Mr. Federico described the circumstances of the theft of the manuscript to the three guests.

"Originally, they were things that I didn't use very often, so I usually encapsulate them and don't take them out." "However, it has been autumn lately. So, I'm going to take them out for ventilation and sunbathing before winter. On the one hand, it will prevent dampness, and on the other hand, it will prevent moths."

"That manuscript is among them?" Mr. Murray asked.

"Yes." Federico replied, "Later, when I was counting the items in the evening, I realized that something was missing."

"Is only the manuscript missing?"

"Not only the manuscript, but also a study of the dark arts."

"Where did you put the things back then?"

"It's in the attic."

Immediately afterwards, Monsieur Federico led them to the attic of his house.

The houses in this neighborhood are all adjacent, so it shouldn't be difficult to climb through the buildings next to them.

"Didn't you take any precautions against theft?" Mr. Murray asked.

"Nope." Mr. Federico shook his head, and said, "The windows are always open because they need to be ventilated. Besides, I thought, no one would steal this kind of thing, right?"

Unless it's the same collector?

"The value of something aside, if someone wants to use it for something dishonorable, it's going to be in trouble." Mr. Murray said.

"You're right, I didn't think about it at the time to cause such serious consequences."

Mr. Federico still believes that this incident was caused by his own negligence.

"By the way, you mentioned that along with the manuscript, there is also a research document on the dark arts?" Mr. Murray then asked.

"Yes," replied Mr. Federico, "it also contains some knowledge of forbidden magic. The main part of the article is about the method of rejuvenation."

"Rejuvenation?" Mr. Murray was a little surprised.

Some people pursue immortality, some people intend to stay young forever, and naturally some people want to rejuvenate.

"Is there any connection between the two?" Mr. Murray continued.

"Actually, as described above, there is a method of using a living heart." Mr. Federik said.

"What?!" Murray was shocked.

Let's not talk about whether this method is effective or not, and even if it is feasible, it can't be at the cost of other people's lives, right?

It's just, it's ...... Bloodsucker!

Rely on absorbing the life force of others to maintain one's own vitality.

After leaving Mr. Federico's house, Bella and Elena planned to return to Madame Roland's salon first. Mr. Murray, on the basis of the clues he received today, launched his own investigation.

So, they parted near the Art Bridge.

"Mr. Murray seems to be working hard." As she walked along the way, Elena said to Bella, "It's like it's her job."

"Perhaps, it's a natural sense of justice." "After all, this case is so appalling that it doesn't look like a normal person could commit it," Bella said.

"But is there any danger in Mr. Murray's rash action?"

"You say that......

"Although Mr. Murray's swordsmanship is good, the other party is a person who is obsessed with black magic! If there is any danger, it may not be so easy to deal with."

"That being said, Mr. Murray is one of the best in Aragon, and with the blood of the Sagovian family, he shouldn't be so prone to accidents, right?" Bella said, "I think we should trust him too."

"Hmm...... Okay." Elena was only slightly worried.

"But we can't be idle." Bella continued, "It's best to see if we can help as much as we can."

"How can we help?"

"For example......" Bella paused, then continued, "Why do you think the prisoner would do that?"

"Huh?" Elena was a little confused for a moment, "What do you mean? Isn't it for rejuvenation?"

"This is just an intuitive speculation based on Mr. Federico's introduction." "Because we lost both at the same time, we naturally connected them. However, if you think about it, none of this has any definite clues to corroborate it, right?"

"Well, that's true."

"So, let's think from the beginning." Bella analyzed, "First of all, Officer Christopher has received three cases so far, the deceased all have common characteristics, right?"

"That's right, the corpses have all had their hearts stripped of themselves."

"Moreover, the cause of death is unknown."

"He said he hadn't found out yet."

"According to Officer Christopher, the details of the case have not been made public, which means that the likelihood of a crime being imitated is very small. In this way, it can almost be assumed that the same or several prisoners committed it."

"That's right."

"Now, let's ignore Mr. Federico's affairs and analyze the case itself. In three consecutive cases, the victim's heart was taken away, and it was not a simple homicide case. It shows that the removal of the heart is a very important step for the murderer - it may even be an end in itself, or a means that must be carried out in order to achieve the end."

"Is it possible to think that the murderer killed for the sake of the heart?"

"Well, let's just extrapolate. But there are some irrationalities in this."

"Where?"

"First of all, according to Officer Christopher, the first case happened fourteen days ago, right?"

"Yes, it's been about half a month."

"And the second case happened seven days ago."

"That's right."

"And today's case, that is, every two cases, there is a week between them, right?"

"There's a pattern."

"That's the first suspicion."

"What do you mean?"

"Why is this arranged?"

"Forehead ......"

"The heart is an organ of the human body, and if it is separated from the human body, it must be difficult to preserve it, right?"

"Could it be, the other party can't ...... in a short time," Elena vetoed halfway through, "No, if that's the case, it won't be able to explain this pattern."

"Yes, it's not an accident that it's not early or late every time, just a week apart, that is, seven days." Bella analyzed, "In this case, there are many possibilities. For example, it doesn't really take that many hearts, it's just that it didn't work out once, so it's the second and third time...... Then this time period may be related to the steps to be carried out."

"Well, I see, it's like a lot of rituals have to be done on a full moon night."

"Or maybe the other party has to rely on a living heart to sustain something."

"Huh?"

"Similar to taking medication on a regular basis, every once in a while, you need to supplement the corresponding nutrition or take specific medications."

"This ...... If that's the case, doesn't that mean another seven days—"

"Hmm." Bella nodded, "I can't rule it out."

"The murderer must be caught quickly." Elena clenched her fists silently.

"Besides, there's the suspicion of the corpse's state."

"Is the corpse in condition?"

"All three bodies were found at the water's edge, right?"

"That's what the officer said."

"So, why is that?"

"Yes...... They were all killed by the river?"

"That's an explanation."

"Anything else?"

"Or was the body thrown into the river?"

"It's possible."

"If the crime scene is near the Seine, then there must be some special reason, could it be accidental? - It's hard to say yet. If the body is dumped into the river, explain why you chose to do so. Generally, if you throw a corpse, it should be as far away as possible, so as to delay the time of being found as much as possible, which is normal thinking, right? And the prisoners in these cases don't seem to think about this at all. Is it negligence? Or is it some other reason? We don't know yet."

"In this way, there are indeed a lot of suspicions."

"And then there's the victim."

"Victim?"

"What are the characteristics of the victims?" Bella asked.

"Hmm...... I'd like to think about it......" Elena struggled to recall, "the victims were all found by the river, and their hearts were all stripped of - all of that had just been considered."

"Another thing, the dead were all women." Bella added, "Before I left, I asked Officer Christopher about the identities of the three victims. Not only are they all women, but they are all unmarried women of a similar age. And they all come from ordinary citizen families."

"This ...... What does that mean?"

"Think about it, why do young girls who have not left the house of commoners float on the Seine?"

"Not an accident?"

"If it's an accident, then it's a bit of a coincidence that there is one person every seven days. You know, girls in ordinary families rarely go out after nightfall."

"So, premeditated?"

"No matter where you are, it's more likely than being killed at home, right?"

"Of course."

"In other words, under what conditions did the prisoner choose to attack? If you interpret it as a random selection, it will be very difficult to make the time just right every time."

"Makes sense." Elena seemed to understand, "Does Mr. Murray know these questions?"

"He should have thought of it a long time ago." "If I'm not mistaken, he should have started his investigation with clues from the victim."

"So what can we do?" Elena asked.

"What is Mr. Murray not good at?" Bella asked rhetorically.

"Mr. Murray...... He is a good person, his mind is bright, and he is good at swordsmanship, but he doesn't seem to be very good at magic."

"Then we'll start here."

"From where?" Elena asked.

"Magic." Bella said, "Black magic, to be exact."

"But now neither Mr. Federik nor Mr. Pickel have any relevant information in their hands, do they?"

"Don't forget, there's another man, but there's the place that holds the most Tibetan books in all of France!"

"You mean, Monsieur Pierre?"