Chương 262: Chapter 245. Conjectures About Baron Fracks

John Ericsson's Point Of View" And then he lifted the shirt. So, he was just doing what I asked him to do. But seeing your faces after the fact, I think that was a nice bonus."" How are you this calm, My Love?"" Well, if he was going to Curse me or something, he'd have already done it. Besides, the more pressing matter is Baron Fracks being his killer. I knew I felt weird looking at that guy!"

After explaining everything to Sarah and Anna, I was sitting and thinking for a moment as Victor and I stared at a wall as Sarah and Anna put on clothes so they weren't in their underwear. I guess I should put on a shirt as well, beats staring at a wall and thinking about all this second guessing about how I could've done something about the guy earlier in the night, but that would've been a terrible idea to do. Just the idea of myself, a Human, attacking a well-respected Demon Noble who's "grieving" a dead wife...

A wife that I'm not even certain died of natural causes like the report said.... This is a lot to deal with on about 2 hours of sleep. press... A hand touched my shoulder as I felt the migraine beginning to grow." So, Darling, what do you want to do?" Anna looked to me for answers, but to be honest, I still had none." I'm not sure yet, I still have some questions for Victor. Are you and Sarah dressed now?"" Yes." Victor and I turned around." What questions do you have for me?""

Well, it's about your death, I need more information."" Well, like I said, I went to Lord Fracks's bedroom to collect his sheets to wash for my Dad. I grabbed them, then I heard a voice that I didn't recognize, I turned to see unfamiliar red eyes, they were Lord Fracks's. He spoke to me, nothing particularly useful, just things like verifying who I was and then asking me how old I was."" How... Old you were?"" Yeah, I mean, he's been a recluse for 2 years, I doubt he remembered how old the sheet washing boy was.

Why do you think it matters?"" Maybe? Just keep answering my questions for now. Do you know if Fracks has killed anyone else?"" Do you mean after I died? If so, yes, as for before, you'd need to ask Lady Cindra, but she's not here."" I see. How many people have been killed since you?"" 3."" Who?"" Fran, Bobby and my Dad." My hand went to my chin before I could even realize it." What? What happened, My Love?"" Huh?" Sarah called to me, I guess the look on my face was concerning for her.

Now that I think about it, they can't hear Victor's answers. I need to fill them in. But first, I need more answers from Victor." I still need a few more minutes, don't worry, I'll explain it all after I get the information I need." Sarah and Anna nodded to my words with reluctance, the look on their faces when a problem comes up that I have to solve on my own is something I hate to see. It's halfway between frustration and nearly crying for them. I wish I could let them hear what Victor is saying."

Do you have any more questions?"" Yes." Victor seemed to think I was done, if only he knew how much more I needed to ask." The people who died, did you watch it?"" No, I couldn't"" Why?" Victor now had a look of frustration on his face." Well, where he does it, it's in a hidden room, the entrance is in Lord Fracks's room. Whenever Lady Cindra and I try to go there, we start feelings pain and like we're sick." Stolen novel; please report." Okay, that's strange."

Some half-baked answers started to form in my head, but I didn't want to jump to any conclusions." The people who died, how old were they? Do you know anything about them at all?"" Hm? Uhm... Fran was 19, I think? She was going to leave the mansion and get married to her boyfriend soon... Bobby was an old man... I think he was 50 years old? His children are already adults, and they work in the Military. His wife, Cathy, she was always nice to me when she delivered lunch to Bobby... And the 3rd..."" Your Dad?"

Victor took a moment to compose himself, the wound was still fresh, it's hard to answer questions about a person you love if they've passed away." He was 34. His birthday was in the summer. He... He nearly had enough to send my Little Sister to an Agricultural Program so she could be a Farmer..."" Okay. Sorry about needing you to answer these questions, Victor."" And... Lady Cindra, she told me that my Dad wasn't killed like me, or Fran or Bobby... He was pushed off a cliff on the lands here.""

But it was Fracks who did it right?"" Yes, Lady Cindra said that my Dad met Pete at night. While talking, Lord Fracks came from behind him and pushed him off the cliff."" So, he has an accomplice? That's good for us. I can get answers from that old man."" You can?"" Yeah. But still... This is vexing."" What is?" That question came from Sarah, seems her patience's end has been reached. Thankfully, I have some answers for Anna and her now." So, we have nothing until we get it out of that "Pete" guy, My Love?""

Not exactly, I have some information now. So, I have some things I'm sure about."" What?"" What did you learn from all of that, Darling?"" You learned something, Marquess Drake?" Everyone was surprised." Well, take this with a grain of salt everyone."" What does that mean?" Victor didn't seem to know what that expression meant. Thankfully, most of the older expressions from the English language exist here on Gaia as well. But I guess Victor never heard of it."

The expression means to not take what I'm about to say too seriously. For multiple reasons, one of the things I came up with is something that I think could be wrong." Victor seemed to understand what I meant. I began to talk again." So, from the information that I've gained from Victor, I came to 2 conclusions. the 1st is that Baron Fracks doesn't seem to be a serial killer in the traditional sense."" T... Traditional sense?" Victor was still confused.

I need to find a way to explain this without talking about my world." Well, you see, I've read a few books on the subject. In general, a serial killer is someone who targets and kills multiple people over a period of time. Baron Fracks is a killer, but, from what you've said and from what I know due to my reports that I had on Baron Fracks. I don't think he's a serial killer doing this for pleasure. It doesn't fit because of a few things. 1st is that serial killers usually have signs that show while they're kids.

From what I've learned about Baron Fracks from the other Counts who have been around him all his life, he seemed to be a good man by Diablosian standards. The 2nd is his kids. Byron and Cindy are both well-adjusted people who love their dad. While not exactly the norm, I think it's safe to say there's more cases of serial killers affecting their children in negative ways. 3rd is simple. His M. O is all over the place."" M. O?" All 3 of them repeated that one." Yes, M. O. Modus Operandi.

It's from an old language, it more or less means habitual way of operating... Or it could be habitual behavior as well. From what you described, Baron Fracks doesn't seem to have one. Usually, serial killers have a certain way they kill, if not that, then a certain type of person they go after. But he's all over the place. Men, women, children.

I thought that it might be young kids that he targets based on what you said, but he killed you, a young woman and an old man in what I assume is the same way in the same place."" So, it's like a religious ritual, but for serial killers, My Love?"" Yeah, more or less, Sarah, killers tend to stick to one of those 2 things. Either a type or a ritual for the kill." But he killed my Father in a different way, right?" Victor figured out the part that made it all weird... Well, there's one more if we make an assumption.

I need to answer Victor back though, poor kid is super confused as it is." That's true, and this is where I find this all weird. Sure, it could've been that he just didn't want to get caught. But with the advantage of an accomplice, why not capture him and commit to the routine if he's not after a type of person? It doesn't make much sense to me. Then, if you were to throw in Lady Cindra..."" Lady Cindra died of sickness though?"" What if it wasn't sickness? What if he poisoned her instead?""

That's impossible, they loved each other, Lady Cindra has been gushing about their relationship before she died for the past 2 months."" That makes this weirder. Nothing makes sense about this. Serial killers aren't truly capable of love. Their make up as people doesn't allow it. What the hell is this guy doing then.... Wait." I rub my forehead. Dead beloved wife.... Suffering in grief... Children growing, one moving away, the other working to keep the place from falling apart...

Feeling useless because the depression stops you from being functional... The victims? I don't know how many there are, but from what I know... Young people. The old person is an outlier maybe he chose to do it to speed up the process though? Maybe they needed a Good Soul? he could've filled that roll if that was the case. Her age... She was going to be married... This world is like medieval times, virginity is prized for marriage... Victor was young and was most likely still "pure" in that sense...

The dad was too close to it, he couldn't have it come out, but he was useless for one reason or another in terms of being useful for the ritual... The chills and changed eyes as Victor said..." Sacrifices...." I mumble the word... Gods exist. We've been lucky so far... I mean, all of the Gods we've run into have been either Allies or seeking to become Allies like with the Water Goddess, even if she was doing it for a selfish reason. But what if that wasn't always the case?" It fits."" What fits, My Love?"

Sarah and Anna both look at me intensely. Seems that they really want an answer." Human sacrifices... Or I guess in this case, Demon sacrifices." A stunned silence filled the room. Admittedly it's crazy. But I'm sure Pete can give us the answers we need. /BANG! /"!" A loud bang came from the hallway." What was that!?" Sarah was the first to answer." Before we continue, let's check. Just in case, take out your weapons, Sarah, Anna, okay?" I follow my own advice and take out Scarlet.

Sarah, Anna and Victor follow me as I open the door with our weapons drawn. The door opened easily and in the darkness of the hall, I saw 8 dark-red eyes passing by us.