Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 60: Murder In The Inn (5)

"I am pregnant. You are righteous but you have to consider our unborn child,’’ Lareina shook her head as if it was such a pity.

The onlookers turned their heads back and forth in the discussion between the husband and wife, watching who would have the last say.

Without giving Azrael a chance to speak, Lareina continued, ’’No matter what, it is rather improper for my unborn child to be exposed to the energy of death so closely. My husband can be an inconsiderate beast at times, putting his lofty ideas before his family,’’ she turned to the crowd, ’’I sincerely beg your understanding at this point.’’

Be it demons or humans, who could watch a pitiful fair maiden cry without feeling a pang in their hearts. Even with all the minute imperfections that Astra had added to Lareina’s appearance, she was still a delicate beauty.

’’Yes, the lady has a point.’’

’’Brother, you are very inconsiderate. How can you push her forward at a time like this?"

Voices of support grew. At this moment, the innkeeper who had been quiet, spoke up grumpily, "If you cannot do it, who can then? Humph!" he scoffed, ’’Just let this matter drop and I will let the officials handle it."

’’How can we trouble you?" Lareina smiled, ’’I said I cannot do it personally but that does not mean I cannot guide someone through the entire process in order to bring out the truth,’’ she turned her head.

When she gazed at him, Azrael felt his scalp tingling a little for some reason. He had noticed her weird expressions earlier and known that she had noticed something so he decided to push her a little. After that, it became a little amusing to him when she became unsettled just at the thought of having to examine the corpse.

He wanted the crowd to let down their guards and loosen up a bit. So, in the meanwhile, there was no harm in pitting her down a little to tease her. However, what he did not expect was that instead of backing out, she would manage to drag him into this. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

’’My husband is just as capable as me,’’ Lareina smiled at Azrael kindly, ’’Since his face has obvious rashes and burns, it means that the poison was not only potent but it was ingested orally. So, for us to know more about it...’’

Lareina stepped to the side and pointed at the corpse, ’’Open his mouth and put your fingers inside.’’

’’You... How can you do that?’’ The innkeeper’s voice of protest was soon drowned out by the curiosity of the others.

Azrael glanced at Lareina and she raised a brow, challenging him to follow her lead.

He inhaled deep breath, folded his sleeve and pried open the man’s mouth before putting two fingers inside.

’’Graze it along the side of the tongue and the roof of the mouth,’’ Lareina continued.

Astra and Rune, who were hiding in the distance, nearly lost their balance when they heard that. Their prince was not as much of a germaphobe as the princess but he was still a person who preferred cleanliness.

’’There is no way he would do this,’’ Astra murmured to Rune who remained quiet in response.

In the next moment, they watched as Azrael followed Lareina’s commands with a gloomy cloud hovering above his head.

When he extracted his hand, she grabbed his wrist, keeping it away from her. A rotten odor filled the air.

After gazing at it for a moment, she motioned towards the corpse’s hands, ’’Undress him.’’

Azrael’s eyes narrowed as he shot her a look.

’’The upper body,’’ Lareina added with a soft clear of her throat.

’’You... No!" The innkeeper could no longer be contained. He bolted forward, ’’How can you do that? My brother is long dead. Stop hampering his remains and let me proceed on with the ritual!"

’’If I didn’t know any better, I would think you murdered your brother,’’ Lareina glanced at the man.

’’W-What? How could you say something like that?" the man staggered back nervously.

Lareina cupped her fist and looked at the man respectfully, ’’Sir, since you have involved us in this affair. Let us go through the entire investigation lest your attitude makes you look the most suspicious here. Who knows then instead of uncovering your brother’s culprit, we will have to prove your innocence instead?"

When her words dropped, a few suspicious gazes immediately shot towards the innkeeper.

’’Nonsense! Why would I harm my brother?" He quietened down, settling in the crowd instead.

’’Strip him!"

This time, Azrael promptly discarded the clothes that clung to the man’s upper body.

"What did he eat last and who brought the food to him?"

After Lareina’s previous statement, the innkeeper had long calmed down so he cooperated with her by bringing over the maid out of the crowd quickly.

’’She is my brother’s maid and she has been serving by his side for over a decade now,’’ the man informed.

’’He had a boar meat broth,’’ the maid was a young demoness who had tears rolling down her face at the sight of her deceased master. Nevertheless, in the face of the crowd’s questioning gaze, she managed to speak, ’’Master liked to have it a lot whenever he was tired.’’

’’Did he finish the broth? Or is there still some left?’’ Lareina took another step away from the corpse discreetly when the stench wafted over to her and in doing so, she promptly avoided the grievous looks Azrael shot her way.

’’I will have someone check quickly,’’ the innkeeper straightened, afraid that this seemingly reputed coroner’s niece would pull another move to malign his name. At this point, for some reason, Lareina’s calmness and her deductive abilities had convinced everyone that she was truly a hidden expert amongst them.

Everyone waited for a few minutes before a male servant rushed back with a bowl in his hand.

’’But... this... How can this help?" The innkeeper frowned as he looked at the bowl that barely had any broth left. Only a thin layer of liquid and nearly invisible small chunks of meat had settled in the bottom, ’’Throw it away incase you disrespect the expert here by showing her such things...’’