"Suicide..."
Squatting beside William's terrifying, purplish-crimson corpse, Jane flatly announced the news of his death.
But Syl could hear the anger and unwillingness contained within Jane's voice.
Syl also put on gloves and squatted to the side, enduring the stench of the corpse as she pulled a letter from his hand.
Unfolding the stationery, Syl looked at the contents inside. Jane, who was beside her, also calmed her emotions and turned her head to look at the letter with Syl.
It was a cliché, a very old-fashioned method—using words cut from newspapers and pasted onto the stationery to express a message through individual words.
[William | Can this serve as evidence? | I | Accept judgment | Will not | Die | You like children? |]
[You | Die]
[Children | Die?]
*Thump—*
Jane suddenly slammed her fist heavily against the ground, saying with anger, "He knew what I was going to do... Someone reported my movements! Damn these dog detectives, they're all in league with each other."
Syl, who had originally wanted Jane to call the police, pursed her lips and then let out a soft sigh.
She could already imagine it: a kind-hearted middle-aged worker who liked children and was beloved by the neighborhood kids, often saving a bit of his meager wages to buy them candy.
Then the good times didn't last. He was coerced by the factory owner and brutally violated.
He had originally thought Jane's arrival could bring some punishment to that demon, but he didn't expect that instead of Jane, a demon's servant would arrive first with a letter.
If he didn't die, and if he leaked the evidence...
Then those who died would be those innocent children.
Although Jane could make Frank suffer a bit, she wouldn't be able to take his life; legally, what Frank had done wasn't enough to warrant a death sentence.
Clearly, the kind-hearted William had already made his choice.
He chose eternal silence for the sake of the children.
Syl thought back to the worried look in that little girl's eyes just now, and the flash of joy she saw when she heard someone was looking for Uncle William.
Perhaps she had quietly poked her head out just now to see if Uncle William was okay.
Fury began to burn uncontrollably within Syl's heart.
"Hee hee hee..."
Syl could already hear the Joker's morbid laughter in her mind.
Taking a deep breath, the heavy smell of dust and decay in the air allowed Syl to calm down slightly.
Suddenly, Jane stood up abruptly and ran outside: "There are other witnesses!"
She could no longer worry about Syl and rushed out alone, leaving only one sentence for her: "Wait for me here with May."
Syl watched as Jane ran out the door. She stayed quietly in the room alone until May walked in.
"Uh... goddess of justice above..." May was clearly startled as she entered, stammering, "Her... Her Highness Jane told me to notify the police to handle the body..."
"May," Syl stood up and showed the letter in her hand to May, "Can't this be used as evidence to convict Frank?"
"Sigh... This could also just be something he ordered his servants or hired thugs to do; he can completely distance himself from it." May looked at the letter, then at the corpse, and sighed. "There are no external injuries. At most, it will be ruled a suicide."
Syl had originally held some illusions about the laws established by the Church of the Goddess of Justice, but now they were shattered.
What a law full of loopholes... Syl sighed inwardly, then came to terms with it. After all, even modern, well-perfected laws still had loopholes, let alone in an era like this.
"Do we really not need to follow Jane?" Syl asked quietly, her mood visibly low.
"Her Highness Jane, like you, has the Archbishop's protective divine art on her. There's no need to worry about her safety." May's mood was also off; she sounded deeply powerless.
After waiting for about ten minutes, the detectives arrived and cordoned off the scene. With just a glance, the lead inspector confirmed the cause of death.
"Suicide. Hah, another suicide."
Almost all the officers who entered intentionally or unintentionally ignored the letter that Syl had tucked back into William's hand.
It was just the death of a sewer rat; they didn't want to spend too much effort investigating the causes and consequences.
When the detectives began to disperse the onlookers, May and Syl were also asked to leave. As the primary witnesses, the detectives didn't even bother to ask them a single question.
Syl and May stood by the roadside, watching the detectives finish their work at lightning speed. Syl said flatly, "Ibiza is rotten to the core..."
May also sighed softly: "Ibiza is controlled by the factory owners, and above them is Grand Baron Bonsandi. It's almost impossible to change the status quo."
"Indeed." Syl nodded and said no more.
She also knew that the ultimate ruler wasn't Bonsandi, but someone else.
Syl took off her glasses, gave them a simple wipe with her sleeve, and put them back on.
The two stood silently by the roadside like that. Around the time Syl wiped her glasses for the second time, Jane returned.
Her wine-red curly hair was draped behind her. Her hairband had been lost somewhere while she was running. Jane walked toward Syl and May expressionlessly, every step looking like it took all her strength.
"Two are dead, three are missing. They've probably fled Suramar." Jane's expression was a bit bitter. "It's good that they ran; at least they're still alive."
"Then are we not going to Frank's today?" Syl asked.
"The witnesses are all dead, how can we go?" As soon as Jane finished speaking, she realized she was taking her anger out on Syl. She took a deep breath and said with her head lowered in dejection, "Sorry, Little Syl, I just..."
"It's okay, I understand you," Syl reached out and patted Jane's shoulder. "There will always be a way out."
As Syl spoke, the right hand resting on Jane's shoulder glowed slightly, but before the skill could take effect, Syl felt her mental energy suddenly drained, and the light in her hand dissipated.
"Thank you for your kindness, Little Syl," Jane's voice was low. "Let me continue to savor this anger and unwillingness for now. I'm going to pay Frank back twofold."
"Sorry, Little Syl, I might not be able to accompany you for a while," Jane said, looking at Syl apologetically. "I need to go do something with May in a bit."
"To continue looking for evidence of Frank's atrocities?" Syl asked.
Hearing Syl's question, Jane fell silent. In truth, she didn't know what to do now either.
Just as Jane was at a loss, she heard Syl speak again.
"Jane, maybe there's another way," Syl looked at Jane with a smile and asked, "Can you get in touch with a newspaper?"
"A newspaper?" Jane looked confused but still answered, "It's not impossible."
"We can publish this in the paper," Syl took the letter from her pocket and waved it, saying, "With a bit of embellishment."
"But that won't be of any use; it can't serve as evidence..." Jane shook her head and said helplessly, "If you want to ruin that factory owner's reputation, then I'm afraid... only the people in Ibiza would care about this kind of news, and Frank's own evil deeds are already known to everyone in Ibiza."
"This won't do anything except incite public outrage in Ibiza," May added from the side.
"No, I'm not trying to ruin his reputation, nor am I using this as evidence." Syl shook her head and handed the letter to Jane. "I want the Joker to know about this."
"...The Joker?" Jane thought of yesterday's news, her expression conflicted and hesitant.
But May, standing beside her, took the letter directly from Jane.
"I will inform the newspaper."
"The holy medicine Her Highness Jane is currently digesting doesn't support her doing such things."
"I can do it for her."
The fire in May's heart seemed quite large as well.