Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 932 - 198: Seeds of Doubt

Carlo and numerous church leaders stayed in the church throughout the night, unable to sleep. When the sun rose, and the priests returned to the church, many exhausted church leaders finally closed their eyes and began to doze off against the church pews.

Fortunately, no more murders occurred that night.

Similarly, Veronica also stayed awake throughout the night. She paced back and forth in the church alone in the late night, yet no matter how many files she consulted or how many bishops and high-tier priests she questioned about Savia, she found nothing.

However, at the same time, her premonition was confirmed.

The young man was not a deranged madman. The deaths of Darlant and Aurora each had their own significance. If Aurora's gruesome death in the church garden was meant to frighten the Pope and a group of church leaders, preventing them from leaving the Crown of Dawn Cathedral recklessly, then what about Darlant?

The world's greatest mind binder was killed in his room without even foreseeing the arrival of death before he was slain. Therefore, if the killer wished, they could have easily disposed of the guards at the attic when leaving, erasing any clues.

According to the guards downstairs, the murderer swaggered down from the second floor after killing Darlant, even nodding to them before leaving. This is why they only discovered the corpse by evening.

Carlo insisted that the killer was provoking the Church Court and even the entire Far West, attempting to use a highly incendiary speech to stir the emotions of other church leaders. However, Veronica felt that this was not the case; she vaguely sensed that the killer meant for the surviving guard to convey a message to them.

Just like the impersonated priest in the confessional and the "murder prediction" left on parchment by the killer before leaving, all signs suggested the person was "transparent" in their actions.

Veronica twirled her quill pen, staring pensively at the "murder prediction" on the table.

After a curse directed at Carlo, she wrote down three names.

Ascetic Solaris, Mind Binder Darlant, and Forest Speaker Aurora, these were the three who had been murdered so far.

Her brows knitted tighter and tighter, and finally, she couldn't help but circle Solaris' name.

Solaris was murdered in a border city. She wasn't on-site at the time. According to officials from the Border Administration Bureau, Solaris was killed on her way home in the evening, with the cause of death being a piercing wound to the heart—another instantaneous fatality. The Margaret Clan's emblem was found at the scene.

Considering solely the modus operandi and the "transparency," it indeed seemed like the work of the same killer. However, Carlo insisting to the congregation of church leaders that it was undoubtedly an assassin sent by the Empire made Veronica feel something was amiss.

Suppose Solaris' death was the work of the killer; their motive seemed strangely peculiar.

Consider what the Margaret Clan emblem discovered at the scene incited?

It served as the fuse for Carlo to declare war on the Empire, putting enormous public pressure on the Empire. In Veronica's impression, Ave-Margaret was someone who valued public opinion greatly—the call for "peaceful development" was advocated by her once she became the cabinet's new prime minister, earning the support of the Western Continent's Deep Sea Council and becoming the mainstream development direction for nations.

This emblem suddenly made her and the Empire a target in the arena of public opinion. Recently, newspapers have been publishing articles about Ave attending various public meetings, adamantly asserting that the Empire never intended to initiate war against any country or power.

Even if the Empire ultimately won the war, the public opinion environment they worked hard to build would inevitably be destroyed.

If, as the Pope firmly believed, the killer was sent by the Margaret Clan, there would be no need to leave evidence at the scene directly implicating the Empire.

Veronica tried to put herself in the shoes of the killer.

Imagine, if the Pope sent her to a small border town in the Empire to kill a noble and she "negligently" or "intentionally" left evidence directly implicating the Life Divine Teachings, the Pope would probably wish to smash her head upon her return.

Gradually, Veronica's thoughts became clearer, and she subsequently came up with a bold idea.

What if...

The murder of Solaris wasn't committed by the same killer as the other two?

When she crossed out Solaris' name, the illogical reasoning vanished, and a bold notion emerged in Veronica's mind.

Who could be the killer of Solaris?

It depended on who benefited the most from Solaris' murder—this is basic deductive reasoning.

In the next moment, Veronica's pupils contracted, and the quill pen spinning in her hand came to a halt.

When she came back to her senses, she found herself in a cold sweat.

Because this deduction was indeed quite "bold."

The Ascetic faction Solaris represented had always belonged to the neutral faction within the Life Divine Teachings. Moreover, due to Solaris' long-standing seniority in the Church Court and strict adherence to every regulation, he held high prestige among the Believers. What was more intriguing was that before his demise, he had openly opposed waging war against the Empire.

And the currently confirmable fact is that following his death, the Ascetics were also driven by the need to avenge their spiritual leader, hence engaging in the war.