The young girl's words were very light, so light that it seemed they would be scattered by the wind the moment they were spoken.
But these words were also very heavy, so heavy that it seemed she had used all her strength just to say them out loud.
After her voice fell, a faint blush quietly climbed up her pale cheeks.
It looked as if she had been kissed by the setting sun.
Russell looked at her, gazing into those eyes that pretended to be calm but inadvertently leaked tension and anticipation.
"Hmm... let me think..." Russell stroked his chin, deliberately dragging out his tone. He looked into the distance, putting on an appearance of serious contemplation.
"It depends on whether Charlotte will order me to run errands. Besides, there's a class quiz next week. Failing would lower my usual grades, so I might need to review a bit."
"Is that so," she responded softly. No emotion could be heard in her voice, only the toe of her shoe, which had been drawing circles, came to a stop.
"That really is hard on you..."
"As for Sunday..." Russell's voice sounded again, as if he were muttering to himself, yet also as if he were deliberately keeping her in suspense.
"If it's Sunday, I'll probably sleep all day. After all, you know, sleep is very important for a teenager in their developmental phase."
"...Mn."
Mary nodded, and the fingers clasped behind her back tightened unconsciously.
Just as she was preparing to find an excuse to end this slightly awkward conversation, Russell turned his head and looked at her again, wearing that familiar, somewhat infuriatingly lazy smile.
"However," he said.
"If someone is willing to treat me to a cup of afternoon tea, and incidentally help me review the content for next week's quiz..."
He paused, gently pushing the answer to the question in front of her.
"I actually wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of my sleep time."
Hearing this, Mary froze slightly.
The evening breeze lifted a strand of silver hair by the girl's ear, gently brushing past the crimson flush on her cheeks, which had become even more vibrant due to shy embarrassment.
For a moment, she suddenly felt that the scarf around her neck was somewhat superfluous.
"Sacrifice?" Mary softly repeated Russell's choice of words. She tilted her head slightly, a cunning light revealing itself in her smiling eyes.
"That word isn't quite right, Student Russell. If it were just an ordinary outing, and you said you sacrificed your rest time, I wouldn't pick at your logic.
But if it is to pass next week's class quiz, how should you phrase it?"
"Uh... I would be honored?"
Heh, this kid isn't stupid after all.
The corners of Mary's mouth hooked up slightly.
"Then, let's set it for Saturday afternoon at two o'clock. Phedon Tea Room. Do you know where it is? It's over in the Kensington District. The environment is very quiet, and the signboard is very obvious," she said.
"Of course." Russell nodded.
"Then it's settled."
The smile in Mary's eyes became increasingly obvious, and the fingers behind her back finally relaxed, no longer entwined with each other.
"Don't be late like last time; my time is very precious."
"Don't worry, I guarantee I'll be on time this time," Russell promised.
"Mn."
After receiving an affirmative answer, the young girl nodded with satisfaction. She lingered no longer, but instead started her light steps again, walking toward the school gate.
"Well then, see you Saturday."
Having said that, she turned around and walked in the opposite direction from Russell with brisk strides.
That moon-white skirt swayed gently in the evening breeze; every step seemed to be treading on clouds.
"Mn, see you in the classroom tomorrow," Russell added softly, watching her retreating figure.
The girl's footsteps paused slightly, but she did not look back. She simply raised her hand gently and waved behind her.
Russell stood where he was until that figure completely disappeared around the corner of the teaching building. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and turn to walk toward the school gate.
The sunset glow stretched his shadow very long. Although he was alone, he did not appear lonely.
"Afternoon tea and reviewing, huh..."
Russell lamented to himself.
Compared to engaging in a gunfight with people in the underground of a bank, it seemed that this kind of simple daily life was actually a bit thornier to handle.
But he didn't hate this feeling. Not one bit.
Russell pushed open the door to 221B Baker Street. As soon as he entered, the aroma of cookies rushed toward his face.
He followed the scent and saw a plate of freshly baked cookies placed on the table.
"Mrs. Hudson, you baked cookies again?"
As Russell spoke, he picked up a piece and popped it into his mouth.
The cookie was baked to be crisp and brittle, containing nuts and chocolate chips inside.
"Russell, you're back. I just happened to bake a tray of cookies. Take the ones on the table upstairs and share them with Charlotte."
Mrs. Hudson's voice came from the kitchen.
"She hasn't come down all day. How can she go on without eating something?"
"Received."
Russell responded, then carried the plate from the table upstairs.
He hadn't taken more than a few steps when he heard a familiar sound of a violin coming from the adjacent room.
The melody was rapid and chaotic, just like someone pacing back and forth anxiously due to certain problems.
Russell stood at the door and listened for a while before reaching out to knock.
The rapid violin sound came to an abrupt halt, replaced by Charlotte's voice.
"The door's unlocked. Come in yourself."
Russell pushed the door open, just in time to see Charlotte putting down the violin in her hand, her gaze turning toward the cookies he was holding.
"Mrs. Hudson said you haven't eaten all day." Russell tossed the cookies in his hand in her direction.
"What, still thinking about The Professor?"
"Mn." Charlotte caught the cookie and held it in her mouth, her gaze naturally shifting to the information wall on the side.
"Any progress?"
"To say there is would be inaccurate, but to say there isn't... well, there is a little bit." Charlotte shook her head, speaking indistinctly with the cookie in her mouth.
"I went to Scotland Yard again today and called out everyone except that lunatic to question them once more."
"The result?"
"The result is that I obtained an address."
"An address?" Russell chewed on his cookie, stood up, and walked to the table with the teapot. He very naturally picked up a tea bag from the table for himself.
"What address?"
"The address where Billson contacted them previously," Charlotte said. "Use Earl Grey, don't take the Ceylon."
"Oh." Russell responded, then put down the tea bag in his hand and swapped it for another.
"Such important information, and you only managed to pry it out of their mouths today? What was Lestrade doing all day yesterday?"
"Busy dealing with Lloyds Bank, the press conference, and finding a psychiatrist for that lunatic."
"And then...?" Russell placed the brewed tea in front of Charlotte.
"And then, I personally went to that address once. A small pub in the Southwark District," Charlotte said indifferently.
"You went to that kind of place alone?" Russell frowned. "That place is a mixed bag of unsavory characters."
"Who told a certain someone to still be in class?" Charlotte said as a matter of course. "If I went late, perhaps there wouldn't be any clues left."
So this is all my fault for attending class...?
Russell twitched the corner of his mouth and drank a mouthful of black tea.
"So, did you find anything, Great Detective?"
"No." Charlotte shook her head frankly.
"Billson left in a great hurry. He didn't take many things, only the valuables that could be quickly liquidated."
"What about letters?" Russell asked again.
"Burned," Charlotte said. "They had already turned into a pile of ashes with absolutely no utilization value."
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