Hearing Mary's answer, Russell was montarily stunned.
After a while, he finally laughed.
"What's so funny?" The girl looked at him with displeasure.
"Nothing, I just thought of sothing amusing," Russell waved his hand.
The girl pouted. Seeing Russell's slightly irritating smile return to his face, her dissatisfaction gradually faded.
"So, who killed Hanigan? Has Charlotte found out?" Mary asked.
"Not yet," Russell shook his head. "Actually, they still don't even know who the person is."
"Any particularly notable characteristics?"
Hearing this, Russell thought for a mont before speaking.
"Well… Charlotte ntioned the man might be a wanted criminal."
"A wanted criminal?"
"Mm." Russell nodded lightly and told Mary the situation and reasoning he had heard from Charlotte.
"The murderer t with Hanigan late at night, but Hanigan hadn't inford his servants beforehand."
This suggested the eting was either private or illegal.
"Hmm…" Mary nodded lightly. "Anything else?"
"Furthermore, the culprit was wearing gloves and carrying a dagger," Russell added.
"This shows he had prepared for the worst from the beginning."
If his demands were not t, or if the two could not reach an agreent, he was ready to act.
"And in the end, that's exactly what he did."
Mary said.
"Exactly," Russell nodded. "After the cri, he stole cash from the study drawer. Feeling it wasn't enough, he planned to search the bedroom as well."
"So he found Moriarty's card in the bedroom?" Mary guessed.
"When the two t—or even before—Moriarty had sneaked into the bedroom, taken the smuggling ledger, and left his calling card there, just like before."
He had never expected Hanigan to be killed, nor had he imagined that the card he left would be used by soone, much less used to fra him as the murderer.
"Almost." Russell nodded. "Sothing like that."
"Hmm… that sounds a bit troubleso," Mary said. She put the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth and then elegantly wiped her lips with a tissue.
Based on the available information, the following can be inferred:
The culprit knew Hanigan, and the two had been in contact. He may have been involved in smuggling. However, the culprit is currently wanted, and the situation is extrely serious. He is desperately trying to escape London.
Hanigan outwardly ran a trading business but secretly dabbled in smuggling.
For him, arranging for soone to cross the border illegally was not a big deal, so the murderer contacted him.
Putting these points together, investigating Hanigan's social circle should quickly narrow down the suspects.
Mary counted on her fingers as she spoke.
"A wanted murderer desperately wanting to flee, who had contact with Hanigan—"
She suddenly stopped.
Then, a chilling light gradually appeared in the girl's eyes, as if she had thought of sothing.
"What's wrong?" Russell asked. "What did you think of?"
"N-nothing." Mary shook her head. The coldness that had briefly appeared in her beautiful blue eyes was perfectly hidden beneath her gentle gaze.
"I just suddenly thought… maybe I could do sothing about it."
"You?" Russell raised an eyebrow. "What can you handle? Catching the murderer?"
"Have you forgotten?" The girl smiled brightly like the sun.
"Thanks to the docunts Moriarty sent before, my father's relationship with The Guardian is now very good."
"So?"
"So, what if I ask The Guardian to write an article to help Moriarty clarify the situation?"
Would they refuse such a small request that is entirely beneficial to them?
Mary said confidently.
"Think of it as repaying a favor to him."
Russell fell silent for a while, thinking it over before saying:
"There is absolutely no need for that."
"Hm?" Mary tilted her head. "Why?"
"Anyway, Moriarty doesn't care about sothing like this," Russell said. "There's no need to feel indebted to a newspaper over such a trivial matter."
"How does this count as owing anyone a favor?" Mary laughed.
"I'm providing them with inside information about the murder case. They are very grateful to . This is just a basic transaction."
"But—"
"Be obedient." Mary interrupted Russell, gently placing her hand on top of his head. Her blue eyes gazed at him with kindness and reassurance.
"I'll handle it. It's decided, okay?"
She spoke softly, as if discussing sothing, but her tone left no room for argunt.
Russell looked at her. For a mont, he was dazed by those eyes that seed to see straight into the depths of a person's soul.
The sensation from above was soft and warm, carrying the girl's faint unique scent mixed with the refreshing coolness of white tea.
"What's wrong?" Seeing that he didn't reply for a long ti and simply stared blankly at her, Mary tilted her head slightly and smiled faintly.
"Don't you like this approach?"
"N-nothing." Russell snapped out of his daze, moved his head slightly to pull away from Mary's palm.
"I didn't expect you to care so much about this."
Seeing this, the girl smiled and quietly withdrew her hand.
"Didn't I tell you? Think of it as repaying a favor."
Mary smiled and casually tucked the hair that had fallen behind her ear.
"If it weren't for him, my father and I would probably still be in the dark about Lloyds Bank, not to ntion what happened afterward."
"Can't be helped." Russell ultimately chose to compromise. Or rather, he couldn't find a reason to refuse.
"I'll thank him on your behalf."
"Didn't you say you don't know him well?" Mary laughed.
"At least he helped pay my tuition and rent."
Russell shrugged.
"Once a connection is established, it's very difficult to sever it completely."
Hearing this, Mary was first surprised, then showed a aningful smile.
"Yes," she murmured in agreent. "Once a bond is ford, it really is difficult to cut it off completely."
As she spoke, her body unconsciously moved a few inches closer to Russell.
The warm breath carrying the scent of white tea drifted faintly around Russell's nose again.
"However," Mary's voice rang out once more, and the two returned to a safe distance.
"I solved this problem for you. How are you going to thank ?"
"Didn't you say it was repaying a favor?" Russell asked reflexively.
"But didn't you say you'd thank on his behalf?" The girl winked playfully.
Those blue eyes sparkled like stars shining in the countryside on a sumr night.
"This…" Russell was montarily at a loss for words.
"Or," Mary suggested as if she had just thought of sothing, "why don't we go to Phaeton Tearoom again this weekend?"
She said.
"This ti, it's your turn to treat ."
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