Chapter 106 The Phantom of the Opera

When Mr. Swann woke up, he was surprised to find the theater completely dark and empty.

"What's going on?" His head was spinning, and he thought he was dreaming.

A loud thud suddenly struck his eardrum, startling him so much that he couldn't help but cry out, "Who is it?"

The unpredictable and eerie music showed no sign of stopping, and Mr. Swan broke out in a cold sweat. He called out his wife's name, but there was no response.

He mustered his courage and followed the sound of the music, discovering that it was coming from the direction of the pipe organ.

Through the thin veil billowing in the cold wind, he could vaguely see the back of what appeared to be a person dressed in white sitting there.

"Who...who are you?" Mr. Swann dared not take another step forward. He couldn't tell whether he was in a dream or on the set of some horror movie.

Just then, Mr. Swann heard a sound that was completely different from the eerie atmosphere of the theater: a female voice, like heavenly music, was singing an aria, as melodious and beautiful as a musical sprite.

What terrified him even more was that the sound didn't come from the organ, but seemed to be right next to his ear; he even felt as if it was coming from inside his own body.

“Helen, is that you?” Mr. Swan tentatively murmured the name of his daughter who had passed away many years ago.

“Dear Father, it’s been so long. The grace of the resurrection has finally shown mercy and allowed me to come and resolve the knot in my heart that I’ve held for so many years!” The woman suddenly flew up, passing over the man’s head at an extraordinary speed and disappearing without a trace, while the organ music continued.

Mr. Swann, terrified by the fleeting ghostly figure, crouched on the floor, hiding under a theater seat, and pleaded in a trembling voice, "Please, spare me!"

"Dear Father, why are you kneeling and begging for mercy?" This time the voice came from the organ.

"Dear Father, why do you feel guilty?" The voice returned to his ears.

"Dear Father, do you know I died with my eyes wide open in disbelief?" Guan Fengqin once again stole the line.

"Dear Father, how could you refuse to let the police in, even though my body is barely cold? When will I ever see the truth come out!" The voice in my ear uttered a long monologue.

Are you two singing a duet here?

Mr. Cat, who had just taken off his cat costume backstage, complained.

The organ had a speaker installed on it, which was controlled by the young detective. The sound Mr. Swann heard came from the speaker that Bourbon had secretly put in his jacket pocket before the show started.

As for the so-called female ghost, she's just a two-dimensional character!

"Damn it! How dare they steal my lines!"

The golden retriever and the little detective thought angrily.

“Helen, my daughter… I… I haven’t done anything to wrong you!” Mr. Swan said, his voice choked with tears.

"Dear Dad, do you remember where this place is?"

"Dear Dad, this is my first time officially performing on stage!"

Is it really meaningful for the two of you to be asking and answering yourselves like this?

Mr. Cat, unable to get a word in edgewise, simply gave up and listened to the opera: the performance had taken too much of his energy, and he needed a rest.

“Helen… oh yes, I remember, I remember it so clearly! You sang Amazing Grace, didn’t you?” Mr. Swan regained some of his senses, pinching himself hard, but he couldn’t wake up from this nightmare no matter what he did.

"Oh, Father! Since you remember all this, why did you have the heart to abandon me? Is that all the love you have for me?"

“Helen, of course I love you,” Mr. Swann argued vehemently. “Although I haven’t visited your grave these past few years, your father still loves you!”

"Cold-hearted father, why did you put me in this fire?" Guan Fengqin asked.

The golden retriever was somewhat displeased, thinking: "Little kitten, can't you stop taking sides?! What if you're wrong? You should make him tell the truth himself!"

Bourbon then tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Cold-hearted father, why did you push me into the abyss of hell?"

In this way, what was once the fire at Neuschwanstein Castle 20 years ago has become a hellish inferno.

“Helen, your father is doing this all for your own good!” Mr. Swann cried out. “Don’t you also long to be free from your suffering? My nightingale, my lark! Your singing is so beautiful now, isn’t this what you’ve always dreamed of?”

The melodious singing was entirely synthesized using sound simulation software developed by Mr. Cat; Bourbon's singing ability is actually quite good. But when the tone-deaf little detective starts singing, it truly turns into a horror movie.

Mr. Swan's words caught the attention of the three: Could it be that Miss Swan ruined her voice in the fire?

This was something they hadn't anticipated.

According to their investigation, Mr. Swan's first wife loved their daughter dearly and even passed away shortly after her death. However, Mr. Swan's attitude towards his daughter was rather complicated; he cherished her dearly in his early years, but neglected her after her death.

Therefore, the young detective suspects that Miss Swan's true cause of death is related to her father.

"At first, I thought Miss Swan was burned at the stake by Osiris. Burning at the stake was typically used in religious trials to expel heretics, which fits Judas's character. But then I saw the date of her death on Miss Swan's tombstone and realized something was wrong: she died after the fire. While it's possible the Swans changed the date to cover their tracks, I think that's highly unlikely. Death anniversaries are important, aren't they?" the young detective said.

"So what do you think was Miss Swan's cause of death? It couldn't have been her father who killed her, could it? What was the motive?" The cat father was utterly puzzled.

"It could be related to the organization, or it could be related to remarriage."

However, Miss Swan's own factors were never considered in the young detective's reasoning.

At this moment, the case became increasingly perplexing.

This makeshift film set is unsafe; the gates could be breached at any moment. They misjudged the situation from the start, so how can they continue their charade now? Besides, Bourbon's mission isn't finished yet!

"Father, oh Father, do you know how much I yearn for life?" Guan Fengqin asked.

"Father, oh Father, do you know that the shadow of death is creeping closer?" A voice rang in my ears.

"Wait a minute, isn't investigating the case more important?"

The young detective stomped his feet in anger. However, he didn't expect that Bourbon's impromptu line would have such an unexpected effect.

"Helen, please don't take me away!" Mr. Swan pleaded desperately. "I poisoned you because I saw you were in despair. I admit there was arsenic in that pudding. But... but you must understand, this has nothing to do with your mother. I don't love her anymore, but I still love you! I've never held a grudge against you for telling your mother; I just couldn't bear to see you suffer anymore! Your mother has always been reluctant to let you go, but I know you've long since given up on life. Helen, please forgive me!"

Hearing this confession, the ghost-playing group roughly understood the story's outline: Miss Swan discovered her father and mother's estrangement and told her mother about it. Was Miss Swan's death due to her father's decision to end her life because of her ruined voice and subsequent depression, or was she a victim of family conflict?

“Dear Father, do you know how much I miss you? Why won’t you offer me a bouquet of tulips?” Guan Fengqin asked again.

“Helen, I… I dare not…” Mr. Swann, trembling with fear, replied, “After you died, a demon whispered in my ear, threatening and intimidating me! He forbade me from visiting your grave and ordered me to keep the police out!”

"You mean to say that this whole thing we're putting on is something Osiris did 20 years ago?!"

The young detective was so angry he almost quit on the spot.

So here's the question: what caused the fire in the castle 20 years ago? And why did Osiris continue to haunt Miss Swann even after her death?

"Dear Dad, please don't panic, I will protect you." The voice in my ear comforted me.

“Helen, my good daughter!” Mr. Swann was moved to tears.

"Dear Father, please remember my instructions, or your life may be in danger!"

"Helen, you tell me, I'll do whatever you say!"

"Foolish father, cooperation does not necessarily lead to a win-win situation; if you suffer losses and are cheated, you will lose everything!"

Mr. Swan composed himself and asked, "Helen, are you saying that the person who came with me today is not trustworthy?"

"Dear Dad, people's hearts are unpredictable, don't trust them too easily!"

"I understand. I will never associate with him again. Helen, thank you!"

"Dear Dad, I'm leaving now. If you love me, remember to place a tulip on my grave; it's my favorite flower!"

With a whoosh, the lights in the grand theater came on. The doors opened, and a group of firefighters rushed in.

"Mr. Swann, are you alright?!"

The man wiped the sweat from his brow and replied weakly, "Thank you, I'm fine."

The cats and dogs dressed as ghosts quickly left the scene.

"Joseph, it seems that only one person can answer all the questions."

"Yes, Mr. Swann didn't mention anything about Mr. Karasuma, and considering Osiris's threat, I think Mr. Swann probably doesn't know that there's a skeleton in the secret room of his daughter's room, right?"

“However, we still don’t have a chance of defeating Osiris in the current situation…” the cat father sighed.

"Dad, where are we going next?"

"Let's stay in the UK for now and make some plans later."

However, something happened the next morning that disrupted their plans: Ran suddenly called Conan.

"Conan, the detective agency received a letter addressed to you. How should I give it to you?" Ran asked.

"Huh? Who sent this?" Conan was surprised because he had completely moved out of the agency after leaving Japan, lying that he had gone back to his parents' house. Why would someone send him a letter?

"I don't know, it's anonymous. The envelope only says 'Give to Conan Edogawa.'"

"Then please give it to the professor, Sister Xiaolan! He will pass it on to me."

The anonymous letter reached Dr. Agasa's hands, and when he showed its contents to Conan during a video call, the young detective's expression changed drastically.

"Dad, let's go back to China."