The Antique Dealer failed to notice the complicated look in the elementary school student's eyes at the door. He plopped down onto the Tatami and said with a bitter smile, "I thought this would be a flawless plan. I never expected someone to see through it—and leave behind evidence."
Inspector Megure had long since grown tired of such confessions. He deftly picked out the key point. "So you admit that you murdered Master Aonoki?"
"That's right." At the mention of his tea ceremony teacher, the bitter smile vanished from the Antique Dealer's face, replaced by a vicious expression. "What master? That bastard Aonoki wasn't fit to be called human!"
Mrs. Yamazaki sighed. "Isn't this just because he didn't leave the entire tea ceremony legacy to you? Anyone hearing this would think the two of you had some deep-seated grudge."
"What would you know?" The Antique Dealer sneered and turned to the police beside him. "You'll find out eventually anyway, so I won't hide it anymore—we've actually been cooperating all these years, making counterfeit tea sets and selling them at high prices under his name as a Tea Ceremony Master."
At those words, the police nodded as though this were nothing unusual. Aonoki Ryoichi and the maid, however, were stunned. "How could that be?"
"Heh, you think it sounds absurd too, don't you? But that's the truth." Seeing their expressions, the Antique Dealer actually laughed. "We've been doing this for over a decade."
He looked at Aonoki Ryoichi. "Even though you and your father had a terrible relationship, and you declared that you wouldn't inherit his position as Tea Ceremony Master, you were still his only son. Unlike that idiot Mrs. Yamazaki, I knew from the very beginning that the Tea Ceremony Master's legacy would definitely be left to you."
"You!"