Her Graceful War Song novel Chapter 1607

I had read the coroner's report in full. What Stephen described matched it almost exactly.

When I questioned him further about other details of the case, every point lined up. Only after confirming this did I hand him over to the authorities at the Royal Citadel and ask Lord Klein to send men to retrieve the murder weapon.

I believed the case was solved at last, that all my efforts and days of watching and waiting had not been in vain.

But what I didn't see coming was that once we reached the Royal Citadel, Stephen suddenly changed his confession. He claimed he had only confessed under torture, that every word he had said was fed to him by me. He cried out that he had been wronged, insisting he was innocent. Worse still, he demanded they arrest me, calling me a thief and a liar.

Then came more bad news.

The Royal Citadel sent dozens of men to the place he had described, but no matter how they searched, they found neither the bloodstained clothes nor the murder weapon.

Several days passed. As Stephen bore injuries, they didn't apply torture, and he continued to wail that he had been falsely accused. With no evidence, and with my conduct brought into question, they were left with no choice but to release him.

It was then I understood—some men were simply beyond the reach of the law. The case itself was not a complicated one, but Stephen had hidden the truth far too well.

After he was set free, he stayed at home and refused to show his face. He thought that if he remained quiet long enough, things would be forgotten in time. So, I sent Claire to take him and lock him in the cellar beneath Glimmering Tower.

When he opened his eyes and saw me standing there, all hope vanished from his gaze.

This time, he didn't even wait for torture and confessed at once. It turned out the bloodied clothes and cleaver were not thrown into the river after all. Instead, he had hidden them along the riverbank.

Days earlier, the water had risen, and that spot had been piled high with sandbags. He had simply moved one, tucked the weapon and clothing inside, then placed the sandbag neatly back on top.

I sent Claire with some men to search the place. This time, they found them. He had told the truth.

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