“The thief the Grand Duke is chasing. That’s you people, isn’t it?”
The old man’s eyes were filled with certainty.
It seemed useless to deny it here.
“If Walter was the hidden treasure of the Grand Duke’s residence.”
“I knew it! Damn it, I ended up taking in troublesome guests, didn’t I?”
The old man grabbed his head and let out a scream.
But it didn’t last long.
“So what are you going to do? Get ready to run, now!”
“Run away, you say?”
“What else? Do you think I’d sell out my own guests? Go out, turn right into the alley immediately and run straight! The path is a bit complicated, but that’s better if you want to shake off the police!”
Posha was right.
He was a bit strange, but he was a man with a sense of loyalty.
“Thank you, old man. Then—”
“Wait a moment!”
Posha shushed us and listened carefully to the sounds outside the door.
“…The sound of footsteps, the speed and direction are clear. I can even hear the sound of search dogs. That means the police are moving systematically. We won’t be able to escape without running into them at all.”
“We don’t have time! So what do you suggest we do?”
“We need to at least cover Hayes’s face! Walter and I have probably already been exposed, but Hayes hasn’t!”
Posha looked around, then grabbed a black robe hanging on the wall.
“Argh! That’s my favorite piece of clothing!”
“Please lend it to me just this once, Mr. Beetle. I’ll pay for it.”
“You have to come back and return it! It’s an important piece of clothing!”
Leaving the old man who looked like he was dying of regret behind, Posha approached me and draped the robe over me.
With the robe over my hat, it was truly airtight.
My face was completely concealed.
“Good, then.”
I wrapped Walter tightly in a blanket, then lifted him by supporting the backs of his knees and his back.
Fortunately, Walter was so thin he was often mistaken for a woman.
It was somewhat heavy, but I could carry it.
“Let’s go!”
“Be safe, no matter what!”
Leaving the old man’s farewell behind, we quickly dashed out of the house.
“Surround this area without a single gap! Don’t you dare let the rats get away!”
From far away, Inspector Serret’s voice could be heard.
*
“Hah, hah…!”
Posha, running beside me, was gasping for breath.
We had been running for a while, but the distance from the police wasn’t increasing much.
The sound of dogs barking from all directions was nerve-wracking.
“Yah!”
Suddenly, Posha stumbled heavily.
“Are you alright, Posha?!”
“No. I twisted my ankle.”
Posha lifted her skirt to check her ankle, then immediately came to a conclusion.
“Running any further is impossible.”
A desperate situation.
But Balthazar’s judgment was quick.
“It seems we should part ways here.”
“Leave Posha behind? But…”
“I already knew that because of me, Hayes couldn’t maintain a proper pace. Without me, you’ll be able to shake off the police more easily.”
That was true.
Even carrying Walter, I was faster than Posha.
But abandoning a companion was a separate issue.
“You don’t need to worry too much. Did you forget? I’m Balthazar.”
Posha smiled confidently, as if to reassure me.
“Avoiding police suspicion and slipping away from a scene is my specialty.”
I recalled the voice I had heard earlier.
Inspector Serret, an incompetent man unpleasantly full of prejudice.
Maybe for Posha, tricking and escaping from that one man wouldn’t be too difficult.
…Or maybe I was just thinking that to make myself feel better.
“The police are chasing Walter. If I’m discovered by the police alone, I can somehow avoid their suspicion, but if we’re discovered while running like this with Walter, we’ll all be caught together. Do you understand? Just as I am a burden to Hayes, Hayes carrying Walter is a burden to me.”
But hearing this much, I couldn’t stubbornly insist.
“…I understand. Then let’s decide on a rendezvous point.”
The first place that came to mind was the Hayes Detective Agency.
But the moment I headed there, my identity might be exposed.
The opponent was a power-crazed authority figure who had lost all reason.
If I wasn’t careful, even those close to me might get hurt.
‘I need another location. A place where I can hide and protect the photo from the Grand Duke…’
As I pondered deeply, it struck me like lightning.
The fact that I already knew one such place.
Everton Villa.
The residence of my previous client, Christine.
Located in a wealthy neighborhood, a place where one couldn’t move recklessly if conscious of others’ eyes.
‘Miss Christine transferred that house to the boat rental couple.’
That couple would most likely have tried to sell the mansion for cash.
Since the incident with Miss Christine wasn’t that long ago, the house was likely empty.
It was a house I had secured.
Sneaking in secretly shouldn’t be too difficult.
“Let’s head to Everton Villa.”
“That mansion Walter was constantly watching, right? Understood.”
Posha nodded obediently, and I ran past her.
How much further did I move after that?
“Hah, haaah…!”
Now even my breathing had become ragged.
My lungs felt like they were burning, and my heart was pounding madly.
The weight of Walter in my arms felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
‘Should I sling him over my shoulder now?’
No, he was a patient with internal injuries.
If I handled him like that, he might really end up on the road to the afterlife.
Carrying him like this, heavy as it was, was the best option.
‘Damn.’
A curse escaped my lips, but I pulled myself together.
Just a little more.
Just a little further.
It had been quite a while since I’d heard the dogs barking.
I must have shaken off the police.
Now, if I just turn this corner…!
“You’re quite the troublemaker, aren’t you?”
“……!”
A group of people were waiting beyond the corner.
A gang of thugs with rough faces, ones I remembered encountering.
They were the subordinates of Grand Duke Katrin who had been searching the park.
“I was waiting here just in case, but I didn’t think you’d really be able to evade the police pursuit and come this far. You really must be a tenacious detective.”
I wanted to throw the word ‘tenacious’ back at them.
Who would have thought they’d be guarding even here?
‘But something doesn’t seem right…’
With the next voice, my suspicion turned into certainty.
“Our youngest said he stabbed a knife into your side, but it seems he was just bragging. You move so well even carrying a woman. But is our dear traitor in your arms hit by a police bullet or something?”
So, they mistook me for Walter?
And they mistook Walter, whom I’m holding, for Posha?
‘Why? I didn’t even put Walter in women’s clothing.’
Was it because of his physique?
Or because of the way I’m holding him?
I couldn’t know the reason, but it wasn’t a bad misunderstanding.
It seemed they hadn’t anticipated any third-party involvement at all.
“Going to give up soon? Hand over the photo now. Then, Mr. Janus, I guarantee we’ll spare your life.”
“……”
I kept my mouth firmly shut, not wanting to clear up their misunderstanding.
“It’s a dead end anyway, isn’t it? There’s no way to escape, right?”
The presumed leader of the thug gang shrugged his shoulders leisurely.
He seemed to be relying on his numbers, his relaxed demeanor obvious.
‘…Should I pretend to hand over the photo and then charge through?’
At that moment.
-Click.
With a chilling sound, a gun muzzle was aimed at me.
“Don’t get any useless ideas. It’s not fun.”
Ah, damn it.
Now everyone and their dog has a gun.
It seemed Grand Duke Katrin had an abundance of firearms.
‘…What do I do?’
I sank into thought.
They seemed serious about shooting if I didn’t hand over the photo.
No matter how skilled I was, I couldn’t dodge a bullet.
They were threatening the wrong person due to mistaken identity, but ironically, I was exactly the person they were looking for who had the photo.
‘Should I hand over the photo for now?’
No. Their words were just sweet talk.
There was no guarantee they’d really spare me if I handed over the photo.
Moreover, what they guaranteed was only the life of Janus, that is, Walter.
To them, Posha would definitely be a target to eliminate.
I couldn’t hand over the photo.
“What’s taking you so long, huh?”
A leisurely voice.
And then immediately.
—Bang!!!
A fierce gunshot rang in my ears.
‘Is, is he insane?! Shooting without even a warning shot after threatening?!’
I jerked my head up.
And immediately confirmed my guess was wrong.
“Gah, gurgle…!”
The man who had been threatening me just moments ago was now collapsed on the ground, bleeding.
“Boss!”
The subordinates beside him cried out in shock.
Before they could even grasp the situation.
Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out again.
Another strong man fell to the ground, and only then did they locate the enemy.
“Over there! It’s those people!”
Suspicious figures, bundled up as tightly as I was.
Three such people revealed themselves from behind me.
‘…Are they allies?’
But I’ve never heard of people like that?
Unlike my confusion, a member of the thug gang seemed to have some idea, grinding his teeth as he shouted.
“United Kingdom dogs!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The voice that answered carried a hint of laughter.
A peculiar accent could be felt.
“Isn’t that too grand a title? We’re just robbers. Just like you guys are just thugs. What was it, the Herbert Clan?”
But behind the Herbert Clan was Grand Duke Katrin.
So, who existed behind these self-proclaimed robbers?
“You can’t have the photo!”
“That’s why I said I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re robbers, okay? Whether you hand it over or not, everything you have is ours.”
That was as far as the conversation went.
Bang! Bang!
The exchange of deadly gunshots and fighting sounds began.
‘…I don’t know what’s going on, but now’s my chance!’
I lifted Walter and placed him over the wall beside me, which was about a person’s height.
Then, with my now much lighter body, I swiftly climbed over the wall.
“Ah!”
Someone seemed to have noticed my escape and screamed, but that was it.
The ensuing chaotic sounds completely drowned out the single cry.
There were no pursuers.
I had finally shaken off the pursuit and escaped safely.
*
I ran towards Everton Villa without looking back.
The villa I barely managed to reach…
“This is unbelievable.”
Was completely destroyed.
No joke, not a single structural frame remained.
“Excuse me, I have a question.”
I stopped a passing resident and asked.
“What on earth happened at this mansion?”
“You don’t know? His Highness, Grand Duke Catherine Eduard, purchased the mansion and had it demolished. I don’t know what he plans to build, though.”
Hearing the story, it seemed the boat rental couple had put the mansion up for auction.
Grand Duke Catherine Eduard purchased the mansion at one and a half times the market price.
And then he shattered it like this.
‘…To find any photos that might be hidden here?’
I got chills from that obsession. At this point, it was starting to seem more plausible that something was hidden in the photo than that there wasn’t.
‘Anyway, what do I do now?’
I never imagined the mansion would be destroyed.
How am I supposed to meet up with Posha, who agreed to meet here?
Tap. Tap.
Then, someone tapped my shoulder.
“Mr. Hayes.”
It was Posha.