A/N: Can't believe it is nearly December! Anyone have their Christmas trees out yet in their living rooms? I know 2020 has been a pretty sucky year, and even though Christmas won't be like other ones in the past, let's stay merry y'all! Stay safe and enjoy the season indoors at home with perhaps some hot chocolate, eh? :)

Chapter 12: Fraud And Scandal

Despite setting her alarm and Hiyori yelling at her to bloody wake-up, Kanami was still the last one to enter the dining hall for breakfast. Offering his wife some food from his own plate, Inspector Etou tried to coax Akane to eat more. However, the green tone of Akane's skin made it clear that food was the last thing she wanted. With a delicate hand, she rubbed her swollen belly, which was practically the size of a cannonball announcing she was just days from giving birth.

"No, Shigeru, I'm fine. Just the smell of food is making me sick right now," Akane said.

The abnormal snappish tone of her voice told everyone in the room that she was struggling to keep her hormones in check. Reading a copy of The Daily Toji Tribune, Hiyori made a face that looked just as pinched as Akane's. Only Kanami's older brother, Tamaki, seemed as normal as ever, concentrated solely on his morning meal.

Kanami stood at the doorway uncertainly, observing the mood of the dining hall. Eventually, hunger won over her curiosity.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted.

"Kanami, hurry up," was the first thing her father grunted. "You're already late and we leave in half an hour."

Loading up her bowl at the buffet table, the Minoseki Toji sat down and started wolfing down a breakfast of natto and rice. For the most part, the meal was quiet until Hiyori threw the newspaper on the table with a sigh that could only be described as annoyed.

"Something wrong, Hiyori?" Akane asked.

The ebony-haired girl held up the newspaper once more to show everyone the bold headlines that mocked her eyes: ETOU KANAMI AND JUUJOU HIYORI AS SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON ONCE AGAIN! A NEW MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS?! CASE OF YANASE CHISAKI NOW UNDER INVESTIGATION!

"Looks like the whole country will now be talking about this," Hiyori said.

Inspector Etou snatched the newspaper from her hand with a frown of his own. "I thought I told the station to not report this publicly yet!"

Gulping down a glass of orange juice, Tamaki nodded towards the elephants in the room. "When you're with two girls who are practically celebrities, I doubt it takes long for word to get around fast—no matter how much you try to be discreet."

Tamaki's words made a recurring thought come to Hiyori's mind—the thought of whether or not she should announce her relationship with Kanami. It was already regarded as a popular pairing amongst other Tojis and was a hot topic for gossip. Last week, Sanae had her day off and took the opportunity to visit some of their former classmates at the Heijou Institute—to only return with a certain piece of news.

"Some of them were trying to guess what kind of wedding dress you'll wear once you marry Etou-san," Sanae had giggled. "Musumi-san, in particular, did some sketch designs for the fun of it. She's an incredible artist surprisingly. Oh, they even told me that they heard about the emperor offering the royal gardens as a wedding venue! I'm sure it's just a rumour though, but still—"

Hiyori had stopped listening by that point because she had slammed her head against the top of her desk. Sanae had gotten the message and brought her talking to a halt.

"Hiyori-chan?"

Coming out of her trance, Hiyori was met with everyone staring at her in confusion. She shook her head absentmindedly, before taking her last swig of coffee.

With a nod at Inspector Etou, she said, "Right then. We're all finished with breakfast?"

"Yes, we ought to get going now."

With haste, Inspector Etou, Kanami, and Hiyori left the dining hall, along with Akane, who wanted nothing more than to retire to her room. Only Tamaki remained behind, merely to consume the last morsels of food left untouched at the buffet table. In his mind, there was nothing worse than good food going to waste when it could be put in a stomach that was never full like his.

"So, we've gone through Chisaki-sama's bank records, sir, along with those of the suspects that you've asked. And we've certainly found something worth noting. Take a look for yourself."

"Thank you, Officer Kimura," Inspector Etou said, taking the printed documents from the policeman.

"Well, what do the records say?" Sergeant Tanaka asked, his mouth full of chips.

Kanami and Hiyori made the actual effort to gaze over Inspector Etou's shoulder. Their eyes were met with a flood of numerical figures. Kanami, being the mathematical dunce she always had been, could make nothing of it. Hiyori could.

"How very interesting..." she murmured.

"Isn't it?" Inspector Etou agreed, with a sly smile of his own. "Large sums of money transferred from Kentaro-sama's account to Chisaki-sama's—that fits in with what he told us regarding her double-dipping..."

"And yet, Yanase Chisaki had them transferred to Ichika Moreau's bank account," Hiyori finished.

"Ichika-sama?" Sergeant Tanaka repeated, sucking the grease off of his fingers. "Even though the woman said she never met the girl? Now, why would Chisaki-sama have done that?"

Flipping over the next page, Inspector Etou was provided with an answer. "Seems like Ichika-sama has been receiving millions of yen from not Chisaki-sama—these must be some of her patrons! And then, Ichika-sama transferred the money she got to prestigious universities."

"Wasn't Ichika-sama's business related to helping students with university preparations?" Kanami asked.

Inspector Etou nodded. "It looks like we owe her a visit!"

After cramming into Inspector Etou's small Suzuki Wagon R, they drove off to the outskirts of Tokyo towards the Moreau Mansion. It was a small stone château that stood well on risen ground, surrounded by trees. The four investigators were all warm in their admiration of the estate's natural appeal. Even after Inspector Etou parked outside the front, they stood gazing to enjoy the prospect of the beauty around them.

A thin butler came at the bell's ringing to answer the door. Hiyori spoke immediately.

"Je suis Juujou Hiyori. Pouvons-nous voir Monsieur et Madame Moreau, s'il vous plaît?"

The butler bowed, before escorting them into the drawing-room. It had cream-coloured walls and a small crystal chandelier hanging from its ceiling. The French Empire-style furniture accentuated with gilt was pretty to admire but very uncomfortable to sit upon as they soon discovered. Hanging on one of the walls was the painting of a large castle, which Kanami and Hiyori recognized as the famous hotel in Canada, Château Frontenac.

Just as the two Tojis were staring intently at the painting, Louis and Ichika entered the room. Ichika looked rather breathless, and her pale geisha-like face looked even whiter than before. Her husband, on the other hand, looked delighted at seeing Hiyori again.

"Mademoiselle Hiyori!"

"Monsieur."

Seeing him advance to her, Hiyori stood up for a handshake. However, she was not anticipating the Frenchman kissing her on both cheeks as a greeting. Hiyori jerked back, startled, as Sergeant Tanaka guffawed and Kanami let out a "tch".

Oblivious to her apparent awkwardness, Louis asked, "Pardon, Mademoiselle Hiyori, il ya un problème?"

Hiyori resisted using her sleeve to wipe her cheeks. "Nous voulons parler à votre femme, s'il vous plaît."

"What do you want to ask me?" Ichika demanded, looking back and forth from Hiyori to Inspector Etou. "What is the matter? I've already answered your questions, haven't I?"

Inspector Etou said nothing but simply placed the incriminating documents on the table in front of the couple. Looking rather like a ghost, Ichika's mouth dropped a little, but she quickly composed herself. Louis's head shot towards his wife, his expression demanding an explanation.

"Well, Ichika-sama?" Inspector Etou hinted.

"Well, what? You already know. Why should I bother telling you all?" the woman snorted.

Sergeant Tanaka's normally jolly face was serious. "We'd like to hear it from your own mouth, ma'am."

"Alright, fine. I admit that I was in fact bribing prestigious universities. But my clients wanted what's best for their children," Ichika protested.

"By giving you money so you can guarantee their kids' acceptance through cheating and fraud?" Kanami spat, quite moved to anger.

She couldn't stop thinking about her admission to Minoseki Academy years back. Despite excelling at the athletic entrance exam, she barely passed her written academic one. Still, she tried her very best—and here was Ichika, helping students get into schools when there were most likely other applicants who deserved to be accepted more! Students who actually studied for their entrance exams and put in their best efforts! And for them to be declined because there were kids from wealthier backgrounds... To Kanami, there was nothing more despicable.

"Ma chérie, est-ce vrai?" Louis gasped.

"Oui. Je suis désolé, Louis. Je suis désolé."

Louis only gave his wife one look before storming out of the room. The silence that followed was torture to Ichika. One could hear a pin drop.

"Yanase Chisaki was one of my clients and patrons. She wanted to get into Harvard University."

"Your husband mentioned to me that on the night of her death, he asked Yanase Chisaki questions about where she was planning to study. And when he suggested studying abroad, she and you seemed unwilling to discuss it. Was that why? Because you and Yanase Chisaki both knew that you bribed for her to be accepted into Harvard University?" Hiyori demanded.

Staring at her folded hands on her lap, Ichika mumbled, "Yes."

"So why did you lie, when you said that you didn't know Chisaki-sama beforehand?" Inspector Etou asked.

"Do you really think I'd give away hints that'd put me and my business in a scandal?"

"Well, your efforts of being a first-class liar were for naught, Ichika-sama," Kanami remarked, frankly.

"Just get out of this house. I'm done talking!" Ichika spat.

As they headed back to Inspector Etou's car, Sergeant Tanaka exclaimed, "First cigarettes and now a university admission bribery scandal! What next?"

He always regarded it rather queer later on that right after he said this, Inspector Etou's phone buzzed. "Hello? Etou speaking."

"Sir? You and Tanaka might want to come back down to the station. A woman named Yanase Momoko just came demanding to see the body of the victim."

Getting off his cellular device, the inspector exhaled, "You've got to be kidding me."

A/N: For any of you in North America, you may or may not have recognized the scandal this chapter involved. Yes, Ichika's illegal money business was based on the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal in the United States. I was watching a documentary on it a while ago and I thought it would be a good inspiration for Ichika's motive.