[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

Chapter 146 It's Not Easy To Be A Detective 04

To be honest, Marie has always considered herself very lucky in her creative career.

Although each of the three stories is singled out, they are all highly discussed in the nineteenth century.But the first story she thought of was "Serial Killer Chess Game", which threw out the concept of serial killer and directly described the murderer's psychological state.Edmund's case undoubtedly paved the way for Philip Luther's story style, and it was this style that not only attracted the approval of reporter Franz Harvey, but also brought criticism from Mr. Bill Mayne.

In contrast, "The King of Carnival" and "The Check Lady" certainly retain the topicality and perspective that Mary wants to keep, but the tone of the story is not so deep and cold.Of course, Mary did it on purpose. She didn't want Philip Luther's story to be gray throughout, but she also got a kind warning from the editor-in-chief of Hall: Such a story is as interesting as it is interesting, but there are not many factors of reasoning and suspense. A good balance between style and subject matter.

So Mary felt that if she started with the story of Pluto or Ms. Grace, she might not get such attention.

As for this Mr. Bill Mayne, since the beginning of "Serial Killer Chess Game", he has slammed Philip Luther's story theme for being eccentric and grandstanding, saying that it has a bad influence on society and does not meet the basic requirements of literary and artistic creation.Thanks to the Blackwood weasel giving the chicken New Year's greetings, Mary was fortunate enough to meet him. At that time, Mr. Critic didn't know that the maiden standing in front of him was Philip Luther, but Mary was a countryman who had read a few books. Girl, she politely and perfunctorily said a few words, but didn't have a deep conversation.

After seeing him once, Mary completely lost interest in Mr. Bill Mayne: Mary doesn't care that others look down on her gender and origin, but if someone gives up communicating with you because of these two reasons, it will only make Mary feel that this person is narrow-minded and Pitiful.

Not even Blackwood considered parentage or class when choosing brides for his "cult."When Mary realized that Bill Mayne was a guy who felt that people who were born lowly and were not worthy of talking about literature and art, he was nothing in Mary's heart-Mary was not poor, and she even felt that Bill Mayne The husband criticized "Serial Killer Chess Game" as worthless, because he felt that the suffering of the poor and workers should not be written into the novel.

So Mary was a little surprised by his letter.

Although she participated in the case of the Illuminati, she was not the biggest contributor.According to the level of Mr. Bill Mayne's arrogance, he would never write to her to apologize.

After thinking about it, Mary really couldn't figure out what Bill Mayne was writing to her.

Like the other letters, Bill Mayne's letters had already been opened in the magazine, with Mary's permission in advance.The exquisite envelope was carefully cut open by a paper knife, and the letters inside were neatly stacked, and it was obvious that they had been treated specially.Mary didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This letter must have been spread among the staff of "Beach Magazine"!

I don't know what Mr. Bill Maine will think when he hears about it!

Mary took out the letter and read it carefully.

Contrary to what she expected, Mr. Bill Mayne didn't come to apologize, nor did he come to scold her.

The literary critic's handwriting is like a person's, and his neat and standard handwriting reflects his decency and arrogance everywhere. Unlike the agitated Mr. Harvey, Bill Mayne's writing and diction are also quite polite.He himself treated Mary in the same way: polite, but contemptible to anyone with a discerning eye.

But face-to-face is one thing, and writing letters is another.His fluent sentences made Mary understand the character of the critic: it was not that he deliberately looked down on Mary, but that Mr. Bill Mayne had such a character.

Because Blackwood has a good relationship with several literary and university professors, including critics.So Bill Mayne first expressed his gratitude to Mary for exposing the true colors of Blackwood and the Illuminati, and secondly affirmed Mary's vision rather tactfully—Mr. When dealing with people who study academics and pursue art, what they come into contact with are people who really have wisdom and aesthetics. It is not undeniable that other than decent gentlemen may also have this talent. But it is rare after all, I am just based on my own experience Please don't worry about it, Miss Mary."

After talking for a long time, didn't you admit awkwardly that you underestimated yourself when you first regarded Mary Bennet as an ignorant country girl? Are you critics in the "literary industry" so honest?Mary was very helpless. At first glance, she thought that Mr. Bill Mayne was writing a letter scolding her for not understanding art, but after reading it carefully, she was actually apologizing.

Mary would not be interested in reading the critic's letters if they were full of such indirection.But with this foreshadowing, Mr. Mayne's writing changed and his tone became sincere.

He did come to apologize, but still insisted on his opinion: that he didn't like the Philip Luther story.

"Out of insistence on my own personal artistic pursuit," Mr. Mayne wrote, "I will never approve of your creative methods, Miss Mary, please forgive a critic who has his own way of understanding literature and words. And I Your refusal to accept it is by no means groundless, I have my reasons - if there is no matter of the illumination, if there is no Blackwood revealing your identity, Philip Luther, in my eyes, is a man for magazine sales and his own fame Leaping clown at all costs. And your second installment, "King of Carnival," has confirmed that for me."

This is in line with Mary's guess. Before she started writing "The King of Carnival", she expected that some people would think that Philip Luther was joking.Strictly speaking, it's true, Mary just wanted to catch the heat, and she succeeded, not only successfully, but even supported by the character prototype herself.

"But when your identity was published in the press, and before you, you and I had another side. This made me realize my mistake, Philip Luther—that is, you, Miss Mary. You are not what I imagined You are a person who seeks fame, and as I said at the beginning, it is a rare gifted person except for a decent gentleman. It is a pity that you are a woman, and you cannot touch the essence of art after all. Our God is still too cruel , allowing your gender to limit you while inspiring you."

Mary: "..."

Although Mary can understand that people in this era believe that women's literary works are "petty" and cannot have real artistic value.But Mary wouldn't be happy to say such words directly as compliments!

Of course, Mary won't be offended by this-until the 21st century, some people will use "this female author's style is not at all feminine" as a compliment to the author herself.More than a hundred years have passed, and I really don't know whether it is better to say that the society is progressing or that the society is standing still.

"I don't mean to attack you, Miss Mary, I hope you can understand my rationality and matter-of-factness," Mr. Mayne continued. It can be written more decently and wonderfully. You have seen many injustices in society, but you always put them on the surface instead of going deep into the essence and exposing human nature. That is why, reporter Franz Harvey said You are imitating Dostoevsky, and in my opinion, he is right. If Luther's story cannot continue to open up the human soul and face the material that comes from human nature, then your creation can only be "imitation" ’, being superficial and still one step short, which is a pity.”

Seeing this, Mary understood what Mr. Mayne meant.

"I have a friend," he concluded, "who was young and as gifted as you. When I first read of him I even thought our Great Britain was going to have another Byron—and in the end He did exactly what Byron did, and while writing countless poems, he was also full of unrealistic fantasies like Byron. Byron went to Greece, and he went to France, that was [-] .”

[-].

When reading this year, Mary only felt the shudder of touching history with her own hands rushing from her back to her forehead.

In [-], an event occurred in France that affected the entire world for later generations.

That was the Paris Commune.

"An Englishman," Mary could read helplessly from Mr. Mayne's letter even though she couldn't see him, "why should he get involved in other countries' disputes? He said he saw hope in Paris, but his hope was as Like a bubble, it burst after two months, along with himself. Political campaigns destroyed a genius, Miss Mary, and your excessive pursuit of social events made me see the shadow of my friend. He is a man, And why should you be an unmarried lady? I will continue to follow the story of Philip Luther, but if you still insist on your own opinions, I will continue to criticize. Miss Mary, I hope you can understand that I am not targeting you personally, but Out of my own persistence."

Mr. Bill Mayne's correspondence ends here.

Seeing Mary put down the letter, Catherine said angrily: "This person is too much, it's fine to write articles to criticize, but he still has to write to reprimand Mary, and tell others how to write?"

Lydia: "I think he has to suffer. See for yourself who Blackwood is."

Mary shook her head.

Obviously she was the one who received the letter, but Mary wanted to comfort the two aggrieved sisters: "If you want to reprimand, the person concerned must care about it. I don't care about these things at all, so don't worry about them."

And, in her opinion, Mr. Bill Mayne was not pointing fingers.At the end of this letter, it is not so much that he is talking to Mary, it is better to say that Mr. Mayne is asking himself.

Mary didn't know what he was like, nor did he know his life experience. She only met him once, and she could only get a general idea of ​​his character, but she couldn't deeply understand Bill Mayne's soul.

He claims to be rational and matter-of-fact, but from Mary's point of view, Mr. Mayne is not rational. Everything he said, whether it is his repeated insistence, or his "hate that iron cannot be made into steel", feels that Mary is a waste of talent, and he earnestly persuades her to "return to the good." , all based on a fundamentally irrational reason: Mr. Mayne’s friend died in the Paris Commune.

He said that he saw the phantom of his genius friend in the "author" Philip Luther, and he didn't want "he" to waste his talent and die early, because he didn't understand his friend's choice.

Even Mary was thinking that over the past ten years, as Bill Mayne's status in the literary industry has risen, the critics may be more and more upset-if his friend is not dead, if he doesn't meddle in his own business, and she is also concerned about "Art", may achieve higher achievements.

It's not wrong, after all, when people die, they lose everything.

Mary neither disagreed with Mr. Bill Mayne's views, nor did she absolutely agree with them.

He thinks his good friend is meddling, regrets that Mary Bennet is a woman like everyone else, and bluntly says that the common people and poor people who understand art are a few exceptions except for decent people. It sounds extremely hateful, but in the end, it is still his own Experience and class influence one's own values.

The capitalists don't understand workers' strikes - obviously they have paid their wages, so why should they say they are "exploited"?This is simply unreasonable; qualified ladies don't understand Mary's insistence-it's not impossible to do your own thing after marriage, why do you have to wait to sign the contract before marriage?

Opinions are different, and most of them are related to the environment in which they grew up and class restrictions.Mary could understand Mr. Bill Mayne's condescension to say that the sacrifice of a good friend was meaningless, or even a waste of talent, because he did not see with his own eyes what kind of life the poor lived like reporter Harvey did.

She disagreed, but she didn't intend to refute. Unless Mr. Mayne personally experienced the life of the people in the slums and felt the despair brought about by the oppression that the poor would only get poorer, otherwise Mary and Mr. Mayne would get nothing if they quarreled. It's nothing more than a flirtatious "poor people become poor because they don't work hard".

But Mary felt that even though Mr. Mayne was superior, his advice had its own value.

At least he didn't agree with Philip Luther, but he agreed with Dostoevsky.His views on literature can be said to speak to Mary's heart: he said that no matter how hard Mary tries, she can only "imitate" the great writers, and there is still a long way to go if she wants to become a great writer.Judging in this way, although Mr. Mayne said that Mary Bennet was not worthy of being exposed to the essence of art as a woman, he actually put Philip Luther on a standard of "may be famous in history" and asked Mary to create up.

It's a reverse endorsement, and he's right.Mary's goal now is to be a best-selling author, and her dream is to become Stephen King, not a representative author of psychological realism.I have to say that Mr. Bill Mayne is indeed a person with profound literary accomplishments. He can see Mary's pursuit and point out that such pursuit is wrong—and as an author, who doesn't want his works to be popular in the world? At the same time, can it have a deeper meaning?

Then again, if you don’t agree with the value of Philip Luther, why should you be so concerned? The serialization of "Seaside Magazine" itself is not worthy of being compared with Dostoevsky. Don’t you hope that Mary can write better? .

Scolding, chasing, and writing letters, while pretending to be noble, while admitting that Mary wrote well, the whole letter seems to be full of lessons for pointing out the country, and some attitudes are contradictory, but revealed Mr. Mayne's real opinion: He really thinks that Mary's works have great potential, but he can't directly admit it because of the face of a "pure literary critic"!

What kind of black powder is this!Mary also found it amusing.

"I have to write a reply," declared Marie, after a moment's thought. "It's just a while before I get from Calais to Paris, and I can write on the train."

"You want to write an answer?"

Catherine showed a surprised expression: "You still say you don't care, Mary! Mr. Harvey wrote to Mr. Hall in a hurry to ask for your information, and you didn't reply immediately. It's too unfair."

"That's different," Mary laughed. "At that time, everyone didn't know who Philip Luther was. And I think Mr. Mayne's tone is arrogant, but his advice is indeed useful. Luther and him in the newspapers" It's been a long time since we communicated, and it's only natural to give a positive response."

Of course, the point is that although the tone of the letter is still unflattering, Mary feels that Mr. Mayne did not mean it.

And... no matter what reason Mr. Mayne chooses to communicate directly with Mary and express his true thoughts, out of respect, even if their views are different, Mary feels that she should write back a letter to express her views— —This is different from Mr. Harvey at the beginning. The reporter was just curious about Philip Luther. Before he went to Milton, he hadn't yet had the desire to communicate with Luther.

The three Bennet sisters staggered on the boat, left the port, and landed in Calais.

And setting foot on the territory of France is just the beginning of the journey. Although all kinds of people come and go in the port city, the French spoken by the passers-by is Catherine and Lydia, who are nervous and surprised.

Mary can speak a little French and can communicate with people in daily life, while the two Bennet sisters are here for sightseeing.

Irene asked someone to pick up Mary and the three at the port of Calais. There were not many people who took money to help pick them up. They just helped the three Bennet sisters buy tickets in advance and called a carriage to take them to the train station.

Then came another extremely long train journey.

There was no TGV in France in the [-]th century. Mary and her two younger sisters could only sit by the window of the carriage and watch the scenery outside the carriage.

Especially writing letters under the scenery.

Marie was not going to discuss with Mr. Mayne whether it was right or wrong for his friend to be nosy and to come to France just in time for the Paris Commune.People have been dead for more than [-] years, and the dead are the most important. Whether he is right or wrong has no meaning now.

Before expressing her views, she politely thanked Mr. Bill Mayne for his professional advice.

"After Mr. Harvey began," Mary wrote, "readers and critics kept comparing 'Philip Luther' with Dostoyevsky, which I thought was a complete sham of the pseudonym. As in As you said, I wrote and wrote because I was unwilling to marry a husband and raise children in the southern countryside, so as to find a way to support myself. Thank you very much for reading Philip Luther and his story—— There is potential in me and in my story. It is an honor to be recognized professionally. But in my opinion, whether Luther, or Mary Bennet's work in the future has or does not have real Artistic value, that is what an author should pursue, which is what Mr. Maine said, the universal meaning of human nature."

At this point, Mary paused.

Since Mr. Mayne spoke bluntly and did not conceal his haughty nature at all, Mary would not be tactful.

If talking face-to-face, for aggressive people, Mary would still put on her signature smirk to cover up her straightforward personality, but now she talks with pen and paper, and the euphemism is more or less concealed.

Besides, Mr. Mayne didn't hide it. Since he "respects" himself so much and expresses his heart, if Mary doesn't express her true opinion, she will look down on his dismissive approval instead.

"But I don't agree with the innate theory."

Before presenting her own thoughts, Mary wrote her opinion.

"Mr. Mayne, you believe that only decent gentlemen can approach the essence of art, and that poor people and women are only rare exceptions when they are 'occasionally inspired'. In my opinion, such conclusions completely miss the root of the problem. Not only A decent gentleman can master art, but art has always been in the hands of a decent gentleman. And the poor are not lacking in talent, but lacking in the education that gentlemen have undergone."

Same goes for ladies.

Mary knew how much she was worth, so it was no problem for her to use her cleverness to write serialized novels with novel viewpoints in the 21th century, but if she was really a person like Sherlock Holmes with an extraordinary IQ that surpassed ordinary people, she would be in the [-]st century. Admitted to Oxbridge.

But in Mary's view, it's one thing to pass the exam, and it's another thing to be able to pass the exam.

Cambridge University did not allow women to enroll as full undergraduates until [-].Don't all the women in [-] have the IQ to enter Cambridge University?What they lack is not IQ, but basic education enough to enter Cambridge.The same is true for writing.

"Since I'm going to discuss art, please allow me to use music as an art form to distance," Mary wrote, "The same ear is clever, a newborn is born on the railway, and what he hears day and night is the roar of the train, and childhood because Being too sensitive to sound and reacting differently from ordinary children will add to the troubles of parents; but if this newborn is born in a noble family and has no worries about food and clothing, what he has heard since childhood is Mozart and Beethoven, and other Life is naturally very different from that of the son of a railroad worker."

At this point, Mary thought for a while and continued to write: "Of course, I also agree with you, sir, there will always be exceptions, but exceptions do not prove your point, it can only prove that the poor and women are different from what you say 'Decent Gentleman' is not at the same starting point. It's not that the sons of railroad workers aren't musically gifted, it's that they can't get the same education. Same with writing, you think it's a pity that I'm a woman because women can't touch The essence of art, in my opinion, is not that we don't have talent, but that we don't have the right to 'talent' at all."

At this point, Mary's point of view has been elaborated.She thinks it's good to say here, and it will inevitably diverge into politics when it goes on, and the confrontation between political views will inevitably make the situation very ugly, because this is not a matter of convincing the other party, just like May Mr. En is the same as his friend who supported the Paris Commune movement. Mr. Mayne still can't let go of his friend's death for more than 20 years.

"My sister does not think it necessary for me to write back to you," Mary concluded, "because I have not responded to any negative comments, and to write back to you would be to break my own insistence. But I think it is quite different, Before you criticized the story of Philip Luther, wrote an article and published it in the newspaper, not against me, but the serialization published in the "Seaside Magazine". But now, you write directly to me, it is a choice and I Communicate and want to get my reply. Although you may not think so, in my opinion, this is a sign that you are willing to talk with me on an equal footing."

Even if the content of the conversation is not praise and praise, it is still willing to communicate with Mary.Although Mary did not reply to every letter, she did not reply when reporter Harvey wrote to ask about Milton's situation.

After writing the letter, Mary found an opportunity to entrust the steward to post the letter when the train stopped at the station.

Before arriving in Paris, Marie also wrote several letters to Irene, reporting her itinerary.She originally wanted to write to Holmes, but when Sherlock Holmes left London, Sherlock Holmes said that he could not confirm the situation of Monsour, and asked her to wait in Paris first, so Mary did not know where he lived in Montsour on the way, so she had to give up.

No matter how the train is still rattling, no matter how long you stare at the beautiful scenery, you will get tired of it.

The car was boring, and it was troublesome to transfer stations. The journey took a long time on the road. When she stepped on the ground of the Paris train station, Mary only felt that her legs were fluttering.

Her two younger sisters were as excited as if their feet were scalding on the train station floor. The two youngest Bennett daughters couldn't hide their excitement because they didn't understand French. After that, Lydia continued, the two girls who had finally been quiet in London exposed their teenage nature for a while, making Mary feel like she was back in Longbourn.

"Stop, wait a minute, you two," said Mary, who had a headache from their quarrel, "don't get excited, it's never too late to see Irene, Paris is so big, and there are many people at the train station. If you can't find someone to pick you up Our people, let's go to the Opera House!"

Of course not to walk over, Mary just wanted to frighten the two younger sisters, and it worked.

"Then, where is the person who picked us up?" Catherine asked excitedly and nervously.

"Irene said it was her maid, in her twenties, with brown hair," Mary said, recalling Irene's reply, "today she will be wearing a blue dress and carrying a basket with flowers so we can recognize her Come. She will lead someone to wait on the platform."

"What are you waiting for?"

Coming to a new environment, Lydia, who has been a qualified lady in London for a long time, finally has a chance to be lively again.Holding Catherine by her side, she urged Mary to go quickly.Fortunately, even though they had a lot of luggage, Irene's maid came very quickly.

Among the many passengers, a not-too-tall brown-haired girl with freckles on the nose came over with two servants. She looked at the three young ladies curiously, and then spoke with a French accent. English asked: "Excuse me, Miss Bennet?"

Lydia: "Ah... yes, we are!"

Mary: "You're Annie, aren't you?"

"I am," Irene's little maid smiled brightly, "Please come with me, ladies, Miss Christine has been waiting for you for a long time."

"and many more."

Catherine was a little dazed: "Miss Christine? Did you find the wrong person?"

"what."

Anne was taken aback for a moment, and then realized: "It's Miss Christine Day! She came to Paris from London when she was five years old. After her father died, she took her stepfather's surname and changed her French name. She went to London At the time, I should say that my name is Irene Adler, Miss Christine is right."

Mary: "..."

At that moment, Mary suddenly understood who the "lover" Irene was thinking of was.

The soprano of the Paris Opera named Christine Day, and a paranoid lover, is there any other possibility besides the plot in "The Phantom of the Opera".

Irene and Christine are the same person!

Mary suddenly felt dumbfounded, but seeing Irene's affectionate appearance, it seems that Christine, who dares to love and hate, has finally married the Phantom early. Where is her Viscount?Is it just not going to happen?

"So it is," Mary laughed. "In London, Ms. Irene Adler's name is more famous."

"We only call her Christine in private," Anne finished explaining, and then asked curiously, "So Miss Christine is also very famous in London? The British also like operas!"

Mary: "..."

What kind of French prejudice against the British is this!

Mary nodded: "Of course, when I finally come to Paris, I have to experience Irene's official performance."

"what……"

Upon hearing this, Annie showed a look of disappointment: "It's probably not going to happen in the past two days, miss. Recently, there was a murder case in the theater, which alarmed the big detectives from abroad."

A big detective from a foreign country?Has Sherlock returned to Paris?

Before Mary had time to ask, Annie continued to say to herself: "The little ballerinas in the theater said that the ghost in the opera house killed people! It took a long time to find the murderer, which alarmed the big ones who came to vacation. detective."

and many more.

Didn't Irene get a prescription to calm the nerves?Why does it sound like the tragedy of "The Phantom of the Opera" still happened, and it wasn't long before she left London and returned to Paris. Moreover, if Irene's lover committed a murder in the opera house, Sherlock Holmes would still make it public Announce yourself to take the case?Isn't this his style?

what's going on?

Mary's train of thought couldn't keep up with the development of reality. She held Annie back and said, "Take me to see Irene first, maybe I can be of help."

She was full of questions and didn't feel comfortable asking a maid directly. Before leaving the station, Mary bought a copy of today's newspaper.

Until this time, Mary regretted that she only cared about fishing in the foreign language class before time travel.After getting the newspaper, the French in her eyes made her feel as if she had returned to the days of sitting in the examination room and dealing with reading comprehension.Fortunately, newspaper reading wasn't the hardest part. She guessed and pieced together some useful information.

As Mary expected, the news about the murder in the theater in the newspaper is basically consistent with the plot in the original "Phantom of the Opera".It was reported that the Paris Opera House was haunted, and two theater managers were harassed. Just last night, a field worker was hanged by a "ghost" in the center of the stage, resulting in the cancellation of all performances tonight.

There is no mention of Sherlock in any words.Mary thought about it, maybe it was because he was famous in London, and Parisians didn't care what happened in England at all.

Mary and the two sisters followed the maid Anne into the carriage.Anne's personality is particularly cheerful. Although she doesn't speak English very well, seeing Catherine and Lydia curious, she kept introducing the scenery of the road and the characteristics of Paris to the two Miss Bennet along the way, without hiding her identity. Proud to be a Parisian.

Marie, on the other hand, was preoccupied with the murder at the opera.

This caused the carriage to stop in front of Ms. Irene Adler's quiet and beautiful mansion. After Mary got out of the car, seeing Irene's gentle and familiar face, she directly raised the newspaper in her hand without saying hello: "What's the matter? You didn't mention a word in your letter."

Mary's anxiety only resulted in a wry smile from Irene, she didn't answer immediately, but greeted Catherine and Lydia first: "Your rooms have been arranged, go and rest quickly, don't worry about your luggage, someone will help you organize it Yes. As for you, Mary."

After arranging the luggage and accommodation of the three Miss Bennet, Irene asked Anne to take the two curious girls to the mansion and the surrounding streets, and dismissed Mary's two younger sisters before Irene found out. A chance to be alone with Mary.

"Don't worry," she said, "I'm fine, the murder didn't affect me or my friends."

Irene was faintly worried when she said this, but she was not nervous.

Mary was immediately relieved by her reaction.

If her lover, the ghost of the opera house, did this, Irene would definitely not be so calm.But in the end he became a suspect, and Mary knew the general process of the matter, but she couldn't directly ask how Irene's phantom was. Is the theater going to stay closed like this? Won't it affect you... your life?"

Erin took a deep breath.

She looked at Mary, and her eyes were as reassuring as Mary remembered.It's just that such a calm gaze also let Mary know that Irene understood that she was probing and was waiting for her to tell the specific truth.

"The suspect is my lover," so Irene said frankly, "but he definitely didn't do it."

She took Mary's hand, finally showing some genuine concern, but she did not hide her firmness: "This matter is very complicated, so let me briefly explain it to you first: at the Paris Opera House, my lover is indeed called He is called a 'ghost', and he has indeed done what the newspapers said to intimidate the manager, but you must believe me, Mary, Eric will not kill people. The medicine I brought back from London is very effective. It was much calmer. On the night of the accident, I was with him all the time, and I can be a witness if necessary."

That's good.

Mary was completely relieved to hear that they were together.

This is enough to prove that Irene's phantom is not the murderer.She nodded, inevitably curious: "So, his name is Eric? Why do people call him a ghost?"

"It's... hard to describe."

Irene hesitated for a moment, feeling that the first day Mary arrived was really not the time to tell her love story.She just sighed: "It's good if you come, Eric can be said to be living in seclusion in the Paris Opera House. Once this matter becomes a big problem, it will not be good for the public, the theater, or his condition. I believe you , Mary, maybe you can find the real culprit before the reporters unearth some mysterious incident."

"There's Sherlock," said Mary matter-of-factly, "and since he's promised you to look into it, I don't think you need to worry about it."

"Holmes?"

Irene frowned slightly: "He's not in Paris, how could he investigate this matter?"

Mary: "...Anne told me that this incident alarmed a great foreign detective."

Erin was taken aback for a moment, then understood.

"It's not Mr. Holmes," she twitched her lips. "The big detective invited me to the theater for a routine interview tomorrow. If you're curious, you might as well go with me."

Not Sherlock Holmes?

Who else can be called a great foreign detective in this era?

Marie was at a loss until the next day, just 24 hours after arriving in Paris, she followed Ms. Irene Adler to the Paris Opera House and directly participated in a mysterious murder case.

And because of this, Mary got the answer.

The big detective borrowed the theater manager's office.Mary saw the chair as she followed Erin through the door