Chapter 52 - 50 (1/2)

They called the maid who served the tea that night.

It was a young girl around thirteen years old. She was dressed in a uniform with two buns styled on her hair, a usual get-up of a maidservant in the royal palace.

She was quivering as she neared the people of the investigation team. Zero observed the bowing head of a timid servant girl.

Pengfei started, ”Are you the one who served the first princess' tea before she died?”

The young girl did not make eye contact as she nodded automatically, scared for her life. Pengfei then continued, ”Then did you saw anyone with her?”

The young girl was frozen stiff but instantly shook her head as she remembered what she saw at the middle of the night while being ordered to serve tea to the first princess. The maidservant felt curious when she neared the door of the first princess as she heard the first princess was talking to someone but Xiu Meihui suddenly stopped her conversation as the maid announced herself.

As a maidservant, it was not allowed to make eye contact with the first princess and her guest so she did not see the visage of the guest of the first princess but only saw a black robe worn by the guest and it was a man.

After that, she was dismissed then things happened. They were warned to not go near the bed chamber of the first princess as she did not want to be disturb. Following the words of the head servant, they were all away from the crime scene so they did not know what truly happened even the guest that the first princess welcomed inside vanished.

Jin then spoke while narrowing his eyes, ”Who was incharge the case of Third Princess Xiu Ying?”

”It was Chief Bai Zhou's team, Sir,” a member of the investigation team responded.

”Alright, let's go to the research facility.” The research facility where the monitoring team was based and the place where Zero was held captive, months ago.

Zero decided not follow them as it was not his business anymore and even though he wanted to know about the third princess' case in order to be enlightened by the true scene, he needed to set boundaries as the vice captain was giving him a warning look but Jin, the captain suddenly called the youth.

”Do you want to tag along? Here take this. You can go to any crime scenes without obstructions within the continent,” Jin gave a badge to the youth that made Pengfei frowned. It's rare for the captain to lend his badge.

The badge looked like a police badge but the symbol was an eye and inside of it was initials of the group.

”A.N.V,” the young man recited the letters as he received the badge.

”Acta non verba. Deeds not words,” Jin answered simply while he started to walk as the group followed him.

Zero did not follow them as he would be examining the crime scene first. He wasn't able to touch anything other than the candy wrapper which was already collected by the forensics. Though, he was reprimanded by touching it with bȧrė hands.

Currently, he was given gloves to wear as he was allowed by the head of the investigation team inside the crime scene.

He neared the two cups of tea on the table and touched the one that was half empty. He inspected it and sniffed the content of the tea, the fragrance was calming and slightly pungent, from the looks of it, Zero knew what kind of tea it was, earl grey.

Though something was amiss to its smell, he could not pinpoint what it was. He asked an individual who was taking notes and examining also the scene.

”Did you bring a sample of this to the lab?”

Startled by the sudden voice, the person fixed his glasses as he answered, ”Yes, sir. The result will be coming later.”

The person saw that the captain of the investigation team acknowledged the youth as a guest so he politely replied to the inquiries of Zero.

As if on cue, a woman in a lab gown appeared in the scene as she panted, she was not used to the complexity of the first princess' palace as she got lost first before she arrived here. The woman was carrying disheveled papers on her hand as she gave a look inside.

”Where is Chief Jin?”

”Doctor, he's in the research facility,” the young man with eye glasses that Zero asked earlier, responded.

With a defeated sigh, the woman in lab gown sat on a chair near her. She was not willing to go again, she was not very good at directions and identifying passages or pathways so she might be lost again. Even though, she could ride a carriage to the research facility, she was tired on finding that moving detective.

But the youth with eye glasses proposed a idea, ”This sir here is a guest of the chief and he would be heading to the research facility. You can give that file to him.”