The chaos unleashed by the prince's assassination still echoes through the streets of London. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster and the complexity of the ensuing investigation, are far from suspecting your hand in this massacre. They focus on the immediate events—securing the palace and identifying the apparent conspirators. It is precisely this distraction that serves your purpose. You watch their efforts from the shadows, a cold smile playing on your lips. Your plans are well underway, each piece falling into place with diabolical precision.
The French minister, sent on a diplomatic mission to London to express his government's condolences, is your next target. An important man, connected to powerful networks and secrets that could compromise you if left alive. His assassination will not be as spectacular as that of the prince. It must be discreet, almost invisible. An accident. A sudden illness. Nothing that would raise too much suspicion—at least not at first.
You decide to make use of your network of agents. Men and women strategically placed in key positions, bound to you by invisible threads of threats, debts, or unbridled ambition. You choose one of your most reliable agents—a man whose discretion is legendary and whose ability to blend into the crowd is nearly supernatural. You give him precise instructions, a meticulous plan. Every detail matters, every step must be flawlessly executed. The slightest imperfection could reveal your involvement, and you cannot allow that. Your agent, a man you call "the Shadow," begins to move.
Meanwhile, you watch. You follow the progress of Holmes and Watson's investigation, analyzing their deductions, anticipating their conclusions, manipulating them from afar, playing on their prejudices and weaknesses. You leave a tiny trace, an almost invisible clue, meant to lead them astray. A clever distraction, meant to divert their attention from the true threat: you.
You receive confirmation: the minister is dead. A swift death, almost inevitable. The news spreads, sowing even more chaos and uncertainty. Holmes and Watson, increasingly disoriented, struggle within the growing mystery. They edge closer to the truth without knowing it, while you continue to toy with them, like a cat playing with its prey. The game is far from over. The tragedy continues. Your work continues.
And you, Lucien—you are the director.