Ch.149Chapter 149 – Contract Marriage

“Hmm…”

The day after the bizarre war that shook all of London and the subsequent kidnapping of Issac Adler had finally come to an end, a young girl sat anxiously at the dining table in the living room, peering out the window.

– Ding dong…!

“…!”

After some time had passed, when the doorbell rang from the entrance, she stood up with wide eyes.

“Ugh…”

As she began to walk, the girl paused for a moment and started tidying her appearance in the mirror hanging on the wall.

“…C-come in.”

After checking herself thoroughly to ensure that even the most fastidious person in the world would find nothing to criticize, she opened the front door with a timid voice.

– Swoosh…

“…?”

A blonde-haired boy peeked his head in cautiously, narrowing his eyes and looking around.

“What are you doing, Adler…?”

“Checking if there are any assassins, Werebeasts, or Holmes lying in ambush.”

“…Do you really think that would be possible in my house, of all places?”

“I suppose you’re right.”

Hearing her words, the boy—Issac Adler—relaxed slightly and stepped inside.

“Why are you being so paranoid?”

“…….”

“The witness interviews are already over. They say there was another witness who saw the incident in quite some detail besides you. Thanks to that, you’ve been concluded as simply a victim.”

“…Is that so.”

“Of course, there are dozens of lawsuits that have been ongoing for years, but you’re not yet in a position to be arrested.”

The girl, Zia Lestrade, quietly observed him while summarizing the situation, then began to stare intently at Adler.

“”……..””

And soon, a strange atmosphere began to flow between them.

“…Yesterday, with the Werebeast incident and Lupin’s matter combined, I couldn’t properly ask, but I’ll ask again right here.”

“…Yes.”

“Are we really… that kind of… relationship now?”

Inspector Lestrade, her face suddenly flushing, averted her gaze from Adler as she asked the question.

“What kind of relationship…”

“D-don’t you know what I’m talking about?”

“…….”

“…H-husband and wife relationship.”

Seeing her flustered appearance, so different from her usual mechanical and cold demeanor, Adler unconsciously averted his gaze just like her.

“If this was just a lie to make fun of me, or merely an act to achieve some purpose, I’d like you to confess the truth right now.”

“……….”

“If so, I’ll leave your head intact enough for you to survive. Though I might accidentally crush half of it due to poor control of my strength…”

Lestrade, who had been glancing at him, suddenly made the atmosphere terrifying as she began to press Adler.

“Issac Adler, did you really marry me?”

“………”

“Am I really your w-wife now?”

In response, Adler, with a reddened face and fidgeting fingers, pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“What’s this…?”

“It’s a marriage certificate I got from the city hall on my way here.”

“Ah…”

“What does it say there?”

Lestrade, staring blankly at the family register he handed over, spoke in an equally dazed voice.

“Spouse, Zia Lestrade…”

“…I brought the family register in case you wouldn’t believe me. If you still don’t believe it, you can go to any region in England and check for yourself.”

“……..”

“Even I couldn’t possibly manipulate the entire national system, could I?”

After he finished speaking, Lestrade quietly raised her head and stared back at Adler, who had begun to look at her.

“…We are now legally married.”

“Ah.”

“Moreover, we’re newlyweds recognized by the state.”

“N-newlyweds.”

“Does it feel real now…?”

Her already red face turned as red as a ripe apple.

“Ugh…”

“…In that sense, I have a proposal for you.”

After staring at her for a while, Adler suddenly pushed forward a contract with several blank spaces that had been lying at the bottom of the newspaper.

“…A proposal?”

“Let’s draw up a detailed contract about our fake marriage.”

As he said this, his head tilted quietly to the side.

“Surely you weren’t planning to actually live a married life with me?”

“W-well, that…”

“I’m an evil demon trying to take over London, and Miss Lestrade was forced to marry me unwillingly to stop me.”

“……..”

“I understand your decision well, which is why I’m making this proposal.”

As Lestrade quietly closed her mouth at his words, Issac Adler took out a pen from his pocket and began to write on the contract, listing his proposals.

“You must protect me as your top priority no matter what happens. Also, you cannot betray me under any circumstances, and you must fully cooperate in driving the Werebeasts out of London with me.”

“………”

“And this contract will end with a mutual divorce one year from now.”

After writing all this content on one side of the contract, he looked up at Lestrade and said:

“These are the terms I’m requesting from you in our contract marriage. Now it’s your turn to propose your requirements, Inspector.”

“…So that’s what this was about?”

For a moment, all sorts of complex emotions swirled in the inspector’s eyes, and then she began to mutter in a subdued voice.

“And here I thought…”

“Inspector?”

“Nothing. I understand what you’re saying.”

But soon she returned to her usual cold expression and began to speak in a rigid posture.

“Then I’ll propose my requirements.”

“…Yes.”

“Issac Adler must look only at me from now on.”

“……?”

“From now on, you cannot flirt with any other woman, nor can you look elsewhere.”

Adler’s eyes, who had been comfortably scribbling with his pen due to her businesslike voice, widened as soon as he heard her proposal.

“From now on, all expressions of love and affectionate acts must be directed only toward the London resident police officer, Zia Lestrade. This applies broadly to everything from casual conversation to physical displays of affection.”

“Um…”

“Zia Lestrade promises to accept all such acts submissively without any objection. In return, if Issac Adler violates this clause, Zia Lestrade may inflict physical harm.”

“Miss Lestrade…”

By now, Adler had stopped writing, but Zia Lestrade, who had already taken the pen from his hand, was writing her proposal directly into the contract.

“Finally, the contract termination date can be extended by mutual agreement. Again, by ‘mutual agreement.'”

“…Somehow your emphasis on that word makes me uneasy.”

“And the detailed clauses can also be modified by ‘mutual agreement.’ These are my requirements.”

Only after filling the contract densely did Zia Lestrade put down the pen.

“I decided on this marriage to protect the women of London from you, so if you want my help, you’ll have to comply.”

“…But can you handle it?”

Adler narrowed his eyes and began to question her.

“I wonder if a paragon of justice like Miss Lestrade can endure the sticky affections of human trash like me.”

“……..”

“I think you’ll probably beg to modify the details after just a few days…”

“…Do as you please.”

At his sticky tone, she frowned slightly in displeasure and folded her arms.

“For the peace of London, I have no intention of compromising on this clause.”

“…Hmm.”

Adler, who had been quietly looking at her, picked up the pen and finished signing with a flourishing hand.

“Then, shall we begin now?”

“I suppose… Eep?”

And as Lestrade took the pen and inscribed her name below his, Adler suddenly brought his head to her neck.

– Smooch…

“…….!?!?”

As his lips and tongue touched the center of her smooth neck, Lestrade began to twitch her whole body with a blank expression.

“A-are you starting already?”

“…If you don’t like it, we can modify the clause by mutual agreement.”

“Ugh…”

But at Adler’s subsequent words, she could only grit her teeth without protest.

“Inspector.”

“W-what is it?”

“You’ve never even had skin contact with a man, let alone a kiss, right?”

Adler, who had taken her chin in his hand, slowly brought his face toward the lips of Lestrade, who had unconsciously begun to cross and uncross her legs.

“That’s…”

“…May I take your first kiss?”

At that moment, as she closed her eyes tightly, feeling a heat rising from below at his sweet voice that could numb her reason—

“…You beast.”

“…Sister!!”

“”……..!?!?””

Suddenly, from behind them came a familiar and cheerful voice.

“Do we have a guest?”

“”……..””

“Oh! It’s big brother Adler!”

As Lestrade’s younger sister, who hadn’t been seen for a long time, walked over with her hands behind her back and a bright smile, the two contract spouses hurriedly separated from each other and quietly began to clear their throats.

.

.

.

.

.

“Big brother, what brings you here?”

“Ah, well…”

Lestrade’s second younger sister, who had appeared at a truly exquisite timing and was approaching us with a bright expression.

“Sis, please come to your senses.”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve been following Adler around for days and even got called in as a witness in a kidnapping case… mmph?”

“…Shut your mouth before I sew it shut.”

But fortunately, as her attention seemed to be drawn to the third younger brother who had slipped over, I quietly sighed and turned my gaze back to Lestrade.

“…So, I assume you didn’t arrange all this just to pour half of London women’s desires onto me.”

“…….”

“What can I help you with?”

Then, also sighing, Zia Lestrade asked in a stiff tone.

“Well, you see…”

As I was thinking about what to do next, finding her slightly flushed cheeks quite cute in contrast to her usual demeanor—

[Plausibility Warning!!]

Seeing the bright red warning message that appeared before my eyes at that very moment, I immediately decided what needed to be done.

[The next case could cause serious plausibility collapse in the world.]

[CASE: The Creeping Man]

“Oh my god.”

Sherlock Holmes series’ worst disgrace. The taboo word among Sherlockians. Despite being an official short story in the Sherlock Holmes series, it’s barely a detective story—more like cheap science fiction.

“…Werebeasts aren’t the problem right now.”

“Adler?”

This was my rough assessment of the episode I needed to risk my life to fix.