Memory 35 (significant neutral)

[thinkoutsidethebox]

Natsuhi's why-dunnit. "'I love him'? Who would believe that when spoken with the white text?" [EP5] Form of half a fake diamond. Break it.

And then, there is the third riddle that the detective must uncover.

The final riddle...the 'why dunnit'.

Why did they commit the crime? The motive.
In third-rate mysteries, there's no need to uncover this.

After all, even if you don't expose the motive, the culprit will just confess it when all's said and done.

However, Furudo Erika was first-rate, so she would expose even this.
Natsuhi was being confined in the parlor, under everyone's watchful gazes.

Then, Erika made use of everyone to diligently and persistently search all places, even Natsuhi's room, for clues about her motive.
"Well, now that we have all gathered, just what is it that drove Ushiromiya Natsuhi-san to commit these terrible murders? Through my investigation, I, the detective Furudo Erika, have discovered the general outline that explains this. I would like to announce it now."
Everyone remained silent, urging her to continue......

Erika tossed some of Natsuhi's possessions that had been 'confiscated' onto the table...
"First, these are past diaries that were discovered in Natsuhi-san's room. They have barely been used at all in recent years, but they describe in detail the period shortly after she became a part of the Ushiromiya family."
"Most of them were locked, but in order to find the full truth behind this crime, I used my authority, which everyone has acknowledged, to destroy the locks on all of them."
"......H, ......how barbaric............Reading......another person's diary......"
"If we're barbaric, what does that make you, murderer?!! A criminal like you has no right to privacy!!"
"And this is what I found from these diaries. Natsuhi-san ended up married to Krauss-san due to special circumstances."
"......I imagine that all of you here know much more about this than I do. Natsuhi-san and Krauss-san were not married because of love or as a normal arranged marriage. ......If anything, it was more like taking a hostage."
"Th, ......that is not true!!"
"This is written on the 24th page of this red diary: .........'I am a hostage being imprisoned by the Ushiromiya family under the guise of marriage. However, if everything can be resolved this way......'"
"Natsuhi-san. Right here, you've already acknowledged that you were a hostage. ......Kumasawa-san, you have served Natsuhi-san since the time she first came here, right? Could you tell me about what it was like at the time?"
".........Y, ......yes, that's correct. ...I did catch wind of something similar to what you describe.........I think that by now, ......only Doctor Nanjo and I know of the details regarding Madam's marriage..."
"Very true............That was during Kinzo-san's golden era, when he did whatever he pleased...He defeated all of his enemies and expanded his financial power. ......Natsuhi-san's family was one of those enemies."
As though the time to talk had suddenly come at hand, Kumasawa and Nanjo openly delved into territory that should never have been touched upon again......
This was concerning the period during which Kinzo was most feared for his ferocity.

It has been said that, though Kinzo had many assets and connections, he held a grudge after being looked down upon by members in the elite as being an upstart.
Because of this, apparently, Kinzo wanted to find Krauss a wife from a noble family and use this to raise the Ushiromiya family's status...

Then, he overcame Natsuhi's family in a financial struggle, ......and proposed that a marriage be performed as a method of reconciliation.
And the person he picked......was Natsuhi.

Natsuhi had been raised to be clean and pure in a family of Shinto priests--making her a true noble lady.
By choosing her, not only did Kinzo cause them the worst possible humiliation, he also won what he considered to be a nice trophy.

So that marriage proposal was humiliating to Natsuhi from the very beginning......
"Regarding the aforementioned facts, both Kumasawa-san and Doctor Nanjo's claims just now match with the contents of the diaries."
"Therefore, since the time Natsuhi-san first took the name Ushiromiya Natsuhi, she has held a strong resentment against the Ushiromiya family. ......What do you have to say, Natsuhi-san? Do you acknowledge this?"
All of the cold gazes turned to face Natsuhi...
"Y, ......yes, it's true that I thought that at first...... I thought I was being forced into a marriage without love, ...a hostage under the guise of a bride......"
"However, ......my husband......never viewed me as a mere hostage.........He understood what I had gone through and gave me compassion and affection...... My husband......was the only person who could understand me...!"
"......I see. That makes sense. And there are many scenes in your diaries showing that Krauss-san knew of your difficulties and showed consideration."
"However, on page 47 of this diary, you describe these moments as being unpleasant, correct?"
"Let me read aloud. 'When Krauss tries to show consideration, it only makes me feel more wretched. Sometimes, I think he might even be trying to humiliate me further'. ......Therefore, we can tell that Natsuhi-san repaid her husband's consideration with contempt."
"W, ......wait...! Yes, I may have thought that at the beginning...! Back when I was still overwhelmed with unease, I couldn't accept his consideration and wrote of my distrust from time to time...! But I eventually realized he was sincere and grew to accept his feelings...!"
"Well, nothing like that appears in any of these diaries."
"I, ......I never even wrote it down, those feelings were so secret...!"
"Judging by many diverse bits of evidence and testimony, it's clear that you despised your husband. And there exists no evidence that you eventually accepted his feelings, as you claim."
".........I, I loved my husband...!!"
"You can't find any testimony or evidence that can be used to elevate that statement to the level of red truth, right?"
"D, ......does anyone need evidence to say they're in love...?!"
"You can't trust anything besides the red truth...!! Statements that aren't red don't count as evidence at all, and they can't be trusted at all! All non-red letters are falsehoods that exist to deceive me!! 'I love him'? Who would believe that when spoken with the white text? No non-red words can ever be trusted!! All I can trust in this world are the red truth and the pieces of evidence I offer to my master to gain it!!"
"You lying human who can't speak the truth!! Humans lacking the red truth have no right to speak of love or the heart or truth! Did you know? Men aren't as stupid as you women think they are. Men never really take it seriously when a woman says 'I love you'...!"
"......What a pitiful person...... I see that you've never truly loved someone..."
"Romance is unnecessary for a detective. I don't think I've ever used the word romance except to explain the motive for murder."
"No matter what you say, we loved each other...!! I should be apologizing to my husband for always writing down my complaints and nothing else...! But I have devoted my heart to him...!! Even if I can't prove it, ......that is the truth!!"
"Rejected. You just don't know when to give up, do you? By now, due to evidence and testimony, it's clear that you hated both your husband and the Ushiromiya family."
"That's right!! I can't even count the number of times I've heard you complain...!!"
"Oh, and you've never talked behind Hideyoshi-san's back...?!"
"Dammit, you killed my husband!! How dare you say that?!! Die! Die and apologize to my husband!!"
"Please cease your violence, Eva-san. This is now the precious moment where I question and convict the culprit. It's not yours, okay?"
"Well then. Over the next several years, she appeared to have gotten used to her new way of life, but in actuality, an intense hatred still lurked in her heart. Taking that into consideration, there would be nothing odd at all about her deciding to take revenge."
"D, don't act like you know what I'm thinking...!!"
Each time Erika read Natsuhi's diaries, one after another, ......she exposed more of Natsuhi's emotions during those painful days.
......Natsuhi hadn't written them to leave those words behind.
She had written to forget those memories and seal them away.

That's why she had written down her feelings during those painful days, ......locked them up, and sealed them away for all eternity.
However, Erika claimed that these were Natsuhi's true, hidden feelings that had been locked away and concealed.

Since it had already been 'concluded' that Natsuhi was a murderer, everyone accepted Erika's claim.
By this point, the red truth wasn't even necessary to establish Natsuhi's motive.
As long as the reason seemed plausible, everyone would believe it.
No matter how much Natsuhi might object, no one would believe her.

No one could accept the truth Natsuhi spoke of, about the days she had spent loving her husband.
That had been painted over by a false truth, in which she hated her husband and swore revenge against him......

The pen of the gods that composes the truth had been given to Erika.
"And so what?! Who gives a damn about your past?!! Murderer, murdereeeeeer!!"
"S, stop that...! I can understand how Natsuhi-san felt...!"
"I always thought this day would come, eventually.........Poor thing, poor thing......"
"I think she's just one of the pitiable victims of Father's wild life."
"I knew of the pain in Madam's heart...... I always tried to support her......but I failed, and look what has happened......"
"......I don't...even understand...the emotions of love and hate."
".........You will, someday. It can become a reason to live...and also a reason to kill."

The Umineko VNs are white text on a dark background, so all of the text that is not red/blue/etc. is white. Though this memory takes place on the game board rather than in the meta world so to everyone she's speaking to here Erika just sounds crazy.

Notes:
- This is immediately post "victory" but she's not very happy about it.
- "All non-red letters are falsehoods that exist to deceive me!!" this is why you don't have friends Erika