4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used.

It's clear who Sheringham was meeting with...? What do you mean?

Exactly what I said.

If no one there is left-handed, that tells us all we need to know about his guest.

But, couldn't the culprit just use their nondominant hand to cover things up...?

Perhaps when meeting someone for the first time, yes, but you are unlikely to be able to hide your dominant hand from someone you've spent a deal of time with.

With the notable exception of Sheringham, each of our characters here belongs to his or her respective communities. Factions, if you like.

You attended a meal where everyone was present, right? If there was a southpaw present who suddenly began using their right hand, someone would have said something.

Given that that did not happen, we can conclude that no one there is left-handed.

I do so hate to nitpick, but what if someone there is secretly ambidextrous?

It wouldn't make any difference, Professor. An ambidextrous person, by definition, would have no issue using their right hand.

But according to Chris, Sheringham specifically requested a left-handed teacup for his guest.

Would this have been necessary if they could simply use their right hand? If you have an answer to that question, I'm happy to hear it.

Hmph. So my playing the devil's advocate only strengthened your case. Well, no matter. I actually do happen to agree with you. Do go on.

Well, if one were to nitpick at my hypothesis...

...I cannot deny the possibility that Sheringham could have been meeting with Mr. Fujimaru...

Then, Senpai's the culprit?

？！

Hahaha, it seems I may have touched a nerve. Not to worry, that possibility is extremely remote.

I can't speak for your dream body's original owner, of course, but based on what you've told us, you wouldn't have had the time.

What about a third party...?

Some mysterious character who's still hiding out in the Kogetsukan somewhere?

No need for such intricacies, Ms. Kyrielight. Occam's razor provides us with a perfectly reasonable explanation.

There is a character here who needs to use his left hand...thanks to the injury he suffered on his right.

？！

Morris!

Most likely, Sheringham noticed Morris's injured right hand and requested the left-handed cup out of consideration.

But then, why would Sheringham feel a need to hide his meeting with Morris from Chris?

Ah, but there I am afraid you have it backwards, Ms. Kyrielight. Sheringham wasn't trying to hide Morris from Chris.

It was Chris that he was trying to hide from Morris, in point of fact. At least, he wished to hide that Chris was bringing the tea.

Chris was also the one responsible for Morris's injured hand, after all. Sheringham would have known that so much as hearing Chris's voice could easily put Morris in a foul mood.

And as a detective, he would also be well aware that information often freely given is all but impossible to drag out of someone when they are in a foul mood.

But, Morris never said anything about meeting with Sheringham...

Given what Mr. Fujimaru has told us so far, we know that Morris is both distrustful and simpleminded.

It is no surprise that he would try to hide his meeting with someone who is now dead.

Speaking up now would only arouse suspicion. Even Morris no doubt realizes others are prone to think the worst of him.

？！

Senpai!?

Hmm, it would seem we are out of time. But at least we were able to cover the most pressing matters, albeit briefly.

Be sure to keep everything we discussed in mind as you go about investigating this incident. Remember, you are assuming the role of another person.

Even if you cannot take any decisive action yourself, you can still keep a close eye on the events that play out around you. You'd do well not to forget that.

Right! Every good detective starts by gathering information, after all!

I know it's technically a dream for you, Master, but please do your best to stay alert!

Ah, good, you're awake. I was quite taken aback to learn you passed out after Juliet shoved you.

I'm so sorry, Fujimaru. I guess I'm no better than Cain...

Thank you for carrying Fujimaru all this way, Chris.

Not at all. My purpose here is to be of service.

？！

Do you now? Did you receive a flash of insight while you were asleep?

...Well, go on. Who was it?

I see. It does sound like it could have been Morris.

Indeed. We do know that Morris injured his right hand, and it may have gotten worse after, in a misguided feat of machismo, he refused treatment.

If only I had known my own strength...

Hey, don't beat yourself up. It turned out to be for the best. Now we know who Sheringham met with.

Hey Chris, you seen Morris anywhere?

No, I haven't... We were actually just looking for him ourselves.

I see. I've been turning the mansion upside down looking for him, but no dice...

Is there a problem?

Hey, Sis. The truth is... (Whisper, whisper)

I see... He might have come back after the fact.

I'll keep looking around the mansion. You and Chris go check outside.

Got it!

We'll help you look too. Come on, Fujimaru.

...We've kind of been letting the place go to seed, so it's a bit of a jungle right now.

？！

It's so dense out here. This would be a perfect place to lay low.

I don't know about that...

Not with these things running around out here. We'd better chase them away, Chris.

Right!

Haaa!

Wow... You made those wolves look about as dangerous as puppies.

Hey, no. No sense killing them. Wolves aren't good to eat. Trust me. Just need to chase 'em away.

Yes, Wǔ. I'm all done here.

Same. Still no sign of the prodigal son, though.

All I'm seeing out here is more wild animals... I guess he isn't out here after all.

This can be a great place to lay low, but not for a pampered city boy.

He could try, but he'd just end up wolf food if he did. Catch my drift?

Don't say things like that. You're scaring me.

Don't worry, Ms. Juliet. We haven't seen any signs that Mr. Morris was attacked.

If he's not out here, that just leaves the sea... But I really doubt he'd be out there. There are strong currents out there, and we're much too far from the mainland for an amateur to swim for it.

Guess there was no sense looking out here. Let's go back.

...Finally, they're gone.

I'm impressed. It looks like those bodyguards really do live up to their reputation.

We're back.

Oh, hey. Any luck?

I'm afraid not. We didn't see any sign of him anywhere.

Where is Morris!? Hasn't anyone found him yet!?

Honey, I think you've had a little too much to drink...

Shut up. No way am I making it through this without a stiff drink. I can't believe Morris is missing...

Our first priority is to keep all of you safe, so I'm afraid we can only spare so many resources to look for Morris.

What could be a higher priority than Morris's life!? He's my heir, you know!

Daddy? Why is Morris missing?

Not now, Laurie. Be quiet.

Is it because he killed the detective guy?

Don't say things like that, Laurie.

But I saw him coming out of the detective guy's room last night.

Y-you don't mean that, right, Laurie? You and I were both asleep at the time.

I woke up real late and snuck out. When I did, I saw him leaving the detective guy's room.

C-come now, we're not going to take the word of a child seriously for something so important, are we?

We don't want to believe it ourselves, Aaron.

But...don't you think she might be telling the truth, as there's nothing to gain by her lying?

Even if she did see him coming out of his room, that is not proof Morris killed Sheringham!

Honey, please calm down.

...It seems I let my emotions get the better of me. I'm sorry you had to see that.

Not at all. I should be apologizing for my lack of tact.

We may not be able to say for sure whether Morris is the killer, but wherever he is, there is every chance that he decides to stay in hiding now.

If he does, the consequences for the Goldie family could be devastating, and our arrangement would come to a grinding halt.

We would much rather it not come to that as well...

...All right.

Given the circumstances, I have a confession to make. Not even my wife, Dorothy, knows about this.

What are you talking about, honey?

I was hoping to take this with me to my grave, but it seems that's no longer an option.

The truth is...I am Chris's father.

Huh?

Mr. Aaron!?

Chris... From the look on your face, I see the company never told you.

...

I was once young and foolish myself. I calmed down somewhat once I married, but I did still have a...habit of spending the night with women who really caught my eye.

That's how you were born, Chris. But by then, I had already married my now ex-wife, and we'd had Morris together.

I couldn't take you in under the circumstances, so I asked the Marble Company to look after you.

Of course, I agreed to pay for your upbringing as well.

...I had no idea.

Morris will, of course, always be the apple of my eye.

But I am the head of the Goldie family, and so must always do what is necessary for its survival.

Wait a second... You're not seriously telling us to hand over Chris, are you?

You're damn right I am! You're the ones who let Sheringham die, and failed to stop Morris from running away.

If anyone is responsible for this mess, it's the Marble Company!

You're absolutely right. Fortunately, Chris is still an apprentice. We can afford to let him go.

You're still calling him an apprentice after all the time we spent training him? Besides, Sis, you always seemed very fond of hi

That's enough, Wǔ!

...I guess this is a done deal then. All right, I got it.

Looks like you're in luck, Chris. One of these days, you'll be taking over for the whole Goldie family.

Naturally, I'll be happy to compensate you for the loss. I want to remain on good terms with the Marble Company, after all.

Wait, Ms. Ann. Please, let me finish my job here first.

It's the least I can do to pay the company back.

All right. I'll continue to treat you as a Marble Company man until we leave this island.

Nobody is treating the man I've named my successor as a common serv

...No, never mind. I can see this is a matter of integrity. I will permit it this one time.

Ms. Ann...thank you, for everything. I'll never forget what you did for me.

...

Hold on. If Chris is joining the Goldie family, then, that would mean...

Juliet will instead be engaged to Chris. That will serve to fulfill our mutual goal.

Huh? No way...

What's the problem? This is turning out to be a good deal. You should be happy about it.

Ms. Juliet, I know I still have a lot to learn, but I hope I can earn your trust in time.

Oh, uh...okay. That...sounds nice...

Don't be so subservient, Chris. You don't need to worry about what other people think of you now.

You'll be running the Goldieno, the Goldie AND the Violet families one day!

Hahahaha!

What a delectable dinner. I'm afraid I had a bit too much to eat, though. I'll have to take some antacids.

(Sigh)...

Is something wrong, my dear girl? ...Do you need some antacids too?

No, that's okay. It's not my stomach.

Ah yes, you must have a lot on your mind right now, processing the new terms of your engagement.

But I daresay this was a lucky break. I know I would much rather marry Chris than Morris. Don't you agree, Fujimaru?

？！

...Are you serious?

Why are you all happy about this? What's WRONG with you?

Where are you going, Juliet?

I'm going to my room. Just leave me alone!

Good grief. Long as I've lived, I still don't understand women. Still, she's right; I shouldn't have said that. I'll go apologize to her.

Hehe, I heard the whole thing. Pretty sorry sight.

？！

Oh no, I'm sure he'll make a great husband. Juliet knows that too.

But it's just not that simple...

Then again, I guess it's that naivete of yours that tugged at her heartstrings in the first place.

？！

Look, it doesn't matter what you think, okay? This is about how Juliet feels.

Did you know she hardly has any friends? In fact, you're the only one she's got left.

？！

You really don't know? Didn't you ever run into some shady people at college trying to scare you about us?

You know, people warning you that even though the Violet family is famous, there are a lot of nasty rumors about us?

Warning you that spending time around a daughter of that family will mess up your chances at a good life? Stuff like that?

I'm pretty sure some Goldie family supporters were behind it. It was a really cheap move on their part.

But, I can't say the rumors were all complete fabrications, either. You do have to get nasty sometimes to keep control over an entire city.

Our way of life is built upon the blood, sweat, and tears of many people...some of them dead.

We're mostly used to things being that way, but Juliet's always had a harder time with it.

That's why everyone who approached her just because she was the pretty daughter of a wealthy family...ended up running away.

Juliet knew about our family's reputation too, of course, so she understood when people she thought of as friends stopped spending time with her.

But understanding why doesn't make things any easier. It really devastated her, even to the point where she'd cry herself to sleep sometimes.

That's why she was so glad when you didn't let these rumors drive you away. I honestly don't know what she would have done without you.

In that sense, you're very special to her, and so I hope you'll remain her friend, as long as you're still okay with it.

Well, good night then.

？！

(It's great being a kid... Nobody gets mad at you for clowning around, and you don't have to work like grown-ups do.)

(But the best part...is that nobody ever suspects you.)

(Someone's here...)

THERE you are. First you sneak out of bed again, and now I find you hiding in this pitch-dark room?

Oh, hi Mommy. Looks like she found us, Cain.

Yep! Guess so.

Oh Laurie, I was so worried when I didn't see you anywhere after I woke up. You have to tell me when you want to play hide-and-seek.

But you always make me go to bed too early. I wanna stay up and keep playing.

Sorry, Laurie, but the game's over once you're found. We'll just have to pick this up tomorrow!

...Thank you, Cain. Morris never plays with her like this.

She's so happy to have a new big brother.

Hehehehe. I like being a big brother, too!

My sisters have always been weirdly...grown-up, I guess?

I can see that. All right, it's getting late. Time to go back to bed.

'kaaay.

All right, I'm gonna sleep too. Now, where's that light switch...

(Yup, I love being a kid. No one ever suspects the kid.)

Good morning, Senpai. What happened this time?

So our fair princess finds herself betrothed not to a common ruffian, but a perfect prince now...

I suppose it does make for a happy ending of sorts, but in narrative terms it still seems...lacking.

I think this is a wonderful development, myself... I'm so happy for Juliet I could burst!

But, then again...I guess this isn't really the time to be saying that sort of thing, is it...

Not with Sheringham murdered and Morris missing...

There is presently little sense in discussing Morris's possible whereabouts. There are more important matters to discuss.

Indeed. Namely, the surprise reveal of a new Goldie family heir, which may make him a new target.

Ah...

If the culprit's goal is to prevent the two families from coming together, then it's quite possible they were involved in Morris's disappearance as well.

If that is so, the revelation about Chris will have completely blindsided them. As such, they may need to resort to brute force once again.

Another unexpected development, eh. Between the detective's sudden appearance and the surprise of Chris's parentage, it would seem that luck is against our dear criminal.

Just when they thought they had eliminated the Goldie family's sole heir, a new candidate presents himself.

If the culprit is going to make another move, it will almost certainly be at night. They won't want to miss this opportunity, after all.

I expect they'll either go after Chris or Juliet.

？！

Senpai, stop! Please don't bang your head against the wall! You could give yourself a concussion!

Calm down, Mr. Fujimaru. Even should you manage to knock yourself out, there is no guarantee that you will wake up at the Kogetsukan straight away.

At any rate, you need to steel yourself for whatever tragedy may come next if you are to continue your investigation with a clear mind.

Though of course, it would be best if there were no more tragedies at all...