"I'm just following the instructions of the late Master and Master Zhenzhao. I do a little trimming every day to maintain the appearance of this place," the gardener explained. "I heard that this was the late Master's dying wish fifteen years ago, and Master Zhenzhao has never disobeyed it."
Dr. Agasa asked, "You said the late Master, so who was the one just now?"
"That was Master Aman, Madam's second husband, because Master Zhenzhao died of illness six years ago," the gardener said, lost in thought. "Our Madam, she also died in that big fire four years ago."
"—A big fire?"
Hearing this, Lin Jianhe, who was standing nearby, shifted her gaze to a stone pagoda not far away. The pagoda was charred black, as if it had been burned.
Indeed, the gardener also pointed at the stone pagoda. "That place was Madam's former bedroom. That year, Madam specially returned to this long-unvisited castle to celebrate Madam's birthday. She arrived here in the middle of the night, but before dawn that day, flames shot up. And it wasn't just Madam; her friends she brought back with her, and the servants who had served Madam for many years, a dozen people, were all consumed by that fire."
The group walked and listened to the gardener, entering the castle. Inside, the first thing they saw was a portrait directly opposite the main door, a portrait of the original deceased Master. On either side hung portraits of Master Zhenzhao and Madam.
"Master Zhenzhao was adopted into the family. He greatly respected the Master, who was also a historian. Our Madam often got jealous about this and used to frequently complain on Master Zhenzhao's behalf."
As the gardener finished speaking, Madam slowly approached, pushing her wheelchair.
"She often said, 'Father is just an intellectual full of twisted logic, isn't he?'"
Upon hearing Madam speak, the gardener hurriedly turned and bowed. "Madam."
"Actually, I've often heard this before, but he never got angry when he heard such things; instead, he was quite pleased," Madam seemed not to care much.
The gardener took off his hat again, his face full of apology. "I'm truly sorry, I shouldn't have made Madam recall these past events."
"You don't need to be so nervous. I've long grown used to life without him here. It's like the change in size of banknotes and passports; at first, it might be unfamiliar, but over time, it's no different," Madam sighed. "Time, regardless of joy or sorrow, will pass with time."
Saying this, Madam finally noticed the unfamiliar guests and asked, "Who are these people?"
"Oh, these..." the gardener introduced, "They are Master's friends. I heard he is also a scientist."
"A scientist? That's wonderful! Then I must ask you to help us unravel what mysteries he buried in this castle."
"Mysteries?" Dr. Agasa was puzzled.
"I heard that the Master once said something before he died: whoever can solve the mystery of this castle, he will give them his most precious treasure," the gardener explained.
"Grandma, was your face injured?" Suddenly, Lin Jianhe's childlike voice rang out.
Madam paused for a moment, then, as if remembering something, she directly ignored Lin Jianhe's words. "Oh, that's right, my daughter hasn't returned yet, has she? Wasn't she supposed to come back today? She said she would come to celebrate my birthday."
"But... but Madam!"
"When she arrives, immediately call her to my room. I'll be able to see my daughter right away." Madam didn't give the gardener a chance to speak and pushed her wheelchair upstairs.
Seeing this, the gardener sighed. "She's been like this ever since the fire. She was too devastated."
After Madam left, Lin Jianhe looked thoughtfully in the direction she had gone.
"What's wrong?"
Facing Haibara's question, she said faintly, "Her face is a bit strange."
"Face?" Haibara was confused.
She narrowed her eyes, her gaze fixed on the direction Madam had left, not directly answering Haibara. "It's nothing."
"Hey! Uncle, is there any room where we can clearly see the Western chess set in the yard?" Conan asked.
It was clear Conan had found another lead, so following the gardener's guidance, the group arrived at a room. Lin Jianhe pushed open the window, and from above the window, they could perfectly see the entire chessboard.
Conan was always the most engrossed when it came to codes and ciphers. Lin Jianhe, bored, glanced down from above and then withdrew her gaze. Unless absolutely necessary, she wasn't interested in anything that required brainpower.
"The windows here can all see it too!"
"Really?! I want to go over there and see!!"
Watching the children's energetic appearance, Lin Jianhe couldn't help but admire them. After all, even though her body had shrunk, her mind and her desire for all things in the world wouldn't be like a child's.
She walked to the bookshelf, which was filled with rows of books and some ornaments.
"This is..."
Her gaze was drawn to a golden scimitar with a sheath. She couldn't help but reach out, pick it up, and hold it in her hand. "Oh..."
She sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, and drew the scimitar from its sheath. The heavy feeling in her palm instantly confirmed that the sheath was made of pure gold, and the scimitar was extremely well-maintained, gleaming silver as it was drawn.
"This is truly wonderful."
"What?"
Hearing the sound, Lin Jianhe looked up. Haibara was standing in front of her, bending down as she spoke, looking at the scimitar in her hand. "Isn't this your favorite weapon?"
In the Organization, Aiba Yu's codename was Famas, but she also had another codename, "Silver Scimitar," because she was famous for her knife skills. But looking at that face so close, even when she looked up, she could clearly see herself reflected in the other person's eyes. For a moment, Lin Jianhe felt a bit dazed and nervous, forgetting to answer.
"Isn't it?"
Staring into those eyes, Lin Jianhe nodded mechanically: "Uh... that's right..."
"Please! What are you two doing?! You'll fall!"
Suddenly, Ayumi's loud shout startled both of them. They both looked up at the same time and saw Ayumi shouting through the window at Mitsuhiko and Genta next door.
"What a bèn dàn (idiot)!"
Immediately after, Conan quickly ran to the next room. "What are you two doing?!"
Genta sat on the windowsill, panting with lingering fear. "I almost fell just now..."
Lin Jianhe and Haibara followed closely, but after entering the room, they saw an overturned chair, books scattered all over the floor, and Genta and Mitsuhiko's puzzled expressions.
"Where's Edogawa?"
"I don't know, he was just here..."
Haibara also stared at the scattered books. "Could it be..."
"He probably fell into a secret passage," Lin Jianhe said without hesitation.
Seeing Haibara's gaze, she explained again, "For a long time, wealthy people have liked to build secret passages in old castles. Actually, you can tell at a glance that the layout of this castle is very problematic. The actual usable area is less than the area we see, which proves that there must be underground secret passages built in this castle."
Lin Jianhe was an expert in these matters. Because she had to master various assassination and killing tasks, she also needed to fully understand the target's dwelling to prevent mission failure, the target escaping through secret passages, or hiding in secret rooms. All of these were specially trained.
"Then we..."
"Shh, someone's coming," Lin Jianhe put her finger to her lips. "We'll go look for Edogawa tonight."
As soon as she finished speaking, indeed, someone walked in through the door. This person was the Master's son. After seeing the books scattered on the floor, he stepped forward and picked them up.
"You mustn't play pranks, okay?"
"Yes!"
"But Conan!"
Ayumi was extremely anxious. Seeing this, Lin Jianhe gently stroked her head. "Don't make a sound. Edogawa went to the restroom."
"Really?"
"That's right," Lin Jianhe affirmed with a smile.
This matter couldn't be known by these children; it would be dangerous.
At dinner, Conan still hadn't appeared, but Lin Jianhe still brushed it off by saying he "went on an adventure somewhere."
"Then I'll pack some food for Conan, or he'll be hungry when he comes back!" Ayumi said, asking a maid for a sealed bag.
"You really are good at lying," Haibara, next to her, said softly.
Lin Jianhe held her knife and fork, smiling wryly. "This is a special situation; otherwise, I wouldn't want to lie to these innocent children."
After dinner, everyone walked towards the rooms where they would be staying for the night. Stepping out the main door, it had started to drizzle at some point. The group walked towards the main hall, but along the way, Ayumi was still distracted.
Perhaps, in her opinion, Conan wouldn't be someone who would leave without a word.
Seeing this, Haibara walked beside her. "Don't worry. Conan Edogawa would never be such a useless boy that you'd need to worry about him. If anything happens, he'll find a way out himself and get himself out of trouble. If you have time to cry here, you'd better hold onto that bag tightly so the bread doesn't get wet in the rain."
Lin Jianhe followed next to Dr. Agasa. She wasn't good at comforting people, but Haibara's words actually put Ayumi at ease.
But then, Ayumi quickened her pace to catch up with Haibara. "Hey! Why do you know Conan so well?"
"Hmm?" Haibara subconsciously wondered.
Ayumi gripped the sealed bag tightly and said with some concern, "Could it be that you like Conan, right?"
When this question was asked, not only Haibara but also Lin Jianhe, who was following behind, was slightly startled. Her steps unconsciously halted, and she quietly watched the two of them.
She also wanted to know this answer.
Seeing Ayumi's nervous expression, Haibara smiled. "Don't worry, honestly, I've never felt that way about that kid."
"Really?! That's great!" Hearing this, Ayumi beamed with joy and ran towards Mitsuhiko and Genta with the sealed bag.
After Ayumi ran off, Haibara didn't turn around but instead looked at Lin Jianhe behind her.
"—Strange..." Lin Jianhe paused slightly.
Suddenly, Dr. Agasa beside her coughed a few times. "Children nowadays are really precocious."
"That's right..." She looked up at Dr. Agasa, and when she looked back in Haibara's direction, she found that she had already walked away.