Chapter 141: A Case of Identity (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141: A Case of Identity (4)
“W-Wait! Stay back, please!”
“…Hmm.”
Despite the professor’s lethal warning, Watson didn’t loosen her grip on the pistol hidden inside her coat. Instead, she addressed her with a trembling voice.
“If you don’t step back… I’ll shoot! I really will!”
“How fascinating. Go ahead, then. Shoot.”
“I’m not joking, alright? I’ll actually do it!”
“I’m not joking either. A single shot is all it takes, so give me your best effort.”
Jane Moriarty merely wore an amused expression in response to the threat, tilting her head playfully from side to side.
“…Oh, but before you pull the trigger, I should remind you that British law does recognize the concept of self-defense.”
“Enough…”
“Or perhaps you’d prefer a duel? Those are legal as well.”
“Just shut your damn mouth already!!”
Unable to endure the professor’s blatant ridicule any longer, Watson screamed at the top of her lungs.
“No matter what you say, Neville is my husband! I will never hand him over to a vile criminal like you!”
Having made her stand, Rachel Watson pulled her fiancé, who was standing beside her, tightly into her embrace.
“Ugh…”
“What on earth have you done to him these past few days? Neville is so frail! Tell me!”
Buried against her considerably tall and shapely frame, Adler couldn’t help but cast a troubled look toward Watson.
“Look, Rachel… I’ll go with the professor for now… I think it’s best if you step back and—”
“Isaac is mine, Miss Watson.”
As he was quietly whispering to Watson, Professor Moriarty suddenly interjected.
“He is not yours to claim.”
“”…….””
A heavy silence settled over the trio.
“…Isaac?”
In the quiet, Rachel Watson began to mutter under her breath, staring intently at her fiancé.
“That’s strange. There is no one here but me, you, and Neville St. Claire…”
“……”
“Just where is this ‘Isaac’ you’re talking about…?”
She gazed down at the man nestled in her bosom, suspicion beginning to frost over her eyes with a terrifying chill.
“Come to think of it, you were with Adler earlier…”
“Um…”
“…Are the two of you swapped right now?”
Her voice began to tremble ever so subtly.
“T-That can’t be…”
“Then why did the professor call you Isaac?”
“M-Maybe you heard her wrong…”
“Isaac, just what do you think you’re doing with that woman?”
Though Adler, transformed into Neville, desperately tried to make excuses, the professor’s carefree voice cut through the air, rendering his efforts futile.
“Are you planning to cheat on me before we’re even married?”
“……”
“Come here and embrace me this instant. Do that, and I won’t ask questions about your odd behavior.”
Looking at her smug expression and stubborn demeanor, it seemed unlikely the professor would ever agree to his plan.
“Uh, um…”
Caught between Watson—who held him with a cold, piercing glare—and the professor—who was extending her arms toward him—Isaac Adler broke into a cold sweat. He racked his brain desperately for a solution to this horrifying dilemma.
[Game Over Alert!]
[Be careful, or don’t. I don’t really care anymore.]
To make matters worse, the system message popped up in a brusque font, making Adler tremble in fright as he searched for a way out.
“Isaac.”
“……?”
“You don’t have much time to think.”
The professor’s voice, as leisurely as ever, pierced his ears.
“I’ve been quite accommodating to you, haven’t I?”
“Wait.”
At the sound of her voice, a ray of hope finally flickered in Isaac Adler’s eyes, replacing the desperation.
“…Look at this.”
.
.
.
.
.
Thud, step…
“……?”
Having escaped Rachel Watson’s embrace, Isaac Adler trudged forward with heavy steps, staring directly at Professor Jane Moriarty.
“Professor.”
“What is it?”
“Could you repeat what you just said?”
Stopping right in front of her, Adler put his hands behind his back and grinned.
“Can’t we do this after we embrace?”
“No.”
“Then I guess there’s no helping it…”
Slightly crestfallen by his firm refusal, the professor began to repeat the words she had spoken moments ago.
“I’ve been quite accommodating to you—”
“Before that.”
“Don’t you have much time to think?”
“Before that.”
Facing Adler’s continuous demands with a puzzled expression, she blurted out the next word.
“Isaac—”
Slap!!!
A sharp crack echoed at the entrance of the secluded church, loud enough to make one’s ears ring.
“……?”
Realizing her head had been snapped to the side, Jane Moriarty numbly caressed her cheek, which was already beginning to burn.
“You… what the hell is—”
Slap!!!
“…Ugh?”
Just as she tried to speak, her voice sharp with indignation, Adler’s palm struck her other cheek.
“….???”
Utterly bewildered by an experience she had never encountered before, the professor held her swollen, bright red cheeks and stared at Adler in stunned silence.
“Do you know what déjà vu is?”
“……”
“This situation feels exactly like that to me.”
Adler began to whisper in a cold, forceful tone—a side of him he had never shown her.
Squeeze…
“…Uh?”
As he gently grasped her neck and applied slight pressure, the professor’s body trembled. Her eyes, gazing up at him, turned blank and unfocused.
“What was so urgent that you had to rush here right now?”
“You…”
“Let’s drop the ‘Professor’ act now, shall we?”
As Adler whispered softly, she stopped speaking and simply stared at him.
“Right.”
“……”
“You look cuter like this.”
As Adler gently stroked the professor’s head, her eyes began to tremble violently, lost in utter confusion.
“…Cuter, you say?”
“Yes.”
However, at that exact moment, Adler suddenly punched her in the lower abdomen—though far more lightly this time.
“…Cough!”
Although the blow was too gentle to be a real attack, it was an unexpected strike delivered with perfect timing. Adler’s fist sank into the professor’s stomach.
Brrrr…
The professor’s body shook once more, her eyes brimming with confusion.
“You should have discreetly excused yourself as per our agreement.”
“……?”
“Dressing up and playing such pranks… are you taking me too lightly?”
Isaac Adler sighed near her ear, slapping her lower abdomen with his palm as he spoke in a subdued voice.
“Apologize.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Can’t you speak properly?”
When he commanded her in that cold voice, a low murmur leaked from her mouth after a moment of internal conflict.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Good.”
Only then was Adler satisfied. He stroked her chin affectionately. With his other hand, he drew upon his golden mana to manifest a construct.
“Our contract isn’t over yet.”
“…….”
“So you have to stay quiet until my plan is finished.”
It was a collar, shimmering with a golden hue.
“Adler…”
“Don’t bother calling me by my name now. I’ve already noticed.”
As Adler attempted to fasten the construct around her neck, Professor Moriarty stepped back in vehement refusal.
“…Are you going to struggle, even now?”
“……….”
Adler immediately whispered a stern warning and gave her hair a sharp tug. Professor Moriarty lowered her gaze in silence and ultimately offered her neck to him.
Click…
The collar of mana locked firmly around her throat.
“Let’s go. Follow me quietly and don’t resist.”
“…….”
“…You have to stay quiet until the wedding is over. Is that clear?”
Holding the leash, Adler began leading Professor Moriarty toward the church with a light smile on his lips.
“Once it’s over, you can do as you like.”
“…Neville?”
Meanwhile, Rachel Watson witnessed the entire fiasco from a distance, her gaze blank.
“Rachel, what are you doing?”
“Uh, umm?”
“Come here.”
Cold sweat drenched her face as she watched the scene unfold. When her fiancé finally called her—while holding the fearsome Professor Moriarty on a leash—she startled and replied awkwardly.
“Aren’t we supposed to get married?”
Adler quietly approached her and gently took her hand.
“How did this… happen?”
“…There’s no limit to the power of love, don’t you know?”
Watson’s brain, which had been sputtering to make sense of the nonsensical situation, halted completely at his words.
“I fought the professor and won—for you.”
“…Ah.”
Watson’s eyes, completely forgetting that the professor had just called him Isaac, began to fill with hearts once again.
“We should get married before the church closes.”
“…..Darling.”
The professor, now collared, maintained a stunned expression as she absentmindedly watched the scene.
“Adler… I was merely calling you by your given name…”
Smack!!!
“……..That hurts. A lot.”
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at that exact moment…
“What the hell is this…?”
Having used her inexplicable abilities to reach the roof of the church, Lupin was waiting to witness Charlotte Holmes crashing the wedding. The scene she saw, however, was completely outside her expectations and left her utterly bewildered.
“What am I even looking at…?”
She stared down at the ground, her face a mask of pure confusion.
“I thought I told you to drop the tone.”
“…It hurts.”
“Yes, just like that.”
Adler—who had just slapped the cheek of a being feared by every supernatural entity in Britain—was currently stroking her red, swollen face while pulling on her leash.