Chapter 316: Double Chambered Room and Unethical Practices

The three high school detectives burst into the mansion in a flurry of urgency.

From a third-floor window, a pair of shadowed eyes glared down through the glass, cloaked in gloom.

Inside was a suite divided into an outer and inner room. The outer room was dimly lit, marked by a smear of blood on the floor—evidence of a body having been dragged. The blood trail stretched from the center of the room to the threshold of the inner room, where the light glowed steadily.

In this kind of setup, anyone entering from the hallway would immediately notice the blood, then instinctively follow it into the inner room—conveniently overlooking the rest of the outer area.

Kikuhito was currently crouching behind the curtains in that very outer room.

He had smashed a window earlier and now waited silently, expecting a guest or servant to rush upstairs and break into the locked suite. His eyes, barely visible behind the curtain, glanced toward the brightly lit inner room—there lay the body of Butler Shigematsu, framed for all to see.

—

The Morizono family's love stories—across both generations—were, frankly, a mess.

Almost thirty years ago, Butler Shigematsu's beloved visited the estate. The then-master of the house, blissfully unaware, thought she was here to see him and quickly proposed. She accepted. Shigematsu could do nothing but stand aside and wish them "lifelong happiness" through clenched teeth.

Fast forward to today, and history repeated itself with comedic precision: Kaede Katagiri arrived, intending to visit Butler Shigematsu's adopted son, Yuji Sakuraba. Shigematsu, however, mistook her intentions and mentioned to Master Morizono that Kaede had eyes for Kikuhito Morizono instead.

Naturally, the family sprang into action and arranged a marriage between Kikuhito and Kaede.

It wasn't until later that Shigematsu realized his blunder. This time, unwilling to let another love tragedy unfold—this time for his adopted son—he decided to sabotage the wedding.

But perhaps out of guilt, or maybe sheer dramatic flair, he didn't come clean to Master Morizono. Instead, he targeted Kikuhito Morizono directly, demanding he call off the engagement—or else he'd expose Kikuhito's company's slightly illegal business dealings.

From Kikuhito's perspective, this was a bizarre switcheroo. First, the butler was basically gifting him a fiancée, and now suddenly he was threatening him over it. Suspicious? Yes. Petty? Also yes.

And above all: dangerous.

Kikuhito remembered all the shady secrets Shigematsu had on him and figured that even if he gave in now, more blackmail would follow. So he decided to strike first, off the butler, and pin it on Yuji Sakuraba.

With that plan, no one could get in his way.

After committing to his villain arc, Kikuhito drilled holes in a window, set up fishing lines and tape, and crafted a fake locked-room murder. After the kill, he disposed of the weapon, locked the doors and windows from the inside, dragged the body to the inner room, and turned on the light to lure people in. All he had to do now was wait until someone broke in—and sneak into the scene as if he were just another horrified bystander.

—

As he waited, there was loud knocking at the door, followed by a voice:

"Who's in there? What happened just now?!"

Kikuhito recognized the speaker: Heiji Hattori. The Osaka detective who'd just been a guest in the house that evening.

Another voice, unfamiliar, chimed in after fiddling with the doorknob: "It's locked from the inside."

Footsteps echoed down the hallway—Kazuha Toyama was arriving, bringing a few servants. Her voice was urgent: "Uncle Shigematsu is missing! No one's seen him since earlier!"

This wasn't a bedroom or a study—only the butler had the key.

Kikuhito, still squatting behind the curtains like a human-sized shikigami, heard this and nodded in grim satisfaction. Shigematsu's corpse was clinging to that key, ensuring the illusion of an airtight locked room.

A moment later, the group forced the door open.

As expected, the first thing they saw was the blood trail on the floor. Kazuha screamed in fright, and Kikuhito let out a silent sigh of relief. Right on cue.

They'd all rush into the inner room, stumble upon the body, and focus on that. Meanwhile, he'd just casually "arrive late," blending in with the chaos like a true innocent person.

Perfect. The smirk crept up his face—until a voice ruined it.

"Wait a second... something feels off here."

It was that unfamiliar voice again.

Kikuhito froze.

"Where?" asked Heiji.

Kikuhito could hear him stop walking. He'd made it to the inner room's doorway—but now he was hesitating. No no no, go into the room! Follow the blood! That's what normal people do!

Instead, Heiji said sharply: "...Yeah. You're right."

Then came footsteps—heading not toward the body, but straight toward the curtains.

No. No no no—go away!

Swish.

The curtains were yanked open.

Light hit Kikuhito's face like a divine punishment lamp. He blinked and flinched, his plan crumbling faster than his dignity.

Heiji blinked. "It's you? What's with the blood?"

From the inner room, Jiangxia Tongzhi stepped out with his usual unbothered expression. He had just finished relaying the locked-room situation to Ran downstairs and now announced calmly, "All windows are locked from the inside. The key is on the butler. This is a locked room."

Everyone turned toward Kikuhito Morizono.

A locked room. One dead body. One guy hiding behind a curtain. It didn't take a Detective Conan mind to put that together.

Kikuhito's expression twisted into pure rage.

You talk too much!!!

He shoved past Heiji, trying to bolt.

He got exactly one step.

Jiangxia casually grabbed him. Heiji, on the other side, did the same. With a synchronized tug, they slammed the rich kid back into the wall like a wet sock.

Outside, thanks to the shattered window and forced door, half the house had shown up by now. The crowd stared at Kikuhito.

He tried to squirm free, failed, and finally—drenched in flop sweat—collapsed to his knees.

"...It's all Shigematsu's fault! He forced me!" he yelled, the guilt spilling faster than his courage. "If he hadn't threatened me to call off the marriage, I wouldn't have killed him!"

*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.

Progress: 36/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.

Progress:2/10*