Chapter 81 Chapter 81 The Day of Tears
"I won't do it." Olga refused flatly.
"It's just lying in the coffin for a few hours. It shouldn't be difficult for you?" Vermouth raised an eyebrow.
"When you say 'lie for hours,' do you mean having people take turns laying flowers on you and staring at you?" Olga crossed her arms and stared at Vermouth, a defensive gesture. "Or else, you lie in a coffin, and I'll play 'Chris Wynyard.'"
"Okay." To Olga's surprise, Vermouth agreed easily. A look of joy crossed her face. "Then I'll leave those annoying media outlets to you."
Olga: “…”
Olga hesitated. She didn't like dealing with the media. The New York media wasn't as overly aggressive as the LA media, but...it wasn't that she couldn't handle it; she just didn't like it.
"I can choose not to act at all." Olga raised her chin. "Anyway, as long as it's 'lying in a coffin for a few hours,' you can just find someone to disguise them and let them lie there."
"Ah, even playing a corpse requires acting skills. Arthas, this scene cannot afford to fail."
Vermouth leaned against the French window, the light behind her making it impossible for Olga to see her face clearly in the pitch-black room.
Olga couldn't refute this statement. She admitted that Vermouth had a point. But she still asked, "Why should I help you act?"
A goblet appeared in Vermouth's hand, dark red wine flowing quietly into it. She shook the goblet, and Olga heard her chuckle: "You will help me, Arthas."
"I won't." Olga said with the usual sarcasm she used when talking to Vermouth, "After all, I'm not some helpful angel."
“Then I can only—” Vermouth dragged out her tone, her eyes narrowed with subtle threats, “Go ask the boss—”
"I'll go." Before Vermouth could finish her words, Olga interrupted her with a gloomy face.
If Vermouth told her boss about this, he would definitely ask Olga to cooperate. Rather than answering another call from her boss, it would be better to agree now. Olga didn't really want to talk to that old man.
Vermouth chuckled softly upon hearing this. Olga didn't know what was so funny about this; she wasn't in a good mood anyway.
After rolling her eyes at Vermouth, she slammed the door and left Vermouth's room.
And Vermouth?
She stared at the slammed door for a few seconds, then tilted her head back and emptied the wine in the goblet. A drop of dark red wine slowly trickled down the corner of her lips, down her fair, slender neck, and finally onto the hollow above her collarbone, where she casually wiped it away with the back of her hand.
The smile on her face had long since disappeared, replaced by a calmness like before a storm.
Arthas is investigating Ran Mouri and the Kudo family, even though there's really nothing worth investigating about them right now.
*
On April 14, on a gloomy and sunless day, Sharon Wynyard's memorial service was held as scheduled.
The memorial service was lively, in every sense of the word. Celebrities, journalists, and media attended. The entire venue was a constant stream of flashbulbs.
Vermouth shed her years of disguise and appeared before the media and the public in her true self as "Chris Wynyard." Wearing a black veil, she calmly addressed pointed questions from people from all walks of life, perfectly portraying the image of a rebellious female star at odds with her mother.
Olga, who had earlier disguised herself as Sharon Wynyard, lay in her coffin, dressed in formal black. Her hands were clasped across her chest, her face serene and tranquil, as if she had fallen into a long sleep.
Of course, Olga herself was perfectly awake now; she couldn't have really fallen asleep. Playing a dead person wasn't difficult, but doing it continuously for over three hours was exhausting and difficult.
Fortunately, Vermouth had a good conscience. The coffin she had custom-made was large enough so Olga wouldn't feel cramped. The black agarwood the coffin was made of exuded a delicate fragrance, blending with the sweet scent of the flowers placed around Olga. She was padded with thick cushions, and the fabric was quite comfortable.
As she lay there, Olga suddenly felt that this feeling was not bad. In fact, she even felt an inexplicable excitement when she thought that she was lying in a coffin.
I really should invite Lingling to come and see it, she thought.
While her mind was wandering to ensure she was awake, Olga was absentmindedly judging what flowers the people who came to lay them down were putting down by the smell.
Most of them were white roses, but sometimes there were other flowers. People were always very quiet when they laid flowers, and Olga closed her eyes, unable to judge their emotions.
I guess there are no people who would truly grieve for Sharon Wynyard, or rather, they don’t exist in this venue. After all, Vermouth didn’t let any of Sharon Wynyard’s fans in.
Olga thought so until she felt a drop of liquid fall on her face.
What is it?
Tears?
Olga's doubts were soon answered. She heard a softly sobbing female voice, a voice she was quite familiar with, having encountered it not long ago.
"Sharon was fine not long ago..."
The voice, speaking Japanese, was slightly choked with sobs. Olga's mind immediately popped up the corresponding name: Mao Lilan.
Oh! Vermouth's Angel.
Olga had investigated this Angel, and found nothing special about her. She was just like countless other Japanese high school girls: ordinary in birth, ordinary in upbringing, and ordinary in developing a vague fondness for her childhood sweetheart... The only thing that made her special was probably her father, the former police officer named Maori Kogoro.
But this is still nothing special. Compared to the Kudo family, Mao Lilan obviously cannot pose any threat to the organization.
But her influence on Vermouth seemed a little too great. Even though Vermouth remained calm, Olga was still able to make this judgment. Thus, Mao Lilan became a dangerous and uncertain variable.
As members of the organization, they shouldn't allow outsiders to have any influence on their emotions. As a veteran of the organization, Vermouth should understand this even more.
Knowingly committing a crime.
Perhaps it was human nature to knowingly commit a crime, and she had no right to blame Vermouth. Olga thought with some irony that Vermouth probably wished it was herself lying here, receiving this little girl's mourning.
But were Mao Lilan and Sharon Wynyard familiar with each other? Why would someone feel so sad for someone they had only met once?
Could it be that Mao Lilan was a die-hard fan of Sharon Wynyard? Olga guessed with amusement. If she really was a die-hard fan, then it made sense that she would cry after her idol died.
Olga didn't understand the true sadness of Mao Lilan, nor did she understand Vermouth's excessive concern for Mao Lilan. After all, if we talk about saving lives, Calvados had saved Vermouth before.
Following Ran Maoli's sobs came the soothing voices of Kudo Yukiko and Kudo Shinichi. It was clear that the sadness in Kudo Yukiko's voice was much more sincere than that in Kudo Shinichi's.
That’s right. Olga thought. Kudo Yukiko was Vermouth’s good friend, the kind Vermouth was willing to risk being seen through by Kudo Yusaku in order to be good friends with her.
By the way, speaking of which——
*
It was clearly the time for the Kudo family to present flowers. Even with her eyes closed, Olga could still sense a gaze that seemed tangible, probing and examining.
She realized almost immediately that it was Kudo Yusaku.
Tsk, what a troublesome smart guy.
The trouble with Kudo Yusaku is not only that he is a sharp and intelligent detective, but also that he has an actress wife who is also an excellent actress. He is definitely more sensitive to acting than most people.
Olga had to try even harder to play the role of the "corpse" in order not to be seen as a flaw. She could clearly feel a hand deliberately brushing against her nose when offering flowers.
It went without saying who this hand belonged to. Fortunately, Olga had stopped breathing beforehand. Fortunately, no one would attempt to feel her pulse in public. As for the natural rise and fall of her chest with breathing? That had naturally been taken into account—Vermouth had spent a fortune custom-making props to conceal it.
However, if someone really discovered something… Olga thought, then she might as well silence Kudo Yusaku. She wondered what Vermouth would think then. Who knew if she would become attached to Kudo Yukiko because of her feelings towards her.
Soon, Vermouth also came. Even with her eyes closed, Olga could recognize her by just listening to the rhythm of her heels tapping on the ground.
She was, of course, still using the identity of "Chris Wynyard." This identity probably meant she wasn't familiar with the Kudo family, but she still struck up a conversation with them, speaking Japanese. Of course, she was careful not to act overly familiar.
Olga was not interested in listening to what Vermouth said. After all, Japanese was not her native language. Although she could understand it, it still required a process of conversion in her mind.
Finally, she heard Vermouth say "thank you" in English. It was soft, but from Olga's understanding of Vermouth, it sounded very serious.
She was talking to Mao Lilan, and the little girl quickly said something in a somewhat broken English, feeling embarrassed.
Tsk.
This person named Mao Lilan has a huge influence on Vermouth, and also on Kudo Shinichi. If the boss knew about this...
Humph. Olga felt that she had caught another weakness of Vermouth - using Kudo Shinichi and Mao Lilan as bargaining chips to threaten Vermouth, which was simply perfect.
*
The entire memorial service was extremely boring, and this boredom reached its peak after the Kudo family left the coffin. Even for Olga, the most difficult thing about the entire memorial service was not falling asleep.
Later, the memorial service ended. Guests left one after another, and reporters, after flashing their cameras from all angles at the figure of "Sharon Wynyard" sleeping in the coffin, hurriedly chased after Chris Wynyard.
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