Chapter 383

Because if Akaso Kaze appeared with his original identity, it might have an unpredictable impact on the occurrence of the incident.

Akaso Kaze took Conan and followed the white-bearded butler into the villa.

Conan asked: "I heard that a vampire murder case happened here?"

The white-bearded butler looked at Conan curiously.

Akaso Kaze smiled: "This little guy is determined to be a detective, so he is very interested in deductive cases."

The white-bearded butler nodded in realization, squinting his eyes as he explained: "Vampires are just legends, but there was indeed a murder case."

"About half a year ago, the body of the maid, Miss Shimizu, was found in the forest next to this mansion. It happened to be raining that day. Miss Shimizu was tied upside down to a wooden stake driven into the ground, and there were two small holes in her neck. It was as if all the blood in her body had been sucked dry."

"The ones who found the body were an elderly couple picking wild vegetables. It is said that because the body's skin was so white, they initially thought it was a scarecrow to drive away bears."

"It does sound like a vampire murder, but it must have been committed by someone, right?" Conan said.

"It happened to be raining that day, and the ground was muddy. No one witnessed any suspicious characters, so the police didn't find anything after the investigation."

The old butler said, "Initially, the police suspected the Master, because Miss Shimizu had complained to the chef that the Master had been very scary lately and she was afraid she would be in danger, so she wanted to quit her job as a maid. Then that incident happened."

"Your Master?" Conan asked in surprise.

"But the Master had an alibi. During the estimated time of Miss Shimizu's death, the Master had been sleeping in his room the whole time. Ironically, the one who proved this was that very chef."

The old butler said as they walked.

"It's natural for Miss Shimizu to be afraid, because the Master has indeed been a bit strange since that time. To avoid the sun, he has been sleeping in his room during the day. Recently, he even threw away all the silverware he used to love, saying he was allergic to silver or something."

"Just two days ago, the Master even smashed a soup bowl containing the soup with garlic that he used to love drinking, saying angrily that it would rot his blood and never to let him see it again."

Conan frowned and said: "It does sound a lot like the vampire in the legends."

"In the eyes of the maid, Miss Shimizu, that's probably what it looked like. It was just like the behavior of a vampire."

Passing through the courtyard, the old butler paused and turned back.

"The sun is about to set. At this time, the Master should be waking up soon. So, before dinner is ready, Mr. Kaze, please feel free to walk around the mansion. The matters regarding the inheritance will be discussed after dinner."

Although the old butler said so, it wasn't easy to just walk around randomly. It would be better if someone were leading the way.

And it would be troublesome to explain if they ran into people from the villa.

Conan asked: "If possible, could you take us to see that chef first?"

"Okay." The butler nodded.

The Torakura family had three chefs, but only one head chef; the other two were young assistants. When the old butler took Akaso Kaze and Conan to the kitchen, the scene was very busy.

It was evident that there were quite a few guests at the Torakura family this time. It was said that they were all relatives of the same generation who had the right to inherit the estate, as the owner here had neither a spouse nor children.

"Ah? Yes, I am the chef who testified for the Master half a year ago,"

Hearing Conan's inquiry, the somewhat chubby head chef responded while cooking, "That day, the Master wanted to taste the soup immediately after waking up, so he asked me to send it to him directly and wake him up at the same time."

"Although I wasn't monitoring him the whole time, the Master definitely didn't leave the coffin, because before he closed the lid, he told me that recently someone seemed to have been opening the coffin lid to watch him sleep while he was asleep, so he asked me to put something on the lid."

"W-wait," Conan's brow twitched, "Did you just say coffin?"

"Yes," the chef stopped his work and said, "The Master likes to sleep in a coffin, so that time I put three sesame seeds on the coffin lid. When I woke him up, the sesame seeds were still in the same position, which meant the coffin hadn't been opened."

Coming out of the kitchen, Conan supported his small chin, not knowing what he was thinking about in his little head.

Akaso Kaze took him to the dining room not far from the kitchen.

Quite a few people had already arrived. Just as Akaso Kaze was about to enter, a young maid suddenly bumped into him clumsily from behind.

Akaso Kaze turned around and steadied the little maid.

"I-I'm very sorry," the maid apologized with a blushing face, "Um, you are the Mr. Kaze the butler mentioned, right? I am Hikaru Hihara, you can just call me Hikaru."

The people in the dining room noticed the commotion at the door and looked over one after another.

"A little boy?" A woman with light-colored long hair saw Conan and her expression immediately turned ugly, "What's going on? Does my older brother have an illegitimate child?! That's too much."

Conan was completely bewildered.

What illegitimate child?

"How is that possible?" A middle-aged man with a square face wearing glasses smiled and explained, "If there were an illegitimate child, my brother wouldn't have called us here."

"Exactly. If there really were an illegitimate child, the inheritance of Tokiya would definitely not be given to us siblings, but inherited directly by the child."

The woman speaking looked quite old, dressed in a rather elegant and luxurious manner. She seemed to have covered her wrinkles with thick foundation, but the slightly sagging skin still revealed some signs of aging.

"That's not necessarily true, Moriyo." A pretty boy with long golden hair smiled at the crowd.

"Didn't he suddenly bring one back a few years ago? A beautiful fiancée with a child who was much younger than him. Looking at it this way, it wouldn't be strange at all even if there were an illegitimate child, right?"

The pretty boy joked to the crowd: "However, that fiancée wasn't very lucky and died not long after. Oh, oh, right, this should be a good thing for you all."

"You guy!" A man with a crew cut who looked very much like a physical education teacher or a coach grabbed the pretty boy by the collar and said angrily, "If I hear you say such things again, I won't let you off!"

"W-what?" The pretty boy laughed dryly, "Don't you actually feel very lucky too? If they had really gotten married and she were still alive now, you wouldn't be able to get any inheritance, would you? Or could it be that you secretly took a fancy to that woman with the child?"

"Everyone," the old butler appeared at the dining room door and introduced:

"This Mr. Kaze is a guest invited by the Master. His status is very noble, and his power and wealth far exceed our Torakura family. The Master specifically invited him to witness the inheritance of the Torakura family. Mr. Kaze, please take your seat."

After Akaso Kaze sat down, the old butler introduced them one by one.

Those present were the younger brothers and sisters of the villa owner and their relatives.

The middle-aged man with the square face and the woman with light-colored long hair beside him were the second son, Nobunobu Torakura, and his wife, Ruri Torakura.

The older woman was the eldest daughter of the Torakura family, Moriyo Torakura, currently 60 years old.

The pretty boy with long golden hair beside her was named Johei Hanekawa, her boyfriend. The age difference between the two was more than thirty years.

The second daughter of the Torakura family, Mina Torakura, wore glasses.

The man with the crew cut was the third son of the Torakura family.

The people in the dining room had somewhat unnatural expressions, all looking at Akaso Kaze with great curiosity.

It was truly rare to see someone so young who had even more wealth than their own family.

And he looked very imposing; it was clearly not just about being rich, he must also be very powerful.

After the introduction, the old butler looked at the maid standing blankly to the side: "Hikaru, is dinner all prepared?"

"Ah, yes!" The little maid came back to her senses and responded hurriedly, "The head chef asked me to ask if it's time to serve the dishes."

"Start serving," the old butler nodded, squinting his eyes, "I think everyone has been waiting for a long time."

The dining room was decorated quite gorgeously, in a typical Western aristocratic style.

After Conan sat down, his gaze habitually never left the Torakura family members.

This family had a whole bunch of heirs, it was a mess, and the relationships between them didn't seem very good either.

"Does the owner of this house, Mr. Tokiya Torakura, have a terminal illness?" Conan asked during the meal.

"Yes, it is said that he only has about half a year left, which is why we came to attend this dinner party."

"Because the invitation said that those who are absent will not inherit the estate,"

The pretty boy Johei Hanekawa drank red wine and looked at Akaso Kaze, who carried a noble aura, mocking himself, "We are not like Mr. Kaze, everyone is very short of money. It might even be that we can't survive without the inheritance."

"Hey! That's enough, isn't it?"

The sons of the Torakura family didn't like this pretty boy who was sponging off a rich woman to begin with, and now their expressions became even uglier.

Johei Hanekawa smiled indifferently. Even though they were all here for the inheritance, they were all putting on an act.

"But having said that," Johei Hanekawa put down his wine glass and turned to the main seat that had been empty all along, "Why hasn't Mr. Tokiya come over yet?"

"That's right," the second daughter, Mina Torakura, followed up, "At this time in the past, he would have already started complaining about the food."

"Um..." The little maid Hikaru, who was standing quietly to the side, spoke up, "I'll go check the Master's room. The Master might still be sleeping."

"Seriously."

The eldest daughter of the Torakura family watched the maid leave the dining room.

"Why keep this drag around? Is Tokiya planning to give her a share of the inheritance too?"

"It might just be that," Johei Hanekawa continued drinking, "After all, she can be considered the child of that fiancée."

Amidst the crowd's discussion, Akaso Kaze tasted the food unhurriedly, waiting for the incident to happen.

Conan, on the other hand, turned his little head silently while eating.

Compared to the inheritance issue, he actually wanted to figure out the maid murder case from half a year ago. Despite the chef's testimony, that Mr. Tokiya Torakura was still quite suspicious.

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like he had deliberately created an alibi for himself.

The key was that coffin, but if there were a secret passage underground, the police should have discovered it.