The flashback is finally over.
After James Moriarty's incident, Casey received countless invitations.
Most of the people who sent the invitations were the prestigious nobles of the Delica Kingdom. They tried to make a connection with a detective who somehow saved the country.
Casey was not a commoner, but was part of the famous magic family Selmore, so she was coveted by many. Still, Casey ignored all the invitations that came to her, except for one.
"You look safe, Duke Ludwig."
Casey faced Duke Ludwig Venkanto in the new drawing room.
She looked around.
The number of guards was higher than before, and the atmosphere they gave off was brutal, perhaps to maintain security even more thoroughly than before.
There were no windows, so it was like a bunker blocked from the outside, not a reception room for guests.
'Perhaps it was quite a shock that he was attacked even with his trusted escorts.'
Ludwig's emaciated appearance now showed it most clearly.
It's only been two days since that day and he looked ten years older.
"Mi, I'm sorry, Detective Casey. I'm so glad to meet you like this."
"No, I don't really care."
Ludwig wore a thick blanket around him. Nevertheless, his lips even flew away as if the chills did not go away.
The room was not cold. On the contrary, Casey feels that it was hot. And yet Ludwig was trembling.
He was afraid, to be exact.
"Detective Casey. James Moriarty, is he dead?"
Duke Ludwig Venkanto didn't look very good because he was ashamed to ask such a question.
He was of noble descent from birth and an aristocrat who succeeded to his family at a young age. Outstanding appearance, brilliant speech skills, and connections that won't lose to anyone.
Ludwig's future was bright, that's why Ludwig believed he was the chosen one but the world he knew was completely destroyed by one person.
"Is the monster really dead?"
Ludwig, who manages to move his trembling lips and asks questions to confirm.
He still remembered the warning that James Moriarty gave that day.
– Don't be so relieved. I'll be right back.
Ludwig, whose fear of James Moriarty was completely imprinted, has not slept well since that day.
When he ate, he felt nauseous every time, and he couldn't lift an object properly with his hands that couldn't stop shaking.
Casey had no choice but to realize that Ludwig was out of his mind now.
It was often seen that most of the people who experienced failures and frustrations for the first time while running only on the road of success eventually collapse without restoring their old confidence.
The stronger the self-esteem, the more shocking it would be, but would Ludwig have died.
It was natural to convey comfort and courage, but Casey did not want to.
"Before that, I want to ask you something."
"What do you mean? Now what's more important than whether James Moriarty is alive or not……."
"I saw the laboratory."
"……."
The word laboratory caused a slight change in Ludwig's expression.
Casey knew it but didn't point it out on purpose.
"Deep underground under the abandoned coal mine, there was a secret giant laboratory. James Moriarty was doing something there."
"The reason why I'm suddenly talking about it…."
"…."
"Obviously, on the surface, it's a terrible experiment that criminal James Moriarty secretly conducted behind the scenes."
"……."
Ludwig frowned at her words.
But instead of trying to argue right away, he waited for Casey's next words.
"But it's weird. It will take a lot of money to build a laboratory of that size."
Where is the money from?
Where should professional workers be obtained, and where should materials be airlifted?
As construction of that size progresses, information will inevitably leak out but no one knew there was a laboratory at the site.
"I wonder if an individual could have done it."
"James Moriarty is the godfather of the criminal world. He could have done it using his criminals."
"Really? But James Moriarty's move was also strange. Why did such a person became a university professor?"
"……may have been the best position to be in because he is a person with a high social reputation."
Ludwig glared at Casey, not hiding his annoyance.
"Detective Casey, why are you saying this now? Do you want to say that James Moriarty didn't actually do anything bad?"
"I don't deny his guilt. No matter what anyone says, the fact that he killed a person doesn't change."
However, Casey continued.
"Isn't it unfair that there are more people who have done bad things, and they don't get punished?"
"I don't understand what you're saying."
Ludwig was shameless to the end.
He knew Casey would say that but all the physical evidence has already disappeared.
In the first place, a person in a high position like Ludwig would not have easily left a mark related to him.
So Casey Selmore was unable to formally arrest the Duke of Ludwig Venkanto.
Perhaps Ludwig knew it, but his face was more relaxed.
"You don't seem to have anything else to say."
"Yes, I don't."
Casey accepted Ludwig's words without hesitation. There was no way she could do anything more here.
Perhaps even if she was forced to arrest him, Ludwig could use his personal connections to get out quickly.
"Oh, did you ask about Professor James Moriarty a moment ago?"
"……Yes, I did."
The expression of Ludwig, who was relaxed, quickly rotted at the name James Moriarty.
"Officially, James Moriarty was reportedly killed. Yes, officially."
"……."
Duke Ludwig bit his lips.
He tried not to make it obvious, but a flowing fear was leaking out of his eyes.
"What are you talking about? Didn't you say you knocked him down at the end?"
"That's what the loud talkers said. We fought, but I don't know exactly if he's dead or alive."
"Then the possibility of death……."
"There must be."
"Well, then!"
"But strangely enough, no other body was found in the vicinity of the waterfall where I was found."
Casey got up from her seat and smiled at Ludwig.
"Isn't that fascinating?"
"Well, that……."
"Maybe he's alive. And he's alive, wouldn't he be sneaking around somewhere and trying to accomplish something he hasn't accomplished?"
"If he's alive you'll also be in danger."
"Why me?"
"You have earned a reputation for defeating James Moriarty, and if he is alive……!"
"You can catch him again then."
Casey tried to leave the drawing room with Ludwig, who was in despair at the end of the sentence.
"Oh, by the way."
"……?"
Casey suddenly stopped and turned around, while Ludwig looked at her with a questioning gaze.
"It would be better to make a window. He seems to appear everywhere in the dark."
"……!"
As soon as he heard that, Ludwig, who was stimulated by trauma, opened his eyes wide and fainted.
"Lou, Duke Ludwig!"
"Go get the priest!"
Leaving behind his bewildered escorts, Casey left the drawing room.
Looking at Ludwig's response, he will suffer from anxiety, fear and obsessive compulsion for life. This was all the punishment Casey could give Ludwig now.
* * *
The next place Casey headed after leaving the Venkanto residence was the abandoned coal mine where the laboratory was located.
Moving around with a thin film of water around her body, she soon arrived at her destination.
The huge hole in the basement with a capsule inside the bushes hidden near it.
'The investigation is not over yet.'
Or maybe he avoided this place on purpose.
Casey approached the capsule and checked the inside.
What was in it was a small, small girl with White skin and blonde hair. She looked like the first human being in the Bible that God made or an angel sent down to earth.
Her vivid appearance makes Casey feel like she's going woke up at any moment
To that extent, the girl in front of her was an elaborately made 'doll', an automaton made using mechanical spring devices and advanced technology.
When she reached over the surface of the capsule, steam erupted from the joints at the front and the lid opened.
Casey stepped back in a little surprise and inside the open capsule, the girl automaton opened her eyes.
"……."
The transparent clear gaze of the girl turned to Casey and the girl's head tilted slightly to the side.
"Who are you?"
She didn't mean to wake her up, but something seemed to have activated.
Casey pondered what to say, and then came up with a suitable answer.
"The one who picked you up."
"……?"
The automaton just opened her eyes wide, but her eyes were asking, 'What the hell are you talking about?'
This was the first meeting with Betty, who would later be Casey's assistant.
* * *
Casey Selmore opened her eyes. As she rolled her eyes and looked around, the unorganized scenery inside the room stood out.
"This is…"
It was her accommodation located in the residential area of Leathervelk.
Casey Selmore realized at that moment that she came back to reality after finishing the memory storming.
Looking at the amount of sunlight outside, it didn't seem like much time passed since she fell asleep but in her dreams she spent much more time.
Casey slowly rose from the bed and felt frustrated as if there was a heavy lump of lead near her chest.
"Ah."
For a moment her vision was blurred and tears flowed down her cheek.
Casey, who wiped her cheeks with trembling fingertips, belatedly realized that she had shed tears.
"I, I……."
Perhaps because she had been assimilated with the memory for a long time, the pain and suffering from it spread like a bruise over her feelings.
He just wanted a little happiness. Nevertheless, the world took what was precious from him and he wasn't even entitled to grieve.
He couldn't shed tears even though he's suffering and couldn't even vent his rising sadness and anger.
Nevertheless, he stood up and kept going because someone had to pay for their sins.
He walked on a thorny path full of criticism and pain because it was his choice of a ritual to honor the dead.
She finally discovered the truth but the lingering feeling of why she didn't know at that time, the insistence that the man's thaw could not be justified, and the pity for him who suffered without anyone knowing overshadowed that.
All kinds of complex emotions seemed to inflict pain by squeezing her heart like a thread.
It's so painful that she couldn't even find a way to solve it.
Among them, what made Casey the most distressed was the feelings Rudger showed.
'The man, he felt sorry for me until the end.'
Despite his insincere remarks, the man felt sorry for her and respected her life-threatening choice. That's why he saved her at the end.
"I hated that man."
She rebuked him, believing that he betrayed her.
In a way, she was also deceived by Rudger, but that's why Casey is angry with herself.
Why didn't she notice then?
Why didn't she know when she was called a genius and a detective?
In the end it was only an excuse because she was lacking.
'What do you mean genius detective? What hero saved the country? The real hero is that man…….'
The man who couldn't save a boy saved a country.
Casey sank into her seat and sobbed silently because she couldn't stand the rising self-hatred but then a soft touch of hands was placed over Casey's head.
"Casey, are you crying?"
"……."
Casey raised his head and saw Betty squatting and looking at her with a worried face.
"Are you sick?" You didn't get hurt from the last attack, did you?"
"……."
"Oh, is it true? Uh, well, I'm not particularly competent enough to comfort you."
Betty stroked Casey's head with her hand while saying so and smiled awkwardly when Casey looked at her with a look of what's wrong.
"Why are you stroking me?"
"Hmm. I don't know why? But somehow, I had a vague idea that I should do this."
"Betty…"
"It's a little strange, but I mean it that much. I honestly think that Casey is having a hard time, but it doesn't suit her. I like a more energetic Casey."
Betty went on to say it.
"The first day we met, Casey saved me."
"……."
At Betty's words, Casey felt her frustrated heart loose. All the pain that made her head dizzy disappeared like it was washed away in cold water.
She was self-loathing because she couldn't save anyone and didn't even know the truth. Nevertheless, there was a person that she saved.
"……ha."
Casey smiled as if she had been worried for nothing.
"I see. This is definitely not like me."
"Oh, you recovered right away?"
"Yes, thanks to you, my head is clear. Thanks. I'll be out for a while."
"Where are you going?"
"To Theon Academy."