Chapter 4

“For a second, I thought he’d become my Watson… Sorry for expecting anything from you, you country mutt.”

“Is there something on my face?”

Daniel touched his face.

“Hehe. No.”

Shiorin replied with a smile before immediately turning serious again.

By now, Catherine had calmed down somewhat after finishing a full glass of water. However, she quickly resumed speaking, spraying spit everywhere in her excitement.

“Now you all understand, right?! Our delicate Miss Sullivan couldn’t even kill an ant! So how could she possibly commit murder? Murder! The very idea! My lady has already collapsed from shock, and I’m losing my mind over this! Isn’t that right, Martha?”

Martha nodded vigorously under Catherine’s intense gaze.

The country dog did the same.

The pressure in the room was immense.

But Shiorin was a professional.

Catherine’s conviction was admirable, but facts were still facts.

Sitting in the now-crowded reception room with her fingers intertwined, Shiorin slowly shook her head.

“I understand your feelings, ma’am. However, testimony about Miss Sullivan’s usual character cannot serve as proof that she didn’t commit murder.”

Shiorin rubbed her forehead.

“Let’s review the situation again. Three days ago, at dawn, a body was discovered in Northling Forest. The victim was thirty-one-year-old Gallagher Longstein.”

He was the third son of Baron Longstein.

He had been found dead from a stab wound to the abdomen.

The cause of death was excessive blood loss.

The guards investigated the crime scene and found a bloodstained silk handkerchief believed to belong to the killer.

“And that handkerchief belonged to Miss Sullivan, correct? Miss Sullivan has also already confessed to killing him with a self-defense knife.”

“Are you suspecting my lady?!”

Catherine’s eyes turned red as her lips trembled.

She looked ready to storm out at any moment, but Martha grabbed her firmly.

“Shiorin, isn’t there some way around this? I’ve met Miss Sullivan a few times myself. She was so delicate she looked thinner than you. Honestly, she didn’t seem like someone who could hurt a person. She was even scared of the tiny bugs that sit on peaches.”

“Exactly! My lady is so afraid of knives she can barely hold one!”

Catherine cried out, her voice shaking.

Then her emotions overwhelmed her and she began wailing.

“Oh, my poor lady! Oh, my poor lady!”

She sobbed loudly.

As Shiorin massaged her throbbing temple, she looked at her housemate.

And at that exact moment, their eyes met.

“…Mr. Daniel Howard.”

“Yes!”

Daniel immediately straightened up like a soldier.

“Could you stand up for a moment?”

There was something slightly threatening in her tone.

Daniel visibly panicked.

After fumbling awkwardly for a moment, he reluctantly got to his feet.

Just as he was about to leave the reception room—

Grab!

Someone caught his wrist.

A hand wearing a white glove.

Surprisingly, it was Shiorin, the very person who had told him to stand up.

“I said stand up. Did I tell you to leave?”

“Ah…”

“Just stand there for a second.”

Daniel quickly adjusted his thick-rimmed glasses and stood at attention.

Martha and Catherine watched with confused expressions.

Then Shiorin suddenly muttered,

“As far as I know, Baron Longstein and all three of his sons were severely obese. I’ve even seen their family portrait in the newspaper.”

“And?”

Daniel’s eyes sparkled with interest.

Shiorin gave him a look that clearly said, “If only you talked less.”

Then she continued calmly.

“Remarkably, they all looked alike. The father and all three sons. Every single one of them.”

She finished speaking.

Then she looked at the two women.

“…”

“…”

Considering the dramatic buildup, neither woman seemed impressed.

Their expressions clearly said, “So what?”

Seeing they still didn’t understand, Shiorin explained again.

“I’m saying they were all tall pigs.”

Martha looked at Catherine.

“…”

“…”

Unfortunately, both women still looked equally confused.

At that moment, Daniel suddenly slapped his hands together.

His face lit up.

“Excessive blood loss!”

“Bingo, Watson!”

Shiorin smiled at the bewildered women.

She opened a drawer, took something out, and began explaining.

“A moment ago, Martha said Miss Sullivan is even more delicate than I am. Martha never exaggerates about these things.”

“That’s true.”

“And Catherine said Miss Sullivan rarely even leaves the house.”

“…So?”

“Then let’s assume she exercises less than I do and has less muscle mass than I do. Now, I’ve seen Baron Longstein before. He’s about Daniel’s size. Which means Gallagher Longstein was probably about Daniel’s size too. Daniel, could you hold this cushion for me?”

Daniel took the cushion and held it in front of him.

“The cause of death was excessive blood loss from an abdominal wound. But in cases of severe obesity, fat accumulates in the front of the body. To reach the aorta, you’d need to stab with tremendous force. However…”

Stab!

“Eek!”

“Oh heavens!”

The two women screamed.

Because Shiorin had suddenly stabbed Daniel with all her strength.

At least, that’s what it looked like.

When she pulled the knife back, white feathers floated through the air.

She had actually stabbed the thick cushion he was holding.

Daniel smiled reassuringly at the frightened women.

“I’m fine.”

Shiorin continued.

“With a tiny self-defense knife like this, the kind women typically carry, you could never reach the aorta. And when someone is stabbed, their muscles instinctively contract, making it even harder to reach.”

Daniel nodded.

“And if I were Miss Sullivan, I would’ve gone for the neck immediately. No one would choose to stab a huge belly covered in layers of fat using such a short knife.”

Catherine stared at Shiorin with her mouth hanging open.

Then life suddenly returned to her face.

“Oh! Oh my goodness!”

“So then, Detective! Does that mean—?!”

Shiorin carefully removed a feather stuck to Daniel’s clothes.

Then she blew it away and raised the corner of her mouth.

“We need to meet Miss Sullivan.”

She smiled.

“There’s a high chance she isn’t the killer.”

***

Clatter. Clatter.

The sun was setting.

Orange light filled the sky and shone through the carriage windows.

Two people sat facing each other inside.

One of them looked utterly exhausted.

Wearing gloves, Shiorin held her head in her hands.

“This isn’t good.”

She let out a long sigh.

They were returning from visiting Miss Sullivan in prison.

But the visit had been completely useless.

“I killed Gallagher Longstein! I stabbed him with a knife and killed him!”

Like someone possessed, Miss Sullivan had repeated those same words over and over.

Catherine had cried and begged beside her, but it made no difference.

At this rate, the upcoming trial in two days would be disastrous for her.

The criminal laws of the Therman Empire were strict.

Especially when a noble was murdered.

Unless the culprit was royalty, the punishment could be execution regardless of social status.

“Why did it have to be Baron Longstein?”

To make matters worse, Baron Longstein was one of the wealthiest men in the South.

His son had been killed, and he was furious.

His influence in the Southern Region could not be underestimated.

Meanwhile, Miss Sullivan was tragically the daughter of a declining count’s family.

“And the trial will be held in the Southern District Court. If Longstein has already exerted his influence, she’ll be sentenced to death. Ugh, this is driving me crazy. I should’ve used my ability today!”

Unfortunately, visiting hours had ended before she could touch Miss Sullivan and view her memories.

Visitors were only allowed once every twenty-four hours.

She would have to wait until tomorrow.

“And we don’t have much time.”

Thunk.

Shiorin leaned her head against the carriage window.

Then she looked up.

Across from her sat a man with kind eyes, wearing brown suspenders and a blue shirt.

Bern Howard’s grandson.

The man who had somehow become her assistant.

A smile escaped her.

If he hadn’t come to the capital…

What would he be doing right now?

“…Probably pulling turnips out of a field.”

Oh right.

He was a doctor.

“Huh? Turnips?”

“Daniel. If someone didn’t actually kill a person… what reason do you think they would have for confessing anyway?”

The sudden question caught him off guard.

“Uh…”

He trailed off and began thinking.

His surprisingly long eyelashes lowered over his blue eyes.

“Most likely… guilt.”

His voice was lower than usual.

“…What?”

Still staring at the carriage floor, Daniel continued slowly.

“There aren’t many emotions stronger than guilt.”

“…”

“Maybe it’s because I’m a doctor. Whenever a patient had a bad outcome, I’d lie awake wondering… Would they have lived if I’d done something differently? Could I have saved them another way? Those thoughts never stop. That’s when I learned just how suffocating guilt can be.”

“…”

A moment ago, Shiorin had been imagining him harvesting turnips.

Now she felt deeply ashamed.

“Good grief.”

No matter how she looked at it, he was a doctor.

A real doctor.

Unable to speak for a moment, she suddenly brightened.

“I agree, Watson. I’ve seen several cases where guilt was the spark behind everything. I’ve seen people who survived accidents alone and later committed suicide. I’ve seen people develop mental illness because of guilt toward someone they loved.”

“Wat… I see. Then they must have loved that person very much.”

Daniel nodded sympathetically.

Shiorin nodded back.

Then—

“…Huh?”

Her brows furrowed.

Clap!

Suddenly, she slapped her hands together.

Her eyes widened.

“Why didn’t I think of that?!”