Why it never ends

Chapter 1234 Guests
Who are those people?

“How would I know? I already said we were in the room,” Zoe said. “Around 5 a.m., Simona was so sleepy that we went to rest in a corner tower on the top of the castle for a while. She slept until almost 7 a.m. when we heard someone ringing a bell downstairs, so we went down—it was Mrs. Blanbo inviting us down for breakfast. She said the game was over and everyone could enjoy themselves.”

At this point, Zoe suddenly changed her posture from leaning back in her chair, leaning forward abruptly and landing both elbows on Hester's desk at the same time: "And then, here comes the important part!"

Hershta slightly raised his eyes: "Hmm?"

"The man named Tang An on the list is Ximoya's friend. He sat with us for breakfast and chatted with us. Suddenly, he lowered his voice and asked Ximoya what role she got last night—Ximoya and I were both stunned. Neither of us knew what he was talking about!"
“I thought Simoya was going to tell the truth, but she just chuckled twice and said, ‘I’m not a good character.’ The man laughed too and said he was too—his identity was Trion.”

“Trian?” Hesta repeated the name. “You mean Treon?”

“Yes, that’s the baron who’s in the palace right now,” Zoe said. “Tom said he was shocked when he got his identity; it was the first time he’d known that Treon was also there on the day the duke was murdered.”

"Then he asked me and Simoya what our identities were. Simoya said that she and I were both thieves. The man then asked, 'Thieves? What is the mission of a thief?' — It was only when I heard this that I realized that different identities might have corresponding specific missions. For example, the mission of a guard — let's assume there is such a role — might be to prevent any suspicious items from entering the Duke's room."

“Simoya told him that thieves follow maps and must find the marked treasure without being detected,” Zoe laughed. “The man was surprised and said, ‘We can still be detected? What if we are?’ Simoya said, ‘If we are detected, we can escape if we are outnumbered, and if we are outnumbered—we can kill and rob.’”

“It’s quite a convincing story,” Hesta said. “Did the other side have any suspicions?”

“Of course not,” Zoe said. “This person later told me that she knew someone had been given the identity of Old Irene, and another young man was the governor. She wasn’t very familiar with the other guests, so she didn’t inquire about them. In short, last night, not only the drinks and furnishings in the castle, but even the identities of the guests were based on the allocation of the sober guests from back then.”

"Then why don't you have any identification?"

“I don’t know,” Zoe said. “Simoya guesses that only those who have to take action will be told who to play and what to do. We two are probably like ‘civilians’ in this kind of game, so we don’t see any off-screen information, but we don’t need to do anything either.”

"Who won the game that night?" Hersta asked.

“No one won, but no one lost or was eliminated either. It was all unclear and very boring,” Zoe said. “But as we finished breakfast and were about to leave, Mrs. Brownbo suddenly announced that the game would be played every Saturday from now on until the game ended. I was thinking, who would come here every week to starve themselves for one night, when I heard her say that she had prepared a grand prize that no one could imagine, which would only be shared equally by the guests who were still there until the very end.”

“‘Splitting it equally’!” Zoe emphasized the word again. “What comes to mind when I say ‘it can be split equally’?”

"……property."

“Yes! That’s what Simona thinks too!” Zoe clapped her hands. “On the way back, she told me that recently, many people have donated huge sums of money to the foundation and non-profit organizations led by Mrs. Brownbo. In addition, Mrs. Brownbo also received a murder threat from an assassin a while ago—huge wealth, a murder threat, and a banquet game, Simona thinks there must be a connection between the three.”

Hester fell into deep thought. After a while, she glanced at the table: "They hold one every Saturday... so there's another one the night after tomorrow?" "Yes, she said she'll keep inviting new guests because 'the table for the guests isn't full'—meaning, the night her husband died, there was a very lively party at their house, maybe a dozen people having fun together."

“Okay,” Hesta said after a moment’s thought, “go find Sire later and tell her all of this again—”

"Do I have to say it again..." Zoe said impatiently, "Then why didn't you just call Si Lei over from the beginning?"

“How would I know we need to bring Siley here if I don’t hear it from you?” Hersta said matter-of-factly. “She should be able to access the case files—and even if she can’t, she’s familiar with the police at the farm and should be able to find out some information.”

Hester looked at Zoe: "When Sire brings the files, you and Simoya can go and read them together. Maybe you'll make some new discoveries."

"So, will Simona and I have to go again this Saturday?"

"do you want to go?"

Zoe didn't answer immediately—she was somewhat interested in the case and the game, but not much. Going to the city week after week was obviously a chore, but it seemed a little wasteful to miss out on something by not going.

“You can also ask Simoya if she still wants to go,” Hesta said. “If any of you don’t want to go, then replace her with Sire—please also inform her of this for me.”

“Okay.” Zoe stood up. “I’ll get back to you later.”

"Thanks for your hard work."

Zoe was almost at the door when she suddenly stopped. "By the way, Jane, can I ask you a question?"

"Hmm?" Hershta looked up. "What's the problem?"

“Why did you create an ‘Askia Freedom Front’?” Zoe asked. “What’s the point of creating this organization? Are we—I mean me, Enda, Teresa… required to join?”

"No, why do you ask?"

“I did ask around, and none of us went to the person in charge you designated to register…” Zoe paused for a moment, “So, how many Mercury Needles does your Freedom Front have in total? Three?”

Hesta shrugged nonchalantly: "I haven't asked Rico and Turan yet. If you want to confirm the current number of mercury needles in the party—it's just me right now."