Torimaru Naoko's heart stirred, and she instinctively gave the woman another look. Beneath the cover of her black-and-white dress, her entire body tensed almost imperceptibly as she entered a combat-ready state once more.
But before she could speak, Jiang Xia said, "I heard from the butler that the Fujieda Family has strict rules. The maids always move in pairs, and they can provide alibis for each other."
"Is that so?" Kudo Yukiko scratched her cheek. She had originally wanted to point out that there was a pair of twins among the maids, and that an alibi from a relative was hardly reliable... But on second thought, if she had considered it, how could Jiang Xia not have?
Besides, based on the Case Solving Collection she had read, since Jiang Xia had said that, he must have been certain that the culprit was not those two maids.
With that in mind, Kudo Yukiko relaxed and said again, "Since we can't narrow anyone down through alibis, let's make a breakthrough through motive!"
Inspector Megure did not think that much about it. Hearing Jiang Xia say the culprit was not a maid, he efficiently prepared to move on to the next step. In an instant, all the drafts Torimaru Naoko had prepared became useless scraps.
Hearing the police begin chattering as they arranged the next round of questioning, Torimaru Naoko looked left and right, unable to believe it. "..." A storm that had clearly been brewing specifically against her had been silently brushed away by Jiang Xia just like that?
Faced with this utterly unexpected turn of events, Torimaru Naoko frowned and pondered for a moment before coming to a realization.
"I still underestimated this detective." Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her skirt as she reflected inwardly.
"At first, I noticed