When Lucian pushed open the back door, Mary had her chin propped in her hand, gazing out the window.
She sat in the second-to-last row by the window, and the seat directly behind her was—conveniently—empty.
Lucian ducked low and slipped over to it. The instant he sat down, a crumpled paper ball sailed over the chairback and landed precisely on his desk.
[We agreed to meet last night. Where did you go?]
Good. Lucian had already prepared for this question.
Keeping his head low, he slid the note back through the gap in the chair.
[I was about to ask you the same thing. I waited forever outside the bakery—and then all I saw was you getting tackled into a dirt-roll by the thief.]
The paper ball came back immediately.
Fast.
[You saw it, Senior?]
[All of London saw it. Front page. Moonlight, white coat, golden hair—though the posture wasn't exactly elegant.]
Mary's shoulders trembled slightly.
Lucian pressed the advantage.
[Honestly, that thief's "rescue technique" was amateur hour. A proper hero does a bridal carry. He just flattened you. Zero aesthetics.]
Another note flew in.
[Senior has researched the "correct rescue posture"?]
[It's in romance novels. Nine times out of ten, heroic rescues are bridal carries. Rolling on the ground together like he did is a failing grade.]
Mary smiled.
The professor frowned toward the back row.
Lucian immediately dropped his gaze and pretended to take notes. In reality, he wrote: Nice sunlight today. It wasn't his department anyway.
A new note landed.
[Senior really dislikes that phantom thief?]
[Not "dislike." I just think he styles himself "elegant," yet even saving someone wasn't elegant.]
[Then what counts as elegant, in your opinion?]
[At minimum, don't get the lady's dress dirty?]
Mary actually let out a laugh.
The professor stopped mid-lecture and stared at the back row.
The blonde girl quickly covered it with a polite cough.
Lucian used the moment to slip another note forward.
[Are you alright? Did you get hurt badly?]
[I'm fine. Just scraped a little.]
[Good. Otherwise I'd be embarrassed on that thief's behalf. "Saving someone" only to injure them halfway through would be humiliating.]
Another note dropped.
[A lot of people asked me about the thief today.]
[Asked what?]
[Whether he was handsome, what it felt like being held, if I saw his face… more than twenty times.]
Lucian wrote:
[That sounds unbearable.]
[Unbearable is understating it.] Mary's handwriting paused for a beat. [It feels like my entire existence has been reduced to "the girl the thief saved once."]
Lucian went silent for a few seconds.
Your life is your own—yet one accident slaps a label on you, and from then on you're forced to live in its shadow.
That wasn't a blessing.
Especially not for someone like Mary—someone with an unhappy past. These things could push people into extremes.
Lucian wrote:
[Then I won't bring it up again.]
At that moment—
Mary's fingertip tapped lightly on her textbook.
That line had been a probe.
Most people would have chirped, "But it's so romantic!" or "You're famous now!" And in that case, she would have sentenced them to death in her mind.
Because there was no place for idiots on a spider's web.
But he answered like this.
A new note arrived.
[Aren't you curious?]
[About the thief, less so. I'm more curious what Miss Morstan reads in her spare time.]
Mary's back stiffened for an instant, but the notes quickly shifted the topic onto Lucian.
[By the way—what magazines do you usually submit to?]
[The Strand Monthly. Mostly low-tier little publications.]
[I've read it before. Most of the stories are boring.]
[Mine are the most boring kind. Guaranteed insomnia cure.]
[Then what do you actually want to write?]
[Miss Holmes's biography.]
[Why her, specifically?]
Lucian's pen hovered.
[Because Miss Holmes is the only genius who feels… approachable.]
[Approachable?]
[There are many geniuses in the world, but most make you want to admire them from a distance.] Lucian wrote. [Miss Holmes is different. She's sharp-tongued, but she never truly hurts the weak.] He added, after a brief thought: [And even after she insults me, she still lets me stay close. That matters.]
It was the truth.
After all, understanding how Holmes perceived the world would be an enormous advantage for his future "performances."
Know your enemy, win a hundred battles.
The next note came back more slowly.
[Sometimes you speak very seriously.]
[Occasionally. Mocking the thief was to make you laugh. What I said about Miss Holmes—I meant.]
A new note dropped.
[Sometimes you're like a corgi, Senior.]
Lucian blinked.
[Why a corgi?]
[A bit dumb, blurts everything out, tries to praise people but somehow it sounds like an insult—and your eyes light up the moment "payment" is mentioned. Also: short legs.]
[…My legs aren't short.]
[Mentally short.]
[Is that praise or an insult?]
[What do you think?]
Lucian considered, then wrote:
[Then what is Miss Morstan?]
The reply flew back.
[I don't know.]
Lucian stared at those three words for several seconds.
Interesting.
Not "cat," not "rabbit"—but I don't know.
Like a door left slightly ajar: not inviting you in, but not shutting you out either.
He wrote:
[Then tell me when you've decided.]
[Why would I tell you?]
[Because I'm a writer. I need material.]
[You want to write me into your story?]
[I already have.] Lucian's pen glided smoothly. [In the Craig case, you were the kindest character.]
The next note came back a half-beat slower.
[What did I do that was "kind"?]
[On the night of the murder, everyone was panicking. You were the one who stayed to wait for the police—and you helped calm down the female student who first found the body.] Lucian recalled the details. [And we share a secret.]
[Your standards are too low. Those were trivial things.]
[The "trivial things" people choose to do without thinking are the clearest proof of who they are.] Lucian wrote. [That alone makes you more interesting than most.]
It wasn't flattery.
Mary genuinely was interesting.
Her paper-throwing angle was precise. Her replies were fast. Her handwriting was so pretty it looked printed. And she never asked boring questions.
Talking with her felt… strangely familiar, strangely effortless.
Just like that night.
[You think I'm interesting?]
[So far, yes. At least more interesting than that thief. He can only pose. You can throw paper notes. The verdict is obvious.]
At that, Mary turned slightly and glanced back at Lucian.
Sunlight traced the delicate profile of the blonde girl.
A bird swept past outside the window.
She smiled—lightly—and then turned forward again to listen.
Behind her, the "corgi" carefully tucked the paper ball into his pocket.
She didn't even need to look to know.
Her fingers resumed their gentle tapping.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Whatever.
A chess piece is still a chess piece.
When the time came, the Professor would use it without hesitation.
That was a spider's instinct.
And it was Moriarty's law.
Nothing more.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty…then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (100 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it