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Alone Together on New Year’s Eve – Part 02

“Kujou,” Victorique growled.

“Hmm?”

“You’re too close!”

“Oh, sorry!” Kazuya quickly retreated, then resumed his observation.

Victorique ignored him for a while, but eventually she ran out of patience. “What in the world are you doing, you creep?”

“Your eyes look a bit red today.”

“What?!” Victorique jumped. She cast her eyes downward to hide them.

Kazuya nodded to himself. When I entered the library, I sensed something different about the atmosphere. Could this be the reason?

“The edges of your eyes are a little red. Not enough sleep? Did you stay up late reading difficult books? Or maybe you were crying. Just kidding.”

Victorique’s breath caught. Her glossy, cherry lips tightened into a thin line.

She lifted the heavy book resting on her lap, and, like a small lioness, pounced on Kazuya, hitting his head with the book’s edge.

“I wasn’t crying!”

“Ouch!”

“My slumber rivaled even that of Egypt’s Tutankhamun. I was sound asleep. I did not toss or turn. Therefore, I wasn’t crying, nor am I sleep-deprived. Do you understand, you pumpkin head?”

“Wh-What did you call me? First of all, you wouldn’t know if you tossed and turned if you were sound asleep. Stop looking at me like that! F-Fine. You didn’t stay up late, you didn’t cry. Then why are your eyes redder than usual? Ouch, ouch, ouch!”

Kazuya yelped and retreated. Then, he cast a worried glance at Victorique’s face.

The wind rose. Her golden hair, resembling an unfurled velvet turban, danced towards him as if seeking attention. Kazuya gently caught a tuft.

Victorique cast him a sidelong glance and sniffed audibly. She allowed him to toy with her hair, pretending not to notice.

A tropical bird perched on a branch above them and let out a single, soft call. A timeless, gentle quiet enveloped the conservatory.

Suddenly, the crude sound of machinery rolled in from afar.

“He’s here,” Kazuya whined.

“My brother, I’m guessing,” Victorique groaned.

“Yeah.” Kazuya nodded. “I ran into him downstairs. I’m guessing there’s been another incident in the village. But how did you know?”

“You said it yourself. Someone louder than you was coming. I didn’t even need to consult my Wellspring of Wisdom to know that you were referring to my brother.”

“I see… Oh, here he comes!”

The sound of the elevator door opening at the far end of the upper floor reached their ears. Victorique and Kazuya turned their eyes to the elevator hall.

Inspector Grevil de Blois stood there, assuming a stylish pose. As usual, he avoided looking at Victorique and instead focused his attention solely on Kazuya.

“I assume you already know about the large number of visitors from Saubreme over the past few days,” the inspector began.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Talk to Victorique, not me.”

Ignoring Kazuya’s grumbling, the inspector approached the pair. “So last night, a pair of men were killed in the woods,” he explained with gestures. “I’m sure your curiosity is piqued, Kujou, so allow me to share the particulars.”

Inspector Blois cast a cursory glance at his half-sister. He then crept silently towards Victorique and fearfully stood next to her.

Smoking her pipe with an air of disinterest, Victorique turned the pages of her book. A gentle, balmy breeze blew.

---

“There was a pair of men lodging at the village inn. Apparently, they came from Saubreme. For now, let’s call them A and B. Yesterday evening…”

Inspector Blois spoke at length, punctuating his account with a range of poses. From somewhere, birdsong drifted in with a pleasant breeze. The conservatory was as warm and cozy as if winter had never come.

Victorique maintained her facade of ignorance. Meanwhile, Kazuya was glowering at the inspector.

Unperturbed, the inspector went on. “A married couple staying at the same inn befriended them, and the four ventured into the forest together. I don’t understand the appeal of going into the woods, but to city folks, it might have been a novel experience. Anyway, it was too cold, so they hurried back to the inn. A maid saw them chatting away in the couple’s room. Let’s just call the husband C, and the wife D.” He paused, and his face turned grim. “But then!”

“Afterward, A and B were found dead,” Victorique said wearily.

Inspector Blois gave a start. He nodded, collecting himself.

“Th-That’s right!”

“Hmph!”

“Villagers discovered the bodies of the two men, A and B, shot dead in the woods. After the maid saw them in the room, they left the inn late at night and apparently went back to the forest. No one saw them, though. And then, they were killed. Since they weren’t locals, we currently have no clue what the motive was.”

Victorique eyed Inspector Blois incredulously. “Your suspects are the couple who were with them until evening.”

“Y-Yes. But C and D had not left the inn until A and B’s bodies were found. The maids can vouch for that. They were both in the dining area, listening to the radio gravely.”

Inspector Blois looked at Kazuya expectantly. The pointed drill atop his head appeared to approach, spinning.

Kazuya instinctively stepped aside. “Why do you keep looking at me?”

“Did you figure anything out, Kujou?”

“Like I said, talk to Victorique, not me.”

“Please, I’m begging you. You’ve got to give me something. I’m in a really tight spot here, Kujou!”

Kazuya and Inspector Blois started squabbling. A moment later, Victorique interjected grumpily.

“There’s hardly enough fragments of chaos, Grevil. So far, the only thing I’ve gathered from your account…”

“What?”

“Hmm…”

Kazuya and Inspector Blois simultaneously froze and turned their attention to Victorique.

Victorique pointed her pipe at the inspector. “You’re inexplicably fixated on labeling those two as suspects.”

“Hmm?!”

“And another thing.” Victorique fixed the inspector with cold eyes. “Why do you not use their names and instead refer to them as A, B, C, and D? If I had to hazard a guess, it has something to do with their occupations.”

Inspector Blois regarded his sister alarmingly. “Enough!”

“What’s going on?” Kazuya asked curiously.

“N-No need to sweat the small stuff. All you have to do is—”

“Hmph. In any case, there is not enough information. If you want it solved… Kujou!”

“…Yes?” Startled, Kazuya jumped.

Victorique removed the pipe from her mouth. “You go to the village with my stupid brother and dig deeper into the case,” she said with a sigh.

“Huh, me? Why?” Kazuya asked with genuine bafflement.

“Just get moving already.”

Inspector Blois suddenly grew enthusiastic. “All right, Kujou. Let’s head to the village together. Come on. Quit dawdling and get up. How about I hold your hand? Consider it a special treat.” He seized Kazuya’s hand and pranced away.

“No!” Kazuya protested vehemently. “I’m not going. I just climbed those winding stairs to reach the conservatory. I thought I could finally have a moment with Victorique, then you butt in, and now I have to go back down?”

“I’ll offer you an even better deal. I’ll buy you jam or cookies or whatever you like in the village. Come on, let’s go!”

“Stop! I’m not a girl. Argh…”

Inspector Blois pulled on Kazuya’s arm, dragging him away from Victorique all the way toward the wooden stairs.

“Victorique! Victorique!”

Victorique ignored him completely.

A bird trilled its song. Large tropical leaves rustled in the breeze.

As the voices of the boy and the inspector, two embodiments of noise, gradually faded away, Victorique’s lips curled slightly, and she snorted.

“Sleep-deprived? Red eyes? That scoundrel,” she mumbled. “So easygoing and oblivious of others’ moods.”

She gently placed her pipe on a shoe-shaped pipe holder, then turned the pages of her book.

“And who does he think the reason is I was crying last night?”

Her golden hair stirred.

“I hope he climbs those winding stairs again, panting heavily, until his thighs hurt. It’s good medicine for a blockhead. Hmph. Hmph!” She turned another page.

Alone once more, life seemed to drain from Victorique’s rosy cheeks, leaving behind a strange coldness that gave her the air of a doll. Her arms and legs went slack, transforming her into a long-forgotten, expensive porcelain doll abandoned in solitude, and she started to wander through the sea of books with a distant gaze.

A bird twittered overhead.