"But…"
Russell, like someone determined to find flaws in an egg, kept nitpicking.
"How loud would that be? And there'd always be gaps between the wall and the ceiling and the floor, right?"
"Gaps can be hidden with decorative trim and baseboards," Professor Fields said.
"As for sound—don't underestimate our engineers, child. With proper design, the finest craftsmen can make a one-ton stone door move with a sound softer than a lady's sigh!"
Russell and Mary exchanged a look. In each other's eyes they read the same message—
Found it.
The way the "ghost" was getting in and out.
"Ding-ling-ling—"
The end-of-class bell rang at the perfect moment, cutting off Professor Fields' enthusiastic lecture.
The students who'd been half-asleep looked like prisoners granted a pardon. They hurriedly packed up, preparing to escape.
"Alright, everyone, that's all for today," Professor Fields said, still looking reluctant to stop. He set the chalk down and dusted his hands.
"Oh, right." He suddenly remembered something and looked straight at Russell and Mary.
"Miss Morstan. Mr. Watson."
"Yes," they answered in unison.
"The topic you raised just now is extremely interesting—this design of using redundant space for dynamic connection… yes, very interesting."
The professor nodded with satisfaction.
"This term's final report—you two will use that as your theme. I look forward to your results."
"…?"
Russell froze.
What do you mean my question turned into my assignment?!
Slowly, he turned his head and stared at Mary as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.
Mary didn't look at him.
She had her head lowered, calmly and neatly putting her notebook into her bag.
Those beautiful blue eyes were faintly curved, and her lips held a smile she absolutely couldn't hide.
Only after she finished packing did she turn to Russell.
"Mm? Any problem, Russell?" she asked.
She lifted her head, her smiling eyes bright in the sunlight.
"N-no… no problem," Russell said, withdrawing his gaze with an expression of resigned acceptance.
If he looked on the bright side—at least Mary Morstan was top of the class.
Compared to everyone else, who didn't even know what their assignment would be yet (and would have to scramble later to find a partner)…
Wasn't he just saving himself months of trouble?
And he even had a thigh to cling to.
Worst case, he could drag Charlotte over to do the labor.
He'd ended up with this outcome for her, after all.
If she dared to say no, then he'd… he'd go take the civil service exam!
At this point, that was the only way to comfort himself.
Russell followed Mary out of the lecture hall and into the cafeteria.
They found a secluded corner. Russell picked up his double-bacon-and-ham sandwich and took a savage bite.
"So," Mary said after sipping her black tea to wet her throat, "does that mean my hypothesis holds?"
Russell didn't answer. He just chewed, thinking.
There were still problems.
Several problems that didn't add up.
He swallowed, then looked at Mary.
"There are still issues."
"Hm?" Mary raised an eyebrow. "What issues?"
"Two." Russell held up two fingers.
"First: transporting materials, altering the building, construction, modifications… there's no way that could be done without anyone noticing."
"Holly David said there haven't been signs of renovation recently. And the old people in the building hate noise."
"And speaking of old people—that's the second, and the biggest problem."
Russell paused, then continued.
"The neighbor is a woman in her seventies."
"A woman in her seventies?" Mary's tea-drinking paused slightly; confusion flickered in her eyes.
"We met her yesterday," Russell nodded. "A very kind old lady. Do you really think a seventy-year-old woman would have the energy—or the physical strength—to pull off the kind of spatial 'magic' Professor Fields described?"
"And she doesn't look like the type to collect used coffee cups, spray someone else's perfume, and even sleep in someone else's bed."
This was the core problem—the one you couldn't dodge.
A slow-moving elderly woman, and a huge renovation requiring precision calculation and major engineering.
They simply didn't match.
Mary didn't answer immediately.
She set her teacup down with a clear, crisp sound.
Her gaze slid off Russell's face and drifted out the window.
The afternoon sun was perfect, stretching the distant clock tower's shadow long across the ground.
The cafeteria buzzed with noise—students clustered in groups, chatting about classes, weekend plans, or meaningless gossip.
Everything felt vivid—ordinary, youthful.
It was completely out of place with what the two of them were discussing.
Just like that old woman… and that "space magic."
After a long moment, Mary finally withdrew her gaze. She stirred her tea with a spoon, watching the tiny red whirlpool, and spoke softly.
"What if… from the very beginning, we were going in the wrong direction?"
"What direction?" Russell asked through another mouthful of sandwich.
"Time," Mary said.
Russell paused.
"Up until now, in all our hypotheses, the passage existed in the present—built for Miss Holly David. That's why we keep getting trapped by those issues."
She raised her head. Her blue eyes fixed on Russell as she said each word deliberately.
"But what if—"
"What if the passage existed from the start?" Russell picked up the thread.
"Just like Professor Fields said," he continued, "in certain early Victorian buildings, designs like that already existed."
"Maybe it was the previous tenant. Or the tenant before that. Or maybe it's been there since the day the building was constructed."
"Not built for Holly David at all—built for some other reason."
"The ghost simply happened to discover it… and used it."
"Mmh." Mary dropped a sugar cube into her tea and stirred until it dissolved completely.
"Now the first problem is solved."
She lifted the cup and took another sip, savoring the tea's rich fragrance and sweetness spreading across her tongue.
"Next comes the second problem."
The ghost's true identity.
"And for that," Mary said, "we may have to return to our earliest assumption."
"Wasn't 'hiding someone in the apartment' ruled out already?" Russell asked.
"What we ruled out was hiding someone in Miss Holly David's apartment," Mary replied.
"What if… it's some other apartment that's hiding someone?"
....
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