Chapter 78: Caroline Augustus Milverton (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: Caroline Augustus Milverton (2)
“It’s been a while, Holmes.”
“Watson.”
It had been a few days since Adler informed Charlotte and Jane about the bet.
“What brings you here?”
Having finished her shift at the hospital, Watson had returned to the boarding house to wash away her exhaustion. She was surprised to find Charlotte already there, ensconced in her favorite armchair and puffing away on her pipe. Her eyes widened; she couldn’t help but question her partner.
“I’ve been out and about recently, but this is still my home, isn’t it?”
“Is it? I assumed you’d already started playing house with Adler.”
“………”
“I was actually a little jealous, thinking you were going to get married before me.”
Watson chuckled as she hung her coat on the rack, her voice thick with mirth. Charlotte, however, simply stared at her with a blank, unreadable expression.
“…How are things going with Neville?”
“Not well.”
At the mention of her fiancé, Watson’s expression soured.
“We’re already engaged, but he’s so reserved—conservative, even. I tried to seduce him a few days ago, but something urgent cropped up and our plans were ruined.”
“I see…”
“It’s a pity, but what can I do? I’ll just have to look forward to our next date.”
Watching her friend, Charlotte allowed a subtle smile to play on her lips.
“So, what really brings you home, Holmes?”
“I’m expecting a visitor.”
“…Could it be… a new case?”
Watson’s gloom over her relationship vanished instantly, her face brightening at the prospect.
“Along those lines, yes. It’s more or less the same as receiving a formal request.”
“That’s good news. Life has been dreadfully dull lately.”
“To be precise, I am currently engaged in a high-stakes bet regarding the ownership of Isaac Adler.”
“…What?”
Watson’s face went completely slack with bewilderment.
“Among the three of us, the one who incapacitates the person who knocks on that door in a few minutes will be declared the winner.”
“Among the three? Incapacitate? Winner?”
“If I win, Adler becomes my assistant. If the Professor wins, he becomes hers.”
Ignoring Watson’s confusion, Charlotte rested her chin on her hands, her expression turning deadly serious.
“And if Isaac Adler wins…”
At that exact moment, just as she was about to reveal Adler’s stake in the bet—her eyes gleaming with a dark intensity—
Knock, knock, knock…
The sound of rapping knuckles resonated through the boarding house door.
“…We’ll finish this later.”
“Hey, wait a minute…”
Watson narrowed her eyes at Holmes, who had stood up the instant she heard the knock and was already heading for the door.
“I’d at least like to know the identity of the person on the other side.”
Charlotte paused with her hand on the doorknob. She turned her head slightly and whispered.
“…The female Adler.”
“I see.”
At that simple response, Watson dipped her head in immediate understanding. Charlotte nodded back and turned the knob.
“Come in…”
However, the moment the door swung open, a foul stench wafted in from the hallway. Charlotte cut her sentence short, covering her nose and staggering back in sheer astonishment.
“…Yes?”
Standing before her was a woman with a dark, brooding expression. She was drenched from head to toe, dripping with muddy water like a drowned rat. Yet, even in such a pitiful state, she maintained an air of natural elegance and beauty.
“Are… are you alright… Miss…”
Behind her stood a maid, presumably her servant, clutching a crumpled note. The maid’s face was tinged with a faint, inexplicable blush.
“………..”
The two visitors stood before a dazed Charlotte.
“…Please, come in.”
“…Yes.”
“Actually, no—please wash up first.”
Charlotte stared at them for a long moment as if in a trance, then frowned and stepped further back from the drenched woman. At her words, the woman in the mud-soaked dress began to tremble.
‘…Even if he is just a boy.’
The memory of the event that had led to this undignified, humiliating state came rushing back to her.
‘How dare he inflict such a disgrace upon me…!’
*
A few dozen minutes before the drenched visitor arrived at the Baker Street boarding house…
“I’ve always thought young boys were simply adorable, haven’t you?”
“…Pardon?”
A woman, accompanied by a stern-looking maid, was strolling through the streets of London.
“Give them a little smile at a party, stroke their hair while offering a bit of praise, and they’ll fawn all over you.”
“Hmm…”
“Leave them alone for a while, and they’ll start fantasizing, offering you the world on a silver platter. Leave them a bit longer, and they’ll surrender everything they own just for the chance to see you again.”
The woman speaking with such blatant arrogance was none other than Caroline Augustus Milverton.
“Among the many tributes they send, there are always countless, meticulously written letters.”
“………”
“They send such scandalous things without a second thought. It makes you wonder what they’ll do when it’s time for them to actually marry, doesn’t it?”
She was a woman of tall stature, possessing a mature figure and a beautiful smile that could captivate anyone—the quintessential image of an exceptional beauty. The maid walking beside her tilted her head in confusion.
“I thought you hated men, My Lady.”
“It isn’t mere dislike… it’s disgust. If we were to rank the people who hate men most in London, it would be a toss-up between me and that self-proclaimed genius girl we’re about to meet.”
“Then why young boys…?”
“Oh, you really don’t know, do you?”
Caroline covered her mouth and chuckled.
“Men and young boys are entirely different creatures.”
“Is that so?”
“Boys are still cute and innocent. When you hold them in your arms, they laugh bashfully. Do you have any idea how angelic that is?”
“………..”
The maid looked at her mistress with an expression that made it clear she didn't share the sentiment.
“Is that your taste, My Lady?”
“It’s not a ‘taste.’ Just a personal preference, if you will.”
“So, that is why you are targeting Isaac Adler this time, I presume.”
At those words, Caroline gingerly pulled a photograph from her bodice.
“Isaac Adler. He is essentially the king of all the boys in London.”
“That is true. There is that saying, isn't there? If half the men in London are your property, then half the women are his…”
“I’ve heard that joke so many times it’s lost its luster.”
Her dignified voice cut the maid off. Caroline’s eyes gleamed as she stared at the photo of Isaac Adler.
“His age is a bit high, I admit, but he looks much younger thanks to his youthful features. And since he was a child actor for so long, that image is already ingrained in the public's mind.”
“He is shorter than you, My Lady.”
“Yes, he’s the perfect little boy…”
Caroline’s eyes shone like stars.
“Why should I bother with an old man like Count Winston when such a wonderful boy exists?”
“But I am worried, My Lady.”
“Why?”
“He is a man capable of harming you. He is not someone to be underestimated.”
The maid’s expression turned cold as she looked at her mistress.
“It is dangerous to keep behaving like this. I’ve noticed the surveillance on you has doubled recently.”
“That’s why I have you with me, isn’t it?”
Caroline remained relaxed.
“Who in the world would guess that the deadliest assassin in London’s back alleys—the fiercest predator—would be disguised as a maid?”
“………”
“If only you could fix that cold, blunt personality of yours, you’d be perfect.”
“To be honest, I am already at my limit just wearing this uniform.”
“Hehehe…”
Caroline chuckled at the maid’s weary complaint and resumed her walk.
“Anyway, I can see it now…”
Her gaze drifted toward the most famous boarding house on Baker Street.
Screeeech—!!!
“…Eh?”
Suddenly, a carriage drawn by a panicked horse lunged out of an alleyway, hurtling straight toward Caroline.
“It’s dangerous, My Lady!”
The maid, who had—for reasons she couldn't fathom—failed to notice the massive carriage despite being on high alert, shouted in panic.
“………”
Caroline froze, her body paralyzed as she watched the carriage bear down on her.
“…Ah.”
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a boy rushing toward her from across the street.
“…Hehe.”
Was it coincidence or fate?
‘This is… a bit surprising.’
Caroline began to smile faintly. The boy looked exactly like the person in the photograph she was holding.
‘…This obvious little play might be fun. I’ll play along.’
Muttering to herself, she reached out toward Isaac Adler, who had already reached her side and was extending his hand.
Clap!
“……?”
But instead of grabbing her hand, Isaac Adler swatted it away with a brisk, dismissive slap. Her eyes blinked in shock.
Bang!!!
The next instant, the carriage slammed into her at terrifying speed. Her waist buckled as she was launched into the air.
“Cough… Ack… Ugh…”
Caroline’s body hit the pavement and bounced three times, a different scream escaping her lips with every impact.
Splash!
She rolled for several meters before crashing into a filthy puddle at the end of the street—a pool of muck formed by the melting snow and city grime.
“………..”
A heavy silence followed.
“…You should be careful.”
“Huh?”
In the quiet, Isaac Adler—who had caught the maid in a perfect princess carry—whispered to her in a gentle, soothing voice. The maid was visibly flustered.
“You could have been in quite a bit of trouble if you’d been hit there.”
“Um, well…”
“Beautiful sister.”
At his words, the maid’s habitually blunt face melted into a deep crimson blush—perhaps for the first time in her life.
“Dearest sister.”
“…Huh? No, what?”
Adler gently held her by the waist to help her stand, squinting his eyes as he leaned in close. The maid began to babble in confusion.
“You really are quite cute, now that I see you up close.”
“…M-me?”
“What can I say? I fell for you at first sight.”
The maid lost her voice, avoiding his gaze and nervously stroking the scar near her eye as Adler’s honeyed voice washed over her.
“This is my contact information.”
“……….”
“Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”
With a shy expression, Adler gingerly handed the maid a note.
“…Uh, umm.”
Just as the maid, her face flushed all the way to her ears, reached out with a small groan of hesitation—
“Thanks for giving me your contact info.”
“……..!”
Caroline, dripping with muddy water, appeared beside them with a dark, forced smile.
“Oh, My Lady! Are you okay…?”
“Was that protective magic you cast on me earlier?”
Caroline had finally come to her senses after being tossed like a ragdoll. She ignored her maid and spoke to Adler with a practiced, relaxed smile.
“Saving both me and my servant… it was quite remarkable.”
“……….”
“I want to repay you, however insignificantly. If you would just give me your contact…”
However, Adler stepped back, pointedly avoiding her outstretched hand.
“…You reek.”
“Pardon?”
When he looked at her with a scornful gaze and uttered those words, Caroline doubted her own ears. She leaned in, certain she had misheard.
“You reek, Auntie.”
At Adler’s cold, flat voice, her mind went completely blank.
“Step aside, please.”
“…Auntie?”
*
“Operation failed.”
Meanwhile, at that very moment…
“The plan itself was perfect, but I didn’t expect Isaac Adler to intervene so boldly.”
“……….”
“Well, Adler is a participant in the bet you mentioned. Disrupting our operation is an obvious strategy.”
On a nearby rooftop, Princess Joanne Clay watched the scene unfold.
“Should we just snipe them?”
“No, Adler already warned us. Killing is not permitted for neutralization.”
“Oh!”
“So, what do we do now?”
Joanne sighed, ruffling the hair of an expressionless Moran, and turned to the woman standing beside her.
“As long as Adler is interfering, it won’t be easy to incapacitate the target…”
“……..”
For some reason, Professor Jane Moriarty ignored her, her eyes fixed intently on the street below.
“Do you know anything about cosmetics?”
“Huh? Where did that come from?”
“Yes or no?”
“…Look, I was a princess, alright? I’m something of an expert.”
Princess Clay answered with a puzzled expression.
“Then, do you know of any makeup that makes one look younger?”
“…What?”
Professor Moriarty’s voice was faint in her ear.
“You know, the kind of makeup that makes you look like you’re still in your twenties, even years from now.”
“Are you joking?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“Excuse me?”
Though Princess Clay tried to force a smile at what she hoped was a joke, the Professor simply repeated herself, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“…Is there no makeup that can permanently make someone look like a teenager?”
“……….”
Cold sweat began to pour down the Princess’s forehead as she experienced a sense of cosmic horror long before Lovecraft’s novels would ever take the world by storm.