Chapter 2038: A Superficial Investigation
“Everyone should know why I am here. I certainly believe that none of you had anything to do with the Crown Prince’s accidental death. This investigation is more to confirm your innocence,” the Imperial Envoy said from above.
“Alright, no problem. We will cooperate,” the merchants said one after another. Since no one here was involved in the Crown Prince’s death, they were all very calm.
“First, those who arrived in Valencia after the Winter Veil Festival. I would like to ask about your whereabouts. Please stand up and go to the next room. Those who have been in Valencia all along do not need to stand up,” the Imperial Envoy said.
The merchants looked at each other, none of them willing to be the first. But soon, a merchant impatiently shouted at another: “Didn’t you just arrive at the port the day before yesterday? Stand up.”
“I, I returned from overseas. I only learned of the Crown Prince’s assassination today. It has nothing to do with me!” the merchant shouted somewhat flustered.
“Then what are you afraid of? Stand up and prove your innocence. You have an arrival record, right?” the first merchant asked impatiently.
He froze. Only then did he realize that he could indeed prove he had an alibi. At the time of the incident, he was still at sea, and the ship’s crew and the sailing log could prove his innocence. He just didn’t want to be the first to act.
“Everyone, please rest assured. This is just a routine investigation. We will absolutely not wrong any innocent person. Please cooperate honestly with the investigation to better prove your innocence,” the Imperial Envoy said again.
He said this only because everyone in front of him was a rich merchant. That was why he spoke so politely. If they were all commoners, he probably would have roared directly, “Confess and be rewarded, resist and be punished.”
The merchant could only stand up helplessly. Soon, other merchants began to point out some people who had arrived in Valencia after the Winter Veil Festival, while some others stood up on their own.
The mobility of merchants was very high, and they often traveled everywhere. So, to my surprise, quite a few people had indeed arrived in Valencia after the Winter Veil Festival. Moreover, most people here knew each other well and were well-informed. It was impossible to hide anything from everyone.
However, theoretically, Older Brother Jayad, who arrived in Valencia the day after the Winter Veil Festival, was not pointed out by anyone. Everyone seemed to ignore him, even though the person who arrived just a few hours after him was found, no one called him out.
By the way, I was not in the Lord of the City’s Hall but waiting at home. Only Older Brother Jayad was invited. I was just sharing the vision through a fly.
After all the merchants who theoretically arrived in Valencia after the Winter Veil Festival were escorted into the adjacent room, the Imperial Envoy said: “Everyone, can you prove that you were in Valencia on the day of the Winter Veil Festival and did not go to Cando City or any other place?”
“Yes, the guild held a Winter Veil Festival banquet that day, and most people here were present,” one merchant said, and others nodded in agreement.
The Imperial Envoy investigating the case clearly knew about this. He nodded and said: “Then please raise your hands if you attended the guild banquet, and confirm each other that you were indeed present.”
About half of the people in the hall raised their hands. Then, some of them questioned if someone was not present at the venue, but they were all confirmed by others. After all, not everyone had a clear memory.
“Very good. Then what were the others doing at that time? Is there any other person or thing that can prove it?” the Imperial Envoy asked again. This was essentially looking for alibis.
“I, I was hosting a private banquet at home. My family can testify.” “I was negotiating a business deal with him, and our servants can testify to each other.” “I was at the dock receiving goods. The dock workers should have seen me.” “I was distributing gifts on the street on the night of the Winter Veil Festival. You can ask the neighbors.”
Everyone stated what they were doing. When it was a female merchant’s turn, she said: “We were having a small banquet at the Maple Pavilion back then. Those few people were also participants, and they can testify for me.”
She casually pointed to a few merchants, including Jayad. The other merchants also nodded, indicating that they were indeed together. No one questioned Jayad, who was not present at all.
“Hmm? Mr. Everson had already arrived back then?” a merchant from the Calo team asked instead. He had seen Jayad and felt that he was a newcomer who had just arrived not long ago.
“Yes, Everson arrived a few days ago. He visited me at least ten days ago,” a rich merchant said.
“That’s right. He was still discussing business with me the day before the Winter Veil Festival,” another rich merchant added.
These two people held high status and possessed some credibility in Valencia. Since they said that Jayad had already arrived, no one doubted it anymore. After all, important people were busy; how could they possibly notice the arrival time of everyone entering the city?
The envoy did not dwell on this matter. He just nodded and listened to the explanations of the next person, recording them in his notebook. Finally, he said: “Very good, all of you are cleared of suspicion.”
In reality, his investigation was very casual and not rigorous. He didn’t even try to verify whether what these people said was true, and directly accepted their accounts as fact, as long as no one else testified against them.
Moreover, even if these merchants were telling the truth, it could not rule out their suspicion. This was a world with magic. It was very easy to curse someone from afar or teleport over to participate in a murder and then return. Alibis were actually meaningless.
But this envoy collected everyone’s testimony so carelessly and then directly cleared everyone of suspicion. He also did not have a complete personnel list and did not check various entry records for ships and cities. He just wrote it down casually.
The fundamental reason for this was that he did not believe that the merchants of Valencia would assassinate the Crown Prince. These two unrelated individuals had no common interests.
Furthermore, others might not understand, but he did. The person who killed the Crown Prince had already been identified. It was someone full of deep hatred who wanted to assassinate the Lord of the City, and they carried a Cursed Artifact with them, which accidentally affected the Crown Prince, leading to his death. The identity of that avenger had also been confirmed.
Therefore, all that remained was for His Majesty the Emperor to save face and send people to search everywhere for the supposed murderer, while actually investigating the whereabouts of the Music Box and possible accomplices.
However, the envoy actually enjoyed this kind of work. Because when he announced that everyone was cleared of suspicion, there was a cheer from below. Then, the representative of the merchant guild stepped forward and presented him with a large leather bag.
The envoy opened the leather bag and saw it was stuffed full of jewels and sparkling gems. He couldn’t help but smile broadly. This was the tribute that the merchants had pooled together for the envoy.
