After leaving the photo studio, I spoke to Lure.
“Now then, let us part ways here. You do not have to come into work for a while, Lure.”
“What?!”
Lure’s eyes went wide.
“What do you mean by that? Master, aren’t you going to investigate an important case now? That is why you needed those photos, wasn’t it?”
As expected of my assistant. His intuition was sharp.
“That is true, but… you cannot join me for this investigation.”
“Why not!”
“There is a very important reason,” I said with a serious expression. “You are a student. You have to go to school.”
“That is ridiculous!” Lure protested immediately. “I told you, didn’t I? The school will tolerate it as long as I tell them I am working as your assistant. How can I go to school when you are focusing on such an important case, Master?”
“Lure, is your identity that of a detective’s assistant, or a student of criminal investigation?”
“That trick won’t work anymore! I’m graduating in 3 months anyway!”
‘Tsk, that didn’t work.’
I had no choice but to offer another reason.
“In truth, I never intended to involve you in this case from the beginning.”
“I’m asking why!”
“You know why. Things have become too big.”
I held up the photograph that had been disguised as a fan letter.
“Don’t you have a general idea of the kind of people involved in this?”
“Ugh…!”
Archduke Catherine and Archduke Prince Wilhelm. They were not individuals a student like Lure should be entangled with.
“But, I am your assistant…”
“Just as you said, you will graduate in only 3 months. I won’t stop you from jumping into cases like this then. In fact, I might be the one actively asking for your help. But Lure, you are still a student. So for now, return to the classroom. You’ll be busy enough catching up on the lessons you missed because of me.”
“…Fine, I understand.” Lure eventually nodded, albeit reluctantly. “But you must call me if you need my help, Master. Do you hear me? You have to!”
“I will.”
I waved at the departing Lure. I kept my less-than-honorable intentions hidden deep inside.
‘I’m sorry, Lure. It isn’t just because of that.’
Because an Archduke was involved? Because the case was tied to Taylor John? Because it might interfere with his studies?
If I were going to exclude Lure from the investigation for those reasons, I shouldn’t have taken him to the Northern Region in the first place. My decision to leave him out this time was driven solely by the shame within me.
‘This photo… I still don’t know how I’ll use it.’
But a gun over the mantelpiece existed to be fired, and the photo in my pocket existed to be used. Furthermore, no matter how I used this photo, it was clear that it would involve harming or blackmailing Archduke Catherine.
Even if, as Walter said, the peace of the East might be contained in this single photograph, I was intending to use it for a petty purpose like blackmail for my personal goals.
I believed this was for the greater good… but was it really? Was it not just out of a desire to uncover the past from before my possession and guarantee my current safety by any means necessary?
In a way, this was my final shred of conscience. I didn’t want to make Lure an accomplice while I performed an action I couldn’t even justify to myself.
“…Let’s go.”
Struggling to suppress the uneasy feeling, I made my way toward the Hayes Detective Agency. It was my return after ten days away.
“…Hm?”
To my surprise, someone was leaning against the door of the office. A small child… and looking closely, a child missing one finger.
“You are?”
It was that boy. The kid who had sneaked into Everton Villa and successfully escaped with my wallet.
“Ah! Mister!”
The boy beamed upon seeing me. Judging by where he was sitting and his attitude, it seemed he had been waiting for me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Mister! I got fired because of you!”
“……?”
“So, you have to hire me, Mister!”
“First, why don’t you tell me more about that?”
The boy began to spill his story in a disorganized manner.
“So… your entire gang was already employed?”
“Yes! By that pretty and kind lady!”
‘Balthazar.’
She was a former informant for the Herbert Clan. She had mentioned once that she had tried to establish an information network using children when she first moved to the Northern Region. However, she had failed back then due to the opposition of her husband, Utu.
‘I suppose she tried to rebuild that network in the Imperial Capital…’
It was a choice typical of her.
“So, as ordered, you begged in front of the house to monitor Christine, and since you’re small, you sneaked into Christine’s villa to try and steal the photo?”
“Didn’t you say you’d forgive me for that?”
He was a cheeky brat.
“Anyway, I know how to be grateful. I was thankful you let me go without calling the police. So, when I was ordered to search every inch of the pier to find your group, I just slacked off. I lied and said I looked when I hadn’t, and I stalled for time by saying I needed to search a bit more.”
That was actually quite admirable of him—though it also felt like he might have just used us as an excuse to rest.
“But then I got caught. By the boss.”
“The boss?”
“You saw him, Mister. The biggest kid among us. He’s our boss. The lady who hired us didn’t talk to us directly; she usually spoke through the boss.”
“Ah, I see. And then?”
“The boss said he didn’t need a lazy bum like me. He said he wouldn’t share any of the food he begged for or the pay the lady gave us, so he told me to get lost.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“So, I did some thinking…” The boy looked up at me with sparkling eyes. “You’re a detective, aren’t you, Mister? Just like that mister with the changing faces who always gave us orders next to Balthazar.”
“Well, something like that.”
“Then don’t you want to hire a kid like me, too?”
“Honestly, I never considered it…”
“You have to hire me! I got kicked out because I was loyal to you, Mister! So you have to take responsibility!”
The boy began to argue his case relentlessly.
‘It’s a bit sudden… but maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing?’
The clever brat’s prediction was accurate. Having experienced firsthand how effectively Walter used those kids, I did feel a desire to hire him. Street urchins begging on the road never drew anyone’s attention. They could go anywhere and hear anything.
He was a decent asset for a detective.
“Alright, fine. Let’s say I’m hiring you.”
“Yay! Thanks, Mister!”
“You shouldn’t call the person who hired you ‘Mister’.”
“Then what should I call you? Boss?”
I suppose “Brother” was out of the question.
“Call me Mr. Hayes.”
“Then, Mr. Hayes, call me Toby!”
“Sure, Toby. I look forward to working with you.”
At that time, I had no idea. I couldn’t have imagined that the moment I would desperately need a kid like Toby would come so soon.
***
“You! What on earth have you been doing?!”
As soon as I entered the police station, Detective Baron’s shouting pierced my ears.
“How can you be out of contact while performing such an important operation?!”
“I was truly worried, Mr. Hayes. Did something happen to you during that time?”
Receiving those worried looks from Detective Baron and Charlie made me feel quite embarrassed.
“I apologize. I ended up getting swept into a request, and I didn’t have a chance to get in touch.”
Christine had arrived and I had taken the request immediately. Since it hadn’t even been easy to step outside the house after that, I couldn’t be helped.
“Hmph! Does it make sense to take a request during such a critical situation? I thought we were all in the same boat! Didn’t we promise to gather information until the Taylor John candidates arrived in the Capital?!”
“Now, now. Calm down, Detective. Mr. Hayes is a detective, not a police officer. What can we do if a detective chooses to take a request?”
Charlie, who was trying to calm him down, was more annoying than the shouting Detective Baron.
“Ahem, this is quite disappointing. I said I was sorry for not being in touch; did I ever say I was sorry for not gathering information?”
“…What? What’s with that arrogant attitude?”
“Mr. Hayes. Have you perhaps discovered something important?”
I had hated the idea of Lure becoming my accomplice, but these two were already my accomplices, so I had nothing to hesitate about. I gave a wide smirk and revealed the photograph I had been cherishing in my pocket.
“Ta-da. Do you see this? I have obtained the greatest weakness of the Archduke’s eldest son, Archduke Prince Wilhelm.”
“…! That is!”
It didn’t take long for the two of them to recognize the value of the photograph.
“Indeed, this is quite useful information. He had a reason for acting like such a jerk.”
“I told you. Do you really think I would have taken an unrelated request in a situation like this?”
I boasted all I wanted, and the detective remained silent. He had clearly softened after confirming the value of my information. Only then could we proceed with a proper meeting.
“It isn’t as grand as the information you’ve secured, but I have also obtained one piece of information regarding the New Year’s Festival.”
“What is it?”
“They say this New Year’s Festival will be a ‘Festival of Light’.”
“A Festival of Light?”
“I don’t know the details. But it seems to be quite an important theme. That phrase was written in every single newspaper guideline to be issued after the New Year’s party.”
“Hmm.”
Usually, the New Year carried a strong image of bright light. The fact that they were emphasizing it made me wonder if there was something more to it…
‘Was a new prince born or something?’
Regardless, nothing specific came to mind.
“I have confirmed the exact arrival dates of the Taylor John candidates in the Capital. It appears all three of them are coming up tomorrow.”
“What?”
“Tomorrow?!”
We hadn’t known the exact date, but this was 3 days earlier than expected.
“How should we handle this? I didn’t think things would become so urgent.”
“Tsk! That’s why you should have come sooner for a strategy meeting. Anyway, listen to me. From now on, we must move in earnest.”
Detective Baron took the lead in explaining the plan. To be honest, calling his plan a “strategy” was a bit embarrassing.
“There are three Taylor John candidates in total. Coincidentally, there are also three people gathered here. So, each of us will mark one.”
“And if they try to commit a murder, we stop them and then contact each other?”
“Exactly!”
Was a plan like this… really okay?
“Each of them is a formidable figure; will that even work?”
“We’ll find out once we try. Or do you have an alternative?”
When the detective asked, no other ideas came to mind.
‘I’m not exactly confident when it comes to using my head.’
It was ironic for a detective to say such a thing, but it was the truth.