The richly dressed middle-aged man died a not very dignified death. His mouth was wide open, the heavy smell of wine and the sour smell of vomit came to his face, his eyes were wide open, and the muscles on his face froze in the moment of horror before he died.

As for the cause of death......

Fili crouched down beside Leohard, stretched out his hand and tossed the deceased's head aside, the reddened fingerprints on his neck slightly swollen - he had been strangled to death.

The man's body was not completely stiff, and there was even a trace of warmth to the touch, but it was obvious that it could not be saved.

Guardian Carlos was obviously aware of this, and did not force a paladin to do something that even a sage might not be able to do, but cursed in a dejected whisper: "Even death can't be picked at the right time!"

Filly suddenly remembered the hapless guy - nicknamed "Leo who couldn't pick the right time". As a young man, Leohard was excellent in all aspects of the Borena family, but he didn't know which god he had inadvertently offended, and no matter what he did, he was either one step earlier or one step late, and he never did the right thing at the right time, so he gradually fell into frustration and became a complete joke...... Such a life can be regarded as a tragedy.

"I guess you didn't see the murderer?" asked Fili, hopelessly.

"Just one step away!" Guardian stomped his foot anxiously.

- It means that he didn't even see a shadow.

"I've sent someone to look around, but I can't make much of a move now!" Gard grumbled, as if it was anyone's fault. Then he yelled angrily at the maid who was sobbing and choking: "Don't cry! What the hell do you see?!"

The maid, who was only a teenager, turned pale with fright, and for a moment not only cried, but even seemed to stop breathing. A few strands of her long, brown hair fell on her fair neck. His black eyes, soaked in tears, were misty, and he looked as pitiful as a frightened squirrel.

Fili shook his head helplessly, walked up to her, half-knelt down, and said, "Hey, I'm Fili?

His tone was relaxed and easygoing, as if there were no dead people in the room. He's just a boring knight in the hallway greeting beautiful young girls.

The girl nodded unconsciously, twitched her red nose, and resumed her breathing.

"But I don't know your name. Doesn't that seem fair?" Fili smiled at her.

"Leslie. The girl whispered, "My name is Leslie." ”

"So, Leslie. Fili looked back at Leohard's body, "You're not the one who helped this lord out of the hall, were you?"

He remembered that the maid was blonde. And not brunette.

Leslie shook her head.

"That's Loraine. She said. She complained...... She's vomited and needs to change her clothes, so I'll see what the Earl needs......"

She shuddered, shrunk into smaller balls, and her round eyes overflowed with horror again.

"You're safe, Leslie. Filly reassured softly, "If you could tell me what you saw so we could find the killer as quickly as possible, you—and all your companions." will be safer. ”

Leslie looked at him with a strange look on her face.

"That can't be. She whispered. "You can't catch him. ”

Guardian took a sharp step forward, his armor clanging.

Filly stretched out his hand to stop him, and still asked kindly, "Why do you say that? Do you know him?"

The girl nodded earnestly: "That's His Majesty." ”

“...... What?!" Guardian raised his voice in confusion.

Even Fili was stunned for a moment before asking, "Which Your Majesty?" I'm pretty sure His Majesty the King of Rutgar hasn't gotten up from his chair since the beginning of the feast. ”

"Oh. The girl cried out in a low voice, and suddenly realized that she had said the wrong thing, and her face quickly turned white and red, "I mean...... King Ante......"

Her voice was as thin as a gnat, but it was like a bolt of lightning.

The surroundings were so quiet for a moment that even everyone's heartbeat could be heard clearly. Fili involuntarily looked around the room, and a chill rushed up the back of the fearless paladin.

“...... You saw Ante?" he asked incredulously, "Ante killed Leohard?"

Leslie nodded and shook her head, looking a little hesitant.

“...... What the hell did you see?!" Gard roared angrily.

- That's hell indeed.

Fili smiled wryly and patted the girl who was so frightened that she almost jumped up.

"I'm a paladin, remember?" he said, "and a paladin is not afraid of any ghost, even if he was once a king...... So, tell me, did you see King Ante, or did you see an apparition of King Ante...... Or do you just see a shadow and you think it's Ante? Think about it, Leslie, think about it, and then tell me. ”

Leslie hesitated for a moment before she said in a voice so small that she could barely tell, "I...... It seems that nothing is seen. ”

Fili didn't have to look back to feel the flames coming from Guardian, and he could only reach out to stop the young knight from slashing at him in a fit of rage, while trying to keep his smile that was beginning to twist slightly.

"Then why do you think of King Ante?" he asked.

"Lord Earl...... He died exactly like His Majesty......" replied Leslie wincing, "and he strangled himself by the neck with both hands......

Filly looked back in confusion - Leohard had one hand on the ground and the other on his chest, and it didn't look like he was "choking his own neck." ”

He looked at Gard, and the young man shook his head in annoyance, "I haven't touched him!"

"It's my ......," the girl's voice trembled, "and he grabbed his neck as if choked on what he had spit out, and I pulled his hand away, only to find that he was dead...... Then I remembered what it was......"

Fili couldn't help but turn a little dark - so, was this purely self-scare?

He patiently whispered a few more questions, making sure he couldn't ask more, before shaking his head at Guardian.

"Let her go. He said, holding up a serious finger to Leslie, "There are some things you shouldn't talk about—you're a smart girl, or you won't be chosen for Lockburg." There are no ghosts here...... There are no dead people yet, understand?"

The girl nodded vigorously and looked much calmer.

“...... She can't keep any secrets. ”

After seeing her leave, Gard said stiffly.

"So what do you want? kill her, or imprison her?" Filly scratched his head helplessly, "this kind of thing will spread sooner or later, and a missing or dead maid will only make the whole story even more bizarre, and believe me, it won't help anything." ”

The life of an ordinary maid is as light as a mustard in the court, and he knows this very well, and he also knows that he is powerless to change. For young Carlos, it was more beneficial to convince Leslie that he was alive than dead, and much more useful than to rebuke him for belittling the lives of others. This is one of the few experiences he has accumulated in his life...... Although it seems somewhat sad.

The Gard fell silent and surprisingly did not retort.

They all turned their gaze to the corpses on the ground. No one can deny that Leohard's death is indeed very similar to Ante's.

“...... Is that really possible?" said again, with a hint of unease in Gard's voice, "Ante's ghost or something......

"I don't know if his ghost is still hovering here," replied Fili, "but Leohard definitely didn't strangle himself to death. ”

He walked over and ripped off Leohard's collar so that Gard could see the fingerprints. The fingerprints, which were still tinged with a hint of blood, had turned a terrifying blue-gray in a short period of time, but they were much clearer.

"Let's not talk about whether he can strangle himself with one hand. Fili said calmly, "This adult's fingers are obviously not that long. ”

Guardian's gaze circled around Leohard's hands and neck, and finally nodded silently.

The hand that left the fingerprints was much more slender than Leohard's own thick palm.

"In fact, ghosts are powerless to harm humans. Filley rubbed his cold fingers, "This is a man's doing—but why did that man strangle Leohard and deliberately pose as if King Ante was dead...... I guess that's what you should be worried about. ”

He thought he didn't need to say anything more. The people of the Carlos family would not be unaware of the horror of the rumors. Had it not been for rumors, Ogdon Carlos, the eldest son of the old marquis's pride, would not have died in such a deplorable manner......

"It's the people who dare to do such a thing. Guardian's voice was low and fierce, "I will not allow anyone to hurt Moira and her children!"

Fili couldn't help but smile slightly. Although everyone is not perfect, the brothers and sisters of the Carlos family love each other very much, which is really rare for an ancient family that is always full of all kinds of strife.

"You're going to help me, aren't you?" Gard looked at him with blazing eyes, "You can go back to Frederick first, and I'll come to you soon!"

He hurriedly pushed the door open, without even asking Fili if he wanted to, as if he had taken him for granted,

Fili opened his mouth to say something, but closed feebly, to his chagrin to find that Frederick was quite similar to his uncle, at least in the sense that it was reasonably difficult to be strong.

He let out a long sigh and looked around the room again. The windows are closed, and the perimeter is heavily guarded...... The killer either really comes and goes like a ghost, or is very familiar with Lockburg.

As a paladin, Filly certainly believes in ghosts...... But ghosts are never more terrible than people.

(To be continued......)