Chapter 83: The Wager's Conclusion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 83: The Wager's Conclusion
One morning, several days after a group of uninvited guests had besieged Caroline’s mansion...
At a rendezvous point near Windsor Castle, where Adler and his party had recently arrived in a secret carriage…
“…………”
Charlotte Holmes and Professor Moriarty were gathered once again, maintaining a heavy silence as they glared openly at one another.
“Why such a fierce gaze, Miss Holmes?”
“I’m just fatigued. It’s made my eyes a bit sharp, that’s all.”
No one knew exactly how much time had passed as their silent confrontation stretched on.
“Is that how I appear in the professor’s eyes?”
As Professor Moriarty initiated the conversation, reaching for a cookie set out on the table, Charlotte interrupted with a biting remark.
“Honestly? You look like a puppy desperately trying not to soil itself.”
“My, you’ve abandoned all decorum, haven’t you?”
“Was there ever a situation between us that required decorum?”
And so, another round of their verbal sparring began.
“This is just the nature of our relationship, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but it gives me the creeps seeing you act so chummy. Could you please stop?”
“Oh dear, Holmes.”
The professor topped a cookie with a cube of sugar, popped it into her mouth, and began to chew, tilting her head from side to side as she savored the taste.
“You heard what Adler said back then…”
“I’m not sure I did, actually. So save the sweet act for Adler and keep your head still, please.”
Charlotte, frowning at the professor’s characteristic habit of bobbing her head, cut her off with a decisive huff.
“It’s a personal habit.”
“Do you think I care?”
“Friends overlook each other’s habits, don’t they?”
“What did you just say?” Charlotte cocked her head, her expression one of pure bafflement.
“I want to be friends with you, Holmes.”
“That is the most horrible joke I’ve heard all year.”
“It’s not a joke.”
However, as the professor continued the farce with her trademark smirk, Charlotte’s expression grew progressively distorted.
“You and I are opposites. I have no desire to associate with someone like you.”
“When extremes reach their limit, they eventually converge. The head and tail of a coin seem opposed at first glance, but in reality, they are parts of the same coin.”
The professor merely maintained a relaxed smile in the face of Charlotte's vehement refusal.
“In the end, aren’t you and I both doing this to quench an unfulfilled thirst? It is only our methods that differ.”
“Respectfully, that’s quite typical of you, isn’t it? You’re just forcing the point now. Everything in this world has inherent similarities and differences. You’re simply exaggerating coincidental overlaps while ignoring the vast divides.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s an obvious fact if you think logically. Though I suppose the back-alley thugs you’ve been subduing over the past few weeks might not agree.”
Charlotte took a moment to catch her breath, her gaze as cold as ice.
“But not everyone in this world is a fool who falls for your silver tongue. Remember that, and drop some of that arrogance.”
“And yet, even the officers who sensed something was off and were keeping tabs on me were quickly swayed by my words.”
“…The London police are a bunch of dolts, indeed.”
As Charlotte leaned back, muttering with clear annoyance, Professor Moriarty’s eyes shined with a dangerous, silent hue.
“Why deny the truth? It isn’t only the London police who are dolts.”
“………”
“In a few years, London will be my playground. Do you really think you alone can stop me?”
Charlotte’s expression turned increasingly frigid at the arrogant declaration.
“As expected, you aren’t confident you can stop me, are you? Then why continue this farce? Just become my friend, and we can have so much fun together.”
“There is nothing I would hate more than that.”
“You have as much potential to be a criminal as I do.”
“And you have as much potential to be a detective as I do.”
Their conversation continued to run in circles, mirroring the parallel lives they led.
“It’s a shame. I once dreamed of being a detective, too.”
“Changed your strategy, have you? From excluding me to corrupting me?”
“Think what you will.”
“How little confidence you must have to change your entire strategy! If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to even lift my head.”
Charlotte whispered with a dark, disgusted expression, while the professor met her gaze with that characteristic smirk.
“I’m looking at the bigger picture—something you clearly cannot see.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“And at the center of it all is none other than Adler.”
“I’m not sure how long you plan to pretend to care for someone whose eyes haven’t even been dyed in your colors yet.”
Mimicking the professor, Charlotte wore a brazen smile and spoke with her arms crossed.
“You should win the bet before you start talking.”
“Do you actually believe you’ve won, Holmes?”
Their gazes clashed with arctic intensity.
“I have definitely won this bet.”
“That’s unfortunate. I thought you were sulking because you lost, but it seems you were simply under the delusion that you had won.”
A chill spread through the room, despite the recent end of the heavy snowfall and the return of the summer heat.
“…Excuse me.”
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind them.
“Could you both stop fighting now?”
Isaac Adler stood behind Charlotte and Moriarty with a cheerful expression.
“Shouldn’t we be deciding the outcome of the bet soon?”
As he scratched his head, the two women quietly leaned back and straightened their postures.
“So, who will be the judge?”
“That’s a valid point. All three of us are participants in the bet, so a fair judgment would be impossible.”
The professor asked casually, and Adler responded with a smile.
“Don’t worry. I have just the right person for the job.”
—Creeeak.
The moment he spoke, the door to the inner room began to open slowly.
“The client of this case will make the judgment personally.”
A veiled girl walked out from within, drenching the room in a profound, heavy silence.
.
.
.
.
.
“Should we address you as the royal representative, or as royalty itself?”
As the veiled girl sat before them, Charlotte, who had been observing her quietly, broke the silence with a bold question.
“Indeed, you are all quick to catch on.”
“””………..”””
“Officially, I am merely an anonymous royal emissary.”
An archaic voice emerged from behind the veil.
“So please, dispense with the formalities and report the results quickly.”
“Then, I shall go first.”
Upon hearing the demand, Charlotte Holmes took an object from her pocket and placed it before the client.
“What is this?”
“A key.”
The client tilted her head slightly.
“To be precise, it is the key to a secret door disguised as a bookshelf in the library of Caroline Augustus Milverton’s mansion.”
“How did you find it? Our forces checked that area several times and were never able to procure it.”
“A few days ago, I coated her hands with a fine layer of powdered magic stone. The residue was all over the bookshelf. The keyhole is only revealed when the books are manipulated in a specific order, so it wasn’t easy to find.”
“…And the contents of the room?”
“Every piece of blackmail material she has collected over the years.”
Charlotte shrugged, her expression triumphant.
“I have moved all the documents to a secret location under my management. I plan to burn them all in the presence of a royal official.”
“…………”
“In other words, Caroline is finished. With her leverage gone, even the faintest possibility of a comeback has been extinguished.”
The client nodded silently.
“Doesn’t this make it clear? The one who neutralized Caroline i—”
“Why did you omit the most essential part?”
As Charlotte basked in her perceived victory, Professor Moriarty interjected.
“I was in the middle of speaking with the client…”
“You failed to secure the letter sent to Miss Caroline by the client’s sibling… no, the pitiable party who was ensnared by her allure, did you not?”
Charlotte frowned visibly.
“Even if that one letter is gone, Caroline is not neutralized. As long as she holds her other blackmail materials, she can always return. My victory is absolute because I have completely sealed off that possibility.”
“That’s for the client to judge, Holmes.”
The professor gave her a pitying look, produced a letter, and handed it to the client.
“What is this…?”
The client leaned forward, murmuring in a surprised voice.
“The letter that caused you to seek the neutralization of Caroline Augustus Milverton has been secured by me. Therefore, the victory is clearly mine.”
“No matter how you spin it, that’s only a half-victory. You cannot claim to have neutralized a woman who had as much of a grip on London as Isaac Adler does with just that…”
“How did you obtain it?”
The client interrupted Charlotte’s protest. The professor responded with a subtle smile.
“Is that really important?”
“Pardon?”
“What matters is that I have the letter. The process and the method are irrelevant, don’t you think?”
The client gazed at the professor in silence.
“How did you get your hands on it, Professor?” Charlotte whispered, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“…I blackmailed a certain thieving cat.”
In the ensuing silence, the professor turned her gleaming eyes back to the client.
“I attacked and confined her subordinates, who were scattered across London. I warned her that if the letter wasn’t delivered to me, I would shoot one of them every hour.”
“………..”
“By the time I was halfway through the killing, the letter arrived.”
Charlotte glared coldly at the professor.
“…Of course, I didn’t actually kill half of them. I meant I was halfway through killing the first one. Only one subordinate is dead.”
The professor patted Charlotte’s back with a firm hand and a reassuring smile before looking back at the client.
“…Indeed, I was the one who said not to mind the means.”
“It seems we are on the same page.”
At the reply from behind the veil, the professor began tapping the desk, a chilly smirk on her face.
“Then, do you agree that there is no more definite neutralization than this?”
“But there is something strange.”
The client’s voice grew heavy.
“Why do you not mention the possibility of a duplicate?”
“We searched the mansion thoroughly. There was no evidence of any duplicates.”
“We are certain of it. We searched everything ourselves.”
“…And what of the probability that duplicates are stored elsewhere?”
Sensing the deteriorating atmosphere, the professor and Charlotte began to explain simultaneously, but the client pressed them with a voice as cold as the arctic sea.
“You know well that she trusts no one. Even her servants were unaware of where the letter was kept. It is unlikely she would entrust anyone else with such sensitive materials.”
“Then why did she disappear from her mansion a few days ago?”
“That is…”
“Who is to say that she, having vanished without a trace, isn't hiding in a secret hideout with duplicates, mocking us even now?”
At the client’s challenging question, Charlotte and Moriarty’s eyes narrowed in unison.
“It doesn’t end there. While most of her knowledge is mere blackmail, the information leaked this time involves national secrets.”
“I wasn’t informed of such information.”
“…The matter itself is a significant secret of the Royal Family, which made me hesitant to discuss it at all.”
The client looked between them and let out a sigh of disappointment.
“If she who holds that information speaks carelessly, we will still be in a significant dilemma.”
“Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
As Moriarty was about to speak, her smile growing increasingly frigid, another voice cut in.
“Because, as of that day, Caroline Augustus Milverton…”
“…is with me.”
Having been silent until that very moment, Isaac Adler finally joined the fray.
“”………””
The gazes of Charlotte and Professor Moriarty snapped to him.
“Tell her to come in.”
Adler gave them a bright smile and clapped his hands to signal someone outside.
.
.
.
.
.
—Swish.
A moment later, the door to the heavily guarded meeting place opened.
“””………..”””
The occupants of the room turned toward the newcomer, their eyes widening in shock and bewilderment.
“Come here.”
A woman fitted with dog ears and a tail, her head bowed low, approached Adler. Her body twitched with every step of her shameful march.
“…Pant, pant.”
Like a puppy, she crawled toward Adler, panting.
“Good girl.”
Reaching Adler’s feet, the woman knelt modestly, the handle of a leash held in her mouth. Seeing the submissive display, Adler smiled and stroked her head lovingly, like a satisfied pet owner.
—Swish, swish.
For a moment, the woman’s face distorted in shame, but she quickly closed her eyes tight and began rubbing her cheek against his leg.
“…Woof.”
A small, distinct sound—indistinguishable from a real puppy—escaped her lips.
“Ta-da~!”
“”……….””
“This is the little bitch that seduced half the men in London.”
As Adler gazed down at her, leash in hand, he spread his arms with an innocent declaration. The expressions on Charlotte Holmes and the professor turned as cold as an antarctic breeze.
“Just days ago, she had a name: Caroline Augustus Milverton. But after several days of training, she has given up on being a person.”
“…Hooh.”
Unlike the other two, the client behind the veil looked intrigued.
—Press.
“Eek.”
Adler, smiling slyly, pressed his foot against the woman’s belly. She gritted her teeth and groaned at the chilling sensation.
“……..”
Adler looked down at her coldly for a brief instant.
“…Growl.”
“Who’s the victor now?”
As the woman’s grunts transitioned into a submissive growl, he smirked and posed the question to the client.
“It seems the decision has just been made.”
“Surely not?”
“I’d advise you to think again, as a potential future leader of the British Empire.”
Charlotte and Moriarty both glared at the client, but the conclusion had already been reached.
“This… is a perfect neutralization.”
“You’ve crossed the line.”
“Britain is doomed, indeed.”