Nightfall always brings with it a quiet sense of calm. And in the royal palace, that calm felt even more profound. After sitting idly in her
Nightfall always brings with it a quiet sense of calm.
And in the royal palace, that calm felt even more profound.
After sitting idly in her room for an entire day, Ran's face lit up when Hayashi Yoshiki returned.
"Yoshiki-nii, how did the investigation go? Any leads?"
"Mhm. It went rather smoothly—only one last piece remains."
"That's great!"
Ran beamed with a bright smile.
One of the maids standing by stepped forward.
"Princess Ran, would you care for some tea?"
"I told you, no need to call me 'Princess', okay? After all, I'm not the real one."
Ran smiled as she looked at the two maids in the room.
They were the personal attendants of Princess Mira—one had served her for five years, the other for three. According to Count Keith, they were people she could trust implicitly.
"But speaking of tea... Yoshiki-nii, would you like some? You've been running around all day—you must be tired."
"Sure, a pot of black tea sounds nice," Yoshiki said with a chuckle.
"Though truth be told, I spent most of the day riding a motorcycle and admiring the countryside. This country's scenery is... really quite beautiful."
"How nice... I want to see it too."
"I figured you'd say that—so I took pictures just for you."
As he spoke, Yoshiki pulled out a DV camera—something he'd picked up while out today.
Ran took it with surprise, then eagerly began flipping through the photo gallery.
One of the maids quietly left the room to prepare the tea.
Yoshiki sat down beside her, explaining the places featured in the photos.
"There's this café here—their cakes are amazing. Once all this is over, want to go try it?"
"Sure!" Ran agreed cheerfully.
Though she clearly remembered that Yoshiki-nii didn't like sweets.
Yet here he was, claiming a café had great cake...
Was this just an excuse to ask me out?
W-Wait...
Am I really starting to inherit my dad's 'detective instincts'...?
Time passed slowly.
The other maid in the room began to look uneasy.
"She's taking a while... why isn't she back yet?"
"She might've gotten delayed by something," Yoshiki said, standing up.
"I'll go to the bathroom for a moment."
Not long after he left, the maid who had gone to make tea finally returned.
"My apologies for the delay. I spilled the first pot on the way here and had to brew a new one."
She bowed slightly as she walked in.
But as she placed the teapot in front of Ran, her hand paused slightly.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, don't worry. All is well," the maid replied, stepping back to her station.
Ran continued flipping through the camera gallery.
The Kingdom of Vespania truly had stunning scenery—no wonder the late Queen Sakura had cared so deeply for the country's natural resources.
At that moment, the maid who had just brought the tea walked to the window and began to draw open the curtains.
The other maid immediately spoke out in alarm.
"No! It's too dangerous right now—close the curtains immediately!"
Ran was about to say something when the door opened.
Hayashi Yoshiki walked back in.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing, Yoshiki-nii, just—"
The maid who had opened the curtains smiled politely at first...
But the moment the "princess" stood and affectionately called out "Yoshiki-nii", her expression changed completely.
"Something's wrong."
She spun around to look out the window.
And in the next moment—
A tiny spark of light flickered in the darkness.
A shot had been fired.
Following Gin's command, the sniper Grappa seized the brief moment when the curtain had been drawn open to aim and pull the trigger.
The rifle roared with a flash.
A brass shell casing flew into the air, before it even hit the ground, the bullet had shattered the window glass.
Ran's eyes widened.
She was still holding the DV camera when Hayashi Yoshiki threw himself onto her.
Her mind hadn't yet registered what had happened.
Only when she landed hard on the floor, pain jolting through her backside, did she realize something was terribly wrong.
"Yoshiki-nii...?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry."
Yoshiki's voice was calm.
Vermouth—disguised as the maid—stared at the two collapsed figures.
She immediately turned toward the sniper's position.
At the same time, Gin, watching the room through binoculars, wore a frozen expression.
Cointreau...?
Why is that guy here?
His mind raced with questions.
"Damn it... that bastard—!"
Grappa, however, was furious.
Failing last night was already humiliating enough, and now he'd been blocked again by some nobody?
"Then I'll just kill both of you—"
He pulled back the bolt, preparing to fire again.
"Wait."
Gin's voice cut through the tension.
But Grappa didn't listen.
He wasn't one of Gin's subordinates, and failing twice in a row?
The Organization didn't forgive failure.
Grappa's finger tightened on the trigger once more.
"I said stop."
Gin drew his gun and pressed it to Grappa's forehead.
His murderous aura and cold, vicious gaze stopped Grappa in his tracks.
His finger froze above the trigger.
"Gin...?"
"Hey...?"
The others nearby looked confused.
But Gin didn't answer.
His dark green eyes locked onto the room.
No...
That's not the target.
He saw Cointreau standing with a hand over his shoulder, while the girl beside him—Ran Mouri—looked shaken and terrified.
And then he understood.
That "something's wrong," Vermouth had said through the wire—
It made perfect sense now.
With how important Cointreau was, of course, Gin knew the girl with him: Mouri Ran.
Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the palace.
Guards and soldiers rushed toward the scene.
Gin's expression turned cold.
They couldn't stay any longer.
"Retreat."
He swallowed his rage and gave the order, turning swiftly to leave.
The group moved quickly, jumping into their vehicles and speeding away.
As they reached the streets outside the palace, Conan, returning from his investigation with Daisuke Jigen, happened to catch a glimpse—
Gin. In one of the cars.
Conan's face paled instantly.
They were coming from Vespania's royal palace?
He tensed.
"Dad—that group's suspicious!"
"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Dad!"
Jigen grumbled, pressing Conan's head down.
And then, they too heard it:
The piercing wail of the palace alarms.