༺ The Missing Case of Silver Blaze (4) ༻
With Silver Blaze quietly wagging her tail behind me with her head lowered, I stepped out of the room and found myself cocking my head, lost in thought.
‘Why did Silver Blaze suddenly become loyal to me?’
I had merely offered her some advice and kept my distance, only to give in slightly to my emotions and hug her at the end.
Where on earth did this loyalty even come from?
‘Maybe she couldn’t help it, having been treated that way for so long.’
After pondering for a moment, I remembered that she had lived a life that was no better than a slave’s for a very long time. I sighed and moved on from this topic.
I felt it might be necessary to maintain some distance from her, but treating her a bit better in the future might not be a bad idea either.
｢You.｣
“……..?”
As I descended the stairs, gathering my thoughts, a voice suddenly echoed in my mind.
｢Is what you said back then true?｣
Princess Clay, whom I had kept in my arms for protection, poked out her head and relayed a message to me.
“Pfft…”
｢Are you laughing?｣
Was she expressing her dissatisfaction since she despised having a cute voice due to being in the form of a cat doll? Either way, I couldn’t help but chuckle due to the stark contrast between her appearance and her voice.
“… Of course it’s true.”
As I responded with a slight curl on my lips, she gave me a murderous glare.
｢Are you really intending to land the finishing blow on this entire charade of demi-human discrimination?｣
“Yes, but…”
｢How naive… Do you think that I will trust the very humans who have practiced racial discrimination for eons?｣
Saying so, she even bared her teeth at me, as she sent a message in an emotional voice.
｢Perhaps not now, but eventually, you’ll undoubtedly drive both the demi-humans and us vampires to the brink of death.｣
“……….”
｢Didn’t you yourself mention that it’s a risky endeavor?｣
This was true indeed. Even if everything went well and the demi-humans were successfully assimilated into our organization, they would be assigned dangerous tasks alongside the vampires.
“You’re right.”
｢See, in the end…｣
Upon my quiet agreement, Princess Clay looked at me with a cold expression filled with rage.
“… But they will not be the only ones driven to the domain of death and demise.”
｢What?｣
“After all, I will be the first one to jump into any form of danger.”
I began to quietly explain my side of things to her.
“In order to turn England upside down, I have no choice but to risk my life, Princess.”
“……….”
“The era of vampires I promised you. The era where demi-humans wouldn’t be treated as slaves and would be able to live with pride in their identity. The era where humans can no longer discriminate against anyone. This is the only way to ensure the establishment of such an era.”
Her previously twisted expression gradually turned into one of confusion.
｢Weren’t you trying to establish a kingdom of crime?｣
“If I don’t even establish a kingdom of evil embodying those concepts, would it even be possible to do it in the end? Would it be possible to succeed?”
Upon hearing this, she looked up at me, at a loss for words.
“Ah, of course, it’s not like I’m undertaking all this with some grandiose thoughts in mind. I simply want to see the professor become the queen of crime.”
｢Then why…｣
“Because everything beneath a queen should be equal. It’s just killing two birds with one stone.”
｢… How utterly disgusting.｣
Seeing her doll eyes widen was so cute that I subconsciously reached out to caress her cheek, making her flinch and throw a cat punch at my hand.
｢… What if you fail?｣
The Princess lowered her gaze for a while, lost in thought, before sending me a message once again.
“Dunno~”
｢Look at this. In the end, you’re just a big-mouthed, deluded…｣
“Then, shall the both of us run away to a place where no one can find us, Princess?”
Wanting to somehow lighten the strange atmosphere, I threw such a joke at the vampire princess.
“Come to think of it, living a life as part of your family1Think Twilight, basically the progenitor type shit. might not be that bad.”
Admittedly, due to the recent increase in threats, there was a tiny bit of sincerity mixed into my current words.
“……….”
Anyway, after finishing my words, I smiled while caressing the chin of the Princess who was poking out her head from my embrace. As I did so, she looked up at me with a dazed expression.
｢You… Do you even realize what you’re doing?｣
Her voice was tinged with a hint of emotion.
｢Do you not realize the consequences that are incurred when you nonchalantly throw such witty remarks at women while playing them off as jokes?｣
“Pardon?”
｢Starting from the subordinates of that woman2Talking about Diana Wilson. in Romania, do you even know how many people are tailing you?｣
What was she talking about? I had always been on my guard, but I never noticed anyone.
｢I’m saying that if it isn’t someone like me, who knows your true nature, there’d definitely be misunderstandings.｣
“Eh? I was pretty sincere about what I said to you though, Princess.”
｢… Just shut up already.｣
Just in case her aim was to elevate my treatment of her with this reminder, I decided to gently rub her cheek with my finger while reassuring her. However, following my words, the Princess sent me a cold message and then hid herself in my arms.
｢You really are a helpless idiot.｣
“………”
｢Whatever. Just give me your blood.｣
Subsequently, she curled up inside my embrace and gently bit into my chest.
“Didn’t you already devour a lot of my blood last time?”
｢… Shut up and just give it to me. After all, there will be many uses for it from now on.｣
The voice that echoed in my mind was somehow slightly different than usual.
And then, an unbelievable message appeared before my eyes.
‘… Is this a bug or something?’
With my eyes opened wide due to the continuous surprises, I quietly stepped outside the dormitory.
“… Huh.”
However, I couldn’t take another step forward and stood frozen on the spot.
“Professor, I have an entrance permit. So, even if it’s you, you don’t have the authority to stop me.”
“Are you talking about that poorly forged entrance permit? You can’t fool my eyes, Miss Holmes.”
The reason? At the entrance of the academy, Professor Moriarty and Charlotte Holmes were facing each other, both wearing icy smiles.
‘… Should I actually consider running away with the Princess?’
“Meow?”
If only her goal wasn’t world domination…then, it might not have been such a bad choice.
.
.
.
.
.
“Uh, excuse me…”
“Mr. Adler.”
“Adler dear.”
After a long hesitation, Adler cautiously approached and spoke, drawing the unified gazes of the two women.
“What… are you doing? Right now?”
Overwhelmed by the tense atmosphere, Adler unconsciously attempted to step back. However, he soon calmed himself and asked with a composed expression.
“I am inspecting Miss Charlotte Holmes for forging official documents.”
“It was for a great cause, so it couldn’t be helped. Well, if it really becomes a problem, I can always get a permit later on.”
“I honestly don’t understand why you call this kid a detective when she doesn’t even know the basics of being one.”
“It seems only you don’t understand, Professor. The subscribers of the Strand Magazine, where Watson submits our case logs, as well as Mr. Adler, know very well as to why I am named as such.”
However, the war of nerves between the two women, both wearing cold smiles, showed no sign of ending.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
In the midst of it, Adler, sweating coldly, barely managed to smile, as he separated the two standing chest to chest.
“So, why have you come here?”
As he posed the question to Charlotte Holmes, her eyes sparkled silently.
– Clink…
“Obviously, it’s to arrest you.”
Then, in a now familiar motion, she clasped the black handcuffs around both her wrist and Adler’s.
“… You must have taken a liking to this, yeah?”
“Without a doubt, you are the culprit behind the Missing Case of Silver Blaze that has currently turned London upside down.”
Ignoring Isaac Adler’s disgruntled voice, Charlotte pulled him toward her, speaking with a confident tone.
“On what basis?”
“Well…”
Suddenly, she drew her face into Adler’s neck.
“… Miss Holmes?”
Just like how moments before, Adler had smelled Silver Blaze, Charlotte also inhaled his scent for a long while. She then slightly lifted her head and looked at him with a cold light in her eyes.
“It’s because there’s a new woman’s scent on you.”
“… What do you mean by a new woman’s scent exactly?”
“Are you feigning ignorance?”
Charlotte then silently picked something up to show him.
“Then what is this attached to you?”
A strand of hair resembling a brown mane was grasped in her hand.
“Oh.”
“… Mr. Adler. What did you do inside that room?”
Seeing Adler’s eyes waver at such a sight, Professor Moriarty asked in her signature unwavering tone.
“I didn’t do much. I just…”
“”You just?””
Both women, their patience worn thin, echoed his words simultaneously, urging him to elaborate.
“… I just embraced her.”
“”…………””
“No, not in that way. I really just embraced her. Because of certain circumstances…”
Unable to resist their pressure, Adler confessed, trying to provide an excuse for his conduct. However, his voice quickly trailed off.
“Anyway, you were caught red-handed, Mr. Adler.”
For a while, Charlotte tried to suppress her rising impulse with her eyes closed, before reaching out and grabbing his arm with a chilling smile on her face.
“At this point, even the professor can’t protect you. From now on, your body is in my…”
“… Your thinking is quite one-dimensional, Miss Holmes.”
Just as she was about to pull him away from the Academy,
“You are so engrossed in the simple solution at hand that you failed to see the bigger picture.”
Having also suppressed her impulses, Professor Moriarty began speaking to Charlotte with a cold smile.
“Does this seem like a simple kidnapping case to you?”
“What?”
“Just by visiting the crime scene, No not even that… Just by seeing the situation described in the newspapers, you should have noticed. You truly are unfit to be a detective, Miss Holmes.”
A quiet Adler, who had been tactfully observing the professor, gently picked up on her words.
“If you hand me over to the police now, it is likely that Miss Watson will soon publish the great detective’s most fatal blunder in her case notes.”
“………”
“There’s a hidden truth in this case, a conspiracy that was in motion even before I arrived at the racetrack with you, Miss Holmes.”
Adler then put on a seemingly cold expression.
“If you couldn’t even detect that and only focused on the glaringly obvious and simple solution in front of you…”
“… You’d be greatly disappointed?”
Charlotte quietly intercepted his words.
“So, as you said back then, will you devour me?”
“… When did I say that?”
“Please devour me now. Hurry up…”
Subsequently, she leaned in close to him, raising her voice so that her rival nearby would hear her clearly.
“What a disgrace. The way you are not able to admit your own mistakes is truly appalling.”
“Whatever. Besides, it seems both of you have some misconceptions.”
As Professor Moriarty whispered in a soft voice to Charlotte, she began to counter with a smirk.
“When did I say I was handing Mr. Adler over to the police?”
“Then…”
“As a detective, I merely secured him as a key witness to the case.”
“Didn’t you say I was caught red-handed earlier?”
“When you secure such a person, what is the first thing a detective should do? Professor?”
Ignoring Isaac Adler’s voice coming from the side, Charlotte looked directly at Professor Moriarty.
“It would be to verify the scene with the witness.”
“That’s correct.”
Her eyes were quietly shining.
“So, I’ll be taking Mr. Adler with me.”
“I’m not sure how you arrived at that conclusion.”
“Oh, you want to come along too? That’s fine as well.”
At the same time, Professor Moriarty’s eyes began to gleam.
“It’ll certainly make the headlines, won’t it? Professor Jane Moriarty, who opened new horizons with her thesis on the Binomial Theorem, solves the case that rocked London! Something along those lines.”
“No, I don’t think it will.”
“No, it is. I’m going to pass all the credit to you, Professor.”
The subtle war of nerves that flowed between the two women had suddenly transformed into a blatant verbal confrontation.
“Well, for me, it’s enough that there’s a record that you were involved in this case.”
“You think I’d be afraid of that?”
“I assumed you would because you were always hiding behind Mr. Isaac Adler here.”
“Seems you’re not familiar with my capabilities.”
“Are you going to show me here and now? I’d be delighted.”
“I don’t particularly mind either.”
And just as the tension exceeded the limit and grey and black mana began to rise from the bodies of the two women…
“… I will go verify it with Miss Holmes, Professor.”
Isaac Adler hurriedly interjected.
“Mr. Adler, even if you do…”
“Professor, please take a break. Isn’t it unnecessary for you to personally involve yourself in a case like this?”
While suggesting indirectly that the case was too significant for someone who should always stay behind the scenes, he quietly added more words.
“… For things like this, leave it to your assistant.”
With a continuously expressionless face, Professor Moriarty only put on a cold smile upon hearing those words.
“Well, I’ll leave it to you then.”
“You should’ve done so sooner.”
As she quietly stepped aside, Charlotte Holmes wore a triumphant smile and stood beside Adler.
“It seems this time, victory is mine.”
“I’m not quite sure what you mean.”
Then, she quietly lowered the collar of her dress, revealing her neck to Professor Moriarty.
“… Don’t feign ignorance. You know fully well as to why.”
On her pale white neck, the bite mark from Isaac Adler’s teeth was still vividly present.
“Interesting.”
However, Professor Moriarty looked mockingly at Charlotte Holmes, who was proudly caressing the carefully preserved bite mark.
– Swish…
As she rolled up her sleeve, countless bite marks appeared on her arm.
“I never thought you would willingly admit defeat.”
Staring blankly, Charlotte’s gaze drifted toward Professor Moriarty’s cleavage, now exposed as she began to unbutton her shirt.
“It’s a place where you can’t be bitten even if you wanted to.”
That place too was filled with bite marks identical to the one on her neck and the professor’s arm.
“My growth period hasn’t ended yet.”
“Perhaps you’ll feel that way your entire life.”
Charlotte, who had been quietly looking down at her own chest, responded to the professor’s mocking laughter with a sharp voice and took a step forward.
“… For someone whose eyes haven’t turned golden, you sure do talk a lot.”
“Maybe you should try getting a massage there or something.”
“………”
“What on earth have you two been discussing this whole time?”
Adler’s puzzled voice echoed quietly between the two women who had switched their feelings of joy and sorrow with each other through their small confrontation.
.
.
.
.
.
“… Excuse me.”
“………?”
While wearing a quiet smile, the professor was watching Adler and Holmes disappear into the distance. Just as she was about to turn away…
“Miss Blaze?”
Silver Blaze, wearing Adler’s casual clothes and a large hat to conceal her identity, had reached out to grab the professor’s sleeve and asked,
“H-How does one enroll at the August Academy?”
Professor Moriarty’s pleased smile began to fade rapidly.
“… What’s with those eyes of yours?”
“Pardon?”
It was because the eyes of her client were tinted in a familiar golden hue, unlike her own.
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