Chapter 37 : Vanessa Walker (1) Part 1

Vanessa did not commit the prostitute murders.

This was a fact that Conan personally confirmed.

However, Vanessa kept appearing at the crime scenes.

Why?

There was only one plausible reason.

‘Vanessa is chasing the murderer.’

If that were the case, it explained why Vanessa kept showing up at every crime scene.

Because she had to catch the killer.

And the murderer Vanessa was after was likely someone connected to the British government.

After all, in official history, Conan remained silent about Jack the Ripper.

If Conan hadn’t failed, the only reason he would stay silent was if his opponent was the British government.

It was just speculation, but the possibility was strong.

A government that encouraged prostitution, opium trade, Conan’s silence, the reason gangs were left alone, and Vanessa, who wasn’t the culprit…

All the circumstances pointed directly to the British government.

More than anything else…

[Complete Jack the Ripper’s hunt.]

I had a feeling that the target of this hunt was the real ‘Jack the Ripper’ who murdered the prostitutes.

If that were the case, Vanessa was doomed to fail in capturing the real Jack the Ripper.

Because this world was not the official history, but a ‘failed timeline.’

And in most cases, ‘failure’ in the status window meant ‘death.’

‘There must be a reason for Vanessa’s failure.’

I had to find out the cause of Vanessa’s failure.

Even as I searched for it, Jack the Ripper’s murders continued.

Emma Smith, Martha Tabram, Annie Chapman, the Double Event…

These were the infamous murders of East End, later named the ‘Whitechapel Murders.’

A series of unprecedented serial killings led to police flooding the entire East End.

But Jack the Ripper mocked their sloppy investigations by sending letters to the press.

[Every time the police say they’ve almost caught me, I just laugh. Now they’re calling me a doctor, haha! I despise prostitutes, and I won’t stop killing until they put me in chains. My newly bought knife is very sharp. I can’t wait to use it as soon as I get the chance!]

The letter openly ridiculed the police’s incompetence.

It spread rapidly through newspapers.

Rumors grew that Jack the Ripper wasn’t a doctor but a crazed killer intoxicated by pleasure.

The speed at which the rumors spread was uncanny.

As if someone was deliberately spreading them.

However, Jack the Ripper overlooked one thing—

The police weren’t the only ones after him.

“This is just a trick to mislead the investigation.”

The one chasing him was none other than the father of Sherlock Holmes—

“A precise hand. The culprit appears to be a surgeon with extensive anatomical knowledge.”

Arthur Conan Doyle.

A god of deduction who could craft a hundred theories from a single clue.

Even when faced with letters that seemed to suggest a pleasure-driven murderer, Conan’s reasoning remained firm.

“Is this for experimentation? He might be collecting samples of mutated tissue.”

As the killings continued, Conan pieced together more and more clues like assembling a puzzle.

A surgeon, a left-hander, surgical scalpels, experiments on mutated bodies…

The more evidence accumulated, the closer Conan came to solving the puzzle.

The suspect list, which started with 100 names, shrank to 80, then 60, then 30…

The list on Conan’s desk kept shrinking.

And finally, when it was narrowed down to just 10 names—

“This is the one.”

Conan singled out one suspect.

[Ashley Cooper (48)]

The man Conan pointed to was a surgeon in his forties.

He was not only a surgeon and anatomist but also a writer of various detective novels.

And yet, his name had never once appeared on the London police’s list of suspects.

Given his background, he should have at least been considered.

But oddly enough, no one even mentioned him.

And no one found it strange.

Because he was the royal physician to Prince Albert and the vice president of the Royal Society of London.

No one in London would ever suspect that he had any connection to Jack the Ripper.

Except for Conan.

“If we want him to be investigated, we need solid evidence.”

Ashley Cooper was too influential to be accused based on mere suspicion.

Even if physical evidence was secured, it would be difficult to point to him as Jack the Ripper.

The British government was likely protecting him.

But even if that weren’t the case, I had no intention of exposing Ashley Cooper as Jack the Ripper.

Because according to historical witness accounts, the figure seen as Jack the Ripper was not Ashley Cooper—

It was Vanessa.

[Complete Jack the Ripper’s hunt.]

My goal was simply to ensure Vanessa’s mission succeeded.

From that day on, I began monitoring Ashley Cooper’s every move alongside Conan.

I had no intention of acting immediately.

I had to first determine the cause of Vanessa’s failure.

Until I uncovered that cause, I couldn’t kill Ashley Cooper.

Ashley Cooper’s daily life was monotonous.

During the day, he taught anatomy as a professor at the Royal College of Surgeons.

In the afternoon, he visited the royal palace to meet with Prince Albert.

And in the evening, he returned home to write detective novels late into the night.

He was an impeccable professor, physician, and novelist.

A man of high standing, free from scandal.

Ashley Cooper seemed like a man so clean that no dirt could stick to him.

For three days, I observed him, and he showed no behavior that suggested any connection to murder.

If it weren’t for Conan’s conviction, I would never have suspected him of being Jack the Ripper.

Then, on the fourth night of our surveillance—

The light in Ashley Cooper’s study, where he had been writing, went out.

Drizzle fell gently on the dark night.

“Hmm hmm~”

Dressed in a bowler hat and suit, Ashley Cooper opened a black umbrella and set off somewhere.

He walked with a spring in his step, almost as if he were dancing.

He even performed a tap dance over a shallow puddle.

With an air of delight, Ashley Cooper’s destination was neither the Royal College of Surgeons nor the British Royal Palace.

It was the slums of ‘East End.’

“Let’s wait a little longer.”

“Understood.”

As Ashley Cooper entered East End, Conan quietly disappeared.

He was going to gather reinforcements.

“Hmm hmm~”

Meanwhile, Ashley Cooper hummed a tune, striding confidently into the red-light district, as if he had been there many times before.

It was hard to believe this was the same man I had been watching for days.

I followed him from a distance.

I still hadn’t figured out why Vanessa would fail.

And then—

Swish.

A man appeared beside Ashley Cooper.

A knight armed with a sword.

‘An Awakened…!’

I knew instantly.

This knight was an exceptional warrior.

Before he appeared, I hadn’t sensed his presence at all.

A chill ran down my spine.

If I had acted carelessly against Ashley Cooper, I would have fallen to this knight’s blade.

And at that moment, I understood—

This knight was the reason Vanessa would fail.

His overwhelming presence was as formidable as a mountain.

For a brief moment, he reminded me of ‘Yi Sun-sin.’

‘No, not quite.’

Yi Sun-sin was a hero who single-handedly saved his country from destruction.

A legend who ended the Imjin War.

But without a doubt, this knight was close to that level.

‘An S-rank Hunter.’

This was a little,

No, very dangerous.

“Jeanne.”

[Saved Girl, Joan of Arc]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Attribute: Holy]

Summoning Joan of Arc.

Jeanne, who had been unsummoned during the daytime, appeared beside me.

As soon as she arrived, I signaled her to stay quiet.

She, too, noticed the knight and kept her mouth shut.

But unlike us, there was someone who did not recognize the danger.

“Gentlemen! What brings you here so late at night?”

A prostitute walking through the alley flirted with the two men.

“How filthy.”

Ashley Cooper grimaced as if he had seen something disgusting.

Step, step.

“W-what is this?”