The Shepherds Are Dense

Chapter 81: The Bad Woman Radar Is Ringing

—Droste.The surname of Lily’s biological father, the still-virile trade minister.

Chief Gordon first sighed in relief, then frowned again.

Since a powerful minister was involved, this likely wasn’t about the royal family—the best news, avoiding the worst outcome.

But conversely, the chief private secretary to the Trade Minister was a significant figure.

Secretary Ralph, a civil servant, answered only to Minister Droste and the Permanent Undersecretary.

Nearing fifty, he still had promotion potential.

This widened the suspect pool.

Knightly families swore oaths upon receiving armor, barring them from harming royals.

If the target was Princess Isabel, all knightly club members could be ruled out.

But now…

“Cause of death determined?” Gordon asked, redirecting his thoughts.

He’d noted the victim fell from the second-floor railing, about five or six meters.

That height could be fatal, but high-ranking priests with Illumination were nearby.

Unless the victim landed directly on their head, such a fall should’ve been treatable.

A young inspector shook his head. “Uncertain if it’s poison or a curse, but definitely not the fall. Likely tied to the knife in the victim’s back—needs lab analysis. Death was swift, within ten seconds of the injury, nearly instant. The priests who treated him confirm this.”

“So, the victim was attacked, then fell, dying soon after hitting the ground?”

Gordon’s brow furrowed; the situation was growing trickier.

After a moment’s thought, he issued orders: “Search everyone on the second floor immediately!

This dangerous weapon must have a container or tool for use—find it!

Identify anyone near the railing during the incident, alone, acting suspiciously, or seen moving quickly afterward. Bring them down!”

“And,” Aiwas interjected calmly, “check if second-floor members have documents or file bags.”

The inspector and Gordon turned to the wheelchair-bound Aiwas.

Gordon recognized him instantly.

“…Mr. Aiwas, correct? I’ve heard of your case in Lloyd District.”

The old knight spoke gravely, not dismissing Aiwas’s youth. “You think this is related to Ralph’s documents?”

“Just a hunch. No evidence,” Aiwas said seriously, without smiling.

“But typically, who brings so many documents to a music club? Even if they did, wouldn’t they use a bag? Checking files at the railing risks papers falling.

Maybe he just opened a file bag or received documents from someone. Check if anyone tried to steal something—or killed to cover up a theft.”

In truth, Aiwas was improvising.

He raised the possibility casually to sound less professional, avoiding suspicion.

With him and Isabel present, and Edward en route, the documents would be checked anyway.

Sounding too expert might draw unwanted attention.

The real reason: Aiwas found the victim increasingly familiar.

Hearing Ralph’s name triggered a memory of a skipped cutscene from the game.

This balding, gold-rimmed-glasses secretary was the “someone” who sent a letter to the Red Nobility Society!

In the game, players learned this “someone” was a trusted confidant of a major figure.

From the “Sweater Brotherhood” dungeon—months after the “Gallows Square Corpse Case”—players obtained a coded document.

Sherlock’s decoding revealed it listed locations and numbers: quantities of explosives stored in an abandoned factory, to be delivered at specific times.

Somehow, players and Aiwas were found hiding in a sealed crate, leading to a fight.

[Probably sneaking in to investigate, delivered by Sherlock or someone else, only to be discovered.]

After defeating the enemies, they found another document and escaped corrupted inspectors’ pursuit.

Aiwas skipped the cutscene, missing the document’s details, but remembered post-cutscene dialogue.

Sherlock’s analysis showed three documents with seemingly different handwriting were penned by one person.

A week later, a civil servant “committed suicide” at home over bribery, reported in a corner of .

Sherlock, sensing something off, investigated the servant’s death, finding it occurred after Aiwas and the players’ failed infiltration turned into a chaotic brawl.

By stealing Ralph’s documents from his mansion and comparing handwriting, Sherlock confirmed Ralph was the “someone” tied to the Red Nobility Society, revealing Minister Droste as the traitor feeding Star Antimony Kingdom secrets!

Despite skipping the plot, Aiwas recalled the news clipping about the servant’s “suicide” and Ralph’s distinctive balding hairstyle.

Seeing his glasses now brought it all back.

Identifying the traitor so quickly was cause for celebration.

Unlike in the game, where reckless actions exposed him, Aiwas remained undetected.

But this complicated things.

Among everyone present, including the assassin, only Aiwas grasped the situation’s complexity.

He recognized the sheathless poison blade:

A signature assassination weapon of “Eagle Eye,” a covert Iris Kingdom operative group.

Unlike Avalon’s Inspectorate, a formal power structure, Eagle Eye was a secretive assassin organization, mostly operating domestically, rarely abroad.

Due to their stealth, poison, and Adaptation path skills—and their “Eagle” name—they were thought to be a secret society from the Scale-Feather Lord-worshipping Black Eagle Duchy.

Not until version 4.0’s midpoint did players learn Eagle Eye’s leader was Iris Kingdom’s Prime Minister!

The Prime Minister used the group to eliminate rival faction members, their aides, or frame others, disguising it as contract killings, creating a facade of Love and Beauty path factions clashing.

The Prime Minister’s radical faction pushed extreme racism, advocating expelling “Moon Children” and mimicking Avalon’s Purification path to abandon the Love path, easing Iris Kingdom’s path conflicts.

Aiwas’s thoughts turned to Aiden’s elegant, beautiful senior who gifted him —the one tying him to the Moon Children later.

His expression complex, he glanced at Aiden.

Noticing, Aiden scratched his head, confused. “What’s up, Aiwas?”

“Nothing.”

Aiwas sighed, shaking his head. “Documents could be hidden, like in a book. With your experience, please oversee this closely, Chief Gordon.”

He couldn’t just say, “The killer’s a pretty, book-loving female student.” Deduction wasn’t wild.

He hadn’t even seen her.

So, he offered precise hints instead.

“…I’ll check upstairs myself,” Gordon said after pondering, finding Aiwas’s logic sound.

Watching Gordon head upstairs, Aiwas sighed.

[Man, Aiden, your bad woman radar is .]

Three days left this month, but the unprecedentedly diligent cat has updated 199,000 words!

Cat’s rotating sleep schedule hit 10:50 AM without dinner, hungry and dizzy… Planning a rest day on the 29th or 30th to save this cat’s life!

(Chapter End)