As soon as she came out of Jayne's house, Nina consciously left first, and seemed to know from the beginning that Egret was going to say something to Lodi. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 What I didn't expect was that Egret's opening remarks were so amazing.

Lodi let out a sharp breath, "What did you say, Lord Egret?"

An expression that seemed to be a smile leaked from the egret's face, "I said the great People's Guardian Rogue Shadow, isn't that you?"

"Don't make jokes like that, okay?" Lodi replied with a smile on his face. "I'm also a senior investigator of the Divine Radiance Empire's Arbitration Institute, can I be a grand thief. ”

"Well, it's not bad for you to just listen to it as a joke. Egret sighed, "Isn't it because you're an investigator that you can escape investigation?" ”

Lodi's expression was cloudy, and then he asked, "Can I know why you suspect me of being a thief?"

"I'm not skeptical. Egret pouted, "Although I just thought it was possible at first, but a series of recent events have made this clear to me. Before I came here to find Jayne, I went to investigate two more things. Thus determining that you are a thief. ”

"Your Excellency Egret, I am very embarrassed to say this. Lodi laughed, "Even if it's an arbitration court, it can't arrest someone without enough evidence." What's more, you want me to catch myself. ”

"Evidence?" Egret nodded, "It seems that if you don't make it clear, you won't admit it." ”

"When I first doubted you, it was because of your words. The egret explained as he walked. Lodi followed the egret and did not waver or back down from the egret's suspicions.

"I remember telling me when you found me on the train. In the first two months, 12 circulars were issued. This compares with two or three cases per year for the previous three years. ”

"Yes, this is on the records of the arbitration court. All of the Empire's investigative agencies will share this information. Lodi nodded.

And yet you said it with great certainty. So far, there have been only seven cases of grand thieves. ”

"What's wrong with that?" Lodi said for a moment, curious.

"Of course not. I went out of my way to Lilith to check out the case file on the Grand Theft. There have been more than 20 suspected cases in the past three years. Even professional investigators can hardly tell the difference. As a display of headless cases, there are at least 16 cases. So I thought, apart from the thieves themselves, who knows what kind of cases they have done?"

Lodi's face tightened, but he quickly retorted: "Based on this alone, I'm afraid it's difficult to judge that I'm a thief." Maybe I'm just misremembering, or maybe I'm making a mistake. ”

"Well, of course it could be a slip of the tongue. After all, it's a senior investigator. Egret quipped, and continued, "But that's not all. Out of all the case files, I carefully looked back at the case files from the result of the 7 crimes you gave, and the results made me find a very wonderful result. ”

"You know the Grand Thief. Why is it called a thief?" asked Egret suddenly, and then gave an answer without waiting for Lodi to answer.

"Because the target of the thief must be the great nobleman or the big businessman who commits sins for the rich. ”

"Of the case file, there are seven cases. In the aftermath of the Grand Theft, the victim was also investigated. The reasons are varied, but they can be summed up in one point, and that is, these seven victims are also perpetrators of heinous crimes. ”

Among them, there are those who kill people for money, those who sell illegal magic devices, and even those who are members of ****** organizations. When I saw this message, I was sure that Rogue Shadow wasn't just stealing, but also exposing the unforgivable crimes of the perpetrators of the shadows. ”

Egret stared at Lodi, and then said word by word, "Then please tell me, except for a senior senior investigator who is jealous and hateful. Who can steal at the same time and expose the crime on their own initiative?"

"But that's just your guess. Lodi still doesn't admit it. "Speculation is not evidence. ”

"You're right. The egret sighed helplessly, "There is no way to use speculation as evidence. If I want proof, I will arrange for Duke Anne's men early in the morning, after the theft has occurred. Search the hall's ventilation ducts immediately. Well, that night, I cracked the trap's ventilation duct. ”

"After you resisted Jayne, in the smoke. Unable to leave with you, you stash your collection in the same ventilation duct we used to test the burglar vulnerability. After that day, the trap never recovered. You're taking advantage of that, too, and putting the collection right under everyone's noses. ”

"Whether I'm setting a trap and waiting for you to get your collection, I'll throw myself into the net. Or find out the collection early in the morning and confront you. You can't please you. From then on, you'll be under the watchful eye of Duke Anne, and your career as a thief will be gone. ”

Lodi really couldn't hide his frightened eyes now, sighed, and said, "I've seen Your Excellency's reasoning about you recorded by Investigator Ambra in the Airship case. At that time, I thought that if Your Excellency were to be the Inquisitor, I am afraid that no evil would escape your eyes. And now it has been confirmed. ”

"Aren't you going to refute?" asked Egret curiously, he hadn't said it all yet.

"There's no need for that. Lodi smiled wryly, "You can guess where the collection is." No matter what I do in the future, I guess I will be stared at by you. I don't think there's anything you can do under the watchful eye of an elite title. ”

"Besides, Your Excellency Egret is honest, if I quibble again. It's not worthy of the name Rogue anymore. ”

"Ugh. The corners of the egret's mouth twitched, "Stealing is to fight crime, and the stolen things are also sold and donated to charity or relief to the poor." If I hadn't known you were Rogue Shadow, I would have thought you were some kind of noble knight. ”

"I really don't want to admit it if possible. Lodi smiled wryly, "The name Shadow of the Grand Thief is more than just a thief. He bore the saga of history and the associated sins. Once my identity is known, I'm afraid I'll be in constant danger. ”

Rogue Shadow arose 30 years ago, and it seems to have been passed down from generation to generation. This Shadow of Rogue has offended many nobles and wealthy merchants. Most of them are also some evil criminals, these people don't pay attention to any rules, once they know Lodi's identity, I'm afraid they will use any means, and they won't let go until they kill Lodi.

"Besides, Your Excellency Egret is here to expose my identity, I'm afraid he doesn't want to arrest me. Like you said, you could have caught me when I got back to retrieve the stolen goods. Lodi laughed, he had already figured out what the egret meant.

"After I caught you, where will I go to get the reward for solving the case. Egret humorously quipped, "Besides, there are far more serious sins in the Duke's Court than you or Jayne." I'd rather get rid of the maggots there than I wanted to catch you. ”

"I couldn't agree more. Lodi laughed.

The egret and his party were busy until the evening before rushing back to the Duke's Palace. It was only the first day of the exhibition that such a situation was encountered, and it was a bit of a blow to Duke Anne. Fiona no longer held a bar with Anne at this time, but just did her duty as a friend, quietly accompanying Anne to deal with the affairs of the Duke's Palace.

"So, tomorrow's visit to the Council of Nobles won't be canceled?" Anne looked at the old butler with some surprise, "Are you sure? There was an attack in the mansion, and those nobles still have to travel normally?"

"Yes, master. The old butler nodded, "Because after all, the Flame Duke's Mansion has the most famous Flame Wine. Just from the point of view of sales profits, these aristocrats will not give up the business opportunity of the annual exhibition and come to negotiate a share. ”

"Even so. We only produce 3,000 barrels. Duke Anne frowned and said slowly, "No matter what, I'm afraid it will be difficult to meet their needs. If you insist on using the pretext of the share of the flaming ale at this time, you will attract them to come. I'm afraid that in the end, the gains will outweigh the losses. ”

"Don't worry. The old butler looked at Anne and smiled faintly. "Anyway, master, you're the Duke of Flame, after all. The members of these noble councils will definitely give enough respect. ”

"I hope so. Anne sighed, a little helpless.

Seeing this, the old butler did not bother any longer, and turned to leave the study.

As soon as he went out, he saw the captain of the armed team hurrying over. There was a knock on the door of Anne's study.

"What happened?" asked the old butler, who stopped him and asked with some curiosity.

The captain of the armed team was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and replied, "Your Excellency Egret and the others have returned. And with good news. ”

"Oh?" the old butler asked, looking at the captain of the armed team, "What's the good news?

"Rogue Shadow wasn't caught. The captain of the armed team shook his head, and then said with a little excitement: "However, Your Excellency Egret has recovered the lost property. The dragon scales and Anthony's books have been recovered intact. ”

"It's remarkable. The old butler said in surprise, "It is indeed worthy of Miss Nina's chosen knight." It was possible to recover a lost item in just one day. This can greatly reduce the negative impact of this attack. ”

"That's true. The captain of the armed team nodded, "Then I'll report to my master first." ”

"Hmm. The old butler said undeniably, "By the way, tomorrow is the day when the members of the noble council come to taste the flaming wine and negotiate their share. We must conscientiously do a good job in defense work, and we must not make any more mistakes. ”

The captain's eyes shrank, and then he replied, "Of course." It is my duty to defend against sin. ”

"Tomorrow. is the real meaning of the exhibition. The old butler said silently in his heart, "I hope everything is safe and smooth." ”