## Chapter 75: The World’s Malice and Kindness
The early morning light of St. Giles district illuminated the staircase of number 27, Church Lane, where three police officers stood.
Arthur’s hand hovered over the door for a long time, but he never knocked.
His mind was in turmoil. He didn’t know how to tell Robin’s parents the chilling truth.
He had lost the decisiveness and ruthlessness he had shown the night before when confronting the gravedigger.
As Agareus had said, in this world, killing was easy, but saving someone was incredibly hard.
And now, having made a promise to save someone but failing to fulfill it, facing this reality was even more difficult.
The three men stood in silence for a long time. Finally, it was Tom, who was always considered the least courageous, who broke the silence.
“Arthur, let me do it?”
Arthur turned to look at him, offering a strained smile before gently shaking his head.
He took a deep breath, finally making the decision to knock on the chipped door in front of him.
But before he could move, the door creaked open.
A man with a scruffy beard and a woman in a faded long skirt stood behind the door.
Their eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, and their bodies carried the unpleasant odor of fermented sweat.
The man, seeing Arthur in uniform, was first stunned, then took a step back cautiously, asking, “What do you want?”
“We…” Arthur opened his mouth, but the words he should have spoken choked in his throat, unable to escape.
Tony, seeing the woman’s face, which bore a resemblance to Robin, was instantly overwhelmed with tears.
He held the small, light, ivory coffin, tears dripping into its cracks.
Tony lowered his head and slowly shook it, saying, “Sir, Madam, I’m sorry. As a policeman, I feel very… very sorry for you.”
The man and woman stared at the coffin for a long time, noticing Tony’s familiar face, and finally understood what was happening.
“You… you’re the officer who took our report? Then… this… this is Robin?”
Tom also took off his hat, saying, “Sir, I’m sorry. Although we did our best to catch the culprit, Robin was already… by the time we arrived.”
The man stared at the coffin for a long time, just shaking his head. He didn’t break down in tears like everyone expected, nor did he shout at them as the three officers had anticipated.
He was stronger than anyone imagined, strong to the point of disbelief.
He simply reached out to touch his daughter’s coffin, standing quietly. He even had the strength to comfort the three officers.
“It’s alright, it’s not your fault. Since Robin went missing, I guessed this would be the outcome. In St. Giles, children dying is normal, so normal it almost numbs you.
Gentlemen, you may not know this, but we used to have seven children, but now only two remain. Robin’s death is actually a good thing, at least over there, she has three brothers and a sister taking care of her.
Maybe she’ll have a better life over there, as long as her brothers and sisters are more successful than her father.
I’m sorry, officer, I’m a failure.”
Robin’s mother leaned down, pressing her head against the side of the coffin, as if listening for Robin’s heartbeat.
She murmured, “From a long time ago, she told me she didn’t want to go to the factory anymore. She said she had pain here and there, even her head was dizzy. But there was no way, we needed the money, we had to let her go.
If she didn’t go, we would be kicked out of this place without the little bit of money she earned. Dying is actually a good thing, we held her back, and she held us back. She deserves a better life, we just couldn’t afford it.”
At this point, the man suddenly turned to Arthur and said, “Officer, can you give us the coffin? With Robin’s body, we can get a funeral benefit from the funeral mutual aid society. That money will be enough for us to give Robin a decent funeral, and we’ll have some left over.”
The man spoke these words as if telling an ordinary story, although for those living in St. Giles district, it was perhaps nothing unusual.
Hearing this, Tom couldn’t help but tug on Arthur’s sleeve.
Arthur understood his meaning, of course.
According to Scotland Yard’s investigation, many funeral mutual aid societies in St. Giles district were directly connected to the gravedigger.
It was through the tip-offs from these funeral mutual aid societies that the gravedigger could quickly determine which bodies were waiting to be buried.
Arthur didn’t tell Robin’s parents the truth, but he asked, “How much funeral benefit can you get from the mutual aid society?”
The man rubbed his messy hair and said, “We adults pay five pence a week, children pay three pence a week. According to the benefit standards, Robin’s death should give us three pounds.”
Arthur reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and counted out ten new banknotes, handing them over.
“Sir, here’s ten pounds. This is compensation for Scotland Yard’s negligence. In addition, we will arrange a suitable funeral for Robin. We will notify you later about the time and place of the funeral.”
“Funeral…” The man and woman seemed a little hesitant. They asked, “Is the church where the funeral will be held far away?”
Arthur nodded, “It might be a bit far, but I can pay for your travel expenses.”
The man hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head. He gave a bitter smile, “Forget it, officer, I trust you. My wife and I can’t leave here, a day off might get us fired. You know, it’s not easy to find a job these days.”
The woman also sighed, “If possible, can you tell us the burial location after the funeral? We’ll come to see her when we have time.”
Arthur’s lips trembled. He took a deep breath, stood at attention, and saluted.
“Of course, madam, we will certainly notify you of the burial location. Then, goodbye, I wish you both a bright future!”
He turned, unable to help but close his eyes and breathe deeply.
Seeing him like this, Tom and Tony knew he was feeling a bit down, but they didn’t say much.
They simply patted Arthur on the back and wiped the tears from their faces, “There’s nothing we can do, that’s how it is these days, people have to live.”
Agareus sat on the crumbling handrail, grinning, “Arthur, you have to understand, pests don’t bite people out of malice, but because they need to survive in this way.”
Arthur opened his eyes, looking at the Red Devil. He wasn’t incapable of understanding.
But the more he understood, the more painful it felt. The more he knew, the more he felt torn.
He murmured, “Maybe I should have listened to you, I shouldn’t have investigated this case.”
The Red Devil’s suggestive laughter echoed again, “But you investigated it, Arthur, does it hurt? It should hurt, that’s the world’s punishment for your pursuit of justice and righteousness.
In a world of darkness, when a beam of light shines into the darkness, then the light has committed a sin.
Why do you do these thankless things? What’s in it for you?
In this world, people are born every day, people die every day, but what does that have to do with you?
This world is not clean, the more you know, the deeper you sink into this mire. The more you know, the more your soul twists.
A qualified villain should always maintain a cool head, a strong body, a clear and bright soul, and a will of steel.
Don’t let these trifles bother you, don’t let this garbage pollute you. It’s not too late to step back now!
As long as you don’t see these things, you can pretend they never happened.
Look at you now, what have you become?
You’re still young, you’re only 20, but you’re already an Inspector at Scotland Yard, and you have a bunch of bigwigs above you who are watching you with favor.
Your brilliant future has been paved, look at the bright red carpet within reach, the road to success within your grasp, smell the fragrant flowers surrounding you, look at the ladder to heaven made of gold.
You just need to follow in the footsteps of those who came before you, step by step. Don’t look down, always focus on the zenith, that’s where the beautiful scenery worth admiring is.”
Arthur took the ivory coffin from Tony’s hand. He felt it should have been heavy, but it was actually very light in his hand.
He was about to walk down the stairs when he heard a woman’s voice behind him.
“Officer, please wait!”
It was Robin’s mother. She was holding a small wooden box with half of its side missing, filled with a lot of pennies.
The woman gently placed the wooden box on Robin’s coffin. She tucked her messy hair behind her ear and softly requested,
“This is Robin’s savings for her funeral. I remember she said she wanted a beautiful red dress, please buy her one with this money, just a simple one.”
Then, a rough hand holding a wooden horse stretched out from behind Arthur.
Robin’s father said, “She said she wanted a white horse to pull her carriage at her funeral. But we couldn’t afford it, so I made her a wooden one. Let her take it with her.”
Arthur turned back to the embarrassed couple, until he saw their faces turn red and hot.
The couple bowed, “Officer, thank you!”
Arthur smiled, took off his hat, held one hand to his chest, and held Robin’s coffin in the other, bowing in return.
“No, I should thank you.”
(End of Chapter)