Chapter 145: A Case of Identity (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 145: A Case of Identity (8)
“Hey, um… Neville.”
“Yes?”
“Well, no matter how I look at it, doesn’t this seem a bit odd to you?”
“What does?”
Inside the quiet church, Rachel Watson—bubbling with excitement as the wedding ceremony commenced—looked down at Adler with a slightly dazed expression.
“…You should see for yourself.”
As she pointed toward his waist, Adler lowered his gaze, slightly bewildered by her gesture.
“Is there something wrong with my pants, or…?”
“No, not mine. Yours.”
“……?”
She subtly redirected her fiancé’s gaze, but the confusion didn’t leave his face.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“…Really?”
Despite his denial, Watson could clearly see a black tail extending from his rear, swishing back and forth.
“Even if I do this?”
“………!?”
Since her fiancé continued to act as if he couldn’t see the obvious tail, Watson suddenly reached out and snatched it.
“…Aahh?!”
Adler’s body bristled. He began to tremble as he stared at Watson in shock.
“W-What… what are you doing to me right now?”
“…….”
“Ra-Rachel. I don’t know what you just did, but please stop…”
Lowering his eyebrows, her fiancé began to plead in a pitiful, wavering voice.
“…Adler.”
“Yes, yes?”
“That expression you just made… Adler does that quite often.”
As those words escaped Watson’s lips, Adler—still disguised as her fiancé, Neville—stopped breathing for a moment, his heart skipping a beat.
“That begging look, that frustrated gesture… even your tone is similar.”
“Oh, that? That’s because I’ve been close to Adler for a long time. They say you start to resemble the people you spend time with, right?”
“…Is that so?”
Seeing Watson nod in understanding, Adler finally breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Chomp!
“Ugh!?”
However, in the very next moment, Watson pulled the tail toward her and bit the tip, causing Adler to squirm and let out a sharp cry.
“…So, is this another similarity you two share?”
“Just… wait, please…”
Realizing his tail was truly exposed to Watson, Adler’s face turned as pale as a sheet.
Chew, chew…
“W-Wait… Rachel…”
As Watson began to chew on the tip of his tail with a frosty glare, Adler let out a heated groan and grabbed her arm.
“…What is going on?”
Munch, munch, munch…
“Watson?”
Meanwhile, Charlotte, who had been watching the scene with a vacant stare, furrowed her brows and spoke up urgently.
“Is the groom unwell? If so, we must postpone the wedding…”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“But he looks incredibly pale…”
“…Holmes.”
As Charlotte continued to intervene, Watson turned to her and flashed a sly, knowing smile.
“You really care about my husband, don’t you?”
“……”
“Adler would be incredibly jealous if he knew.”
An even deeper silence enveloped the already quiet church.
“Watson, I just—”
“No matter how great a detective you are, I know my husband better than anyone else.”
“……”
“Is that clear?”
Finishing her declaration, Watson clenched her teeth once more, the tip of the tail still caught between them. At the sudden pressure, Adler looked down, trembling slightly as he muttered to himself.
That’s my weakness…
“…Darling.”
Watson’s voice, now laced with a frigid frost, reached Adler’s ear.
“Honestly, I have a lot of questions for you.”
“…….”
“That thing about you and Adler having a senior-junior relationship… is this what you meant?”
As Adler sneakily shifted his gaze away, Watson murmured in an astonished tone.
“This is a total sham of a marriage.”
Adler flinched imperceptibly.
“I’m positive the preface of the marriage certificate said that marriage is about sharing every moment without hiding anything…”
“Ah.”
“Did you just sign the certificate without reading it because you were so happy to have me? Darling?”
Finally understanding why Watson could see his tail, Adler could only blink in stunned silence.
A marriage certificate is… technically a contract, after all.
“No wonder you have a scent that makes me want to pounce.”
“…..Eh?”
“Can you stop making that blank expression? It reminds me of Adler.”
Hearing that, Adler hurriedly tried to adjust his face into something that didn't resemble his usual self.
“…Rachel.”
“Stop. Don’t say another word.”
As he tried to speak, Watson sighed and placed her hand over Adler’s mouth.
“Whether you were born looking like that or became that way later, we’ll talk about it afterward. Let’s just finish the wedding first.”
“……..”
“I love you, and that’s enough for me.”
As she finished, the nun smiled and took both of their hands.
“I’m not sure what you two were whispering about, but it seems you’ve settled the small issue between you.”
“…I suppose you could say that.”
“It appears you are already engaged. In that case, let’s skip the complex procedures and start the ceremony immediately!”
At that moment, Adler’s mana began to resonate, slowly intertwining with Watson’s body.
“…Holmes, please don’t sneakily interfere with a sacred ritual.”
“Tsk…”
“And you too, Professor.”
“Adler…”
With the nun’s help, Watson prepared herself to receive her fiancé’s mana. She made sure to sharply dismiss any potential disturbances.
“By undergoing this ritual and accepting your husband’s mana, you will become his property, both physically and legally.”
“……..”
“Do you accept?”
Watson sighed quietly at the terms.
“…This is why I dislike British marriage laws.”
“They are indeed archaic. Generally, I would recommend getting married in America, but given that you’ve come all this way, it seems you don’t have much time…”
“That’s okay,” Watson said eagerly. “Please, begin.”
Charlotte, silently biting her nails next to Watson, began biting her fingers so hard they made a crunching sound. On the other hand, the light in Professor Moriarty’s eyes vanished entirely, her body still chained to the pillar.
Tssssss…
Adler’s mana slowly began to merge with Watson’s blood.
“……..Eh?”
And at that very moment, Rachel Watson’s face also began to freeze over.
.
.
.
.
.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
“Why do you look so troubled, Rachel?”
…This is.
That was the only thought in Rachel Watson’s mind as the mana intertwined with her body. She tightly clasped her fiancé’s hand.
This is Adler’s aura.
Watson had performed surgeries on Adler every time he was butchered at Charlotte’s request. She had seen more of Isaac Adler’s bare skin than even the Professor herself.
Rachel Watson possessed considerable skill as a doctor—enough to be considered elite—a quality she took great pride in. Therefore, it was only natural that she recognized the specific wavelength and sensation of Adler’s mana.
It’s thoroughly hidden… cleverly disguised.
Even her sharp senses, honed as a decorated former military officer, were screaming at her that the mana flowing into her body was suspicious.
“Are you in pain? Shall we share the burden bit by bit?”
Could it be that Isaac Adler had once again disguised himself as her fiancé to carry out a sham marriage?
“Miss Watson?”
However, Watson knew better than anyone that such a conjecture was impossible. If the person before her were truly Adler and not Neville, the marriage registration and the ceremony itself would not be valid.
…There’s no way he could have tampered with the underlying magic.
The magic of Marriage was a grand ancient spell that had existed since the days of King Arthur and Merlin. It was considered a magic that surpassed all other forms of sorcery. Even Charlotte and the Professor, who could bend most magic to their whim, were easily spotted and thwarted by Watson—even though she was the furthest thing from a mage.
It wasn't for nothing that fairy tales spoke of fairies and devils being bound to humans through marriage contracts.
“…….”
The crucial point was that the boy before her, looking so concerned, was indeed the Neville St. Clair she knew.
But then, what was this aura emanating from him? An aura that should only belong to Adler?
…Could it be?
After staring blankly at her lovely fiancé for a long time, a horrifying yet rational speculation surfaced in Watson’s mind.
Swish…
“Uh?”
Rachel Watson gingerly brought the hand she had been holding to his cheek and whispered.
“I’m just a bit nervous.”
“………”
“Please comfort me, darling.”
From that moment, the cold sweat pouring from her forehead and her heavy makeup began to create a peculiar synergy.
.
.
.
.
.
“A bit harder… in every nook and cranny…”
“…….???”
Thanks to her request, Adler’s hands became heavily smeared with her makeup, leaving sticky fingerprints all over her body.
『London's Casanova』
⚠️ Warning!
A moment later, a flood of system messages popped up, making Adler belatedly realize the truth behind Watson’s sudden behavior.
…There isn't some weird trap in the return ticket, right?
[Why don’t you try using it and find out for yourself?]
Eh?