Chapter 74: Breaking Point
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: Breaking Point
“… Huh.”
Rachel Watson, taking a rare break from her hospital duties, arrived at Lestrade’s house where her partner was currently staying.
“What are you two doing?”
“…………”
As she pushed open the front door and took in the scene before her, she couldn’t help but let out a weary, bitter smile.
“Nothing much, really.”
“Save me.”
Her partner—who had been dragging her along to interrogate Inspector Candidate Baynes during his recovery—had suddenly received a message on her palm and bolted. Now, here she was, sniffing Adler while he sat, rather unexpectedly, tied to a chair.
“No matter how I look at it, Holmes, this doesn't look like nothing much.”
“…I caught the scent of another woman on Adler.”
“What?”
Watson stepped into the room, her brow furrowed in confusion. Meanwhile, Charlotte, completely abandoning the polite tone she usually reserved for Watson, replied with a sharp, icy edge.
“It’s a strange scent, Watson—a cheap imitation of my own, emanating from Mr. Adler’s body.”
“…It’s a misunderstanding, Miss Holmes.”
“Mr. Adler, I recall agreeing to the plan of giving the jewel to that thief to lure her out of London. I do not, however, recall that plan including affectionate physical contact.”
As Charlotte looked up at him, her eyes flashing with an ominous, dark light, the pulsating black ropes binding Adler tightened even further.
“My patience was already wearing thin after you surreptitiously visited the Countess of Morcar’s hospital room last night and didn’t sneak out until morning.”
“When did I ever…”
Under the suffocating atmosphere, Adler looked at Charlotte, sweat beads rolling down his forehead.
“Shall I make it so your body can never seduce anyone again?”
“…Miss Holmes.”
Charlotte, perched on his knees, whispered in an eerie voice. Adler trembled, looking up at her with genuine terror in his eyes.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding…”
Charlotte’s narrowed eyes widened as Adler silently pulled up his shirt with a pitiful expression.
“This…”
“…I was merely suppressed and attacked by that thief lady.”
On Adler’s abdomen, the distinct, dark bruises of a fist were clearly visible.
“…What about your vampiric powers?”
“It was early morning, and I was hit directly with garlic spray…”
As Charlotte’s voice turned chillingly calm, Adler looked away, continuing in a low voice.
“The thief lady claimed to have a philosophy of returning what she received, so perhaps that’s why…”
“………”
“Still, it’s fine now. It didn’t last long anyway, and in the end, we successfully got rid of the uninvited guest and avoided a complicated scenario…”
Adler’s voice began to tremble as a mixture of truth and desperate lies leaked out in his attempt to escape the suffocating situation.
“…I was willing to turn a blind eye because I was busy, but that French country bumpkin has truly crossed the line.”
“What?”
However, Charlotte Holmes took Adler’s trembling voice in an entirely different direction, muttering with a dead-serious expression.
“It seems we’ll have to go to France for our honeymoon.”
“You don’t need to… Wait, what did you just say?”
Worried he had unnecessarily provoked her, the sweat-drenched Adler tried to figure out an explanation. But as her words finally registered, he could only stare at her, dazed.
“…………”
A heavy silence filled the room.
“What? Were you not planning on it?”
“……..”
“Don’t give me that awkward look. Marriage is merely a contractual relationship formed by the mutual consent of a man and a woman. Nothing more, nothing less. It wouldn’t be any different from how things are now, really.”
Charlotte delivered the words in a calm voice, but she pointedly avoided Adler’s gaze, her expression flickering with an uncharacteristically cute shyness.
“…It’s just that my surname will change to yours.”
“……….”
Simultaneously, both Charlotte and Adler turned bright red, bowing their heads in a shared, awkward silence.
“Well, it seems you two are getting along just fine.”
Rachel Watson, watching the display with a scowl, shook her head and turned to leave.
“…So much so that you didn’t even notice Lestrade glaring coldly at you through the back window.”
“……..!”
She whispered with a hint of amused laughter. Adler’s eyes shook; his hand was still clasped in Charlotte’s as she sat on his lap.
“…Hic!”
As the reflection of Lestrade’s gaze in the window finally caught his eye, Adler began to hiccup uncontrollably.
“I don’t mind…”
“You’re really unbelievable…”
Watson smirked at Charlotte’s shameless whisper and quietly moved toward the front door.
“…Well, I’m off. I have a date with Neville this evening.”
“Hey, Watson.”
Suddenly remembering a question, Charlotte called out.
“I understand that to have a baby, you need to receive the other person’s genes, but…”
“Huh?”
“I mean, how exactly do you put the genes inside you?”
Watson turned back with a look of utter bewilderment, only to see Adler behind Charlotte, desperately shaking his head and signaling her to stay silent.
“Why don’t you ask that boyfriend of yours?”
“Watson, this isn’t just a personal matter. It is a substantial issue that will determine the future fate of London…”
“To be honest, I’ve never done it myself, so I wouldn’t know.”
Gazing at Adler with a mix of coldness and slight contempt, Watson turned to the door.
“…I’ll try it with my boyfriend and let you know.”
“………”
“As long as a certain lowlife doesn’t interfere, that is.”
Muttering those final words, Watson gave Adler one last icy look and reached for the doorknob. At that exact moment…
““…………””
Both Charlotte and Adler, who had been frowning at Watson’s words, froze.
“You… when did you…”
“It’s quite unexpected that you couldn’t sense me, even though we were so close this entire time…”
Not only Watson, who had just opened the door, but also Lestrade—who had been watching from the window with a shopping bag in her arms—looked frozen by the sight.
“I’m sorry, but could you make some space and let me in?”
Standing at the entrance was Jane Moriarty, wearing a relaxed expression and her trademark smile.
“Fortunately, I happen to know the method you’re looking for.”
The atmosphere in the house, which had finally begun to feel harmonious, shifted abruptly, turning terrifyingly frigid.
.
.
.
.
.
A few minutes later…
“””…………”””
Professor Moriarty sat quietly on the sofa under the chilling gaze of Charlotte Holmes. Rachel Watson and Gia Lestrade sat on either side of Charlotte, looking equally tense.
“Hmm.”
Moriarty took a sip of the coffee poured by Lestrade’s younger sibling before placing the cup back on the table.
“I don’t like the flavor of this coffee.”
A frown manifested on Lestrade’s face.
“…I apologize. As you can see, my family isn’t exactly wealthy.”
“Well, I’m not really one to savor flavors anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
Giving a casual reply, the Professor began to adjust her drink, pulling a packet of sugar from her pocket and stirring it in.
“I’m sure you didn’t come here just for the coffee, did you?”
After staring at her in silence for a long moment, Charlotte spoke in a chilling tone.
“What business does a defeated spinster have coming here?”
“You say the strangest things, little girl…”
Professor Moriarty responded with an enigmatic smile.
“I haven’t been defeated, and I am certainly not a spinster.”
“It seems this person doesn’t understand the reality of her situation. Or perhaps she is simply unwilling to admit what she already knows.”
“Your victory that day was merely temporary. On the contrary, while you celebrated that hollow win, I was quietly managing the back alleys of London in your stead.”
“It seems you won’t admit to the former no matter how much we go back and forth, so let’s leave it. However, the latter is a fact that cannot be denied.”
“I’m still in my twenties. That is the only clear fact here.”
“And when I reach the Professor’s age, how old will you be?”
Charlotte’s mocking voice, dripping with sneers, left the Professor momentarily speechless.
“Let’s not feel bad about things we can’t win, shall we?”
“Just like that plain body of yours, I assume? The one that doesn't seem to change no matter how much you age?”
“A bloated body is simply inefficient and utterly useless for detective work.”
“Is it even possible for you to breastfeed a baby with a frame like that?”
“Oh my, you must have felt attacked when I mentioned your age. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for you to act so childishly.”
Their intense verbal sparring turned the room’s atmosphere from chilly to sub-zero.
“Enough. Tell me the purpose of your visit.”
“I was just getting to that…”
Moriarty tilted her head from side to side before finally addressing the main issue.
“Hand over Isaac Adler.”
“Since you’ve said your piece, leave… Get out.”
“Frankly, I have the power to take Isaac Adler from you by force.”
“Just try it if you can.”
Charlotte, who had been mocking her in silence, responded with a voice tinged with fury.
—Vrooooom!
A chilling pressure erupted as the Professor began to emit an intense killing intent that filled the room.
“…As expected, you’re no ordinary person.”
“Calm down, Professor…”
Watson aimed her concealed gun at the Professor, her face pale. Lestrade, seated beside her, glared at Jane with a dark expression.
“If you cause a ruckus here, we will have no choice but to subdue you.”
“Your younger siblings… they are quite lovely.”
“Don’t cross the line…”
The situation teetered on the edge of total hostility, escalating by the second.
“Of course, I won’t.”
Wearing a predatory expression, Moriarty suppressed the intimidating auras of all three opponents with her killing intent alone, before suddenly easing off and smiling with her eyes.
“Such an unsophisticated approach would be hated by my adorable assistant. He would blatantly disagree with resorting to such methods, so there is no way I will employ them.”
“…Haa—”
“… “
Only then did Watson breathe a sigh of relief, freed from the suffocating tension. Charlotte stared straight at the Professor, trying her best to hide the perspiration running down her face.
“How did you possibly stay by such a being’s side all this time?”
Meanwhile, Lestrade glanced at Adler—who was still tied to the chair and shivering in fright—and muttered the question in a low voice.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t do anything, however. I’m growing tired of this farce and would like to have Adler back at my office as soon as possible.”
After glancing at them as if their actions were merely cute, Moriarty leaned back against the sofa and nodded.
“So, how about a little wager?”
“What if I refuse?”
“I will take that as a sign that you wish to engage in total war.”
“…You’re being a real pain in the ass, you know that?”
Charlotte let out a bitter laugh as she muttered the words.
“I’m the one showing you mercy right now…”
“And we’re the ones who have what you desire…”
The two women’s icy gazes locked in the center of the room.
“…So, what kind of wager do you want?”
“I won’t be the one to decide. Since you are bound to lose, you would only come up with an excuse as a last-minute tactic.”
“Then who will decide?”
“Well, there’s only one person who can do that in this situation, don’t you think?”
In unison, both women turned their heads to the side.
“…Hic!”
Adler’s hiccups, which had barely stopped, resumed the moment those ominous, dark gazes locked onto him. But just as he looked up at them…
—Whirrr!
Something flew in through the back window—which had been left slightly ajar from Lestrade’s peeping—and embedded itself instantly into the desk they were gathered around.
“”………..””
As they read the message written on the object, the expressions of both women darkened further.
I will snatch your treasure before I leave London.
The Tower (XVI) tarot card was embedded upside down in the table, vibrating slightly. On it was a doodle of a girl wearing a monocle and sticking out her tongue.
“T-Tada.”
“Shut up, Adler.”
“Shut up, Mr. Adler.”
Adler, who had spread his arms with an awkward smile, immediately closed his mouth with a dejected look. A heavy, unprecedented silence enveloped the entire room.