Checking back, Erika used the same paper trick to seal Gohda in a servant room between 24:00 and 01:00. Okay, at this stage her Crazy-Prepared-ness has reached absolutely sociopathic levels : what kind of clever asshole does this kind of stuff routinely ? I'm going to love seeing that girl fall.
Anyway, back to the discussion of the Battler option... He went alone at 03:00 in the room where the bodies were found. Did Erika sneak into his bed to check out his alibi ?
Well, she suspected that the newly minted heir might be a murder target, so when she entered her own bedroom at 03:00 — located right next to the cousins' room — she immediately stuck her ear to the very thin wall separating the two rooms and made sure that no violent sounds happened between 03:00 and 07:00. So Battler couldn't have killed those four victims, who also must have been killed before 03:00.
Wait, so that girl never slept that night ? What kind of monster is she ?
But wait again, her Crazy-Prepared-ness knows no bounds ! At some point before 24:00 (just after she helped Battler find the gold), she came back to the guesthouse, and put various seals on every possible outside access to the second floor (mostly the windows). In the rain. Climbing the walls like a spider in order to reach those high windows (she reveals she put back the swimsuit she came in on so as not to ruin her clothes). Net result : it's impossible to reach the cousins' room without passing through the guesthouse lounge... Which, since Erika spent the timespan between 01:00 and 03:00 there, means that the criminal must have reached the cousins' room before 01:00. (Erika admits that she did not pay attention between 24:00 and 01:00. Nice trap !) So, who has no alibi between 24:00 and 01:00 ?
None of the people in the conference room (which excludes Genji, Krauss and Natsuhi) left it between 24:00 and 01:00, intervenes Bernkastel. Okay, now she's clearly cheating, but Beato's protests aren't heard.
Now, what about Genji ? He went straight to the servant room he was found in after connecting Natsuhi's call at 24:00. And it appears that Eva had placed yet another seal on that room during that break at 01:00. Remember this ?
Oh, and there was a small piece of tape on the outside of the door, meaning that Kanon and Kumasawa were the first to open it after it had been placed.Which leaves out only Natsuhi and Krauss. Will Beato accept the plea bargain of incriminating Krauss in order to save Natsuhi ?
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Battler reaches the conclusion that this "trial" is a trap to frame Natsuhi. He refuses to believe his aunt is the culprit, especially because every clue converges against her. Beato's defense strategy is completely useless, as it just tries to find holes in Erika's arguments. That's how he lost every time before ! They need to find an alternative truth that still fits with Erika's red truths so far...
Virgilia, impressed by his Heroic Resolve, helps him by giving him a single, tiny truth : Natsuhi Ushiromiya isn't the culprit...
Back to the main action, Natsuhi won't have any of that plea bargaining nonsense. To her, this would be as grave an insult to the family's honour anyway. But in Beato's case, it's different : the Krauss option is no better than the "witch" option, since he's basically gone missing off the board. So it would be a draw. The Natsuhi option, on the other hand, completely does in the witch, and means the end of the Witch Illusion. And Beato's death, of course. So will she eat up her pride, abandon Natsuhi, and live to play another game ?
Well, of course not ! She'll fight on ! Krauss isn't the culprit either !
So be it. Krauss isn't the culprit. He died long ago, just after the phone call. Everyone but Natsuhi has an alibi. She committed the crimes between 24:00 and 01:00. She also killed her own husband. And by the way, she can drop the pretence of conserving her dignity : Grampa never allowed her to wear the one-winged eagle inside her heart, that was all an illusion of hers.
Okay, that's not good. Every single theory outlined by Beato at the beginning has been defeated. All the evidence outlined by Erika seems pretty solid (though I have a big problem with the final theory *, it's not enough to save Natsuhi).
Erika has been a magnificent Smug Snake, outlining a sublime trap against the murderer. And dear gods is she creepy, with an absolutely insane behaviour that classifies her as Dangerously Genre-Savvy. She fully acknowledges the Busman's Holiday trope, for —'s sake ! I love to hate the gal.
Of course, we all know that Battler is going to exclaim 'OBJECTION !' and save the day. Er, any minute now ? Please ?
