Chapter 110: Proposal (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 110: Proposal (3)
“… Eek?!”
Gasping for breath and panting heavily, Rachel Watson was on the verge of shedding her lower garments when she suddenly jerked her head toward the side. Her expression froze in startle as the office door was forced open.
“Holmes?”
Charlotte Holmes stepped quietly into the room. Rachel’s eyes widened in pure astonishment at her partner’s sudden arrival.
“What are you doing here?”
“That’s what I’d like to know, Watson.”
Charlotte remained expressionless as she stared at Rachel’s disheveled, undressed figure. Her gaze eventually shifted down to Isaac Adler, who was lying beneath the doctor.
“I came to visit a friend I haven't seen in a while, only to find our dear doctor busy creating life with her lover instead of saving it.”
“But… but I thought I locked the door!”
“Locks like that are trivial to pick. Have you already forgotten my hobby of lock-picking just because we’ve been seeing less of each other lately?”
“… Sigh.”
Watson let out a long, weary sigh and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Get out.”
“……?”
“I said, get out. Right now.”
She spoke through gritted teeth, trying her best to suppress the white-hot anger bubbling inside her. However, Charlotte remained unmoved.
“…What do you even hope to achieve by staying here?”
“I am attempting to observe the reproductive activities of a friend and her lover to build up my sexual knowledge for future use.”
“………”
“Didn’t you tell me that the things I’ve read are lewd and pornographic? That they were outside the norm? You said you would teach me directly and correct my distorted knowledge, so here I am. Eager to learn.”
Watson’s face turned ashen. She muttered under her breath, her expression going blank. “…Indeed, your sexual knowledge is quite distorted, Holmes.”
“Yes, so—”
“I should have taken responsibility and properly educated you after that incident…”
Watson glared at Charlotte for a long moment before muttering regretfully. She reached for her coat on the floor and clumsily draped it over herself.
“What are you talking about…?” Adler asked cautiously from beneath her, his interest piqued.
Watson, still resentful toward Charlotte for interrupting her intimate moment, began to explain.
“One night, I returned to the boarding house late after a long night shift.”
“And then…?”
“I found Charlotte missing. I assumed she was out investigating a case.”
“Watson, it would be best for you to stop right there.”
Realizing what Watson was about to say from her mischievous glint, Charlotte quickly moved toward her, her voice dropping to a cold murmur.
“Anyway, I went into the bathroom to unwind with a much-needed bath…”
Despite the warning, Watson continued, her lips curling into a smirk.
“And guess what our adorable little genius was doing in the bathroom while clutching a photograph of Isaac Adler…”
Just as Watson reached the climax of the story—
“… Ugh!”
Charlotte lunged forward and clamped her hands over Watson’s mouth, her head bowed low in shame.
“”………..””
An awkward, heavy silence settled over the room.
“Holmes, there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Watson whispered gently, looking quite pleased with her partner’s reaction.
“Don’t.”
“It’s actually quite normal for someone your age to—”
“Don’t… talk……”
A muffled, strained voice escaped from the beet-red Charlotte.
“Why? You said it’s fine as long as Adler doesn’t hear it.”
“…Shut up.”
In her flustered state, Charlotte inadvertently made eye contact with Adler, who was still lying on the floor, staring straight at her.
“Our little genius really is hitting puberty, isn't she?”
“…I made a mistake. Please.”
As Charlotte’s tone shifted into a desperate plea, Watson’s mouth curled into a victorious smile.
*
A few minutes later…
“How about it, Charlotte? Have you reflected a bit?”
“…Reflected?”
“On the fact that you dared to invade my room without permission, showing zero respect for my privacy.”
Watson wore a triumphant expression. This was the first time since their first meeting that she had completely subdued Holmes. The genius detective stood with her head bowed, her face still flushed from the shameful revelation of her past.
“Truth be told, I’d like to make you pay a much steeper price…”
“…Considering I’ve overlooked the fact that your lover is an accomplice of Professor Moriarty—and that I won't bring it up again—I’d say I’ve paid a sufficient price, wouldn't you?”
Watson’s smugness vanished instantly. She began chewing her lip nervously, her face clouding with distress.
“You… heard our entire conversation?”
“…‘I knew from the start’ would be more accurate.”
Hearing that, Watson’s head dropped even further. She looked utterly dejected.
“I could have told you earlier, but you seemed so happy. I was worried about the consequences, but I’m glad it turned out the way it did.”
“And what does that make me?”
“Trash that uses a friend’s secrets as a weapon?”
“……..”
“I’m joking, of course. I’m not as petty as a certain someone.”
Charlotte watched her with a subtle, piercing gaze before suddenly remembering something.
“…By the way, Watson, someone was looking for you downstairs.”
“What? But it’s my day off.”
“It seems there’s a patient in urgent need of your assistance. That’s why they came looking for you despite your leave.”
A puzzled look flashed in Watson’s eyes, but she quickly moved toward the corner of the room to grab her stethoscope and coat.
“The number of patients has been overwhelming lately…”
“Isn’t it good for business?”
“…Don’t make those disgusting jokes, Holmes. It’s not funny.”
Watson hurriedly threw on her doctor’s coat and grabbed her stethoscope, but she paused before heading out.
“…Neville.”
She leaned down toward Isaac Adler, who was still sitting on the floor with a blank stare.
“Haah~”
Adler, now well-accustomed to her affection, naturally accepted Watson’s soft tongue as it skillfully slipped into his mouth.
“”……….””
Silence drenched the room as the lovers shared a deeply intimate moment.
“I’m fine with everything, so let’s just get married, okay?”
“………”
“If you want, I’ll even quit the hospital. I was planning to open my own private clinic anyway. It would make it easier to coordinate with your schedule.”
In the quiet of the office, Watson lifted her head slightly and whispered to Adler, their foreheads touching.
“…All I need is you. Only you.”
“……..”
“You feel the same, don’t you, Neville?”
Watson gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. She tilted her head, waiting patiently for his response.
“…I’ll be waiting for your answer.”
When no answer came, she simply whispered those words and rose, heading for the exit.
“”………””
An awkward atmosphere settled into the now-silent room.
“Uh, so…”
Thud, thud…
As Charlotte slowly approached him, Adler’s eyes darted around as he struggled to sit up.
Fizzzzzz!
“Ahhhhhhh?!”
Adler began to writhe as if he were being electrocuted. Before he could react, Charlotte’s finger had stabbed the area right over his heart.
“…Seeing as you’re buck-naked now that I’ve forcibly dispelled your magic, it seems even the clothes you wore for the disguise were illusions created by mana.”
“……..”
“I’m not sure if it’s a tangible illusion or one that deceives the perception of others, but it’s clearly a high-level disguise.”
As the convulsions subsided, Charlotte Holmes crouched in front of him, a sinister glint flashing in her eyes.
“When did you learn dispelling magic…?”
“Since you’re so fond of disguises, I learned it recently to ensure I could counter you at any moment.”
“…Impressive!”
Stripped of his disguise in an instant by Charlotte’s unknown magic, Adler scrambled to cover his naked body with the coat lying on the floor. He flashed her a bright, strained smile.
“Well then, I’ll be going now—”
Swoosh…
“…Ah.”
As he tried to stand, Charlotte pulled the outfit he had been wearing beneath his disguise out from her own overcoat and waved it in front of him.
“These were in the bathroom. You usually disguise yourself there, don’t you, Mr. Adler?”
“…This isn’t some 'Fairy and the Woodcutter' folktale. What the hell is this?”
“Fairy? Woodcutter? I haven't the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”
Tilting her head, she tucked Adler’s clothes back into her overcoat.
“…Miss Holmes, I’m not in the mood for pranks.”
“Does this look like a mere prank to you?”
With a sigh, Adler sat back down under her chilling gaze.
“That’s not a marriage registration form you’re holding, is it?”
“You’re quick. How did you deduce that?”
As he stared at the paper Charlotte was about to present, she looked back at him with genuine curiosity.
“A hunch, if you will…”
“Intuition, huh? It is both the most necessary virtue for a detective and the most unreliable.”
Charlotte nodded, affirming his opinion.
“For the record, my intuition tells me that it’s now or never.”
She extended the form—the same type of form he had seen several times today.
“…Sign it, or don’t.”
“……..”
“Still, it would be best for you to choose the most rational way to leave your genes in this world.”
Charlotte murmured, her gaze frigid as she looked at Adler’s eye, which had been dyed a cloudy grey.
“You know well that marrying anyone other than me would be a waste of your superior genes, don’t you?”
Having said her piece, she rose and stomped toward the exit.
“Ah, and…”
Charlotte stopped mid-step, her fingers fidgeting with a hesitant expression.
“…About that photo.”
She turned her head back, her voice calm, but…
“……….”
No words came out. A bead of cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
“…It’s all a misunderstanding.”
After fumbling for words, she finally managed to mumble that excuse and hastily exited the room.
[You have reached a critical branching point.]
[What will you do now?]
Adler, who had been blankly staring at her retreating figure, read the message and replied in a somber voice.
“…I need to consult someone.”
[You mean to receive counsel instead of giving it?]
“There’s one person who’s right for the job.”
Muttering to himself, Adler stepped out of the hospital room. It took him a several moments to realize he was wearing nothing but a coat over his bare skin.
“…Dad, why are you walking around naked?”
Pfft.
“Ah, fucking damn it.”
*
Meanwhile…
Strict security was being maintained at the Diogenes Club on the outskirts of London, as was the custom.
“…Excuse me.”
A frail girl in a wheelchair, about to enter the club, spoke to her loyal aide in a low voice.
“How long has it been since Isaac Adler overpowered me and made me his slave?”
When her aide couldn't bring himself to answer, the girl opened her eyes slightly, a thin smile playing on her lips.
“It is truly incomprehensible. To boldly attack someone and make them your slave, only to leave them completely untouched and neglected… It has moved past being rude and into the realm of the intriguing.”
Mycrony Holmes spoke with her usual cheerful expression, but the look in her eyes made the aide’s face turn as pale as a sheet.
“…He’s forgotten about me, hasn’t he?”
“………”
The aide knew all too well what usually made the front page of the newspapers the day after this frail girl opened her eyes like that.
“What do you think?”
“… Sigh.”
It was only when Mycrony Holmes’ back began to glow with a golden hue that she finally opened her eyes completely, asking her aide the same question for the fifteenth time.