Chapter 6: The Scandal of the Bohemian Queen (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 6: The Scandal of the Bohemian Queen (3)
The day after Isaac Adler’s estate was reduced to ash under mysterious circumstances—
"Hah... hah..."
Having received a message from Holmes to meet at the hospital where Watson worked, the Queen, who had been staying at a hotel, rushed over in a panic. She stood in the hospital lobby, gasping for air.
"I came... the moment I received your message, just as you asked."
"Yes, you did well."
"What is this urgent matter you need to discuss?"
Holmes, who had been waiting for the Queen on a lobby sofa, answered calmly.
"It is, naturally, about the photograph."
"...You haven't already laid hands on it, have you?"
"Not yet, but it is as good as ours."
"Oh! Is that truly the case?"
A flash of excitement crossed the Queen’s face as she reached out and grasped Holmes’s hands.
"I knew I was right to entrust this to you. How can I ever repay this favor..."
"The case is not over yet. Please, calm yourself and listen to what I have to say first."
Holmes’s voice was cold as she gestured for the Queen to sit.
"...Holmes."
"What is it, Watson?"
Watson, who had been quietly observing the exchange from Holmes’s side, leaned in and whispered cautiously.
"Are you really alright?"
Usually, when a case reached its climax, Holmes maintained a serene demeanor, immersing herself in the thrill of the final hunt before delivering a brilliant summary to the client.
However, for some reason, she was currently prickly and irritable—almost like a teenage girl in the throes of puberty.
"I’m fine, Watson."
"Are you sure?"
"...I said I’m fine."
It was a stark departure from the mature, all-knowing Holmes the world was used to.
"Explain what happened, quickly."
"..........."
"I am so on edge I feel I might go mad at any moment. We have very little time left before Adler’s deadline."
The Queen, seemingly oblivious to Holmes’s unusual mood, pressed her with an anxious expression.
"To begin with, we failed to retrieve the photo yesterday," Holmes began, her tone still laced with irritation.
"...What?"
"However, I now know exactly where it is."
"Is... is that true?"
The Queen’s eyes, which had widened in shock at the mention of failure, regained some color at the news that the location of the scandalous photograph had been identified.
"Where is that cursed thing?"
"In Room 102, on the third floor of this very hospital."
"What did you say?"
"Because Isaac Adler has been admitted there with severe burns across his entire body."
The Queen’s expression shifted to one of pure shock. "Why would he...?"
"It’s a long story." Holmes shut her eyes for a moment, tapping her fingers rhythmically against her leg as she let out a long sigh. "...A very long story."
Holmes then began to recount the events of the previous day.
"Isaac did that?"
"That scoundrel actually did?"
As Holmes reached the part where Adler had plunged into the flames to save her and his servants, both the Queen and Watson looked on with expressions of absolute disbelief.
"You were unconscious yesterday, so you didn't see it with your own eyes. Your skepticism is understandable," Holmes noted.
"But still..."
"However, Watson... judging a situation based on bias is the quickest path to distorting the truth."
Holmes’s voice rose slightly as she chided Watson.
"Even so, I find it strange," the Queen muttered. "Isaac regarded women as mere toys to be played with and discarded. Why would he—"
"Your Majesty, I apologize, but that is not the point," Holmes interrupted, cutting the Queen off to continue her explanation.
"I initially deduced the photo would be hidden in his mansion. However, Adler moved in and out of that estate several times without ever retrieving it."
"How could that be...?"
"He planned to release the photo within thirty-six hours. He wouldn't have used a bank or a private vault, as the procedures to retrieve items from such official locations are too time-consuming. And, of course, he wouldn't have hidden it in an insecure location lacking security."
The Queen listened with a dazed expression as Holmes laid out her crystal-clear logic.
"Taking all that into account, the answer becomes obvious. From the very beginning, Adler had been carrying the photo on his person."
"On... on his own body?"
"Because he already had his most valuable possession with him, he had the luxury of rescuing others even in the midst of the inferno."
Usually, Holmes took great pleasure in confidently lecturing clients on her deductions. Today, however, she appeared uncharacteristically frustrated.
"Even so, the reason he saved me remains unexplained..." Holmes added, her brow furrowed as if she were a student stuck on an impossible math problem.
"So, if we go to Adler now, we can take the photo?" the Queen asked hastily, ignoring Holmes’s personal musings.
"...Presumably, yes," Holmes replied softly.
"Dr. Watson and I will retrieve it on your behalf."
"There’s no need for that—"
"Adler is a mana user. What if he attempts a counterattack?"
The Queen hesitated at Holmes’s proposal, but her resolve wavered as Holmes continued.
"Watson and I have extensive experience dealing with bizarre cases and mana users. You, Your Majesty, do not."
"Indeed... that is true." Finally, the Queen seemed convinced. "Then, I shall wait here for you both."
"A wise decision."
Holmes and Watson rose, gave a short nod to the Queen, and made their way toward the third floor where Isaac Adler was being held.
"Holmes, why did you insist on coming along?" Watson asked suddenly. "Adler was prescribed morphine and sedatives to manage his pain. The Queen could have handled it herself..."
"You talk too much sometimes, Watson," Holmes snapped, quickening her pace.
She tilted her head slightly and glanced back over her shoulder.
"...That nurse..."
She found the nurse who had just passed them oddly familiar.
*
"...Damn."
I never imagined I’d run right into Holmes and Watson just as I was leaving a patient’s room in a nurse’s disguise.
That was close. Too close...
The shock I felt when Holmes turned around and eyed me suspiciously was indescribable. I thought for sure I’d been caught.
Was it because, in the original story, Holmes failed to recognize Irene Adler when she greeted him in disguise? Fortunately, it seemed Holmes hadn't fully recognized me through my current persona.
Anyway, that really was Holmes.
I hadn't felt much sentiment when I saw her disguised as a nun, lying unconscious. But seeing her approaching from the other end of the hallway—wearing that signature coat with the cape draped over her shoulders—it finally felt real.
Holmes truly was a woman. A young one at that, with a sharp, brash, yet weary gaze. In short, she was a beautiful girl.
Perhaps all the characters I’d meet from now on would have their genders swapped as well. And somehow, I’d have to become involved with most of them.
"Phew."
I sighed lightly and steeled myself, my eyes sharpening with determination. There were two main things I needed to do now.
First, I had to settle my relationship with the client Holmes was so focused on—the Queen of Bohemia. If I didn't resolve this soon, then just as Professor Moriarty warned, my life would be in danger.
And then, the next step...
Become that man for Holmes.
I had to complete this quest. Otherwise, this world would crumble and shatter.
Never thought I’d see the day.
I never dreamed I would be the one to hand Holmes her first defeat. But I hoped she would understand that this was all for her sake.
Though her abilities matched those of the original Holmes, Charlotte was still mentally immature. For her to grow into the only person capable of confronting Moriarty, this failure was a necessary catalyst for her development.
"Ah, ah. Can you hear me?"
Though I was a different age and gender now, I tried to alleviate the guilt of using my knowledge of the original work to defeat a figure I deeply respected.
"If you can hear me, please respond, Professor."
I murmured softly into the miniature mana receiver Professor Moriarty had given me.
—I hear you loud and clear, Mr. Adler.
Professor Moriarty’s voice crackled in my ear.
—So, what should I do now?
From a café on the opposite block, Professor Jane Moriarty sat with an excited expression, waving toward the hospital.
"Think of this as a rehearsal before we officially begin our criminal consultations."
According to the narrative of this world, I have a duty to help the protagonist, Charlotte Holmes, grow.
"From now on, I will act according to your orders, Professor."
But at the same time, I also had the duty to develop Professor Jane Moriarty—her arch-enemy and the final boss—into a formidable existence.
"Don't be too nervous. Just take your time and act without pressure."
I would turn her, a newcomer to the world of criminal consultation, into the emperor who would rule London’s underworld. That was my other main quest.
"If anything happens, I’ll take full responsibility."
—That’s quite a romantic statement, Mr. Adler.
In my field of vision, I saw the Queen of Bohemia sitting nervously in the hospital lobby.
"As your assistant, let’s try to topple the Queen of Bohemia, Professor."
To escape this absurd situation, it was time to use Moriarty as my ultimate cheat code.
*
Meanwhile, at that same moment.
Inside the hospital room where Isaac Adler had been admitted.
"..........."
Charlotte Holmes pushed the door open and stared at the bed with a look of utter disbelief.
—As soon as you see this, please open it immediately.
Instead of Isaac Adler, who should have been lying there, a single envelope sat in the center of the neatly made bed.
—To Miss Charlotte Holmes.
Her name was written on the envelope in Adler’s distinct handwriting.
"Holmes, what on earth happened?"
"..........."
It was the moment the very first failure was etched into Charlotte’s flawless detective career.