As Tsuneo tracked down the famous detective, the group gathered in the Blue Castle had just begun their dinner.
"Didn't Mr. Tsuneo go off to find that kid?" "Shouldn't we wait for them?"
Manabu Magami, seated at the table, glanced at the old woman and the boy across from him. Neither showed the slightest trace of worry. The kid had vanished somewhere, and the detective—famous from the papers—had been gone searching for twenty or thirty minutes with no sign of return.
"No big deal!" Genta plopped in his chair, wincing as his sore backside protested. Conan and Big Bro Tsuneo? That duo was practically unstoppable! Nothing to worry about.
Even Haibara and Miyami kept their heads down, quietly eating bite by bite. It seemed everyone shared Genta's confidence.
"Let's dig in!" The three kids raised their forks and knives, cheering as they prepared to devour the feast.
"Well, a lively gathering like this every once in a while isn't half bad," Manabu said with a chuckle.
The young master, Takato Magami, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, ever since Mom passed in that fire, we've hardly had any guests around here."
"But I heard from the servants that both of you stayed on after the fire?" Dr. Agasa asked, eyeing the unrelated father and son with curiosity. They seemed… oddly harmonious.
"Honestly, I'd always planned to move back to this castle after graduating university," Takato said.
Manabu let out a soft sigh. "At first, I stayed because I was worried about my mother-in-law—she lost her only daughter. But the longer I lived here, the more I grew to love this castle where my wife was born and raised."
It was obvious his excuse was as flimsy as the nonsense Tsuneo spouted when he was dodging questions.
The old lady in the head seat, her glasses glinting, spoke without a hint of warmth. "Love the castle? I'd say you're more interested in the treasure hidden inside it."
"Grandma…" Takato glanced at her, uneasy. Was it really okay to say that in front of strangers?
Manabu, unfazed, nodded with surprising candor and a grin. "Well, I won't lie. It'd be dishonest to say I'm not curious about my father-in-law's last words." A little ambition was only human, after all.
"Hmph. I knew my daughter was fooled by a greedy man like you." The old lady snorted, turning her wheelchair. "I'll take my dinner in my room. When my daughter arrives, bring her to me—I have a few choice words for her!"
She seemed to be having one of her episodes again. Alone, she maneuvered her wheelchair out of the dining room.
"Grandma's always like this. She still thinks Mom's alive," Takato said with a sigh. "No wonder her memory's slipping. Her legs started hurting ten years ago, and she hasn't left the castle since."
Manabu shook his head, clearly unbothered by his mother-in-law's barbs. He turned to the brilliant scientist, Dr. Agasa. "By the way, have you cracked the puzzle yet, Doctor?"
"Uh…" Dr. Agasa froze mid-bite. He hadn't even thought about it. Where were Shinichi and the others?
"You've heard, right?" Manabu pressed. "My father-in-law's dying words: whoever solves the castle's mystery gets my most precious treasure."
Dr. Agasa nodded. The gardener had mentioned it, but he hadn't a clue where to start.
"It's those chess pieces arranged in the courtyard, isn't it?" "If the same person who designed that board also hid the treasure, then the pieces must be hiding something," Haibara said, delicately slicing a bite of meat and slipping it into her mouth.
"Come to think of it," Miyami added with a smile, serving the kids more salad, "Mr. Tsuneo did say the one who left the board was a complete idiot."
"Id—idiot…?" Manabu and Takato blinked in unison.
"Has he already solved it?!" Manabu leaned forward, eyes bright with hope. A detective from the headlines—no wonder!
"No," Haibara replied flatly. "He didn't even look at the board. He was just complaining." The guy didn't even know how many pieces were in a chess set. Light and dark squares, sixty-four in total, thirty-two pieces. The key had to be in their placement.
"Oh… I see…" Manabu laughed awkwardly. He'd gotten his hopes up for nothing.
"Speaking of which, Tsuneo-kun sure is taking his time," Dr. Agasa said, checking his watch. How long had it been?
"This castle's full of hidden mechanisms," Takato said with a light laugh. "Let's hope they didn't get lost inside." Though, knowing kids, they'd probably run off to play outside.
"Just as long as they don't go near that tower," Manabu said, nodding toward the stone tower on the left wing. Four years ago, a fire there had killed his wife and over a dozen others. Two years ago, a newly hired servant had vanished one night. The other staff said he'd been obsessed with the tower. Police searched—but found nothing.
"That servant…?" Dr. Agasa leaned in, always a sucker for a good story. The three kids set down their utensils, eyes wide.
"Nine days later," Manabu said, resting his chin on interlaced fingers, "we found him in the woods. Starved to death." The police ruled it an accident—lost in the forest, trapped until the end. But among the staff, a rumor spread: His wife's spirit, trapped in the tower after burning alive, had vented her rage on the man. Ever since, the tower's doors had been sealed.
Haibara glanced at the spooked trio, then spoke coolly: "Starvation, huh." She paused, letting the silence hang. "For some people… that really is the cruelest way to die."
(End of Chapter)
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