Chapter 62: Traps and Snares
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62: Traps and Snares
“Heh.”
“Ahhhh…”
Pinning Mycrony’s fragile frame to the floor, Isaac Adler, who had sunk his sharp fangs into her neck, slowly pulled back.
“Miss Mycrony.”
“………”
“What do you think you’re doing right now?”
Wiping the blood from his lips, Adler regarded her with a wary gaze.
“…I suppose I let my guard down while trying to tame a cute little vampire, only to be completely subdued in the process.”
Mycrony, who had been locking Adler in a tight embrace with her legs wrapped around him the entire time, responded in a shy voice while averting her eyes.
“Do you honestly expect me to believe that?”
“Furthermore, despite my desperate struggles, it seems I was destined to be bound by the overwhelming power you’ve kept hidden all this time.”
“………”
“It truly was a tragedy that unfolded in the blink of an eye…”
Isaac Adler looked down at her, his expression one of pure incredulity.
— Lord Devil, the guards show no sign of leaving the restaurant.
— Did they abandon their master? Those fools have clearly lost their damn minds.
— The master must have cast a spell on them!
The various voices of his subordinates echoed in Adler’s mind simultaneously.
“…What are you doing?”
As Adler lay there momentarily dazed by the telepathic chatter, Mycrony observed his distraction and immediately shifted her tone to something colder.
“If you keep spacing out like that, I’ll throw you off.”
— Groan…
Contrary to her sharp words, the strength in the legs wrapped around Adler’s waist only increased.
“Well then…”
Though cold sweat began to bead on his forehead, Adler knew he couldn’t back down now. He slowly began to lower his head again.
— Swoosh…
But perhaps due to the sheer strength Mycrony was exerting with her legs…
“Oh my~”
Adler’s head, which was now much closer to her body than before, was obstructed by Mycrony’s ample bust, preventing him from reaching her neck.
“I suppose there’s no choice.”
“………”
“Since I can't reach your neck, I’ll just have to drink from here instead.”
Mycrony murmured, her eyes wide as she watched him.
“While it would be thrilling to die from blood loss after being bitten on the neck by those cute fangs of yours, that’s not why you’re here, is it?”
“Listen…”
“In order to facilitate a head-on confrontation between my sister and the professor you serve, you aim to capture me first—seeing as I am the most threatening third party in this grand scheme…”
She turned her head to the side, her expression pitiable and her tone mimicking that of a tragic heroine.
“Alas! I should have realized your intentions sooner…”
Then, there was utter silence.
— Sigh…
“…Uh.”
Adler let out a heavy sigh and bit into her plump flesh. In response, Mycrony Holmes twisted her body, letting out a faint, airy moan.
“……….”
Just how much time passed like that?
— Shimmer…
A unique, crimson bat-shaped seal—distinctly different from the ones he used on the other women he had enslaved—began to manifest on Mycrony’s lower abdomen.
“Wow…”
Mycrony, who had been biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, whispered softly as she looked down at the mark.
“It finally happened.”
“………”
“My life is over now.”
Of course, her face, flushed with pleasure and glee, didn't look like that of a woman whose life was ending.
“Just a few hours ago, the entirety of England was in my grasp. Now, I am merely the possession of a single boy…”
“…Sigh.”
“I’m so sad I could cry a river of tears.”
Looking down at her with another sigh, Adler finally spoke in a quiet, subdued tone.
“You might act this way now, but you will certainly regret it later.”
“Will I?”
“I’m going to pay you back for every insult I’ve endured so far.”
“…Uh?”
As he gently stroked Mycrony’s lower abdomen, a tingling sensation spread through her body, making her quiver violently.
“What is this?”
After trembling for a long moment, she asked in a faint voice.
“…You’ll come to understand everything in due time.”
Adler replied in a soft, mellow tone, poking her lower abdomen with his finger.
“Now, relax your legs.”
“…Ugh.”
At his command, Mycrony’s legs relaxed of their own accord, moving against her will.
“Prepare yourself.”
Adler, briefly touching her twitching waist, murmured as he caressed her chin while she lay powerlessly on the floor.
“…I’ll be sure to thoroughly clean the space under my desk back at the hideout.”
Leaving those words behind, Adler began walking toward the front door.
“…Sigh.”
As the twitching in her lower abdomen subsided, Mycrony released a hot, sensuous sigh and spoke with a gentle smile.
“When you go to my sister’s house, be especially careful not to run into Inspector Lestrade.”
“………”
“In the past few days alone, she has dismantled at least five back-alley gangs while looking for you.”
Adler flinched slightly at those words, murmuring to himself as he quietly stepped out of the room.
“…Sometimes, I really resent this curse of mine.”
As the front door closed, a heavy silence settled over the room.
.
.
.
.
.
“…Miss Mycrony.”
“Hmm.”
Despite several minutes passing, Mycrony Holmes remained sprawled blankly on the floor.
“What on earth has become of you?”
Her gaze shifted to the captain of her personal guards, who had quietly entered the room.
“I was tricked by an evil vampire who clearly misunderstands the nature of his own curse.”
“I don’t understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why on earth would you intentionally allow such a thing to happen?”
The captain of the guards trailed off, her voice laced with confusion.
“Maybe it’s because I hadn’t felt anything for over twenty years?”
“………”
“My threshold for stimulation has grown far too high.”
Mycrony Holmes, her eyes listless, murmured in a dazed voice.
“Now, simply having my neck bitten is no longer enough for me.”
“Are you serious?”
“Being bitten by Adler on the weekends feels so vivid that my brain tingles at the mere thought, but the lethargy I feel during the remaining five days has essentially doubled.”
The captain of the guards stood silently, unable to find a response.
“I wish I’d never known this feeling, but once you experience something like that, you can never stop.”
“Sigh…”
“But even so, stepping forward to claim Isaac Adler myself is far too much trouble.”
The captain extended her hand, pulling the still-slumped Mycrony Holmes to her feet.
“But what if he were to control me himself?”
“Stop mumbling and sit up properly.”
“There’s no need to truly possess him; I can relish a variety of sensations through this method alone.”
The captain sat Mycrony down on the sofa, treating her like a stray cat trying to slip away.
“So, you chased away all the guests and caused this entire mess just for that?”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. The people who visited today weren’t guests—they were professional actors I hired.”
“What?”
The listless Mycrony, sprawled on the sofa, began her explanation with a smirk.
“The reason I hid Isaac Adler under the desk and covered him with my clothes was precisely for that reason. Since they’re in the same profession, there was a high chance he would have recognized them at a glance.”
“…But isn’t that just what you usually do?”
“Just take it as it is.”
She brushed off the question carelessly, then touched her lower belly with a satisfied expression.
“Having acquired this cute mark that gives me a sensation different from pain, I’m more than content.”
“So, you’d risk putting the entirety of England into Isaac Adler’s hands just to gain that peculiar mark?”
At the captain’s piercing remark, the corner of Mycrony Holmes’ mouth lifted subtly.
“Of course not.”
“Pardon?”
“Despite how it may look, my patriotism is quite profound, you know?”
The next moment, her lower abdomen began to glow faintly.
— Shhhhh…
“………!”
When Mycrony Holmes touched her abdomen again, the distinct bat-shaped mark vanished as if it had been erased.
“What… what did you just do?”
“I tried to mimic what Adler did.”
In the face of a spectacle that completely defied the established laws of magic, the captain of the guards stared with widened eyes.
“According to my observations, he doesn’t simply use magic; he manipulates the entire linguistic system that constitutes magic itself.”
“What are you saying?”
“I became curious and did a bit of research. I found a way to easily neutralize most persistent magic using that principle.”
However, the explanation that followed was far too complex for the physically-oriented captain to grasp.
“If it had been a contract spell designed by him, I might have had trouble neutralizing it fully. But this is just a standard vampire’s seal.”
— Buzz…
“Yes, that’s it.”
Without a care, she continued murmuring to herself, making the seal on her lower abdomen appear and disappear repeatedly, demonstrating her total control over it.
“I’ll keep it deactivated normally and only activate it when I meet Adler.”
“So…”
“It’s what you might call carefree pleasure.”
Saying so, she tapped her belly with a satisfied look and closed her eyes.
“…Keep it a secret from Adler, okay?”
“……….”
“Just imagining him confidently climbing on top of me, thinking he has me under his control with nothing but that cute seal… it gives me the chills.”
As those words, spoken in an entranced voice, left Mycrony’s lips, the captain of her personal guards nodded silently and exited the room.
‘…Is London really going to be alright at this rate?’
As she walked toward her waiting subordinates with heavy steps, a fundamental question about the safety and security of her homeland weighed on her mind.
.
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.
.
That evening, in front of 212B Baker Street…
“…I’m a bit late.”
Pressing the hat he’d bought from a tailor shop low over his eyes, Isaac Adler scanned his surroundings and adjusted his attire before moving forward.
— Knock, knock, knock…
Adler knocked on the door of the boarding house, taking a deep breath to steady himself.
“Are you here to see Holmes?”
“Ah, yes.”
Wondering how he should react if Watson were to suddenly appear, he felt a wave of relief at the sight of the kindly smiling Mrs. Hudson and nodded.
“Go up to the second floor.”
“Thank you.”
“…She’s been waiting for someone for a while. I think it might have been you.”
As he passed her and began to ascend the stairs, Adler paused.
“Do you know why?”
“…I’m not sure.”
Mrs. Hudson responded with a look of genuine uncertainty.
“When she came back to the boarding house this morning, she had a large bouquet and a small box in her hands.”
“………”
“Do you think it might be related to a case?”
At that suggestive remark, Adler quietly bit his lip and resumed his climb.
— Knock, knock, knock…
After hesitating for a moment, he knocked on the door to the room.
“Miss Holmes.”
“……..”
“It’s me, Isaac Adler.”
However, for some reason, there was no response.
“Miss Holmes?”
Tilting his head, Adler knocked again and then reached for the handle, testing the door.
— Creak…
The door swung open slowly.
“I’m coming in…”
Gauging the situation, Adler stepped inside, but the moment he took a step forward…
“Huh?”
He was met with a sight he hadn't anticipated at all.
“……….”
“Charlotte…?”
Charlotte Holmes lay collapsed on the floor right in front of him.
“You’re not a kid anymore, why would you play such a pra—”
For a moment, Isaac Adler took in the scene, lowering his head with a smirk, expecting a joke.
“……..”
However, his face soon began to stiffen.
‘…That ivory box.’
Beside the bouquet she held tightly in her embrace, a familiar box sat conspicuously on the floor.
‘It’s just like the Dying Detective case… that thing…’
Noticing the sharp spring protruding from the opened box, Adler hesitantly checked Charlotte’s hand.
‘It’s got to be a ruse. Surely she wasn’t pricked…’
Yet, there was a clear wound on her finger, as if it had been pierced by a needle.
“………”
Cradling the pale-faced Charlotte in his arms, Adler’s eyes began to tremble with an intensity he had never felt before.
“This can’t be real.”
“…Hm.”
In his panic, he completely missed the very faint twitch of Charlotte’s lips and the rosy blush creeping up her cheeks.