While Cobra and Rosse were chatting happily in the palace, Igaram was already inside the temporary morgue.
He was lying over Terracotta's corpse, crying in grief, his sobbing words seemed to pierce through the deathly silence of this space, "Terracotta, why did this happen! You were so beautiful and gentle, who could be so cruel? To not even spare someone as delicate and frail as you, I must avenge you!"
Igaram's face was twisted from extreme sorrow. He had deep feelings for Terracotta, and now his wife had died a tragic death inside the royal palace. This matter was simply something he couldn't accept.
"Lord Igaram, please restrain your grief," Standing beside the corpse was a doctor in a white coat. Seeing Igaram's state, he subconsciously glanced at Terracotta.
He really couldn't connect the Terracotta, whose forearms were thicker than his thighs, with the petite and beautiful wife that Igaram described.
If Terracotta's face wasn't still uncovered, he would have thought Igaram was crying over the wrong grave.
"Theodore, what exactly happened?", Igaram clenched his fists tightly, his gaze sharp as he looked at the doctor Theodore.
Theodore was the most skilled doctor in the royal palace and had already examined Terracotta's body.
"Chef Terracotta died of sudden cardiac arrest, which fits the profile of sudden death," Theodore said with a frown.
Earlier, on the way here, Igaram had already said that something felt wrong, but judging from the autopsy results, it was simply an accidental incident.
"Who killed her?", Igaram said in a deep voice.
"There isn't even a suspect," Theodore said with some impatience, "You're the strongest in Arabasta, do you know any way to make a person's heart stop suddenly?"
"Yes, Conqueror's Haki!", Igaram said firmly.
"Pfft!", Hearing Igaram's words, Theodore nearly burst out laughing, "Conqueror's Haki is possible, but a strong individual with Conqueror's Haki coming to Arabasta's royal palace just to kill a head chef, do you really think that's possible?"
He still believed this was an accident, because no one else in the palace at that time had the motive, nor did they have the power.
Don't be fooled by Terracotta being just a head chef, her strength was already above average among ordinary people.
Wanting to cause sudden cardiac arrest without any signs of struggle or injuries, it was hard to believe such a thing could happen.
"No, no, there's still another possibility. A Devil Fruit user!"
Igaram refused to believe that Terracotta died of sudden death, he was certain this was a murder.
Because that morning, Terracotta had even given him a letter.
If he couldn't get clues from Theodore, he would immediately go back and open that letter.
"A Devil Fruit user is possible, but the royal guards didn't find anyone suspicious," Theodore shook his head.
"Maybe it was an inside job," Igaram argued back.
"The chance of an inside job is very low. Everyone has an alibi. Between the time Terracotta went missing and the discovery of her body, only the queen had no alibi in the entire palace. You're not seriously suspecting Her Majesty, are you?", Theodore mocked.
Not to mention that Queen Titi wasn't that kind of person.
Just the disparity in strength made it impossible for Queen Titi to do anything to Terracotta.
"It definitely wasn't Her Majesty. Are there any other possibilities?", Igaram also immediately ruled out the queen as a suspect.
He didn't even need to think. There was no way Queen Titi could be Terracotta's killer.
What he was considering were other possibilities, such as multiple guards acting together.
"Don't bother thinking about it. Terracotta didn't have any external injuries, not even signs of resistance. In Arabasta, there's no one that capable," Theodore concluded.
How could there be external injuries? She wouldn't have left such an obvious flaw.
Standing on the beam above the room, Gion listened in on the conversation below.
According to the script written by Rosse, the best outcome would be that no one suspects Igaram's death, the disappearance was the best-case scenario.
So Gion wasn't in a hurry either. She just had to wait patiently.
In the end, Igaram and Theodore didn't come to any conclusion. Soon, Igaram left carrying Terracotta.
Theodore didn't try to stop him, after all, it was a family matter. He simply went to report to the palace.
No matter what Igaram thought, the matter would ultimately require evidence.
Everyone at the banquet, as well as all the food, had been thoroughly investigated. There was absolutely no issue. The possibility of anyone trying to harm that prince had also been ruled out.
To Theodore, this case was already closed. It was just an accidental incident.
As for what Igaram might think, or how things might change in the future, that wasn't something he needed to consider.
———
"The letter, that letter," Igaram muttered as he carried Terracotta and quickly headed home.
"Letter?", Following behind him, Gion perked up at the mention of the letter.
'This letter might be related to Queen Titi's matter, it must not fall into anyone else's hands.'
Igaram moved very quickly and soon returned to his home.
He gently placed Terracotta's body on the bed first, then pulled out the farewell letter written by his wife from a drawer.
Seeing the extremely familiar handwriting on the letter, Igaram couldn't help but be overwhelmed with emotion, reading aloud without realizing:
"Dear Igaram, by the time you read this letter, I've already left Arabasta."
"I know you have doubts in your heart, I have doubts too."
"If someone must step forward, then why not me?"
"I've already contacted Drum Island. In a few days, I'll go there with the sample. Please wait for my news."
"If Queen Titi's child isn't the true heir of Arabasta, then for Arabasta, it would be a nightmare…"
"Queen Titi?"
Seeing the content of the letter, Igaram suddenly trembled all over. A chill rushed from the top of his head down to his feet, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
Even though he'd heard from Theodore that only Queen Titi had no alibi within the entire palace, he had never once doubted her.
But Terracotta's words in the letter made everything extremely clear.
The real place Terracotta met her end was probably within Queen Titi's palace.
"Queen Titi, why would it be you?", Igaram trembled all over, his face full of disbelief.
Instinctively, he began recalling the scene on Drum Island.
On the surface, after he left the reception room that day, Rosse didn't seem to have done anything.
And Queen Titi didn't appear to be under any coercion either.
'Could it be that from the very beginning, the two of them has been acting?'
Thinking this, Igaram felt an indescribable fear rise from the depths of his heart, coldness climbing up his spine.
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