Chapter 299

Chapter 273 The Patron

In the small, private room, on the soft sofa, Adele leaned against Ed’s side and said in a flirtatious tone, her breath brushing against his ear, “Dorothy couldn’t help but be taken aback; she finally understood why Adele had immediately noticed something was off with Ed—because she hadn’t sensed any desire from him.

“Hehe, I admit Miss Adele you indeed have great charm, and I greatly appreciate your charm, but I have my limits,” Dorothy controlled Ed’s body to tremble slightly as she laughed lightly in response. Adele then moved away slightly and looked at Ed before speaking again.

“Does this mean that my charm isn’t enough to stir your interest, Detective? Or are you like Maria, just a flesh puppet?” Adele said to Ed, who responded immediately.

“Have you ever seen a flesh puppet that could speak and perform rituals?”

“Indeed, speaking and performing rituals are beyond the ordinary even in the hidden world, but if it’s extraordinary, there’s no limit to what it can do. There’s nothing to say it can’t,” Adele said lightly, then continued, “But if there’s infinite possibility, could it be that you’re using some extraordinary method to block my perception?”

“Hmm… indeed, maybe it’s more likely than a divining flesh puppet. Perhaps you just have some extraordinary item or sigil that can block emotions, like ‘Shadow.’ Although such items are rare, they aren’t nonexistent. If those guys got their hands on something like that, it would be quite troublesome.”

Adele continued, “Extraordinary items and abilities related to ‘Shadow’ can hide things, but the range of what they can hide differs. Like Dorothy’s Veil Ring, it can only hide extraordinary traits, making the wearer’s extraordinary traits, carried extraordinary items, and spiritual traces undetectable. But it cannot hide sounds, appearances, or emotions because these are common human attributes and not considered extraordinary.”

“So, you want to investigate the truth about me, Miss Adele?” Dorothy controlled Ed to ask Adele, noticing that Adele wasn’t entirely sure if Ed was a flesh puppet.

“No, no, no. How could I start probing an ally’s background in such a situation? It’s just a casual question after our conversation. After all, I’ve already revealed part of my abilities to assist with your investigation, so I’m just curious about yours too.

“But time is pressing, let’s get back to the case, Detective.”

Adele continued, and she indeed brought the topic back to the case.

“As I mentioned earlier, within my perception, if someone harbors murderous intent towards me, I can sense it. The entire stage and most of the audience are within my perception. When I danced then, the desires directed at me were merely common lust and desire, not a single trace of murderous intent.

“A puppeteer must harbor murderous intent to manipulate a puppet to k*ll. Since I didn’t feel any murderous intent, the murderer manipulating Maria couldn’t be one of the other girls.”

Adele continued to explain to Ed. Hearing this, Dorothy furrowed her brow.

‘Most of the audience is within Adele’s passive perception range, and she didn’t sense any murderous intent. Clearly, the puppeteer wasn’t on stage or among the other dancers.

‘So, if none of the other dancers are the murderer, how did the murderer learn the dance for ‘The Crimson Mother’?

‘Could it be that the dance was leaked outside by the dance troupe and learned by the murderer?’ Dorothy pondered, and Ed, sitting in Adele’s room, also showed signs of deep thought. Beside him, Adele sat silently, watching his face.

Suddenly, Dorothy had an idea and controlled Ed to speak again.

“Miss Adele, if the murderer isn’t among the dancers, could it be that the dance was secretly taught to someone outside the troupe and then leaked out?”

“Hmm, this is unlikely…” Adele started to say but then paused as if thinking of something, her brows furrowing as she continued.

“No… perhaps there really is a possibility. Among the girls in the troupe, many often dance privately outside the theater.”

“Private dances?”

“The girls working in the theater don’t just earn their salaries from the theater. Sometimes, they work extra shifts at other bars or dance halls after hours. My specially trained girls, who are more outstanding and benefit from my reputation, attract patrons who want them to dance privately. These patrons are usually wealthy and give generous tips. Many girls in the troupe have their own patrons, some even having multiple.”

Adele explained. Hearing this, Dorothy was surprised.

‘So they take private gigs and have dedicated patrons? So Adele’s troupe is so popular?’

“Ah, I see. But don’t you manage these private dances, Miss Adele?” Ed nodded and said, and Adele responded immediately.

“What’s to manage? They earn their money honestly. As long as it doesn’t affect their regular work, there’s no need to interfere.

“After all, these patrons are wealthy. If their relationships develop smoothly, the girls can find good homes after leaving the theater.”

Adele said, and Dorothy could tell that Adele cared about the other girls in the troupe.

“If many of these girls have patrons who pay for private dances, they might leak the new dance to these patrons at those times, right?” Understanding Adele’s point, Ed spoke up, and Adele nodded in agreement.

“Yes… I’ve repeatedly warned them not to show others the dances before public performances, but if patrons use money or even love to pressure them, some might give in…

“Flowers, jewelry, sweet words, vows… men’s old tricks work well on young girls.

“If these dances were leaked to ordinary people, it wouldn’t matter, but if one of those patrons happens to be one of those guys, it would be disastrous…”

Adele tapped her chin, looking anxious. Her words made Dorothy recall what she had heard when asking Maria’s friends.

According to her, Maria was very happy and hopeful after the second performance. Why was she so happy and hopeful?

“Miss Adele, do you know if Maria has a patron?”

Dorothy controlled Ed to ask Adele. Listening to Ed’s words, Adele was taken aback and replied to Ed.

“You mean… could it be that Maria leaked the dance? Her patron… could be one of those guys, the murderer?”

“Yes, according to the information I gathered, Maria left the backstage immediately after the second performance. According to the other dancers, she was very happy and hopeful when she left, as if someone had called her out.

“Let’s make a hypothesis: suppose Maria’s patron is from the Wolf bl**d Association. They approached her under the guise of a patron, using money and love to gain her trust, and made her leak your dance. Then, after learning the dance, one of the patrons arranged a private meeting after today’s second performance at the theater and killed Maria there, turning her into a zombie puppet, and returned to assassinate you.”

Dorothy described her thoughts through Ed, which could explain how Adele’s dance was leaked and why Maria left happily after the second performance.