On the way out of the Grand Duke’s castle.
The carriage, with just Lore and me, felt empty somehow.
“…Well, at least there’s one good thing about Mary leaving!” Lore said in a bright voice, as if trying to change the mood.
“Now, both you and I can wear whatever we want, Master!”
“Casual clothes are more comfortable, for sure.”
Donning my familiar hat and coat felt incredibly relaxing.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve grown used to these clothes.’
Back when I was solving that theft case for the handyman in that rural village, the stiff texture of the fabric, the cane—everything had felt so foreign that I thought I’d never adjust.
“I don’t think I’ll ever wear that pink dress again unless I’m reuniting with Mary. I love Mary, but that dress was hideous! Though, of course, I’ll keep it as a souvenir.”
Lore had received the clothes she borrowed from Mary as a gift. Even though she spoke like that, she would surely keep them tucked away as a precious treasure.
“Hmm, maybe I should have brought my uniform along, too?”
“It’s a good thing you left it behind. It was torn to shreds and completely ragged. If you asked Mary, she’d probably be delighted to gift you a new one.”
“No, I’ll pass on that. I’d rather not.”
“…Um, by the way, Master. Now that we’re talking about it—”
Lore asked cautiously, unable to hide the curiosity in her eyes.
“To be honest, back when your uniform was being torn… I saw something?”
“Saw what? Are you some kind of pervert?”
“What? No! It’s not that! The scar, the scar! I saw the scar!”
“The scar? …Ah, the one on my chest?”
“Yes! That huge scar!”
Just as Lore said, there was a large scar on my chest.
It was a wound that had been inflicted on the day I fell into this world.
“I didn’t look on purpose but…, honestly, I was a bit shocked when I saw it. It wasn’t just a small scar; it was a massive wound that looked like you would have been hovering at death’s door.”
“Well, I did almost die.”
“So, what I mean is, just what kind of past are you hiding, Master?”
She was making it sound quite grand.
“I don’t really have a hidden past. Why are you so curious?”
Seeing that I didn’t seem to mind, Lore excitedly began to rattle off her theories.
“Actually, I’ve been curious about your past for a long time. Of course, you’re an amazing detective, Master, but you have a bit of a clumsy side. Be honest. You haven’t actually been a detective for that long, have you?”
“That’s true. You could say I started in earnest right around the time I hired you.”
“I knew it! Then what did you do before that? Oh, wait! Let me guess! You couldn’t have gotten those incredible physical abilities for free, so maybe an athlete? Or a soldier? Were you a soldier? You don’t care about the means as long as you achieve your goal, Master. That personality seems perfectly suited for the military, doesn’t it?”
I burst out laughing in spite of myself. Is this what they call getting the answer right even though the logic was wrong?
“I did play some sports in the past.”
Though I never even made it to the university championships, let alone becoming a pro athlete.
“I was also… a soldier at one point.”
I went to the military, just like every man in South Korea has to.
Though my personality wasn’t exactly a great fit for the army.
‘I was what they call a total mess back then.’
With a bitter smile, I shook my head.
“I don’t really want to talk about those days. Most of all, the scar on my chest that you’re curious about has nothing to do with that past.”
That was true. This scar wasn’t an injury from sports, nor was it a wound from the military.
If it had been, I could at least complain about it.
‘How could I even say it? That it happened while I was reading a comic book.’
I had just walked into a comic book cafe, started browsing through a random book, and suddenly lost consciousness. When I woke up, I had been stabbed with a sword.
Who could I possibly tell such an absurd story to?
“This scar is from a sword wound… but, honestly, I don’t really know who stabbed me or why. My memories around the time I was stabbed are a bit hazy.”
“Goodness! Really?!”
It was about 70% true.
With that much accuracy, it was safe enough to classify it as the truth.
“Then what about the culprit who stabbed you, Master?”
“They got away. Actually, one of the reasons I joined the investigation into Taylor John was to catch that guy. Detective Baron promised to track down my past in exchange for my cooperation on the Taylor John case.”
“I really hope you catch that culprit. Between Taylor John and the person who stabbed you… it feels like there are too many strange people around lately.”
I simply smiled silently at Lore’s lament.
“Ah, Lore. Could you not tell anyone about my scar?”
“Of course! I’m not such an unrefined person that I’d go around blabbing about someone else’s physical secrets. I’m a lady, you know! A lady, not a pervert or a phantom thief.”
“That’s strange. I wonder who that person was who boldly shouted about the Phantom Thief Lore Team?”
“I wonder. Maybe a poor assistant employed by an ungentlemanly detective who uses a lady’s past as a weakness to tease her at every turn?”
Well, she got me there.
“I’ll stop teasing you about that from now on.”
“You definitely should.”
Lore replied triumphantly and leaned back deeply into the carriage seat.
“Hmm, but it’s still a bit of a shame.”
“A shame? What is?”
“You said you were supposed to get information in exchange for cooperating with the Taylor John investigation, right? It would have been nice if you could go back with some important clues, but we didn’t get a single lead during this trip to the North.”
“That’s not true. I did get information.”
“What?”
“Even if it’s not about Taylor John himself, I secured the testimony of a witness who met him.”
“Ah! Miss Elise!”
Lore leaned forward, her interest piqued.
“Master, did you hear some incredible piece of information from Miss Elise?”
“Well…”
I wasn’t sure if it counted as “incredible” information.
“But it was definitely something entirely unexpected.”
Entrusting my body to the sway of the carriage, I recalled my conversation with Elise.
***
My first meeting with Elise took place about one hour before the farewell party.
“So you are that Sir Heys.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Elise.”
We shook hands.
“It’s our first time meeting, but I feel as though you aren’t a stranger.”
“I feel the same way.”
It seemed we shared a similar first impression of each other.
‘It must be because of Mary, most likely.’
We had heard enough about each other to know quite a lot. Being in such a position, there was no need for unnecessary formalities, even for a first meeting.
“Sir Heys, if you don’t mind, may I ask you one thing?”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Mary wouldn’t give me a straight answer, but… no matter how I look at it, it seems like you are a detective or a policeman chasing Taylor John. Am I correct?”
Since there was no longer any reason to hide it, I nodded readily.
“I am a detective. I am also cooperating with the police.”
“…I see. I think I know why you came to see me, Sir.”
‘Her reaction is a bit strange.’
From what I knew, Elise was a survivor who had escaped Taylor John. A victim who had even faked her own death to flee from him.
If that were the case, shouldn’t she welcome a detective and the police who were trying to catch him?
“Actually, I came here because I wanted to ask you something, Miss Elise.”
“Something you want to ask me?”
“I assumed you would have guessed it by now. In the story you told Mary, wasn’t there one crucial piece of information missing?”
The story Elise had told Mary.
In that story, the circumstances before and after meeting Taylor John were described in great detail, but the actual account of the moment she met him was completely empty.
“Why did you skip that part of your account?”
“…Because Mary doesn’t need to know such things. It would only be dangerous for her.”
“Are you saying it’s information that would be dangerous if Mary knew it?”
Elise fell silent with a troubled expression.
‘She’s hesitant to tell me, not just Mary.’
“If it’s difficult for you to say, I’ll try to guess.”
“…Pardon?”
There were clues hidden in Elise’s statement that allowed me to deduce what was missing. It was Elise’s incomprehensible behavior immediately after meeting Taylor John.
“I simply couldn’t understand it. Miss Elise, why did you seek out your estranged fiancé instead of the police right after meeting a murderer?”
Let’s think realistically.
Imagine you are walking down the street and come face to face with a notorious serial killer. When you narrowly manage to escape his clutches, what is the very first thing you should do?
‘Ninety-nine out of 100 people would choose to report it to the police.’
Even that one person who didn’t choose the police wouldn’t think of seeking out an estranged fiancé to become a “dead person” through a sham marriage as a solution.
“Your choice was far too extreme, Miss Elise. In my opinion, there is only one reason to choose such a solution.”
Because you believed no other method would work.
In other words.
“You believed that the police could not help you, Miss Elise. Is that not it?”
Elise did not answer, which was a sign of affirmation.
‘I once heard something similar from Detective Baron.’
He suspected that some elements within the police were intentionally hiding Taylor John.
According to the conclusion Detective Baron had reached back then…
“The true identity of Taylor John that you witnessed must be a monstrous heavyweight. Someone so powerful that you didn’t even dare report him, fearing the consequences.”
“…Your deduction is not wrong, Sir.”
“Just who is Taylor John that you are so afraid? What, is the Emperor himself going around committing murders?”
“It’s not that, but… it might be similar.”
‘…Similar?’
Even I was taken aback by those words.
“I give up. Since you’re so curious, I will tell you the story of that day I met Taylor John. But you’ll probably feel helpless once you hear it too, Sir. You’ll realize that catching Taylor John is nothing but a pipe dream.”
Elise took a sip of her tea and slowly began the story of that day.
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