Ch.42Chapter 42 – The Case of the Missing Silver Blaze (4)

With her head bowed low and her tail gently swishing, I left Silver Blaze behind in the room and stepped outside, tilting my head in puzzlement.

‘Why is Silver Blaze suddenly showing loyalty to me?’

I had only intended to give some advice while keeping my distance, but my heart softened slightly and I ended up hugging her.

Where on earth did this loyalty come from?

‘Perhaps it’s inevitable after being treated that way for so long.’

After pondering for a moment, I remembered that she had lived a life no different from slavery for a long time, and I sighed as I continued walking.

Although I should keep my distance, it wouldn’t be bad to treat her a little better from now on.

[You.]

“……..?”

As I was organizing my thoughts while walking down the stairs, suddenly someone’s voice echoed in my head.

[Was what you just said true?]

Lady Clay, whom I kept in my arms for self-defense, was peeking her head out and sending me a telepathic message.

“Pfft…”

[You’re laughing?]

Does she dislike making cute cat doll noises? Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but laugh at the gap between her appearance and voice.

“…Of course it’s true.”

As I replied while trying to control my twitching lips, she glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.

[You’re going to deliver the final blow to the discrimination against non-humans?]

“That’s right.”

[How amusing. Do you think I would believe the deception of humans who have discriminated against other races for ages?]

She bared her teeth and sent me a telepathic message filled with emotion.

[I don’t know about now, but in the end, you’ll surely drive non-humans and us vampires to their deaths.]

“………”

[Didn’t you yourself mention that it was dangerous?]

That’s true. If things go well and non-humans are absorbed into our organization, they would be assigned dangerous tasks along with the vampires.

“You’re right.”

[See, you eventually…]

As I quietly agreed with her, Lady Clay looked at me with a cold expression.

“…However, it’s not just them who will be put in danger.”

[What?]

“I’ll be the first to jump into danger.”

I quietly began to explain to her.

“To overturn this England, I have no choice but to risk my life, Lady.”

“………”

“The era of vampires I promised you, an era where non-humans won’t be treated as slaves and can walk proudly, an era where humans can no longer discriminate against anyone. To open such an era…”

Her distorted expression gradually became puzzled.

[Weren’t you trying to establish a kingdom of crime?]

“Isn’t it impossible without creating such an evil kingdom?”

Upon hearing those words, she stared at me blankly, at a loss for words.

“Ah, of course, I’m not doing this with any particular ideology. I just want to see the professor become the queen of crime.”

[Then why…]

“Because everyone under the queen should be equal. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

[…Get away.]

When I unconsciously stroked her cheek because her doll eyes were wide open and looked cute, she flinched and threw kitty punches at my hand.

[…What will you do if you fail?]

After being lost in thought for a while with her gaze lowered, the Lady sent me another telepathic message.

“I wonder.”

[See? In the end, just empty words from a fool with nothing but…]

“Should I escape to somewhere no one knows, just the two of us, Lady?”

To lighten the somehow strange atmosphere, I threw out such a joke.

“Thinking about it, living as your servant might not be so bad.”

Somehow, due to the increasing threats recently, a tiny bit of sincerity mixed into my words.

“………”

Anyway, after finishing my words, I smiled and stroked the chin of the Lady who was peeking her head out from my arms, and she looked up at me with blank eyes.

[Do you even know?]

Then she sent me a telepathic message with a slightly emotional voice.

[The consequences of those casual, witty jokes you thoughtlessly throw at women?]

“What?”

[I wonder if you know how many people follow you around, including the subordinates of that woman in Romania.]

What is she talking about? I’m always cautious, but I’ve never noticed anyone.

[If it’s not someone who knows your true nature like me, they would misunderstand.]

“What I said to you was a bit sincere though?”

[…Shut up, just.]

Thinking she might be threatening me to improve her treatment, I gently rubbed her cheek with my finger and said that, but she sent me a cold telepathic message and hid herself in my arms.

[What a hopeless fool.]

“………”

[Give me your blood.]

Then, curled up in my arms, she quietly bit my chest.

“Didn’t you drink plenty of blood last time?”

[…Shut up and give it to me. I’ll need it a lot in the future.]

The voice that echoed in my head was somehow slightly different from usual.

[Lady Clay shows slight loyalty to you.]

And the next moment, an unbelievable message appeared before my eyes.

‘…Is this a bug?’

Dumbfounded by the continuing anomalies, I quietly left the dormitory.

“…Oh.”

But I couldn’t take even a few more steps forward before freezing in place.

“Professor, I have an entry pass. So even if it’s you, you have no right to stop me.”

“You mean that quite convincingly forged entry pass? You can’t deceive my eyes, Miss Holmes.”

At the entrance of the academy, Professor Moriarty and Sharlotte Holmes were standing face to face, exchanging cold smiles in confrontation.

‘…Should I really run away with Lady Clay?’

“Meow?”

If only her goal wasn’t world domination, it wouldn’t have been such a bad choice.

.

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“Excuse me…”

“Mr. Adler.”

“Adler.”

As Adler hesitantly opened his mouth and approached them, both women’s gazes turned to him at once.

“What… are you doing right now?”

Overwhelmed by the ominous atmosphere, he unconsciously took a step back, but then composed himself and asked with a calm expression.

“I was exposing Miss Sharlotte Holmes’s crime of forging official documents.”

“It was necessary for the greater good. Well, if it’s really an issue, I can get proper permission later.”

“I honestly don’t understand why you call this youngster, who lacks even the basics of being a detective, a ‘detective’.”

“Perhaps only you don’t know, Professor. The subscribers of the Strand Magazine, where Watson submits her case journals, and Mr. Adler know very well.”

But the war of nerves between the two women, with cold smiles on their faces, showed no signs of stopping.

“Everyone, please calm down.”

Sweating nervously between them, Adler forced a smile and separated the two who were standing so close their chests were almost touching.

“So, why are you here?”

When he directed the question to Sharlotte Holmes, her eyes gleamed quietly.

– Click…

“To arrest you, of course.”

And then, now quite familiarly, she cuffed her arm to Adler’s with black handcuffs.

“…Have you lost your mind?”

“The culprit behind the ‘Silver Blaze’ disappearance case that has turned London upside down is undoubtedly you.”

Ignoring Adler’s disgruntled voice, Sharlotte pulled him toward her and spoke in a triumphant voice.

“On what grounds?”

“Well…”

Then, suddenly, she brought her face close to Adler’s neck.

“…Miss Holmes?”

After sniffing him for a while, just as Adler had smelled Silver Blaze earlier, Sharlotte raised her head slightly and looked at Adler with cold eyes.

“Because you smell of a new woman.”

“…What do you mean by ‘new woman smell’?”

“Are you denying it?”

Then she quietly picked up something and showed it to him.

“Then what is this stuck to your body?”

She was holding what looked like a brown mane-like hair.

“Ah.”

“…Adler. What did you do in that room?”

Seeing Adler’s eyes waver at the sight, Professor Moriarty asked in her characteristically monotone voice.

“Nothing much. Just…”

“Just?”

The two women, whose patience had worn thin, repeated his words simultaneously, urging him to answer.

“…I hugged her.”

“…………”

“No, not like that. I really just hugged her. There were various circumstances…”

Unable to withstand their pressure, Adler revealed the truth but then trailed off as he tried to make excuses.

“Anyway, this is a citizen’s arrest, Mr. Adler.”

After closing her eyes for a while to control her rising impulses, Sharlotte smiled and grabbed his arm.

“At this point, even the professor can’t protect you. From now on, your safety is in my…”

“…Your thinking is one-dimensional, Miss Holmes.”

Just as she was about to pull him away from the academy.

“Trapped in simple solutions right in front of you, you failed to see the truth.”

Having also finished controlling her impulses, Professor Moriarty spoke to Sharlotte with a cold smile.

“Does this look like a simple kidnapping case to you?”

“What?”

“If you had just visited the crime scene, no… even if you had just seen the situation at the scene reported in the newspaper, you would have noticed. You really are unqualified as a detective.”

Quietly observing the professor, Adler then subtly supported her words.

“If you hand me over to the police now, Watson will probably have to publish the most fatal mistake of the great detective in her case journal soon.”

“………”

“There’s a hidden truth in this case, a conspiracy that was brewing even before I arrived at the racetrack with you, Miss Holmes.”

Then, putting on a deliberately cold expression, Adler continued.

“If you didn’t notice that and only saw the obvious and simple solution right in front of you…”

“…You’d be very disappointed?”

Sharlotte quietly finished his sentence.

“Then, as you said before, will you swallow me whole?”

“…When did I ever say that.”

“Come on, swallow me. Hurry.”

Eventually, she raised her voice loud enough for her competitor to hear clearly as she brought her head close to him.

“What a dreadful display, unable to admit one’s mistake.”

“By the way, I think you both seem to be misunderstanding something.”

As Professor Moriarty whispered to Sharlotte in a low voice, she curled her lips and began to refute.

“When did I say I was going to hand Mr. Adler over to the police?”

“Then…”

“As a detective, I’ve simply secured a person of interest in the case.”

“Didn’t you just call me a criminal caught in the act?”

“What’s the first thing one should do when securing such a person, Professor?”

Ignoring Adler’s voice coming from beside her, Sharlotte looked straight at Professor Moriarty.

“On-site verification with the person of interest.”

“Correct.”

Her eyes were quietly shining.

“So I’ll be taking Mr. Adler with me.”

“I don’t understand how that’s the conclusion.”

“Oh, you want to come along? That’s fine too.”

Simultaneously, Professor Moriarty’s eyes began to shine as well.

“It will surely make headlines, won’t it? ‘Jane Moriarty, professor who opened new horizons with her binomial theorem paper, solves the case that shook London!’ Something like that.”

“Well, I don’t think so.”

“No, it will. Because I’m going to give all my credit to you, Professor.”

The subtle war of nerves flowing between the two women had now transformed into an argument openly exuding murderous intent.

“Well, I just need there to be a record of you being involved in this case.”

“Do you think I fear that?”

“I thought you would, since you’ve always been hiding behind Mr. Isaac Adler.”

“You seem to be quite unaware of my abilities.”

“Are you going to show me right here? I don’t mind.”

“I’m not particularly opposed to it either.”

And as the intensity crossed a threshold, gray and black mana began to rise from the bodies of the two women.

“…I’ll go with Miss Holmes for the verification, Professor.”

Urgently stepping between them, Adler said.

“Adler, but…”

“Professor, please rest for now. There’s no need for you to get involved in a case like this, is there?”

Indirectly indicating that it was too big a case for someone who should always remain in the background, he quietly added.

“…Leave this to your assistant.”

After maintaining an expressionless face, Professor Moriarty finally gave a cold smile upon hearing those words.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“You should have said so from the beginning.”

As she quietly stepped aside with those words, Sharlotte Holmes smiled victoriously and stood next to Adler.

“It seems this round is my victory.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Then, she quietly lowered her collar to reveal her neck to Professor Moriarty.

“…You know very well what I mean.”

On her snow-white neck, Isaac Adler’s teeth marks were still clearly visible.

“Interesting.”

However, Professor Moriarty looked mockingly at Sharlotte Holmes, who was proudly caressing those carefully preserved marks.

– Rustle…

As she rolled up her sleeve, numerous teeth marks appeared on her arm.

“Admitting defeat on your own.”

After staring blankly at them, Sharlotte’s gaze moved to Professor Moriarty’s cleavage as she began to unbutton her shirt.

“You have places you want to be bitten but can’t be.”

That area too was full of teeth marks.

“My growth period isn’t over yet.”

“Keep thinking that for the rest of your life.”

Sharlotte, who had been quietly looking down at her own chest, moved forward while responding to the professor’s sneering with a voice full of killing intent.

“…Your eyes haven’t even turned gold yet, but you talk too much.”

“Why don’t you get a massage or something.”

“………”

“What on earth are you two talking about?”

Adler’s bewildered voice echoed quietly between the two women whose expressions had shifted between joy and sorrow.

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“…Excuse me.”

“………?”

Just as the professor, who had been quietly watching Adler and Holmes disappear into the distance with a smile, was about to turn around.

“Miss Blaze?”

Silver Blaze, disguised in Adler’s casual clothes and wearing a large hat to hide her appearance, pulled on her sleeve and asked.

“H-how does one enroll in August Academy?”

Professor Moriarty’s satisfied smile began to fade rapidly.

“…What’s with those eyes?”

“Pardon?”

It was because the client’s eyes, unlike her own, were dyed in a familiar gold color.