Murder at the Kogetsukan

Plot Summary

The MC finds themselves waking up in a mansion with a woman who looked like Stheno beside them. She introduces herself as Juliet Violet, a friend of the MC who invites them to join her for a family trip. The family doctor, Hawthorne (Moriarty) beliefs that the concussion caused the MC to have short-term amnesia. Later, the Violet family members visit the MC, who consisted of Adamska (Lancelot), Eva (Raikou), Harriet (Euryale), and Cain (Mephisto).

Later, they are told that Aaron (Fionn) Goldie's wife Dorothy (Marie) lost her necklace in the bath. The MC suspects Morris is the culprit because he looks like Mordred, who could use his feminine looks to enter the women's bath. Feeling insulted, Morris wage a fight against the MC, which the brawl is stopped by a henchman Chis (Bedivere). Chris has found the necklace that was hidden by Dorothy's daughter Laurie (Bunyan). Thus, the conflict is resolved.

During dinnertime, Aaron announces that Juliet is engaged to Morris. It is considered a family arrangement to resolve the outer competition. Ann (Jaguar Man), the head of the company lends them the Kogetsukan as a private setting and becomes the witness of this arrangement. Later, an unexpected guest arrives at the mansion, who called himself as Sheringham (Holmes). He is a detective hired by Aaron to investigate a threat letter he received to cancel the engagement. Sheringham reckons that the sender of the letter is among the guests, which he needs more time to prove his theory right.

The MC begins to feel sleepy, which they wake up to find themselves in Chaldea. They narrate the dream they have to Mash, Moriarty, and Holmes. Holmes explains that 'Kogetsu' is a popular name for western-style country houses which means 'Crescent Moon'. He also believes that the MC's wavelength matches one of the characters, allowing them to get access to the event itself. Soon, the MC feels sleepy again, indicating they are returning to the dream.

In the morning, everyone is having breakfast together except for Sheringham, who is still asleep. As Chris goes to fetch the detective, he screams. Turns out the detective is already dead. Chris remembers being asked to give Sheringham two teacups last night, but he has no idea who the guest is as the detective is standing outside. Therefore, Sheringham's death makes the MC take over the detective role. Hawthorne performs an autopsy on the body, calculating that the man died around might and was killed by poison. Chris volunteers to carry the body, but the doctor suggests he and the MC should do the task instead. Under this private setting, Hawthorne confesses about his affiliation with the Violet family and narrates about the history of the two families, who are rivals in the mafia community. Afterward, the MC sees Juliet and Morris arguing at the main entrance. The youth wants to drop the engagement as he desires for Juliet's sister more than her. Chris stops the fight which once again enrages Morris, causing him to leave the mansion.

When the MC passes out, they fill in the incidents to Mash and the others. Despite Moriarty feels amused by the death of the detective, he believes that the suspect tries to eliminate the detective before the truth can be revealed. Holmes also finds out the Goldie Company and Violet Inc. are wealthy and famous companies in present-day America. However, he could not find any information about family members. Soon, the MC feels sleepy again.

Back at the mansion, Morris has been gone for so long. Everyone becomes worried about the point they have to find him in the forest, but there was no sign of the youth. Aaron soon decides to let Juliet engaged to Chris, who turned out to be his illegitimate child. The MC's support of this wedding makes Juliet being more upset than before. Harriet tells the MC about Juliet's loneliness in school and she is grateful to have the MC to be her friend. In Chaldea, Holmes thinks that Chris and Juliet may be the new victim, which enraged the MC to the point they knock themselves out.

When Juliet and the MC check on Chris with Wu (Yan Qing), they discover Chris's dead body. Hawthorne checked that there are 3 small wounds, which 2 of them are caused by a poisonous needle while the other one is bitten by Chris himself so he could write the name of the culprit. On the floor, the unfinished word 'Mor' is written in blood, leading them to suspect Morris as the killer. Besides that, Chris has a broken pocket watch that stopped at 11.25 p.m., announcing the time of death.

As the MC is taking a nap, they find themselves being carried by Wu to the beach where everyone is enjoying themselves. As the MC is chatting with Eve, Laurie and Cain are gone. Once they find the younger children, the group also discovers Morris's body floating on the sea with his face disfigured by fishes. Seeing that the Goldie family has no male heir, they have to settle on getting Laurie and Cain engaged. After dinner, the MC and Juliet walk on the beach where the bright full moon hangs in the sky, Juliet expresses her words of gratitude towards the MC for being around. However, the MC passes out before Juliet can confess her feelings.

When the MC returns to Chaldea, they report about the incident to the group. Holmes begins to find the connection between the event and the full moon. On the other hand, Mash believes that Chris is trying to write 'Mom' and suspects Ann is his mother who wants to eliminate the MC.

When the MC regains their consciousness in the Kogetsukan, Ann tells them about the powder she finds at the table and eventually saves the MC. In the morning when everyone is waiting for the ride back home, they discover Sheringham's body is no longer in the basement. They believe the killer is still around which makes them look around the mansion. As the MC is paired up with Cain, he begins to reveal his true self as a person of his age, not the childlike persona he presented. In the meantime, Sheringham reveals himself as Holmes, who finds out the event the MC 'dreamt' of happened in a few days in the future. When they return to the mansion, Holmes tells them that Hawthorne is working with him to stage his death. He then summons everyone to Chris's room to reveal the murderer.

(Holmes explains the culprit's motive)

It was Harriet. She is the one who had a one-night stand with Aaron and found out she was pregnant with twins when she married Adamska. She is also responsible to kill Aaron's sons to avoid an incestuous marriage. Ann also tells the group that she is indeed Chris's biological mother. Feeling guilty, Harriet kills herself with her poison needle. Once the mystery has solved, the MC exits silently.

Storytelling

Unlike most events, this is more story-oriented where the players are required to figure out who the culprit is by reading through the dialogues (RIP non-readers). For someone who does not read much mystery, I am proud to say I have successfully figured out the culprit.

One of the important elements of this event is the illusion. As Holmes stated, the MC's brain replaced the faces of the characters to match the Servants whom they associate the most. For example, Stheno and Euryale replace the image of Juliet and Harriet, tricking people to view them as the twins. Besides, name play also messes with the people's perception of the relationship of the people. For instance, Lancelot's Adamska and Raikou's Eve would remind people of the name Adam and Eve, the iconic pair from the Genesis. Hence, our brain would automatically link them as the parents upon first impression (another factor is Lancelot's reputation as the MILF hunter).

(Mash's family tree based on the MC's narration)

Trivia: The Chapter titles are named based on Knox's Ten Commandments on Detective Fiction.

Character

Let's talk about Harriet, the culprit of the murders.

(Damn, Harriet)

At first glance, it is hard to tell she is the mother because we all know Stheno and Euryale are sisters who looked alike. Besides, Harriet is introduced along with Eve, there is no chance for players to distinguish who is the mother and the twin sister. Then, there are more clues adding to the story. One of them is Aaron telling Juliet about his past flings with women, and one of them looked like Juliet. Another one would be Juliet telling the MC about her and her sister are fraternal twins. The third one would be the murder of the Goldie family stops after Chris and there are no objections made against Laurie and Cain.

Harriet's motive is clear and she is the only person who knows about the secret affair. If Juliet marries Morris or Chris, it would be an incestuous arrangement as they share the same father. However, Harriet's methods are cruel. She would rather eliminate Aaron's sons in cold blood than telling everyone the truth. Her selfishness leads to the tragedy that happened in the Kogetsukan.

I think that death is an escape for Harriet rather than a punishment. If she is guilty, she would have understood the consequence and go on a trial for murder. To be frank, I feel bad for Adamska who has to find out his beloved daughters are not his, but from a one-night stand. If I were Adamska, I would not forgive Harriet for being selfish and dishonest.

(Big Oof)

Overall rating: 9 out of 10 Saint Quartz

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Author's note:

Whew! I just start my Summer break. That means there is more time for me to write (unless procratination catches me up)