Aleister Is a Woman!

If the time spent in the dark room is too short, it loses its meaning... For example, if it's less than eight hours, it's just like turning off the light for someone before they go to sleep.

Tommy Lloyd was detained yesterday afternoon and will have to stay for at least a full 24-hour period.

Then you can tell him that they've kept him locked up for thirty hours. Hunger and fear will prolong the perceived time, so Tommy will think he only has one day left—when in fact he has one day and six hours left.

The extra six hours represent the information gap created by the Grand Guardian.

At 2 p. m. on Thursday, the Grand Guardian arrived at the Red Queen District Surveillance Office on time.

But when they opened the secret room and turned on the lights, they found that no one was there.

Only a brass ring lay quietly on the stone bed, shimmering with a brilliant golden light under the lamp.

Lloyd... escaped?

The inspectors in charge of managing the matter immediately became serious, but they weren't nervous—because they were certain their procedures were flawless. They maintained the highest level of vigilance, with even the bureau chief personally standing guard along the designated route. During this time, no supplies were even moved in or out; not a single box went in or out.

If someone can deceive them under such circumstances, it means that they are a formidable enemy that they cannot defeat.

That's obviously not their problem.

The Grand Guardian George picked up the ring and examined it closely.

It has a fist covered in scars etched on it, clenched tightly, with blood dripping from between its fingers.

"The Wounded Fist..."

The Grand Guardian murmured softly, "The one of the Noble Red?"

This is a provocation—without a doubt.

The Noble Red Society is mocking the Bureau of Supervision.

To be able to infiltrate and take someone away despite the layers of surveillance... this must mean there's Noble Red spy within the Bureau of Supervision. Only a mole among them could have accomplished something like this.

"...wrong."

Thinking of this, the Grand Guardian narrowed his eyes. "Lloyd must have been killed."

If he was kidnapped, it's impossible that no one saw it. Even if they could bribe the inspectors, they couldn't possibly bribe the passersby. Lloyd's physique is unusual, so he can't disguise himself or blend into the crowd like an ordinary person... Therefore, he didn't "leave," but rather "disappeared."

The methods to kill someone completely, leaving no trace of their body, are much simpler. And the Noble Red does indeed possess similar rituals.

That would be great—for George, Lloyd's death would actually save him a lot of trouble.

"Have the Law Mage do a retrospective," George ordered.

"Yes," the accompanying inspector replied.

The Grand Guardian surveyed the room. His gaze quickly fell upon the spotless marble bed.

It's hard and cold enough to be a standard feature of dark rooms and Interrogation Room in winter—even powerful superhumans, whose bodies are strong enough, will feel uncomfortable. Such an environment effectively prolongs the duration of physical discomfort.

However, the Grand Guardian remembered that, as a return gift for the intelligence he had given Tommy yesterday afternoon, George had specifically asked the Inspector to prepare a thin sheet for him. This would make the bed seem less cold—after all, lying shirtless on a solid marble slab in the dead of winter wasn't much warmer than lying on a block of ice.

But this is actually a trap.

Without this sheet, Tommy probably wouldn't have slept on the stone bed at all. And the chill seeping through the linen sheet, while not immediately unbearable, was a subtle discomfort that accumulated over time, which was just right.

So, his bed sheets were also destroyed?

What was left on the bed sheet? "Before the Law Mage arrives, send someone to examine the bloodstains on the stone bed."

The Grand Guardian ordered, "Also check the corners of the room—Chief Tai Ya, there shouldn't have been any bloodstains or deaths in this secret room before, right?"

"Absolutely not."

The middle-aged woman wearing a monocle answered affirmatively.

Soon, the inspectors took the prepared reagents and conducted tests throughout the entire room.

Naturally, the bed and floor were spotless. Not a single trace remained.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged Law Mage Dawn rushed over.

"Greetings from the Silver Crowned Dragon above, Grand Guardian."

He was no longer as relaxed and at ease as usual; instead, he respectfully held his staff horizontally and bowed deeply to the Grand Guardian.

"Mr. Dawn," the Grand Guardian nodded slightly, "Please trace the dead here. In the last twenty-four hours—in this secret room."

... The deceased? When did someone die in the secret room? Dawn was somewhat confused, but he didn't voice any doubt. "Yes."

He slammed his staff on the ground—silver-white runes coalesced into a magic circle, spreading and glowing across the ground.

Soon, a huge human figure appeared out of thin air.

As if time had reversed, the scene unfolded in reverse order: the giant suddenly sat up, seemingly talking to someone, before slowly lying back down. The stone bed was too cramped for his size, so he could only curl up his legs.

The next part is him lying motionless in bed.

"Less than a minute."

Before the Grand Guardian could ask, Dawn answered directly, "From the time he sat down until he was knocked down or tackled again, it was less than a minute. I was at three times speed before, I'm switching to half speed and doing it again from the beginning."

As he spoke, the image blurred for a moment, then started repeating itself from the beginning.

"Etc."

Suddenly, George and Chief Tai Ya spoke in unison.

The image paused for a moment, freezing on the barely perceptible mark left by the giant's finger. He seemed to have written something, then covered it with his hand.

Clearly, he was supposed to have written it on the sheets. But the other party noticed this and destroyed the sheets along with his body.

Director Tai Ya took the paper and pen and placed them on the stone bed.

She knelt by the bedside, urging Dawn to continue, "Slow down this time, Mr. Dawn. Let me trace his last words."

"Good."

Dawn nodded and changed the time to one-sixth speed.

Tai Ya quickly copied down Lloyd President's "last words"—although they were written upside down, it was still roughly recognizable what he wanted to write.

Dawn, also somewhat curious, leaned closer. "Aleister, woman... what does that word mean?"

"This is short for Noble Red."

Tai Ya explained from the side.

"It was Aleister of Noble Red who killed me, she was a woman—I think that's what he meant."

"The Grand Guardian said in a deep voice."

Tai Ya turned to the Grand Guardian and asked, "What should we do, Your Excellency Grand Guardian? Should we immediately issue a warrant for Aleister's arrest?"

"No."

Unexpectedly, the Grand Guardian rejected the idea, saying, "Block the news."

"Blocking information?"

"That's right. The Noble Red can't come forward to prove they killed Tommy Lloyd —Lloyd can't come forward himself to say he was killed by Aleister, and we haven't seen Lloyd's body."

"Since no one can prove that Lloyd is dead... then Lloyd is still alive, but I have imprisoned him in another, more secret place."

The Grand Guardian ordered, "I will personally consult Her Majesty the Queen on what to do next. First, have everyone in your department who knows about this sign a confidentiality agreement—including you and Dawn."

"Yes."

Director Tai Ya responded.

She couldn't help but marvel at how unexpected this was... the one who kidnapped Moriarty was actually a woman. How should her name be spelled then?

After the crowd returned through the Secret Passage, everyone signed the confidentiality order under the supervision of the Grand Guardian.

As soon as they returned to the lobby, Director Tai Ya saw a familiar person waiting for something at the counter.

"... Miss Lily?"

Director Tai Ya greeted him with surprise, "How is Mr. Moriarty?"

The person before me is none other than Lily, Iver's personal maid, who disappeared along with Iver! How did she come back on her own?... Oh, right.

Tai Ya suddenly realized.

They must have escaped while Aleister was away, right?

Just as Tai Ya was about to speak, the confidentiality agreement she had just signed silenced her again.

Lily placed her hands together in front of her and said softly, "Young Master and I have escaped... or rather, it seems we were released. Because that young lady suddenly disappeared, I immediately fled back with Young Master. Since we were in the Red Queen District, we rested at the Moriarty Museum first... and then I came to retrieve Young Master's wheelchair."

"Young Master said it's a prop related to the case, and it might be here. If it's not, I'll have to go back to school."

Is it there?

The Grand Guardian asked with concern.

"Here I am."

Lily affirmed, but then seemed troubled. "However, it seems like there's a rather complicated process involved..."

"No need. Tai Ya, bring out Iver's wheelchair and let Miss Lily take it back."

George said in a deep voice.

Thank you so much!

Lily gave a polite bow, but tilted her head slightly, looking somewhat confused. "May I ask who you are...?"

"Unimportant."

The Grand Guardian smiled and casually asked, "You said... 'Young Miss'? What does the Young Miss who guards you look like? You don't seem to have any hostility towards her."

"Because she didn't hurt us."

Lily stated frankly, "There never was."

"The lady who controls the shadows has long, Caramel- colored curly hair, she's very beautiful... I can't say where we've been these past few days, but it's in the Red Queen District. I'm sorry, sir. We've all signed contracts, so I can't reveal too much."

The Grand Guardian could tell that this was 100% the truth.

But this intelligence is enough.

"So, you've seen that lady's face, right?"

He confirmed it, a suspicion forming in his mind. "She wasn't pretending in front of you?"

Few people know that Aleister is a woman and that she has just taken action.

If Lily and Iver aren't Aleister's collaborators, then they must be people who have seen her in person.

But they cannot cooperate with Aleister —because it makes no sense for them.

So while Lily's words may sound bizarre on their own... it is precisely this bizarreness and illogical flaw that makes the Grand Guardian believe them.

At this moment, everything just clicked perfectly.

"Yes."

Lily nodded and said definitively, "But we don't know her identity..."

"Aleister".

The Grand Guardian replied directly, "Her name, or at least her code name, is Aleister —I think you'll see it in the news in the next few days."

He didn't reveal Aleister's identity, nor did he speak ill of her to Lily. That would have been impolite.

At least the other side didn't harm them—regardless of their stance, Aleister was at least not hostile to Iver and Lily. Therefore, he couldn't, in a moral high ground, force them to be enemies of Aleister. That would be unjust.

However... even if Aleister doesn't harm them, the Noble Red might realize that Iver has escaped.

They are still in danger.

George thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "Fine, I'll go with you. I can protect you and also say hello to Iver... I also have something important to tell Iver. If you have time... you can come to my place tonight. After all, your dorm hasn't been cleaned up yet to preserve the crime scene. But now that you're back, we can get someone to clean it."

George smiled politely, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed slightly.

This tall, blond man looked like the quintessential knight—humble, composed, and upright.

He smiled and said softly, "By the way, let me introduce myself first. My name is George Barton. I'm a friend of Professor Moriarty."

It's been updated!