Charlotte frowned.
"Wait—who did you say? Mycroft? Mycroft Holmes? He's covering for Moriarty?"
"Mm." Mary nodded, returning a strange look. "You didn't know?"
"How would I know that I know this?"
"…."
The air froze.
Mary and Charlotte stared at each other for a long time, then—without coordinating—both turned to Russell.
"You explain," Charlotte said. "Watson."
"Uh… that might be a bit complicated," Russell said, scratching his head.
"Mary and I thought you knew."
"I rather wish I did," Charlotte snorted. "The Cabinet Secretary of the British government covering up for London's most infamous thief? What kind of earth-shattering nonsense is that?"
"Well… it's a long story."
"Fine. We have time." Charlotte glanced at the clock.
"Unless you think the complexity requires more than two hours."
"No, not that bad—anyway, it all goes back to Ethan Roy."
Russell cleared his throat and began.
"Before we get into it, I need to sync information with you.
"Mycroft came to Baker Street and spoke with you, Charlotte."
Charlotte nodded. "I remember."
"And then?"
"And then we talked to Mycroft for a bit, right? The next day, when I was chatting with Mary, I mentioned it.
After she heard it, Mary formed a hypothesis about Mycroft's behavior."
"What hypothesis?" Charlotte pressed.
"Mycroft's behavior was abnormal," Russell said.
"Ethan Roy's collapse benefited him the most—no matter how you look at it.
At that moment, he should've been consolidating power—purging Roy's remaining allies—not wasting time on a thief who can't be pinned down."
"So," Charlotte followed, "you think he was trying to distance himself?"
Russell nodded.
"He was in a hurry to distance himself from Moriarty. That urgency implies there was some unspeakable link between them."
"That was Mary's and my first guess back then."
"Absurd," Charlotte said instantly.
"Mycroft may be bored, but he isn't stupid enough for that.
Trying to distance himself in such a clumsy way—especially right in front of me—doesn't fit his style. Is he insulting my intelligence?"
"Right," Russell said. "That was our second doubt as well."
He tossed the baton to Mary.
Mary understood immediately, stood, and walked to the blackboard like a teacher addressing two students.
"Russell and I also felt that, with Mr. Mycroft's intelligence, he shouldn't make such a low-level mistake."
She picked up a piece of chalk.
"So we reached a second conclusion—the one we believed most reasonable:
Mycroft's behavior wasn't distancing. It was a hint—to you, Charlotte.
He was delivering information in a subtle way only you siblings would understand."
She wrote Moriarty and Mycroft on the board, then drew a line connecting them.
"He deliberately used that office-bureaucrat phrasing you dislike. He deliberately slapped a 'political interference' label onto Moriarty—one he knew would irritate you.
The purpose was to trigger your contrarian streak—make you sick of the case—so you'd stop investigating."
Mary tapped the chalk against the board.
"It's a win-win trap.
If the hint works and you lose interest in Moriarty, he achieves his aim—he protects his most important chess piece.
But if you don't catch the hint—if your contrarian streak instead makes you more interested, and you ultimately capture Moriarty—Mycroft still doesn't lose."
She turned, eyes bright and calm.
"He can then cleanly classify all of Moriarty's crimes—including the Lloyd's Bank incident—as 'endangering national political security.'
At that point, he gains political prestige under the banner of righteousness—and he completely severs ties with Moriarty, washing his hands clean.
No matter whether you accept or reject the hint, he wins."
Mary set the chalk down, dusted her hands, and smiled at Charlotte.
"A perfect, airtight, overt scheme. Isn't that the kind of script that fits his style?"
The classroom fell silent.
Charlotte leaned back, fingers interlaced over her abdomen, eyes lingering on the chalkboard full of analysis.
After a long pause, she spoke—rare approval in her voice.
"An interesting inference."
Then she looked at Russell.
"So you weren't just sleeping."
"Hey, I paid tuition." Russell shrugged—while quietly exhaling in relief inside.
"But honestly, I still don't think this hypothesis holds."
Charlotte shook her head.
"I don't know whether Mycroft keeps shadow tools outside my sight, but based on what I know of him, he wouldn't do that."
"Why?" Mary asked.
"If he wants to suppress political enemies, he generally won't use something this… extreme," Charlotte said.
"He'd strip Ethan Roy of influence step by step until he's a hollow shell—easier to control—rather than topple him outright."
She raised a brow.
"Which is harder to deal with: an empty skeleton, or a living man with flesh and blood?"
Russell and Mary fell quiet.
Finally, Mary spoke again.
"Actually, verifying it is easy."
"How?" Charlotte asked.
"Call Mycroft."
"And ask him whether he's covering for Moriarty?"
"Of course not." Mary smiled. "Do what you originally wanted."
"You said you wanted to annoy Moriarty, right?
Tell Mycroft that Moriarty is going to Buckingham Palace—watch Mycroft's reaction, and watch what happens at Buckingham Palace afterward. That'll tell us."
She paused, then added:
"Conveniently, I know where on campus we can make a phone call."
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it