There's another mission?
Russell raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling upon the detail screen of that mission.
[Mission Description: A Grand Opening, A Perfect Curtain Call]
[Requirements: Complete the curtain call in the presence of the primary targets (Louise Edwards, Charlotte Holmes, Mycroft Holmes), and leave Buckingham Palace.]
[Mission Reward: Title upgrade; Malice Points gains further boosted to an additional 50%; Attribute Points +1.]
[Countdown: 48 hours (already begun)]
[Failure Penalty: Failure itself is the greatest penalty.]
[Recommended Attribute Boost for This Operation: Fighting]
Hold on? Fighting?
Russell was momentarily stunned.
Don't tell me there's going to be a BOSS battle.
Fight whom—the Holmes siblings?
Wasn't the point to take him alive... Surely it doesn't just mean keeping him breathing, does it?
A shiver ran through Russell for no apparent reason, and then he quietly poured the Attribute Point he'd just received into [Fighting], picking up a few items along the way.
[Skill: Fighting B — Upgraded. Current Level B+. Attribute Points -1]
[Current Attribute Points: 0]
[Twilight Shroud x5 purchased]
[Phantom Hand purchased]
[Malice Points Balance: 3800]
Only once everything was prepared did Russell finally let out a breath.
In any case, better safe than sorry.
He turned his attention back to the book in his hands, quietly awaiting the coming of night.
Time slipped away amid the turning of the pages.
An indeterminate stretch of time passed, and when the whole room had been wrapped in a soft, golden dusk, the girl on the bed at last stirred awake.
"Mm."
Louise stretched, sat up from the bed, and rubbed her bleary eyes drowsily.
"Awake now, Your Highness?" Russell's voice sounded from beside her, as he set down a cup of warm water.
"Have a sip of water."
"How long did I sleep?" The girl's voice still carried a trace of just-woken hoarseness.
"Mm... just about time for dinner."
"Ah." The girl lowered her head a little bashfully, cradling the water cup and taking small, dainty sips.
"Dinner will be brought up shortly," Russell reminded her. "You ought to get yourself ready."
"Mm... aren't we going to the dining hall?" Louise asked.
"No need. Until tonight is over, you'll have to remain in your room for the time being," Russell said.
"I understand..." Louise nodded, drawing back the little foot she had just been about to poke out from under the covers.
"So, Mr. Watson, did you sit here the whole afternoon?"
"The afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace tastes rather good," Russell said with a smile.
At his words, a mischievous smile crept onto Louise's face—she had clearly grasped the implication behind Russell's remark.
"Then you really must have had a hard time of it."
The two chatted a few more idle words, and then the maids wheeled in a dining cart, bringing in a sumptuous dinner.
Russell only let them stop at the door, carrying the dishes inside himself.
After dinner, the sky outside had grown utterly dark.
Buckingham Palace lit up its lamps, like a lone island in the night—dazzling, yet silent.
Louise sat at the edge of the bed, her hands unconsciously clutching at the hem of her clothes, and those amber eyes that always sparkled with light were now brimming with nervousness as well.
From time to time she would gaze out at the night sky beyond the window, and from time to time she would turn her eyes toward that youth sitting quietly on the sofa, leafing through a book.
"Mr. Watson..." Louise couldn't help but speak up at last, breaking the silence.
"Do you think he'll really come?"
"I imagine he will." Russell set down the book in his hands and said, "After all, he is Moriarty, isn't he?"
"But..." There was a hint of worry in Louise's tone.
"There are far more guards today than yesterday. I just looked out the window—there's a man practically every few steps in the garden... Can he really get in?"
At this, Russell gave a faint smile.
"Your Highness, are you worried about him?"
"I..." Louise was rendered momentarily speechless by his question, her cheeks faintly flushing.
"I'm only worried about my music box."
"I see." Russell nodded with a smile, not exposing her.
"Mr. Watson, you seem to know him quite well?" Louise asked curiously. "Have you met Moriarty before?"
"Mm... 'met' would be putting it too strongly, but he's certainly given me no shortage of chances to earn a little extra on the side." Russell chuckled. "Thanks to him, my tuition hasn't been quite so tight."
Louise was amused by these words.
"He sounds like a rather nice person."
"Who's to say otherwise."
Time slipped by, second by second, amid the two of them chatting on and off, and before they knew it, midnight drew ever nearer.
Just when there were about thirty minutes left, a soft sound rang out within the silent Buckingham Palace.
"Thud—"
It was the hollow report of something being struck.
Louise's whole being snapped instantly to attention.
"Mr. Watson..."
"Shh." Russell raised a finger, signaling Louise to be quiet.
Then, controlling the Phantom Hand he had released in advance, he struck the wall ten meters away once more.
"Thud—"
Again, a clear hollow report, enough for everyone with taut nerves to hear.
"It's him... He's here, isn't he?" Louise instinctively grabbed at the hem of Russell's clothes, her eyes unable to hide her nervousness and excitement.
"Your Highness, calm down." Russell reminded her softly, then moved the Phantom Hand to directly beneath himself.
Another strike.
"Below...!" Louise lowered her head almost at once.
"How did he do that..."
Though the Phantom Hand had a range of only ten meters, those ten meters were ten meters of straight-line distance.
Being on the second floor himself, stirring up some commotion on the first, third, or even fourth floor was an easy matter.
After the third strike rang out, the whole of Buckingham Palace went on alert.
Hurried footsteps and the shouts of the guards wove together into one in the silence of the night.
The sentries posted at every entrance and passage, like a colony of ants thrown into alarm, converged one after another toward the direction the sound had come from.
"He's in the corridor on the third floor of the East Wing!"
"No! The sound came from the West Wing!"
"Damn it! It sounded to me like the great hall on the first floor!"
Russell, while controlling the Phantom Hand to sow chaos in every corner of the palace, listened with a cocked ear to the commotion drifting in from outside.
"Wh-where on earth is he?" Louise was so nervous her palms were sweating; she clutched tightly at the hem of Russell's clothes, like a frightened little rabbit.
"Don't be afraid, Your Highness," Russell patted the back of her hand soothingly. "All we need to do is stay right here and wait."
He controlled the Phantom Hand, making the rhythm of those strikes faster and faster, their position ever more erratic.
Now downstairs, now on the rooftop; now in the east, now in the west.
This threw the already tautly strung guards into even greater disarray—like a swarm of headless flies, run ragged in circles by that unseen phantom.
"That should be about enough..." Russell murmured to himself.
He locked the final target of the Phantom Hand onto that vacant sitting room next door.
"Thud!" A strike clearer and louder than any before came slamming through from the other side of the wall!
"I-it's next door!" Louise cried out instinctively. "He's right next door!"
"Don't move, Your Highness." Russell stood up and, feigning gravity, strode toward the door.
He yanked the door open, glanced outside, and then once more controlled the Phantom Hand to strike heavily upon the wall of the room next door, and to open its door from the inside.
The very instant he saw the doorknob turn, Russell darted back into the room and reached out to pull the bell cord.
"Charlotte, Mycroft, he's right next door!"
Russell shouted, then charged in at the very front, pulling Louise's bedroom door shut behind him.
"Moriarty, you have already violated the British Empire's laws against the unpardonable crime of grave misconduct. I advise you to surrender quietly and submit to the judgment of the law!"
The moment he entered the room, Russell shouted while creating a commotion inside, at the same time hurling a smoke grenade to the floor.
Smoke billowed out, and Russell's figure vanished into the room.
Meanwhile, in Louise's bedroom, the girl sat upon the sofa, restless and uneasy as she listened to the disturbance outside.
Just then, she suddenly heard the room next door seem to fall quiet—Russell had stopped making any further sound.
"Mr... Mr. Watson?"
Louise called out instinctively, but no one answered.
At that very moment, behind her, a rhythmic series of knocks suddenly rang out.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Louise whipped her head around, and met the gaze of the Phantom Thief beyond the window, there in the moonlight.
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