Seeking for Your Forgiveness - Chapter 31.

The morgue in the basement of the National Police Agency was dark and musty. The cool air felt weird around the underground and spread all around the place like a fog. The disgusting smell would occasionally flow through.

 

Kristoff leaned his back against the wall and folded his arms. His sharp eyes carefully examined the man in front of him.

 

“I didn’t know you work in autopsy as well, Dr. Liam. Inspector Nicholas said it would be good to hear from the medical examiner directly, and told me to go down to the basement because the medical examiner happened to be here for another case, but I didn’t expect to meet you here.”

 

“Didn’t I tell you? You’ll see me often.”

 

“Did you mean this?”

 

“Well, it has quite a lot of meanings, actually.”

 

The doctor wiped his hands briefly and asked to shake her hands, his eyes blinking beautifully and his face adorned with a charming smile. Only then did Kristoff lean away from the wall and shake his hand instead.

 

“My name is Kristoff Schneider. I’m the legal consultant in the National Police Agency.”

 

“……”

 

Liam’s eyebrows raised in a peculiar motion, and Marianne’s half-stretched hand was drawn back in an awkward manner. Kristoff acted like a guard dog that kept her from shaking hands with anyone.

 

Marianne, who was glancing at him, smiled awkwardly when her eyes met Liam. Liam looked back at Kristoff and smiled gently.

 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Liam Fluke. As you can see, I’m a doctor as well as a forensic pathologist.”

 

“Do you have anything to say about Nina?”

 

Kristoff brought up the matter in a casual tone.

 

“You mean Nina Keller?”

 

He moved slowly. Two of the three beds in the mortuary were filled. Liam took off the white cloth in a nonchalant manner.

 

“Hukh.”

 

Marianne frowned and held her breath. The body appeared much more horrible a few days after the incident. Not even the coldest cellar could prevent the decomposing of the corpse.

 

“!”

 

Then, Kristoff walked in front of the body. He stood between the bedside and herself, therefore the body couldn’t be seen from Marianne’s sight. All she could see was his wide and straight back.

 

Kristoff looked down at Nina with an expressionless gaze. Liam began to explain in a voice filled with pity.

 

“As you guessed, the cause of her death was the skull dent. It could be caused by bumping on the stairs, or a wound caused by blunt force. Either way was possible. However, it didn’t take long to die. She couldn’t even scream.”

 

Marianne listened to Liam whilst looking at Kristoff’s back, who was positioned in front of her like a huge wall. Perhaps, he was being considerate of her. He didn’t care about anyone.

 

“……”

 

However, that was not the thing she wanted. Marianne didn’t want to look at his back. She wanted to stand alongside him.

 

She took a slow step. And stood beside Kristoff. She wondered if those dark orbs really landed on her for a moment.

 

Instead of looking back at him, Marianne shot Liam a look.

 

“And.”

 

Liam moved to the bedside where Nina’s body was laid down and paused. Her fingernails were stained with blood that was believed to belong to the perpetrator.

 

Liam rubbed the blood using his finger and took it straight to his mouth. He stuck out his tongue at the first glance and licked his finger.

 

“Eukh!”

 

Marianne held her breath at the shocking sight. A groan of astonishment slipped out from her teeth.

 

Kristoff’s back was tense as he used it to hide Marianne from the sight of Liam. It was as if a dangerous beast stood in front of them. Those dark orbs instantly turned cold.

 

Meanwhile,

 

“Haha. I’m sorry.”

 

Liam waved his hands in a friendly manner. He stretched his temple while frowning.

 

“I was going to say that this is not blood, but I guess I surprised you.”

 

“It’s not…… blood?”

 

Marianne, who breasted a sigh of relief, casually asked. Liam grinned at her. He wiped his fingers on the dry towel.

 

“It’s raspberry juice.”

 

“……Raspberry? So, it’s not the blood of the perpetrator?”

 

That must have been something Kristoff didn’t even expect. He narrowed his eyebrows subtly.

 

Liam nodded and looked back at Nina. Pity washed over his face.

 

“It’s definitely raspberry juice. Would you like to have a try?”

 

“No thanks.”

 

Kristoff refused in a stiff voice. Liam smiled gently and gave Marianne a look.

 

“Well…… No, thanks, Liam.”

 

He burst out laughing again after hearing Marianne’s answer. As if he didn’t mean to say that.

 

Liam stretched out his arms and dropped them.

 

“Oh, that doesn’t mean it’s entirely raspberry juice. There are tiny flesh and blood stains under the fingernails as well. As you might have guessed, we can’t rule out the possibility that the victim, who must have been putting up a fight, scratched part of the perpetrator’s body. However, the red liquid on her fingernails is not blood, but raspberry juice.”

 

“I see.”

 

Marianne nodded with a thoughtful look on his face. Liam’s eyes curved upwards and showed his charming smile.

 

“That’s all I have to do. To find out the truth is on you now.”

 

“Thank you, Liam.”

 

After covering Nina’s face with a white cloth again, Liam looked at Marianne. He asked with a pitying frown.

 

“I heard Nina’s brother was arrested as the culprit. Is he the real culprit?”

 

“I’m not sure.”

 

“No matter who the real culprit is, you have to make sure to catch the one who has done such a terrible thing to the young girl.”

 

“Sure thing.”

 

Marianne nodded with a stern look on her face. Marianne nodded with a determined look on her face. Yes, it was her job to catch the real culprit and reveal the truth. It was ridiculous if she wanted to find out the truth about Veronica without solving this case first.

 

“I have work left to do. Unfortunately, dead bodies are constantly coming in. I usually stop by the temple every week to pray for peace in this land, but it seems that God is not listening to my prayer.”

 

“From next week onwards, I will join the prayer. Well then, good luck, Liam.”

 

After greeting him and coming out of the morgue, Marianne walked with a brooding face. The footsteps of the two people reverberating in the quiet hallway was especially loud.

 

Kristoff suddenly spoke up impatiently as he walked beside her quietly.

 

“What’s the name of that doctor?”

 

“……Liam?”

 

“When did you two start calling each other by name? Did you have any acquaintances in Blauberg?”

 

Marianne stared at the thick wrinkles caught between his eyebrows. Anyone who saw him might have thought he was jealous.

 

Jealous? There was no way.

 

Marianne shook her head when she remembered that the person in front of her was Kristoff Schneider. Then, they began to walk again.

 

“Dr. Liam Fluke. His clinic is just one block away from the National Police Agency building. I went to see a doctor to get medical treatment and met him.”

 

“Medical treatment? Where… Oh.”

 

Kristoff closed his mouth again after answering angrily when he remembered the memory that just came up. The faint bruise that has now disappeared without leaving any trace.

 

In the room where their conversation had died down, only the sound of their footsteps were heard as it reverberated. It was all fine for a long time before Kristoff spoke out again.

 

“I don’t like it.”

 

“What?”

 

Marianne looked at him with her round eyes widened, as if she really had no clue. Kristoff stared off at the stoned wall, avoiding her gaze.

 

“The doctor. Dr. Liam or Dr. Dogbone, whatever his name is.”

 

Marianne sighed deeply at his words. A grumbling voice slipped out of her teeth.

 

“Have you ever had anyone you liked?”

 

“He’s certainly hiding something. Maybe he’s a sly guy playing with the bar waitress in the back, or a conman who only cares about money. Or he could be a playboy who lures women around with his good looks.”

 

“Kristoff. I didn’t know you were the type of person to badmouth anyone.”

 

“It’s not like that, Marianne.”

 

Kristoff urgently made an excuse, but Marianne quickly walked towards the stairs. Instead of going to the office, she headed to the second floor where the evidence room was located.

 

“Marianne, listen to me. This is not like petty jealousy……”

 

Kristoff gave an uncharacteristically lame excuse. However, Marianne never stopped her pace. Kristoff clicked his tongue lowly with a hopeless expression.

 

It was pathetic and mean because he thought so on his own accord.

 

However, he couldn’t resist the desire to gossip about the man at that moment. Badmouthing the dogbone guy who had won Marianne’s favor with such a good-looking face.

 

Kristoff, who had swept his hair roughly, chased after Marianne hurriedly.

 

***

 

The court was crowded with spectators. People who hadn’t yet entered were crowding around the entrance of the court like a cloud. There was also one person who was peeking inside the court through the window from the outside.

 

Some of them were familiar faces. He was a reporter for a large newspaper in the capital. Reporters showed great interest in Kristoff Schneider’s case, and the enthusiasm of the heated press also showed it.

 

Well, that was understandable. The capital’s best lawyer and Blauberg’s next owner has decided to defend an unknown boy.

 

Why?

 

That was the question people were most curious about.

And what happened?

 

It was the second question people were wondering about.

 

The nobles were no different. The gentleman dressed in a business suit and the lady in a dress sat in the front row, shooting a glance with expectations at the defendant.

 

Many commoners came to watch the trial that happened for the first time in their lives. They couldn’t even breathe in the grave atmosphere of the court, only glancing everywhere with an anxious look on their faces.

 

It was safe to say that the trial gathered the attention of all citizens living in Blauberg. At this rate, Kristoff’s plan to gain public attention had succeeded.

 

Paul, who sat in the defendant’s booth, looked around with a terrified look as if he got intimidated by the suffocating atmosphere with countless people in there. He felt like he was going to burst into tears. He looked like he wanted to run away, but there was a policeman behind him.

 

Michael didn’t cut Paul some slack. The coercive voice and attitude pressured the boy every so often. Each time, Paul would shiver and shrink back.

 

Michael looked back at the audience and said in a confident tone.

 

“All these circumstances support the fact that Paul Keller murdered his sister, Nina Keller. This case is clearly a murder, there’s no way out!”

 

The audience let out a low murmur upon those words.

 

It was also the first trial Michael participated in to attract so much attention. He also felt more energetic than usual.

 

However, he had to win for the sake of one person, Marianne, rather than the attention from countless people. He didn’t want to lose against Kristoff anymore.

 

Michael quickly looked around the audience. Marianne was nowhere to be seen.

 

What was going on here?

 

This was her first case. Marianne would want to watch how it would played out with her own eyes. However, Marianne hasn’t  appeared in the courtroom.

 

He wanted to show her how he won this, but it was such a shame.

 

Michael strode up to Paul and spoke as if he were yelling at him after putting aside his short thought.

 

“So how about the weapon? You’d better tell the truth now.”

 

***