Operation Red Book

"Master Andrew, you have become more and more taciturn since the incident with Miss Cecilia." The head maid said to Andrew with red eyes.

"I am the eldest son and have the responsibility to inherit the title. My father told me that I should become more stable."

"Yes, you have the responsibility to maintain the honor of your family and the dignity of McMillan Manor," Moriarty said on the side.

"What about you, Lieutenant Edward?"

"Master Edward went to a military academy outside the city after that incident. He has been fighting outside all year round and seldom comes back." The head maid continued.

"I...I..." Edward lowered his head and stuttered.

"You want to escape," Joshua said darkly. "Your army boots are stained with dark brown mud, the same as the shoes of the servants who dug up the bodies."

"You are very concerned about Miss Cecilia's grave. Even though you have been away from home for many years, you are still so familiar with the surrounding environment. Lord Duke Andrew is trying hard to take responsibility, and you are trying hard to evade responsibility."

"Shut up!"

Edward let out a low growl through his teeth.

"Okay, the heart was pierced and the body was long gone. There is only one possibility."

Holmes came slowly forward from the shadows, his hands in his pockets and his eyes sharp.

"Sacrifice."

Holmes uttered the word softly, shocking everyone present.

"Madam, do you remember the crazy woman from Scotland?" The head maid hurried to Mrs. Emerson's side.

"Well... she took out a transparent crystal ball and said that my daughter was a disaster star and would bring shame to the McMillan Manor, and that she should be killed immediately. But she was soon driven out of the manor!"

"It's the witch. She needs to send a message to SCO." Moriarty muttered.

"No, please, the fewer people who know about this, the better."

Mrs. Emerson longed for Moriarty, but Moriarty remained silent.

Mrs. Emerson held her forehead and thought for a while, then cast her eyes on her two sons in front of her. There was anger in her tone: "You all know, you all know, right!"

She stood up suddenly, her voice hoarse.

"If you don't tell me, you will never be my son again. I will offer my heart to Satan and pray that he will bring Lucas' soul so that we can face each other face to face!" After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the room.

"Mother!"

Andrew raised his head with sobs, his eyes were already red and filled with bloodshot.

"That woman is a witch. My father was bewitched when he drove her out of the manor. He firmly believes that Cecilia will bring down the Emerson family, and the way to do that is to kill her and bring her body to the witch for sacrifice."

"The witch told him that there is a spell that can summon the headless horseman from hell. With his help, Cecilia can be killed quietly without damaging the reputation of our family."

"Father did as he was told. But the Dullahan is an evil spirit after all. He was summoned to negotiate with father. He wanted father's soul before he would take action."

"My father said that Cecilia's cry for help attracted the servants. He didn't care about anything else and stabbed Cecilia's heart with the dagger he carried with him."

"The evil spirits were summoned and their souls had to be collected. My father used his own soul as collateral and signed a contract with the Headless Horseman to protect the Emerson family."

Andrew told all he knew in one breath. Mrs. Emerson had already leaned back in her chair, crying helplessly.

"Why did the Headless Knight kill those servants?" Joshua asked hurriedly.

"Father said that those servants knew the truth and had been blackmailing him. The Dullahan secretly killed them at night to protect our family."

"When did you know this?" Mrs. Emerson said, clutching her chest.

"On the day of Cecilia's funeral, my eldest brother, father and I dug up Cecilia's body and carried her to the witch's residence. My father told us on the way there." Edward said slowly, his voice trembling.

"We, we watched the entire process of Cecilia's sacrifice, and the Headless Horseman, who transformed into a human, returned to the manor with us."

"That's Vernon."

Andrew spoke softly, and every word hit the lady's heart hard.

"Get out, all of you, get out of here!"

Mrs. Emerson yelled at the two men with all her might, but unfortunately her voice had already become hoarse.

"Please calm down, ma'am. The death of Lord Emerson is unclear." Count Waite said behind his wife in a cold tone.

"I don't know why my father had an asthma attack, we think it was the evil spirit that did it."

"What about Vernon, the Headless Horseman?"

"He was by my father's side from the time he entered the study until his death. I saw it with my own eyes." Andrew said hurriedly, but soon his tone dropped.

"But he disappeared after my father died. It was as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth."

When everyone fell silent, the head butler suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed "Ah", as if he had just woken up from a dream.

"Before His Excellency the Duke died, he kept saying something, it seemed to be Kras, Lilstein... Kravis, Belstein..."

"Clavels Libersteins," Edward said smoothly, taking over the head butler's words.

"From childhood to adulthood, I always talk in my sleep with this sentence, and my soldiers often tell me this."

"But what is that, German? Russian? A witch's spell?" Moriarty frowned.

"Yes, it was a witch's spell, but the witch disappeared the day after the sacrifice." Andrew suddenly said in a high voice.

"It's a spell to seal evil spirits. The witch told my father before summoning the Headless Horseman." Edward also recalled the scene at that time.

"Where is the seal?" Count Waite asked with his hands behind his back.

"do not know……"

The study fell into silence, and Andrew and Edward lowered their heads again in front of the lady.

"Ma'am, the most urgent thing now is to protect the guests to prevent reckless people from releasing him." Moriarty bowed to the lady and said.

"Split up and find the location of the seal."

Holmes said, carrying Joshua out of the study.

"My Lord, please take good care of Mrs. Emerson."

Moriarty gestured to Count Waite and then left the study.

"Servants, continue to do your job well and protect the guests in secret. Do not spread the news."

Mrs. Emerson stood up and issued orders in a majestic manner.

Mrs. Emerson stared at the two people in front of her with their heads down and slowly walked up to them.

"As for you, I will have my own ideas after this is over."

Mrs. Emerson looked at them deeply, with mixed emotions in her eyes.

She frowned and walked out of the study with Count Waite.