Chapter 188: Mutsumi Nishikawa: Impossible! Absolutely Impossible!

Mamiya Masuyo, or rather the fake Masuyo, returned to her room in her wheelchair.

She stood up from the wheelchair and locked the door behind her.

Stretching her body, her expression was filled with resentment.

Pretending to be an old woman for years was exhausting.

But soon, she would break free from this life, restore her face, and flee abroad with a large treasure to live happily ever after!

This thought energized her even more.

She opened a hidden door in her room, grabbed a large iron rod, and began walking into the tunnel.

She had to reach the tunnel before that detective.

She wasn't worried that the detective would quickly uncover the secret of the clock.

No matter how good his reasoning was, it was impossible for him to solve the clock's mystery in just a few minutes.

…

She arrived at the tunnel entrance where Fujino had just gone in.

With the iron rod in hand, and a flashlight, she glanced at the real Mamiya Masuyo, now reduced to a pile of bones, lying on the ground.

This despicable woman had tried to stop her from finding the treasure.

But in the end, she met her death here, turning into nothing but a skeleton.

No one could stop her from getting the treasure!

She had sacrificed too much for this!

Time was running out.

Mamiya Masuyo switched off the flashlight and waited calmly at the base of the staircase.

But even after a long wait, the mechanism above didn't open.

"Could it be that he didn't find the mechanism?"

Mamiya Masuyo stepped out of the shadows and turned on her flashlight, planning to make some noise to lure the detective she wanted to kill.

Just as she stepped onto the stairs, a white figure followed her from behind, raising a stick high and striking her on the back of the head.

Ah!

A scream echoed throughout the dark tunnel, followed by a dull thud.

Mamiya Masuyo's vision grew darker, though it was already quite dark.

Her body crashed heavily onto the steps, her head hitting the ground, knocking out two of her teeth, blood oozing from her mouth.

"That's it, old hag?"

Fujino silently put away his wooden sword, lifted the white hood of his assassin's robe, and looked at the fallen old woman with disdain.

He took off the assassin's robe, crouched down, grabbed her leg, and began dragging her, searching for a way out.

The tunnel's intricate network of passages was confusing, but with the glow of his light stick and his sharp senses, Fujino found an exit.

He pushed open a hidden door, stumbling through with the old woman, knocking out a few more of her teeth.

Bright light flooded in.

Fujino found himself back in the exhibit hall where he had first entered the castle.

"Back here, huh?"

Still dragging the old woman, Fujino looked around and saw Mamiya Takato standing in shock, staring at him and the fake Mamiya Masuyo.

After a few moments, Mamiya Takato finally snapped out of it and angrily shouted, "What did you do to my grandmother?!"

…

A few minutes later, our client had been physically calmed down and was forced to listen to Fujino's deduction.

"You're telling me that this old woman has been impersonating my grandmother all this time? My real grandmother has been dead for years, and the fire four years ago was started by this old hag?"

Mamiya Takato furrowed his brow, staring in disbelief at the fake Mamiya Masuyo, his worldview shattered.

"That's right. Madam Mamiya has indeed been dead for years. Her body is in the tunnel…"

Fujino patted Mamiya Takato on the shoulder to console him.

"Can I… see her?"

Mamiya Takato's face was filled with conflicting emotions.

But before he could finish, Fujino interrupted him: "Let's wait for the police. You don't want to see the body. From what I can tell, she's been dead for over four years…"

Of course, Fujino wouldn't let his client see something so horrifying.

Only he could handle seeing a corpse in that state. An ordinary person would surely be traumatized.

If Takato lost his mind over it and became unstable, the 1.5 million yen commission would be lost.

And that was a hefty sum.

…

Before long, the news that Mamiya Masuyo had been impersonated spread throughout the castle.

Mamiya Mitsuru rushed over immediately, followed by the maids and butlers of the castle.

The revelation was too shocking.

It impacted everyone's future in the castle.

Mamiya Masuyo—the fake one—was awakened by a bucket of cold water.

Despite her missing teeth, she initially tried to feign madness.

But after Fujino laid out his deduction, realizing she had no escape, she confessed everything.

Her real name was Mutsumi Nishikawa, a maid who had worked in the mansion for years.

Four years ago, she set a fire that killed her colleague and Mamiya Takato's mother. Before that, she murdered the real Mamiya Masuyo and took her place.

She also killed the servant who died in the forest two years ago, using the tunnel.

Her goal all along was the treasure hidden in the castle.

"It was all for my grandfather's treasure…"

Mamiya Takato's eyes burned with rage. "You killed so many people just for a treasure you didn't even know the location or value of?!"

"Ha! Don't pretend you're any better," Mutsumi Nishikawa sneered, her eyes scanning the crowd. "Who here doesn't want that treasure? Who wouldn't kill for it? Hypocrites, all of you!"

"You…"

Takato's rage reached a boiling point, and he moved forward, ready to attack the woman who had killed two of his family members.

"There's no need, Takato," Fujino said, stopping him. "I have a way to make her truly regret everything."

"A way to make her repent?"

Under Takato's gaze, Fujino turned to Mutsumi Nishikawa and asked, "Do you want to know where the treasure is?"

"Treasure?!"

Mutsumi's crazed eyes lit up. "You've deciphered the code?!"

"Of course."

Fujino's voice was laced with temptation as he walked toward a portrait of Takato's grandfather at the top of the stairs. "If you rotate this painting counterclockwise, the entrance to the treasure will appear."

As he spoke, Fujino rotated the painting, revealing a vertical passageway.

He grabbed the ladder embedded in the tunnel and began climbing.

Mutsumi Nishikawa, who had been ready to escape through her beloved secret tunnels, now couldn't resist the lure of the treasure.

She had to reach it first!

Without hesitation, she scrambled to her feet and stumbled after him.

The passage led to the top of one of the castle's towers.

Fujino pushed open the door at the top, entering a small, pitch-black room. A faint light seeped through a crack in a hidden door.

Fujino approached and opened it, letting blinding sunlight pour in.

Beyond the door was a stunning view of the castle, with an inscription on a stone tile that read: "This beautiful view of the castle is the treasure left for whoever reaches here first."

It was clear that the treasure was the breathtaking scenery.

And it was indeed beautiful.

Fujino wondered how the madwoman would react.

"My treasure! My treasure!"

Mutsumi's crazed voice echoed behind him.

Fujino stepped aside, giving her room—also to avoid being pushed off.

"Where's my treasure?!"

Mutsumi Nishikawa looked outside the hidden door and turned back to Fujino.

"Isn't it right behind you?"

Fujino pointed. "That view of the entire castle is the treasure your master left behind. The inscription is right there."

Mutsumi's gaze followed his finger, landing on the words etched into the stone outside.

"Fake! It's all fake!"

Stunned for a moment, she collapsed, howling with despair.

She couldn't believe that the treasure she had searched for and sacrificed so much for was nothing but a view!

This was the treasure she had spent years chasing, even altering her face to find?

How could it just be this cruel joke?! Fake! It was all fake!

"What happened to her?" Takato asked, stepping into the room and looking at the deranged woman on the floor.

"She probably couldn't handle the disappointment," Fujino said, tapping his head. "Your grandfather's treasure is the view of the castle. She killed so many people over this."

"No wonder."

Takato nodded, his gaze devoid of sympathy for Mutsumi Nishikawa.

"Yeah, it's all fake!"

Driven to madness, she turned toward Fujino. "You hid my treasure, didn't you?!"

She lunged at him, hands outstretched to choke him. "Give me my treasure!"

"I told you, this is the treasure!"

Fujino kicked her, sending her crashing into the wall by the hidden door.

"Impossible! Impossible!"

Mutsumi Nishikawa began tearing at her face. "Did I turn myself into this monster for nothing but this?! No! It can't be!"

"Honestly, I've been wondering," Fujino mocked as he watched her descent into madness. "You spent all these years, ruined your face, killed all those people, and all for a fantasy—what were you thinking?"

"Shut up! Shut up!" she screamed, tears streaming down her wrinkled face.

Though she had lost her mind, she still understood that Fujino had been mocking her from the start. That cruel detective had known the truth but had cruelly led her to this unbearable revelation.

But Fujino wasn't moved at all.

How could a murderer like her deserve sympathy?

So he simply turned around and left the tower, leaving her to cry in despair.

...

At the tower's base, Mamiya Takato was already talking to the police, who had arrived in full force.

Takato glanced at Fujino and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"How'd it go?"

"Let's just say... she found her treasure," Fujino said with a sardonic smile.

The mystery had come to a close, but the real drama was just beginning.

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