Ch.121Chapter 121 – The Hound of the Baskervilles (9)

“…this.”

“Hmm.”

Sharlotte and Zia Lestrade had subdued the werewolves in the mansion and escaped.

“”…….””

As they followed footprints presumed to be Adler’s into the wilderness, they both quietly began to frown.

“These are Adler’s clothes… aren’t they?”

“…You don’t need to point that out, Inspector.”

In the middle of the rain-soaked wilderness, Adler’s coat—which he always wore—lay discarded and completely drenched.

“L-l-l-look at that, Holmes…”

Behind the two women who were staring coldly at the unsettling scene came a terrified voice.

“It’s those glowing eyes again…!”

Watson, who had been trembling in the mansion lobby and followed the inspector and Sharlotte because she didn’t want to be left alone, was pointing at a distant hill with a horrified expression.

– Grrrr…

What Sharlotte and Lestrade saw when they looked in that direction was a sight that had become somewhat familiar.

“…It’s that creature again.”

“Tch.”

The unidentified creature with glowing blue eyes was staring at them intently through the storm.

– Click…

“Don’t provoke it unnecessarily.”

When Lestrade, who was glaring back at the creature, reached for her gun, Sharlotte quietly extended her hand to stop her.

“…With my Curse, I could neutralize it before it attacks.”

“That’s not it. Look at it carefully.”

The inspector studied the creature intently after hearing those words, a question mark appearing on her face.

“…Doesn’t it seem like it’s not trying to attack us, but rather watching from a distance?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the creature quietly turned around and began heading into the storm.

“D-don’t go, Holmes…”

As Sharlotte, who had been staring at the creature, was about to step forward, Watson grabbed her arm with a tearful expression.

“A-anyone can see it’s trying to lure its prey… If you go, you’ll definitely get eaten…”

“…Calm down, Watson.”

“H-Holmes. But look at this.”

She extended her trembling hand toward Adler’s coat lying on the ground.

“Adler’s coat is all torn up. He must have fallen victim to that monster too…”

“…That’s clearly not the case, Watson.”

Sharlotte immediately countered with logical reasoning.

“No matter how you look at it, even Issac Adler wouldn’t be sexually assaulted by a dog, would he?”

“What?”

“Look closely here.”

As Watson and Lestrade focused their gaze where indicated, they noticed something that had been hidden under Adler’s vest.

“Women’s… underwear?”

“…And there’s the butler’s white gloves and Adler’s belt too. Less significant than the underwear, but still.”

While Watson looked puzzled, Lestrade’s face instantly grew cold.

“So… was Issac Adler sexually assaulted here by the culprit?”

“Sexual assault. Though I specialize in homicide and don’t know much about it, I understand it’s a crime as horrific as murder that causes severe psychological trauma to the victim.”

The women’s eyes grew increasingly serious.

“Now I see the ground is depressed around here. There seems to have been quite a violent struggle.”

“And there’s saliva from an unknown source… I’m not sure exactly what happened, but judging from the circumstances…”

As they competed to analyze the crime scene, Sharlotte quietly spoke up.

“Now do you agree that the demon dog isn’t the culprit?”

“Um, I think that’s not the issue anymore…”

“I don’t know exactly what terrible thing happened here, but we need to start searching immediately. I’ll go right, and you two…”

“I’ll say it again, please calm down.”

She quietly spoke with gleaming eyes.

“Did you already forget that I said it was an attempted assault?”

“Ah…”

“Well, if Adler had really been assaulted, by now you’d be in the bathroom…”

“…Shut up, Watson.”

At that moment, Sharlotte cut off Watson’s words with a cold voice.

“But what’s your basis for saying it was only attempted? To me, these look like traces of someone who has already been brutally assaulted.”

Lestrade questioned from beside her.

“Looking at how the soil is dug up, I can picture the situation clearly. Gloria Mortimer tore Adler’s coat with her sharp nails as he resisted fiercely, then forced him to the ground.”

“………”

“She probably pulled down his underwear in that position and started undoing his belt. Seeing that there’s not a drop of blood, it seems her intention was purely rape.”

Ignoring Lestrade’s question, Sharlotte lowered her gaze and began reconstructing the situation in her mind.

“But at the point when the underwear was pulled down, the assault was stopped for some reason.”

“……..?”

“…I don’t know how Issac Adler managed to tame a hungry wolf, but somehow he did.”

“That sounds like you have no real evidence.”

Lestrade muttered with a slightly worried expression.

“No, there is definite evidence.”

Sharlotte replied firmly, quietly focusing her gaze on her palm, which she had been holding out.

[It seems you’ve already found the answer.]

[Was this puzzle too easy for you as well?]

Familiar golden messages began to appear in her hand.

[But you know, it’s still slightly insufficient.]

[Because the true culprit behind this incident is someone else.]

Sharlotte’s expression grew increasingly sharp as she read the message.

[You have just one chance to satisfy me.]

[I’ll be waiting for a good answer, Miss Holmes.]

“…I don’t know what nonsense they’re trying to pull, but it’s clear that Issac Adler succeeded in recruiting Gloria Mortimer into his plan.”

Muttering this, Sharlotte rested her chin on her hand and began to think slowly.

“However, the question is what he could have possibly said in such a desperate situation to persuade a hostile werewolf…”

A silence fell.

“There she goes again…”

“What’s happening?”

“Just leave her be.”

Realizing that her partner had entered a trance state after a long time, Watson diverted Lestrade’s attention elsewhere.

“She gets like this sometimes when a case is reaching its conclusion, or when she has all the information but can’t draw a conclusion yet.”

“…I’ve heard about it, but this is my first time seeing it with my own eyes.”

“I still find it amazing too. Though it’s problematic that she consumes several containers of cigarettes or coffee after entering that state…”

Eventually, the two began whispering at a slight distance.

“…By the way, Adler is really something.”

“Adler, you mean?”

“Yes. If what Sharlotte says is true, he even managed to seduce that werewolf.”

In the midst of this, Watson began to voice the thoughts in her head.

“That’s true. That’s why Adler should be my responsibility…”

“But in a way, Issac Adler is quite pitiful.”

“Pitiful?”

“He has a Curse placed on him, just like you and Sharlotte, right? So I think there must be some aspects that are beyond his control…”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Lestrade’s face showed confusion as she listened carefully to Watson’s words.

“The Curse placed on Issac Adler is the Curse of Riddles. It has nothing to do with his relationships with women.”

“……..?”

“Miss Microny once told me that it’s a Curse that draws all the world’s oddities to him, standing at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from mine.”

Hearing this, Watson muttered with a shocked expression.

“You mean those affairs aren’t because of his Curse…?”

“…….”

“My God. That’s beyond human level…”

But at that very moment.

“…Ha.”

Suddenly raising the corner of her mouth, Sharlotte exhaled coldly and began to smile.

“Something so simple, and I took such a roundabout way to think about it.”

“…Should we be quiet, Holmes?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Watson, who had been quietly watching her, noticed that Sharlotte was wearing that relaxed expression only seen when a case was completely solved, and her eyes widened.

“You can talk loudly from now on.”

Sharlotte whispered to her in a gentle voice.

“…Your conversation just now helped me organize my thoughts a bit.”

“Wh-where are you going, Holmes?”

As she began walking in the direction where the hound had disappeared, Watson urgently called out to stop her.

“…To get married.”

But after leaving those words, Sharlotte suddenly began running forward through the storm at a rapid pace.

“…..Tch.”

“L-let’s go with her!!”

As Lestrade, with a cold expression, began chasing after her at a tremendous speed, Watson, with a pale face, also started running across the wilderness.

.

.

.

.

.

“Ugh…”

Meanwhile, at that time.

“…..Huh?”

Helen Baskerville, who opened her eyes feeling a throbbing pain in her head, began to look dazed at the scene before her.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Wh-what is this? And where am I…?”

Adler, who was changing out of a dirt-covered shirt in a dark cabin, was looking at her with a gentle smile as she found herself tied to a chair, just as he had been tied up several dozen minutes earlier.

“…Who knows?”

“….Ugh.”

As Adler quietly approached her and gently caressed her chin, Helen shrank back, looking at him with an expression of disgust.

“H-help! Is anyone there—”

“……..”

“…M-Mortimer?”

Her voice, raised in terror, suddenly stopped as she saw Mortimer appear beside Adler, staring at her with wide eyes.

“P-please help me. Adler is…”

She began desperately pleading for help.

– Swish… Rub…

“…Huh?”

But to her shock, the woman she had believed to be the faithful dog of the Baskerville family looked at Adler with submissive eyes and began slowly rubbing her cheek against his.

“……..”

Helen Baskerville stared at this unbelievable scene, speechless for a long time.

“I was bored waiting for Sharlotte to arrive, so this is perfect timing.”

Adler, who had been quietly looking down at her, whispered with a gentle smile.

“…I’ll make you just like her.”

“Ugh, uh…..”

Shortly after, rough breathing began to echo through the room.

“Haaaaaah…”