༺ The Mystery of the Reigate Squire ༻
Several hours after Isaac Adler was surrounded by Charlotte Holmes and Jane Moriarty, inside a fast-moving train—
“… You must be feeling quite tired.”
Jane Moriarty, who sat to the right of Adler and was nodding her head, closed her eyes and slowly rested her head on his shoulder. Adler, who had been sitting quietly all the while, began to murmur in a low voice to her.
“The professor is indeed intellectual, but sometimes, she seems to also have her naive moments.”
“………..”
“Especially when she has her sugar confiscated by me. She’d momentarily wear a look as if she’s lost the whole world in that ever-composed face of hers.”
Sitting to the left of Adler, listening quietly to his calm voice, was none other than Charlotte Holmes.
“That part somehow reminds me a bit of Miss Holmes.”
Her gaze was fixed on Isaac Adler, who was gently stroking Professor Moriarty’s soft hair.
“You…”
“… You’re still young, Miss Holmes.”
Charlotte, who had been quietly observing the scene for a while, was about to speak when Adler interrupted her in her tracks.
“I clearly said that you were the most precious to me…”
Upon hearing those words, Charlotte Holmes couldn’t help but tilt her head slightly, meanwhile, Adler continued his speech…
“It was Miss Lestrade who confessed to me first. You saw it with your own eyes, so I’m sure you won’t disagree with me on that.”
“…….”
“There’s no way I would miss an opportunity to play with someone like that, right?”
His eyes shone quietly as he murmured those ominous words to her.
“And I clearly said it last time, didn’t I? That I will devour those around you, one by one.”
“… You did indeed.”
“If you disappoint me, in the end, I will devour you too.”
His hand that was caressing Moriarty’s hair till now reached for Charlotte.
“What should I do now?”
“……….”
“I’m a bit disappointed in you right now.”
Soon after, Adler gently touched her cheek, opened his mouth, and mimicked the sounds of swallowing out loud.
“May I devour you?”
However, Charlotte, who would normally show the slightest hints of distaste at those statements of his, was strangely unfazed today…
“I clearly said it back then too…”
This led Adler, who momentarily tilted his head, to be confronted with a truly strange statement.
“Whatever your intention might be, seeing you like this somehow makes my heart churn.”
Charlotte Holmes murmured in a hushed voice with her eyes cast down.
“I’ve been honest with yo…”
“Do you perhaps like me?”
When Adler probed further while wearing a faint smile on his lips, Charlotte Holmes chose to remain silent…
“……….”
“Miss Holmes?”
Adler called out to her with a slightly flustered tone due to her response, which was so uncharacteristic that it had caught him off guard. Turning her gaze to the window, Charlotte rested her chin in her hand and mumbled in a soft tone.
“… That shouldn’t be the case…”
Right after, a message appeared before Adler’s eyes.
Adler, who was staring blankly at the sudden message, was broken out of his stupor by Charlotte’s soft voice.
“After all, it was you who silently followed me all the way here when you could have easily escaped from my grasp if you so wished…”
“Miss Holmes.”
Sighing at her plausible remark, Adler replied in a level tone.
“I’ve recently realized something… if I didn’t accompany you in your little adventures, some incident could have transpired… an incident that might have led to the end of this world.”
“Stop joking around.”
“I’m serious…”
“What I want to say is…”
Charlotte continued and ignored Adler, who was gloomily checking the erosion rate and mumbling out those eerie words.
“You’ve followed me wherever I went.”
“Yes?”
“I never forced or coerced you into accompanying me. Participating in this vacation was entirely Mr. Adler’s personal choice.”
“The definition of force seems a bit ambiguous in your perspective…”
“Is it?”
Her gaze darkened as she asked such a question…
“So, don’t change your statements when we arrive at our destination, alright?”
“… What are you planning?”
“It will surely be a fun experience.”
Adler tried hard to smile at her now-familiar dark gaze.
“… Then, shall we get going?”
Charlotte suddenly stood up and grabbed Adler’s sleeve.
“The final destination written on the ticket is…”
“Shush~”
Adler was about to question since there was still much time left to reach their final destination. But at that very moment, Charlotte quickly placed her finger inside his mouth to silence him, leaning in closely to his ears and whispering her next words.
“… Of course, it’s just a decoy.”
“A decoy…?”
“There are many who are after both of us.”
Then, glancing at Professor Moriarty, who was sleeping next to them, she whispered in a low and subdued voice.
“We’ll get off at the next station and take a carriage I’ve arranged in advance. Of course, we’ll switch routes and check periodically to see if we’re being followed.”
“When did you arrange all this…?”
“I’ve brought disguise props as well. Considering you once disguised yourself as a nurse, you can perfectly don the appearance of someone else, right?”
Wondering when she had prepared all of this and imagining what Charlotte might have done if he hadn’t obediently accompanied her, Adler threw a question with a relaxed expression on his face.
“… Where is our real destination?”
Then, Charlotte responded with a smile tugging the corner of her lips.
“Reigate, in Surrey county.”
“……..”
“Someone who had ties with Watson offered us shelter there. It’s the perfect place for a quiet vacation.”
Adler’s expression started to turn serious as he heard the name of their destination.
“… Indeed, it was a good decision to follow you.”
“Pardon?”
“No, nothing.”
Soon Adler changed his somber expression and held Charlotte’s hand as he started walking toward the exit.
“Let’s go…”
“You seem to change your mood so abruptly sometimes.”
“… Depends on how I’m feeling really.”
Silence began to fill the seats— the seats that were now occupied by the sleeping Professor Moriarty only.
“………”
Well, to be precise…
“… This is fun.”
The professor, who was adjusting her body temperature and heartbeat in real-time, was actually in a meditative state; she had never been sleeping, to begin with…
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A day after that.
“This is surprising.”
“……..!?”
While leisurely sipping her tea in a quiet mansion on the outskirts of Reigate, Charlotte Holmes widened her eyes at the unexpected visitor’s arrival.
“I didn’t expect to find you here.”
“How did you come to this place…”
It was because Professor Moriarty, dressed in plain clothes, was standing at the entrance with a cold smile on her lips as she took off her hat.
“Miss Holmes, are you acquainted with Colonel Hayter as well?”
“………..”
“No, you don’t have any friends. My apologies, that was rude of me to ask. Perhaps it’s due to your relationship with Rachel Watson, who was previously a military doctor?”
Charlotte Holmes’ face stiffened and her body began to emit a black aura filled with ominous smoke at that remark. Moriarty, however, simply entered the mansion with a smirk on her lips.
“But coincidentally, among my few personal connections, there was one person who was a Colonel.”
“What a fortunate story…”
“The world is far smaller than you think, Miss Holmes.”
Their grey eyes, of differing hues, coldly locked onto each other.
“I’m just here for a vacation at the mansion of Colonel Hayter, an acquaintance of my relative. However, I didn’t expect you to be here before me.”
“… Leave. I rented this place first.”
“I think that’s a matter to discuss with the owner, not with you.”
In this atmosphere, Moriarty was the first to break eye contact, taking a relaxed seat on the mansion’s sofa.
“But choosing such a place for a vacation, either my luck or yours seems a bit off…”
“… What are you talking about?”
“Have you not read today’s newspaper?”
Charlotte’s gaze was drawn to the newspaper Moriarty pulled out of her belongings.
“This is…”
“It’s about a burglary at the house of an influential figure in this region, a long-time friend of Colonel Hayter— an old friend named Axton. The damage wasn’t significant, but the culprit hasn’t been caught yet.”
Meanwhile, Moriarty crossed her legs leisurely and continued her words…
“… The coincidence that the date of our arrival and this unsettling event aligned so perfectly is truly astounding, isn’t it?”
“What is your angle here?”
“… Alright, let’s end the chitchat.”
Grey mana began to shimmer out of her body at the end of that remark.
“I’ve been a bit roundabout with my words but all I’m really curious about right now is one thing.”
The next moment, an electrifying aura began to circulate around the mansion.
“Where is Isaac Adler right now?”
“I don’t think I’m obliged to tell you that.”
In a situation where both women’s mana intensified as if they were drawing their pistols at each other, Professor Moriarty spoke with a hint of amusement in her voice.
“It’s ridiculous that the best detective in London is involved in a kidnapping.”
“Oh, do you have any evidence to back up that statement?”
“I’m planning to look for it now.”
“Go ahead and try.”
Charlotte Holmes replied with an equally amused tone.
“… if you can even find anything, that is.”
The standoff between the two women continued for tens of minutes until Colonel Hayter, the house owner who had been briefly out, returned to the mansion.
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Later, during the dawn of the next morning, in an old warehouse near the mansion…
“Haah, haah…”
“Ugh…”
At a time that was clearly too early for young children to be wandering about, two girls staggered into the warehouse. Simultaneously, they lost strength in their legs and slumped to the ground.
“Sister…”
“……….”
“What do we do now…?”
After what seemed like a long while, the younger-looking girl began to question the one beside her— her sister.
“That person… is he really dead…?”
“No, that’s…”
Upon hearing the words, the one addressed as sister closed her eyes tightly.
“We killed him… right…?”
However, as the younger sister continued to speak, she couldn’t finish her sentence and hugged her big sister with a pale look on her face.
“It’s over for us…”
“Ugh…”
“Just when I thought we might finally be happy…”
Thus, the mournful cries of the two girls began to echo in the middle of dawn.
“The Cunningham sisters, correct?”
“”… Kyaa!?””
It was at that moment…
“A new riddle…!”
From behind them, a male voice echoed.
“Wh, Who is it…”
“Si, Sister… it’s the devil…!”
The sisters, filled with fear, turned around and began to tremble in terror.
“The devil has come to get us…!”
“Well, it doesn’t matter if you think so, but…
Staring at them with blood-red eyes was a blonde-haired boy— Isaac Adler.
“… First, could you untie this for me?”
Pointing to the chair he was tightly bound to with his head, he whispered to them in a soft and soothing voice.
“I’ll advise you on your crimes.”
“”…………””
Then, silence ensued in the still warehouse.
“Why not trust a devil with nothing better to do?”
Both sisters, after swallowing hard, seemed to be drawn to his sweet voice and cautiously began to approach him.
“… You have just assured your survival.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, it was an excellent choice.”
It was the beginning of a mystery that would stir up the quiet plains of Reigate.
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