If I Said I Didn't Do It... Would You Believe Me?

"Mouth Brother, you finally spoke! I thought you'd run off with Shadow too."

Cheng Shi smiled like a little fox, or like a villain who had successfully carried out his evil scheme.

"·..."

"Why have you been so An Jing lately? Have you switched to the 'Silence' faith?"

"Don't talk nonsense, I just woke up."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Shi's hand involuntarily touched his nose.

"?"

Cheng Shi blinked in bewilderment, then bent over and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears were about to stream down his face.

It turns out that the "Honest Clown" not only fooled himself, but even fooled the Lips of Foolish Play. This is...

That's fucking awesome!

"·..."

"Mouth Brother, why are you silent again? Don't you like lying anymore?"

"Mouth Brother, have you changed your ways?"

"Mouth Brother, are you still there?"

"Hello?"

The Lips of Foolish Play returned to silence once more, but Cheng Shi was overjoyed.

He sometimes feared that his mouth would lose its function under the influence of Destiny, but now it seemed that it had withstood the pressure of Destiny.

Not bad, not bad, at least I'm not too lonely.

Thinking of this Cheng Shi raised his hand and rubbed the tip of his nose again. He was feeling the condition of his nose so that he could better deceive people by touching his nose during the remaining Trials time.

To his surprise, the Lips of Foolish Play suddenly said something while he was touching his nose:

"Destiny cannot be defied."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Shi's smile froze on his face.

He couldn't laugh anymore.

What does "Mouth Brother" mean by that?

Was what it said true or false? Did it deliberately exploit a loophole in the [Deception] curse, or did it simply fail to trigger the "Honest Clown" effect?

What is it trying to express, and what is it trying to tell itself?

If this were an external dialogue, Cheng Shi would probably need to think for a moment, but with the Lips of Foolish Play, he preferred to ask directly, even though he knew there was likely no response.

"Mouth Brother, you have the mouth of a liar, not a riddle teller. Can you explain yourself more clearly?"

As expected, the Lips of Foolish Play remained unresponsive.

Okay, okay, is this how you want to play the game? You want me to be the Clown, don't you!

Unable to find a solution, Cheng Shi, in a fit of anger and embarrassment, vented his fury on the only dead person present.

He picked up the Concentric Dagger from the table again, ready to write two words on the forehead of the scheming Scholar Therius:

Clown!

But just as he raised his hand, the wooden door to the room was pushed open from the outside.

A little girl with shoulder-length hair came skipping in.

"Grandpa Therius, I've brought you your favorite..."

The cheerful sounds came to an abrupt halt as soon as they began.

The little girl was stunned by what she saw. She looked at Cheng Shi raising the Daggers, at the Scholar on the chair with blood streaming from his chest, and at that familiar, unseeing face. With a "thud," the bag in her hand slipped and fell to the ground.

Her jumping posture froze, and her happy smile was frozen.

One second her eyes were crescent-shaped, the next they were wide and red, two streams of tears flowing down her cheeks. Joy and anticipation had unexpectedly turned into grief and sobbing.

Cheng Shi was also surprised, because he hadn't heard any sound outside the door before.

Seeing the innocent little girl crying in fear before him, he could only manage a somewhat friendly smile, awkwardly offering a pretentious excuse:

"If I said I didn't do it... would you believe me?"

"Ugh... um, ugh... I believe you, I believe you."

The little girl sobbed, wiped away her tears, picked up the bag that had fallen to the ground, turned around and closed the door, then silently walked to Therius's side.

After watching just this one set of movements, Cheng Shi knew that this little girl was definitely not simple.

Calm, composed, orderly, and without fear.

Even an adult would probably not be as calm as her when facing a suspect wielding a blood-stained Daggers. Putting aside her personal qualities, the only reason Cheng Shi could think of was that he was wearing the armor of a Punishment Knight, which made the other party less resistant and suspicious of him.

But if she comes here often, she should know that the Punishment Knight don't belong here.

"Did he... pass away in pain?"

"Sorry, I didn't see it."

When I arrived, Mr. Therius was already dead; this was all I found.

As he spoke, Cheng Shi rubbed his nose and shook the Daggers in his hand.

"Then... did you see who killed him?"

"Yes, I saw a blond male Assassin and a Death Sentence criminal wearing Prison Helmet bursting out of the door. They looked panicked and their hands were covered in blood. I attacked the blond Assassin with Thunderbolt, but he turned into a pile of Playing Card and disappeared."

As for that convict who Death Sentence, he ran too fast; I couldn't catch him.

The little girl wiped away her tears again, her small hands folded on Therius's old hands as she cried for a long time, before following Cheng Shi's gaze to the charred Playing Card scattered on the ground.

"Poker... I don't think Grandpa ever mentioned this ability. Thank you. I don't think I've ever seen you before. May I ask who you are...?"

"Grindel, little P... girl, my name is Grindel. I am Punishment Knight who was buried under the rubble by an explosion but accidentally discovered the prison escape tunnel dug by the prisoners and fell in by accident."

Upon discovering this place, I found the escaped criminal, so I gave chase, but...

Sorry I'm a little late.

The little girl pursed her lips and looked at Cheng Shi. After scrutinizing him for a while, she still chose to believe him.

"Then, Mr. Grindel, do you know anyone who has the ability to turn into playing cards, or even if you only know where they belong?"

"I'm sorry, young lady, my knowledge is limited, but I think there is a good reason behind every murder. Whoever doesn't want Mr. Therius to live the most is the most likely murderer."

The little girl lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, then said uncertainly:

"You mean... the people of the Tower of Reason still found this place and killed Grandpa Therius?"

"Uh..." Cheng Shi was taken aback, then nodded. "To be honest, I don't know anything about this place, but if the Tower of Reason you're talking about is the Tower of Reason I understand, then I can only say it's very likely."

Because the Scholarly Council not allow Scholar of the Tower of Reason to use the 'Truth' they have learned to serve others; they have both the means and the justification.

"Yes, thank you, thank you, Mr. Grindel, but the Punishment Knight is not allowed to come down here. I suggest you leave immediately and explain the situation to Aunt Melina who is guarding the Experiment door. She will help you leave here and return to your post."

"You... let me go?"

"You don't want to leave?"

Hmm, that's interesting. It seems this little girl knows quite a bit.

She let me go without asking any questions?

"I think so, Melina... Okay, thank you, I'll be going now."

Cheng Shi turned and left without hesitation, but the little girl behind him called out to him as soon as he lifted his leg.

"Um... Mr. Grindel, could you leave the murder weapon behind? I think the Iron Law Knight who come later might need it during their investigation."

"..."

The little brat has a sharp eye.

"Sorry, I was so nervous I forgot." Cheng Shi forced a smile, pulled a brand-new Scalpel from his sleeve, and then secretly dabbed some blood on the Concentric Dagger, placing it on the table in place of the real murder weapon.

The little girl watched him An Jing without saying a word, but after he had done all that, she suddenly asked:

Why do you keep touching your nose?

"Uh... I'm a little allergic to the air here, so I'm not feeling well." As he spoke, Cheng Shi touched the tip of his nose again.

It turned red, as red as Clown's nose.

"I apologize again, I think I should leave now."

With that, Cheng Shi turned and left, and this time the little girl did not stop him.

She gazed longingly at Cheng Shi's retreating figure until Cheng Shi left the room, then she sobbed as she closed Therius's eyes.

"Grandpa Therius, why do you insist on leaving? Don't you like me anymore?"

"Waaaaah..."

After a long time, the Iron Law Knight guarding this place finally arrived "late".

They still wore leather hoods that concealed their faces. When they discovered Therius dead in the workshop, the knights showed little shock. They simply looked at the little girl beside Therius and whispered:

"You shouldn't be here. Something unpleasant happened here. Shall we take you back?"

The little girl had already regained her composure, and her eyes were no longer red. She looked directly at these Indifference, Iron Law Knight and said with utmost seriousness:

"It was the Tower of Reason that killed Grandpa Therius."

The leading knight frowned. "Are you alright? You shouldn't have left Melina guarding the door; she should be protecting you."

"No, Melina has nothing to do with this. I'm saying that the Tower of Reason killed Grandpa Therius."

"Mr. Therius is not dead. He is tidying up the Experiment data in his office. I assure you, everything you see here is very likely a prank."

"I'm not a fool, gentlemen knights. Are you saying that the people of the Tower of Reason went through all the trouble to sneak in here just to set up a prank on me?"

Do you think the Grand Scholar in the Scholarly Council are all fools?

"Well, you're right, they're not stupid, but why are you so sure it was someone from the Tower of Reason who did it?"

"Because... I can't think of anyone else."

The knight couldn't help but chuckle, but he quickly composed himself and nodded with utmost seriousness:

"We will investigate this matter thoroughly. Please rest assured that under the radiance of the Chief Judge, no evil can escape justice."

The little girl still trusted the knight. She gave a soft "hmm" and finally decided to leave.

The knights quickly made way.

"You two, take Lady Galiusha back to Lord Kainlaur and make sure she is safe."

"Yes!"