Chapter 44: The 1924 Train Murder Case (17)

"You're absolutely right."

Contrary to Tang Mu's expectation of an enraged outburst, Bartholomew appeared remarkably calm.

Perhaps, after all these years, he had already come to terms with his pain.

Of course, Tang Mu was not Bartholomew himself. Whatever Bartholomew thought was of little consequence to Tang Mu.

—After all, even NPCs can masquerade as players.

And as for players, they have even less reason to feel sorrow for the narrative roles they've been assigned.

"In the beginning, I truly had no way of knowing who my father was. But when I joined the so-called 'Unit 481' as an undercover agent, I was shocked to discover that Augustine bore a birthmark on his arm identical to mine."

(Author's note: The unit name is fictional and not to be referenced.)

He raised his sleeve, revealing the bluish-black birthmark on his arm for all to see.

As he showed his own mark, someone immediately went to the deceased to check whether the dead man bore the same bluish-black symbol.

The result was obvious.

On the dead man's arm was indeed an identical bluish-black mark.

"My father was delighted when he saw the birthmark on my arm. He immediately declared he would groom me to become his successor. But I had no talent for biochemical research, so he had no choice but to give up that idea, much to his regret."

…

Tang Mu could not help but interrupt Bartholomew again.

"Mr. Bartholomew, forgive my persistence, but when you first met your father, did you not tell him about your mother’s situation? That hardly seems like the attitude a son would take toward the man who violated his mother."

"I did," Bartholomew replied, a deep, self-mocking helplessness flickering across his face. "But do you know what my father said? He said, 'Oh God, I've had so many women—how should I remember which one your mother was?' 'Instead of dwelling on that lowly, mediocre woman, you should focus on your own future. After all, in this tightly controlled military unit, only I can get you the whiskey you want.'"

"Heh. You see, in this beast of a father's eyes, my mother’s years of misery were worth even less than the glasses of liquor on his desk."

…

Now Tang Mu began to doubt her earlier judgment.

Because, from a player’s perspective, Bartholomew’s performance was simply too convincing.

He captured sorrow, helplessness, and faint anger with just the right touch.

His acting surpassed even that of professional actors.

It was hard not to suspect that Bartholomew was either professionally trained, or a non-player character who had repeated this scenario ten thousand times.

Otherwise, how could his expressions be so natural?

"Oh? And then what? Because he never cared about your mother, you began to resent him?"

"No," Bartholomew shook his head. "Miss Tang Mu, as I said from the beginning, because he was my father, I never had the courage to shoot him. A child who grew up fatherless craves the love of a father. Augustine may not have loved my mother, but he was always good to me. In fact, on several occasions when 'Unit 481' discovered my undercover identity, it was my father who shielded me and got me out of trouble."

"…"

This story was truly a mess.

Fine, Tang Mu had lost interest in Bartholomew.

She had thought this was a tale of a child, enduring for years the misery of his mother, finally seeking revenge upon his father.

Instead, Bartholomew was a fool who desperately sought his father’s love, endlessly forgiving the man’s beastly actions.

"Then what about your close friend here? You said his story is different from yours?"

Bartholomew replied, "For the details, you can hear it directly from Mackey himself."

Instantly, everyone’s eyes shifted to Mackey.

They were all onlookers, their curiosity ablaze.

Mackey shot Bartholomew a glare and retorted, "Bartholomew, you may be my close friend, but unlike you, I have no interest in being put on display like a monkey."

Mackey’s temper was clearly more irritable than Bartholomew’s.

"I too was the child of a farm girl. But I had even worse luck than Bartholomew. My mother killed herself after giving birth to me, so I’ve always lived with Bartholomew and his mother."

"In order to survive in that impoverished foster home, I honed my skills as a thief from an early age. Many times, when their family was at the end of their rope, it was me who kept them afloat."

"Compared to Bartholomew’s weakness before Augustine, I have no blood relation to that man, nor any ridiculous father-son bond. So when the mission was assigned, I took Bartholomew’s gun and killed Augustine, that beast of a man. Is that a problem, Miss Tang Mu?"

Though Bartholomew and Mackey’s explanations were flawless,

Tang Mu could not shake an underlying sense of incongruity.

Both of them acted too well.

If they were players, they had become far too immersed in their roles.

"It seems the matter is clear now," Lady Ottilia clapped her hands. "Mackey is the killer!"

Elai placed the ballot box on the table.

But the slot for ballots had been narrowed.

"When you’re ready, you may write down the name of the first killer," Elai said, his face expressionless.

He now displayed no emotion of his own,

having completely transformed into a heartless killing machine.

—The ultimate goal of the Black Butler was always to eliminate all the players.

This was not even a secret.

"But I must remind you all of one thing,"

"The true culprit is the one who inflicted the fatal wound on the victim. We have no forensics expert, so you must identify all three perpetrators before you can pinpoint the real murderer."

"And if the true culprit is a player, yet you cannot identify them, then only that player will survive. The rest will be eliminated."

This was an open attempt to sow discord among the players!

Tang Mu was furious.

"Mr. Elai, there's something I’ve wanted to ask for a long time. Why are you so desperate to keep players trapped in this game? What use do souls have for you?"

"Miss Tang Mu, your question touches on the confidential rules of the game. Since this is your first violation, I’m only deducting 5,000 points as a penalty. But if you repeat this offense, I suggest you stay here and not bother leaving the scenario at all."

Elai had just publicly declared Tang Mu’s status as a player!

This was something Tang Mu had never anticipated.