Chapter 29: The Secret of the Speckled Band (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: The Secret of the Speckled Band (4)
“…What are you looking at, Mr. Adler?”
Helen Stoner, currently perched on Adler’s lap, noticed his eyes darting around, his face drained of all color.
“Why are you looking at my employee?”
Stoner reached out, carefully turning Adler’s head away from Professor Moriarty to face her.
“That woman is just someone I hired,” she added dismissively.
“………”
“Look at me now. Talk to me.”
Professor Moriarty began to watch the interaction with intense interest. Adler, however, found himself unable to tell the girl on his lap that he’d much rather speak with the Professor.
Swoosh…
He was acutely aware that if the blade pressed against his throat shifted even a fraction of an inch, it would all be over.
“Yes, that’s it. Just like that.”
As Adler’s trembling gaze finally settled on her, Stoner began to whisper in a voice filled with a terrifyingly gentle warmth.
“If you can look at me like this now, why couldn’t you have done it before?”
“……What?”
“I’ve been watching you for a very long time.”
Adler’s expression turned to one of utter bewilderment. He tilted his head, confused, until Professor Moriarty—leaning in close beside him—cleared up the mystery in a soft, mocking whisper.
“Miss Helen Stoner here has been a long-time fan of yours.”
“…My fan?”
“Talk to me,” Stoner commanded, her voice turning icy. “Mr. Adler, do you remember who sat in the very front row for your debut performance?”
“What?”
“Who was the president of your first fan club?”
“………”
“Who in all of London owns the most of your autographs?”
With every question, her eyes grew darker, more obsessive. Adler tried to look away, but she suddenly lunged forward, her face inches from his.
“That was me,” Stoner whispered. “I enrolled in the Auguste Detective Academy—a place I had zero interest in—all because of you. I even studied mind-control magic, just in case I ever needed to use it on you.”
In her manic state, she gently stroked Adler’s cheek, her voice quivering.
“So why? Why didn’t you ever spare me a single glance, let alone a word?”
“……..”
“You were always surrounded by women. Why was I the only one you ignored?”
Adler, unable to avoid her gaze any longer, frowned. He couldn't help but ask the obvious.
“…Were you stalking me?”
In the original game, Stoner and Adler had no connection whatsoever. The question slipped out instinctively.
“Stalking?” Stoner replied with a bone-chilling smile. “That’s a harsh way to speak to your future wife.”
At that, Adler gave up on gathering any more information and shut his mouth. Stoner, however, continued, her eyes gleaming with a delusional light.
“I have no intention of filling this mansion with vampires like my stepmother did.”
“…I see.”
“We’ll have one son and one daughter, and we’ll live here peacefully forever.”
Adler, momentarily at a loss for words, took a breath and tried to regain his composure. He needed to understand the situation.
“…So, did you orchestrate all of this?”
“Why do you want to know?” Stoner asked, looking genuinely curious. “The conclusion has already been reached. You’ll live happily with me in this basement forever.”
“…I’m just curious how it all unfolded.”
To navigate this massive deviation from the original game's plot, Adler summoned every ounce of his acting talent.
“…Shouldn’t I know how hard my wife worked to obtain me?” Adler added, forcing a slight grin. “From the perspective of a husband, I mean.”
“…Husband.”
Stoner repeated the word to herself, a strange warmth flickering in her cold eyes. “Now that you put it that way, you have a point.”
“…Do I?”
“Then let me explain from the beginning.”
A faint blush crept onto her face as she began her tale.
“The first time I hatched the plan was a few days ago.”
…I figured as much.
Adler ignored the sense of impending doom radiating from the gray aura beside him and focused.
“To be precise, it was when I tried to kidnap you while you were walking alone through the foggy streets of London at night.”
Of course.
He smiled inwardly. It fit the pattern.
“I was following you quietly with a leather sack when someone grabbed my arm.”
Helen Stoner was so absorbed in her recollection that she didn't notice Adler’s subtle reaction.
“That person was…”
“The one who advised her on this entire affair was me, of course.”
Moriarty interjected, leaning casually against the wall.
“Surprisingly, you had already noticed that…”
Then, in a voice so low Stoner couldn't hear, she added, “Isn’t that right, Adler dear?”
…I had my suspicions.
Finally, Adler’s theories were confirmed. He had been fairly certain the moment he saw the gray-colored message on the palm of the woman who attacked him in the hospital.
The entire incident was, essentially, a surprise party Professor Moriarty had prepared for him.
“Professor Moriarty told me a more efficient way to get you,” Stoner continued.
“…Is that so?”
“Specifically, to exploit my stepmother’s criminal plans.”
Adler realized he had made a grave error in his assessment of the situation.
“My stepmother planned to kill me by sending a snake through the ventilation duct. She wanted sole possession of our newlywed home.”
It was the same flawed trick from the original story, but Moriarty had exploited it brilliantly.
“…So, you turned the plan around and used it to brainwash her.”
“Yes?”
“You were going to use it again today, weren't you? Targeting either Charlotte Holmes or the lady herself, then framing the survivor as the culprit…”
This was the critical mistake Adler thought would lead to the world’s downfall.
“What are you talking about?” Stoner asked, bewildered.
“Yes?” Adler blinked.
“Executing such a foolish plan is impossible.”
Professor Moriarty’s statement hit Adler like a physical blow.
“A plan involving a professional snake charmer feeding a snake milk and controlling it with a whistle? It’s utterly ludicrous.”
“………”
“It is such a clumsy trick that only a moronic detective or a dim-witted policeman would find it plausible.”
Adler stared blankly at Moriarty for a long moment.
“…Surely, the mistake you referred to wasn’t the misunderstanding that I had utilized such a low-grade trick?”
Adler broke into a cold sweat and shook his head vigorously.
“Yes, you’re right. It was an unnecessary worry.”
Moriarty looked at him with a slight expression of relief. “The terrible mistake I committed couldn’t possibly be such a trivial misunderstanding.”
…I’m truly fucked…
Dread welled up in Adler’s eyes as he forced a smile.
I did misunderstand her plan. Dammit…
He thought back to the moment he had pushed Professor Moriarty aside—when she had been brimming with pride, expecting praise—only for him to rush to Lady Roylott’s side.
.
.
.
.
.
“My stepmother’s idea was creative, but that was the extent of it. Due to her meager intelligence and misplaced confidence, the likelihood of success was precisely zero.”
Stoner was still muttering while sitting on my lap, but I wasn't listening. I was lost in my own thoughts.
“Well, actually, ninety percent of her talent was just an illusion created by my brainwashing magic, so it’s understandable she’d resort to such pitiful actions.”
I finally realized the gravity of what I had done.
“In any case, the plan was foolish, but thanks to the Professor’s excellent advice, I was able to repurpose it.”
“Ah….”
“My stepmother has weak mana, but her mental resistance is strangely high. That’s why, even as an expert in brainwashing, I can only apply simple suggestions to her.”
“……….”
“I will frame my stepmother’s foolish plan as an attempted murder. It’s a plan that will surely work with the incompetent London police handling it, don’t you think?”
Contrary to my expectations, Professor Moriarty had completely eliminated the plot holes created by the original story's "stupidity" simply by intervening.
But then, why did the probability warning message remain unchanged?
Because of that warning, I had assumed the original snake-using method was still in play and embarked on this dangerous endeavor.
Did that mean all my actions—including the "bondage date" with Lady Roylott—were a massive waste of time?
“So I put it into action immediately. To get my stepmother into prison as quickly as possible, I wandered the streets, having placed a slight hallucination on myself…”
As I wondered why the assimilation rate had increased, Stoner’s voice, sounding more delighted than ever, pulled me back.
“And when I saw you, my goodness…” Her eyes were shining. “I just couldn’t resist.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Stabbing you with a knife.”
What kind of bullshit was she spouting?
“It wasn’t pre-arranged with the Professor, but I naturally stabbed you.”
“Why?”
“…Because I love you.”
I started to ask another question, but I gave up. There was no understanding this woman.
“Of course, I felt a bit of regret afterward… but it was also the perfect opportunity to have you for myself.”
Right now, I couldn't waste mental energy on a madwoman. I had to figure out how to escape this royally fucked-up situation.
“So, I sent you to the infirmary after giving my stepmother a suggestion to keep you under her control…”
“…Instead, she tried to choke me. I guess if the suggestion is weak, the intent gets twisted?”
I played along to buy time. Stoner nodded.
“Yes, I was quite troubled by that. Fortunately, thanks to a message Professor Moriarty activated as a safety measure, I was able to regain control.”
“………”
“But after that, I was at a loss for what to do next. And then, a miracle happened.”
She flashed a nightmare-inducing smile.
“Amazingly, you came to this mansion voluntarily.”
“………”
“…It would have been wonderful if it weren't for the fact that you wanted to be 'trained' by my mother.”
She cautiously lowered the knife.
“However, none of that matters anymore.”
She picked up a bowl of milk from the floor and tried to feed it to me while stroking my head.
“According to the foolish detective outside, Lady Roylott will be apprehended.”
“Huh?”
“Now that the obstacle is gone, I will give you a sweet suggestion.”
Unlike the milk Lady Roylott gave me, this liquid felt like something I shouldn't consume under any circumstances. I desperately turned my head away, and her voice turned cold.
“After the case is settled and a few months have passed… quit the academy.”
“Ugh, heup…”
“And come back here. We can live happily…”
Just as the liquid began to seep between my lips and my consciousness started to haze, it happened.
“…Adler.”
Professor Moriarty’s voice rang in my ears.
“…Is it time to whisper those words yet?”
“Professor Moriarty, what are you doing?” Stoner snapped.
I heard the softest voice I’d ever heard from the Professor, followed by Stoner’s sharp tone. I began to tremble uncontrollably.
“I have committed a grievous mistake toward you.”
What the hell is it now, fuck…
This was the true face of terror.
.
.
.
.
.
“……….Huh?”
Stoner, who had been about to force the liquid into Adler’s mouth, suddenly dropped the bowl. She clutched her own throat, gasping.
“Heu… Heuk…?”
The spotted collar that had been around Adler’s neck just seconds ago was now coiling around her throat like a living snake.
“Yo—You…”
Pale and fighting for breath, Stoner looked around frantically until she found the source.
“What are you… doing….”
Professor Moriarty lifted a single finger, her gaze frigid as she channeled gray mana toward the girl.
“…I am correcting it.”
“Huh!?”
With a slight bend of her finger, the collar stretched even further, beginning to crawl into Stoner’s mouth.
“Uh? Ugh….”
“Adler.”
As the room fell silent, Moriarty flung Stoner off Adler’s lap with a mere gesture.
“The basic, foolish mistake I committed against you ends now.”
She leaned in until her face was inches from Adler’s, whispering eerie, intimate words.
“You, who chose me.”
“Uh…”
“You, who rolled into my life—which was as placid as a calm sea—and created ripples more powerful than anything I have ever witnessed.”
“……”
“You, who are more precious than anything. I cannot allow you to be taken by anyone else.”
Adler was visibly distressed, his breath hitching as Moriarty grabbed his face, forcing him to lock eyes with her.
“Like that witless detective—no, at an even more severe level…”
She slowly climbed onto his lap, glancing at the struggling Stoner on the floor before whispering in a sweet, terrifying tone.
“I’ve made you dangerously uneasy.”
Silence fell over the basement.
“…Isn’t that right, Adler?”
As Adler, trembling in Moriarty’s embrace, nodded weakly, she began to gently caress his neck with a smile.
“I’ll correct it right now.”
Swish…
Moriarty’s mana surged, rapidly enveloping the murky energy that had been lingering around Adler’s body.
“Stay still.”
“……..Yes.”
And at that very moment, eyes shimmering with shades of gray and gold stared blankly through the gap in the partially destroyed basement door.
『Villain Maker』
Chapter 1 – Complete
『Love-Hate Relationship』
Chapter 2 – Begin