Chapter 43: The Missing Case of Silver Blaze (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43: The Missing Case of Silver Blaze (5)
“Miss Holmes.”
“………”
“Miss Holmes?”
Adler and Charlotte Holmes walked the streets with their arms handcuffed together… just as they always did.
“Why have you been making that face for a while now?”
Isaac Adler, who had been flinching at the overt stares from the people around them, finally posed a question to Charlotte Holmes as she walked beside him.
“………”
Hearing his voice, Charlotte looked at Adler in silence.
“…Do you prefer a physique like Professor Moriarty’s?”
At her unexpected question, Adler wore a clueless expression, looking as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
“I only like you, Miss Holmes.”
“Stop talking nonsense…”
“It’s the truth, Miss Holmes.”
Upon hearing his response, Charlotte made a face as if she were disgusted by his lies. However, once she saw the flicker of sincerity in Adler’s eyes, her words trailed off, unable to finish her retort.
“Now, look.”
In her line of sight, the back of Adler’s slightly raised left hand came into view.
“…Hmm.”
She soon noticed that the engagement seal engraved on his hand was damaged. She pouted and turned her head away.
Swish—
As she did, Adler quietly clasped her hand. Charlotte, just like the day before, pinched his hand tightly in response.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“It’s a gesture of affection.”
“…It’s vulgar.”
Of course, despite her words, Charlotte didn’t push him away.
“Stay away from me.”
She merely pushed against his chest with so little force that not even an ant would have been repelled.
“……?”
However, at that moment, Charlotte’s gaze shifted.
“Miss Holmes? This is starting to feel like sexual harassment, isn’t it?”
Then, out of the blue, she slipped her hand inside Adler’s clothes.
“Stay still.”
“I don’t want to, you can’t, don’t do it—”
“Hmm.”
After momentarily brushing her hand against his chest, Charlotte’s fingers caught onto something, and she pulled it out immediately. Clutched in her hand was a crimson cat doll.
“What is this?”
“As you can see, it’s a doll.”
“Why are you carrying it inside your clothes?”
“I’m actually quite fond of dolls.”
Adler started to sweat nervously as he watched Charlotte examine the doll with an intense gaze.
“…I see.”
While staring intently into the doll’s eyes, she suddenly broke into a dark smile.
“Dolls these days are quite something. There’s blood around its mouth, and the eyes can even move.”
“Ah, ah-gfuuufkhuu!”
“And when you press its stomach hard, it even makes sounds. Truly fascinating…”
Her gaze turned chillingly cold. Her deep, profound black eyes gave the impression that she might devour the cat whole.
“Meow.”
“It’s a specially made doll. And you shouldn’t press it so hard.”
Desperate to explain before she could destroy the doll, Adler quickly snatched Princess Clay from her hands.
“…By any chance, Mr. Adler, are you an animal lover?”
“Not at all. I only like Miss Holmes.”
“Is that the only flattery you know?”
“Uh.”
Charlotte, casting a suspicious gaze at him, suddenly shoved her finger into his mouth.
Slick—
Adler’s eyes widened, but he eventually bit into her finger and began silently sucking on her blood.
“Don’t test my patience…”
Recalling their rough encounter from the day before, Charlotte’s face turned red, and she murmured with her head bowed.
“…You can’t even live without me.”
“It’s the same for you now, isn’t it?”
Adler whispered in a drowsy voice close to Charlotte’s ear and then quietly leaned his head on her shoulder.
“………”
There was no retort to his cheeky statement.
“…Once again, I don’t feel anything…”
“You don’t feel anything for me, right? I’m the one who’s unilaterally in love, after all.”
“If you know that so well, then why don’t you stop making that stupid face already?”
With that, the two began to wander the streets of London, looking close enough that anyone might misconstrue their relationship.
“…They’re at it again?”
“Just leave them be. It’s not the first or second time.”
“They seem to be spotted together frequently these days…”
Unbeknownst to the two involved, their antics had become an iconic sight in London. Various witness accounts and tips were consistently being sent to gossip-loving media outlets and magazines.
However, rumors circulated that the British government itself, a particular woman, and an unknown royal family from overseas were discreetly applying pressure on the media. Hence, those tips would never see the light of day—at least, not in written form.
Believe it or not.
.
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After a considerable amount of walking, the two finally arrived at the scene of the case.
“Who is this person beside you?”
“…Don’t mind him.”
Due to the complications of the investigation, the welcoming officer posed the question with a puzzled expression.
“He’s just my assistant.”
“But why do you have your fingers in his mouth?”
“Never mind that. Just lend me your ears for a moment.”
Ignoring the officer's confusion, Charlotte whispered something to her and then stepped into the crime scene with Adler in tow.
“…It’s time for another riddle, Miss Holmes.”
“……….”
“By the way, how much do you know about the case?”
Upon Adler’s casual inquiry, Charlotte’s heart began to flutter quietly.
“I’ve grasped most of the information.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m on the verge of reaching a conclusion.”
“Oh…!”
When Adler looked at her with intrigue, she merely shrugged her shoulders. For Charlotte, solving mysteries with Adler had long become a stimulation more entertaining than anything else in the world.
“Although I couldn’t move yesterday, I had Watson gather information on the case instead. I supplemented the missing details with this morning’s newspaper.”
“I see.”
“So now, it seems all we need is to verify a few key pieces of evidence to draw a conclusion.”
Looking at the confident Charlotte with a hint of amusement, Adler took a step forward and asked, “So, what are these crucial pieces of evidence you speak of?”
“The first, of course, is the curry from last night’s dinner.”
With that, Charlotte opened the door to the room of the victim—John Straker—which was right in front of them.
“Hmm.”
She lightly touched the cold curry bowl on the desk and tilted her head, licking her finger.
“…It’s a highly concentrated stimulant.”
“Uh-oh.”
Upon hearing her words, Adler wore a startled expression and tried to step back.
“It’s commonly used as a drug. Don’t worry, this amount won’t affect me.”
“…Really?”
“Perhaps…?”
When Charlotte, her eyes darkening, grabbed hold of him, Adler shuddered ever so slightly, a nervous smile playing on his lips.
“So, why was there a drug in the curry?”
At his question, Charlotte’s gaze became sparkly once again.
“Before I answer that, we need to verify the next piece of evidence.”
With that, she briskly walked to the side, looking rather excited.
‘…She can be so cute for her age at times like these.’
“Just as I thought.”
Adler followed her, watching with an intrigued expression. Charlotte, with a triumphant look, pulled something out of the trash bin.
“What’s that?”
“A bunch of receipts. It’s a decisive piece of evidence that the stupid police didn’t even bother to glance at.”
“Why would that be considered decisive evidence?”
Her confident explanation followed.
“After Watson met with Mr. Straker’s wife yesterday, she found out that their relationship had been strained lately. They barely even look at each other these days.”
“And?”
“Why, then, are there so many receipts from a high-end clothing store thrown in the trash?”
“…Perhaps he was buying gifts to reconcile with his wife?”
As she meticulously examined the receipts, Charlotte chuckled and shook her head at Adler’s guess.
“The purchases were consistent over several months.”
“Hmm.”
“Furthermore, the buyer’s name is different on all the receipts. In other words, Mr. Straker was buying a large quantity of clothes using an alias.”
“In that case…”
“An affair with a lavish woman. Is there a more straightforward explanation than that?”
Watching Charlotte, Adler reached out and gently patted her head.
“…Ahem.”
“So, what’s the connection between Mr. Straker’s affair and the drugs in the curry?”
“……..”
Charlotte, who was about to accept Adler’s touch with a smile, wore a slightly cold expression because he stopped his hand right in front of her nose to tease her.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
She subtly moved a step forward.
“Watson mentioned that the hounds guarding the racetrack didn’t bark last night.”
“What’s so odd about that?”
“If an unknown intruder had broken in to drug the meal, the dogs would have naturally barked, wouldn’t they?”
Adler’s hand finally settled gently atop Charlotte’s head as she stepped closer to him.
“But what if that person was familiar to the dogs?”
“……….”
“And what if that person was close enough to Mr. Straker to personally bring him a late dinner?”
As she tilted her head from side to side, it was clear she was enjoying Adler’s touch.
“But did you know this? The stimulant mixed in the meal was quite potent. Had it been any ordinary dish, it would have been detected almost immediately.”
“In that case…”
“Isn’t it too much of a coincidence that curry—one of the few dishes that can mask such a strong taste—was served for dinner?”
As she paused to catch her breath, the closed door opened slightly.
“I’ve brought what you requested earlier…”
Just as the officer, holding something in her hand, attempted to step inside, she caught a glimpse of the tender scene and halted in her tracks, her words trailing off.
“What Mr. Straker was clutching tightly was a syringe, right?”
“Yes, yes, it was…”
“What about the substance inside?”
“We’ll need to examine it to be sure, but…”
“Then take it back and have it examined. Most likely, it’s a doping agent.”
Charlotte signaled the officer to leave with a wave of her hand, then flashed a triumphant smile toward Adler.
“In conclusion, it’s this.”
She began excitedly piecing together her deductions.
“Mr. Straker’s affair partner was a person who could roam the racetrack late in the evening without arousing suspicion. Furthermore, she was someone with enough power to dictate the evening menu.”
As she paced around the room, leaning back with confidence, she raised her voice slightly.
“What if the person who drugged Mr. Straker, as planned, had then instructed a heavily drugged Mr. Straker to dope Silver Blaze?”
She then turned her head to where Adler had been standing.
“That person would be the mastermind behind the case.”
She was about to declare the solution to the riddle when…
“And that person is…”
She stopped mid-sentence, frozen in place.
“Mr. Adler?”
Adler, who had been caressing her hair just moments ago, had vanished without a trace.
“He ran off on his own again?”
Charlotte stared blankly at the dangling handcuffs—the same ones that had been snapped the day before. Slowly, her expression cooled.
“Such a bad habit you have…”
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Thinking that solving the riddle too quickly might not be a good idea in this scenario, I quietly slipped away from Charlotte’s side.
Warning!
– Probability of Being Tamed — 20%
“Fuck. I’m sorry.”
However, upon seeing the terrifying message that appeared before my eyes, I instantly felt regret and tried to hurry back to Charlotte. But just then…
“…Adler.”
To my bad luck, I ran straight into her.
“Just as you wanted, I got rid of Straker. He kept babbling without knowing anything.”
She was the owner of the racetrack and the de facto owner of the demi-humans stabled here. She also held a notorious reputation in the underworld—a vile, cruel, and merciless woman.
“Though it didn’t go as planned—getting rid of him not just from the job but from this world altogether—I guess it doesn’t really matter now.”
And with that, the mastermind behind this incident…
“Because all I need is you~”
With a wild ferocity in her eyes, it was none other than Colonel Rose, whispering those words to me while tremblingly pointing a gun at my side.
“Do you feel the same?”
“…Do I even know you?”
“You’ve gotten quite cheeky, honey.”
At this point, it was clear…
“Let’s leave for the U.S. right now. I’ve got all the business arrangements in place already. I’ll ensure you live a luxurious life without even lifting a finger for the rest of your life…”
“Please… someone save me….”
It seemed I was under a particularly nasty curse.