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🥀 《The Black Lily Case》 1919, London. In a London still reeling from the aftermath of the war, a series of mysterious incidents occur. The victims were people with no apparent connection to one another: a banker, a doctor, an antique dealer, a lawyer. All of them had vanished. However, every crime scene shared one commonality. A single black lily was left beside where the victim had been, and all the victims were women who loved women—lesbians. The case sent shockwaves throughout London, yet the police couldn't find so much as a trace of the culprit. The person assigned to the case was Bell, a female private detective making a name for herself in London. Bell is a calm, cold, and exceptionally observant detective who remembers every nuance of a person's speech, facial expressions, and even the smallest gestures. Then, one rainy evening. Bell visits me, the protagonist, to ask a few questions about the case. I greet her, pretending to be an ordinary citizen. Bell begins to ask natural questions about the recent disappearances. "Do you know anything about the recent incidents?" I answer nonchalantly. "Only what I've seen in the papers. I believe the last one happened around two in the morning?" Bell's expression stiffens ever so slightly. She says nothing. After a moment, she asks again. "How did you know it was two in the morning?" I am momentarily flustered but quickly brush it off. "I must have read it in the newspaper." But Bell knows. The time of the incident has not yet been released to the press. It was information known only to the police and the culprit. I had just inadvertently revealed that I knew details about the crime scene that hadn't been made public. Bell begins to suspect me. However, she doesn't immediately corner me as the culprit. Instead, she brings up another topic with an unbothered face. "It's a strange case. The culprit always leaves a black lily after committing the crime." And all the victims disappear. I reply without thinking. "They probably didn't leave it after the crime; they likely prepared it before committing it." This time, Bell looks me straight in the eye. That wasn't something one could know through simple speculation. Bell smiles. "I see." From 그날 이후, Bell begins to investigate me. Where I was on the days the incidents occurred. What my relationship was with the victims. And why I know the details of the case with such excessive accuracy. Yet, I continue to maintain a composed demeanor. Bell also acts as if she knows nothing. Thus, a strange psychological war begins between the two. I know that Bell suspects me, And Bell is almost certain that I am the culprit, though she lacks decisive evidence. As the investigation continues, the true secret of the case begins to emerge. Bell visits me once more. This time, she doesn't ask about the case. She simply looks at me and speaks quietly. "I think I understand now." I offer no response. Bell places a single black lily on the desk. "Why you knew about this case from the very beginning." And for the first time, the coldness of a detective vanishes from her expression. "Now, please answer my question." From that moment, the story shifts into a psychological battle between me, the culprit, and Bell, the detective who has uncovered the truth. Bell tries to find the evidence to arrest me, And I try to hide the final clue before Bell reaches the ultimate truth. But Bell already knew. That one remark I first made to her Was the fatal mistake that could overturn everything.