Chapter 50: Gia Lestrade (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: Gia Lestrade (4)
“Hmm… Let’s see.”
“Excuse me…”
“Would this suit you better, or perhaps that one…”
Lestrade, who had been dragged along by a visibly excited Adler, stared at him with a blank expression before finally speaking.
“What exactly are you doing right now?”
“Oh, this looks perfect.”
Ignoring her entirely, Adler plucked a dress from the rack in front of him.
“Try this on.”
He held up a sky-blue dress, his eyes shining as he made the request.
“I don’t wear anything but my uniform,” Lestrade said, coldly pushing his hand away. “And I’ve never worn such feminine clothes in my life. They wouldn’t suit me.”
She spoke with a tone of absolute certainty and tried to brush past Adler toward the exit.
“Of course, your police uniform is quite dignified,” Adler said, quickly catching her arm to stop her. “But I really want to see my girlfriend in this dress.”
Her expression turned even colder when he emphasized the word girlfriend.
“You said you’d do anything I asked, didn’t you?” Adler whispered.
“…Yes.”
With a heavy sigh, she snatched the dress from his hands.
“Because I like you.”
Though she muttered the words with a frigid expression, Adler seemed inexplicably happy, chuckling softly to himself.
“Change over there. There’s a curtained area inside the shop.”
Lestrade grimaced as he nudged her toward the back, ushering her to hurry up.
“Ugh…”
She brushed past the whispering onlookers and entered the changing room. Her face flushed crimson as she began to unbutton her stiff, high-collared police uniform.
—Swish.
She held the fluttering sky-blue fabric against her bare skin.
“…There’s no way something like this will look good on someone like me.”
She tentatively tried a few poses in the mirror but quickly stopped, her expression darkening.
“He’s definitely trying to humiliate me.”
With a body covered in scars from years of rigorous training and a stomach defined by lean, hard muscle, such a delicate dress felt entirely out of place. It felt as if Isaac Adler was determined to break her spirit.
“…Sigh.”
But she couldn't refuse. No matter the circumstances, she was Isaac Adler’s lover now.
“………”
Steeling herself and suppressing her natural resistance, Lestrade pulled on the dress Adler had chosen.
—Squeak.
As she pushed open the changing room door, every eye in the vicinity immediately fixed on her.
“”………..””
A heavy, total silence descended upon the shop.
“Wow.”
In the stillness, Adler approached Lestrade. She kept her head bowed low, her eyes filled with clear embarrassment. He looked at her with a dreamy, captivated gaze.
“…You look truly gorgeous in that dress.”
“Shut up,” she muttered, her voice trembling with a mix of shame and anger as she stepped hard on his foot. “I can see how everyone is staring at me.”
“…I know. It makes me jealous.”
“……?”
Adler pulled her toward him, taking her hand once more as he began to lead her through the store.
“You… you always have to have things your way…”
“Next, try this one.”
Ignoring her protests as her face flushed deeper, Adler picked out a pink dress.
“And after that, this one. Then this…”
“……….”
Lestrade felt a wave of dizziness as she watched the pile of dresses in Adler’s shopping cart grow larger and larger.
*
Several hours later.
“…How did you enjoy the play?”
“………”
“Miss Lestrade?”
After being dragged across London for the better part of the day, Lestrade sat in the VIP room of a high-end restaurant. Her usually stoic, cold face was currently masked by a dazed expression.
“…It’s too expensive,” she whispered, her voice faint and trembling. “This dress I’m wearing… do you have any idea how much it costs?”
“I do.”
“And these piles of clothes next to me?”
“Of course. I’m the one who paid for them, after all.”
“And the food we’re eating right now?”
“The prices are clearly listed on the menu in front of us, Miss Lestrade.”
As Adler tilted his head and responded nonchalantly, Lestrade’s brow furrowed deeper than ever.
“Why are you doing all of this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you spending such an astronomical amount of money on a single date?”
Adler chuckled and speared a piece of steak with his fork.
“Because I like you.”
“………”
“And I’ve always wanted to do these things when I dreamed of being in a relationship.”
He held the fork up to Lestrade’s lips.
“Come on, eat.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Hurry.”
She suspected he was teasing her again, but Adler’s expression was earnest and sincere.
“…Ah.”
Resigning herself to yet another "demand" of their relationship, Lestrade opened her mouth with a cold look.
—Nom, nom…
“Hmm.”
As she chewed the steak, Adler watched her with a radiant smile.
“…You’re so adorable.”
Caught off guard by the genuine joy in his smile, Lestrade stopped chewing and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“I wonder how much more adorable you’ll be at our final destination tonight.”
At those words, a chilling smile finally touched Lestrade’s lips.
“So, that was it after all.”
“………”
“I shouldn't have expected anything else.”
She rose abruptly from her seat.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
“Wait a moment—”
Ignoring his call, Lestrade kept her head down and walked away.
“…After acting so high and mighty.”
At that moment, a voice dripping with scorn drifted from a nearby table.
“It seems she just went to the highest bidder in the end.”
A young woman, her face partially hidden behind a fan and her eyes heavily lined with kohl, whispered to her companions.
“Was she really that desperate for money?”
“………”
As the surrounding patrons began to snicker at the blatant insult, Lestrade clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
‘…I expected to be treated like this.’
She slumped her shoulders, a bitter smile crossing her face.
‘So…’
“I’m sorry, Miss Lestrade.”
It happened in an instant.
“For breaking my promise.”
“……?”
Adler had stood up and was walking toward her.
—Slap!!!
Gia Lestrade turned around, her eyes widening at the scene.
“…Ugh.”
The young woman who had insulted her was clutching her swelling cheek, staring up at Isaac Adler in stunned silence.
“How dare you speak to my lover that way…”
Adler glanced at Gia with a playful twinkle in his eyes before leveling a freezing stare at the woman on the floor.
“You fucking harlot.”
Lestrade’s eyes quivered as she watched him.
*
“Look, Miss Lestrade!”
“……..”
“A star!”
Late that night, they stood in a secluded, empty lot on the outskirts of London.
“…Is this the ‘final destination’ you mentioned?” Lestrade asked in a soft, fleeting voice, her hand still resting in Adler’s as they gazed at the night sky.
“What did you think it would be?” Adler asked, tilting his head.
“………”
“Miss Lestrade, you’re bolder than I thought.”
He smiled at her flushed face before turning his gaze back to the stars, murmuring to himself.
“It’s always been a dream of mine… to sit in an open field with my lover, holding hands and watching the stars together.”
The scene was mesmerizingly tender.
“I wanted to experience a normal relationship.”
“……..”
“That’s why I’m so incredibly happy right now.”
Lestrade watched him in silence.
“I love you, Gia.”
When he said her name with that soft smile, Lestrade’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
“…The night is getting late.”
Time seemed to blur as they sat there.
“Here is your payment for today.”
Suddenly, Adler pulled a check from his pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you your compensation.”
“Are you trying to buy me now?” Lestrade asked, her voice turning as cold as ice.
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is this?”
“I heard you have two younger siblings.”
Her stoic expression cracked at the mention of her family.
“And I heard you’re the only one providing for them.”
“………”
“That’s why you were looking for part-time work at the academy, isn't it?”
“Regardless, I cannot accept money just for dating you.”
“That’s why I came up with a better idea,” Adler said firmly. “I’m hiring you as my bodyguard.”
“………”
“While you are my lover, you will also serve as my bodyguard.”
Lestrade was momentarily speechless at his resolve.
“The payment is for your services as a guard,” Adler whispered, looking into her eyes. “The gifts… those are for you as my lover. Miss Gia.”
“What…”
“Let me say it again: having a normal relationship like this is a first for me. I don’t want to lose you.”
Adler handed her a contract from his pocket.
“I’ll be a good boy.”
“………”
“At least, when I’m with you.”
Lestrade quietly took the pen and signed the contract.
*
—Zzzzzzz…
“…Huh?”
The moment Lestrade finished her signature and set the pen down, the dark lot began to glow with a faint, eerie light.
“Ugh…?”
Suddenly, a sharp sensation flared in Gia Lestrade’s abdomen. A sophisticated, golden seal manifested on her skin.
“That’s why you shouldn't leave my side.”
“What is this…”
“Once the Slave’s Seal is engraved, you can no longer leave of your own free will.”
She stared blankly, her jaw dropping as she rubbed her lower abdomen in a daze.
“You should have checked the contents of the contract more carefully,” Adler whispered with a devilish grin. “Don’t worry too much, Miss Gia.”
“You…”
“I’ll be a kind and gentle master.”
Only then did Lestrade realize she had been utterly deceived. She began to curse him, her voice cold.
“Trash. Scammer.”
“Ouch.”
“The lowest, worst kind of—”
“That’s no way to speak to your master.”
“I wish you’d just drop dead.”
Adler flinched each time Lestrade stepped on his foot. After a moment, he looked at her cautiously, then leaned his head toward her shoulder.
“Can I lean on you?”
“…Are you kidding me?”
“We still have to finish our date.”
Lestrade looked at him with the same icy eyes she’d had hours ago, then sighed and looked away.
“…I suppose I have no choice.”
With her eyes closed, she shifted her dress slightly to expose her bare shoulder for him to rest on.
“I love you, after all,” she whispered.
“I love you too, Gia.”
“Shut up.”
Their date, and their new, ambiguous relationship, continued until the morning light.
“”………..””
Beyond the edge of the vacant lot, two pairs of grayish eyes watched them, blinking steadily in the darkness.