As a Gothamite with a fair grasp of philosophy and artistic taste himself, Victor finally understood why Schiller had insisted on dragging him here to watch the spectacle. That minor official equivalent to a Brainiac Government clerk had handled this matter in a way that truly outraged both heaven and earth. Even though Hugo Strange was such a terrible person, Victor could not help feeling that Schiller had gone a little too far.
Jerryta, who should have been the first victim of the Assassin, had not actually died. Faking his death seemed difficult, but in reality, since Jerryta might already have been a Living Corpse, his physical condition differed from that of ordinary people, so it was not impossible to disguise.
In short, the Assassin had not killed him. He had kept him alive solely to disgust Hugo Strange.
The logic of this plan was roughly this: Jerryta had confessed his love to Hugo and become his fervent follower. But as a master psychologist, Hugo naturally understood where Jerryta's affection came from.
Perhaps Schiller had interfered, or perhaps he had truly been that way all along. In any case, Jerryta's love stemmed from sexual desire, and his sexual desire was perverse. He did not like the living. He only liked the dead.
In other words, while Hugo was alive, Jerryta did not like him at all. Only after he died would Jerryta fall in love with him. What Jerryta liked was not Hugo's superb manipulation skills, his talent for psychology, or any other virtue of his, but simply his death—precisely his death.
And who had caused that death?
Schiller.
While Hugo had been alive, no one had ever expressed love for him, nor had he had any fervent followers. In other words, from beginning to end, the only trait Hugo