Chapter 237: The Detective's Sorrow (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 237: The Detective's Sorrow (2)
“… Ugh.”
“Holmes.”
Charlotte stumbled, losing her balance despite her usual mask of indifference. Watson, who had been watching her with growing concern, rushed forward to steady her.
“… Are you sure you’re alright? I should call for a carriage.”
“No…”
Charlotte’s body was a wreck, ravaged by a year of relentless drug abuse. She dismissed Watson’s suggestion with a weak wave of her hand and resumed her unsteady pace.
“It’s not the kind of place I care to approach with such ease.”
“What does that even—”
“I want to savor every step, no matter how painful. Please, just let me.”
Watson saw the murderous resolve in Charlotte’s eyes—a gaze so sharp it felt suffocating. Reluctantly lowering her head, Watson fell into step behind her in silence.
Swish…
“… Holmes, no. Don’t.”
Watson couldn’t stay silent when Charlotte, her hands trembling violently, pulled a syringe from her coat.
“Are you seriously planning to shoot up in broad daylight, right on the street? For God’s sake, get a grip.”
“This isn’t drugs. It’s a nutrient injection.”
“Haah…”
“I’m serious! Look, here… Ah?”
Before Charlotte could finish, Watson snatched the syringe from her shaky grasp and hurled it to the ground.
Crack!
“… This isn’t a joke.”
Watson’s expression hardened, her voice turning ice-cold as she crushed the syringe under her heel. She leaned in, whispering to Charlotte.
“If you take even one more dose, we’re done. I’ll cut ties with you then and there.”
“……!”
Charlotte’s eyes widened in shock, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Ah, okay! I get it, I get it, so…!”
Her voice rose sharply as she gripped Watson’s arm, her palms damp with cold sweat.
“Please, please… don’t leave me…”
Her voice dropped to a terrified whimper, her expression desperate.
“If you leave too… I… I’ll…”
“… Holmes.”
“Ah, ahhh… Ugh…”
Charlotte began to spiral into another fit. Watson, her own eyes weary and drained, could only watch her in pained silence.
“I’m not leaving, okay? Let’s just calm down.”
“Ugh, ahh, uggghgh…”
“We’re friends, aren’t we? The kind of friends who would risk their lives for each other…”
Watson knelt slightly, her movements deliberate and soothing, as if she were tending to a traumatized soldier in the throes of a flashback.
“But…”
“……?”
“Adler said… the same thing…”
Charlotte’s composed, intellectual facade had completely crumbled, leaving behind the frightened expression of a girl far younger than her years. Her words struck Watson dumb, leaving her unable to respond.
“That’s…”
“What… what am I supposed to believe in?”
“……”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore… Watson…”
Watson sat there in silence, holding Charlotte’s trembling hands and enduring the stares of passersby for what felt like an eternity.
“… Let’s go.”
“W-Where?”
“You said it yourself.”
Watson gritted her teeth and stood up. Charlotte looked up at her with vacant eyes, asking hesitantly.
“To the professor’s study.”
“… Ah.”
The moment Watson mentioned the professor’s study, Charlotte’s sharp, piercing gaze returned instantly.
“Right… I did.”
Holding her forehead as if fighting off a dizzy spell, Charlotte staggered slightly before speaking in her usual voice.
“That’s right… after ten months… I was going to see the professor…”
“…….”
“… Sorry, Watson. For showing you such a disgraceful side of myself.”
Then, though still unsteady, she began to walk forward once more.
“Hey, wait—”
“……?”
“What exactly are you planning to do there?”
Watson gripped Charlotte’s shoulder, her voice low. Charlotte whispered back.
“… Wait for me at the entrance.”
“Holmes.”
Watson shook her head, her tone firm.
“I brought my revolver.”
“…….”
“You said we’re friends who’d risk our lives for each other, didn’t you? You’re not thinking of excluding me now, are you?”
At those words, Charlotte gave a faint, crooked smile and resumed her silent walk.
“We might end up sharing a cell.”
“… Well, that might not be so bad.”
*
An unknown amount of time later.
“”………””
After considerable effort, Charlotte finally obtained a visitor’s pass to the academy. As they walked down the corridor, both she and Watson were tense with anticipation.
“We’re almost there.”
“… I know.”
“Just through there… the professor should be inside.”
After repeating those words like a mantra for several minutes, they finally reached Professor Moriarty’s study.
“So, what’s the plan? Are we barging in?”
“Shh… wait a moment.”
Charlotte gestured for Watson to be quiet, leaning her head toward the crack of the door.
“She might not even be inside. Let’s check first.”
Swish…
Using her mana, Charlotte silently ground down the tightly sealed gap in the door—just enough to peer through.
“……..”
Without hesitation, she peeked inside, her expression grim.
“… Well? What do you see?”
Watson asked in a hushed tone, glancing around nervously.
“……….”
For some reason, Charlotte remained frozen, as if paralyzed.
“… Holmes?”
Oddly enough, Charlotte’s face had grown several shades paler than before.
“What the hell is happening in there…?”
Curious, Watson tilted her head and leaned in to peek through the narrow opening herself.
“”……..””
Moments later, both women fell into a stunned silence.
Rub, rub…
Inside, Professor Moriarty—of all people—was wearing a radiant smile. She was gently pressing her cheek against the plump, cherubic faces of two babies cradled lovingly in her arms.
“Whiiing…”
“Waaah…”
Though the infants didn’t seem particularly pleased with the attention, the professor’s expression was unmistakably overflowing with maternal affection—a look anyone would recognize.
Grit, gnash…
“……..”
Charlotte, staring intently at the scene, clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her teeth ground together audibly. Beside her, Watson simply hung her head in silence.
“I cannot endure this… not as long as I draw breath…”
Charlotte’s eyes turned bloodshot with rage. Her trembling hand reached for the doorknob.
“… Ah?”
However, at that precise moment, a startled sound escaped the professor.
“”……..?””
Startled by the unusually flustered exclamation, the two women instinctively looked back through the gap.
“”……….!?””
Their eyes widened in pure disbelief.
Drip…
Tears were streaming down the professor’s face as she unwrapped a gift box.
“Ah… ahhh….”
“”……….””
“A… ahhh… ahhhhh….”
As the professor’s quiet weeping turned into full-blown sobs, Charlotte and Watson’s expressions grew darker.
“No… that’s…”
“……”
“That’s fake… it has to be…”
Even so, Charlotte gritted her teeth and reached for the doorknob again.
“I miss you… Adler…”
The professor’s heartfelt, tearful voice spilled through the crack in the door, causing Charlotte’s hand to falter. It hovered uncertainly in midair.
“… Just once. Even if it’s only once.”
“Waaaaah…”
“Whiiiiiing…”
“I want to see you again, my beloved…”
As both the professor and the infants burst into tears simultaneously, Charlotte’s hand dropped lifelessly to her side.
“… Holmes.”
Charlotte bowed her head, trembling in the heavy silence. Watson placed a hand on her shoulder, her gaze troubled.
“… Let’s just leave for today.”
“…….”
“We’ll come back another time, when the children aren’t here. Alright?”
Judging instinctively that they couldn’t proceed, Watson gently pulled her away. Charlotte, hot tears streaming down her face, nodded silently and turned to leave.
“”………””
Without another word, the two women retraced their steps down the corridor.
“… You know, Watson.”
Charlotte was the one to break the silence.
“Those children… it’s the first time I’ve seen them in person, not just in photos…”
“……..”
“… What am I supposed to do?”
Her voice trembled, a sign that her trauma was resurfacing. Watson watched her silently.
“The faces I’ve longed to see so desperately… the faces I’ve dreamed of in my sleep were right there in front of me…”
Charlotte muttered, her face pale and stricken.
“… But on those faces, I could see traces of the woman I hate most in this world.”
This time, Watson had no response, no solution to offer. Neither did the detective.
“What… what should I do now?”
It was a question without an answer.
*
A few days later. The professor’s study had remained closed for some time.
Knock, knock, knock!
“… Mmm.”
Inside, Professor Moriarty, who had finally stopped crying after days of grief, was tenderly nursing her children. She hurriedly adjusted her appearance at the sound of the door.
“… Come in.”
With a word, she dispelled the locking spell on the door.
“If you have business, please make it quick. The children are—”
“… It’s me.”
“……..!”
She froze in shock. Charlotte Holmes, accompanied by Watson, stood in the doorway once again. Instinctively, Moriarty clutched the children tightly to her chest.
“The children are off-limits!”
She immediately exuded a menacing aura, her voice sharp and defensive.
“You promised…”
“………”
“Ten months ago… you promised to end all of this yourself.”
At Charlotte’s cold, emotionless voice, Moriarty averted her gaze. Her tone was quieter when she finally answered.
“… Something came up that made it impossible.”
“The children?”
“Don’t come any closer!”
As Charlotte took a step forward, Moriarty’s voice rose in desperation as she cast a binding spell.
“You never intended to keep that promise, did you?”
“Think what you will. Call me a coward if you like. I don’t care.”
Charlotte’s face twisted in discomfort as the paralysis gripped her body. Her voice remained icy. The professor only held the children tighter, her response resolute.
“But now, I have a reason to live.”
“Don’t lie…”
Charlotte snarled, her gaze burning with fury.
“It’s just like what you did to Adler, isn’t it?!”
Her voice rose to a scream as her composure shattered.
“That selfish, pathetic possessiveness! There is no way I am leaving Adler’s children in the hands of someone like you!”
Swish…
“But still…! Wha—?”
Charlotte’s words were cut short as the professor raised her head and looked her directly in the eye. Charlotte froze.
“I’m sorry.”
It was then that she noticed—the professor’s once arrogant, steely grey eyes had transformed into a radiant, glowing gold.
“… For realizing it too late.”
When Moriarty’s voice, laced with anguish and guilt, finally faded, a heavy silence settled over the study, swallowing them all.