Silas's previous state was similar to that of a critically ill elderly person, requiring the same arduous care with no hope in sight.
Caring for a gravely ill elder until their death is an exhausting ordeal, especially when the old person lingers on the edge.
For both the caregiver and the patient, it becomes an immense torment. Even the deepest affection gradually erodes under the weight of repetitive toil.
In his past life, Silas had witnessed rural funerals where the person who had truly cared for the dying elder until the very end couldn't shed a single tear.
While others wailed in elaborate displays of grief, that person's face bore only a strange mixture of relief and confusion.
Back then, the half-mad Silas had no possibility of recovery either. He would only continue to drain his sister through endless labor, so he could somewhat understand Cecilia's state of mind at the time.
Therefore, after hearing her confession, Silas felt no anger. Instead, his heart only grew more tender toward his sister.
"Cecilia. It's okay, Cecilia. Look at me and answer a few questions."
Silas reached out and grasped both of his sister's arms, shaking her gently to make her lift her head. "You had thoughts of killing me and then yourself, but did you actually do it?"
"No..."
Cecilia, who had been crying, was forcibly shaken by him. After a moment of stunned silence, she answered.
"Even for a single day, did you ever neglect taking care of me?"
Silas continued pressing.
"No, but I..."
"Then there's nothing more to say!"
Silas cut his sister off.
"It was just an extreme thought born from despair at the time, nothing serious. Compared to everything you sacrificed to care for me, it means nothing!"
He practically forced his conclusion on her, interrupting her words. "Besides, you went through such hardship during that time.
Even the goddess would forgive you if she heard your story. As for me, I care even less about it."
Under Silas's somewhat clumsy comfort, Cecilia finally managed to calm down a bit.
But once she had composed herself, she immediately repeated her earlier request to become a Beyonder.
"Brother, I ran away once before, wanting to give up on your life. Not this time." Cecilia spoke with determination. "I want to become a Beyonder and help you."
Silas smiled bitterly, realizing he truly had no grounds left to refuse.
"Alright then... Once I go to the underground market to buy the auxiliary materials, I'll make that characteristic into a potion for you."
He could only agree.
It was already quite late. By the time he had calmed Cecilia down, the clock hands were nearly pointing to 3.
After eating something, overwhelming drowsiness hit him. He washed up briefly and prepared to rest.
M was waiting for him in front of the washroom.
"Very touching sibling affection."
She said with a smile.
"None of your business."
Silas muttered sullenly and headed straight back to his room.
Because he had slept so late, Silas could barely bring himself to get up the next morning.
It took enormous effort and willpower to drag himself out of bed.
After washing up and eating breakfast, he greeted his sister and prepared to leave.
"Brother, don't forget to buy the auxiliary materials."
His sister specifically reminded him.
"I remember."
Silas sighed inwardly as he replied.
Leaving the house and boarding the public carriage, he found no empty seats and had to stand.
He leaned against the carriage wall, staring blankly outside.
It was still because he was too weak, unable to protect his sister. Instead, he had exposed her to danger and drawn her into that world...
Silas's flawlessly handsome face showed no expression; his eyes slightly dimmed.
A female passenger sat nearby, wearing a knitted light green dress with ruffled edges.
Her attire suggested she was a company clerk. She quickly and discreetly glanced at Silas several times.
After seeing his calm face, she inexplicably felt a surge of sadness, as if her heart was being tightly squeezed.
"Sir... are you alright?"
She couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
In this conservative era, it was quite unusual for a lady to initiate conversation with a strange man. "If you're not feeling well, you can take my seat..."
Silas looked up, meeting her gaze with his azure eyes.
"Thank you, but I'm fine."
He smiled politely.
The female clerk's face quickly flushed red. Looking at that slightly melancholic, handsome face, her heart felt both sweet and wistful.
The carriage arrived at Zouteland Street. Silas got off at the street corner and walked into the company.
"Good morning, Silas. You have dark circles under your eyes."
Rozanne greeted him from the reception desk.
"Because I was on Chanis Gate duty the day before yesterday, and I went to bed very late last night."
Silas yawned. "I'm going to the break room to catch up on sleep. Unless something happens, don't let them disturb me."
The best thing about this job was that it was truly leisurely when there were no incidents. No one would care if you slept during work hours.
So he slept soundly through the entire morning in the break room, only emerging at noon to eat a "work meal" delivered by a waiter from Old Will's restaurant.
After eating and drinking some black tea, he started feeling drowsy again.
"Silas."
Just then, a figure in a black trench coat came around from behind the partition and called out to him.
The man had deep-set eyes and a somewhat receding hairline. It was none other than the captain of Tingen's Nighthawks squad, Dunn Smith.
"Captain."
Silas quickly set down his teacup. "What's the matter?"
"A female corpse was discovered in the lower reaches of the Tussock River.
The death was gruesome, with organs apparently removed. Based on the clothing, the police investigation identified her as the famous Sharon from Tingen's high society."
Dunn's expression was quite serious. "The police handed the case over to us. I've made a preliminary judgment that extraordinary powers were involved."
Huh?
Sharon?
Didn't I have her thrown into the river? How was she discovered so quickly?
Silas couldn't help but freeze, though he immediately put on a puzzled expression. "Sharon? I think I've heard that name."
"I know! She's a famous socialite in Tingen's high society!" Rozanne said excitedly.
"Many nobles and wealthy merchants were her suitors... She's actually dead. I wonder which spurned admirer turned love into hate and killed her..."
"Rozanne, don't talk nonsense."
Dunn said helplessly.
"Ah! Sorry, Captain!"
After Dunn glared at her, Rozanne immediately behaved and slipped away.
Dunn sent Rozanne back to the reception desk, then turned to Silas.
"Klein and Frye have already gone ahead. We should leave soon, too. I hope your abilities can be useful.
You have no idea how many important people are pressuring the police to solve this case..."
"Yes, Captain."
Silas hurried to the break room to change into police clothes. As he walked, he thought to himself, Does this count as investigating myself?
He had already performed the anti-divination ritual.
Klein shouldn't be able to discover anything... So he could just say some random things and redirect the clues elsewhere.
Right, he would say he sensed a corrupted aura from the corpse, claim that Sharon's death was the work of the Aurora Order, and then reveal Sharon's identity as a Witch.
That way, by mixing truth with lies, they definitely wouldn't figure it out.
Silas quickly formed a plan.
As long as he solved the case quickly enough, he should still have time to go to the market and buy materials for his sister.
---
Finally, one hundred chapters! Hooray!