Shirou and the Red-Haired Lady Who Slipped Up / Shirou and the Maid Aria

"Sigh..." he sighed, "I don't want to provoke these powerful noble families from the Clock Tower anymore. As for the young lady of the Animsfia family, maybe we should just let it go. If we offend two families at the same time, it will be really troublesome."

"Taking a car doesn't need to be checked, but a murder case is a completely different matter," Shirou said.

"I know that, but I still don't want to complicate things too much."

"Don't worry, sir. Young Ladies Marie and her governess are both reasonable people. Look at the kind and amiable Lord Rin El- El-Melloi; I'm sure Young Ladies Marie will gladly agree to cooperate with us."

"Ah, Your Lord is truly an excellent noblewoman. However, the two people here are also people of status, and Miss Marie Day looks quite fierce. Last time, your insistence on summoning her tutor already displeased her greatly. I imagine she'll be even angrier this time."

"Well... maybe we should just let them off the hook, what do you think? They won't get involved in this kind of thing anyway. Why should we create unnecessary trouble for ourselves?"

"I disagree," Shirou said. "It's certain that Lady Olga Marie is a reasonable person; at least we should give it a try."

After Shirou finished speaking, without waiting for Mr. Frederick's reply, he went up and knocked on the door of number thirteen.

Someone inside answered, "Come in."

Miss Olga Marie was sitting at the table, pen in hand, writing something in a notebook, while her governess...

Sitting on the bed, watching the young lady do her homework.

They clearly arrived at a very bad time.

"Excuse me, Young Ladies Marie," Shirou spoke first. "Please forgive me for disturbing you. We are searching the passengers' luggage on the train. In most cases, this is just a routine procedure. But we can't not do it."

We just came from Lord El-Melloi, and I imagine you heard the noise. Mr. Frederick just reminded me that you are a high-ranking nobleman and therefore exempt from inspection. Would you be willing to cooperate with the investigation? If it's inconvenient, we'll leave now."

Olga Marie pondered for a moment, then glanced at the governess beside her.

The other person gave the girl an encouraging look, letting her make her own decision.

Thank you for your kindness.

The young girl, Marie, spoke up, "But I don't need any special treatment. I'm willing to be searched like the other travelers."

She turned to his tutor.

"Is this alright, Teresa?"

"Of course!" the female tutor replied without hesitation.

Chapter 1253 Shirou and the Red-haired Miss Reveals Her Flaw

The search of the Animsfia family's carriage was conducted hastily and carelessly.

Mr. Frederick seemed to ease the awkward atmosphere by bringing up some interesting topics.

However, they had clearly disturbed Young Ladies Marie's homework, so neither the girl nor the governess answered. The situation became even more awkward.

In fact, Miss Teresa didn't even glance at them.

She seemed to be upset by all this; she was still lying in the corner, drowsily looking out the window. At that moment Shirou was searching the luggage in another private room.

As the search was nearing its end, Shirou opened the small cabinet above the sink and quickly glanced inside: a sponge, face oil, face powder, and several bottles of medicine.

Finally, after exchanging a few polite words, Shirou and the others turned to take their leave.

Waver, who had gone to the priest's room, returned at this moment. He shrugged, seemingly having gained nothing.

"The priest barely brought any luggage. After the inspection, he went to see Old Boss Li. He felt that Old Boss Li would be lonely if he moved to another carriage, and since he also found the knife, he decided to go and chat with him."

"That would be great, if he doesn't find it troublesome," Mr. Frederick replied casually.

The only remaining first-class sleeper berths were Old Boss Li's original room, the deceased's, and Shirou's private room.

So they decided to check the remaining berths. The owner of berth number 10 was Red-haired Miss, and next door was the maid, Miss Alya. She must have been left behind by the Lord and hadn't returned yet, so they checked the Red-haired Miss's berth first.

She was reading a book, while the Red-haired Miss remained indifferent and aloof.

The Red-haired Miss put down her book and watched Shirou's every move. Only when he asked her a question did she hand him the key, watching him take down the box and open it to check.

"Sir, is it as you wish?" the Red-haired Miss said to Shirou in a mocking tone.

"I don't understand what you mean?"

"You must have managed to keep that maid in check and create the illusion that I was all alone," the Red-haired Miss said aggressively.

Shirou laughed out loud, shook his head, and said, "Haha, lady, you're overthinking it. As the saying goes..."

The Red-haired Miss interrupted Shirou, saying:

"A guilty conscience? Explanations are just a cover-up? You came here just for this? That's probably how the Church of the Holy See interrogated the witch back then. You should believe I still have some observation skills and common sense. For some reason, you think I'm connected to this case, just because of the death of a complete stranger."

"Miss, these are just your imaginations, not facts."

"No, I'm not just thinking nonsense. I believe that not telling the truth is the reason why humans waste the most time; they don't speak directly, but rather beat around the bush and Gil."

"If you really dislike wasting time, then fine, I'll do it your way. Madam, you should remember our first meeting, on that secret passenger ship in Syria. I overheard a few words you and the colonel exchanged; could you explain to me what they meant?"

"Not now, not now. Wait until everything is over, until that matter is over." Madam, you did say that back then, didn't you?

The Red-haired Miss said very calmly, "You're concluding I'm talking about murder based on these words? And that you overheard it?"

"Madam, now it's my turn to ask you. You said we shouldn't waste time, let's get straight to the point."

She sighed, pondered for a moment, and then, as if waking from a deep sleep, said, "Sir, there is a reference to this, but it is not I who made it. I can solemnly swear on my honor that I have never met this man named Old John before this train."

"So you're refusing to explain?" Shirou asked.

"If that's how you want to understand it, well, I refuse. It's related to... to a task I've been assigned to."

"Oh, so the mission is already complete?" Shirou interjected.

"What do you mean by this?" The Red-haired Miss looked at Shirou.

"It's done, right?"

Why do you think that way? These things have nothing to do with you, right?

"Madam, it seems I need to remind you of something else. On the day we were approaching Istanbul, the passenger ship had a minor problem, and you seemed extremely anxious, almost to the point of hysteria. And now you are so calm and composed; you are a very self-controlled person, yet at that time, you lost your composure."

"I don't want to miss my next train."

"That's your explanation. But Miss, the Mystic Train runs every day this week. Even if you miss one, it only means you're missing twenty-four hours."

The Red-haired Miss showed signs of anger for the first time.

"You have no idea that someone has a friend waiting in London. If you miss a day, you'll break your appointment, and all your plans will be disrupted. That's incredibly worrying."

"Oh, is that so? You have friends waiting for you, and you don't want them to worry?"

"That goes without saying."

"But that's strange..."

"What's so strange about it?"

"We've missed this train again. And this time the situation is even more serious. Snow Spirit has gone berserk, the signal is down, and the train is completely stuck in the icy mountains and snowfields. We could be stuck here for three days, or even a week. But, Miss, your attitude is completely different this time. You don't seem worried at all. You're calm and composed."

The Red-haired Miss bit her lip, her face flushed with embarrassment, and she could no longer laugh.

"Madam, you haven't answered my question yet."

"I'm sorry, I don't know if there's anything else that needs to be answered."

"Please explain the reason for the change in your expression, ma'am."

"Don't you think this is nitpicking, Mr. Shirou? You're making me feel uneasy," the Red-haired Miss said coldly.

Shirou pushed his hands away and made an apologetic gesture.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but when I'm focused on solving a case, I always forget to consider other people's feelings. Perhaps this is a common problem for detectives and police officers; in our eyes, everyone is a suspect, and we always expect someone's attitude to remain consistent. We can't tolerate mood swings."

The Red-haired Miss did not answer.

"Miss, you know a lot about the US Colonel?"

Shirou changed the subject, thinking he shouldn't push her too hard and should try to calm her down.

"This was the first time I met him on this trip."

"Do you think there's any reason to believe that the colonel might know Old John?"

She shook her head resolutely.

"It's certain he doesn't know that person."

What's your basis for this? Why are you so sure?

"From what he said."

"But, miss, we found an American flip-top lighter on the floor of the deceased's compartment. And according to my investigation, the US Colonel asked the train conductor for a new lighter today; he may have dropped his own."

Chapter 1254 Shirou and the Maid Alya

He stared intently at the Red-haired Miss, but she showed neither surprise nor agitation, simply saying, "No way. Utterly absurd. He's the least likely person in the world to be involved in murder, especially in such a ridiculous and bizarre case as this, and you've subjected him to such barbaric interrogation."

This viewpoint resonated deeply with Shirou's thoughts, yet he said, "I must remind you, miss, you've only known him for less than a week; you don't know him very well."

She shrugged. "People always think they're unique, but in reality, most busy people are similar, with the same few hobbies, saying the exact same things. I know his type of person quite well."

He said very gently, "Are you still unwilling to tell me the meaning of 'after that's all over'?"

"I have nothing more to say," the Red-haired Miss said coldly, as if to say goodbye.

"That's alright," Shirou said. "I'll find out anyway."

He bowed, closed the door behind him, and left the private room.

"Friend, is this Akechi?" Mr. Frederick asked. "You're making her wary of us, and through her, you're also putting that US Colonel his guard."

"Friend, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. To catch a rabbit, you must put smoke at one burrow entrance and have a hunting dog guard the other. Then the rabbit will crawl out of the burrow. That's the method I used. Anyway, let's go check the remaining two rooms."

"That's right, but the last two private rooms were occupied by men."

"Men need to be checked too."

The three arrived at the room of the German young man, the secretary of the deceased Old John.

Caules silently agreed to the search.

"I hope you get there as soon as possible." He gave a wry smile and said, "I think I'm the prime suspect in the car. All you need to do is find a will stating that the old man left all his assets to me, and that will be enough to settle the case."

Mr. Frederick stared at him suspiciously.

"I was just kidding," Caules said hastily, waving his hands. "In fact, he won't leave me a single penny."

Shirou checked his suitcase and came out of the room, saying:

"No problem," he said. "There's not even any inheritance to speak of."

Caules sighed.

"That's wonderful! A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Caules with a relieved smile.

The three then went to the last room. A search of the Italian man and the male servant's luggage yielded nothing.

At this moment, the maid Alya returned from Lord Rin's quarters, and they entered Alya's private room.

Miss Alya possessed all the skills of a maid; she immediately got into action upon entering the room, rummaging through her luggage and making all the necessary preparations.

She then kindly showed Shirou her maid outfit, smiling as she said, "Mr. Shirou, look at my maid outfit. This one is for working, this one is for serving my master, and this one is for sleeping. It's made of silk."

"You don't need to show me these, and... don't wear maid outfits as capes..." Shirou couldn't help but complain.

"Hmm?" Alya tilted her head innocently and confusedly.

Seeing the girl's appearance, Shirou smiled slightly. Well... these maid outfits do suit Alya very well.

"Huh?!" Mr. Frederick's eyes widened as he looked at Shirou. 'When did they meet?! Are they already so close they can show off their cloaks? This isn't good!'

Frederick thought about whether he should suggest buying a maid outfit for his daughter, but then he remembered her naturally curly hair—it just wouldn't suit her at all...

By this time, Shirou had already turned his attention back to his business, quickly glancing at the contents of the small suitcase on his seat. Then he beckoned the train attendant to take another, larger suitcase down from the luggage rack.

"Where's the key?" he asked.

"It's unlocked, sir."

Shirou unfastened the clasp and lifted the lid of the box.

"I've got it!" he said, turning to Mr. Frederick. "Sir, do you remember what I told you before? Take a look!"

On top of the box was a hastily rolled-up reddish-brown train conductor's uniform.

"Ah! We found it!" exclaimed Mr. Frederick.

"Oh my!" Alya exclaimed in surprise, her mouth agape.