Chapter 70: The Blue Carbuncle (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: The Blue Carbuncle (2)
“Salute, Ma’am!”
“… Hmm?”
Lestrade, who had been pacing her living room with a perplexed expression, turned toward the sharp voice coming from the entrance.
“I’ve handled everything as instructed!”
“Baynes?”
“The investigators from the Metropolitan Police have begun searching the scene. I witnessed it with my own eyes, so you can rest easy!”
“Good job… but what brings you to my house?”
Lestrade tilted her head, looking curiously at Baynes. Baynes was an Inspector Candidate she had been patrolling the London streets with only moments ago.
“That’s the thing. If there’s an expert you acknowledge, Senior, then only one person comes to mind.”
As she spoke, Baynes’s face flushed red, and she began to fidget nervously.
“That famous genius girl of London. The one who hunts the city's shadows alongside Dr. Rachel Watson…”
“… Right, I forgot you were a fan of Charlotte Holmes.”
“I’m not just a fan; I’m a devotee! Don’t you know my only hobby is collecting Charlotte Holmes’s case files published in the Strand Magazine?”
Chattering away, Baynes leaned over, peeking over Lestrade’s shoulder.
“So, where is Miss Holmes? Has she started analyzing the evidence yet?”
“Ah…”
Lestrade sighed quietly and stepped aside.
“Oh…”
Baynes froze as she took in a scene she hadn't expected.
“So that’s the famous Charlotte Holmes…”
Charlotte Holmes was intently examining a hat placed on a desk, her chin resting in her hand.
“… Who are you?”
“Oh, my apologies! I am Linya Baynes, Inspector Lestrade’s assistant and an Inspector Candidate!”
Startled by the sudden question from Charlotte—who had been utterly engrossed in the hat until that moment—Baynes snapped into a sharp salute.
“… Hmm?”
Then, her eyes widened in surprise.
“And that is…”
“What a charming little girl.”
Sitting next to Charlotte Holmes was Isaac Adler, who waved at her with a mischievous grin.
“Senior.”
“Huh?”
“Was the person you mentioned Isaac Adler, by any chance?”
Baynes stared at him for a moment before turning back to Lestrade.
“No, no! How could it be?”
“… I’m referring to the expert, not the romance novel lead.”
“Oh, that.”
Gia Lestrade’s face turned beet red for a second before she cleared her throat and regained her composure.
“Are you saying Isaac Adler is an expert on par with Miss Charlotte Holmes?”
“As hard as it may be to believe, it’s the truth.”
Lestrade looked over at the two examining the hat with a serious expression.
“Based on my logical deduction, Isaac Adler has been the hidden hand behind the cases Charlotte Holmes has solved recently.”
“… Senior, if I’m being honest… it’s a bit hard to believe anything based on your deductions.”
Baynes’s voice was thick with skepticism, prompting a slightly irritated Lestrade to give her a "gentle" nudge.
“If you don’t believe me, experience it for yourself.”
“… Uh.”
Of course, it was only "gentle" by Lestrade’s superhuman standards. The nudge sent Baynes stumbling forward until she banged her head right against the hat on the table.
“I’ll go deal with the goose that keeps squawking in there. You stay here and learn a thing or two from them.”
“I-I’m so sorry!”
Baynes lifted her head and watched, dazed, as Lestrade headed toward the kitchen with a goose in her hand. Noticing the now-deformed hat, she hastily apologized to Charlotte and Adler.
“I’ve ruined the evidence…”
“No, it’s fine,” Isaac Adler said with a sly smile. “The deduction is already complete.”
“… Same for me,” Charlotte chimed in, glaring displeasedly at the smiling Adler.
“What… what are you two talking about?”
“”…………””
“The deduction is over? What deduction?”
As Baynes pressed them with curious eyes, Charlotte and Adler began their explanation, finishing each other's sentences.
“The owner of this hat is highly intellectual. For at least the past three years, they were affluent and enjoyed great status, but they have recently fallen on hard times.”
“In the past, the owner—a woman—was meticulous, but she has become reckless. It appears the cause is a recent descent into alcoholism.”
“And the catalyst for all of this seems to be none other than you, Isaac Adler.”
“Hold on, me?”
“Another fact we know is that the owner is in her early to mid-thirties and has a keen interest in finery. Well, if she caught the interest of Isaac Adler, that would certainly explain the downfall.”
A heavy silence followed that remark.
“… Excuse me?” Baynes stammered, stunned. “From just this worn-out hat, you can know all that?”
“There is one mistake in Miss Holmes’s deduction,” Adler noted, ignoring Baynes.
“Is there?” Charlotte challenged.
The two began conversing as if Baynes wasn't even there.
“Want to make a bet?”
“Sure.”
“Uhm…” Baynes interjected, tilting her head. “Could you please explain?”
Only then did Charlotte and Adler turn to face her simultaneously.
“I apologize, but if you could refrain from interrupting…”
“Of course, cute little girl.”
“… Isaac.”
Charlotte Holmes, looking annoyed and ready to shoo Baynes away, suddenly leaned in and whispered coldly into Adler’s ear with a chilling smile.
“Why do you keep flirting when you’re already dyed in my colors, hmm?”
Adler began to break into a cold sweat.
“It’s not like that. Think of it as a lesson for the next generation…”
—QUAAAAACK!!!
“… Do you want me to snip it off?”
As the scream of the goose from the kitchen overlapped with Charlotte’s whisper, Adler went silent and quickly crossed his legs, shielding his lap.
“Hmm.”
Suddenly, Charlotte murmured, a strange gleam in her eyes.
“… I wonder if that’s really where babies come from?”
“Anyway, let’s start the explanation, shall we?”
Trying his best to ignore the spine-chilling comment, Adler began the explanation in a light-hearted tone—one that barely masked his discomfort.
*
“Firstly, shall we start with Miss Holmes’s deduction?”
“… Well, if that’s what you want. Look at this…”
Charlotte, who had been glancing down at Adler’s lower half, picked up the crumpled hat and placed it on her own head.
Shwoo…
The hat was so large it slid down past her forehead, stopping between her eyes.
“As you can see, the hat has considerable volume. This means the owner’s head is large, and by extension, the contents of that head are substantial as well.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Also, the brim is flat and the edges are curled. This style was trendy about three years ago. If you look at the lining and the ribbon, you can tell at a glance that it was once a very luxurious item.”
“Wow…”
“However, the recent holes in the hat have been patched with cheap fabric. Unless the owner faced sudden financial ruin, why would they use such shoddy material on an expensive hat?”
Charlotte, seeing Baynes’s eyes shining with admiration, continued with a more relaxed expression.
“Furthermore…”
“Furthermore,” Adler interrupted, “by observing the stitching on the patches, you can infer the owner’s current state. Why don’t you see for yourself?”
“The stitching is a mess,” Baynes noted.
“Isn’t it strange? A woman in her early to mid-thirties, yet her sewing is this clumsy?”
Ignoring Charlotte, who was now pouting at being interrupted, Adler continued.
“… Isn’t it possible she just took it to a bad tailor?”
“What tailor would do such shoddy work? Especially using cheap fabric on a luxury item. It’s far more likely the owner did it herself.”
“But if that’s the case… why is it so messy?”
Sensing the curiosity in Baynes’s voice, Adler replied, his eyes gleaming.
“Tremors. It is a common symptom of chronic alcoholism.”
“Oh…”
“Moreover, the stitching on the original ribbons and decorations is impressively neat. Only alcohol or drugs could ruin such a meticulous person so quickly.”
Adler wore a mysterious smile as Baynes nodded in agreement. He then turned his gaze back to Charlotte.
“And why exactly do you think I’m the cause?”
“If you look closely at the hat, you can see marks where small decorations were forcibly removed,” Charlotte replied sullenly. “Given their shape and size, they were likely jewels. If they were ripped off like this, they weren't originally hers—they were gifts. And who else would gift such expensive jewels other than a lover or a spouse?”
“… That seems plausible.”
“And the only reason to pawn or tear away jewels gifted by a spouse is a total collapse of the relationship. Perhaps she was unfaithful, leading to her impoverishment after her husband reclaimed his gifts.”
“So, why is that my fault?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She glanced at the bewildered Isaac with a sharp glint in her eyes. “If there is a case of adultery or a scandal in London, more often than not, you are the cause.”
“Miss Holmes, even if that were the case—”
“This isn’t a simple assumption; it’s based on actual statistics. So, please, be quiet.”
Adler opened his mouth to argue, but seeing the sternness in her gaze, he thought better of it.
“If you observe the length, shine, elasticity, and thickness of the hair caught in the lining, you can determine the owner's approximate age and gender,” Charlotte continued.
“………”
“The presence of makeup residue on the inside of the brim shows she applies it heavily. To every nook and cranny, in fact.”
Abruptly, Charlotte began stroking Adler’s hair with a smile. She glanced at Baynes, whose eyes were wide at the display of affection, and smirked.
“Do you understand now?”
“Ah, yes… I feel like I’ve learned so much!”
Baynes stood up and bowed in gratitude.
“I’ll begin my investigation based on this information immediately.”
Charlotte stood up and reached for her coat on the rack.
“I’d like to bring Lestrade along if I could…”
She paused, glancing toward the now-silent kitchen.
“If you need a bodyguard, I can do it!” Baynes exclaimed.
“… What?”
“I’m very confident in my ability to protect someone!”
Baynes beamed with confidence. Charlotte looked at her skeptically.
“An Inspector Candidate without official status…?”
“If that’s your concern, I assure you, it’s not a problem.”
Before Charlotte could ask another question, Lestrade’s voice rang out from the kitchen.
“I will vouch for Candidate Baynes’s skills.”
“Is she that good?”
“To be honest, if we’re talking about pure protection rather than combat, Candidate Baynes might be even more exceptional than I am.”
Hearing the endorsement from Lestrade—who was currently covered in feathers from prepping the goose—Charlotte fell into thought.
“… Given that Professor Crybaby has been quieter than I anticipated, I suppose I could test her out.”
“Pardon?”
“This might just work.”
Charlotte smiled thinly and produced a pair of black handcuffs.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“……..”
“If you switch sides while I’m gone, I promise I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and annihilate you.”
After cuffing Adler’s leg to the sofa, she gently stroked his head and whispered those terrifying words into his ear, ignoring the chilling look Lestrade was giving her.
“… By the way.”
As she headed for the door, she turned back one last time.
“Do you still think there’s a mistake in my deduction?”
“There is one glaring mistake.”
Adler looked down at his cuffed leg, looking like a captive puppy, but he responded with a mischievous smile.
“… Miss Holmes still has a long way to go.”
“Hmph.”
She turned away, leaving Lestrade to follow her with a confused tilt of the head.
“We’ll see.”
“……….”
“Either you’ll earn a wish, or my wishes will double.”
The front door clicked shut, and an eerie silence enveloped the living room.
“Si-Sis… how do we handle this? We haven't prepared anything…”
“… Hand me that knife.”
“Hu-huh?”
“We’re going to feed Big Brother Isaac some meat, so just give me the knife already.”
The intense bickering of the younger siblings echoed from the back of the house.
*
“Miss Baynes.”
“Yes?”
Isaac Adler, who had been sitting calmly like a tamed pet, suddenly smiled gently at Baynes.
“Would you mind coming over here and standing in front of me for a moment?”
“……..?”
Baynes, looking genuinely curious, stepped forward.
“Is this alright?”
“Could you lean forward a bit?”
“I suppose… but why the sudden request?”
“Just bear with me for a second.”
She tilted her head and leaned in, a bright expression on her face.
“Is this what you wanted—”
Baynes couldn't finish her sentence.
Thud!
“… Uh?”
Before she could react, Adler lunged upward and punched her with everything he had.
“Geuk… Cough…!”
Her body convulsed, her waist buckling at a ninety-degree angle as the blow landed squarely in her solar plexus. Her legs gave out, and she slumped to the floor, drooling from the shock.
“Why… why would you…?”
“It wasn't enough to deceive Miss Holmes, but it was a flawless act that even fooled your partner, Miss Lestrade.”
As the terrified Baynes looked up at him, Adler met her gaze with a cold, predatory smile.
“But Inspector Baynes… or should I say, Candidate? You are a competent officer—one that even the arrogant Charlotte Holmes would eventually acknowledge.”
“……..”
“For such a competent officer to make such a foolish face in the presence of surefire evidence… that can only be described as a plot hole.”
The terror in the girl’s eyes vanished, replaced instantly by an intrigued, sharp look.
“So… who are you, really?”
“… Heh.”
Clutching her stomach and still wiping drool from her lip, the corner of her mouth twitched into a dark smirk.