Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 31: Chasing the Killer in the Dark Night

“———————！”

The young girl suddenly opened her eyes wide, letting out a silent scream.

She curled up, trembling uncontrollably, clutching her right hand tightly.

It took quite a while before her convulsions stopped.

When she finally loosened her palm, she saw within her fair hand a scorched mark, as if burned, clearly imprinted there.

He actually wasn’t bewitched? Why?

The girl was utterly baffled.

She couldn’t understand why he hadn’t fallen for her.

All the men before had been the same—no matter how talented, handsome, dashing, or charming they were, once they laid eyes on her, they lost their souls, completely surrendering at her feet.

But he didn’t………

Thinking of that handsome, refined face that always carried a gentle smile, the girl’s heart thumped wildly.

In the past, she would never have imagined she could get close to such an outstanding, attractive gentleman.

But things were different now.

She had been reborn…! She possessed a charm that could captivate the world.

No man could ignore her; they would treat her like a queen, bowing and scraping to please her.

Yet, why was this man different?

At that moment, she had clearly seen the intoxication and fascination in his eyes, and she was certain he had fallen for her like all the others.

But why……………

“Uhh……………”

A searing pain shot through her palm.

The girl looked down—and what she saw horrified her.

The fair skin of her hand was beginning to wither, the once delicate flesh collapsing, transforming into something grotesque, like the bark of an ancient tree.

No, no, no… not like this, it can’t be like this!

The girl scrambled up from her bed in panic and dashed out of her room.

She hadn’t even put on shoes, still in her nightdress as she fled her house, wandering the dark, dimly lit streets.

She could feel the thirst burning in her throat.

The searing heat from her right palm spread through her whole body, making her crave an icy drink to quench the heat.

But she knew it wasn’t cold water she needed now.

It was……… blood.

Warm blood.

When it flowed into her mouth, she could even feel the pulse of the heart and the vigor of life within it.

Only that could soothe her thirst and restore her strength.

Soon, she saw a figure walking toward her in the distance.

Without hesitation, she ran forward.

She believed that as a frail, pitiful young woman, she could easily win a gentleman’s sympathy.

“Sir, kind sir, please save me………!”

She rushed forward—yet suddenly froze, staring in shock at the figure.

He stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

“What a marvelous night.”

Under the bright moon, with the ceaseless rumble of steam engines in the distance sounding like background music for a protagonist’s entrance, and the mist like a stage curtain being drawn back, Levi emerged.

He removed his top hat and bowed to the girl.

“Good evening, Miss Maggie.”

“……………………”

Maggie stared blankly at Levi, her face deathly pale, unsure if it was from fear or something else.

“Why………?”

“You want to ask why I knew it was you?”

Levi twirled his hat slightly.

“To be honest, I don’t know. My guess is you possess some kind of strange power, one that makes men see you as a peerless beauty. But I’m sorry, in my eyes, you’ve always just been you, Miss Maggie. From beginning to end, nothing has changed.”

“Th-then that means……………”

Maggie’s body trembled as she heard his reply.

“That’s right. I watched you invite me in, lead me to your room, and try to seduce me……….”

Levi stared straight at Maggie.

Perhaps because he had spent so many nights in dreams running about putting out fires, the moment he saw her, he knew he was dreaming.

That was when he finally saw Maggie’s true face—for before, she had only been a blurry image in his eyes, like someone with severe nearsightedness seeing without glasses: only the outline, never the details.

“Th-this is impossible!”

Maggie shook her head desperately, trying to deny Levi’s words.

At this moment, she looked like someone caught red-handed, shivering in fear.

“That time, you clearly fell in love with me! You looked at me so deeply! You were no different from the others!”

“It’s not just women who can act, Miss Maggie.”

Levi toyed with his hat, speaking nonchalantly.

“Many times, men can act too. Perhaps you overlooked that. Or perhaps you were simply too confident in your ability.”

He chuckled softly.

“Besides, I’m quite familiar with dreams.”

He was referring, of course, to the All-Seeing Eye badge.

Back when they faced Rogers, they had already tested it—it didn’t actually have that kind of power.

It wasn’t like in movies or novels, where a crucifix shone holy light that reduced vampires to ash.

But in dreams, it was different.

Because everyone believed the All-Seeing Eye could purify vampires, it naturally worked that way in dreams.

The truth didn’t matter—what mattered was collective belief.

Just as if everyone believed the Courtesan Killer was a masked pervert, then it was a masked pervert.

Similarly, as long as everyone believed Levi could defeat the Courtesan Killer, then he could defeat the Courtesan Killer.

After all, dreams could hold anything.

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Maggie cried out again, as if shouting could make his words false.

“I only wanted others to notice me, to be like Betty! We were best friends, yet every man—every single one—only cared about Betty! Even Edwards wasn’t an exception! They were always concerned about her, and never once looked at me! As if I were just her accessory, a mere attachment! I only wanted to change that! I wanted to be admired like her!”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Levi nodded, putting his hat back on.

“As long as you don’t hurt others.”

“I, I……………”

Levi’s words pierced her heart like an invisible blade.

Her face turned ashen, her body trembling.

“I didn’t mean to… I really didn’t! When Mr. Edwards turned his eyes toward me, I was so happy. I was no longer just some unnoticed little woman in his view—I truly had his favor. But, but……….”

Maggie clutched her arm tightly.

“My thirst kept growing stronger, stronger and stronger. That person told me—it was the price I had to pay. I had to drink blood to maintain my power……… A-and Mr. Edwards agreed! He told me himself—he was willing to give me even his soul! It wasn’t me forcing him! He offered it to me of his own will!”

“Who was that person?”

“…………………”

At Levi’s question, Maggie froze.

“I-I don’t know………… no, I do? I don’t know……… I-I remember……… that person was my……… my………”

Her eyes suddenly widened in terror, her lips trembling.

And just then, a shadow swooped down from above, stabbing straight at her back!

Maggie didn’t react at all—but Levi snapped his head up and pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

With the gunshot, the shadow shattered completely.

At the same time, a sweet voice sounded.

“Oh dear, Maggie, I told you to be more careful, to be more cautious.”

Levi raised his revolver, aiming at a streetlamp not far away.

As the mist dispersed with the flow of steam, a petite figure appeared upon it.

She had golden hair and cheeks with a touch of baby fat, her cuteness carrying an innocent charm.

The only difference was that her eyes were no longer blue—they were now a vivid red.

“Betty……………”

Maggie stared at the figure on the streetlamp, trembling.

Betty, as always, smiled at her with pure, innocent sweetness.

“You see, Maggie, I told you—you’re not good enough. I gave you power, but in the end, you still couldn’t become me. Poor Maggie. Useless Maggie. Cowardly Maggie. In the end, the ugly duckling will never become a swan.”

“Ah……… ahhh………”

At her best friend’s cruel mockery, Maggie clutched her head and curled up on the ground, trembling violently.

Whatever memories it stirred, they were clearly painful from her anguished cries.

But Betty paid no attention to her friend.

She merely glanced at her before turning her eyes to Levi.

“You don’t seem surprised, Mr. Levi? Did you already guess my true identity?”

“More or less.”

Levi tightened his grip on the revolver, locking eyes with Betty.

In truth, he had suspected her from the very beginning.

After all, it was all too coincidental.

Especially that first dream—Betty, the Courtesan Killer, and himself.

And the very next day after that dream, he met Betty in real life.

It might sound romantic to call it fate, but Levi didn’t believe in fate.

The moment he saw Betty, his suspicion began.

After that, he never let his guard down.

The reason he invited her to act as his school investigator was to see if she would seize the chance to make a move.

He hadn’t expected her to be the mastermind behind the string of cases.

But he had long suspected Maggie wasn’t the true culprit—she was far too simple and direct to commit such flawless murders.

“This is rather disappointing.”

Betty sighed.

“You know, Mr. Levi, I actually thought being the great detective’s assistant was a fine title. I wanted to continue like that—solving thrilling cases together, growing closer, maybe even taking our relationship further. Not just detective and assistant……… Isn’t that a wonderful development? But your distrust ruined everything.”

“Sorry, I’m not the romantic type.”

Levi said, aiming at Betty and slowly pulling back the hammer.

“Uhh……… ahhhhhhh!”

Just as he was about to fire, Maggie suddenly let out a scream and hurled herself at Levi.

At the same time, Betty leapt from the streetlamp like a diving hawk, shooting straight toward Levi!