Tremble in the balance.

Worst of all, the current situation does not allow Eric to explain more.

At the same time, he was frustrated to find that he couldn't pull the two hands that were crangling his neck even with all his strength. By this time, Saiba's eyes had already rolled up, and it was obviously too late to call the others.

The suddenness of events and the rapidity of their development were far beyond Eric's imagination.

Death is fast approaching.

Joanna also saw Saiba's gradually lifeless face, and she immediately realized that she could no longer get out of the room. Otherwise, when she comes back again, all that awaits her is a corpse.

In desperation, Joanna rushed to the bedside and shouted at Saiba.

"Don't die! The phoenix butterfly has managed to steal the painting! You've done everything they asked for! You're going to get out of here!"

No, the phoenix just stole the fake. This is undoubtedly a lie. Perhaps Joanna thinks this can arouse Saiba's desire to survive.

And she did. At that moment, both Eric and Joanna clearly felt a noticeable tremor in Saiba's body. But unfortunately, this sentence has only the effect of that. It's just that this doesn't hinder the magical power that controls his body.

At this moment, Eric jerked Saiba's hands off his neck!

Eric finally succeeded?

But he showed no joy.

At this moment, the old butler's hands were paralyzed, and there was no movement. The face was also stuck in a suffocated state for the last second.

A life, gone.

Saiba, pronounced dead.

......

The room fell silent.

Eric regretted it a little, if he hadn't asked Saiba to spit out information about them, they wouldn't have chosen to kill Saiba in such a simple and crude way.

A tough straw? It's like a joke. When it touches the flames, it still disappears. Eric, who had previously boasted to Saiba, realized that he didn't seem to be as powerful as he said.

Powerless.

Boom!

Eric slammed his fist against the wall.

Damn it!

Joanna leaned back into the back of her wheelchair and closed her eyes. It didn't look like she could accept what was in front of her. Sadness slowly flowed down the corners of her eyes.

Joanna can't walk long distances due to leg problems, and Saiba, who accompanies her day and night, can be regarded as her best friend. Eric can fully imagine what Saiba's death would mean for Joanna.

So he decided to say something.

"Saibatha... Controlled by their magic. ”

With anger and reluctance, Eric squeezed the words out between his teeth. In fact, he would prefer to remain silent at this time, because he also needs a little time to face his incompetence. But he didn't have time to do so, because Joanna needed this explanation, and she had the right to know the cause of Saiba's death.

And more importantly, Eric was very concerned about the unusualness in Joanna's words.

"That's right......"

Joanna's words were brief.

The two were silent for a while.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?" Eric, opening his glued, dry mouth, "First of all, can you explain how you came to know 'them' in Saiba's mouth?"

"They", a mysterious organization, threatens Saiba to help them steal the famous painting "Stairway to Dreams". But the voice came directly into Saiba's head, how could Joanna know this?

"Can I say I just heard it outside the door?"

Joanna smiled wryly.

It is true that the rooms of the main fort are poorly soundproofed. If Joanna had been outside the door with her ears against the wall, she knew it made perfect sense. Eric couldn't fault anything.

But judging by Joanna's tone, it seemed that she had known about their existence for a long time.

"Now that Saiba has ...... It's already dead, and there's no point in me hiding it from you. Joanna sighed, and Eric shuddered at the ear.

Then, the eldest lady told the whole story.

"On that day, I wanted to make my own tea for Saiba. After all, he usually takes care of me, and occasionally I want to express my gratitude to him.

When I walked outside his house, I heard Saiba talking to himself. I was really scared at the time, thinking that he finally couldn't bear the pressure of not being able to go outside all the time, and went crazy.

But when I listened carefully, I slowly understood what had happened. It turned out that there was a mysterious organization that was asking Saiba to help them steal the paintings, and made a condition to get him out of here......"

Joanna's words shocked Eric.

"You mean you heard everything outside the door at that time?"

Eric was a little incredulous that such a coincidence could happen in this world.

"Yes. Joanna's answer was yes. "I found out that they had a fixed contact time every day, and whenever that time came, I would hide outside the house and eavesdrop. ”

Oh, my God. Even if Saiba didn't notice her, it was a little unusual that they didn't notice Joanna.

Eric wondered, "If you say that, you knew someone was going to steal the painting from the beginning." So why don't you prepare the main fort for theft in advance, and what are you doing before I come and tell me about the pantage?"

"I've kept it a secret and haven't told anyone... Because I want Saiba to get out of here. The Pelos family was so unfair to him that I thought I had to do something for him...... It's just a broken painting, and if you can exchange it for Saiba's freedom, it's really worth it. ”

It turned out to be Joanna's kindness. It seems that they have little appetite for attacking guys who won't get in the way of their plans.

At this point, the part of Eric that he thought the incident was strange was finally answered.

Saiba in the dark hurts herself, so Joanna, who is theoretically going to be attacked, shouldn't be unaware of something. Because the Assassin didn't exist. That is, there is no substantive attack, not even murderous energy. Now it seems that Joanna deliberately concealed something.

... Wait! What did she say about him?

Just keeping quiet is far from helping Saiba. I'm afraid Joanna did something else.

"What else did you do besides hide it?"

Eric asked, looking at Joanna.

Joanna looked at Eric as well and sat up straight.

"Originally, I was just going to hide it, just wait quietly for the phoenix butterfly to steal the painting. Until you show up!"

A hint of grumbling.

"Me?" Eric wondered.

"That's you. I didn't expect the phoenix butterfly to be so arrogant to make a notice in advance. And you, the detective recommended by Papitt. I happened to see the announcement in the newspaper again.

And after testing, I know your detective strength. And consider you to be the biggest threat to Saiba's escape. ”

The biggest threat?

Eric smiled wryly. This is undoubtedly a recognition of him. But he didn't know if he should be happy.

"So, I have to help the phoenix. Even if I disobey my family and my father, I must do it. Because this is the family's atonement for Saiba. ”

Eric became more and more confused.

"What the hell did you do?"

Joanna smiled and said, "I let the phoenix take the Stairway of Dreams." Of course, it's not the fake I painted, it's the real Medellín. ”