In other words, the handling of cases in this era was quite crude, with little to no professionalism.
It was said that the Patrolling Army's case-solving rate was less than three percent, with theft cases largely relying on private detectives, while robbery, kidnapping, and murder cases almost entirely depended on private rewards.
It was better than a society without laws, but not by much—a rather unpleasant and crude legal society.
The Patrolling Army hastily withdrew from the apartment, invited Charles onto a carriage, and sped toward the Patrolling Army's office.
While on the carriage, Charles pondered in secret, "I've lost several expensive ornaments worth a couple of Aegeus, but it's unlikely the culprit took them, it's more likely someone took advantage of the situation."
"As for the murder itself, it must not be known to Miss Menilman no matter what."
Charles rubbed his temples, his mind greatly troubled.
A man and a woman showing up at the door, a scuffle, even a homicide—it wouldn't take a private detective with strict logic to easily deduce that this case was likely related to the private lives of men and women.
Charles himself!
Fearing he was an inglorious participant in a love triangle.
Having had Zimmerman Axel Robin as a fiancé, Menilman must despise playboy types and would never allow someone similar to her ex-fiancé under her employ; once the matter became public, even if he could extricate himself from the scandal, he would likely lose his job.
This wasn't Earth; Empire government employees weren't civil servants who couldn't easily be fired like those in later times.
Menilman only needed a word to deprive Charles of his well-paid job and even to bar him from working in the government hierarchy ever again.
"This is also a wake-up call. I must quickly get rid of that shackle with multiple heads, then purchase a residence elsewhere, move out of the Alexander District, and sever my previous social ties."
Charles rubbed his temples again and sorted out "his" social relationships.
Charles Mecklen had superficial relations with friends, almost no one who could be called a close friend, keeping a general level of acquaintance with everyone.
His parents were both merchants, quite wealthy, and possessing abundant financial resources; Charles's attendance at Sheffield University was heavily reliant on the support of his family's wealth.
Nowadays, Charles's father, due to his deteriorating health, had gradually handed over the business to his elder son to run, who was Charles's elder brother.
This brother was highly wary of him, and had several times suggested to their father: "Give Charles a sum of wealth and let him give up his inheritance rights."
Just enduring a few more years until the passing of his parents, Charles could legitimately go separate ways from his brother's family and have nothing to do with them till his death.
The only entanglement left was with Charles's sister, with whom he was very close; however, she was married far away, making their encounters rare.
Apart from this brother and sister, Charles had no other direct relatives, but he did have a fiancée, and even the date for their marriage had been set, which posed some difficulty.
"It's said that my fiancée is very dissatisfied with this marriage, and has tried several times to break the engagement. It might be worth pushing the situation along."
The carriage quickly arrived at the Patrolling Army's office, which was a detached three-story building facing the street, full of Sherlock-style architecture from a former dynasty, bearing the weathered patina of history.
The routine questioning quickly concluded.
Charles also confirmed the identities of the man and woman who had entered his apartment.
They were a married couple, the Yang Miers. He didn't know Mr. Yang Miers, but he had an unspeakable relationship with Mrs. Yang Miers.
As for how Mr. Yang Miers discovered his wife's intimate relationship with Charles and came knocking on his door, and in the ensuing argument and scuffle killed his own wife, that was another tragic story.
It was lucky that Charles had lingered in the weapons market at that time, otherwise, the situation would have been difficult to resolve.
The Patrolling Army recorded Charles's description as a supplementary file, archived it, and issued a warrant for Mr. Yang Miers, thus bringing the matter to a complete close.
The Patrolling Army's warrants generally didn't offer a reward, and rarely would a life-loving good citizen help the Patrolling Army apprehend a fugitive.
In the Fars Empire, as in other countries, including several defunct dynasties, there had been stories of warrants being issued for decades, only to find out that the fugitive was living leisurely at home, working as usual, as if nothing had changed.
The legal climate of this era was indeed absurd.
Leaving the Patrolling Army's office, Charles felt mentally and physically exhausted. Although he wasn't a suspect in the case, he still felt quite downcast. He hadn't expected his new life to be so fraught with twists and turns, being promoted and receiving a raise one moment, only to become entangled in a murder the next.
Rushing back to his savings association apartment, he gave Mary, the maid who had watched his home, a generous tip of two Sheng Dings. In this era, a tip of two Sheng Dings was quite lavish.
With the help of the superintendent, he moved in a hurry and settled into a suite on the fourth floor.
After moving into the new room and lying on the sofa, he let out a sigh of relief and felt hungry.
Charles glanced at the sky and realized that at this hour, he wouldn't find any open shops, so he had to make do with a dish he had eaten a few days before.
The taste was as indescribably bad as ever.
After eating, Charles lay in bed and subconsciously reached for the diary, then casually set it aside. He knew that the original owner's diary would help him understand the new identity, but items related to Evil God repelled him like a snake, leaving him conflicted.
Charles began to think seriously and decided to properly plan out his life in this world.
"Tomorrow, I must earnestly ask my senior, Ms. Menilman, for one more day off," he thought.
"First, I need to sell off the multi-headed shackles, find a new place to live, and then buy some clothes."
Charles had given all the blood-stained clothes, whether his own or those belonging to women, to the maid Mary during the move and didn't keep any, so now he was in need of everyday clothes as well as essential suits for men.
Thinking of moving, Charles couldn't help but search his memories about the upper seven districts.
The property prices in Val de Vaz District were too expensive, and he definitely couldn't continue to live in the Alexander District. These two districts were to be given priority in giving up.
The other three districts weren't within his consideration, as they were relatively far away and going to the Marne District for work would be too inconvenient.
After a simple selection process, Charles was left with only two choices: the two large districts located between Val de Vaz District and Marne District, Alcatraz District and Picardy District.
After weighing his options, he decisively gave up on the former. Alcatraz District, hugging close to Val de Vaz District, had relatively high property prices and was a bit too far from his work at Kilmainham Prison. Picardy District had cheaper property prices and was slightly closer to work.
Charles decided that once he sold the multi-headed shackles tomorrow, he would visit the property office in Picardy District and see if there were any suitable homes for sale.