With the help of the guard.
The unconscious Cowel was forcibly awakened.
When he regained consciousness, he was completely bewildered.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? Why am I in the defendant's seat?
"Mr. Cowel, you're awake?"
"I... What is this?"
Cowel scratched his head in confusion.
But soon, memories flooded his mind like a tide.
He gradually remembered what had happened, his face turning pale.
"It seems you've remembered, how does it feel to be alive? You don't seem too happy about it."
Facing Su Mu's question, Cowel's face changed slightly. He pretended to be confused and asked, "What's going on?"
"Why am I standing here?"
"I seem to have amnesia. What happened just now?"
Seeing his poor acting, Feningna, who was standing beside Su Mu, frowned.
"Your expression just now doesn't look like amnesia at all, it's more like you remembered something."
"Lady Feningna, you've wronged me!" Cowel quickly said, "I've just woken up, so I can't control my expression."
"Heh... There's no need for these meaningless struggles."
"Lady Feningna has already seen through everything, she just doesn't want to expose it."
Hearing this, Feningna's shoulders suddenly trembled, then she nodded stiffly.
"Of... Of course, I've already guessed the truth, I just want to give you a chance to reform."
"I... I really didn't do anything!"
Facing Feningna's accusation, Cowel shook his head bitterly.
Su Mu looked at him with an indifferent expression, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Lady Feningna has already given you a chance, but you didn't seize it. There's nothing we can do about it."
"As far as I know, Linni's magic props are all handled by his assistants, and the person in charge of the wooden box is you, right?"
"So... So what?"
"I took a special look at the rope at the top just now."
"There are burn marks on the rope, and some cotton fluff left behind."
"I think it should have been the fireworks that splashed out when the fireworks were fired, igniting the cotton fluff on the rope."
"Because the rope broke, causing the water tank to fall, crashing straight down onto the wooden box below. And the person inside would surely die."
"From beginning to end, you were the only one who had contact with the rope, and you were the one responsible for building the water tank. Besides you, no one else in the magic troupe could have tampered with the rope."
As soon as these words were spoken.
The scene was immediately in an uproar.
This evidence directly pointed the finger at Cowel as the culprit.
If he couldn't produce evidence, the scales of justice would tip towards Su Mu.
After listening to Su Mu's analysis, Cowel's face changed. But he still stubbornly explained:
"I don't know who tampered with the rope!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the scales of justice tilted towards Su Mu.
Seeing this, Cowel immediately became anxious and quickly said, "I had absolutely no intention of killing anyone!"
"I don't know the lucky audience at all, they were randomly selected. And the person lying in the wooden box is me in the end!"
"Do you think you can deceive the Water God with such sweet talk?"
"The person lying in the wooden box is you in the end, but it doesn't clear you of suspicion."
"The Water God has already seen through everything, she just doesn't want to argue with you."
Seeing that the fire was burning towards her, Feningna quickly said, "That... Of course, I've seen it all along!"
Su Mu smiled and continued to analyze:
"Opera house tickets need to be booked in advance."
"You could have chosen the lucky audience based on the booked seats."
"I guess the lottery machine that Linni used should have also been tampered with by you, right?"
"In that case, you can accurately select your target, there's no such thing as random selection."
Hearing this, Navilete instructed, "The guards, check that lottery machine, see if it's really been tampered with."
After a while, the guards returned to the stage.
"Report to Lord Navilete, the lottery machine has indeed been tampered with."
"Just press a special button, and the lottery machine will be locked on the seventh row, third seat."
"If you don't press this button, the lottery machine will randomly select. Cowel should have tampered with the lottery machine when he brought it onto the stage."
Hearing this, Navilete turned to look at Cowel.
"Mr. Cowel, do you have any explanation for privately modifying the lottery machine?"
"I... I was just playing around. After all, I didn't have any motive to commit a crime, did I?"
"Motive?"
Su Mu smiled faintly and said, "The missing girl is the strongest evidence, isn't it?"
"The victims in the missing girl serial case are all girls, and no traces have been left."
"The audience in the seventh row, third seat is a girl who meets the age of the criminal. That's why you chose her."
"You're lying!"
"If I really wanted to hurt her!"
"How could there be no traces when the water tank crashed down?"
Hearing this defense, the audience in the venue also nodded in agreement.
According to the records in the case file, the victims of the missing girl serial case had disappeared without a trace.
If they were killed by a water tank, it would be impossible to have no traces, this does not fit the characteristics of the victims in the missing girl serial case.
"Heh... This is the core of the case."
"Let the Water God explain the charges about this part."
As soon as these words were spoken, Feningna felt her head buzz, it was over, her persona was about to completely collapse!
At that moment, Su Mu whispered a few words in her ear. Feningna was stunned for a moment, then she looked at Su Mu in disbelief.
Su Mu just smiled and nodded at her.
Seeing this, Feningna didn't know why, but she suddenly felt confident.
"Oh? Lady Feningna is personally reasoning? I'm getting more and more excited!"
"Yeah! Finally, we can witness Lady Feningna's strongest form. What kind of conclusion will there be?"
Amidst the cheers of the audience in the venue.
Feningna stepped forward and replaced Su Mu's position.
She stood with her hands on her hips, confident and said, "The reason is actually very simple."
"Because the water tank is just a distraction you used to create chaos, it's not the real way to kill the girl."
"In the waters of Fontaine, there exists something called Primordial Ocean Water. Once a Fontaine person touches it, they will be dissolved into water."
"I guess you must have put Primordial Ocean Water in the wooden box, dissolving the innocent girl you selected!"
"Once the water tank falls, there will only be a broken water tank and a pool of clear water left on the stage. The girl will disappear without a trace!"
"Not only that, you can also push all the blame onto Linni, and you will be out of the picture. Unfortunately, the final result is that you almost died on the stage."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue was in an uproar!
"Ah? There's such a thing in Fontaine's waters?"
"That's impossible! How can there be water that dissolves you the moment you touch it?"
"But the Water God said so, which means this thing really exists! The Water God can't lie, can she?"
"Hiss... If that's the case, then this Cowel is the murderer! Could he be the mastermind behind the missing girl serial case?"
On the other hand.
After listening to Feningna's analysis.
Cowel's emotions had completely collapsed.
He shook his head frantically, not admitting to Feningna's accusation.
"Heh... You're not admitting it? Then I'll make sure you die knowing the truth."
"Mr. Navilete, I request to check Mr. Cowel's luggage and the underground passage."
"Underground passage?" Navilete thought for a moment, and quickly understood, "Do you mean the girl might still be alive?"
"Of course. If the girl had been dissolved by Primordial Ocean Water, how could Mr. Cowel have fainted in the wooden box?"
"The most likely scenario is that Mr. Cowel fought with the girl. Unfortunately, Mr. Cowel's strength was too weak, and he was subdued by the girl and locked in the wooden box. He almost died on the stage."
Navilete immediately ordered the guards to go and check.
Not long after, they returned to the stage with a girl and several test tubes.
"Report to Lord Navilete, we found several test tubes and a notebook in Cowel's luggage."
"As Lady Feningna said, the test tubes contain Primordial Ocean Water. Fontaine people will be dissolved into a pool of clear water the moment they touch it."
"As for this girl, she is not the girl who bought the ticket, but an experienced thief. She stole the other party's ticket and came to watch the opera performance in their place."
"Because she is not a Fontaine person, the Primordial Ocean Water hidden in the wooden box did not dissolve her. Instead, she was startled and immediately escaped from the wooden box, bumping into Cowel who was observing the situation."
"Cowel was too weak and failed to subdue the girl. Instead, he was subdued by her."
"To prevent suspicion, she stuffed Cowel into the wooden box, and she hid in the underground passage."
The evidence provided by the guards.
Directly confirmed that Cowel was the mastermind behind the scenes.
No matter how hard he struggled, he could not face this ironclad fact.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I'm still useful! I can provide you with evidence of the mastermind behind the scenes!"
"He planned all of this! I'm just a pawn! Please spare me! I never wanted to kill anyone!"
Hearing this, the atmosphere at the scene reached a fever pitch.
Is the mastermind behind the missing girl serial case about to be exposed?
"I... I can vouch for him! We... We are both pawns used by the mastermind!"
Just when everyone was extremely excited, a person suddenly emerged from the guards, apparently feeling that the situation was hopeless, trying to save his own life.
However, before they could reveal any clues.
In the astonished eyes of the crowd, they instantly turned into a puddle of clear water!
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh——!"
Piercing screams rang out one after another!
No one had expected this to be the end!
It turned out that Primordial Ocean Water really could dissolve Fontaine people!
Those missing girls were dissolved by the Primordial Ocean Water!
【Amber】：I didn't expect this ending.
【Amber】：Primordial Ocean Water is terrifying!
【Amber】：It's like the Fontaine people are cursed, they instantly turn into water!
【Kaeya】：The entire case was indeed thrilling, but I'm more interested in Su Mu's reasoning process.
【Kaeya】：He didn't investigate the underground passage or check the luggage. He just deduced the criminal based on this little clue?
【Jean】：Indeed, I was a little skeptical when he accused Cowel. From beginning to end, I never suspected that Cowel might be the mastermind behind the scenes.
【Hu Tao】：Oh my, what a revelation!
【Hu Tao】：It's just a pity that the real mastermind didn't surface.
【Xingqiu】：It's quite amazing to be able to achieve this level with just this little clue.
【Xingqiu】：I put myself in his shoes and thought about it. If it were me, I wouldn't have suspected Cowel at all.
【Xiangling】：Yeah, from any angle you look at it, he's a victim. Who would have thought that he would be the perpetrator of the case?
【Navia】：I have a question I don't quite understand.
【Navia】：Why did Mr. Su Mu specifically bring Lady Feningna up?
【Navia】：If I'm not mistaken, Lady Feningna shouldn't have guessed the direction of the story, right?
【Charlotte】：Hm... That's right. When I saw Lady Feningna being chosen by Mr. Su Mu, she had a smile on her face that was even worse than crying.
【Leosly】：Simple, two reasons.
【Leosly】：First, he needs Lady Feningna to help him out.
【Leosly】：He's an outsider. Even if he mentions Primordial Ocean Water, no one will believe him.
【Leosly】：But if this statement is said from Lady Feningna's mouth, the credibility will be different.
【Leosly】：Look at the reaction of the audience in the venue, when they heard about Primordial Ocean Water, their first thought was doubt, but they didn't refute it.
【Navia】：Makes sense, what's the second reason?
【Leosly】：Secondly, it should be to satisfy Lady Feningna's vanity.
【Leosly】：He has already seen through everything, but he's still willing to give Lady Feningna the opportunity to perform.
【Leosly】：I think Mr. Su Mu has figured out Lady Feningna's personality. So he used this method to gain Lady Feningna's favor.
【Charlotte】：He guessed right.
【Feningna】：......
【Feningna】：Is it that obvious?
【Leosly】：From the result, he succeeded.
【Leosly】：At least Lady Feningna is smiling happily, isn't she?
【Leosly】：Perhaps Mr. Su Mu's true purpose is just to make her smile happily?
【Kamisato Ayato】：For the sake of a beautiful woman's smile, he has made so many efforts in secret. Mr. Su Mu is truly unfathomable...