Upon hearing Russell's words, Charlotte paused slightly while holding her teacup, then looked up at him. She stared at Russell for a mont before slowly averting her gaze and taking a sip of tea.
"Then let's do it on Sunday."
Charlotte spoke in a completely emotionless, flat tone.
Hearing this, Russell let out a sigh of relief and picked up his teacup for a sip.
"By the way," Charlotte suddenly rembered sothing. She set down her teacup and asked, "What does Mary think about Moriarty's situation?"
"She believes Moriarty is innocent."
Russell replied.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "You told her the truth?"
"I did," Russell admitted casually. "But that was after she gave her opinion."
"What was her opinion?"
"It was similar to your initial starting point," Russell said. "Moriarty had no reason to commit murder. Moreover, it was the worst possible thod of killing for him. Even if soone noticed your mistake, there was absolutely no need to kill them in the ensuing argunt. He managed to escape from you and Mycroft, so why couldn't he deal with a smuggler?"
Hearing this, Charlotte felt inexplicably uncomfortable and frowned. She couldn't find any reason to argue, but she was still extrely annoyed.
"She didn't disappoint," she finally said in an indifferent tone, nodding.
It was like a teacher watching her favorite student solve a problem they should have been able to solve correctly. There were no words of praise—only the sense that this was how it should be.
"What else did she say?" Charlotte continued.
"She didn't say anything more. She only said she could ask soone from The Guardian to help draft a clarification report for Moriarty."
Russell said, "That's all. Nothing more."
"Really nothing more?"
Charlotte looked at Russell.
"No, nothing at all."
Russell nodded firmly, then asked with slight confusion, "Why are you suddenly so concerned about her?"
"What are you planning to do on Saturday?"
Charlotte didn't answer. Instead, she asked a question of her own.
"Saturday?" Russell was montarily at a loss for words. He instinctively wanted to say he had no plans for Saturday, but the mont his eyes t Charlotte's, the words died in his throat.
"On Saturday, I'm going to Faidon Tearoom with Mary."
Russell answered honestly.
"Why?" Charlotte continued. "What's the reason?"
"Going out to have fun is a good thing. What other reason could there be?" Russell said.
Charlotte simply stared at him without saying a word. Just being looked at by her made Russell feel the anger he had been suppressing gradually fade away. In the end, he surrendered.
"Fine, fine," Russell sighed, raising both hands in a gesture of defeat. "She helped clear Moriarty's na, so I invited her to afternoon tea as a way of saying thanks."
"So we finally reached the main point. Good."
Charlotte straightened her back, tossed the docunts aside, and stared intently at Russell.
"Why are you thanking her?" Charlotte asked. "What does her clearing Moriarty's na have to do with you? Why are you acting as Moriarty's spokesperson?"
"Well… he sent to Fleet Street and let earn quite a sum of money." Russell said, "People who accept bribes always feel a sense of gratitude… you get what I an."
"But didn't you say you didn't care about Moriarty at all?" Charlotte continued. "This morning you said you didn't care whether he committed a cri or whether he was treated unjustly. If you no longer care, and Mary asked you to help get the clarification report published in The Guardian, then why did you invite her to afternoon tea at Faidon Tearoom?"
Russell was montarily speechless.
"I don't like people who act high and mighty in front of , Watson," Charlotte said. "Especially when they treat like an idiot while thinking they're being clever."
"I didn't—"
"You did."
Charlotte cut off Russell's words.
"Not just you. You and Mycroft—both of you."
Charlotte's voice was calm, but beneath that calm was a burning rage, like the quiet before a volcanic eruption.
"Why? Why are all of you so concerned about that thief? Mycroft got information from Moriarty. You got information because Moriarty paid your tuition. So what about Mary? What was her motive?"
As she spoke, she stepped closer to Russell, forcing him to retreat step by step.
"You all think your acting is so good that you can fool others. Just like this morning when you told you didn't care about Moriarty at all. You were obviously extrely worried, yet when I asked, you lied to , and then you poured your heart out to Mary?"
She stared at Russell expressionlessly, but her gray-blue eyes were filled with incomprehensible emotions—anger and resentnt.
"Why? If I confessed this to you, would it lead to so serious consequence? Are you worried that I would laugh at you, or have so other reaction?"
[Malice Points from Charlotte Hols: 150]
"…"
"And the answer is?"
"I feel sorry for you."
Russell said this, but Charlotte's expression did not improve.
"I don't want an apology. I want an answer."
Russell remained silent for a while. Finally, he took a deep breath.
A sharp sound of malice points being deducted echoed in his head. At the sa ti, Russell's temperant seed to shift slightly.
[Malice Points Deduction (5900), Attribute Points Deduction (1), Skill Unlock and Upgrade — Performance A]
Current Malice Balance: 2200
"…You're right."
Russell nodded and spoke in a low voice tinged with relief.
"My relationship with Moriarty is much deeper than you think."
Hearing this, Charlotte's expression finally softened.
"You were working with him at Buckingham Palace?"
She stated her guess.
"…Mm."
Russell nodded.
"But he's more honest than Mycroft."
Charlotte returned to her seat.
"So, what exactly is your relationship with Moriarty?"
"Actually, it's not that complicated." Russell said, "Most of the ti, I was just his errand boy—nothing more, nothing less."
"What about more ordinary tis?"
"If you're referring to the incidents at Buckingham Palace… then I suppose I was his inside collaborator."
Russell sighed and sat down opposite Charlotte.
"I know him. And based on that trust, I want to help him."
"At first glance, your relationship with him doesn't seem as good as the one with Mycroft."
Charlotte said indifferently.
"Simple monetary transaction. As an ordinary citizen with no status or background, I have no reason to let go of this money. Thanks to that money, I could pay my tuition, avoid falling behind on rent to Mrs. Hudson, and even send money to the orphanage. To him, I was probably just a ssenger. But to , he was a benefactor."
Charlotte did not refute him. She had been observing Russell's expression the entire ti he spoke, and his reaction was far too genuine. It was so genuine that she couldn't detect even the slightest sign of lying in his micro-expressions.
There were only two possible explanations for this situation. Either he possessed acting skills comparable to—or even surpassing—the top actors at the Royal Opera House, or what he said was true. Clearly, between the two possibilities, the latter was far more likely than the forr.
After a long silence, Charlotte finally spoke. "So you're still concerned about what's being reported?"
"People shouldn't be ungrateful, right?"
Russell smiled.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Charlotte muttered sothing, then stood up.
As Charlotte walked toward the phone, Russell's gaze followed her.
"What are you doing?"
He asked.
"I'm calling Lestrade to have him prepare the materials for the Hannigan case."
Charlotte said, then reached out and began dialing.
At the end, Russell thought he heard her add in a very low voice: "If she can do it, then I can do it too."
…
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