Posha guided me to a secluded mansion near the ruined Everton Villa.
“This is the building Mister Walter used to surveil Everton Villa.”
“I see. Does it have no other owner now?”
“…? No. We planned to use it as a base in the capital for a while.”
So, the entire mansion is owned by Mister Walter or Miss Posha?
They bought a whole house for the case and didn’t even bother to sell it afterward?
‘Insane. They’re incredibly rich.’
Meanwhile, I’m barely scraping together the rent for the detective agency.
For some reason, I felt a sense of deprivation.
“This way is the bedroom.”
“Finally, we can lay Mister Walter down.”
Putting down Walter, whom I’d been carrying around like a princess, was a relief in itself.
However, I was concerned that Walter still hadn’t regained consciousness.
“Should we secretly call a doctor to this mansion?”
Posha shook her head.
“A little while ago, I had another chance to speak with Mister Beetle. The police had rounded up all the people captured in the alley where he was sleeping and herded them to one location. He said that Mister Walter is just unconscious from a strong drug and his prognosis itself is good. He said unless there’s an emergency like a sudden fever or a wound reopening, there’s no need to call another doctor.”
“That’s a relief.”
It was a relief in two ways.
It was a relief that Walter had no major issues, and it was also a relief that Posha had been captured by the police but managed to get out safely.
“You didn’t have any trouble?”
“No. Among the police officers who came to search, there was someone who knew my face. He knows me as Daisy, the poor flower shop girl. Thanks to that, I was released quickly.”
Posha spun around playfully with a mischievous smile.
Even though she just spun in place once, standing before me was not a sharp intelligence agent, but an innocent flower shop girl.
‘What amazing acting skills.’
That must be the skill that built Balthazar’s formidable reputation.
“How about you, Mister Hayes? Did you have any trouble getting here?”
I was grateful she asked.
I had so much I wanted to say anyway.
“It’s a long story. First, as soon as I turned the alley corner, pursuers appeared….”
*
“…And that’s how I was able to escape by taking advantage of the confusion.”
Finishing my story, I voiced the question I’d been holding onto.
“Who on earth were those robbers? Why did they help me?”
Posha shook her head with a serious expression.
“You can’t really say they helped. You said they were sniping Herbert clan members without even glancing at you. If that’s the case, they must be a separate faction with a different objective.”
A separate objective.
The only thing I could guess was the photo.
That damn photo.
“The Herbert clan called them dogs of the United Kingdom, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then, they must be the princess’s subordinates.”
“That princess who’s visiting the Empire? The one marriage talks are going on with the Grand Duke’s son?”
I nodded.
“The princess’s party has already arrived in the Imperial Capital. It’s only the fifth year since the war between the Empire and the United Kingdom ended. United Kingdom nationals staying within the Imperial Capital are extremely rare. If ‘dogs of the United Kingdom’ are involved in this case, that person is clearly connected to the princess.”
“The princess is after the photo…”
“That seems to be the case, but I can’t even guess what her goal is.”
Posha seemed lost in a labyrinth.
“At first, I thought it might be digging up dirt on her fiancé… but there’s no reason to go to such lengths, even killing the Grand Duke’s subordinates, just to obtain a past love photo of the Grand Duke’s son. It would be much simpler to just break off the marriage talks.”
No matter how brilliant a mind one has, there are limits with insufficient information.
To borrow Posha’s brain, I needed to give her some clues to speculate with.
“Actually, I have a guess.”
I spilled almost everything I knew to Posha.
That Grand Duke Wilhelm Eduard is suspected of being Taylor John.
That the photo they’re looking for might be more than just evidence of a youthful indiscretion.
That perhaps even Walter being taken to the Grand Duke’s residence might be because of this photo.
I revealed all the information except the fact that I possessed the problematic photo.
‘Given how things have turned out, I can’t tell anyone about the photo’s location.’
“I see. So the photo has such a secret…”
Posha nodded in admiration, then exclaimed as if she’d realized something.
“Ah, so that’s why you, Mister Hayes, clashed with Mister Walter after receiving Miss Christine’s request? You were chasing Taylor John from the very beginning, Mister Hayes.”
Once again, it was a troublesome misunderstanding, a mix of truth and lies.
“…Yes, well. You could look at it that way.”
“As I thought…!”
Smoothly establishing a new misunderstanding.
I tried to ignore Posha’s respectful gaze and continued reasoning.
“So, we should also examine the princess’s desire to get her hands on the photo within this context. Perhaps the princess found out her fiancé’s identity is Taylor John and is trying to find that evidence to resolve the matter?”
“That… doesn’t seem likely.”
Posha said it flatly, while still gauging my reaction.
“If her goal was righteous, to reveal the truth, she could have just exposed the Grand Duke’s son. Even if not, she wouldn’t have continued with these marriage talks. But right now, the Grand Duke’s son and the princess are outwardly amicable, continuing the marriage talks, while behind the scenes, they’re both playing tricks. In this situation, I can only think the princess has sinister intentions too.”
Ah, is that wrong?
“Ahem, what I just said was merely an example.”
“I knew it, of course.”
Posha sent me a look of pure trust with innocent eyes. I quickly continued speaking, trying to recover.
“The princess’s goal… is still unknown. Only one thing is certain. The princess is after the photo, even killing people for it. That is, it’s highly likely the princess knows the photo’s true nature.”
She wouldn’t have killed people to get something whose value she didn’t even know.
The princess must know the photo’s true nature and value precisely.
That was information neither Posha nor I had.
‘Could we obtain information about the photo through the princess?’
Unlike the Grand Duke, who was a definite enemy, the princess seemed like the Grand Duke’s enemy—an enemy of my enemy.
An enemy’s enemy isn’t necessarily an ally, but a deal might be possible.
“The problem would be the price of the deal.”
I nodded at Posha’s words.
The princess of the United Kingdom was not a gentle princess from a fairy tale.
Far from a princess, she was likely the kind of person who would employ masked robbers to shoot people dead.
If we didn’t have a definite trade item, the princess wouldn’t agree to a deal.
‘It’s clear what the princess wants, though…’
“But we can’t hand over the photo, right? We don’t have the photo.”
That was the problem.
Of course, contrary to Posha’s belief, I did have the photo.
But it was just as Posha said earlier.
We didn’t know exactly why the princess was after the photo.
‘In the worst case, she might be planning to use the photo to make a deal with Grand Duke Wilhelm’s son.’
In that case, the sole piece of evidence would fall into the culprit’s hands.
That would be the worst possible situation.
No matter what, I couldn’t hand over the photo.
I had to offer something else.
‘Not the photo, but something related to it that could pique the princess’s interest…’
Nothing came to mind immediately.
“Hmm, for now…”
Posha suggested to me.
“How about we get some sleep and think about it?”
“Huh?”
I was a bit surprised by the unexpected suggestion, but come to think of it, it was already dark outside.
‘It has been a rough day.’
Posha clearly looked exhausted.
My arms, which had been carrying Walter all day, also seemed to ache.
“Alright. Let’s think about it tomorrow.”
I accepted Posha’s suggestion and was shown to a guest bedroom.
*
Day 3.
Another unfamiliar ceiling.
‘Now the detective agency ceiling is starting to feel unfamiliar.’
Lately, I’ve been plagued by cases and unable to return to the office.
Even when I occasionally went back, it was a cycle of staying less than half a day before leaving again.
Because of this, I haven’t been able to open mail delivered to the detective agency for nearly two weeks.
By the time I go back, the mail is probably piled up like a mountain.
I haven’t checked for so long, I haven’t even opened the mail Christine sent yet…
‘…Christine’s mail?’
At that moment, it hit me.
It felt like the answer to the problem I’d been searching for all night had just dawned on me.
“That’s right! There’s the mail Christine sent, isn’t there?”
Miss Christine said she had sent me mail to entrust me with a request.
But before I even learned about the arrival of such mail, Miss Christine herself barged into the agency.
She said the situation became urgent, and she couldn’t afford to wait leisurely for a reply by mail.
Because of that, the mail she sent still remains unopened.
‘Miss Christine was the original owner of that photo the princess is looking for.’
Also, five years ago, she was the one who took the photo directly with Grand Duke Wilhelm’s son.
Perhaps I could use Christine’s letter to pique the princess’s interest?
“What do you think, Miss Posha?”
“…It’s bold, but seems like a decent idea.”
Posha seemed to ponder something deeply for a moment, then said to me.
“Yes, okay. Let’s do as you say, Mister Hayes. I’ll make the necessary preparations, so could you bring that mail to me, still unopened?”
“It’s not a difficult task.”
I quietly went to the detective agency at dawn.
The mail was neatly arranged just as Lure had organized it.
Picking out Christine’s mail from among it wasn’t very difficult.
‘I don’t know how to attract the princess’s attention with this, but I can think about that from now on.’
When I returned to the hideout, Posha greeted me, holding a basket.
“So this is that mail?”
Posha turned the mail over and smiled brightly.
“Miss Christine’s seal is stamped on it. Perfect.”
Posha put the letter down and pulled out something like a thin, long ruler from the basket.
‘What is she going to do with that?’
Posha brought that ruler to the red sealing wax part of the letter and, sliiide, carefully pushed it in.
A moment later.
—plop.
The letter opened.
The sealing wax on the outer envelope was completely undamaged.
“Now let’s check the letter’s contents.”
The letter’s content was simple.
Perhaps she was so flustered, she even omitted any formal greetings and went straight to the point.
-To the Esteemed Detective Hayes-
Do you remember me? Christine, the opera singer who owes you a great debt.
I am in a truly difficult predicament right now. I’m entangled with a person of such high authority that a detailed explanation is difficult, but I can clearly say that a single photo I possess has pushed me into a life-threatening situation.
I will give you a detailed explanation when we meet, so could you please meet me? Please, show mercy to this pitiful woman. You are the only one who can save me.
-The worthless opera singer, Christine
“Ah, this is perfect.”
“What exactly is?”
I couldn’t hold back any longer and asked.
“This letter.”
Posha smiled happily and said to me.
“If we just cut out the ‘To the Esteemed Detective Hayes’ part at the beginning, there’s no way to tell who the letter is for.”
“So…”
“Let’s cut out just that part, put it back in the envelope, and send it to Her Highness the Princess.”
“…?!”
“Don’t you think we’ll get an interesting reaction?”
I was taken aback by the bold idea.
So, impersonate Christine and deceive the princess?
“But… the content of that letter is asking to meet and talk in person. Miss Christine left the Empire a long time ago.”
Even if we use this letter to trick the princess, what do we do next?
We can’t make a Christine who isn’t here meet the princess.
“Don’t worry. While you were getting the letter, I also made the necessary preparations.”
Posha pulled an item from the basket and grinned.
It was a small potion bottle, and written on it was:
[Hazelnut Color Dye]
“Don’t worry. Everything will go according to your plan, Mister Hayes.”
‘…?’
I desperately wanted to ask.
‘What on earth is my plan?!’