Chapter 155: The Crawling Human (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: The Crawling Human (6)
“What are you doing, Mr. Adler? Crawl back inside.”
“Me—Meow.”
“Dear me. Cats aren’t supposed to understand human speech, let alone act on it. And you are a cat right now, aren’t you, Mr. Adler?”
While waiting in the mansion’s lounge to meet the professor’s fiancé for a reconstruction of the case, Jane Moriarty toyed with a certain golden cat she had snatched away from Mycrony Holmes.
“…Meow.”
“Does that mean you’ll keep ignoring me and resist? You’ll surely regret it.”
She amused herself by watching the dilemma-stricken cat squirm within the confines of her clothes, a smirk playing on her lips. However, her focus soon shifted, and she quietly turned her head at the sound of the door opening behind her.
“Are you the guests who came looking for me?”
“…You’re quite fortunate.”
Noticing the research assistant standing before her, Moriarty murmured as she pushed the struggling cat deeper into her coat.
“Are you speaking to me?”
“Not exactly, but it holds true from your perspective.”
“We arrived before you managed to ruin everything. You can consider yourself one of the lucky few among London’s multitude of failures.”
As she and Mycrony Holmes spoke in unison, their leisurely tone was both clear and unsettlingly ambiguous. The research assistant’s eyes grew increasingly wary with every passing second.
“Excuse me, but who are you two?”
“I am Jane Moriarty, a professor at the August Academy.”
“And I’d rather not say who I am. Knowing might prove… hazardous to your health~”
A brief exchange of names followed.
“…What brings you both to my humble abode?”
“Gregory Freud. I quite enjoyed the book your father published a few days ago.”
Beyond mere suspicion, the research assistant began showing clear signs of displeasure. He spoke in a frigid tone upon learning the pair’s identities, but Professor Moriarty only responded with a soothing, gentle lilt, seemingly unbothered by his blatant rudeness.
“The Interpretation of Dreams. It is certainly a work capable of creating significant ripples in academic circles. To derive the concept of the unconscious using dreams as raw material… Ingenious.”
“………”
“Perhaps the name Sigmund Freud will find its place among the biographies of greats decades from now. That isn’t empty flattery.”
The young man, Gregory Freud, listened blankly to her rapid-fire praise.
“In fact, even my fellow professors are fascinated by the contents of that book…”
“Excuse me. This is all a bit sudden, and my head isn’t functioning quite as well as I’d like at the moment.”
He barely managed to interrupt Professor Moriarty, clutching his throbbing head as he asked, “Surely you didn’t come here just to discuss my father’s book, right?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Then why are you here? I don’t have the luxury of time to deal with someone as leisurely as you. I have three papers to finish immediately, and meetings to attend this afternoon…”
Just as he was about to rise from his seat, looking exhausted and done with their charade, a voice cut through the air.
“Lillia Presbury.”
“……….”
The cold voice that burst from the previously relaxed professor froze him in place, leaving him in an awkward, half-standing stance.
“Your fiancée, who happens to be thirty years your senior. I’ve heard the wedding is planned for this year.”
“What is this all about…”
“Sit down, Freud.”
His voice trembled as he tried to argue. However, it was impossible to counter the professor, whose very presence emitted a chilling intensity that felt as though it were freezing him from the inside out.
“Well done.”
“…….”
“Despite appearances, you seem to follow instructions well. I hope you didn’t accept Professor Presbury’s proposal under duress?”
His legs shook for a long moment as his mind raced. Ultimately, he chose to sit back down, obeying the professor’s command. Seeing him comply, a satisfied smile graced Moriarty’s lips.
“W-Why would you say something like that…?”
“Because it doesn’t make any sense.”
Professor Moriarty tilted her head to the side, her eyes gleaming as she posed the question to the young man.
“How can a young man like you willingly accept a woman thirty years his senior?”
Silence followed.
“………?”
Her eyes arcing into crescents, Professor Moriarty waited patiently for Gregory’s answer. However, sensing the weight of the gazes directed at her, a puzzled look soon overshadowed her previous expression.
“Why the sudden staring?”
“…Are you genuinely asking because you don’t know?”
“Meow.”
Mycrony Holmes squinted as she observed Professor Moriarty from the side. Even Adler, in his cat form, poked his head out from Moriarty’s clothes to stare at her.
“I am in my twenties,” Moriarty mumbled in a low voice, having roughly deduced the reason for their looks. “I do not have a single wrinkle, nor do I wear heavy makeup like Professor Presbury. Not to mention, I don’t have children old enough to attend university like she does. We have nothing in common.”
When she saw that their expressions remained unchanged, she added in a cold, flat voice:
“…And I am cute.”
The moment those words hit their ears, both Adler and Mycrony Holmes’ faces stiffened.
“And it’s not like Adler has only mentioned it once. Whenever he sees me, he always calls me cute. So there’s that.”
Amid the tense atmosphere, a blushing Moriarty was watched intently by a shocked Mycrony. Soon, the elder Holmes sibling couldn't help but shift her gaze toward the cat peeking out from Moriarty’s chest.
“What on earth did you do to turn a mythical creature into… that?”
“…Meow.”
.
.
.
.
.
“Haa… don’t speak so carelessly.”
“………”
“I accepted her proposal because I genuinely love Professor Presbury.”
“…Ahem.”
In the slightly awkward atmosphere that had settled over the room, Freud finally found the courage to speak up after assessing the situation.
“That’s good to hear. It appears there is no falsehood in your words.”
“O-Of course! I was actually the one who confessed first!”
“Right, right. I perfectly understand that you love the professor.”
Gazing at him, a meaningful smile spread across Jane Moriarty’s face.
“…I think I understand the whole story now.”
“What?”
“It’s time I tell you why I’m really here.”
Anxiety colored Freud’s face as he looked at her smile, but he remained quiet and listened.
“I’ve recently come across some very interesting information regarding your fiancée.”
“W-What information?”
“…That she turns into a dog and crawls around the mansion at night.”
His face stiffened instantly.
“How… How did you…”
“I’ve secured the evidence. Just a word from me, and you’ll find some very interesting headlines in the newspapers tomorrow.”
The sheer confidence in Moriarty’s voice forced him to squeeze his eyes shut.
“I knew the professor’s situation was bad, but I didn’t realize it had come to this.”
“………”
“…What can I do to protect the professor’s honor?”
“It seems you are misunderstanding something.”
In response to his query, Jane Moriarty leaned forward.
“The interesting news I spoke of isn’t the trivial affair of Professor Presbury crawling around her mansion.”
“Then…”
“Why do you continue to pretend you don’t know?”
Suddenly, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
“Tomorrow’s newspaper will feature the arrest of Gregory Freud, son of Sigmund Freud—the author of The Interpretation of Dreams.”
“…What did you just say?”
The shift was immediate. Freud’s countenance changed; his previously naive, lost expression vanished, replaced by a look as unnerving and chilling as Professor Moriarty’s own.
“Have you heard of Charlotte Holmes?”
“…The detective frequently mentioned in the papers lately?”
“She’s on this case, and she’s already getting to the heart of the matter.”
As she mentioned this, Professor Moriarty’s excitement spiked visibly, her articulation becoming faster and sharper.
“She might just barge in here with her colleagues not long after we leave. When that happens, it’s game over for you.”
“………”
“Your crime was quite delightful and ingenious, as far as I’m concerned. Unfortunately, it’s on the verge of being uncovered.”
“…Are you threatening me?”
“Does this look like a threat to you, Mr. Freud?”
Freud directed a sharp look at Moriarty. However, witnessing her unwavering confidence, he furrowed his brow and chose to listen carefully.
“As I said earlier, you are very lucky.”
“……..”
“Thanks to my status and connections as a university professor, I was able to pinpoint your location slightly faster than Charlotte Holmes. It allowed me to arrive here before her.”
Professor Moriarty whispered to him, her voice saccharine sweet.
“…It’s fortunate that I can now advise you on your crime before it’s too late.”
“Oh, how terrifying~”
While Mycrony chuckled softly at the declaration, Freud looked puzzled before asking in a subdued tone, “Why would an ordinary university professor like you engage in such acts?”
“Well, it can’t be helped. I am currently being blackmailed by an unknown entity to advise you. That entity holds someone precious to me hostage; my hands are tied.”
“……..”
“Thanks to the messy and exploitable laws of the British Empire, the probability of finding legal loopholes is overflowing. So, you needn’t worry about me.”
Having said that, Moriarty rested her chin on her hand and gazed at Freud.
“…Mr. Freud, do you know what day it is today?”
Just then, Freud heard a fellow researcher’s voice calling from a distance.
“We have more guests.”
“…Names?”
“Um, one of them was called… Holmes, I believe.”
Cold sweat dotted Freud’s forehead. On the other hand, a broad smile stretched across Professor Moriarty’s lips.
“Now, it’s time to choose, Gregory Freud.”
“………”
“Will you take my advice? Or will you plunge into the abyss?”
A moment later, his lips began to move slowly.
“…What should I do?”
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.
.
Several minutes later.
“”……..””
Upon being informed of Gregory Freud’s prior appointment, Charlotte and her colleagues waited in the lounge. When they were finally called in, Charlotte Holmes and Gia Lestrade’s faces immediately stiffened.
“For such a renowned detective, don’t you think it took a bit too long to arrive?”
“My Charlotte is getting cuter by the day~”
Professor Presbury’s fiancé was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Jane Moriarty and Mycrony Holmes were seated there, waiting to greet them.
“…Meow?”
Just then, Isaac Adler poked his head out from Professor Moriarty’s clothes, letting out a cheerful meow for good measure.