◈ Episode 267 The Shadow Calls for Requiem (2)
Countless invitations have been sent to Casey since the case of James Moriarty.
Most of the people who sent the invitations were famous nobles from the Delica Kingdom.
They wanted to make a kite with the detective who somehow saved the country.
Casey was not a commoner, but she was the daughter of a famous magic family, Selmore, so it was inevitable that she would be a coveted partner.
However, Casey ignored all invitations sent to him.
Casey, who declined all invitations, visited only one place.
“You look intact, Duke Ludwig.”
Casey confronts Duke Ludwig Vencanto in the new drawing room.
She looked around.
The number of escorts was greater than before, and the atmosphere they exuded was also vicious.
There were no windows, so it was not like a reception room to welcome guests, but a bunker that was blocked from the outside.
‘It must have been quite a shock to have even been trusted by the escorts.’
What showed it most clearly was Ludwig’s emaciated appearance.
Only two days had passed since that day, and he looked ten years older.
“M-I’m sorry, Detective Casey. To be greeted like this.”
“no. You don’t really care.”
Ludwig was wrapped in a thick blanket.
Even so, the chills did not go away, and his lips were even pale.
The room was not cold. Rather, it felt hot even from Casey’s point of view.
Still, Ludwig was trembling.
Exactly, I was afraid.
“Detective Casey. Is James Moriarty dead?”
Duke Ludwig Vencanto’s expression was not very good, as if he was ashamed to ask such a question.
He was of noble lineage from birth and was a nobleman who inherited the family at a young age.
Outstanding looks, brilliant speech skills, and personal connections that no one will fall for.
The future that lay ahead for Ludwig was so bright that it was dazzling.
Therefore, Ludwig had no doubt that he was the chosen one.
But by one person, the world he knew was completely shattered.
“Is that monster really dead?”
Ludwig barely moves his trembling lips and asks a question for confirmation.
He still remembered the warning given by James Moriarty that day.
-Don’t be relieved. I’ll be back soon.
Ludwig, who was completely imprinted with fear, couldn’t sleep properly after that day.
Every time I ate, I vomited, and I couldn’t lift a single object properly with my trembling hands.
Casey couldn’t help but realize what state Ludwig was in.
He’s crazy now.
It was the appearance of a person who had experienced failure and setbacks for the first time while running only on the road to success.
The more self-respecting a person is, the bigger the shock would be, but Ludwig was shocked.
And most of them eventually collapse without recovering the confidence of the past.
It was natural to convey comfort and courage, but Casey didn’t want to do that.
“Before that, there is something I want to ask you.”
“What do you mean? What is more important now than whether James Moriarty is alive or dead… … .”
“I saw the lab.”
“… … .”
At the word laboratory, a slight reaction arose in Ludwig’s expression.
Even though Casey knew it, he deliberately didn’t point it out.
“Deep underground under an abandoned coal mine, there is a huge, secret laboratory. James Moriarty was doing something there.”
“The reason I’m suddenly talking about it is… … .”
“Just listen. Apparently, on the surface, it must be a horrific experiment carried out behind the scenes by criminal James Moriarty.”
“… … .”
At the word superficial, Ludwig furrowed his eyebrows.
But instead of arguing right away, he waited for Casey’s next words.
“But it is strange. It would take a lot of money to build a laboratory of that size.”
where is the money?
Where to get professional workers and where to get materials from?
When a project of that scale is underway, information will inevitably leak out.
But no one knew that there was a laboratory there.
“I wonder if an individual could have done that.”
“James Moriarty is not the godfather of crime. He may have used his criminals to do that.”
“is that so? But James Moriarty’s move was also strange. A person of that level, why did he do something like a university professor?”
“… … He was a person with a high social reputation, so he might have been the best person to establish his identity.”
Ludwig glared at Casey without hiding his annoyance.
“Detective Casey. Why are you saying this now? Are you really trying to say that James Moriarty didn’t really do anything bad?”
“I do not deny the man’s sin. No matter what anyone says, it doesn’t change the fact that they killed people to escape the law.”
Just, Casey continued.
“Isn’t it unfair that there are other people who have done bad things, and they don’t get any punishment?”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
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Ludwig was in denial until the very end.
I knew Casey would answer like that.
There is only psychological evidence, after the physical evidence has already disappeared.
In the first place, there is no way that someone like Ludwig could have easily left traces related to him.
so that.
Casey Selmore was unable to formally arrest Duke Ludwig Vencanto.
Perhaps Ludwig knew that, and his face became more relaxed.
“You seem to have nothing more to say.”
“Yes, I see.”
Casey meekly agreed with Ludwig’s words.
There was no way she could do anything more here.
Perhaps, even if he was forced to arrest him, Ludwig would be able to use his personal connections to get an immediate pardon.
It was an obvious future drawn without even looking at it.
“Oh, you asked what happened to Professor James Moriarty just now?”
“… … Yes, it was.”
At the sudden name of James Moriarty, Ludwig’s relaxed expression quickly rotted away.
“Officially, James Moriarty has been declared dead. Yes, officially.”
“… … .”
Duke Ludwig bit his lip.
He tried not to show it, but overflowing fear leaked out of his eyes.
“What do you mean? Didn’t you say you defeated him at the end!”
“That’s what the bigots like to talk about. It’s true that he fought, but I don’t know exactly whether he was dead or alive.”
“Then it is possible that he died… … .”
“There must be.”
“Well then!”
“But curiously, they said that no other body was found near the waterfall where I was found.”
Casey got up from his seat.
She smiled at Ludwig.
“Isn’t that amazing?”
“That, like that… … .”
“Maybe the man is still alive. And if he’s alive, where else is he probably sneaking around to achieve an end he didn’t reach?”
“That, if that man were alive! Aren’t you dangerous too!”
“Why me?”
“Having a reputation for taking down James Moriarty, if he is still alive… … !”
“Then you can go and catch it again.”
With those words, Casey was about to leave the drawing room, leaving Ludwig in despair.
“Oh.”
“… … ?”
When Casey suddenly stopped and turned around, Ludwig gave him a puzzled look.
“It would be good to make a window. That person seems to appear wherever there is darkness.”
“… … !”
The moment he heard those words, Ludwig, who was traumatized, rolled his eyes and passed out.
“Lu, Duke Ludwig!”
“Go and call the priest!”
Leaving his bewildered escorts behind, Casey left the drawing room.
Judging by Ludwig’s reaction, he will suffer from anxiety, fear, and obsessive-compulsive disorder for the rest of his life.
This was the maximum punishment Casey could inflict on Ludwig now.
* * *
The next place Casey, who came from the Duke of Bencanto, headed was an abandoned coal mine with a laboratory.
Moving while hiding her body with a thin film of water around her body, she eventually arrived at her destination.
A huge hole in the basement.
And even the capsule hidden inside the bush near it.
‘The investigation hasn’t reached this point yet.’
Or maybe he deliberately avoided this place.
Casey approached the capsule and checked inside.
Inside was a small, petite girl.
Blonde with fair skin.
It was like the first human being made by God as the first creature in the Bible, or an angel that they sent down to the earth.
A vivid appearance that seems to be alive and breathing right now.
To that extent, the girl in front of him was an elaborately crafted ‘doll’.
‘An automaton created using clockwork and advanced science and technology.’
When I put my hand over the surface of the capsule, steam gushed out from the seam on the front and the lid opened.
Casey was taken aback and stepped back.
Inside the opened capsule, the girl automaton opened its eyes.
“… … .”
The clear, clear gaze of the girl who raised her upper body was directed at Casey.
The girl’s head tilted slightly to the side.
“Who are you?”
I didn’t mean to wake him up, but it seemed like something had gone wrong.
Casey pondered over what to say, but eventually came up with an appropriate answer.
“The person who picked you up.”
“… … ?”
It was an automaton that had just opened its eyes, but its eyes were asking, ‘What are you talking about?’
This was his first meeting with Betty, who would later become Casey’s assistant.
* * *
Casey Selmore opened her eyes.
As I rolled my eyes and looked around, the unorganized interior of the room caught my eye.
“here is… … .”
own room.
To be precise, it was her quarters nestled in Ledervelk’s residential district.
Casey Selmore realized in that moment.
That he had finished his memory storm and woke up from his dream and returned to reality.
Squeak.
Looking at the amount of sunlight outside, I fell asleep and it didn’t seem like very long had passed.
However, in her dreams, she spent many times, no, dozens of times longer than this.
Casey slowly rose from the bed.
My body was heavy.
Rather, it felt stuffy, as if there was a heavy lump of lead sitting near my chest.
“ah.”
For an instant, my vision was blurred.
Jureuk.
Tears welled up in his eyes and ran down his cheeks.
Casey, who wiped her cheeks with trembling fingertips, realized belatedly that she had shed tears.
Casey could see why.
“I, I… … .”
Perhaps it was because she had been assimilated with that memory for a long time, the pain and suffering of that day spread like bruises over her emotions.
I just wanted a little happiness.
Even so, the world took something precious from him.
Even the right to be sad was not given to that man.
I can’t shed tears even though I’m suffering from something.
I couldn’t even spit out the sadness and anger that was rising.
Still, I got up and walked.
Because someone had to pay for their sins.
holding a sword holding a gun
It was a thorny road full of criticism and pain.
Because that was the requiem that the man had chosen to honor the dead.
“Huh.”
The relief that the truth has been solved, the lingering regret of why he didn’t know then, the stubbornness that the man’s thawing can’t be justified, and the pity for him who suffered without anyone knowing.
All sorts of complicated emotions seemed to squeeze and inflict pain on my heart like a skein of thread.
so painful
It was so depressing that I couldn’t even see a way to solve it properly.
What bothered Casey the most was Ludger’s feelings for her.
‘That man was sorry for me until the end.’
Even though he said something he didn’t mean to say, the man felt sorry for himself and respected his choice to risk his life.
It was for this reason that he saved himself in the end.
‘Actually, I hated that man.’
He blamed him, firmly believing that he had betrayed himself and committed a bad deed.
In a way, she too had been tricked by Ludger, and it was no different than following his will.
But that made Casey angry with herself.
Why didn’t I notice then?
He was called a genius and a detective, so why didn’t he know?
The fact that Rudger cheated and couldn’t help it is, after all, just an excuse.
In the end, he was lacking in himself and stupid.
‘What is a genius detective? What is the hero who saved the country? The real hero is rather that man… … .’
The man who couldn’t save a boy saved a country nonetheless.
But she is known for saving a country.
In fact, no one was saved.
Casey sat down.
How silently I must have sobbed because I couldn’t bear the rising self-hatred.
A soft hand rested on Casey’s head.
“Casey, are you crying?”
“… … .”
Casey raised his head.
There was Betty, squatting there, looking at herself with a worried look on her face.
“Where are you sick? You weren’t hurt from the last raid, were you?”
“… … .”
“Oh, are you sure it’s real? uh, well I’m not particularly competent enough to provide comfort.”
Even as Betty said that, she gently stroked Casey’s hair with her hand.
Betty smiled awkwardly as Casey looked at her with a questioning look.
“Why are you petting me? Mmm. I do not know. Why would I? But somehow, I had a vague idea that it should be like this.”
“Betty… … .”
“It’s a little strange, but it’s so sincere. To be honest, I think Casey is having such a hard time, but it doesn’t suit her. I like the more lively Casey.”
because.
Betty followed it up.
“Because it was Casey who saved me the day we first met.”
“… … .”
At Betty’s words, Casey felt his stuffy heart loosen up.
All the anguish that made my head dizzy was washed away like cold water.
there was.
Although she couldn’t save anyone and didn’t even know the truth, she was drowning in self-hatred.
Still, there was someone who saved him.
“… … under.”
Casey let out a faint laugh, as if he had been worrying for nothing.
“That’s right. This is definitely not like me.”
“Oh, did you recover right away?”
“okay. Thanks for clearing my head thank you. I’ll go out for a while.”
“Where are you going?”
“To Seorn Academy.”
