Chapter 228: The Final Problem (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 228: The Final Problem (3)
“Isaac…”
“……..”
“Please, don’t do this…”
While I stared blankly at Adler, who was burying his head into the crook of my neck, a cold, slightly trembling voice drifted from in front of me.
“I am Professor Moriarty… your professor…”
“……”
“Have you perhaps forgotten…?”
I didn’t know everything about her, but seeing that pleading expression gave me a severe sense of cognitive dissonance. If Holmes or Inspector Lestrade had witnessed this, they might have suffered permanent psychological damage.
“Please, stop this…”
“……”
“I want to spend my future with you…”
“…Professor.”
As I tried to ignore her while wrestling with those thoughts, Adler’s voice whispered from beside me.
“The Professor is good at almost everything… but acting isn't one of them.”
“…Tsk.”
The moment he spoke, the Professor’s face, which had been on the verge of tears, turned expressionless in an instant.
“Acting is indeed difficult. I tried imitating those who have begged for their lives before me, but I suppose the situation wasn't quite right?”
“That, and one other reason…”
“And what would that be?”
“…I just can’t feel any emotion in your words.”
Was it my imagination, or did her gaze waver for a split second?
“You still don’t understand, do you…? I mean emotions.”
“…There is no need to understand. My love for you is all that matters.”
“But, Professor…”
“Don’t you dare bring up that damned eye color theory!”
A surge of genuine emotion, absent only moments ago, exploded in her sudden outburst.
“I want you. It would hurt terribly not to have you by my side. I want to keep you close forever. How is that any different from love?”
“……..”
“See? Even you can’t answer that.”
To be fair, with my limited understanding, there seemed to be some merit to the Professor’s logic. The mechanism behind the changing color of one's irises remained an unexplained mystery to this day—much like love itself. It wasn't impossible to label the obsession the Professor harbored as 'love.'
“And that theory also applies to this vile woman who popped up out of nowhe—”
While I was lost in thought, gazing blankly at her, Professor Moriarty turned her gaze toward me and abruptly cut herself off.
“……..”
She fell silent, staring at me with a hollow, vacant look.
…What was wrong with her now?
“This really is terrible timing…”
As I tilted my head, wondering if I had something on my face, Adler scratched his head and muttered in a weary voice.
“Let’s go, Miss Watson.”
“Wait, where…?”
“Where do you think? You planned this whole abduction route, didn't you? Let’s just stick to the plan.”
“Hold on. What about the escape funds…?”
“There’s no time for that. I’ll cover the costs of the kidnapping, so let’s just get out of here.”
Adler grabbed my arm and began leading me out of the house in a hurry.
“…Just one question.”
The Professor’s voice trailed after us, low and heavy.
“I’m sorry, Professor. That spell won’t hold you for even three minutes now, so—”
Adler tried to ignore her, but her next words stopped me in my tracks.
“You knew exactly what I was like, yet you approached me first. It was you who affirmed me, you who wanted to make me the Queen of the Underworld.”
“…….”
“And now, you’re trying to abandon me…?”
I paused momentarily.
“Ever since the organization became stable and I could control the back alleys on my own, you’ve changed. It doesn't feel like a mere coincidence.”
“That’s…”
“Were you planning to discard me from the very beginning…?”
Suddenly, Adler began biting his lip, a whirlwind of chaotic emotions swirling in his eyes. What was happening? The expression he wore was distinctly different from anything I had seen before. If his previous demeanor was a sly, relaxed mask, his current face looked like the old Neville…
“Isaac…”
As I glanced at him, watching his demeanor shift so abruptly, a chilling voice leaked from the Professor, whose head was still bowed.
“Just so you know, it’s not three minutes. It’s three seconds until the seal breaks.”
“”………!!!””
In the next heartbeat—
“Shit…!”
“Wait a moment!”
I was hauled away by Adler. We sprinted down the street with everything we had, leaving the staggering Professor behind.
*
Due to the Professor’s relentless pursuit, Adler and I had to sprint for nearly thirty minutes before we were forced to split up to lose our tail.
“Uh, um…”
Several hours after we parted ways, I found myself on an express train headed for Europe from Victoria Station, disguised by Adler’s magic.
This is strange. This should be the right compartment…
He had run off in the opposite direction, insisting we meet at this exact seat at this exact time.
But there’s only a hunchbacked old man here…
The person sitting there wasn't Adler. I had seen him transform into a young journalist before we parted, and his physique was entirely different from the old man before me. I was certain this wasn't him.
Have I been… deceived again?
As I stood there dazed, the thought was unavoidable. I didn't even know how many times this made now. A sense of futility washed over me. I had trusted him this time, yet I realized I had no basis for trusting someone who had never once kept his word.
“Sigh…”
Drained of the energy to even get off the train, I slumped into the seat and hung my head.
Click—!
At that moment, the cold sensation of metal pressed against my temple, sending a shiver down my spine.
“You’re in the way.”
“Ah…”
Turning my head, I saw a young girl pointing a long air gun at me. Was her name Celestia Moran? Holmes had mentioned she was as skilled as Inspector Lestrade. If that were true, reaching for the weapon in my coat would be suicide.
Click.
My hand trembled. As the girl muttered ruthlessly and tightened her finger on the trigger, I squeezed my eyes shut.
You son of a bitch. You’re nothing but a pretty face and a big dick…
I cursed Adler one last time, bracing myself for the end.
“Moran.”
“……!”
A quiet voice echoed, forcing my eyes open as tears began to well up.
“M-Master?”
“…It’s rude to draw a weapon inside a train.”
The stooped old man was gone. In his place sat the familiar bastard I knew all too well.
“You’re frightening the passengers.”
“But, but…”
Snap!
With a flick of his fingers, the pale, trembling passengers around us suddenly lost consciousness, slumping over in their seats.
“Put it down and sit.”
As Adler’s voice dropped an octave, Moran hesitated before lowering her gun with a sullen pout. She squeezed into the seat next to him.
“………”
Silence fell over the compartment.
“…I’m sorry for being just a pretty-faced son of a bitch.”
“Um, ahem.”
In the quiet, Adler whispered those words to me with a subtle smirk. I could only cough awkwardly and do my best to avoid his gaze.
“Uh…”
I turned to look out the window and was immediately struck speechless.
“””………..”””
Charlotte Holmes, Inspector Lestrade, the Phantom Thief Lupin, Princess Clay, and Silver Blaze—whom Holmes had warned me about. Behind them stood the frost-faced Hound of the Baskervilles, a woman I could only assume was Jill the Ripper, and several men in suits who looked like Mycroft’s attendants.
All of them were gathered to block just one person.
Surprisingly, it was Professor Jane Moriarty they were holding back—the woman who had chased us persistently this entire time.
Grrrrr…
Even so, the Professor seemed more concerned about the crowd of citizens witnessing the commotion than the experts gathered to stop her.
“If this place weren't so crowded and prone to rumors, it’s clear what would have happened.”
“That was way too close…”
“Moran, how did you get here?”
As I breathed a sigh of relief, Adler, who had been watching the scene outside with a grim expression, questioned the girl beside him.
“They sent me onto the train. They said I would be safest from Master’s clutches here…”
“…What does that mean?”
“I wonder that myself.”
She responded in a chilly voice, her expression incredibly grave. Could a twelve-year-old even make a face like that? Adler seemed oblivious, but the future eight years from now was shaping up to be quite interesting. I almost couldn't wait to see it.
“Haaah…”
Finally relaxing slightly, I looked at the bastard sitting across from me.
“So, what are we going to do now?”
“Um…”
Adler tilted his head for a moment, then grinned and interlocked his fingers with mine.
“…I’m going to travel the world and seduce a certain doctor.”
“Bullsh—”
The curse slipped out, but I couldn't finish it.
“And in the end, I’ll even get a confession out of that cute doctor.”
Perhaps it was because of the ring still shining on my finger—the exact twin of the one on his hand. Or maybe it was because of my eyes, now half-golden, reflecting in the window glass beside me.
“I must be going crazy, seriously…”
Maybe it was both.
“Ah, by the way, the change in Miss Watson’s eyes isn't due to love. It’s just because my mana is currently mixed inside you due to all the… genes of mine you’re carrying. It’s not permanent.”
“Shut the fuck up, will you?”