Chapter 97: The Three Garridebs (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 97: The Three Garridebs (4)
“What on earth are you doing?”
Charlotte, walking quietly down the corridor after slipping out of the drawing room with Adler in tow, couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
“Look here, Mr. Adler. Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me.”
“………”
“No matter how you look at it, isn’t this a bit much?”
Muttering to herself, Charlotte looked up at Adler. He was moving forward in silence, carrying her in his arms, her body wrapped tightly in the folds of his overcoat.
“It’s suffocating, really…”
Tighten—
“Ugh…”
But Adler, paying no heed to her complaints, only held her tighter. Charlotte, pretending to be defeated, closed her eyes and spoke in a sulky voice.
“You usually act so nonchalant. Why are you suddenly being so assertive today?”
“………”
“Just act like you normally do. It’s annoying…”
Despite her words, Isaac Adler said nothing. He simply gazed down at Charlotte with an intense light in his eyes as she lay tucked against his chest.
“Why are you really doing this?”
Charlotte stared into his eyes—which were now a dull black, the exact shade of her own hair—before quickly averting her gaze and murmuring under her breath.
“Do you think I’d be pleased if you suddenly act like this…?”
“………”
“I’m not like those foolish women you’ve enchanted, whose hearts flutter at your merest touch.”
The faint blush coloring her cheeks, however, was a direct contrast to her blunt words.
“So let go of me…”
Tighten—
“It’s interfering with the investigation, Mr. Prospective Criminal.”
It was an unconvincing claim, especially considering her own eyes were now reflecting the same golden-blonde hue as Adler’s hair.
“Let me go…”
Badump, badump…
Add to that the rapid thumping of Charlotte’s heart, which Adler could easily feel as she struggled against him, and what little credibility she had left shattered entirely.
“……. Ugh.”
Knowing these facts all too well, Charlotte eventually gave up resisting and quietly surrendered her body to him.
“Why did I end up falling in love with such an odd man?” she sighed quietly, her voice low. “Somehow, it feels like I’m far crazier now than when I was living buried under the side effects of drugs and magic stones twenty-four-seven…”
“… Miss Holmes.”
Finally, Isaac Adler spoke. His voice was low, heavy, and utterly solemn.
“Shall we pretend this case never happened?”
“What?”
“If you get hurt, I don’t think my heart will be able to take it.”
Hearing the raw sincerity in his voice, Charlotte looked into Adler’s eyes. They were fixed on her with an unusually possessive gaze, far different from the way he usually looked at her.
“What’s your ulterior motive? Weren’t you the one who called me here?”
“That’s true. However, upon reflection, I realized this case is just too dangerous. It was a misjudgment on my part.”
“What do you mean…?”
“I don’t want to see Miss Holmes get hurt. So, let’s just step back this time.”
Caught in his intense stare, Charlotte unknowingly swallowed hard.
“If you turn away in the face of danger, can you even call yourself a detective anymore?”
“… I might not die even if I’m slashed to pieces, but you aren’t like that, Charlotte.”
“Now you’re even speaking informally?”
As he stroked the small scar on Charlotte’s cheek—a remnant from her encounter with Jack the Ripper—she couldn’t help but squirm, feeling a ticklish sensation deep inside. Soon, Charlotte posed a question, her expression turning oddly calm.
“Do I actually mean something to you?”
“Of course. I love you.”
“Your Professor would be quite upset if she heard that.”
“You’re not as strong as her.”
“I can tolerate a lot of things, but I can’t let that remark slide—”
“Charlotte!”
She flinched in shock as Adler suddenly raised his voice and pushed her against the corridor wall.
“Listen. To. Me.”
Adler gripped Charlotte’s arms and leaned in close, whispering in a low, dangerous voice. His breath was ragged and heavy with emotion.
“This case is too dangerous…!”
A heavy silence followed his outburst.
“… I’m sorry.”
Seeing Charlotte’s wavering eyes staring blankly at his face, Adler regained his composure. He returned to his usual demeanor and loosened his grip on her arms.
“I’ve been unable to control my emotions lately. It might be the stress catching up to me. I apologize if I startled you.”
“For a second there, it felt like a playful dog that always wags its tail suddenly bared its fangs and tried to go for my throat…”
“That’s a bit of an extreme analogy…”
“Is that your true nature?”
Quietly observing the faint handprints on her arms, she tilted her head as she asked.
“Quite the opposite, actually.”
“Opposite?”
“Only with you or the Professor… no, only when I look at you do I become like this. It’s quite odd.”
Charlotte gave Adler a frosty stare, prompting him to quickly correct his statement. She narrowed her eyes and whispered in his ear.
“Do you prefer me, or the Professor?”
“… It’s you, Miss Holmes.”
“Why was there a pause?”
“You must be mistaken… probably.”
Even though Adler was quick to explain, Charlotte’s eyes remained narrowed as she nodded slowly.
“Looking at you now, your right iris seems to have become a bit pale?”
“………”
“It appears to be slowly turning grey, doesn’t it?”
As her voice grew ominously dark, she reached up to caress his eye.
“Is this also a figment of my imagination, Mr. Adler…?”
“Of course it’s not a figment of your imagination.”
A voice laced with mockery drifted from behind them.
“… Oh, really.”
“That eye of his is being tainted.”
Charlotte Holmes turned around, frowning heavily as she saw the figure at the end of the corridor.
“Isn’t that so, Isaac Adler?”
Professor Moriarty, hands clasped behind her back and her head tilting from side to side, finally revealed herself. Her eyes shone with a mysterious gleam as she watched the scene unfold.
*
“I’ve been smelling the scent of an old maid around here for a while now…”
“No matter how much false information you spread, the fact remains that the color of Adler’s eyes is gradually changing to match mine.”
“… Mr. Adler, let’s just leave. If we stay, the smell will cling to us too.”
Charlotte Holmes, looking at the newly arrived Professor Moriarty with a look of pure disgust, grabbed Adler’s sleeve and tried to pull him away.
“……”
“Mr. Adler?”
However, for some reason, Isaac Adler stood motionless, no matter how hard she pulled.
“What are you doing?”
“Miss Holmes.”
As Charlotte looked at him with a puzzled expression, Isaac Adler finally spoke in a low whisper.
“In fact, I’m the one who called Professor Moriarty here.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that right, Professor?”
Jane Moriarty, who had been watching her assistant with a curious look, quickly agreed.
“… That’s right.”
“And do you know why?” Adler asked.
“I’m not entirely sure about that.”
“Come here, then.”
Taking her hand, Adler pulled her over to where they stood.
“Now, shake hands.”
“”……..?””
As he forced Charlotte and the Professor to join hands, both women looked at Adler with unconcealed incredulity.
“This is a temporary alliance.”
“What do you mean…?”
“This mansion is really, really dangerous.”
Ignoring their glares, Isaac Adler continued with a grin.
“There are many hidden secrets here. So, since it’s come to this, let’s not fight among ourselves. Let’s uncover the secrets of this case together…”
“Mr. Adler…”
“Adler, that’s…”
“Shh~”
He covered both of their mouths with his hands, his eyes crinkling into a sly smile.
“… Won’t you do it? For me?”
“”………..””
For a moment, the two women locked eyes, a frigid, hostile tension passing between them, before they both muttered in cold voices.
“Sorry, but I don’t see how a greenhorn so far below my level could be of any help in uncovering secrets.”
“I’m also reluctant to have the smell of an old maid cling to my coat…”
“I would say a slight age difference is preferable to an accursed body that couldn’t even nurse a child properly.”
“A baby would want fresh milk, not something from someone ‘slightly’ older, don’t you think?”
Just as their verbal spat was about to escalate…
“I was going to offer you both a wish each if you helped, though.”
Isaac Adler suddenly mumbled to himself, scuffing his foot on the ground and looking down dejectedly.
“”…………””
About a minute later, the two women reached a dramatic, temporary agreement and began walking down the corridor. With Adler in the middle, they moved side-by-side through the winding mansion.
“… Ladies?”
Soon, Adler found himself wrapped in chains of grey and black mana… even as they continued their silent march.
*
“Pardon me, but…”
“Endure it. Given your abrupt actions thus far, this is extremely lenient treatment.”
“Be thankful I haven’t incapacitated you and carried you around in a bag yet.”
Even though I had been stripped of my physical freedom, bound by magical chains and flanked by these two dangerous women, I still believed the situation had improved—if only slightly.
With just Charlotte and me, the outcome was uncertain. But with Professor Moriarty joining us, I was sure that literally nothing could threaten us.
‘Hey… you might want to take a look at this.’
However, I soon realized that was nothing but a delusion.
[Warning!]
— Probability of a Sacrifice instead of the Protagonist, Isaac Adler: 99.99% —
The terrible probability—which had somehow increased even further—appeared before my eyes, starkly visible amidst the mana of the two women binding me. An absolute sense of dread surged through my body.
Creeeak…
“… Huh?”
With a faint creak, the door to a room we had been told was unoccupied swung open. From within, I saw a faint glow leaking out.
“Wait a minute…”
The unidentifiable glow seemed visible only to me, which only added to my mounting dread.
[Warning!]
— Probability of being Devoured: 100% —
‘I’ll try to figure something out, so just hang on until I do.’
“… Eeek.”
It was a good thing I called up the system every night for entertainment. Otherwise, I might have missed the moment my death became a certainty.