What was the killer after?
The things on the desk!
What the killer had taken on the night Mary's mother was assassinated should have been a fake, barring any surprises!
Something disguised so perfectly that no one could distinguish it from the real thing in a short time.
Only then would the killer return to Swote Castle after some time had passed and set it ablaze as though venting frustration.
Because even if the killer turned Swote Castle upside down, they would never find what they wanted.
Qin Ran had no way of knowing how Mary's mother had made the fake indistinguishable from the real thing.
But he had his own guess about Mary's mother's arrangements.
Perhaps the killer had successfully assassinated Mary's mother.
Yet by overlooking what Mary's mother truly cared about, the killer had also stepped into her trap.
From beginning to end, once Mary's mother sensed something was wrong, there had been only one thing she cared about: Mary's safety.
Whatever arrangements she made, Mary's safety had always been at the center of them.
And buying time like this was not merely meant to let Mary leave Swote Castle.
Given Mary's mother's intelligence, she could not possibly have been unaware that neither her daughter nor her attendants could withstand the killer.
Therefore, there had to be an "unexpected person" capable of resisting the killer!
However, that person could not be him!
Although Mary's mother had been clever and meticulous, she could not foresee the future like Nikelei.
Otherwise, she would not have fallen into such a certain-death situation.
Therefore, aside from him, the "expected" helper, there should have been another "unexpected" helper whom Mary's mother had specifically invited in secret.
But that helper needed more time to arrive.
That was why Mary's mother had laid out so