There were no photos.
I was in deep shock.
Walter seemed just as shocked as I was.
He whipped his head around to look at me and asked, “Is that a lie?”
However, the circumstances I had encountered so far were already clicking into place in my head.
Christine believed that if it hadn’t been for the photos, she would have been killed by Wilhelm long ago.
‘I felt that perhaps those photos were what was keeping me alive.’
That alone would have been enough motivation for her to pretend she had them.
Furthermore, Christine had mentioned that the Young Duke’s subordinates had searched her house and belongings several times.
‘But in the end, Wilhelm never found the photos he wanted.’
Why hadn’t he found them? Was it because Christine was far more competent than the Young Duke’s men?
Or was it… because there were no photos from the start?
That wasn’t all. Christine had never once shown me the photos.
‘I can’t tell you the exact location. You wanted the photos as a reward for the request, didn’t you, Mr. Hayes?’
At the time, I thought that excuse was plausible, but thinking back now, wasn’t it because she didn’t have them?
There was more. Like when Walter threw the smoke bomb into the house.
‘I — I haven’t moved an inch from here!’
Did Christine really stay put because I, who had collapsed, was important to her?
Wasn’t it actually because there was nothing precious in the house to protect?
“Hah…”
It was strange that I hadn’t realized it sooner.
“…It’s the truth. She really didn’t have any photos.”
Walter, who had been staring intently at my face, muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.
It seemed he had used that great intuition of his to see that I was telling the truth.
“How could she lie so boldly — !”
Walter turned to Christine as if to demand an explanation.
However, Christine was slumped over with her eyes closed.
She was still breathing, but she seemed to have fainted from excessive fatigue and shock.
Walter’s displaced anger turned toward me.
“If there were no photos from the start, then why did you protect that woman so desperately, Mr. Hayes?”
“Well. Maybe because I only found out just now?”
Even I thought it was a stupid answer.
Walter looked at me with a complicated expression.
“So you were also being one-sidedly used by that woman, Mr. Hayes.”
I had nothing to say to that. Walter’s words were the truth.
‘To think her promise to hand over the photos as a reward was a lie.’
All while she had spoken so calmly on that boat.
She had told me that she would hand the photos over to me as soon as we reached our destination.
“Since you don’t seem to know, let me tell you one thing,” Walter said. “That woman has always been an expert at using others.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Do you think it was a simple coincidence that she dated Grand Duke Wilhelm?”
“…….”
“While dating him, she received generous support from the Grand Duke. As a result, an unknown singer with nothing to her name has now risen to become the greatest singer in the Imperial Capital. It’s the same for the man she is desperately waiting for now. When she found herself in a position where she had to leave the empire in a hurry, she just happened to become the lover of a successful merchant who travels back and forth between the Empire and Oswan. Do you think this is a simple coincidence?”
“I heard she had been dating her current fiancé for… a long time.”
“Hah. You still believe those words even after being deceived like that?”
Walter let out a scoffing laugh as if it were ridiculous.
“We’re detectives, Mr. Hayes. Think about it. Everton Villa, where she was staying. Was there even a single item related to a fiancé in that house?”
…There was nothing like that.
While there were an enormous number of dressing rooms, it was difficult to find any traces of a lover.
If they had been dating for a long time, there was no way there would be no traces.
“That woman is a black widow. There isn’t a man she can’t enchant using that beautiful appearance and voice. She seduces the people she needs and uses them. Do you think there’s any sincerity in her? Just as Grand Duke Wilhelm was used and that merchant was used, you were simply used as well, Mr. Hayes.”
Walter put his gun away, straightened his clothes, and spoke with a sigh.
“That’s why I said I could trust you, Mr. Hayes, but I couldn’t trust that woman.”
With those final words, Walter turned around.
“In the end, there were no photos, and since my goal was to find them, I shall take my leave. As I told you before, harming powerless people is not my objective.”
With that, Walter walked toward the boat he had arrived in.
Lure, who had been keeping as quiet as a mouse, asked me softly, “What are you going to do now, Master?”
“Well, what should I do…”
I looked down at Christine’s pale face and thought.
About how I should act.
Splash, splash.
Christine opened her eyes to the sound of waves crashing.
She could smell the salty air, and the stinging sunlight pricked her eyes.
“…!”
Recalling the situation before she fainted, Christine scrambled to sit up.
“Are you awake?”
“What…?”
At the blunt voice, she turned her head to see Hayes looking out over the sea.
“Why…” Christine asked in spite of herself. “Why are you still here?”
As if he understood the underlying meaning of the question, Hayes answered gruffly.
“It took some time to get the boat back to normal after it got stuck in the mud. That’s why we’re still at the beginning of the coast, and it’ll take about thirty minutes more to encounter the ship you were looking for.”
“No, that’s not what I meant — !”
“You’re asking why I’m still here?”
Finally, Hayes turned his head to look at Christine.
Christine faltered at his inscrutable expression.
She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t seem angry either.
“Can you really call yourself a detective if you don’t carry out your assigned request until the end?”
“But… I deceived you?”
“You did.”
Hayes nodded calmly.
“But you didn’t have any other choice, did you, Christine?”
After Christine fainted, Hayes had taken the time to organize his thoughts.
He wasn’t thinking about the stories of her using Wilhelm or her current fiancé. Whether that was the truth or not, it was information of no importance to him.
If the other person hadn’t been holding a gun, he wouldn’t have even bothered to listen.
Hayes had simply thought about Christine’s situation before and after she had made the request to him.
“The only lifeline you could think of was me. But I refused your request several times. Then, I changed my attitude after hearing the names you brought up. And then I demanded the photos.”
Christine must have sensed it.
That the only thing Hayes wanted was those photos.
That there was no way he would accept the request if she didn’t give them to him.
“You were already in a situation where you had confessed all the circumstances that shouldn’t have been shared recklessly. If I had said I wouldn’t take the request at that point, you would have been in a very difficult position. In a situation where you had no choice but to say you would give me whatever I demanded, how could you have said that the item I wanted didn’t exist? I understand why you lied to me. Rather, I wasn’t very gentlemanly myself.”
Some might call him a pushover, but Hayes was sincerely sorry for Christine.
In a situation where everyone was an enemy, the only person she could rely on was the detective she had hired, but she had to deceive even that detective to ensure her own safety.
Her heart must have been racing, having no choice but to lie just to survive.
“Ugh…!”
Perhaps it was because so much had built up over time.
Christine let out a stifled breath as if she were suppressing her tears.
She asked as if to confirm, “I didn’t lose consciousness all at once earlier. I heard everything that other detective said. He said I was a woman like a black widow. I also think that wasn’t entirely wrong.”
Christine spoke with her head hung low in self-deprecation.
“It’s true that I felt an attraction to Wilhelm because he was a Grand Duke. He seemed wonderful, like a prince living a completely different life from mine. And it’s true that I felt an attraction to my current fiancé, who spoke of a kingdom across the warm sea when I wanted to leave the Empire. I fell in love after seeing their conditions. Even so, am I innocent?”
“How should I know?”
Christine looked at Hayes with a blank face.
However, Hayes wanted to ask her back instead.
Did he look like a judge or an angel from the heavens?
“How would I know if you’re innocent or not? I don’t know anything about that metaphor of a black widow or whatever. All I know is that you are a magnificent opera singer. Why else would there be a murderer who planned to kill someone while everyone was entranced by your singing voice?”
I remembered Christine’s voice that filled the wide hall that day.
I had witnessed those who called themselves the elite of the Imperial Capital cheering for Christine, regardless of their rank or status.
‘She used Wilhelm to become the Imperial Capital’s greatest opera singer? That’s laughable.’
If nothing else, that was a load of nonsense.
Of course, she might have received some help in the beginning.
But is the title of the Imperial Capital’s greatest opera singer something so light?
If one could earn the title of the “best” just by having a powerful ex-boyfriend from five years ago, then every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the Empire would be walking around with a “best” name tag.
“Just ignore Mr. Walter’s nonsense. He’s not that bad of a person, but he’s a massive bundle of prejudices.”
Hayes, who had been shrugging his shoulders dismissively, was startled when he looked at Christine.
“Wait, why are you crying again? Please, stop crying!”
No matter how much he tried to comfort her, Christine’s crying didn’t seem like it would stop easily.
Lure, who had been in the cabin due to seasickness, came out and spoke.
“Why are you trying to stop her? Just let her cry in peace.”
Lure spoke as he looked out at the sea they had crossed, toward the now-faint land.
“She’s going on a long journey and won’t be coming back. She should clear out all her old grudges so her path isn’t heavy.”
Hayes followed Lure’s gaze out at the sea, looked up at the sky, and then nodded.
“Yeah, well. It’s just us in this ocean anyway.”
The boat moved forward, creating white foam in the vast blue sea.
Christine cried endlessly, and the seagulls raised their voices in a squawk as if in sympathy.
And finally, a ship was seen in the distance.
“Christine — !”
On the ship, Christine’s fiancé was waving his hand.
He was a young man with a kind and sturdy impression.
“Thank you, Mr. Hayes,” Christine said, her eyes swollen, her usual elegant appearance nowhere to be found. “Hiring you was the best choice I ever made.”
“I can’t say you were the best client, Christine,” Hayes replied half-heartedly.
He had ended up comforting her, but honestly, the grudge over his missing commission remained.
“Still, I do think you’re the best singer. Look at this. How can your voice be so perfectly fine without a hint of hoarseness after crying like that? So, take good care of those magnificent vocal cords and that voice, and I hope you’ll definitely establish yourself as a coveted singer in Oswan.”
Christine spoke with a mysterious smile.
“Mr. Hayes, could you lean your ear toward me for a moment?”
The moment he heard what Christine whispered, Hayes’s mind went blank.
“What in the…! Wait, is that for real?!”
Christine chuckled and nodded.
“I can trust you to make good use of it, right, Mr. Hayes?”
“What — what is it? Tell me too!” Lure raised his voice as if it were unfair, but no one answered him.
“Well then, take care, Mr. Hayes! And Lure! Thank you so much!”
Christine climbed onto the large ship and waved.
Bwaaaaap!
The large ship spewed black smoke and began to head back the way it had come.
Carrying the beautiful singer with the heavenly voice.
Toward that far-off kingdom.