Chapter 2: The Rich Man, The Poison, and My Deepest Regret

  Being a fake detective was already bad enough. But having my best friend, Kenji, as my fake assistant? That was a new level of disaster.

  And yet, here we were, standing in a massive mansion, surrounded by wealthy people who were staring at me like I actually knew what I was doing.

  At the center of the room, a dead body sat in an expensive leather chair, one arm draped over the side, his face frozen in an expression that said, "Oh crap, I shouldn't have drunk that."

  Reina Kisaragi, our very serious police detective, stood beside me with her arms crossed. "Alright, Detective Kirisawa," she said, eyes full of expectation. "What do you make of this?"

  I gulped. What did I make of this?

  I made a mistake, that's what.

  Kenji, the traitor, leaned in and whispered, "Come on, bro. Use that detective brain of yours."

  I whispered back, "Kenji, you idiot, I don't have a detective brain!"

  He patted my shoulder like I was a beloved pet dog. "Nah, you got this."

  I don't got this.

  But everyone was waiting. I had no choice. Time to bluff my way out of another murder.

  I cleared my throat and walked up to the dead guy, pretending I knew what I was looking for.

  His drink was still in his hand, which meant... uh...

  "Cause of death?" Reina asked, raising an eyebrow.

  I looked at the drink. Then at the guy. Then at the drink again. Then at Kenji, who was sipping a soda he absolutely should not have brought to a crime scene.

  I took a wild guess. "Poison."

  Reina's eyes lit up. "Ah! So you noticed it too!"

  Wait—I was right?!

  Kenji whistled. "Damn, bro, you really are a genius."

  No, I'm just really lucky.

  Reina crouched next to the body, nodding. "There's no visible wounds. No signs of a struggle. And no spilled drink. That suggests he drank something thinking it was safe." She turned to me. "You saw that right away, didn't you?"

  I nodded slowly. "Uh-huh. Obviously."

  Kenji muttered, "This guy is running on pure instinct."

  I ignored him.

  Reina stood up and addressed the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, this was not a natural death. This was murder."

  The rich people gasped dramatically, like this was some sort of soap opera.

  An older man in a tuxedo, who looked like he had been born wearing expensive suits, scoffed. "Detective, are you suggesting one of us poisoned Lord Kazuhira?"

  Lord who? Oh. Right. That was the dead guy's name.

  Reina nodded. "We believe so. Which means..." She turned to me. "Detective Kirisawa, you should conduct the first round of interrogations."

  Interrogations.

  Interrogations?!

  I nearly choked. "Me?"

  Reina smiled. "Of course. You have an eye for deception, after all."

  Kenji patted my back. "Have fun, genius."

  I resisted the urge to throw him out the nearest window.

  I sat across from a woman wearing enough jewelry to fund a small country. Her name was Lady Satou, and she looked at me like I was something she stepped in.

  "So, Lady Satou," I said, trying to sound professional. "Where were you when Lord Kazuhira drank his st... uh... drink?"

  She sniffed. "I was in the ballroom, obviously. Dancing."

  I nodded. "Uh-huh. And can anyone confirm that?"

  She smirked. "Literally everyone, detective. Unlike some, I am quite popur."

  Kenji muttered, "Damn, she just called you a loser in rich person nguage."

  I shot him a gre. "Okay, so you were dancing. Did you see Lord Kazuhira drink anything suspicious?"

  She rolled her eyes. "I don't watch people drink, detective. That's commoner behavior."

  Wow. I suddenly felt bad for every waiter who ever served her.

  I gnced at Kenji, who had been doodling on a napkin. He held it up. It was a sketch of me getting kicked out of a mansion.

  I ignored him. "Alright, Lady Satou. You're free to go. For now."

  She scoffed. "I wasn't waiting for your permission."

  Then she walked off.

  Next up was a butler named Hiroshi. He was sweating way too much for someone who was supposed to be calm and professional.

  "So, Hiroshi," I began, "where were you during the murder?"

  He gulped. "M-Murder? Oh, no, no! I didn't kill anyone!"

  Kenji leaned in. "Bro, nobody accused you yet."

  Hiroshi gasped. "OH NO!"

  I rubbed my temples. "Rex. Just tell me if you saw anything weird."

  He fidgeted. "W-Well, Lord Kazuhira was arguing with someone earlier."

  Bingo. "Who?"

  Hiroshi hesitated. "I-I shouldn't say..."

  Kenji grinned. "You should say. Or my friend here will use his brilliant deduction skills."

  I nearly punched him.

  Hiroshi finally caved. "It was Lady Satou. They were arguing over... money."

  Kenji and I exchanged a look.

  The woman who called me a commoner was now looking a little too suspicious.

  As we finished questioning people, I realized something terrifying.

  Everyone in this mansion had a reason to want Lord Kazuhira dead.

  The snobby dy? Money problems.

  The nervous butler? Acting way too guilty.

  The old man in the tux? Kept muttering about "useless heirs".

  This wasn't a simple poisoning. This was an entirely messed-up family drama.

  I turned to Reina. "Uh... this might be trickier than we thought."

  She nodded. "Agreed. We need more evidence."

  I exhaled. Finally. Maybe I could escape before they expected me to—

  Reina cpped a hand on my shoulder. "And you're going to find it."

  Oh.

  Oh no.

  Kenji grinned. "Good luck, great detective!"

  I stared at the dead body, the suspects, and my massive mistake.

  This was getting worse by the second.

  And somehow, I still wasn't getting paid enough for this.

  Kenji, the absolute menace that he was, had wandered off. Normally, this was good news. Kenji being out of my sight meant less opportunities for him to ruin my life. But the problem was that Kenji being out of my sight also meant he could say something incredibly stupid to the wrong person.

  "Hey, uh, Reina," I said, gncing around. "Did you see where my esteemed assistant went?"

  Reina raised an eyebrow. "He said he was going to 'mingle with the rich folk.'"

  My stomach dropped. "Oh no."

  I scanned the room, and sure enough, I spotted him chatting it up with the suspects, casually eating what looked like a very expensive shrimp cocktail. He was standing next to Lady Satou, who, for some reason, did not seem ready to throw him into the ocean. In fact… she was ughing?

  I narrowed my eyes. What was that idiot doing?

  I crept closer, trying to listen in.

  "...So I said, 'Lady Satou, no offense, but you don't seem the type to drink cheap wine.' And she just gasped, like, 'How dare you! I only drink wine from the rarest vineyards!' and I'm like, Exactly!" Kenji was rambling. "So obviously, someone swapped the bottles, because why would Lord Kazuhira drink cheap stuff either? I mean, it wasn’t even a vintage year!"

  My brain stalled.

  Kenji just accidentally pointed out something important.

  Lady Satou scoffed. "Hmph. Obviously it was switched. But that fool still drank it, so who’s the real idiot?"

  I felt a migraine coming on.

  Kenji grinned. "Wait, wait. So you noticed the bottle was swapped?"

  She froze.

  Her face paled.

  Uh-oh.

  I smmed my hand on the table. "AHA!"

  Kenji yelped. "Bro, what the hell?!"

  I ignored him. "Lady Satou, how did you know the bottle was switched before the murder?"

  She blinked. "I—what? I—"

  "You just admitted it." I folded my arms, trying to look cool and detective-y. "If you knew the wine wasn’t right before Lord Kazuhira drank it, that means you had access to the bottle before it was served."

  Reina stepped up beside me. "In other words, you had an opportunity to poison it."

  Lady Satou's eye twitched.

  Kenji blinked. "Wait. Did I just solve the case?"

  I spped a hand over his mouth. "Shhh. Let me have this."

  Lady Satou clenched her jaw. "You...you think I would stoop to poisoning that buffoon?"

  Reina crossed her arms. "I think you're a liar. And we’re going to find proof."

  Lady Satou shot a gre at me. "This is ridiculous."

  I shot one right back. "Ridiculous or not, you just made yourself suspect number one."

  As Reina ordered the officers to search for the wine bottle, I turned to Kenji, who was still munching on shrimp.

  "Kenji," I said, rubbing my temples. "Do you realize what you just did?"

  He grinned. "Yep. Accidentally outsmarted a rich dy while eating free food. I'm on a roll, bro."

  I sighed. "I hate you so much."

  He patted my shoulder. "Love you too, buddy."

  This case was going to be the death of me.

  Lady Satou gred at me like I was something she scraped off her expensive heels. "You dare accuse me?"

  I forced a smirk, mostly to hide the fact that I was panicking inside. "I don't dare. I just did."

  Reina gestured to an officer. "Search the mansion. If we find traces of poison on the swapped wine bottle, we’ll have our proof."

  Lady Satou crossed her arms, but she didn’t protest. That made me nervous. If she really was guilty, wouldn’t she be throwing a fit?

  Kenji, still munching on shrimp, leaned over and whispered, "Bro, what if she’s innocent?"

  That was the part that worried me.

  But before I could respond, a loud *crash* echoed from the other side of the mansion.

  Everyone turned just in time to see one of the officers running back, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

  "Detective Reina! We found something!"

  Reina and I exchanged a gnce.

  "Show us," she said.

  We followed the officer through a side hallway, deeper into the mansion. The pce was so big it felt like walking through a museum, except instead of ancient artifacts, there were just way too many gold-pted things.

  Finally, the officer stopped in front of a pantry. Inside, shattered gss covered the floor. And in the center of it all, a single wine bottle y cracked open, its dark contents soaking into the expensive rug.

  Reina crouched down, inspecting the bel. "This is it. The wine Lord Kazuhira drank."

  I nodded. "Yeah. Which means..." I trailed off.

  Kenji tilted his head. "Means what?"

  I swallowed. "Means someone tried to get rid of the evidence."

  Reina’s face darkened. "Which also means—"

  A voice cut her off. "It means you're barking up the wrong tree, detective."

  We turned.

  Standing in the doorway was the st person I expected.

  The butler, Hiroshi.

  Except he didn’t look nervous anymore.

  He looked... amused.

  Kenji blinked. "Wait. Why do I feel like we're in a bad plot twist?"

  I slowly stood up. "Hiroshi. Do you have something to confess?"

  He chuckled. "Confess? No. But I do have something to expin."

  Reina narrowed her eyes. "Go on."

  Hiroshi stepped forward, his polished shoes clicking against the floor. "You see, Lord Kazuhira wasn’t poisoned in the way you think."

  My stomach twisted. "What do you mean?"

  Hiroshi smiled—a slow, knowing smile. "He poisoned himself."

  Silence.

  Even Kenji stopped eating.

  Reina frowned. "That doesn't make sense. Are you saying this was a suicide?"

  Hiroshi sighed dramatically. "Not quite. Lord Kazuhira drank the poison, yes. But he didn’t know it was poison."

  I frowned. "You're not making sense."

  He chuckled again. "Allow me to crify. The bottle wasn’t just switched—it was *pnted*. Someone set him up to drink it, knowing he would take the first sip."

  Kenji scratched his head. "Okay, but why would he drink from a random bottle?"

  Hiroshi's smirk deepened. "Because he always did."

  I blinked. "Huh?"

  Hiroshi gestured toward the shattered bottle. "Lord Kazuhira had a habit. At every gathering, he was the first to taste the finest wine, as a show of wealth and status. It was a tradition. One the killer took advantage of."

  Reina exhaled. "So you're saying... the poison wasn’t meant for him specifically."

  Hiroshi nodded. "Exactly. The killer didn't need to *give* him the poisoned drink. They only needed to make sure the poisoned drink was there, knowing he would take the first sip himself."

  My head spun. "Which means..."

  Kenji finished for me. "Which means any one of those rich weirdos could be the real killer."

  A cold realization settled over me.

  This case wasn’t just about Lord Kazuhira.

  Someone had set a trap.

  And we still didn’t know who they were really aiming for.

  Reina stood up, her sharp gaze scanning the room. "If that's true, then the killer didn’t need to be anywhere near Lord Kazuhira when he died. They just needed to make sure the poisoned wine made it to his hand."

  I swallowed. "Which means the real question isn’t who gave him the poison."

  Kenji snapped his fingers. "It’s who was supposed to drink it."

  Hiroshi nodded approvingly. "Now you're thinking like a detective."

  I ignored the compliment because I was too busy trying not to have a panic attack.

  Reina turned to Hiroshi. "How do you know so much about this?"

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Because I’ve served this family long enough to know how they think."

  I gnced at the shattered bottle. "If this was a setup, then the real target must’ve realized something was wrong. They didn’t drink it."

  Kenji scratched his head. "But if that’s true, wouldn’t they have stopped Lord Kazuhira from drinking it?"

  I sighed. "Not if they didn’t know in time."

  Reina crossed her arms. "Or not if they wanted him dead just as much as the killer did."

  A tense silence filled the room.

  I looked around at the expensive furniture, the ridiculous gold-pted everything, the paintings that probably cost more than my entire life.

  This wasn’t just a murder. This was politics.

  Rich-people politics.

  And I was stuck in the middle of it.

  I ran a hand through my hair. "Okay. So we need to figure out who the original target was. That should narrow down the suspects, right?"

  Reina nodded. "Agreed. And there’s only one way to do that."

  Kenji perked up. "Oh! Are we gonna dramatically confront everyone in the ballroom and accuse random people until one of them cracks?"

  I gave him a look. "No, Kenji. We’re going to—" I paused.

  Actually.

  "...Yeah. That’s exactly what we’re going to do."

  Kenji grinned. "Hell yeah. Best pn ever."

  I sighed. "I hate that you’re right."

  Back in the ballroom, the wealthy guests were still standing around, whispering among themselves like this was some kind of high-css dinner theater.

  Reina and I walked to the center of the room.

  I cleared my throat. "Alright, everyone. We have some new information about Lord Kazuhira’s death."

  The murmuring grew louder.

  Lady Satou scoffed. "And what ridiculous accusation will you make this time, Detective?"

  I smiled. "Oh, nothing too ridiculous. Just that the poisoned wine wasn’t meant for Lord Kazuhira."

  The room went silent.

  Even the old man in the tuxedo, who had spent most of the night compining about "useless heirs," suddenly looked interested.

  I continued. "That means there’s someone in this room who should have died tonight—but didn’t."

  Kenji whispered, "Damn, bro, this is just like a drama show."

  I ignored him. "So. I’ll ask this once. Who was supposed to drink that wine?"

  Silence.

  Then—

  A nervous cough.

  From the old man in the tuxedo.

  Reina’s eyes locked onto him instantly. "Lord Kuroda. Do you have something to say?"

  Lord Kuroda hesitated, then sighed. "...I was meant to drink that wine."

  Gasps erupted across the room.

  Kenji whispered, "Called it."

  I blinked. "Wait. Really?"

  Lord Kuroda nodded. "It’s tradition. The head of the family takes the first sip at a gathering. But Kazuhira was so arrogant, he snatched it before I could. I didn’t think much of it at the time..." His face darkened. "But now I see someone was trying to kill me."

  I exhaled. "Well. That changes things."

  Reina crossed her arms. "Now we just need to find out *who* wanted you dead."

  Lord Kuroda scoffed. "Take your pick. I’ve made plenty of enemies in this family."

  I groaned. "Great. More suspects."

  Kenji grinned. "Aw, c’mon, bro. You love this detective stuff."

  I stared at him. "Kenji. I am faking this detective stuff."

  He patted my shoulder. "And you’re doing an amazing job."

  I sighed.

  This was going to be a long night.

  I rubbed my temples. "Alright. So we know the poison was meant for Lord Kuroda. That means we need to focus on people who benefit from his death."

  Reina nodded. "That would be his heirs, his business rivals, or anyone who just really hates old rich guys."

  Kenji grinned. "So basically, everyone in this room."

  I groaned. "Fantastic."

  I gnced around at the suspects. Lady Satou, the bitter socialite. Hiroshi, the anxious butler. A handful of other rich guests who all had that I am rich and therefore above consequences aura.

  And then there was Lord Kuroda himself.

  A thought hit me.

  "What if we’re looking at this the wrong way?" I said.

  Reina raised an eyebrow. "Expin."

  I started pacing. "Everyone here assumes this was a straightforward poisoning—one person trying to kill another. But what if it wasn’t?"

  Kenji tilted his head. "Dude, there’s a dead body. Pretty sure that means it was straightforward."

  I shook my head. "No, think about it. What if the killer wanted the wine to be switched? What if the whole thing was pnned so Lord Kazuhira would drink it instead of Lord Kuroda?"

  Reina’s eyes widened. "You're saying the killer didn’t just try to poison Lord Kuroda... they knew he switch would happen?"

  I nodded. "Exactly. Which means..." I turned to Lord Kuroda. "...who else knew you always drank frst?"

  Kuroda's face darkened. "Everyone in my family."

  I sighed. "Of course."

  Kenji whistled. "Man, rich people are messy."

  Reina crossed her arms. "Then we need to look at family members. Someone who had a reason to want Lord Kazuhira dead but needed to make it look like an accident."

  I frowned. "Or someone who wanted to kill both of them."

  Silence.

  That thought hadn’t occurred to them.

  Lord Kuroda frowned. "Both of us?"

  I nodded. "If you drank the poison, the family would fight over your inheritance. But if Lord Kazuhira died first, you’d be paranoid. You’d start accusing people. And if you mysteriously died after that, the whole family would be too busy bming each other to notice the real killer slipping away."

  Kenji snapped his fingers. "Ohhh. So instead of one clean murder, they set up a chain reaction."

  Reina muttered, "Thinking outside the box while staying inside the box..."

  Kenji grinned. "That's just called a bigger box."

  I gred at him. "Not helping."

  Reina turned to the crowd. "Alright. We need to figure out who benefits from both of your deaths."

  Lord Kuroda exhaled. "That would be..." He hesitated.

  Kenji leaned forward. "Oh? Some family drama you don’t wanna share?"

  Kuroda gred. "It would be my other heir. My granddaughter."

  More gasps.

  I sighed. "Of course. It’s always the secret heir."

  Kenji blinked. "Wait. Heir? You mean—?"

  A young woman in a bck dress stepped forward, her arms crossed.

  "Yes," she said, her voice cold. "Me."

  I suddenly felt very, very underpaid for this job.

  The room fell into complete silence as the young woman stepped forward.

  She had the kind of presence that made people stop and listen. Dark eyes, sharp expression, and a posture that screamed, Yes, I know I’m smarter than you.

  Reina crossed her arms. "And you are?"

  The woman smirked. "Aiko Kuroda. Granddaughter of Lord Kuroda and, as of today, the only heir left standing."

  Kenji whistled. "Damn. She just decred victory before we even said she did it."

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Alright, Miss Kuroda. You seem very confident for someone who's currently the prime suspect."

  Aiko raised an eyebrow. "Am I? Because from what I heard, you still don’t have actual proof."

  I gritted my teeth. She wasn’t wrong.

  Reina, thankfully, was already ahead of me. "The wine bottle. If we find traces of poison, it’ll confirm our theory."

  Aiko shrugged. "And if you don’t?"

  I really hated her.

  Kenji sipped his soda. "Man, rich people love making things complicated."

  I turned to Reina. "We need that bottle. Now."

  Reina nodded and gestured for the officers to start searching. Meanwhile, I decided to keep Aiko talking.

  "So, let’s assume for a moment you did kill Lord Kazuhira," I said. "What was the pn? Poison him, make it look like an accident, and inherit everything?"

  Aiko sighed. "Detective, I already inherit everything. If my grandfather dies, I’m still the heir. I don’t need to kill anyone to gain what’s already mine."

  Lord Kuroda’s expression darkened. "Aiko…"

  She turned to him, bored. "Yes, Grandfather?"

  He clenched his fists. "You—"

  Before he could say anything else, one of the officers returned, holding a gss bottle wrapped in a cloth.

  "Sir, we found this hidden in the garden. Matches the description of the wine bottle."

  Reina grabbed it and examined the bel. "This is it." She turned to Aiko. "Still confident?"

  Aiko didn’t even blink. "Go ahead. Test it."

  I exhaled. "Kenji, remind me never to get involved with rich people again."

  Kenji grinned. "Nah, bro. This is fun."

  I wanted to throw him into the ocean.

  The test results came back. The bottle contained traces of a deadly but slow-acting poison. Enough to kill Lord Kazuhira within minutes.

  Aiko smiled. "Well, there you have it."

  I blinked. "Uh. What?"

  She leaned forward. "Your case is solved. Lord Kazuhira was poisoned. You found the bottle. Congratutions, Detective."

  I frowned. "And what about the who part of this murder?"

  She shrugged. "Not my problem."

  Reina narrowed her eyes. "You’re awfully smug for someone who’s about to be arrested."

  Aiko tilted her head. "Arrested? For what?"

  I stared at her. "…For the murder?"

  Aiko chuckled. "Oh, Detective. You’re still thinking too small."

  Something about her tone made me pause.

  She leaned in. "Tell me, Detective. Did you ever ask who brought the wine to the party?"

  I hesitated.

  Oh no.

  Reina’s eyes widened. "Wait…"

  Aiko smirked. "That’s right. The bottle didn’t come from this house. It was gifted to us… by Lord Kazuhira himself."

  Kenji choked on his drink. "Wait. Hold up. You’re telling me—"

  Aiko nodded. "The man who died? Brought his own poisoned wine."

  Silence.

  I could hear my brain short-circuiting.

  Reina cursed under her breath. "That doesn’t make sense. Why would he…?"

  Aiko tapped her temple. "Now that, my dear detectives, is your new mystery."

  I wanted to die.

  Kenji grinned. "Oh man. This just got way more interesting!"

  I groaned. "I hate this job."

  And just like that, the murder we thought we solved turned into an even bigger mess.

  The room fell silent.

  Everyone was still processing the absolute stupidity that had just unfolded. Lord Kazuhira had, in his infinite wisdom, poisoned his own drink while thinking he was getting revenge on someone else.

  And now, we had a new question: Who was supposed to die tonight?

  Reina exhaled. "Alright. Let's go over this one more time. Lord Kazuhira thought he was poisoning someone else. That means—"

  Kenji raised a hand. "Can we just take a second to appreciate how dumb this is?"

  I nodded. "I second that. This is actually the worst assassination attempt in history."

  Aiko smirked. "Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It makes perfect sense if you think about it."

  Reina shot her a look. "No, it doesn’t."

  Kenji rubbed his chin. "Wait. What if Kazuhira wasn't dumb?"

  Everyone stared at him.

  I frowned. "Kenji, he drank his own poisoned drink. That’s literally the definition of dumb."

  Kenji grinned. "Ah, but what if it was on purpose?"

  Silence.

  Reina groaned. "Kenji, please don’t tell me you’re suggesting—"

  Kenji snapped his fingers. "A double-bluff! What if he knew he was poisoned, but he wanted us to think it was a mistake?!"

  Aiko’s eyes twinkled. "Now that is an interesting theory."

  Reina facepalmed. "No, it’s not! That’s ridiculous!"

  I sighed. "Alright. Let's test this idea."

  I turned to Hiroshi, the nervous wreck of a butler. "Hiroshi, where did Lord Kazuhira get his wine?"

  The poor man gulped. "I-I don’t know! He always carried a special bottle for himself."

  Aiko hummed. "A special bottle, you say?"

  Kenji gasped. "Wait! That means the wine was always poisoned!"

  I rubbed my temples. "Kenji, that doesn’t expin anything—"

  Reina frowned. "No, wait. He always carried his own wine?"

  Hiroshi nodded. "Yes. He never drank anything else."

  My brain clicked into pce.

  Lord Kazuhira always drank from his own bottle. But today, he drank it and died.

  Which meant...

  "Someone switched the bottles before tonight," I muttered.

  Aiko smiled. "There it is."

  Reina clenched her fists. "So it was murder."

  I nodded. "But it wasn't an accident. Someone knew he only drank from his own bottle and poisoned that. He never meant to poison someone else—he was just too te to realize he had been set up."

  Kenji whistled. "Damn. So who did it?"

  All eyes turned to Lady Satou.

  She scoffed. "Oh, don’t be absurd. Why would I poison him?"

  I folded my arms. "Because you knew the wine had been switched before he drank it."

  Reina added, "And because you were arguing over money with him earlier."

  Kenji grinned. "And because you’re rich and mean, and that just feels suspicious."

  Lady Satou's eye twitched.

  She exhaled sharply. "Tch. Fine. I won’t deny that I wanted him dead. But I didn't do it."

  Reina scowled. "Then who did?"

  Lady Satou smirked. "Why don’t you ask his son?"

  The room froze.

  I blinked. "Wait. He has a son?"

  Hiroshi, still sweating bullets, nodded. "H-His son, Ryuji... they were estranged. Lord Kazuhira cut him off from the family fortune years ago."

  Reina cursed. "And where is he now?"

  Hiroshi gulped. "H-He’s supposed to be in another country, but..."

  Aiko smirked. "But poison is something you can send in a package, isn’t it?"

  Kenji’s jaw dropped. "Wait, hold up. You’re telling me this guy got assassinated by mail?!"

  I sighed. "That’s... actually possible."

  Reina muttered, "That would expin how no one here did it."

  Aiko stretched. "Well then, detectives. Looks like we have a new suspect. I suggest we pay dear Ryuji a visit."

  Kenji groaned. "Aww man, more work?"

  I sighed. "Yeah. And guess who’s leading the next investigation?"

  Kenji smirked. "You?"

  I exhaled. "Me."

  Reina cpped a hand on my shoulder. "Welcome to real detective work, Kirisawa."

  Aiko giggled. "Try not to die before the next mystery, detective."

  I gred at all of them.

  Kenji patted my back. "Look on the bright side, bro. At least we finally solved this case!"

  I frowned.

  Did we?

  Because as we left the mansion, something still felt wrong.

  Like we had missed something.

  And I had a bad feeling the real mystery was just beginning.

  I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

  Lady Satou had pointed us toward Lord Kazuhira’s estranged son, Ryuji, but something about it felt too easy. Too clean.

  We were about to leave the mansion when Reina’s voice stopped me.

  "Kirisawa."

  I turned. "What?"

  She gave me a knowing look. "You don’t believe it, do you?"

  I hesitated, then shook my head. "No. It feels... staged. Like we’re being led to the wrong answer."

  Kenji groaned. "Bro, come on. The guy’s son hated him. He had motive. It fits."

  I exhaled. "Yeah, but it fits too well. When has solving a case ever been this easy?"

  Aiko grinned. "Now that is a good question."

  I gnced back at the crime scene. The expensive leather chair. The empty gss. The way Lord Kazuhira had died so suddenly.

  And then... it hit me.

  My stomach turned.

  "Reina," I said slowly. "Did we confirm it was poison?"

  She frowned. "What?"

  I turned to the forensic team. "The cause of death. Have the results come back?"

  One of the officers adjusted his gsses. "Ah, no, but it’s obvious, isn’t it? The symptoms match—"

  "That’s the problem," I cut in. "It’s too obvious. We assumed it was poison because it looked like poison."

  Kenji blinked. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying—"

  I nodded. "What if it wasn’t poison at all?"

  The room went dead silent.

  Aiko’s smile widened. "Now this is getting interesting."

  Reina narrowed her eyes. "If it wasn’t poison, then what was it?"

  I walked back to the chair, staring at the body. The drink. The expression frozen on Kazuhira’s face.

  And then I saw it.

  His fingers.

  Stiff, curled inward like cws.

  A sudden, violent reaction.

  My heart pounded.

  "Kenji," I said. "What happens when you have a heart attack?"

  Kenji blinked. "Uh... you die?"

  I ignored him. "More specifically. What are the symptoms?"

  Reina's eyes widened. "Oh my god."

  Kenji blinked. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait—"

  I turned to the forensic officer. "Check his medical history."

  The man paled. "You don’t mean—"

  I nodded. "Lord Kazuhira didn’t die of poison."

  Aiko let out a small ugh. "He had a heart attack."

  Reina muttered, "Which means... this wasn’t murder."

  Silence.

  Absolute silence.

  Kenji’s jaw dropped. "Bro. We just spent an entire day solving a murder that didn’t happen?!"

  Aiko smirked. "I believe the word you're looking for is tragedy."

  Reina ran a hand down her face. "So all of this—Lady Satou, the son, the switched bottles—it was all just a coincidence?"

  I exhaled. "More like a perfect storm of bad luck. The argument, the tension, the assumptions... everything made us think it was murder. But in the end, Lord Kazuhira just... died."

  Kenji groaned. "So what you’re saying is... we did all that detective work for nothing?"

  I sighed. "Pretty much."

  Kenji dramatically fell onto a couch. "I hate this job."

  Reina muttered, "You don’t even have this job."

  Aiko giggled. "Well, that was a ride. What now, Detective Kirisawa?"

  I rubbed my temples. "Now? Now I need a nap."

  Reina shook her head. "Not yet. We still need to inform the family and clear up the investigation."

  I groaned. "Ugh. Fine."

  Kenji sat up. "Wait, wait, wait. One st question, bro."

  I sighed. "What?"

  Kenji grinned. "Does this mean I did solve the case?"

  I grabbed a pillow and threw it at his face.

  This was the dumbest case of my life.

  And something told me it wasn’t going to be my st.