Ch.126Chapter 126 – Marriage (2)

– Screech…

After traveling for hours, the carriage finally arrives in London and begins to slow down.

– Knock knock knock…!

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived.”

Shortly after, the coachman steps down from the completely stopped carriage and knocks on the compartment door.

“……..”

“Hello? Is everything alright in there?”

But for some reason, despite knocking for quite some time, there’s no sign of the door opening or any response from inside.

“Hmm…”

After scratching his head briefly, the coachman pulls out a key to open the compartment door.

“Well, well…”

In the 19th century, where roads were poorly maintained, coachmen, even experienced ones, often gave passengers unpleasant experiences accompanied by motion sickness.

Naturally, since this directly affected their reputation and income, coachmen had no choice but to either invest large sums in mana stone shock absorbers for their wheels or improve their driving skills.

“…Being too skilled can also be a problem.”

This coachman, who had found profitable passengers traveling from Baskerville Estate to London today, belonged to the latter category.

Although initially he couldn’t afford to invest in shock absorbers due to his modest living conditions, so he had no choice but to improve his skills.

Now he served only upper-class clients with his exceptional skills, achieving high performance.

“Maybe I should install a clock inside next time…”

For him, passengers falling asleep inside the compartment was a common occurrence, so as usual, he unlocked the compartment door with his key.

– Creeak…

“…Wait, what’s this?”

He realized a bit late that his carriage was slightly shaking, just as he was about to turn the doorknob after unlocking the compartment.

“Uh…..”

After looking puzzled for a moment, he turned the doorknob without much thought and then stared blankly at the scene unfolding before him.

“P-Professor… ugh…”

– Slurp…

A delicate-looking young man with his upper clothes half removed, exposing his shoulders, was squirming on the carriage floor with his arms held by the gray-haired woman who had been traveling with him.

– Slide…

As the coachman continued to stare at the scene with an astonished expression, the woman who had been sucking on the young man’s neck with her lips suddenly raised her head quietly.

“………”

And then, she began to stare intensely into the coachman’s eyes.

‘…Is this a dream?’

For a moment, thinking he might be seeing things due to overwork, he rubbed his eyes and cautiously opened them again.

– Flutter…

Sharp gray mana had risen right in front of his nose, and behind it, the young man was pulling back the woman who was looking at him with a chilling expression, while sweating profusely himself.

“…….”

After watching the eerie scene for a moment, the coachman closed his eyes again.

‘Our Father who art in heaven… hallowed be thy name…’

After reciting the Lord’s Prayer about five times in his mind, he opened his eyes again, consumed by fear.

“”………””

Fortunately, this time there was no flesh-mingling between the two, nor was his life in immediate danger.

“That was excellent driving.”

“Y-Yes, it was. Haha…”

The woman and young man were simply sitting properly in their seats like ordinary passengers, speaking to him in cheerful voices.

“…I see.”

Of course, the sticky liquid covering the carriage floor and the gray smoke spreading everywhere indicated that what had just happened was definitely not an illusion.

“Here, take this.”

“…Pardon?”

But soon, something happened that made the coachman forget even that fact.

“This is compensation for causing a disturbance, and payment for your silence about what just happened.”

“…Ah.”

“Please accept it.”

The young man was holding out gold coins worth about six months of the coachman’s hard work, while smiling brightly.

“Th-Thank… you…”

“…And one more thing.”

Just as the coachman, accustomed to serving upper-class clients and encountering such fortune about once a year, bowed and extended his hand.

“Forget what happened today.”

A suddenly chilling voice came from right in front of him.

“It would be better for both of us.”

“……Pardon?”

When the coachman raised his head again, he saw the young man’s smiling eyes as he placed a finger on his lips, having somehow grown a tail.

“You never met us at all.”

“What…..”

With those words, the coachman’s memory began to blur.

“A monetary transaction is also a contract.”

“……..”

“And contracts must always be fulfilled. Right?”

How much time had passed after that?

“People these days are so open…”

When he opened his eyes again and was driving his carriage home, he happened to spot a woman and a young man entangled in a back alley, but he no longer had any memory of what had just happened.

“…At that level, isn’t it public indecency?”

“P-Professor… please stop now… eek…?”

– Smooch, smoooch…

It was the moment when the final key to revealing the truth of the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ case disappeared.

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“…Mr. Adler.”

“…….”

A few minutes later. In a London back alley with an eerie atmosphere despite it being lunchtime.

“Can’t you hear me?”

“………”

Adler, walking through the alley with the professor, pursed his lips and turned his head sideways at the monotone voice coming from beside him.

“Darling.”

Then, Professor Jane Moriarty whispered in a low voice into his ear.

“…Ugh.”

“Honey.”

“Please stop that.”

Adler, who had been flinching at the ticklish voice invading his ear, finally failed to withhold a response and opened his mouth.

“I love you.”

Then came the professor’s straightforward response, filled with a fresh smile.

“………”

Adler’s face, which had been staring blankly at her, turned red involuntarily.

“…Are you really planning to marry me?”

“It’s not a plan, it’s already done. Once I submit this paper with both our signatures, we’ll be legally married.”

When he shook his head and asked the question, she cheerfully pulled out a marriage registration form from her bosom and answered.

“And this is in my possession. So you have no choice. Give up and quietly accept being married.”

“Do you want to have a legal battle with your student?”

“…And what do you think will happen to you if I win?”

The professor’s gentle gaze suddenly turned cold.

“…Are you really going to do housework, cook, and even have children with me?”

“You’ll be doing the housework and cooking. I’ve never successfully made anything except milk tea.”

When Adler, momentarily stammering, asked again with an incredulous expression, the professor calmly replied.

“But I’ll earn the money. That much I can promise.”

Hearing those words, Adler unconsciously muttered with a disappointed look.

“…Sharlotte said she would do the housework and cooking herself.”

And then came the silence.

“…I’ll start attending cooking classes from this weekend.”

“Are you serious?”

“I should buy an apron too.”

After being lost in serious thought during the silence, the professor answered with a determined face.

“…What about children?”

Adler, looking at her with an astonished expression, asked in a small voice.

“Wouldn’t it be cute? A daughter who looks just like me, with blonde hair and gray eyes.”

“Um…”

But the professor, who seemed to have anticipated even that question, immediately answered and began whispering in his ear in a gentle voice.

“Mr. Adler, stop denying it any further.”

“………”

“You’ve already started married life.”

A statement chilling enough to send shivers down Adler’s spine.

“…If you understand, prepare for our honeymoon.”

“Um…”

“Hide out at the hideout until I finish cleaning up after this case.”

“That’s supposed to be my role…”

He reached out with a confused look, but the professor, who had escorted him right to the front of the hideout, turned around and started heading out of the alley.

“…Oh, right.”

Suddenly turning her head and whispering with a bright smile.

“If you’re going to tame it, do it properly.”

“What?”

When Adler tilted his head at that unexpected statement, the professor quietly pointed to a corner of the alley and added.

“I mean the demon hound of the Baskerville family.”

“Oh.”

“As much as I’d like to kill it, you need quite a few loyal subordinates, so I’ll spare it.”

Only then did Adler notice the blue glowing eyes in the shadowy part of the alley and began to look dazed.

– Growl…

“Why are you here?”

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– Creeak…

How much time had passed since then?

“…Master!?”

“Daddy?”

“Hmph.”

When the door of the hideout, which had been quiet for several days, slowly opened, Silver Blaze, who was knitting with dead eyes on the sofa, Celestia Moran, who was sitting next to her with a gloomy expression and lowered head, and Lady Joanne Clay, who was cleaning the window, all shifted their gaze to the door with their respective reactions.

“Wherehaveyoubeenivebeensolonelymast…”

“Daddy, I’ve killed all the people you asked me to…”

“Where have you been wandering around without saying a word…”

But they all trailed off at the same time and looked blank.

“Uh, so…”

Issac Adler was sitting with something emitting a blue murderous aura in his arms, wearing a bright expression.

“””………..”””

Something that only appeared as a ‘strange creature’ to Adler’s eyes, but for some reason looked like a girl about Moran’s age to the three women.

“…Her name is Poppy.”

– Woof.

As Adler stroked the creature’s belly while saying this, the deepest silence ever fell over the hideout.