
Su Xiao wasn't good at deduction, but he excelled at combat. Once the other party chose to resolve this matter through force, Su Xiao was confident he could complete this hidden side mission.
As for the killer being wary of the Iron Hand's identity? Don't be ridiculous. If they dared to kill the young princess within the palace, they wouldn't fear the Iron Hand.
Now, Su Xiao needed to give them an opportunity. Therefore, he dismissed the armed forces around him and remained alone in a place that seemed safe but was actually not—the Iron Hand's residence.