Chapter 229: The Final Problem (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 229: The Final Problem (4)
“Mmm…”
It seemed I had drifted off for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I was met with the sight of his weary, sunken eyes—a stark contrast to the last time I’d seen him.
Adler… he’s still here.
My first instinct was that he might have slipped away while I was asleep, but the sight of him dozing off with his head bowed right in front of me made those worries vanish.
“………”
The brat who had somehow forced her way into our group clearly wasn't sleepy. She was glaring daggers at me, practically glued to Adler’s side.
“What are you looking at?” I asked.
“…Why do you smell like my Master?”
“Are you a dog or something?”
Why were all the women around Adler like this? I wasn't one to talk, but this seemed excessive even to me.
“…And why are you speaking so informally?”
“Why is my Master’s scent so deeply embedded in you?”
I thought about scolding the cheeky girl for a moment, but the conversation was clearly going nowhere, so I let it be. Besides, picking a fight with someone significantly stronger than me was just asking for a beating.
“Uh… ugh…”
“……..?”
Just then, a muffled groan echoed through the cabin.
“Ah… ah…”
“Adler?”
Was he having a nightmare? Adler, who had been dozing, was now sweating profusely, his features twisted in pain.
“No… This is… entirely…”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s for all of you…”
He began to mutter in his sleep.
“I’m not abandoning anyone…”
“Hey, look at me.”
His condition was alarming; I couldn't just leave him like this. I shook his shoulder, trying to snap him out of it, but Adler showed no signs of waking. I thought he had only drifted off for a second, but it seemed he had fallen into a slumber so deep that nothing I did could rouse him.
That being said, I had never seen this wretched man look so pitiful. Even when his limbs were severed or crushed, he would usually just grin like a fool. To think a mere nightmare could make him look so worn out and frail.
Was it trauma? Based on my experience as both a soldier and a doctor, those who make such expressions are always haunted by an unspeakable past. But what kind of trauma could break a man who smiles while being stabbed in the street or hunted by a serial killer? Even for someone like me, who had seen countless horrors in the line of duty, such a burden was hard to imagine.
“Master.”
“Uh…?”
“Are you alright?”
While I was lost in thought, Moran, unable to watch any longer, shook Adler vigorously until he finally woke.
“Ah…”
After a momentary daze, Adler gazed at the girl for a long time before reaching for a cup of water. His hands wouldn't stop trembling.
…I actually like this look.
Isaac Adler—the handsome, charming youth, the man of so many women’s dreams—looked so dissolute, his hands shaking so pitifully…
This unusual vulnerability, so different from his usual self, began to stir something in me. Now, I felt I could slightly understand why so many women wanted to harass him. Maybe I should try my hand at teasing the bastard a bit, too.
…No, God, what am I thinking?
I shook my head vigorously to dispel those absurd thoughts. I realized that the "portable items" in my bag already went far beyond mere teasing, but that wasn't the concern right now.
“What were you dreaming about to make you look so sickly?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
Adler offered me a forced smile.
“It really is nothing.”
I could tell there wasn't a shred of sincerity in that smile. As he broke into a cold sweat, his pale face and the forced upward curve of his lips only made him look more miserable.
But why was I more drawn to him than usual?
…Calm down.
I never imagined I had a taste for this sort of thing. The sight of Adler looking so distressed and pained kept nagging at me. Had living in a boarding house with an anomaly like Holmes made me abnormal too?
“Hehe?”
Lost in thought, I found myself poking Adler’s ribs.
“…Why, why are you doing that?”
Adler shivered, looking at me like a drowned puppy as I leaned in closer.
“…Stay away from Master.”
I didn't feel the need to answer, but a chilling voice drifted from nearby.
“Before I kill you.”
Moran was fiddling with the air rifle on her lap, glaring at me with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
“No killing, Moran…” Adler groaned.
“Correction: before I cripple you.”
“That’s not allowed either…”
Despite the peril, I couldn't take my eyes off Adler.
Maybe this look…
Beyond my personal preferences, there was another reason I couldn't look away.
…Maybe this is his true self?
This wretched, pitiful state felt more real than his usual aloof, fake demeanor. It felt like the Adler who lived deep inside. If so, why did he hide it? Why did he wear a mask even in front of the people he truly loved?
—Click.
If I had Holmes’s deductive skills, I might have known the answer by now. Alas, the sound of a gun being cocked nearby forced me to finally turn away.
“…Moran, where are we?”
“Almost at Canterbury Station. We’ll stop briefly before departing again.”
“Hmm…”
Finally relaxing, Adler turned to Moran.
“Watson, I think we should get off at Canterbury.”
“…What?”
I doubted my ears.
“Wasn't our destination the pier? If we stay on, we’ll arrive safely, right? Even the Professor can’t catch up with the speed of this train.”
“…The Professor is not to be underestimated. She likely boarded a special train the moment she lost our tail. If you calculate the stops and arrival times, there’s no way she hasn't caught up to us.”
“Then…”
“We get off at Canterbury first. Then we cut across the fields to… where was it? Ah, Newhaven. We’ll cross over to France from there.”
His logic was sound. When dealing with someone as dangerous as Professor Moriarty, caution was paramount. But there was one problem.
“What about our luggage? I have quite a bit, and it’s all in the luggage compartment…”
“…Forget it. We’ll buy a cheap bag and get what we need as we go.”
“Ugh…”
“Isn't it romantic?”
Adler smiled thinly, though he was still deathly pale. It was obvious that his nightmare had been severe enough to physically overwhelm him, so I couldn't bring myself to complain.
“Let’s get ready. It’s better to move the moment the train arrives… Cough!”
“…? Master?”
“Cough, wheeze…”
Just as he tried to stand, Adler’s pupils shook, and he erupted into a violent coughing fit.
“Ugh…”
“Blood—there’s blood! Are you alright, Master?”
“…It’s just fatigue. Nothing more.”
“Don’t overdo it. Shall I carry you?”
“It feels a bit sinful to be carried by a twelve-year-old… I’m fine.”
Despite his excuses, Moran looked worried, though she let it go. As a doctor, however, Adler couldn't fool me. If his paleness was due to his physical state, he was reaching his absolute limit.
Well, he was a centuries-old demon; he probably had a way to resurrect himself, so there was no need to worry.
—Clank, clank.
“Cough… Let’s move. I’m fine…”
“It’s okay to rest for a second, isn't it? Let’s just wait until the coughing stops.”
Ignoring the growing anxiety in my chest, I helped Adler disembark at Canterbury Station. Even though he tried to hurry us, I persuaded him to rest until his breathing steadied.
“Ah…”
But just minutes later, we froze. A locomotive with only a single coach was passing by on the very track our train had just occupied.
“……What did I tell you?”
Professor Moriarty sat in that coach, alone, staring at us with a cold expression. Strangely, fresh scars ran across her face and arms.
“Cough… Before the Professor jumps off that train, we need to move. Now.”
“………”
I feared this encounter would haunt me as one of the most horrific memories of my life.
.
.
.
The morning after narrowly escaping death multiple times…
“Ugh…”
Due to Adler’s sudden whim to head to Belgium instead of France, we had boarded a Belgium-bound boat. I groggily opened my eyes as sunlight poured through the porthole.
“…Everyone must be exhausted.”
The cabin was tiny since we’d booked it in a hurry. Adler was pressed close beside me, and Moran was squatted near the entrance; both were still fast asleep.
“It looks like we’re arriving…”
The port was coming into view, so I reached out to shake Adler awake.
“Ugh, uh…”
Seeing him sweating and groaning just as he had on the train, my hand hesitated.
“I miss you… my friends…”
“……..”
I watched him for a moment.
—Swoosh.
I quietly offered him my shoulder.
“…….”
Adler grunted once before relaxing, comfortably nuzzling into the crook of my neck.
This isn't right.
It wasn't my intention to help him. I just wanted to observe the beauty of this suffering young man up close.
“…There’s still time before we dock.”
But now that it had come to this, it couldn't be helped.
“Haaah…”
I leaned back in my seat and sighed, lost in thought.
I know he belongs to Holmes, but… what on earth am I supposed to do now?
The feeling of starting to like someone I truly despised was bizarre.
…Come to think of it, does Adler really belong to Holmes?