Chapter 1018
The Second Sherlock
Under the guidance of the Heavenly Envoy, Eivass and Arsen moved swiftly through the Mirror Hall. This wasn’t running, nor was it flying. They simply walked slowly behind the Heavenly Envoy, yet the world around them changed with each step. It was as if they were filming an MV, complete with upbeat piano music.
After just a dozen steps, they arrived in a room that was almost identical to the one they had just left. Sherlock’s posture was also exactly the same – propping up his forehead, deep in thought.
“Please, observe,” the Heavenly Envoy said, gesturing elegantly. “The person you are looking for is right here.”
Hearing the voice, Sherlock suddenly awakened. He frowned and looked over. Upon seeing that it was Eivass and Arsen, he let out a slight sigh of relief. But Sherlock did not stand to greet them. Instead, he leaned back against his chair, his voice calm and melodious, “Long time no see, gentlemen.”
It was as if he had been certain from the beginning that Eivass would come to save him—and would succeed. He believed this so firmly that he felt no surprise or unexpectedness. He merely rose and bowed politely and sincerely, his usually calm eyes now brighter, a barely perceptible smile on his lips, “Thank you both very much for coming to save me.”
This was indeed the reaction expected of the real Sherlock. Eivass breathed a sigh of relief.
Arsen should have had a lot to say upon seeing Sherlock again. However, the most emotional part of their reunion had already played out once. Repeating it now, relying on memory, would feel like reciting lines, carrying a subtle awkwardness. It would needlessly add a layer of cringe.
“Thanks to the Heavenly Envoy’s guidance, it really wasn’t easy to find you.” Eivass nodded towards the Heavenly Envoy and then carefully examined the “real Sherlock.” “It seems… you haven’t been mistreated. Mycroft thought you might be silenced.”
“After all, I’m working in a dream, and I still eat in the Material Realm. How could I be mistreated?” Sherlock sighed. “My brother worries about me too much. The only harm done, perhaps, is that I’ve spent all this time eating and sleeping. To supplement my brain’s nutrition, I’ve been eating high-calorie, high-nutrition food. As a result, I’ve gained almost five kilograms – I consider that occupational hazard.”
“Work… rather than imprisonment?”
“At most, it’s house arrest. But if this level is considered imprisonment, then everyone who goes to work in a company is being imprisoned.” Sherlock sighed helplessly. “After all, I voluntarily took on this job myself. I didn’t expect it to be so troublesome. But for me, it’s quite alright. Such a challenging job is quite interesting, and my boss respects me very much. The only problem is that my boss doesn’t seem to want me to leave work, and he won’t let me contact the outside world… otherwise, I wouldn’t have written to you for help only now.”
“It’s also quite normal; resignation procedures for ordinary workers can be quite difficult, especially when there’s no one to hand over the work to.” Eivass commented sharply. “But to not let you go even on holidays and festivals is a bit too much. Is he afraid you won’t come back? Shall I vouch for you?”
Hearing this, Sherlock gave Eivass a peculiar look. He then looked at Arsen and asked, almost certainly in a declarative sentence, “Eivass knows his mother’s surname – you told him.”
Sherlock understood Eivass very well. When this man was not yet the Minister of Affairs, if he was provoked by the Lloyd Society, his first instinct was to dismantle them. When his family’s maid was hired by a Founding Figure for assassination, he directly killed that Founding Figure. When his sister was targeted by the Noble Red, he completely wiped out the entire leadership of the Noble Red.
Although he always had a smiling, gentle demeanor… Eivass was surprisingly ruthless and impatient when dealing with matters. If killing one person could resolve an issue smoothly without future repercussions, he would usually act decisively.
And now that he had grown stronger… when faced with this case, he hadn’t chosen to kill Duke Vendome’s entire family immediately. One reason might be that he had become good friends with Arsen and needed to consider his friend’s feelings.
Another reason was likely that he had learned his true identity—and that Annie de Vendome, who was supposedly his mother, was now at Duke Vendome’s residence. This was why Eivass had patiently put aside his usual methods and picked up his brain again to solve the problem from its root, rather than adopting the simplest approach – the “don’t understand, forget it, just kill them all” style.
This was exactly as Sherlock had once described Eivass: that cunning fox had a brilliant mind, but was too lazy to use it. But this laziness wasn’t due to Eivass’s simple-mindedness; rather, it was because he always had a backup plan: killing.
Sherlock had previously conducted a psychological profile of Eivass.
Although Eivass was a kind and gentle person with a strong sense of justice, responsibility, and sacrifice, he had a certain moral deficiency regarding the “weight of life.” It was as if Eivass had never considered killing to be a significant or unforgivable act. Rather, Eivass was actively seeking “reasons to kill.”
Sherlock believed that Eivass often deliberately stirred up trouble. He was like a beautiful young woman walking alone in a poorly lit alley at night, carrying a sword, with the purpose of effortlessly counter-killing anyone who harbored ill intentions towards her.
For reasons unknown, Sherlock clearly felt that Eivass harbored a desire to kill. However, this desire was not for indiscriminate slaughter. He had no interest in the innocent or the weak, but showed “proactiveness” towards those who were hostile, especially the powerful. Like a spider, he would set unseen traps to kill flies. It was as if he gained some irreplaceable benefit from this hunting behavior.
Only this could explain Eivass’s logic of deliberately escalating matters and eagerly engaging with others’ conspiracies and traps.
When Eivass went to the Church, Sherlock felt that Eivass’s desire had intensified. One reason Sherlock left Eivass to undertake his own mission was that he was somewhat bothered by his recognized friend’s obsession in this regard.
Sherlock was not the type to nag or lecture others, and Eivass only killed bad people, or even those he “had to kill.” Therefore, Sherlock had never voiced his inner thoughts.
However, during this time, Sherlock didn’t know what Eivass had experienced. But upon seeing Eivass again now, Sherlock felt that Eivass seemed less eager to “kill.” This brought Sherlock considerable relief.
Sherlock’s earlier emphasis on “the Duke was very good to him” was actually to prevent Eivass from going out and casually killing them all.
“—Yes.” Arsen nodded, confirming Sherlock’s deduction. “Vendome—I was quite surprised at the time.”
“Does Duke Vendome know about this?” Eivass asked.
“He absolutely cannot know,” Sherlock replied confidently.
As he spoke, the detective’s lips curved slightly upwards. “If he wrote to you about it, then I wouldn’t get to witness this fun. It’s just a pity… you still ran into Arsen. Otherwise, I would have personally told you about it myself – I missed out on a good show.”
As he said this, Sherlock’s face displayed genuine sorrow. He had truly been looking forward to this rare, high-quality amusement! Sherlock was always a ‘fun seeker,’ but he disliked making others’ suffering his sustenance. Under such moral standards, many forms of entertainment were inconvenient to find; for instance, he really didn’t like telling dark jokes. And when it came to his friends’ amusements, it was even more so! If this amusement involved Eivass, its value could be multiplied by three—no, five times!
Thinking of this, Sherlock suddenly thought of something. He looked at Arsen and asked with great interest, “Why are you so quiet today, Arsen? Is it because Eivass is here, and you’re feeling stressed in front of a stranger?”
