The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

Elena's fingers lightly traced Caroline's file, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

She suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked up at X.

"Something's not right," she said softly, her voice unusually clear in the quiet room. "In the barrier experiments mentioned in these notes, Caroline originally planned to use projected aliens, not real aliens."

X took a step closer, his gaze falling on the complex barrier diagrams, quickly noticing the terms related to projection magic and the incomprehensible formulas and symbols:

"What she actually wanted to use was... projection of a different kind of magic?"

“Yes,” Elena nodded, pointing to a page with her finger, “when it’s impossible to control the real alien species, projecting alien species with magic is indeed the safest alternative. Although the projected alien species are still dangerous, there is no pollution or radiation involved.”

This seems to be the advantage of projection magic. No wonder the Royal Magic Association is so enthusiastic about researching projection technology, even using it to test strength.

So when the Magic Association says the danger has been reduced by 90%, they mean there is no longer any foreign contamination.

"Therefore, Caroline's plan should be to use the projected alien to threaten Lucy, rather than using the real alien. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about being contaminated, nor would she leave too many traces. And Lucy, unaware of this, might reveal the information she needs."

Angel leaned closer curiously, her blue eyes wide open: "Then...did someone replace the projection with a real alien species?"

Elena continued to carefully examine the complex magic circle designs.

Her finger hovered over a page containing the specific parameters of the projected alien species.

"Very likely. If it's a projection aberration, given Caroline's familiarity with it, she could cancel the spell at any time and make the projection disappear. Therefore, Caroline doesn't need to worry about accidentally walking into her own trap."

"But what if Caroline doesn't have time to cancel the spell?" Ex asked.

He had also just experienced fighting against projection magic.

I know that projection magic is still magic, and it carries the same great dangers. If a powerful, unusual creature appears, moving so fast that there's no time to react… that's a possibility.

"But the scene where the body was found, and the obvious alien contamination detected on Caroline's body," Officer James interjected. "This means that there was a real alien in Caroline's trap, not a projection."

Elena stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the busy street: "So this wasn't an accident, it was murder. Someone replaced the projected alien that Caroline had planned with a real alien."

So that's how it is. This is the difference between projection magic variants and real variants.

Silence fell over the room.

Of course, there's still one problem. If projection magic isn't used, how do you contain the real alien species within the barrier? This remains an unsolved mystery.

But if we disregard that, one thing is already certain.

This discovery completely changed the nature of the case—from an accidental escape into a meticulously planned murder.

Now, Officer James, a staunch supporter of the "Lucy is the murderer" camp, is energized once again.

Officer James jumped up, his eyes gleaming with excitement:

"I knew it was Lucy! She discovered Caroline's plan, so she turned the tables, replacing the projected alien with a real one, causing Caroline to die in her own trap!"

His voice was excited and high-pitched, echoing throughout the room.

Ex and Elena exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

"Calm down, James," Ex said. "We don't have solid evidence yet."

"Evidence?" James tapped the table lightly. "Caroline and Lucy were both aware of the silver theft, yet they either died or disappeared when the Holy Order investigated. Therefore, Lucy had a motive to eliminate Caroline and then escape!"

Of course, James has other reasons as well.

For example, Lucy is also an expert in barrier magic, and she is also Caroline's colleague, so she has many opportunities to come into contact with Caroline and has the chance to detect Caroline's actions in advance.

Ex sighed softly, but this time he did not refute.

If it was murder, Lucy is indeed a prime suspect—it's not uncommon for the person who was plotted against to turn around and eliminate the mastermind.

"And," James continued, his voice growing more agitated, "Caroline's letter mentioned that she felt there was a clue about Lucy, and that clue must be related to the silver theft! Caroline is righteous!"

Has this new police officer gone mad with a sense of justice?

Elena frowned in thought: "James, you're still being too hasty."

Ex looked at the young officer thoughtfully; his reaction was too intense, as if he had already decided that Lucy was the murderer.

"Anyway," X said, "that should be all the clues we have here. We all need to find Lucy next. She's definitely the key."

James immediately straightened his back: "I'll go back to the police station right away to report the situation and persuade the sheriff to mobilize a large number of people to search for Lucy! She's so suspicious now, the sheriff will definitely agree!"

"By the way, Officer James, could you give me Lucy's address? I'll go there and investigate further," X suggested.

"No problem, you guys go ahead, I'll be there in a bit."

He saluted and hurriedly left the apartment.

Watching James's departing figure, Ex thought to himself, "This Officer James seems to be particularly concerned about what happened between Caroline and Lucy."

“I feel the same way,” Elena nodded. “He acted too hastily, immediately identifying Lucy as the murderer. Does he… know something we don’t?”

"Never mind that for now. Let's go check out Lucy's place while he's away," X suggested. "Maybe we'll find more clues."

■

Lucy's apartment is located in an ordinary building in West London, and its decor is much simpler than Caroline's. Ivy climbs the exterior walls, and simple white curtains hang in the windows, showing the owner's understated yet refined taste.

Elena easily unlocked the door with her vine magic, and the three of them entered the house and locked the door.

The apartment was clean and tidy, with a few simple landscape paintings hanging on the walls and bookshelves filled with books on barrier magic. Everything reflected the owner's disciplined lifestyle and pursuit of knowledge.

And the similarity in tastes with Caroline.

Could it be that fairies who enjoy studying barriers like to decorate their rooms like this?

But it's also possible that this is a recent decorating trend. Londoners have always been keen to follow fashion.

The police must have come here looking for Lucy, but she hasn't been here.

However, the police files did not show a very detailed search of Lucy's address. There was only a simple search, and therefore no valuable information was obtained.

"Let's split up and search," Ax suggested in a low voice. "Focus on anything related to Caroline or the silver theft."

Angel was in charge of checking the bedroom, her little hands rummaging through the drawers.

Elena flipped through the documents on the desk, while Ax carefully searched every corner of the living room.

However, Lucy's address was much cleaner, with almost no suspicious mail or documents, and no bills, invoices, or anything like that.

In short, there were no clues in the room that suggested Lucy's whereabouts. It seems that Lucy was skilled in counter-tracking techniques and therefore adept at concealing her tracks.

Ex couldn't help but sigh, thinking that there might be more clues in the neighboring residence than here. This place is so clean; it's a shame it's not used for housekeeping.

"Master! Look!" Angel suddenly shouted from the bedroom, then rushed out holding a notebook in both hands.

Ax took it and flipped through it casually; it was all blank.

"What's wrong? Angel, did you find out...?"

Ax suddenly noticed that a page had been torn off, leaving a few scraps of paper.

Ex couldn't help but glance at Angel, only to see her grinning foolishly.

Well done, Angel!

So X used the technique of revealing text through embossing again.

They quickly copied the text from the torn-off paper onto the paper.

The letter contained only one line, without a title or signature, the handwriting hasty yet conveying a sense of urgency:

"Watch out for James Wilson!"

A simple sentence, yet it pierced my heart like a sharp sword.

James, isn't that the rookie police officer?

At that moment, there was a sudden, urgent knocking on the door.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The heavy knocking on the door was particularly jarring in the quiet apartment, like a death knell.

Angel turned pale with fright and clung tightly to X's side, her blue eyes filled with terror.

"Who...who's there?" she asked softly, her voice trembling.

"It's me! Sir James Ex, open the door!"

The words were still full of enthusiasm.

But for the timid Angel at that moment, it felt like falling into an ice cave.