It was around past ten in the evening and we'd just finished our dinner. I decided to go to the basement to spend the rest of my time before going to sleep. I went to Kei's room to pick him up.
"Hey, there sister! You know it's quite late now, and I am a little bit exhausted. Can we just skip tonight's schedule? Besides, I think you might need a rest as well since you worked yourself so much for the past few days because of the mock exam." I did not speak any word and just looked at him. "Please?" he desperately pleaded. But still, I did not reply to him with any word. "Okay... fine! I'll go with you." He took his jacket and locked his room. I let him lead the way in case he might escape if I'm the one who's going to walk first.
"I just don't get it, Amelia. If you have enough time for the day, you always spend it in the basement. Don't you have any other things to do? And if it is weekends, you spend your whole day in the basement. I was just lucky for the past few days because you keep yourself shut in your room studying. Now, that the mock exam had ended, I guess I'll be stuck in the basement again with you," he complained as we walk down the stairs.
"Then, whose fault do you think it is? Perhaps, you're forgetting something." He stopped walking down and looked back at me with an annoyed face. "I know. I know. I promised to be stuck here with you for a year," he said. "So, bear with my complains because I will complain for a year as well!" he added and briskly walk down the stairs.
Why is it so satisfying to tease Kei? Is it because he looks like a Maltese pup whenever he's mad?
I also caught up with Kei. When I arrived at the end of the stairs, Kei was pouting all by himself waiting for me.
"So, what room now? Which room are we going to finish first?" he asked.
"Room 15." We walked a little bit more until we reached room number 15. I opened the door and we both enter the room. Kei look around while I was just quietly observing him.
"So, a murder room? What's the difficulty level?" he asked.
"Three."
"Time Limit?"
"None."
"So, we just need to know who's the murderer and how it is happened, right?"
"Kind of."
"Kind of? What do you mean, Amelia?"
"Well... you've got the later part correct but the first part was wrong. We will not do it. You will do it." I told him as I stand outside the room.
"Amelia, you're not serious, right? You know that I am not that good with murder cases, right?"
"I know. That's why I chose this room." I tease him more.
"W-wait... Aha! you're doing this as an act of revenge because I was teasing you earlier about Alexander. Okay, Amelia, I am so sorry. I promise I won't do it again. Please?" I did not answer him at all. Instead, I closed the door and locked him in room 15.
"Take your time, Kei! You're lucky it is not a timed room. Enjoy!"
"Amelia!" he shouted as he keeps on banging the door. I was about to go to the surveillance room until I met Mr. George.
"Lady Amelia, can you please go with me?"
"Sure." We went to room number 36 and Mr. George took his tablet and showed me some designs for the renovation of room 36.
"Is this the surprise that father talked about earlier?" I asked him.
"Yes, my lady. In fact, Mr. Chandler wants to keep it a secret but he realized that this renovation version should be of your liking so I wanted to ask you about your opinion."
"I see. But it really doesn't matter, actually. No, I mean, this renovation thing doesn't really matter at all." We finished the discussion about the renovation and we were walking out of room 36 when I suddenly remembered something.
"Mr. George, can I ask you a favor?"
"Anything, my lady."
"Can you do a background check on someone?"
"And who will be this person?"
"Alexander Ross."
"You mean, your boyfriend?"
"He's not really my boyfriend. Kei was just teasing me earlier that's why you can tell father that it is okay to cancel the renovation of room 36. I just want to know who he is."
"Why? Did he do anything to you? Is he that suspicious? Do you feel that he's a dangerous guy?"
"No. No. No. He doesn't give any vibes like that at all. It just whenever I saw him, no, to be exact, since the first time I saw him, I felt something different. Not a dangerous feeling but I feel like I've seen and known him before but I don't know where and when." Mr. George looked at me with a poker face.
"Lady Amelia, are you sure about this? Maybe you're he's just attractive or an average face person?"
"I wish as well. But did you see someone like an average-face person with bright red hair, a pair of pure black colored eyes, thick but neat eyebrows, and perfect pinkish-red lips? He's not just an average person, Mr. George. Alexander is really eye-catching, when you see someone like him, you'll never forget him."
"If that's the case, then, let me see what I can get about him."
"Thank you, Mr. George." Mr. George went ahead while I went to the surveillance room to check Kei.
"Amelia? Hello? You're there, right? You'll not leave me here alone, do you? Amelia? Hello?"
"I'm sorry if I let you talk to the camera all by yourself. I talked to Mr. George just a while ago."
"Thank goodness! Can you give me a hint? After solving this problem, I cannot move on."
"Why would I? You've been there for just... 25 minutes, it's a normal thing. Besides, you are quite impressive actually, because you've managed to find a clue and solved a problem in just 25 minutes. Remember the first time you've tried a murder case, it took you an hour just to find your first clue."
Kei seemed to be annoyed and did not spoked a word after that. He continued to look for some clues and problems. I continued to watch him on the monitor when he suddenly spoke again.
"Hey, Amelia. I know you're there. You see, this just popped into my mind. Why are you so into escape rooms? Like you've created a whole another universe in our basement."
Why I am into escape rooms? Why?
"I don't really know."
"Tch! You do always give a vague answer. Another question, since when did it start?"
"10 years ago?"
"You mean... that 10 years ago? When you've lost your family?"
"Bingo! Well, you might think as well that I attached myself into escape rooms because I need myself to be occupied and forget that dark past of mine."
"I see. I hope someday, you'll be able to finish room number 0."
"Yeah... there will be a right time for that. You know, enough with this chitchat. If you don't want to sleep right here finish the room in an hour. It's almost midnight."
"Okay. Okay. Fine! W-wait! I cannot really get some hints from you? You'll not be going to give me anything, aren't you?"
"Kei, you already know the answer. So, why bother asking me?"
"Well... who knows. Maybe, you'll give at least one hint."
"In your dreams Kei. In your dreams." Kei continued finding some clues and solving problems. After an hour he managed to solve the whole scenario.
"So, what's your conclusion?" I asked him through the monitor.
"This is a locked-room murder case. First, the victim was killed with a kitchen knife which made it look like a suicide. Second, the victim was poisoned first, that's why when he lost consciousness the killer hold him in front wherein the knife was pointed at him. So, it may look like he killed himself. Third, the killer escaped through the window. The killer attached a string in a cuckoo clock and a scissor so that when the clock alarms the scissor will cut the string and lock automatically the window." Kei explained.
"And the killer?"
"It was his elder brother which happens to be the one who called the police and the first one to be on the crime scene. He thought that it was a perfect crime as well as his alibis, but he did not expect that there was a camera that caught him going in and out of his little brother's house within the time of crime which counterattacked all his alibis."
"Okay, that's good, Kei. For the last one, how about the killer's M.O.?"
"The elder brother was a gambler and he gambled all his money and house but he lost it all and now has a huge debt. However, the victim, his little brother, was entitled to a lot of insurance and his elder brother is his beneficiary. With that in mind, the elder brother planned to kill his brother to get all the money and pay all his debts away."
"Congratulations, Kei. You've successfully finished Room Number 15's murder case in two hours," I said through the microphone. The door opened automatically and I went out of the surveillance room and waited for Kei at the staircase.
"Next time Amelia, please, play in your playroom on your own or with me. Not just, watching anyone through a monitor."
"But if that anyone is you. It is much fun to watch you escape by yourself rather than play in an escape room with you."
"Arggh... Amelia!" Kei frustratingly complained. He started to walk upstairs while grumbling. "Kei, imagine that one year is just one month. One year is just one month. One year is just one month. One year is..."
"Manipulate yourself better Kei but still, one year is one year!" I tease him more.
When we reach upstairs, Kei hurriedly went to his room without looking back at me. We passed by his father's office and I saw him together with Mr, George talking seriously to each other.
I wonder, what are they talking about? It looks like a serious matter, more serious than when they talk about work.