Y-you need to be careful

Although the idea was rather dark, it made logical sense.

But Zhao Xun had no evidence yet. It was all just deduction and speculation.

Now it depended on whether the sculpture could get any useful information out of Ruby to support his theory.

As he thought this, Zhao Xun found Sculpture Girl in the Bamboo Grove, already familiar with the route.

When the sculpture saw Zhao Xun arrive as promised, she spoke before he could. "Ruby still won't tell me much."

Zhao Xun frowned slightly.

He didn't have much time left in the game. Wasting it all on persuading Ruby would be a problem.

Just as he was considering how to persuade the sculpture to let him meet Ruby directly, she spoke again.

"She doesn't trust you. She's afraid that if she tells you what happened, we'll both suffer for it." The sculpture looked at Zhao Xun. "I think her concerns make sense, and I can't trust you completely either. After all, we've only just met."

Zhao Xun gave a helpless smile. "We really haven't known each other long, so it's natural that you don't fully trust me. But we're short on time. If we keep doubting each other and wasting our energy, Ruby will be the one who suffers in the end."

"Ah... I just thought I should listen to Ruby." The sculpture looked a little dazed. Clearly, she hadn't considered any of what Zhao Xun had said. Somewhat flustered, she added, "Oh, right! She did give me a pretty important piece of information."

Zhao Xun murmured an acknowledgment, signaling for her to continue.

The sculpture hurriedly spilled everything out. "Ruby said the Duke took all the evidence she'd collected. But he probably wouldn't destroy it. Most likely, he hid it in the safe in his study."

Hearing this, Zhao Xun narrowed his eyes slightly.

From the words "the Duke took Ruby's evidence" alone, he could be almost certain that his earlier deductions were correct.

If the wrongdoing Ruby wanted to expose had nothing to do with the Duke, he would have had no reason to interfere.

Yet he had seized the evidence. Clearly, it contained something incriminating him.

Besides, in the entire town, only the Duke had the power to pin the blame on someone at will and send them straight to the stake without giving them any chance to clear their name.

It wouldn't matter even if Ruby revealed nothing more. As long as Zhao Xun could find that evidence, he would naturally learn exactly what the wrongdoing involved.

Uncovering the truth and helping clear Ruby's name wouldn't be difficult then.

The crucial question was whether the evidence really hadn't been destroyed.

"How is Ruby sure the Duke wouldn't destroy the evidence?" Zhao Xun asked.

"Ruby said the evidence is also a powerful weapon the Duke uses to keep other people under his thumb. He would never destroy it." After saying this, the sculpture looked confused. "But I don't really understand how he keeps them 'under his thumb.'"

"That's all right. It's enough that I understand." Zhao Xun smiled.

The sculpture had very little contact with humans, after all, and was innocent by nature. Even with her high intelligence, she knew little about the complexities of human nature or scheming.

That was perfectly normal.

In this era, there were no photographs, copying and printing were inconvenient, and electronic records didn't exist. Naturally, there would only be one original copy of the evidence.

Although letting it fall into someone else's hands would be bad for the Duke, without it, he would also find it harder to keep others under his control.

The Duke really wouldn't be willing to destroy the evidence lightly.

"Did Ruby tell you exactly where the safe is?" Zhao Xun asked again.

"Yes, she did." The sculpture nodded repeatedly. "The safe is behind a Bathing Beauty Painting. It's a horizontal painting, and the beauty has long, curly blond hair. The combination is 5188, but she isn't sure whether it's been changed."

"All right, got it." Zhao Xun placed the brown paper bag in the sculpture's hands. "I'm going to sneak into the study at the Duke's Manor tonight. Can you keep this food safe for me?"

"F-food?" The sculpture stared at the brown paper bag in her hands, looking bewildered at the bread, milk, and desserts inside.

Didn't this man say he was going to eat? Why had he brought so much food back with him? Hadn't he eaten enough?

"Yes. These are my rations for the next two days. If they get lost, I'll have to go hungry." Zhao Xun sighed. "Make sure you take good care of them for me."

Understanding dawned on the sculpture's face, and she hurriedly promised, "Don't worry. Hardly anyone ever comes here. I'll definitely keep your food safe."

Then she asked anxiously, "You're going to the study tonight?"

"Yes. Good timing matters more than getting there early," Zhao Xun replied. "I finally got into the Duke's Manor. It might not be this easy to get in again later. Since we know there might be evidence in the study, I should take this chance to investigate."

Seeing how eager Zhao Xun was to help clear Ruby's name, the sculpture felt both touched and guilty.

When Ruby had said she didn't really trust Zhao Xun, the sculpture had agreed. Now she couldn't help feeling she'd wronged him.

"Hey," the sculpture stammered. "Y-you need to be careful."

Zhao Xun turned back and gave her a radiant smile. "Yes, I know."

The sculpture froze. Her chest felt warm, as though it were trembling faintly.

What... was happening to her?

After asking exactly where the study was, Zhao Xun headed straight out of the Bamboo Grove.

Most of the guards were still maintaining order at the entrance to the Duke's Manor, making this a good time to sneak into the study.

Once all the townspeople had left and the manor resumed its regular patrols, getting in would be much harder.

Nimble and quick on his feet, Zhao Xun soon entered the villa.

He headed up the stairs, intending to go straight to the third floor.

But after climbing just a few steps, he suddenly heard the faint creak of a window opening above him.

He stopped and looked up closely. Someone had opened the window above the stair landing from outside, and a dark figure slipped inside.

He quickly crouched, using the stairs to conceal himself.

Though he couldn't make out the person's face in the pitch-black night, their tight-fitting stealth outfit clearly outlined their figure and hairstyle.

A woman with short, close-cropped hair.

Of the six players in this game, only two were women.

It wasn't hard to guess who she was.

It was the tall, thin Short-Haired Woman, one of the five volunteers.

Short-Haired Woman quickly jumped down from the window. She seemed familiar with the layout and headed straight upstairs as soon as she landed.

She probably wasn't wearing shoes, as her footsteps made no sound at all.

Zhao Xun hurried upstairs as well. To avoid drawing attention, he kept low and crawled up on his hands and feet.