The Shadow of Great Britain

80: Chapter 40 The World’s Malice and Goodwill 80: Chapter 40 The World’s Malice and Goodwill In the early morning of St Giles Parish, three police officers arrived in the hallway of 27 Church Alley.

Arthur’s hand hovered in front of the door for a long time, but he never actually knocked.

His mind was a bit of a mess; he didn’t know how to tell Robin’s parents the cold truth.

He had lost the decisiveness and ruthlessness he had when dealing with the Grave Robber the night before.

Just as Agares had said, in this world, killing was easy, but saving someone was very difficult.

And after promising to save someone and then failing to do so, how to face such a reality was even more difficult.

The three men stood in silence for a long time until, finally, it was Tom, who was always thought to be the most timid, who broke the silence.

“Arthur, shall I do it?”

Arthur turned to look at him, gave a strained smile, and then gently shook his head.

He took a breath and finally made up his mind to knock on the peeling door in front of him.

But before he could act, the door suddenly creaked open.

Behind the door stood a man with a shaggy beard and a woman in a long dress that had been washed to a faded white.

Their eyes were veined with the red of sleep deprivation, and a foul odor wafted from them, the smell of sweat after fermentation.

Seeing Arthur in uniform, the man was first stunned, and then he stepped back warily, asking, “What are you here for?”

“We…” Arthur opened his mouth, but the words that should have come out next were stuck in his throat, unable to be spoken.

When Tony saw the woman’s face, which resembled Robin’s, the strong Scotland Yard officer’s tears fell unbidden.

He cradled the very light, cream-colored little coffin, and tears trickled into the crevices of the coffin.

Tony, head bowed, slowly shook his head and said, “Sir, Madam, I am sorry.

As a police officer, I feel very…

very sorry.”

The man and woman stared at the coffin for a long time and realized that Tony’s face seemed familiar.

Then they seemed to understand something.

“You…

You’re the officer who took our report?

Then…

this…

Is this Robin?”

Tom also removed his hat and said, “Sir, I’m sorry.

Although we did our best to apprehend the criminal, by that time Robin had already…”

The man stared at the coffin for a long while, just shaking his head.

He did not have the mental breakdown, or the crying and tearing, that everyone expected, nor did he curse at them as the three officers had predicted.

He was stronger than anyone imagined, unbelievably so.

He simply reached out to touch his daughter’s coffin, standing quietly, and he even had the energy to comfort the three police officers.

“It’s alright, it’s not your fault.

From the day Robin went missing, I guessed it might end like this.

In St Giles, it’s normal for children to die, so normal that I’m almost numb to it.

Gentlemen, you might not know, we once had seven children, but now only two are left.

It’s actually good that Robin died, at least there, she has three brothers and a sister looking after her.

She might have a better life over there, as long as her siblings can do better than her father did.

Sorry, officers, I’m not very accomplished.”

Robin’s mother leaned down, her head against the coffin, listening as if to feel Robin’s heartbeat.

She muttered, “Long, long ago, she told me she didn’t want to go to the factory anymore.

She said it hurt here, it hurt there, even her head was hazy.

But we had no choice, we needed the money, we still had to send her.

If she hadn’t gone, we would’ve missed the little wage, and we’d have been driven out of this place.

Dying is actually not so bad.

We held her back, and she held us back.

She deserved better days, but we couldn’t afford them.”

At this point, the man suddenly addressed Arthur, “Officer, can you give us the coffin?

With Robin’s body, we can collect a funeral grant from the burial society we belong to.

That money would be enough to give Robin a decent funeral, and there would be some left over.”

The man spoke those words as if telling some ordinary story, which perhaps to those living in St Giles Parish, was no longer surprising.

When Tom heard this, he couldn’t help but tug at Arthur’s sleeve.

Of course, Arthur understood what he meant.

According to Scotland Yard’s investigation, many of the burial societies in St Giles Church had direct connections to the Grave Robber.

It was precisely because of these burial societies tipping off that the Grave Robber could so quickly pinpoint which bodies were waiting to be buried.

Arthur did not tell Robin’s parents the truth and simply asked, “How much can you collect from the burial society?”

The man rubbed his messy hair, “The adults here pay five pennies a week, children three pennies, and according to the grant, Robin’s death should let us collect three pounds.”

Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, from which he counted out ten crisp new banknotes and passed them over.

“Here is ten pounds, sir, as compensation for the neglect of duty on the part of Scotland Yard.

Besides that, we will prepare a proper funeral for Robin, the location and time for which we will notify you in due course.”

“A funeral…” The man and woman seemed somewhat troubled as they asked, “Is the church where the funeral will be held far?”

Arthur nodded, “It might be a bit far, but I can cover your transportation expenses.”

The man hesitated for a moment, but eventually shook his head with a bitter smile, “Never mind, Officer, I trust you.

The missus and I can’t leave here; missing a day’s work might mean getting sacked, and you know how hard it is to find a job these days.”

The woman also sighed, “If possible, could you inform us of the burial site after the funeral?

We will visit her when we have time.”

Arthur’s lips trembled slightly, and he took a deep breath, standing at attention and saluting, “Of course, madam, we will certainly inform you of the burial site.

Well then, goodbye, I wish you both a bright future!”

He turned around, unable to help but close his eyes, taking several deep breaths.

Tom and Tony, seeing him like this, knew his heart was heavy, but there wasn’t much they could say.

All they did was pat Arthur on the back and with their own faces wet with tears, said, “There’s no help for it, that’s how things are these days, one has to keep on living.”

Agares was sitting on the shaky stair banister, his mouth spread into a wide grin, “Arthur, you have to understand, pests don’t bite out of malice, it’s just their way of staying alive.”

Arthur opened his eyes, looking at the Red Devil, he wasn’t misunderstanding.

But the more he understood, the more painful he felt.

The more he knew, the more he felt torn apart.

He murmured, “Maybe I should have listened to you in the first place, I really shouldn’t have looked into this case.”

The seductive laughter of the Red Devil rang out again, “But you did look into it, Arthur, does it hurt?

Good, that is the world punishing you for your pursuit of justice and fairness.

In a world shrouded in darkness, when a beam of light penetrates the dark, that light itself carries sin.

Why do you bother with such thankless tasks, what good does it do for you?

Every day, people are born, and every day, people die, but what does any of that have to do with you?

The world is dirty by nature, the more you know, the deeper you’ll sink into this mire.

The more you know, the more twisted your soul becomes.

A qualified villain should always maintain a cool head, a strong body, a clear, transparent soul, and an iron will.

Don’t let these trivial matters trouble you, don’t let this rubbish contaminate you.

You can still get out now if it’s not too late!

As long as you can’t see these things, you can act as if they never happened.

Look at what you’ve become now, what are you turning into?

You’re still so young, only 20 years old and already a Police Superintendent at Scotland Yard, and there are quite a few important people above you who think highly of you.

Your glorious future has already been laid out, look at that resplendent red carpet right before your eyes, the path leading to success within reach, smell the fragrance surrounded by the multitude of scents, look at that ladder made of gold reaching up to heaven.

You just need to follow the footsteps of your predecessors, one step at a time; do not look down at your feet, keep your eyes on the heavens above, for that is the beautiful scenery you should appreciate.”

Arthur took the ivory-colored coffin from Tony’s hands; the coffin, cradled in his palms, felt like it should have been heavy, but in reality, it was quite light.

He was about to walk down the stairs when he suddenly heard a woman’s voice from behind him.

“Officer, please wait a moment!”

It was Robin’s mother, her hands holding a small wooden box that was missing half of its side, filled with many one-penny coins.

The woman gently set the small box on Robin’s coffin, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she softly requested.

“These are the pennies Robin saved for her own funeral.

I remember she said she wanted a pretty red dress.

Please use this money to buy one for her, just a simple one will do.”

With that said, another rough hand holding a small wooden horse extended from behind Arthur.

Robin’s father spoke, “She said she wanted to hire a white pony to pull her carriage for her funeral.

But we couldn’t afford it; the best I could do was make her one out of wood.

Please let her take it with her.”

Arthur turned to look at the couple, both embarrassed and their faces turning red with heat.

The couple bowed, “Thank you, Officer!”

Arthur smiled, removed his hat, and with one hand across his chest and the other holding Robin’s coffin, he bowed in return.

“No, it is I who should thank you.”