Chapter 95: The Three Garridebs (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: The Three Garridebs (2)
“I’m... I’m so sorry...”
“Oh, don’t worry. It doesn’t even hurt that much.”
As the girl with the haggard face bowed her head in a frantic apology, Adler responded with a kind, composed smile.
“It seems you were famished. You ended up swallowing my fingers whole without even chewing.”
“Ah...”
Her expression morphed into faint astonishment at his nonchalant words.
“It’s alright. Growing back a finger or two is as easy as breathing for me.”
“I’m... I’m really, truly sorry...”
“It’s fine, as long as you’re no longer hungry.”
However, as she watched Adler wrap his mangled hand in a bandage, the girl’s eyes darkened with guilt.
— Buzzzzzzzt…
“I was attacked and nearly half-eaten by you the moment I stepped into this room. But as you can see, I’m still very much alive, aren’t I?”
“Yes... but...?”
“I have a unique constitution. As long as I’m not swallowed whole and digested until nothing remains, I am essentially immortal.”
“………”
Pointing to the numerous teeth marks scarring his body, he assured her of his survival while calmly administering first aid to his severed fingers. Meanwhile, the girl could only bow her head in a heavy silence.
“Ooh... uugh...”
Tears slowly began to well in her eyes.
“Huu... Uggghhh...”
“...Why are you crying again?”
Adler scratched his head awkwardly, frowning as he watched her let out those strange, stifled sobs.
“I... I almost... killed someone again...”
“Hmm.”
“I... I am... a monster.”
His gaze shifted, silently taking in the layout of the desolate, ruined room, before returning to her. He offered a small smile.
“For a monster, you’re quite beautiful.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
The girl was quick to deny his words, her expression somber.
“How can a terrible monster who eats people be considered beautiful?”
Wiping away the tears brimming in the corners of her eyes, she murmured with a voice drenched in endless guilt. Her lips could still taste the bitter, metallic tang of Adler’s fresh blood.
“Please... tell me why you came here.”
“……..”
“If you don’t want to answer, then just leave. You wouldn’t want to go through that terrible experience again, would you?”
Unconsciously, she bared her fangs at him, her voice dropping into a threatening growl.
“By the way, if you’re a doctor or a psychiatrist or something like that, I’ll tear you to shreds. Even more so if you’re a hunter here to catch me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
Her expression grew more sullen as the words spilled out.
“You were sent by my brother, weren’t you?”
“………”
“I already know. Even if you approach me with a smile now, you’ll eventually run away. You won't last even a few days. So please, don't bother. Just leave.”
Isaac Adler gazed at the girl with serene calmness.
“I’m sorry to disappoint, but I’m neither a doctor nor a psychiatrist. I’m certainly not one of those occult hunters you mentioned.”
“...Then what?”
“Ahem...”
He cleared his throat, and then, abruptly, spread his arms wide with a cheerful flourish.
“...Congratulations!”
Caught off guard by his sudden change in demeanor, the girl widened her eyes and tilted her head in utter confusion.
“What is this all of a sudden...?”
“It may be sudden, but you are the rightful heir to a fortune left by a wealthy magnate.”
“...What did you just say?”
“To be precise, you have inherited the grand sum of 15 million dollars.”
A dazed look washed over her face.
“...You’re joking, right?”
“No, this is no joke, young lady. I am merely informing you of the absolute truth.”
Adler narrowed his eyes, leaning in to whisper in a soft, conspiratorial tone.
“Do you know of Alicia Hamilton Garrideb, the American magnate?”
“No, I’ve never heard that name...”
“Well, you haven’t been out of the house much, so that’s perfectly understandable.”
With a leisurely smile tugging at his lips, he began the tale of the wealthy eccentric.
“That lady took great pride in her unusual name. When she passed away last year—a single woman until her final breath—she left a will stating her fortune must pass to a woman sharing her last name.”
“Ah...”
“After searching the American continent for over a year, I, acting as her agent, couldn't find a single person with that name. But I thought there might be a chance in the historical depths of England. And a few months after arriving in this country, I found your family.”
Adler finished his story and quietly observed the girl. Her expression was already beginning to tremble.
“Oh, no...”
“Yes?”
“I... I’m a monster, not a person. An inheritance? I couldn’t possibly receive such a thing.”
Hearing her words, Adler gently took hold of the girl’s shaking hands.
“You look very much like a human to me, miss.”
“Stop it, please!”
The girl looked at Adler with frightened eyes. As he approached, she shivered violently and tried to push him away.
“Don’t touch me...”
“……..”
“Do you want to lose your other fingers, too?”
But Adler did not back down.
“There’s still my mother. Her surname is also Garrideb, and she’s a woman. Let her have the inheritance instead.”
“Your mother suffers from extreme paranoia and delusional disorder. She would not be viewed favorably by the strict inheritance managers who must assess the heirs in person. In fact, you might lose your own claim if your mother were presented as the candidate.”
“But still...”
“Miss Neria Garrideb.”
He whispered to the frightened girl with a firm, commanding voice.
“The sole rightful owner of that 15 million dollars is you.”
“………”
“I have been employed with the single goal of making this mission a success. I cannot back down until you receive your compensation in America.”
The girl’s complexion turned even paler.
“But... I don’t want to go outside. Not even if I die.”
“Why?”
“It’s been ten years since I stopped going out. I’m scared... I’m terrified of it now...”
“Hmm...”
“And I’m a monster. If I go out, I’ll be hunted.”
At her somber admission, Adler scratched his head, lost in thought for a moment.
“...But still.”
Watching him, the girl whispered in a hesitant voice—a voice that seemed to crawl out of her throat with immense difficulty.
“I don’t want to give up like this.”
Tears spilled over from her moist eyes.
“I can finally repay my brother for everything... I don’t want it to end in vain.”
“You must love your brother very much.”
“...He’s the one who raised me. He never abandoned me.”
At those words, Adler couldn’t help but smirk bitterly in his mind.
“If I receive the inheritance, I’ll give all the money to him.”
“………”
“I desperately want to repay him for all the years he lost while taking care of me.”
The faint, tragic smile that formed on the girl’s tearful face was reflected perfectly in his eyes.
“But... but...”
“I understand your circumstances.”
Isaac Adler slowly opened his mouth.
“To go outside, you need to be able to control that frenzied state of yours, right?”
“Wait, just a moment...!”
Before the girl could stop him, Adler dug his nails into his own arm, drawing blood.
“I will help you, Miss Garrideb.”
“Ah... ah...”
The girl began to drool uncontrollably, her entire body trembling with a violent hunger.
“Feed on me as many times as you need. For once, let yourself run wild and unfettered.”
The moment those words left his lips, the girl lost all reason and pounced on Adler once more.
.
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.
.
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“Ah... ah...”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Several hours later...
“I’ll come again tomorrow. Make sure you digest what you’ve already eaten.”
“There...”
Leaving the girl behind—drenched in blood, her eyes quivering with intensity as she reached out a hand toward him—Adler staggered out of the room.
“...How do you feel, Professor?”
Exhaustion was etched into his face as he straightened his clothes and murmured in a low voice.
⦗What do you mean?⦘
“Do you think I haven’t noticed you leering this entire time?”
⦗Mr. Adler, that is...⦘
Professor Moriarty hurriedly tried to explain herself...
“...Pervert.”
As Adler condemned her with a cold smile, the voice of the professor resonating inside his head fell into a stunned silence.
“So, how was it? Watching the scene of me being devoured?”
⦗A vicious and unruly wolf, I see.⦘
A slightly disappointed look crossed Adler’s face at the answer.
⦗However, she feels a bit different from the werewolves I am familiar with.⦘
“...Hmm.”
As the professor murmured her doubts, the smile promptly returned to his face.
⦗And this house is suspicious as well. The mansion's layout, the behavior of the servants... there is something hidden here.⦘
“Indeed. You are a queen worthy of my selection.”
⦗But, Mr. Adler... such things are not for us to uncover.⦘
A slightly shy yet disgruntled voice echoed in his head.
⦗Digging into hidden backstories and the secrets of a case is the job of a detective, not a criminal consultant. Aren’t we supposed to be the ones concealing them?⦘
“You’re right, my adorable Miss Moriarty.”
⦗So, what is your true nature? Your usual self, or the version of you when you're drunk?⦘
“But it would be far too dull to just kidnap and murder that poor girl, wouldn’t it?”
Ignoring the professor’s grumbling, Adler’s eyes shone with a quiet intensity.
“Besides, it’s about time for our nemesis to appear.”
⦗You don’t mean...⦘
“I’ve always preferred a stimulating love triangle over a bland, straightforward relationship, Professor.”
A message began to glow golden in his hand, containing words that were all too familiar to them both.
⦗When you sober up, let’s have a serious conversation.⦘
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Despite the icy coldness of the telepathic voice, Adler responded playfully and unilaterally cut off the communication.
“...Until then, I suppose I’ll have to go on a detective date with Miss Holmes.”
Please take care of yourself.
“Hehe.”
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Meanwhile, at that same moment, in the lodgings at 221B Baker Street...
“Holmes, please, come to your senses!”
Charlotte Holmes’ roommate, Rachel Watson, was arguing with her, sweating profusely from the verbal back-and-forth.
“The book you’ve been reading is filled with nothing but sexual fantasies and delusions, inflated in a dangerous and provocative fashion!”
“……….”
“Real love between a man and a woman isn’t like that! It’s not about lewd, pleasure-seeking acts; it’s about sharing a pure, spiritual bond...”
“Just get to the point, Watson.”
Charlotte, completely unfazed by her roommate’s earnest pleading, continued to flip through the coverless book.
“...Anyway, according to this, such acts could result in pregnancy, right?”
“That—well, yes, but... that’s not the point, is it?!”
In Charlotte's hand, a message quietly glowed in gold.
｢A new mystery is upon us!｣
“That’s an erotic novel banned for obscenity, Holmes!”
Watson’s plaintive cry echoed fruitlessly within the walls of the lodging house.