When Sherlock finished speaking, his cramped room fell into complete silence. The only sound left was Edward's slow, rhythmic chewing as he ate his sandwich.
After a few seconds, Sherlock smiled. "Of course, that's impossible.
"Because if the professor were the mastermind, he couldn't have used such a simple method, one riddled with flaws. He was already acquainted with Minister Drost and had connections throughout the kingdom. He had plenty of ways to achieve his goal without appearing in person."
As he spoke, Sherlock took out a box of matches and a cigar under Edward's silent gaze, then began rotating the cigar to heat it evenly.
He lowered his head to work on the cigar and said casually, "But the person who did this now has incomplete motives.
"The plan itself is ingenious. First, she assassinated Secretary Raff, then attacked the Princess, naturally exposing the possibility that Minister Drost was closely connected to the Alchemy Product Smuggling Case. She also magnified the case's social impact as much as possible, making it impossible for old Drost to suppress even with his connections.
"But looking at it another way, if she was capable of devising such a plan, why didn't she use a more direct method? Her goal seemed never to have been bringing down Drost or causing trouble for the Drost Family. She wasn't trying to steal information, nor was she trying to stop the smuggling. She wasn't trying to plunge Avalon into chaos, nor was she trying to uphold justice and defend the truth.
"It was as if the person's goal itself was simply to 'expose Minister Drost's actions,' and that was where her task ended. She was capable of devising such a plan and taking such decisive action, yet her goal was so conservative. Therefore, I concluded that the