"Miss Hayasaka."
Mariko Hatamoto was unusually humble at this mont. She knew the girl in front of her, despite being younger than her son and serving as a maid, held an extraordinary identity.
The maid of the Shinomiya family's princess, and the eldest daughter of the Hayasaka family.
Compared to their own family, the Hayasaka family was a giant. She didn't dare to maintain her previously arrogant attitude.
"After my husband and I woke up, we went to look for Ichiro, but we couldn't find him in his room. The space on this cruise ship is quite large, so we'd like to ask for your help in finding him."
"Mr. Hatamoto Ichiro?"
Hayasaka's voice was flat and emotionless, which only made the couple more uneasy.
"If you want to look for him, now is not an appropriate ti."
"Not appropriate?"
Mariko and Kitaro didn't understand what she ant.
"I do know where Mr. Ichiro Hatamoto is. But for now, he can only remain there until we disembark."
Hayasaka's cold tone made the couple even more unsettled.
Suppressing the unease in her heart, Mariko still forced herself to ask:
"Miss Hayasaka... did Ichiro do sothing inappropriate last night and offend you?"
Hayasaka shook her head slightly.
"Mr. Ichiro Hatamoto didn't offend . He did sothing even more outrageous."
"Since you are Mr. Hatamoto's parents, I'll give you a clear answer."
"Just last night, Mr. Hatamoto held a kitchen knife and nearly stabbed Mr. Gozo to death."
At that mont, Mariko and Kitaro's breathing stopped. The shock nearly made them faint on the spot, and their legs went weak as though they were about to kneel.
They knew very well how furious the old man would be if sothing like that happened.
And now they were hearing that their son almost stabbed him to death with a kitchen knife?
These words were far too extre. So extre that the couple could hardly believe their son was capable of such a thing.
But neither dared to say so.
After all, the Hatamoto family was not the Shinomiya family. The Shinomiyas had no reason to joke about sothing like this, especially not on their own cruise ship.
This likely ant it was true.
Their son really had confronted the old man with a knife and nearly committed murder.
"This... this..."
Mariko simply couldn't believe that her son—self-effacing and sowhat timid—was capable of sothing so insane.
Hayasaka could fully understand the couple's shock and disbelief, but reality was cruel.
"This was also infuriating for the Shinomiya family."
"What was supposed to be a pleasant weekend trip nearly turned into a murder scene on the return journey. Fortunately, Mr. Gozo wasn't stabbed. Otherwise, it would have been a very traumatic mory for Miss Kaguya."
"Furthermore, Mr. Gozo has already decided to turn Mr. Ichiro Hatamoto over to the police for attempted murder."
Those words struck the couple like thunder.
It was over.
That was the only thought in their minds. Right now, they felt as if the sky had collapsed.
"Allow to remind you both, it was the Shinomiya family who provided the evidence."
Hayasaka's final reminder shattered what little hope the couple had left.
If it had just been the old man's personal matter, they might have tried pleading for leniency.
But if it was the Shinomiya family who had the evidence, then there was nothing they could do.
Causing a scene would only make things worse for them.
The Shinomiya family's power far exceeded what they had imagined.
The couple was completely crushed.
Seeing them collapse, Hayasaka felt no sympathy.
Frankly speaking, their son's actions were deeply connected to them. The root of Ichiro Hatamoto's madness may well have stemd from their marriage.
With this matter settled, Hayasaka no longer paid attention to the collapsed couple. She glanced toward the far end of the corridor, then returned to Kaguya's side.
At the far end of the corridor, a child was leaning against the wall, one hand over his chest, which was beating violently.
Their eyes t.
Even at such a distance, he had still been discovered.
Conan had to admit, the maid of a major family was sothing else. That cold, scrutinizing gaze felt like it had completely seen through him. It was deeply unsettling.
But what surprised him more was that, despite being so careful, he had still been noticed.
He had heard that the Hayasaka family had always served the Shinomiya family. Despite being a high-status lady herself, she still worked as a maid.
From his perspective, this maid was clearly more than just a maid. She was likely also acting as a bodyguard.
Conan felt his guess was probably right.
But this arrangent wasn't particularly unusual. After all, Hayasaka was Kaguya's exclusive maid. It was natural for her to have so combat training.
Still, the idea that Ichiro Hatamoto had nearly murdered his own grandfather... was deeply shocking.
And the Shinomiya family even had evidence. Well, with all the hidden surveillance caras on this cruise ship, that wasn't surprising.
This didn't surprise Conan either. Given that the cruise ship belonged to the Shinomiya family, it was entirely reasonable for them to install surveillance caras throughout for security purposes.
As for the charge of attempted murder against Ichiro Hatamoto, there was no issue at all. With clear evidence and no forgiveness from the victim, he was definitely going to prison for at least ten years.
Of course, that outco wasn't sothing Conan needed to be concerned with.
But what was the motive?
What kind of grudge would drive a grandson to try and kill his own grandfather?
Conan shook his head at the thought.
There didn't always have to be a reason. As long as it wasn't a murder case, it wasn't his concern.
The detective in him couldn't help but ponder the question. But since this wasn't a full-on murder and hadn't resulted in irreparable harm, he hesitated, then chose to let it go.
The inner workings of wealthy families were always complicated. As an outsider, he didn't need to think too deeply about it.
But what piqued Conan's curiosity more... was Amamiya Ren.
(To be continued.)
***
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