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The Murderer’s Statement (With Their Thoughts) – Part 01

My name is Gideon Legrant. All right. Time to give a statement. I hope I don’t slip up… I can’t have them figure out that I’m the culprit before they arrive. I’m a student of architecture at the University  of Sauville. That’s right. It goes without saying that I am not, in fact, a lumberjack. But  everyone was lying about their identities, calling themselves the Orphan, or the Empress, so I followed their lead and gave a false occupation. They laughed at me, though.

All right. Good start. Doesn’t look like they suspect me.

I live in a boarding house in Saubreme. Yes. What I told that oriental boy right there, Kujou, was true. I lost my parents in a train accident when I was a child, and since then, my adoptive father has been funding my studies. Yeah, if only they knew about my adoptive father… I’ve been trying to repay him for my tuition fees in various ways. I can’t just mooch off of him, you know. And that’s how I got into this mess.

The reason I took the train was, well… Is he here yet? …like everyone else, I went to watch the show at the monastery. He should know about my situation by now. I got a ticket through some connections. If they arrest me, all of this would’ve been for nothing. I should be getting help from the Ministry of the Occult by now. Was the show interesting? The Ministry should have contacts in the police. Just one word, and I’ll be out of here. To be honest, I don’t know. I’m so distracted, I don’t know what they’re asking. Am I speaking properly? The ladies seemed to really enjoy it, though.

…Hmm?

I’m acting restless? Ah, shit! No, I’m not.

I am?

This little girl is watching me closely. I gotta watch out for her. She is, after all, a real Gray Wolf. I’ve heard the rumors. The Ministry of the Occult is all abuzz with talk about her. Marquis de Blois gave birth to a wolf with formidable intellect. I didn’t expect her to be so small and frail. Damn it! What’s taking you so long, Marquis Albert de Blois?!

I mean, I can’t relax. I’ve never given a statement at a police station before. Besides, I saw a person die right in front of me. It’d be weird if I was calm, no?

Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’ve calmed down. Moving on.

Calm down, me. Speak properly. Talk like a random college kid caught up in a case. Don’t let them know that you’re an agent of the Ministry of the Occult.

It was pure coincidence that I ended up in that compartment. The train was awfully crowded, and there were people everywhere. I ran into a man wandering around, looking for a seat, a large guy who called himself the Dead. I was crying at the time thinking about my sister. I can’t believe a grownup saw me acting lame. We were walking down the corridor, having a chat, when he looked into that compartment and said it was empty. So I went in, only to find that there were four other people there. It just so happened that the seat he spotted was empty, so he assumed there was no one inside. The woman who called herself the Empress let us in, and so we settled in that compartment. The Empress is nice. I kinda wish I had a mother like her. Childish, I know. It’s embarrassing. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re taking too long, Marquis de Blois! I went to the monastery as you ordered, found and killed the enemy who took the box, and now I have its contents in this suitcase! Where are you, Marquis?!

…What?

I’m looking restless again?

No, I’m not.

Am I?

I must be doing it subconsciously, then. I just can’t sit still. I mean, I’m in a room in a police station, surrounded by detectives. My legs have been shaking for a while now. I’m too faint-hearted, I guess.

I keep glancing at the door?

Am I waiting for someone to arrive?

What did you say? Um, I believe you introduced yourself as a Gray Wolf? Did you catch a cold? Your vassal was worried when you got your dress all wet. I was jealous of how close you two were. You remind me of my sister. What? She’s bigger than you. It reminded me of when we were kids. She was frail, too, and caught colds easily.

I screwed up. No more looking around. I just have to wait patiently for Marquis de Blois, King of the Underworld, to arrive.

Oh, sorry. Back to what happened. This girl keeps on pointing out how I keep on looking around. I’m not moving my head, then. I don’t think I’m behaving suspiciously.

Does it bother you, Inspector?

I see. Good. If it doesn’t bother you, then I suppose it’s fine.

That’s a nice hairdo. No, I’m not sweet-talking you. Individuality is important.

Uh, so, where were we?

Ah, yes. We were in the compartment with four other passengers.

One was a kind woman who called herself an Empress. She was very concerned about the girl next to her. And I mean very. The girl had dark hair and blue eyes, and was overall pale. She kept mumbling to herself. It was kinda creepy. Her face looked familiar. The Ministry of the Occult has intel on the Academy of Science’s spies. I knew the girl well. She was about my sister’s age and had the same dark hair, which left a strong impression on me. Unlike me, she had been working as a spy with her parents since childhood. Poor girl, I thought. My sister and I lived a normal, happy life when we were younger, while she had been a spy from a young age. When I found her, I wanted to let her go. But… She dropped a box? Ah, right. I think she did. A red box? Y-Yes, that’s right. It was about the size of my palm. Yes, she dropped a red box in front of me of all people. A memento box. An enemy spy had taken it from the monastery! At that moment, a switch in my mind flipped. It’s an enemy! I had to get rid of her and take the contents of the box! What kind of box was it? It was square, so it couldn’t have been a pencil box. It was too plain for candies, too. Anyway, it had a strange design, now that I think about it.

My sister was taken hostage. I couldn’t believe it. My love for my family became a liability. After losing our parents in a train accident, Marquis de Blois, an old friend of my father’s, became our guardian and took care of us. But he only took us in so he could use us as spies for the Ministry of the Occult. Me, a university student, the son of an aristocrat, and my sister, still an innocent schoolgirl. We had the perfect cover. What’s more, we were willing to take any risk to protect each other. In a sense, Marquis de Blois is right. He has the power to achieve his goal and the madness to make sacrifices. That madness seems to be infecting me as well. My sister went missing last week in Saubreme, and I immediately reported it to the police. In truth, she was actually kidnapped by the Marquis. I knew that I had to carry out this mission to get my sister back. For my sister’s safety, I had to get rid of this strange girl who looked just like her. Ah, I have to pay attention. If I show tears or choke on my words, they will suspect me.

And then there was this pretty girl right here and her oriental friend. We introduced ourselves to each other and  started talking. First, the dark-haired girl, I don’t know if she was neurotic or hysterical, but she opened with a rather spooky statement. She said she was an Orphan and she was looking for her birthday, which put the big guy in a bad mood. So the lady played along for her and introduced herself as an Empress. I’m sure she just made that up. I really like the lady. I thought she was like my mother. Oops, there I go again. I shouldn’t have said that. How embarrassing. Anyway, I went along with them as well and said something about the king of the underworld and that I was a lumberjack and that I was traveling around chopping wood. It’s true. The King of the Underworld—Marquis de Blois—took my sister away from me, and I’m traveling around chopping wood—killing people. I didn’t lie. The big guy burst out laughing, and he started telling us his own story, using a tale from the monastery called The Masque of the Black Death. He told us that he was a dead man who had possessed the body of a man who had just died. I found his story most amusing. I couldn’t help but laugh. He clearly made that up as well. He wasn’t dead; in fact, he seemed tough.

And then he and these two kids here went out to change. I had a little chat with the Empress. But she had to calm down the crying Orphan, so I decided to leave for a bit.

As soon as I started walking down the corridor, I felt sick. What? Yes, that’s right. You remember?  How embarrassing. Yes. These two here saw me shaking because I wasn’t feeling well. How did I get sick? I  remembered my parents’ train accident. When I was a child, I saw my  parents fall off a runaway train and die. With my own eyes. You know how you can keep your mind off things when you’re with others, but when you’re alone, the thoughts come rushing like darkness. That’s it. I felt dizzy in the corridor and entered the nearest room. The communications room? Was it? Ah, right. I guess. It was a tiny room with communications equipment. Yes, that room was a communications room, where I received orders from the Ministry of the Occult. The monastery had one too. Both the monastery and the Old Masquerade were under the control of the Ministry. I had received countless orders from Marquis de Blois in the communications room. Then I heard my sister’s voice. Brother, help me, she cried. If I don’t carry out my mission, she won’t make it back safely. But I’m not really familiar with them. Hmm? You heard a voice when you passed by? What did it say?

Brother, help me?

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