Chapter 365

"Congressman Whiteley was assassinated by the Lord of Crime in front of Westminster Palace." Lansemello closed the newspaper in his hand and looked at Kirshtalia who had just returned. "I heard the sound of the horn - the horn that represents the arrival of the end of the world. It's time for us to prepare."

"I will finish the affairs here." Kirshtalia nodded and asked Lansemero, "So, where is Milverton's death..."

"William won't let me use my clairvoyance, so the only clue we have now is 'the seaside'." Lansemero paused and asked Kirshtalia, "If I abandon this fake identity now, how long will it take you to clean up the mess? I mean, how long will it take me to disappear from their sight in a reasonable way?"

“Are you going to give up this identity now?” Kirshtalia widened her eyes in surprise.

"I can move around more freely under the other identity." Lansemero stood up from the sofa and patted her skirt. "Also, although I have temporarily withdrawn from the Moriarty plan according to William's request, I absolutely cannot cut off contact with the Moriarty family directly - it's just that I have to stop splitting my thinking."

"I'd like you and Olga to keep an eye on the situation in London. I'll leave the collection of manuscripts and first editions to you two. I'll record every case that's difficult for me to directly participate in."

AD1877 · Late Autumn · London, England

On another rainy day, Kirshtalia estimated that the time was about up, so she released the news of death to the fake identity of Lancermello, who had not appeared in the outside world for a while. The corpse was disguised with some items and magic. At this time, Lancermello should have already reunited with his other self and become one again.

Under the rather unnatural mode of interaction between the three members of the Animusphia family, the nobles, who had endured more than a decade of cognitive shock, did not dare to express their opinions on the conspiracy theory at the funeral ceremony. Instead, they ignored the members of the Animusphia family as much as possible until the end of the funeral.

At this time, Lancer Mellor, who had already gotten rid of his split thinking, was hiding outside the reception room of 221B Baker Street, listening to John reporting the good news of his upcoming marriage to Sherlock Holmes and Mrs. Hudson - Mary Morstan, another absolutely unshakable ending point in all Watson's stories besides meeting Holmes.

"So, besides the marriage report, do you have anything else you want to discuss with me?" Sherlock Holmes tapped the table impatiently and asked Mary Morstan, who had been looking a little uneasy since entering 221B Baker Street.

- By the way, in addition to being Watson's wife, Mary Morstan is also the key figure who brought the case of "The Signature of Four" to the readers and detective Sherlock Holmes.

"What did you think of?" Moriarty asked Lansermello from his deep consciousness.

"This Miss Morstan is not quite the same as the one described by Dr. Watson." Lansemello pondered and continued to pay attention to the situation in the reception room. "It seems that she is making up a lie that she knows nothing about, but she is trying to use Sherlock. If she just wants to find her father's whereabouts, she shouldn't be so nervous."

"It's normal for different worlds to have differences, right? Speaking of "The Sign of Four"... I remember it was a case related to treasure?" Moriarty used his scanty memory of detective novels to review the content of the case represented by this name, "She knows about the existence of the treasure? She wants to use Sherlock to dig out the missing treasure and take it for herself?"

"No, if that's the case, Miss Morstan shouldn't be so nervous." Lansemello looked at Mary Morstan sitting opposite Sherlock Holmes through the huge transparent glass window, "If her purpose is to obtain the treasure, then there should be some hidden excitement."

"…What did you see in her?"

"Fear," Lansemello replied, "I saw endless fear in her."

Everything that happened afterwards was not much different from the story written by Dr. Watson - until all the treasure from India was thrown into the Thames.

"According to the experience of the existing cases, the treasures were thrown into the Thames by the perpetrators themselves. Miss Morstan, who no longer has to worry about the consequences, can finally live happily with Dr. Watson." Moriarty finished the ending of "The Signature" in a disgusting tone, "Humph, although I don't want to admit it, for the quality of Watson's married life, this choice can be regarded as the best solution, right?"

"...Don't be impatient, Moriarty." Lansemello floated on the top of the carriage where Sherlock Holmes and Watson were riding, looking far away at the turbid Thames that swallowed up a huge amount of treasure. "Didn't I say it? The power that drives this Miss Morstan to act is an endless and intense fear."

"As for the treasure, Small himself threw it all into the Thames."

Sherlock Holmes, who had just solved a case, was in a good mood and explained to Mary Morstan the final destination of the treasures. Lansemello, who was still guarding outside the window, did not miss the change in Mary Morstan's expression after hearing Sherlock Holmes' answer, her eyes widened and her luster faded.

"Oh, it seems that throwing all the treasure into the Thames is not the best option for Watson and Mary." Moriarty also became interested in this case, "On the contrary, it makes the relationship between Watson and Mary more dangerous and fragile - it is really a very strange development."

"How could that be...if I hadn't gotten the treasure..."

"It's so pitiful. She must have been threatened by that scumbag Milverton." Moriarty snorted and said his speculation, "Then, what reason did Milverton use to threaten Mary Morstan? Her mother died early, her father is also dead, and she has no brothers or sisters - she can be said to be a perfect group of people with no ties!"

"It seems that the teachers have already told you what I said before I gave up my fake identity as a noble." Lanser-Mello raised his eyelids lazily and fixed his eyes on John Watson. "Although I said that "relatives" and "important people" can be considered as weaknesses, Miss Morstan, who has no relatives, seems to have no weaknesses that can be exploited..."

"But 'important people' are not limited to 'relatives'. Isn't John Watson, who is about to marry her, the most conspicuous one?"

"Wait a minute!" John hurriedly called out to Sherlock Holmes, who was calm, and turned back to ask Mary Morstan about the specific situation. "Really, Mary? What is the threat he mentioned? "

"The man who threatened me said... that if I didn't hand over the treasure to him, he would destroy my marriage with John..." Mary Morstan sobbed as she told the truth, lowering her head to avoid John's worried gaze.

"Who on earth said that?" John in the reception room was extremely angry.

Sherlock Holmes, who was sitting alone, showed a look of dismay, turned his eyes away and revealed the answer to the people in the reception room: "John, do you remember that I often received commissions from nobles who were threatened during this period?"

"You mean..." John took a breath and widened his eyes in surprise, "Those commissions and what Mary encountered this time were done by the same person!?!"

"No, strictly speaking, it was planned by the same person, who decided on the threat." Sherlock Holmes turned the cigarette in his hand in boredom. "The actual execution part has nothing to do with this guy, because he controls the mouthpiece of the media, so he understands the importance of leaving no traces. There is only one guy in London who would do such a despicable thing."

"Charles Ocasta Milverton, the 'Threat King'."

"Ah, so that's how it is. That's how it is." Lansermero, who openly followed Sherlock Holmes throughout the "Four Signatures" case, stroked his chin and sorted out the situation. "Milverton set a targeted trap for William and Sherlock at the same time - this is troublesome, the media is the most difficult thing to deal with."

"But I think Milverton has not yet passed the news that he is in his hands to threaten William and Sherlock to his media." Moriarty suddenly spoke up, pointing the way for Lansemello, "He will not trust his own pawns. At most, he will just make a false statement to the two of them during face-to-face negotiations - saying that as long as they kill him, these media will immediately announce the true identity of the Lord of Crime or something like that."

"Yes, Milverton is pure evil." Sherlock and William's voices appeared in Lancermello's headphones together, "He also designed the case of Councillor Whiteley. He is keen to watch the drama of good people falling into evil. However, this time, he just wanted to watch the final battle between the "detective" and the "Lord of Crime" before the whole of London."

"...Isn't this a fairy?" Lansemello quietly blended into the crowd walking on the street, "Just because you want to do it, you do it, never considering the consequences of your actions... Well, Milverton might consider the consequences, but he is too conceited - conceited that no matter what the situation is, he can solve it. "

"So he died, and died quickly."

"That's right." William asked Lancermello with a chuckle, "Do you need me to tell you where Milverton died?"

"Although I don't plan to use my clairvoyance, the conditions are sufficient." Lansemello blinked and gradually disappeared into the crowd. He used Rune magic to move to a villa built on a cliff near the sea. "This is where Milverton invited you. According to his intelligence, you have nothing in common..."

"I think he probably expected that the "detective", who was not a normal person, would kill the "criminal" under the inducement of his words. "

"Ah, indeed, as a play it is quite brilliant—" Sherlock laughed in the control room, "but we have never been obedient puppets."