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The Horrible MistakeAuthor: Edogawa Ranpo
| Original Title | 恐ろしき錯誤 |
|---|---|
| Author | 江戸川 乱歩 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | A man wanders Tokyo’s labyrinthine streets in a feverish trance, his mind consumed by the euphoria of vengeance. Mr. Kitagawa, once shattered by his wife Taeko’s mysterious death in a fire, now revels in outwitting his rival, Mr. Nomoto—a man he believes orchestrated her demise through a cruel, undetectable scheme. Their bitter history, rooted in romantic rivalry and academic competition, erupts into psychological warfare as Kitagawa confronts Nomoto with damning "evidence": a gold locket containing a photograph that implicates him in Taeko’s fate. Yet Kitagawa’s triumph is laced with mania. His meticulous revenge, fueled by obsession and delusion, unravels under the weight of a catastrophic oversight—a twist of fate buried in the blind spots of his unraveling mind. As sweltering summer stillness cloaks the city, Kitagawa’s sanity fractures, leaving readers to question whether his victory is a masterpiece of retribution or a descent into self-destruction. The line between genius and madness blurs in this taut tale of rivalry, grief, and the haunting cost of unchecked obsession. |
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