The location and time were written at the bottom. On the last line, the name James Moriarty was signed beautifully.
Helena’s eyes widened when she confirmed who the sender was.
“Baron James Moriarty? Do you know him?”
In this world, James Moriarty was a young socialite. He was the heir to an old aristocratic family, a lover of the arts who supported young artists, and above all, was famous for his handsome looks.
…No one would think he was the Back-alley King.
“It’s…”
The moment I tried to answer her curious gaze, red letters slowly appeared on the invitation in my hand.
…It was a “suggestion” from the King in Yellow.
[Yesterday’s enemy is today’s comrade.]
No way, you want me to be allied with Moriarty?
I tried to think more about the meaning behind it several times, but I couldn’t bring myself to do such a thing. The fear of Baron Moriarty was too great compared to the benefits of working with him. It was best not to have a relationship with such a dangerous person in the first place.
With that in mind, I threw the invitation from him into the trash.
***
Since the day after receiving an ominous invitation from James Moriarty.
I started a full-scale investigation. Of course, my targets were the Living and Moving Statues at the Greyfriars Kirkyard.
I used Jimmy in the process.
“What? You want to see the statues move for yourself?”
Let’s just say I wanted to use them as the main subject of the next novel. I wanted to experience the strange phenomenon for myself.
Jimmy clicked his tongue in disbelief. “I don’t know if you’ll faint from fear. I warned you.”
“I won’t faint.”
“Did you think I was joking? I have nerves of steel compared to everyone else.”
Jimmy tried to dissuade me several times, but I didn’t give in.
To summarize the information I heard from Simon Armoryit, or James Moriarty, from McMerrin’s art shop.
The following conditions must be met to experience the strange phenomenon of a “living and moving statue”:
- Be alone in the cemetery
- Keep your eyes closed
The basis for my conclusion wasn’t dangerous but simple. The only purpose of these statues was to reveal the hidden truth, right? I never hurt anyone before, so I’m sure it’ll happen to me.
Yet Jimmy didn’t back down either. “Emily, if anything happens to you—”
“It won’t happen.”
“In the case that you faint, won’t you need someone to take you to safety?” Jimmy sighed as if he was truly frustrated.
What he said made sense, so I nodded. At the same time, will it really matter? Since if I die, I’ll simply just come back to life. Perhaps because of that, I didn’t have a sense of danger since I could go through infinite regressions.
Anyway.
Jimmy and I came to the cemetery, but we agreed I’d go in alone and make a signal if anything happened.
11 P.M., in front of the gate of Britain’s most haunted cemetery.
Jimmy told the coachman to come back in an hour, then looked back at me. “I’ll be waiting here. Be sure to use this if anything happens.”
He handed me a flare gun. I looked at it for a moment.
“Thank you, Jimmy.”
“You’re welcome. My juniors also told me the cemetery recently got a new sexton.”
“Really?”
I didn’t care, but Jimmy seemed disappointed.
“I don’t know him personally, and there’s something wrong and creepy about him…”
“It’s fine. He won’t do anything to me.”
“Still, that old man was quite close to me… I think I’d feel better if he was still here.”
Jimmy also added that his friend, Willy, the one who told him the story about the Living and Moving Statues, was the person to introduce him.
“Willy, he’s quite charming. He has a good personality, so he gets along with everyone.”
“Does he work with you at the university?”
“No, it’s been a while since he left his hometown to start a business.” Tilting his head, Jimmy continued, “Come to think of it, I’m afraid I haven’t heard from him in a while. He’s not that kind of person.”
Jimmy’s gaze returned to the flare gun in my hand. “Regardless, don’t lose it. And be careful, all right?”
He treated me like a kid.
I smiled and nodded. Even as I got out of the carriage and went past the main gate, Jimmy’s eyes didn’t leave my back. He was worried for no reason. He was concerned I would pass out from fear because of how terrible the cemetery looked. However, it felt as comfortable as my home.
And today, I was wearing hunting pants and a jacket. They were easy to move around in. I walked confidently into the cemetery. Various gravestones were around me. The old, skinny trees looked like monsters. One could even hear the ominous cries of crows from somewhere.
It was a strange, gloomy place, but…
“Why am I so used to it?”
Perhaps it was because I had seen so many horrors since I was the apostle of the King in Yellow. It felt normal.
I stumbled and found the statues in question.
This was it.
A parish priest with half his face missing. The congregation had one arm, one leg, and one hand each. I stopped in front of the “blind revealer” who seemed to be watching me with empty eyes.
I looked at them and murmured softly, “…Show me the truth.”
I closed my eyes. Darkness encompassed my entire vision. It was completely dark, probably because it was nighttime.
How long should I stay like this?
A certain amount of time passed since I closed my eyes. I could sense the damp air surrounding the entire cemetery.
A distant cackle.
While I didn’t know when I should open my eyes, there was a disgusting, fishy smell. All my other senses were warning me.
…To get away from here.
I can’t.
30 seconds had passed since I closed my eyes. Perhaps because of the tension, my palms began to sweat, but I couldn’t leave. When will I get an order from the King in Yellow?
I was still standing in the dark.
Creak.
…I heard something.
It wasn’t a vague feeling. I definitely heard something. I sensed it approaching me, yet there was no warmth or smell.
It had to be. Yes…
I stretched out my hand slowly. Let’s see.
I touched something cold and hard. At the same time, the whole cemetery was completely silent.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
I was prepared for it, but…
“…!”
At the sight of the grotesque statue right in front of my face, I jumped without realizing it.
“…”
My heart raced from the growing fear inside my body. I looked at the statue, ignoring my fight-or-flight response.
This was the statue of a priest. Half of his face was missing, and he appeared older than the other statues. He was pointing somewhere while looking at me.
That way…
Another statue stood 200 meters away. And there was another statue nearby. The third statue pointed to a fourth one which was located farther away.
I walked slowly to where the last statue stood. It looked unstable without one of its legs, yet it was gesturing toward somewhere with a painful, sad expression.
“Where… are you leading me?”
The moment I looked in the direction the statue was pointing in, I realized where I was. This place was none other than…
The morgue!
My heart was filled with anxiety and fear. It looked like a normal building, but it was actually an ominous place that smelled of death from the inside. I took a deep breath and regained my composure. Following the statues, I reached for the back door of the morgue.
Jimmy said people weren’t allowed to enter in this manner. He said he only was here to perform an autopsy with the permission of a professor; he only used the front door.
But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Let’s go.
Fortunately, the back door was half-open. I stepped inside carefully so that I didn’t make a sound. The inside of the morgue was dim, and the stench of death circled around me. I felt nauseated. With a distant oil lamp as the only source of light, I moved forward. I ventured into the long, narrow hallway.
Finally, a vast space appeared before me.
“…”
The coffins caught my eye. There was the silhouette of something under a coffin lid that wasn’t properly closed. What was in there? Just imagining it made my heart explode.
Someone put their hand on my shoulder.
Ah!
“…!”
Swallowing down the scream that was about to burst out, I looked behind me slowly.
