It had been roughly one month since the case ended.
Detective Baron had still not been discharged from the hospital.
However, the detective’s patience had run out long ago.
“If I keep lying around like this, when on earth are we going to catch Taylor John!”
And so, in the detective’s hospital room, a progress report and meeting of the Taylor John investigation team—consisting of myself, Charlie, and Detective Baron—began.
‘It took a long time.’
I had wanted to talk about the investigation into Taylor John as soon as I returned from the North, but the opportunity only came after I had gone through all sorts of incidents.
In the meantime, I had acquired a lot of new information about Taylor John.
Coincidentally, most of it was information related to me as well.
‘For example, the scar on my chest.’
It matched the unique scar left by Taylor John that Elise had mentioned.
However, this wound occurred during a period when Taylor John was known to be inactive, and unlike Taylor John’s reputation for never leaving witnesses alive, I was perfectly fine without any particular effort.
‘And the information that I might be Taylor John…’
When I first heard that fact, my head spun, but this information completely contradicted the previous story.
If I were truly Taylor John, how could there be a scar on my chest left by Taylor John?
Was I such a madman that I couldn’t overcome my urge to kill and stabbed my own chest with a knife?
‘No, well… if it’s a madman like Taylor John, it might not be impossible…’
Still, I wanted to bet on the side that I wasn’t Taylor John.
Above all, there was also the testimony Elise gave me in the North.
She said she had faked her death while being chased by Taylor John. She insisted that Taylor John was definitely one of the three people in the mansion that day.
Naturally, my name was not on that list of suspects.
‘Right, it’s a useless worry. I might have been a criminal who received help from Madame Moss, but I wasn’t a serial killer.’
…I wasn’t, right? Please, let it be that I wasn’t.
The fact that I was a criminal was already bleak enough.
“Hayes?”
Looking back, the detective was staring at me as if I were acting strange.
“What are you thinking about?”
‘I was thinking about how much of the information I’ve learned I should reveal. As expected, it’s best not to talk about the information regarding myself.’
There was no way I was Taylor John.
Therefore, all of that would only cause unnecessary confusion.
I composed myself and began to speak.
First, I had to relay the information I obtained from the North.
“To put it simply, the Grand Duke was not Taylor John.”
“I already knew that much,” Detective Baron grumbled. “Madame Moss intentionally hid Taylor John’s movements. It’s clear they were close, but considering Grand Duke Kalan’s age, authority, and wealth, there’s no way he could be close to Madame Moss.”
“Then was there no result at all? Oh dear, I feel terrible for making such a fuss about how Grand Duke Kalan must be Taylor John.”
“No. There was a result. I heard an important testimony.”
At my words, Charlie and Detective Baron both looked surprised.
“An important testimony? Did you perhaps meet a witness?”
“That’s impossible. Taylor John is someone who doesn’t leave witnesses.”
I decided not to mention Elise.
The two were trustworthy enough, but Elise had hidden herself from Taylor John by even faking her own death.
Since she had trusted me and shared her story, I should not speak of her secret, if only to maintain that trust.
Fortunately, even without Elise, a plausible excuse existed.
It was Grand Duke Kalan.
“What was the reason we suspected Grand Duke Kalan? Besides the successive deaths of his wives, wasn’t the biggest reason the timing of the murders?”
It was said it wasn’t like that in the past, but for the returned Taylor John, active periods of frequent murders and rest periods repeated irregularly.
In Grand Duke Kalan’s case, he stayed in the Capital during Taylor John’s active periods and in the North during Taylor John’s rest periods.
“That’s right. Without a single error, the periods the Grand Duke stayed in the Capital matched the periods of the murders. How could we not suspect him?”
“But Grand Duke Kalan testified that there was a rule for the times he came up to the Capital.”
“A rule?”
“Every time, he came up to the Capital in advance to prepare only when there was an event he absolutely had to participate in as a member of the Imperial Family.”
“…! Charlie! Did you bring the materials summarizing Taylor John’s active periods?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Mark the important national events that took place last year and this year on it. Yes, events like the January Festival or the New Year’s Festival!”
Then, the timing became even more clearly organized.
Detective Baron let out a groan.
“Taylor John always starts killing two to three weeks before an important national event. He stops his activities within a week after the event ends.”
“The probability is high that he only comes up to the Capital during those times,” I added. “According to Grand Duke Kalan, the Imperial Family summons key national figures staying in the provinces to the Capital before an event. Taylor John only comes up to the Capital and commits murders during those times.”
“So Taylor John is a big shot who stays in the provinces. We’ve been completely off the mark until now…”
Detective Baron sighed as if he felt empty.
“Fortunately, I was able to collect information on key suspects from Grand Duke Kalan. There are three suspects in total, and all of them are heavyweights —”
“Wait a moment.”
Charlie, who had been listening silently, interrupted me.
“I’m sorry, but I have to point one thing out.”
“What is it?”
“Just what on earth happened that Grand Duke Kalan told you all that information so cooperatively?”
Uh… right.
How should I answer this?
“To have heard such stories from Grand Duke Kalan, doesn’t that mean you directly interrogated him about his connection to Taylor John? Even a normal person would have been offended hearing that, so I find it hard to believe that a high-ranking noble like the Grand Duke cooperated so easily and even gave you useful information.”
“Now that I hear it, that’s true. Hayes, what on earth did you do to get Grand Duke Kalan to open his mouth?”
I felt like my face would be pierced by the curious gazes the two were sending me.
“Uh, that’s, well…”
After hesitating over how to answer, I just blurted it out.
“I went to the Grand Duke’s room in the middle of the night and interrogated him.”
“What?!”
“I climbed through the window and broke into the Grand Duke’s bedroom without anyone knowing, tied up the sleeping Grand Duke tightly, and asked him what I was curious about.”
“W-What?! Is that true?”
“Ah, that wasn’t all. I even made off with the Grand Duke’s fiancée—whom he reportedly fell in love with at first sight—and hid her before asking the Grand Duke what I wanted to know. All while wearing the Grand Duke’s coat that he had draped over his fiancée.”
I had omitted various details, but I wasn’t lying.
“You’re joking, right?”
Charlie asked, his expression desperately wishing it were a joke.
“I’m not joking. Oh, right. I even have evidence here.”
The pocket watch I had put in my pocket happened to be in my hand.
“Here, I received this directly from Grand Duke Kalan.”
I opened the lid of the pocket watch and showed them the Grand Ducal seal.
“How about it? Do you believe me now?”
“I believe you. I believe that I was working with a time bomb, not a human. Damn it, how did I end up trusting a madman like this?”
“Detective Baron, if this goes wrong, won’t we go to prison together?”
“Hmph! Prison? If we’re unlucky, it’ll be a firing squad. Go ahead and write your will, Charlie. I think I need to start preparing mine too.”
“Eek! I don’t want to die!”
The two made a fuss for a long while. They banged their heads against the wall and let out deep, earth-shattering sighs.
‘Geez, they’re overreacting.’
Nothing was going to happen anyway.
The first one among the two to come to his senses was Detective Baron.
“Whew, right. Since it’s already happened, there’s nothing we can do. I’ll trust that you… handled things well.”
There was a strange accent on the word “handled.”
“Of course! Nothing will happen, so don’t worry.”
I answered energetically on purpose to reassure him, but Detective Baron let out another deep, earth-shattering sigh.
“…First, let’s at least listen to the information you gathered while committing such acts. Since it seems the reliability of the information is beyond doubt now. Right, you said there were three suspects?”
“Yes. Every one of them is an incredible heavyweight. I’ll explain them in order.”
The first suspect.
**[Albrecht, the Wandering Artist]**
A painter and sculptor, an artist who made a name for himself as a prodigy since his teens.
It was said his wanderlust was so severe that it was rare for him to stay in the Capital, but his existence was the pride of the Imperial citizens.
“It’s impossible that Master Albrecht is Taylor John! I still shed tears every time I see his sculpture, ‘Silent Prayer’! Someone who can create a piece of art that moves people’s hearts must surely be a person of noble character!”
“Hmph, it’s often the case that the greater the artist, the more twisted the pervert. Who knows? That famous artist might turn out to be a madman who takes up murder as a hobby for his artistic inspiration.”
The second suspect.
**[Grand Duchess Catherine Eduard, the Iron-Blooded Grand Duchess]**
She was a Grand Duchess as well, but she was on a different level from Grand Duke Kalan.
Grand Duchess Catherine was the eldest daughter of the Late Emperor and was said to be his most beloved child.
She was currently the military commander of the Eastern border region.
Of course, there was a separate wartime commander for emergencies, but only five years had passed since the war in the East ended, and tense friction still hung over the border.
Considering the importance of the Eastern border, her name carried immense weight.
“The fact that she’s a member of the Imperial Family alone makes it heavy! Is it really okay to investigate this person? What if her name accidentally leaks out of this hospital room?”
“Is there a law that says you don’t arrest a member of the Imperial Family if they’re a murderer? Well, if she’s the culprit, the world will certainly be in an uproar.”
The final third suspect.
**[Arthur Sterling, the First Master Detective]**
“I found this person the most interesting.”
He was one of only twenty Master Detectives in the Empire. Among them, he was the first Master Detective to be knighted by the Emperor.
Normally, he was rarely in the Capital because he was busy solving various cases, but I heard that when there was an event, he would participate as the representative of the detectives.
“An artist, a soldier and member of the Imperial Family, and a Master Detective. These three are the prime suspects for Taylor John…”
“It won’t be easy to arrest whoever the culprit is. No, before that, will access even be possible?” Charlie grumbled.
I thought so too.
Elise hadn’t faked her death and run away from them for nothing.
“Among that list, wouldn’t a detective be the easiest to approach?” I said. “If we approach him by, say, requesting a case—”
“No, a famous detective like that would already have all his requests for the next year filled. He would also be very picky about the client’s status.”
I see. I didn’t know because I was a detective who didn’t even have a request for tomorrow, let alone a year’s worth.
“Then, the way to approach them is…”
“Didn’t you bring it and tell us yourself?”
Detective Baron looked down at the materials, his eyes shining coldly.
It was the data where Charlie had hurriedly marked the country’s major events.
A national event that was coming soon caught my eye.
“Now that Pharmakos has passed, the year will soon change. It’s the New Year’s Festival.”
“The New Year’s Festival…”
“Right. The event that opens the new year. According to what you said, won’t all the suspects participate in that event?”
That was true.
“According to this pattern… in about two weeks, all the suspects will arrive in the Capital. The murders will start from then. We can’t just stand by and watch that happen.”
Detective Baron looked back at Charlie and me and said, “Two weeks. It’s two weeks. From now on, let’s gather additional information on the suspects for two weeks and prepare to approach them naturally. And so, let’s make sure to arrest Taylor John during this New Year’s Festival. What do you think?”
As if there was no need to even ask, Charlie expressed his determination to the detective.
“Sounds good! I will do my best!”
“I will do the same.”
Chasing Taylor John was no longer Detective Baron’s task alone.
It was absolutely necessary for me to find out about my past and live my future.
‘I have to catch Taylor John and ask about myself.’
Definitely.
I hardened my resolve solemnly.