"Well, that's all for today's lesson."
The professor standing at the lectern glanced at the back row of the classroom.
When he saw the familiar figure slowly sitting up, he realized it was time to finish work.
After announcing the end of class, the professor packed his things and left the classroom.
At the same time, Russell slowly woke from his sleep, his consciousness gradually clearing.
He casually accepted the notebook the girl handed him, put it in his bag, stood up, and stretched his limbs.
"Have you finished packing?"
"Mm."
Mary nodded and slowly stood up.
"Let's go."
The two exited through the back door of the classroom. The afterglow of the sunset illuminated the corridor, dyeing the gray stone bricks in brilliant colors.
The distance from the school building to the gate was neither too long nor too short.
Walking straight would take about 6–7 minutes. If they took a slight detour, it might take 7–8 minutes, or even over 10.
However, to Mary, the distance seemed to grow shorter with each passing day.
What should have been a 6-minute journey ended up taking nearly 10 minutes because the girl, without seeming to intend it, deliberately slowed her pace.
Ironically, those 10 minutes of walking felt like only 2 or 3.
After several exchanges of conversation, the campus gate came into view.
When she looked back, the silhouette of the school building behind them had clearly become much smaller.
It was time to part again.
"Well then," Mary paused and turned to face Russell.
"See you tomorrow."
"Mm."
Russell also stopped, wearing his usual smile.
"See you tomorrow."
The two parted at the school gate. Mary stood there, watching Russell's figure gradually recede into the distance, before slowly getting into her family's carriage.
"Miss, the master will not be returning for dinner tonight. Feel free to decide what you would like to eat."
The driver's voice came from the front.
Hearing this, Mary raised her eyebrows but quickly suppressed her curiosity.
"I see."
She replied concisely and closed her eyes.
The carriage began to move slowly.
As the wheels turned, the carriage swayed gently, creating a hypnotic effect.
Mary leaned against the soft cushions, replaying the day's events in her mind as if experiencing it all over again. A faint smile once more appeared on the girl's lips.
However, as the house drew nearer, the smile on Mary's lips gradually faded.
The scattered thoughts in her mind slowly coalesced and tilted in another direction.
About Bilson and Charles.
Bilson had been on the run for nearly a month now. Although the wanted posters were still posted by the roadside, public interest in him had greatly declined. This was a good thing.
As long as he didn't reveal himself, there was still room to act.
The girl had even considered arranging for Bilson to be smuggled out of London—or even out of Britain.
However, after disappearing for a year, re-establishing contact with the previous downline proved far more difficult than expected.
Mary had no intention of taking risks unless she was absolutely certain.
The more you do, the more mistakes you make.
As long as that man doesn't take any action, with the fake identity I prepared, he should be able to hide safely until he dies.
The real problem lies on the other side.
Charles Brown…
Mary murmured the name, and her blue eyes seemed to freeze over with frost.
…
Russell returned to Baker Street.
As usual, he habitually pushed open the door to Charlotte's room, only to find the girl flipping through her information wall.
"Are you still looking at Moriarty?"
Russell picked up a cup with familiar ease and poured himself some tea. He then noticed that the cup in his hand looked exactly like the royal tea set gifted from Buckingham Palace.
"You're just using it for that?"
"If tea sets aren't used to brew tea, then what are they for?"
Charlotte said without turning her face.
"In my opinion, decorating these things as some special altar would be a complete waste."
Russell said nothing, poured a cup of black tea, and walked over to Charlotte's side.
"Why are you still concerned about Moriarty?"
He repeated the question he had asked earlier.
"Didn't Mycroft say the matter was resolved?"
"The Buckingham Palace issue is resolved, but that doesn't mean the Lloyds Bank issue is."
Charlotte said.
"But have you thought about this?"
Russell took a sip.
"What?"
"What if Moriarty really has no connection to the professors at all?"
He asked.
"Everything we're doing now is based on the premise that there is some connection between the two."
"But what if this assumption is the same as our previous assumptions about Mycroft and him?"
"Then let's have Lestrade arrange for Moriarty to be examined by a specialist at the sanatorium."
Charlotte said.
"Once we catch him, we'll have to carefully investigate what's going on inside his head."
"Then we have to catch him first."
Russell said slowly and cautiously.
"I think he won't cause much trouble for a while."
"Why?"
Charlotte looked at Russell.
"Everyone needs a little breather, right?"
Russell shrugged.
"Judging from his past crime frequency, he used to commit crimes about once a week."
"However, in the past two weeks, his activity frequency had clearly far exceeded the usual level.
Even if he was full of energy, he should take a rest.
Are you going to handle cases for two weeks straight?"
"That was certainly his thinking."
Charlotte frowned slightly upon hearing this but had to agree.
"It seems there's only one realistic path left for us."
"Lloyds Bank."
Russell set down his teacup. "But isn't that something that will happen on the weekend?"
"If you want a day off tomorrow, you can go tomorrow."
"I already applied for leave this morning. If I apply again, do you want my attendance points too?"
"Do you really receive those regularly?"
Charlotte glanced at him.
"Then don't worry about it."
Russell turned around and poured himself another cup. "At least the attendance record will definitely pass."
"Why not just have Mycroft issue a repair exemption notice?"
"No way. That would waste the tuition fees."
Charlotte was momentarily speechless.
"So, once we get inside the vault, what next?"
Russell brought the conversation back on track.
"Find vault room 12 in Area A-3. Have that man open the vault, register each customer's name, and then conduct the search."
Charlotte said.
"Just hearing about it is exhausting."
"But it's better than doing nothing. If there's no shortcut, we should take the main road."
…
PS: Support me and read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode