Chapter 171: CASE 10. The Last Piece (7)

A statue had appeared out of nowhere.

My thoughts became tangled in an instant.

‘Isn’t that impossible?’

There were several reasons I had believed this statue had been destroyed.

But the most compelling reason of all was that the ‘Last Piece Thief’ was nowhere to be seen.

‘If someone had smuggled the statue here and hidden it, that person should have appeared as a thief in my eyes.’

Right.

Someone among the people here was the criminal.

That much was certain.

And yet, I couldn’t see a thief.

‘Sir Albrecht?’

What if he had hidden the statue here himself?

In that case, this couldn’t be considered theft.

He would merely have hidden his own property.

But…

‘Why on earth would he do that?’

I couldn’t think of a single reason.

Why would he hide a sculpture he had made himself?

Because he didn’t want to present it yet?

Because he was under pressure as a sculptor?

Then he could simply postpone the presentation!

It was already a sculpture whose unveiling had been delayed for seven years. Surely postponing it a little longer wouldn’t cause any problems.

Or perhaps he disliked the statue he’d created?

‘Then he could just destroy it. There’s no reason to hide it.’

And what about the three Black Shadows?

If the sculpture theft had never happened in the first place, had the other three simply shared a Lemon Pie together and called it a day?

Unanswered questions crowded my mind.

“This is the end.”

Albrecht spoke as though he had finally put the matter behind him.

“I’ve recovered the missing statue, and I have no desire to catch the culprit. So, as far as I’m concerned, the case is closed.”

“Closed?”

But I hadn’t figured out anything!

Nevertheless, the Black Shadow nodded.

“Since I’m the victim, surely I’m entitled to handle the matter as I please. I no longer wish to investigate this case.”

“No…”

The words I wanted to say threatened to spill out all at once.

I still didn’t know the truth behind the case.

I was also concerned about the Malicious Stalker incident, not to mention how this statue had been transported here.

And what about the Lemon Pie?

‘I don’t want to leave with three Black Shadows still here.’

But…

“Leave now. I no longer need a detective.”

There wasn’t the slightest room for compromise in Sir Albrecht’s stubborn voice.

‘Logically… Sir Albrecht is right.’

My lingering attachment to the case was entirely my own problem.

I couldn’t keep insisting on helping someone who had already said he didn’t need my help.

‘I suppose I have no choice but to leave…’

Just as I was trying to come to terms with that conclusion, Lure stepped forward.

“Not as a detective, but how about as a sculpture model?”

“Hm? A model?”

“Actually, Miss Sophia offered to let me model for one of her sculptures.”

“Is that true?”

The Black Shadow turned to look at the other person.

From across the room, another Black Shadow nodded.

“Yes. I really like Miss Lure. I think she’d make an excellent subject.”

Lure quickly continued.

“I understand that the case is over. But if I don’t take this opportunity, when will I ever get to look around the workshop where Master Sir Albrecht’s disciples work?”

“Hm…”

Perhaps the praise from his disciples pleased him. The Black Shadow gave a slight nod.

“Could I stay in this workshop a little longer as a model for Miss Sophia’s work?”

“I’d like to ask the same favor.”

I seized the opportunity to chime in.

“Mr. Mustafa seemed to like my body.”

As soon as I said it, I felt a little disgusted with myself.

‘No. Still, I can’t afford to miss this chance.’

“Would you grant me the honor of becoming a model for Mr. Mustafa’s work?”

“Please, Master. I’d also like to ask this person to model for my work.”

Even Mustafa raised his voice in support.

“An obvious trick…”

Sir Albrecht clicked his tongue, but his disciples’ pleading seemed to make him reconsider.

“Discuss the modeling arrangements for my disciples’ works with them directly. In any case, the statue in question has been recovered, so understand that I have no intention of dragging this case out any further.”

With those words, Albrecht announced that he was tired and retreated deeper into the mansion.

I remained in the workshop, intoxicated by my sense of victory.

‘I did it!’

At the very least, I’d avoided being kicked out immediately.

‘I’ve secured an opportunity to uncover the truth behind this case.’

I felt grateful to Lure.

“Now, then. Take it off.”

“Yes, Master. Take it off.”

So…

That was about thirty seconds of relief.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario had been avoided.

“Hey, Mustafa! I told you that if you said something like that in front of anyone, you’d get arrested! What are you going to do if that happens?”

Sophie scolded Mustafa.

From what I’d gathered, Mustafa’s suggestion that I pose as a nude model had been considered extremely rude.

Apparently, unlike day laborers who might strip off their shirts wherever they pleased when they got hot, asking a gentleman to undress was a grave insult.

‘Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a mere insult…’

In any case, things had worked out in my favor.

By changing out of my stuffy suit and into a light robe, I’d managed to wrap up the negotiations with Mustafa surprisingly smoothly.

“Now, then. Stand here.”

“Yes? Here?”

“That’s right. This looks like the best spot.”

Mustafa led me to a corner of the workshop.

More specifically, he took me to the spot where the plaster figure I’d partially smashed, along with the statue inside it, was most clearly visible.

“Stand here and look straight ahead. Don’t look anywhere else.”

Mustafa sat beside the plaster figure and began sketching me on a canvas.

Meanwhile, I could examine the sculpture without anyone interfering.

‘Could it be…?’

A certain possibility suddenly occurred to me.

“Mr. Mustafa, do you not want the investigation to end like this?”

“Nonsense.”

Mustafa clicked his tongue sharply.

“Everything is for Master to decide. It’s not our place as disciples to interfere carelessly.”

So he wasn’t openly interfering. Instead, he’d indirectly given us a chance to examine the crime scene.

Wasn’t that the idea?

That way, he wouldn’t be defying his master.

If the detective happened to discover an important clue and catch the culprit, all the better. If not, then so be it.

Perhaps that was why he’d asked me to model for him.

‘…The more I think about it, the less I understand.’

The ones who had pleaded with Sir Albrecht to let Lure and me model were Sophie and Mustafa.

Indeed.

The problem was that they were the criminals.

Why would a criminal welcome a detective into the very place where the crime had occurred?

Anton, who could definitely be considered innocent, had seemed to want to drive us out alongside his master.

‘What on earth is going on?’

“Hey, look straight ahead. Straight ahead.”

My thoughts were a tangled mess, but an opportunity was an opportunity.

I turned my attention to the statue half-buried in the plaster.

“Are you not going to take the statue out completely?”

“I will. But if we handle it carelessly, we might damage it, don’t you think?”

The Black Shadow clicked his tongue.

“What would you do if you damaged the statue by recklessly striking it with a blunt object like that?”

He had a point.

“Master said he’d use water to soften the plaster and safely remove the statue after the uninvited guests have left.”

“After the uninvited guests have left…”

As expected, Albrecht was hiding something.

Whether he was concealing his own wrongdoing or covering up for one of his disciples, I couldn’t tell.

I examined the statue again.

Only a tiny portion of it was visible, specifically the very bottom.

What stood out most clearly was the delicately sculpted fabric.

‘The hem of a garment, I suppose?’

At the end of that hem, a woman’s hand was visible.

A pure white marble support held the hand in place.

“Now that I think about it, there’s something strange about that statue.”

“Strange? What could possibly be strange about it?”

“There’s a support here, so this really does seem to be the bottom of the statue. But why is a hand visible down here?”

Wouldn’t the feet be visible if this were an ordinary statue?

“Is it a statue of someone lying down?”

“Of course.”

Mustafa answered as though the answer were obvious.

“‘The Last Piece’ is a work about death, after all.”

“Death?”

“Otherwise, why would it be called ‘Last’?”

I’d never considered that possibility.

I’d assumed the title simply referred to it being the final work in the series.

“Then… is it a sculpture of a corpse?”

“Haha. Of course not.”

As expected, right?

There was no way he’d create something that gruesome…

“It’s a sculpture depicting the moment of murder.”

“!”

“Although it’s hidden now and you can’t see it, a knife is buried deep in the woman’s back. Blood gushes from the wound, and the murderer’s face is filled with ecstasy. The sculpture depicts the woman’s final moments.”

As expected, Anton’s psychopathic tendencies seemed to have been inherited from his master.

‘Why would he sculpt something like that?’

No, perhaps it hadn’t been intentional.

The series had begun with Silent Prayer, and all the works were said to be based on a single myth.

If that myth ended with the protagonist being stabbed and dying, perhaps the sculpture had to depict that scene as well.

Who knew?

But what kind of myth ended with the protagonist being stabbed in the back and murdered?

‘Isn’t that a crime rather than a myth?’

I stared intently at the half-buried statue.

I was genuinely curious about the part hidden inside the plaster.

I wanted to see it with my own eyes.

And then, at that very moment…

Knock, knock.

A light knock sounded at the door.

“Excuse me. Could someone open the door? My luggage is rather heavy.”

The voice was dry and devoid of any discernible emotion.

I recognized it immediately.

Arthur Sterling.

It was him.

‘The case is already over, and he’s only showing up now?’

Lure seemed to have had the same thought. She shrugged and spoke in a triumphant tone.

“You confidently proposed a bet earlier, but before it could even get started properly, it ended with Master’s victory, didn’t it?”

“It wasn’t much of a bet to begin with.”

“Tch!”

I said that, but inwardly, I was feeling rather pleased with myself.

[Let us split up. I’ll take my assistant and look for the missing ‘Last Piece.’]

[I look forward to seeing which of us can make the more convincing detective.]

That had been my last conversation with Arthur Sterling.

‘I can’t say the case is solved, but in the end, I’m the one who found the Last Piece. The First Great Detective.’

Now that I’d experienced it myself, it wasn’t such a big deal.

“I’ll open it now… Just a moment…”

While I basked in my pride, Anton hurried over and opened the door.

Creak.

The large door of the warehouse-like workshop swung open, revealing Arthur Sterling.

“I seem to be a little late. My apologies.”

He was pulling a large handcart.

And inside it…

“It took me a little while to find the final piece of ‘The Last Piece.'”

The face of a screaming woman was visible.

A powerful forearm streaked with pure white lines resembling blood.

A blade piercing the heart.

“This is…”

“The Last Piece?!”

Mustafa shouted in disbelief.

“Why is that there?!”

Amid the shattered pieces of marble, I saw a familiar shape.

That hand.

The limp white hand hanging over its support.

The very same hand I’d found inside the plaster statue was now lying among the pieces in Arthur Sterling’s handcart.

‘…What happened?’

I stood frozen, looking back and forth between the two statues.

Just then, Arthur seemed to notice the same thing I had.

“…It’s a replica.”

He spoke quietly.

“One of these two is a replica that was crafted to imitate the original in meticulous detail.”

The shattered statue and the hidden one.

Which of them was the real Last Piece?