“What happened to Ashley?” A bad premonition surged in Amber’s heart, and she hurriedly asked.
“You didn’t cover for her, did you? Amber.”
Letisia specifically called her name, making Amber sense the severity of the situation.
She quickly shook her head, her straight black hair rustling as it swayed.
“I swear I didn’t cover for her at all.”
“I received a report on Ashley’s recent activities and found that she had acquired a cadaver of the ‘Shriek Devil Crow’ variety with no purchase record. At first, I thought it was secretly provided by remnants of the Jenkins Family—our surveillance on her was mainly tied to her family—but after some investigation, I discovered something ‘interesting.’”
Letisia handed the file in her hand to her apprentice, interlaced her fingers, and continued:
“This demon crow had recently been sighted by someone in a valley to the north. I went to investigate… Although it was handled very cleanly, traces invisible to the naked eye can’t be erased. Extracting the biological information revealed it matched the demon crow sample registered to Ashley, which means she disposed of a demon crow there.
Additionally, I extracted some bullets from the soil and traced their entry angles back to a nearby hillside, where I also found biological traces. There were two people, likely both dead, though no bodies were found. I sprayed blood detection reagent on the ground, and the blood spatter reaction covered a fan-shaped sector with a radius of 12 meters and an obtuse angle of 160 degrees—exceptionally brutal, like a devilish painter who turned living people into paint and smeared it across every inch of the ground.”
As her teacher described it, Amber’s little face grew paler and paler, the edges of her pupils trembling in panic.
Letisia’s voice lowered, echoing buzzingly in the room as she said softly:
“That day, you went to the movies with her.”
“So that’s how it is…”
Amber instantly understood. While she had been asleep, Ashley had slipped out to catch the Great Raven! And she had killed people! All those ghost stories she told afterward were made up! A string of lies!
Amber gasped tremulously, her voice carrying a faint sob. “I fell asleep… I’m sorry… I failed to watch her…”
More than the mistake at work, Ashley’s deception devastated her.
“I thought… she… had repented…”
Amber fell into an inexplicable panic. Realizing that those beautiful, elegant words that made her blush and her heart flutter were just veneers for vile intentions, she finally understood that Ashley didn’t like her at all—she was just using her.
The movie theater was near the city walls, and Ashley had used that opportunity to extend her range of activity. Everything else she did or said was a lie woven to achieve her goal.
Amber felt waves of cold wash over her body, her fingers numb and unable to clench. She wanted to cry, but her romance had ended before it even began, leaving her so empty she couldn’t shed a single tear. Her eye sockets felt like two dry bird’s nests—agonizing.
“Allowing others to control you is dangerous, even with the closest people.” Letisia said earnestly.
“She approached me to join the Tribunal?” Amber gradually realized.
“It seems so,” Letisia nodded, but then changed tack. “But I’ll accept her application.”
“Eh?!” Amber was dumbfounded.
“I compared the biological information of those two people with the database and found links to 43 violent crimes, including 17 murders. And that’s just from discovered crime scenes—undiscovered ones are often several times more numerous.”
“S-So that means it was self-defense, right?” Amber surprisingly felt a bit relieved.
“Amber, there’s no such thing as self-defense in the wilderness. She killed bad people, but that doesn’t make her good—nor does it prove she’s worse. So, we need more contact with her to understand her motives and test her character.” Letisia explained methodically.
“B-But… I don’t know how to face her anymore…” Amber drooped her little head dejectedly.
“Stand in front of her, look her in the eyes, and tell her, ‘You’re lying.’ If she’s a good child, she’ll feel ashamed and mortified. If she has no shame, what do you lose? You’ll see her true nature clearly and despise her.”
–
–
For Ashley, whether she joined the Tribunal or not wasn’t important. What mattered was having a respectable identity to replace the label stuck on her, swapping ‘little princess of a criminal family’ for ‘Tribunal staff member A.’
In other words, whitewashing herself.
Then, starting a new life.
Today was Flora’s second interview.
Although Ashley accompanied her, Flora’s anxiety had shifted elsewhere—would Shishi clash with those people?
She knew Ashley’s personality well; she’d absolutely flip the table at the slightest disagreement.
As if sensing the blonde loli’s worry, Ashley walked over, lifted her wrist, and helped fasten the cuff button, saying:
“The community allocated two interview slots to Fountain News. Today is the last one, so we won’t have to see those annoying people again afterward. For your sake, I’ll endure. No matter how they insult me, I’ll respond calmly and firmly with statements and answers—nothing more.”
“Me too. For you, I won’t be afraid anymore.”
The two lolis pressed their cheeks together, then separated and gazed at each other tenderly.
The interview room was on the first floor of the community activity center. This eighty-square-meter room had a higher ceiling than the others, with four pendant lights fitted with shades hanging from it.
In the center was a raised platform, and a small backdrop had been set up on the varnished wooden floor to make the photos look more formal—after all, they were for the newspaper.
Interviewing prisoners had always been a staple program for prisons and detention centers.
People loved seeing criminals grovel and apologize. Even if it seemed forced and insincere, it vented their anger and affirmed that karma existed in the shadows.
Ashley strode into the interview room with her head held high, sitting fearlessly under the spotlight. Flora timidly followed and sat beside her, her eyes darting anxiously around.
Before long, the two reporters arrived—the same pair as before.
“I’m the editor-in-chief of Fountain News, Charlotte Dunlop. Pleased to meet you.”
The woman’s voice was light and thin. In her early thirties, though made up, she couldn’t hide her fatigue, her expression listless.
In stark contrast was the loli, lively and fidgety—even sitting in her chair, she swung her little legs like she had ADHD.
Her hair wasn’t long, tied into a small tuft at the back of her head with a black satin butterfly bow, and she’d even permed the ends into loose spirals, with hair wax making the strands gleam like they were oiled.
A Gothic-style little dress and white gloves, with a small cane hooked over her arm.
Though she put on quite the airs, Ashley could tell at a glance that the loli’s outfit was all cheap knockoffs. They weren’t in the same league as genuine articles made from fine materials with intricate embroidery—even as rags, they wouldn’t absorb water well. Only rundown little theaters would buy them as costumes.
Her white stockings were real silk and pricey, but old—the lace edges yellowed from oxidation, and the round-toed leather shoes had peeling patent leather. She looked glossy on the surface, but the details screamed poverty and hardship.
“Hee hee, I’m the genius reporter Chloe Dunlop! Remember my name well—you’ll be proud one day to have been interviewed by me!”
As she spoke, Chloe’s gaze drifted elsewhere, not even looking at them properly.
Ashley narrowed her eyes, unmoving, thinking to herself, Hmph, this mere little girl dares to show off in front of me?
