Villefort laughed bitterly, and the air surged out of his throat into asthmatic breathing.
"...I can't remember how many times I heard this question," he lowered his head and clasped his hands tightly together on his legs, "but I never intend to answer it."
"Even to this point?"
"Even now," Villefort whispered, "I know that my life is no longer in my hands...but I can still keep my conscience."
"Conscience?" Si Lei repeated the word, raising her voice in disbelief, "Someone died, Duke, in your palace. Who died, and by whose hand...you don't care. Do you care?"
Villefort stood up with a tired look, "I'm sorry, Officer Si Lei, I really don't have the strength to accept any more questions... Either you hand me to the police station, or you let me go back to rest, I don't have any Complain.”
After a brief silence, Si Lei clapped his hands on his sides and said, "Forget it, let's go."
Villefort nodded to Si Lei and left the room without looking back.
…
That morning, Villefort stayed alone in the bathroom for a long time, and Alvira stayed outside the door, unwilling to leave. Whenever the bathroom was quiet for a while, Alvira would call Villefort's name to make sure he was okay.
But this peaceful atmosphere was soon broken - there was a terrible cracking sound in the bathroom, and a mercury needle kicked open the bathroom window and broke in. This incident shocked Alvira, and it wasn't until Villefort was carried out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel that she cried out of fear.
Arterial blood gushes out from Villefort's wrist, but it is quickly stopped by the mercury needles. Others rush over when they hear the noise, but are immediately dispersed by the butler guarding the door.
Villefort looked at his wounds in horror the whole time, and he was relieved until Zoe told him "it's not serious."
Alvira held her husband's other hand tightly and was already crying, "Why did you..."
"I didn't, I didn't..." Villefort defended anxiously, "You believe me, I didn't want to commit suicide, I... would never do that kind of thing——"
"You really don't have to worry, madam." Zoe said coldly, "He did this to pick out the chip."
Alvira raised her head in confusion, "...chip?"
It was only then that she noticed a small piece of metal on Zoe's hand, about 1/4 the size of a fingernail.
"The Duke probably accidentally cut his artery while removing the chip... Is that right?"
"...Yes." Villefort's face turned pale, and his breathing was faster and shallower than before, "I don't want to wear such a thing."
"This is to protect you."
"I do not need."
"So far, everyone killed by the assassin was not killed on the spot." Zoe ignored Villefort's whispers, "She always has to spend a period of time to torture the prey until it is too painful to die. If you are kidnapped by assassins this time, the chip can tell us your location and greatly improve your chances of survival——"
"I don't need it!" Villefort answered loudly again, with a few veins bulging on his forehead and wet hair sticking to his forehead, making his already pale face look even more haggard.
"This kind of electronic shackles... I have only seen them on criminals. Who do you think I am? I am innocent, I... do not need this kind of protection."
"It's not up to you—"
"Then you tie me up and knock me unconscious." Villefort turned his head to the side. "As long as I still have some consciousness and some ability to move, I will never accept this kind of undignified behavior." Safeguard."
"You are looking for death!"
"...I would rather die innocently." Villefort frowned, "An innocent death is far better than...a humiliating life."
…
After confirming that everything was a false alarm, Endai and Si Lei went downstairs together and sat down in the living room.
"Will you be staying here for the next few days, Officer Si Lei?"
"Yes." Si Lei replied absentmindedly, thinking back to Villefort's reaction just now - this man must have other plans in mind.
"I found that I couldn't understand the people in the livable place," Endai held her chin. "It was the case with Lixi before, and then with Tanglar. I didn't expect that the Duke would also become arrogant now - he was obviously the most arrogant at the beginning. The calm one.”
Si Lei leaned on the sofa, "When faced with death, it's not surprising how people react."
"But his current appearance is very similar to Tanglar's before," Endai added, "Of course, the Duke is not as fierce as Tanglar -"
Si Lei looked sideways and his eyes suddenly widened when he looked at Endai.
"...Officer Si Lei?" Endai blinked, "What's wrong with you?"
"I suddenly thought of a possibility...but it seems meaningless to talk about it now."
Endai was a little curious, "What's possible?"
Si Lei's voice paused for a moment, "Is Villefort... really on the assassination list?"
"ah?"
"After the assassins attacked Schmidt and Rich, Victoria personally confirmed to the assassins that there were two more people she would target - we simply defaulted to Danglars and Villefort, because from that point on From the moment Xi received the death notice, the five of them were firmly tied together."
"Yes...ah, no, it's not just our acquiescence," Endai shook her head. "That night in the hospital, Victoria directly reported the names of the viscount and duke to the assassin, and asked if this was her next target. Both men, the assassin did not deny it.”
"But she didn't admit it either, right?"
Endai was stunned for a long time, "But...if it's not the Duke, who is the remaining person?"
"Where are the people left?" Si Lei raised his right hand to Endai, "Hoffman, Li Xi, Schmidt..."
Every time Si Lei announced a name, he would bend one finger into his palm. Endai followed her voice and read out the name of the deceased. When Si Lei retracted his ring finger, Endai subconsciously read "Tangglaer".
"No," Si Lei interrupted Endai, and she slowly retracted her fourth finger, "Gray."
Endai gasped.
"Finally," Si Lei slowly lowered his fifth finger, "Tanglar."
"...So, the assassin's revenge is probably over?" Endai blinked, "But Gray didn't receive the death notice at all?"
"Don't be led astray by the death notice," Si Lei said solemnly, "We now know that Gray died at the hands of an assassin. If the twelve blank photo papers were given to the Viscount by the assassin, then Gray did not receive them. As for the death notice, if it was for the Duke, then the Viscount did not receive it - after all, the notice is not a prerequisite for the assassin to kill."
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