Elsewhere, in the office of the Patrol Department.
Berkeley and his two companions were still in conversation.
"...How confident are you that this incident was their doing?" Berkeley asked Flower, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the mahogany desk.
"Only about thirty percent," Flower shook his head,
"I've been to the scene and, judging by the state of the bodies, it somewhat resembles their style... but I didn't sense that familiar, nauseating aura."
At this, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.
This latest murder case had closely followed the contaminant incident involving Catherine from the West City Guard Station, and he subconsciously linked the two events.
However, upon actually visiting the scene, he found it somewhat different from what he had expected.
"We'll know soon enough," Price, who was sitting beside them, interjected, "If it really is the Bloody Thorn, then they will definitely act again."
"And what about Regina?" Flower asked.
"Let them keep investigating," Berkeley interrupted.
"Alright," Flower nodded, then asked, "Should we report this to Wizard Lap?"
"No need," Berkeley shook his head,
"Nothing has been confirmed yet, and there's no point in bothering Master Lap... This may just be an ordinary murder case like any other."
He turned to look out of the stained-glass window, paused, and then reminded,
"But we shouldn't let our guard down either; the source of Catherine's contamination has been identified by Wizard Lap as the master of the Bloody Thorn..."
Flower nodded vigorously, his jowly neck quivered.
Afterwards, the three said their goodbyes.
Berkeley left the Patrol Department.
Outside, the sun was shining brightly, the sky azure blue,
People were coming and going in Blackstone City.
Peaceful, serene, a day like any other...
But no matter how he looked at it, he always felt as if there were undercurrents swirling in the shadows.
*
*
*
79 Tulip Street.
At the ornately carved gate with roses.
Bigu was saying farewell to Regina and her companion.
"Lord Bigu, if you think of any useful information later on, please contact us immediately," they said.
"I certainly will," Bigu replied with a smile,
"I'll be heading back now."
He said goodbye to Regina and her companion and turned to step into the carriage behind him.
Off you go!
The carriage carried him away, slowly disappearing at the corner of the street.
Colin and Regina returned to the living room and sat down on the apricot-colored velveteen sofa, both frowning simultaneously.
Bigu's answers had provided them with no useful information.
And with no traces to be detected at the scene, Regina's black cat couldn't smell anything unusual either.
The murder case's investigation had hit a deadlock.
"...How about we return to the Patrol Department and go through the archives of recent murder cases with extraordinary factors?"
After pondering for a moment, Colin suggested.
Clearly, this murder case was very likely the work of cultists, most likely not an act of vengeance.
And if it was not vengeance, then investigating personal relationships was undoubtedly the wrong direction.
In the current situation, with the only clue being their signature, ghost-like, traceless manner,
Finding whether there was a related homicide was clearly the only breakthrough.
Regina obviously realized this too, and nodded her head.
She got up neatly and returned to the Patrol Department with Colin.
This time, the victim was just an insignificant common man; in principle there was no need to pay too much attention.
But because the incident itself involved supernatural powers, and it was very likely related to Cultists, it was no longer a trivial matter.
It wasn't long before the two arrived at the archive room of the Patrol Department, where all the files had been moved from the previous Guard Station.
In the farthest corner, a huge brown bookshelf housed all the cases of homicide with supernatural elements that had occurred on the island over the past sixty years.
The two of them flipped through the files one by one in chronological order, starting from the present and moving backwards in time.
The sunlight by the window crawled from the legs of the table onto the tabletop, and then onto Colin, before finally, gradually disappearing.
It wasn't until evening, after they reviewed all the homicides related to supernatural factors from the past year.
Yet, they still hadn't found an incident identical to the recent Tulip Murder, not even anything similar.
Dusk fell.
In the end, Regina and Colin had to put down the files and took a carriage ride back to their respective homes.
Regina lived in the opposite direction, and by the time Colin's carriage turned the corner onto Acorn Street, Regina's figure was no longer visible.
"Let's go to Tulip Street first," Colin suddenly instructed the coachman Arthur at that moment.
"Yes, master," Arthur responded promptly, steering the carriage towards Tulip Street.
Before long, the carriage slowly stopped at number 79 Tulip Street.
Colin stepped out of the carriage.
Outside the latticed gate carved with roses, there were still two armored Guards standing watch.
"Sir," the two Guards greeted respectfully, curious as to why Colin would return so late, yet they asked nothing and remained silent as they opened the gates for him.
But as Colin approached the entrance, he paused, waved to the Guards, and then suddenly turned back to the carriage.
"Let's go, Arthur," he ordered.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The carriage started moving.
Inside the carriage, Colin's expression was calm.
The sole reason he returned here was to confirm the indescribable feeling he had experienced that morning.
Although Detect Evil and Regina's cat had found nothing at the crime scene that morning, he still felt something was off…
A very faint oddity, so faint that he had once thought it was just an illusion.
Not until he had thoroughly perused the archives that afternoon and carefully pondered did he gradually confirm that this slight oddity was not an illusion.
In theory, as just an ordinary Intermediate Wizard Apprentice, since both Regina and her black cat, as well as Detect Evil, had not detected anything unusual, he should not have been able to detect anything either.
But he had indeed discovered something… and it was certainly not an illusion.
...Without a doubt, this was also one of the benefits of the enhancement of his soul.
After the enhancement with the Golden Four-leaf Clover, his soul's upgrade might not seem as significant as his physical body's, having not received a Talent like his body had.
But in terms of actual quantification, his current soul strength was undoubtedly one of the strongest on the entire island, excluding Wizard Lap.
Moreover, the Golden Four-leaf Clover seemed to provide a special enhancement to perception, so it was quite normal for him to sense oddities that a normal Intermediate Apprentice could not.
Nevertheless, obtaining the Golden Four-leaf Clover still needed to be kept a secret, and the strength of his enhanced soul should not be revealed lightly.
Therefore, after confirming his sensation that afternoon, he said nothing.
He chose to come back later at night to take a closer look.
However, as he approached the door, he abruptly realized.
There was absolutely no need for him to come here alone at this moment.
With nightfall already upon them, the vast residence at number 79 Tulip Street had only the two living Guards outside, while the rest inside were mutilated, horrific corpses.
A gentleman does not stand beneath a collapsing wall.
If he wanted to check again…
Waiting for the daylight tomorrow or revisiting with Regina another time would undoubtedly be the safer choice.