London, 1881.
It was an age of gas lamps, horse-drawn carriages, and ripper legends whispered into the fog.
October's cold rain had just passed, and that yellow, choking smog always seemed to rise in London's nights—like the city itself exhaled something sick.
For Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, the air tonight carried a feverish excitement.
They were finally going to catch the White Fox who had tormented the Yard for months.
But atop the uneven black rooftops of Regent Street, the hunted fox merely adjusted his collar with elegant irritation, smoothing away the night wind's rude touch.
Lucian Grey.
A second-year student in the Faculty of Arts at University College London—currently half-crouched beside a stone gargoyle, wearing the signature monocle. His white tailcoat was painfully conspicuous against the fog-thick dark.
"Not very elegant," Lucian sighed, peering down through the monocle at the police lanterns boiling below like an anthill. "Did Scotland Yard inject themselves with cocaine tonight? This efficiency doesn't look like something those truncheon-swinging nutcrackers could manage."
Normally, the London police cordon had more holes than Swiss cheese.
But tonight—
Every time Lucian tried to change direction with his grappling line, a piercing whistle shrieked in advance from exactly that position.
As if an invisible pair of eyes sat high above the clouds, moving stupid policemen like chess pieces—predicting every muscle twitch and habitual thought pattern the phantom thief had displayed these past months.
[System Notice: Extremely high-risk logical interference detected. Difficulty adjustment: S-rank.]
A pale blue, translucent interface flickered before his eyes—Lucian's greatest secret as a transmigrator.
The Legendary Impersonation System.
Its rule was simple:
Play a role, become the role.
The longer you perform it—and the more convincingly—you unlock more of that character's abilities.
At this moment, Lucian was impersonating the Napoleon of Crime—Professor Moriarty.
[Current Synchronization: 30%]
[Points Balance: 2080]
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
The plan had been simple tonight: steal a jewel, farm some points, save enough for a card pull.
He didn't know who the hidden opponent was—
But he couldn't be caught here.
[500 points consumed. Exchanged for S-rank skill: Retinal Fraud — Using high-frequency magnesium flashes to exploit the 0.1-second interruption blind spot in human vision, relocate into a dead angle. Side effects: severe hypoglycemia for 24 hours; hand tremors.]
"Side effects can wait," Lucian murmured.
Below, Inspector Lestrade had already drawn his Webley revolver, his wild sideburns framing a face drunk on zeal.
"There! He's up there! That damned fox is on the gargoyle! Fire! Don't let him get away!"
Bang! Bang!
Gunpowder smoke burst into the damp cold air—
But in the instant before the bullets could kiss the shadow, Lucian straightened.
He removed his silk top hat and gave the furious faces below a flawless courtly bow.
"Good evening, gentlemen—ever so tireless. The performance has ended."
In the same heartbeat, a specially prepared magnesium strip slipped from his cuff and ignited midair.
"Show time."
The pale flash landed precisely between neural signals.
In that 0.1-second pause, Lucian's figure dragged out a ghostly afterimage—
Not vanished, but stepped into a blind zone the human brain could not process.
He launched from the gargoyle's wings like a white swift, snapping across the gap—
And landed on an open balcony on the third floor of the opposite building.
When Lestrade's vision returned, the gargoyle was empty.
Only a playing card painted with a grotesque smiling face drifted down and stuck to a muddy boot.
[Truth is always hidden in the instant of a blink—To the eyes watching from the clouds. —Moriarty]
"My God…" A young constable even dropped his baton. "Is that black magic?"
"This… this is impossible!" Lestrade rubbed his eyes. "Is he even human?"
And far away, inside an unremarkable black carriage—
No one noticed the curtain lowering by a fraction.
The face within remained unseen, but a faint, dissatisfied "tch" dissolved into the hoofbeats.
…
Meanwhile, inside a high-end terraced townhouse beside Regent Street—
Lucian crashed onto a thick carpet, wretched and stumbling.
A violent dizziness hit him like a savage hangover. The young man swallowed hard, fighting the urge to vomit.
"Urgh…"
He braced a hand against an oak cabinet.
To avoid the follow-up search, he had climbed through a half-latched window connected to the balcony—the only "safe entrance" observable within that 0.1-second window.
Such windows were usually locked at night.
But the latch here had been deliberately damaged.
A standard Victorian upper-class sitting room.
Dim gaslight filtered through a frosted glass shade. Gloomy landscape paintings stared down from the walls.
"Breaking and entering…" Lucian gave a self-mocking smile. "If I get caught, that's another charge."
He turned to find an exit—
And froze.
An argument echoed from deep in the room, from a high-backed velvet armchair with its back to him.
"…Raise your head! Look at me, Mary! Look at me! Why is there fear in your eyes? I want ambition! I want cruelty!"
A furious male roar, punctuated by the dull thud of a cane slamming the floor.
Then a girl's trembling, helpless sob:
"I'm sorry… Father… I'll change…"
Lucian held his breath and slid soundlessly into the shadow cast by a marble bust.
Through the gap beside the armchair, he saw a scene that made his blood boil.
A girl named Mary knelt on the carpet. Her long golden hair lay in disarray over her shoulders. Her body shook violently with sobs.
In front of her, the "father" hidden in darkness raged hysterically:
"Crying? You dare cry? Look at how weak you are—disgraceful! If I don't beat it out of you, how will you survive in this man-eating London?!"
Lucian watched silently.
A classic Victorian family tragedy.
True evil was never simply crushing the weak.
That was only a coward's release.
And the phantom thief Moriarty was about to teach this piece of garbage what elegant terror looked like—
When Lucian's gaze snapped to something on the mantelpiece.
A crystal dish filled with lemon hard candy.
"…Looks like my luck isn't terrible," he murmured.
He drew a blank calling card from his coat.
His fingers trembled badly from the side effect, yet his muscle memory was absurdly precise. On the back, he wrote a single line at speed.
The shaky writing turned wild and flowing—almost like mad art.
"Let's call that payment for the candy."
Lucian locked onto the frame of the oil painting above the fireplace.
A flick of his fingers—
Whoosh!
The thin card sliced past the chair's back and buried itself deep into the thick wooden frame, landing neatly within the "father's" eye line.
"Who's there?!"
The girl screamed. The man's voice rose, even harsher: "What person?!"
In the overlap of those two cries, Lucian moved like wind.
He swept past the mantel, and by the time he reappeared at the window, the crystal dish was missing a generous handful of lemon sweets—
And he held one candy, calmly peeling the wrapper.
The night wind lifted the tails of his coat.
Moonlight stretched his shadow long across the sitting-room floor—
Like an enormous bat that had descended into the world.
"No need to panic, poor lady," Lucian's voice sounded through a voice modulator—low, refined. "After seeing Moriarty's warning, your 'father' will spend the night trembling in fear. He won't have the leisure to torment you again."
He paused. The killing intent in his tone dispersed, replaced by the phantom thief's theatrical cadence.
"May you soon break free of this damned shackle."
"Become Icarus—who dares to fly the sky."
With that, Lucian did not linger.
He leapt, and the white figure melted instantly into London's endless fog and night.
All that remained—
A window still swaying faintly, a blessing spoken to Icarus, and silence as dead as a tomb.
…
Three minutes later.
No police arrived.
No neighbors cried out.
This luxurious apartment on Regent Street seemed forgotten by the world, quiet except for the crackle of coal in the fireplace.
Mary Morstan, still on her knees, slowly stopped trembling.
She did not rise to check the window.
She did not soothe the "furious father."
She remained there, then lifted her hands from her face—
And the mask was gone.
No tear tracks.
No fear.
Her emerald eyes were calm in a way that made the skin crawl—while a vortex of delighted madness turned slowly within them.
She stood with graceful ease and faced the high-backed chair—the place where the "father" had been roaring.
The place he had been "sitting."
Mary tilted her head, walked lightly to the chair, and stroked the red velvet on its back, smiling with innocent sweetness.
"So… that gentleman seemed to misunderstand something. He thought you were a bad person. He even left a challenge letter to punish you… Is it because I performed especially well for him?"
The chair was empty.
There was no father.
Only an old suit arranged into a human shape, and a cane leaning against the armrest.
The violent male voice, the furious shouting, the cane striking the floor—
Had all been nothing but her ventriloquism and acting.
"Icarus, hm…" Mary's voice dropped instantly, transforming into that same brutal male tone as she snarled into the air: "Hmph! Impudent rat! Daring to teach my daughter to fly toward the sun! She belongs in the mud! She belongs dead in the sea! Hmph! Impudent rat! Kill him, Mary! Kill him, Mary!"
Then she switched seamlessly back to the soft, fragile girl's voice.
"Don't be angry. Look—he left a gift, didn't he?"
Mary danced to the fireplace, rose on tiptoe, and plucked the card from the frame.
It had sunk deep into the wood—proof of the thrower's terrifying wrist strength.
In the glow of the firelight, she studied the handwriting carefully.
[To the tyrant with no manners: Making a lady cry at midnight is not the act of a gentleman. If it happens again, I will take the head that produces nothing but noise. —Moriarty]
"Moriarty…" she whispered, tasting the name.
Her fingertip traced the ink—messy, rushed, and ending in unmistakable tremor marks.
"Such lovely handwriting. But the heart beat too fast. The hand shook too badly. Was it fear? Illness? A disguise? Or anger?"
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
The air still carried his scent:
Rain-soaked damp.
The scorched edge of burned magnesium.
And the comforting sweetness of lemon syrup.
"Icarus flew to the sun with wax wings… and fell into the sea when they melted," Mary said softly. "So my savior has finally appeared? What a shame—you're late."
She opened her eyes to the fog outside, then slowly licked her lips.
"Even if you're only my counterfeit… since you performed so earnestly—since you even exhausted your body to play the hero and 'save' me…"
"Then I'll be merciful."
"I'll grant you your wish."
She pressed the smiling card gently against her chest.
"Do make sure you play this drama properly."
"Fly higher."
"Don't disappoint me."
"My dear Mr. Scapegoat."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (123 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (110 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (780Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (165 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (115 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (125 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty…then Who Am I? (114 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (54Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (76 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (63 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (60 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (30 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (30 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (80 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (65 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (30 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (50 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (30 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (30 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (30 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it