༺ The Mystery of the Reigate Squire (2) ༻
The clash between Detective Charlotte Holmes and Professor Jane Moriarty came to a temporary halt the following day, thanks to the intervention of Colonel Hayter, who had returned to the mansion belatedly.
“So… you’re saying that you’re acquainted with me?”
“Well, strictly speaking, it’s my sister— Colonel Julia Moriarty, who is acquainted with you which makes us acquaintances as well.”
Colonel Hayter, who had visited the mansion he had lent to Charlotte early in the morning to settle the dispute between the two, silently scratched his head upon hearing the explanation from Professor Moriarty, who had also arrived at a similarly early hour.
“I don’t recall such a person…?”
The colonel then asked, filled with suspicion in his eyes.
“But you do know Colonel Sebastian, right?”
“Ah, you mean the one who served in Afghanistan?”
However, at Professor Moriarty’s following question, his eyes widened in surprise before he spoke in a familiar tone.
“He was once my boss.”
“From what I heard, he was not just a boss to you, right? Both of you had a special relationship as far as I can recall.”
“Well, until I got promoted, we were like brothers…”
As he murmured while scratching his head, Jane Moriarty, with a slight smile, pulled out a letter from her possession.
“My late sister was quite close to him in fact.”
“Ah…”
“They were close enough that my sister disclosed about him to me in the letters she would send me frequently.”
She continued her explanation to the colonel, handing him the letter she had taken out.
“As you can see, this letter I’ve given you is one that my sister and Colonel Sebastian exchanged. I’ve found it in her belongings.”
“……..”
“According to that letter, around the time of the armistice, both of them dreamed of taking a vacation near your hometown— Reigate.”
“Ah…”
“From what I can gather, your boss and my sister had quite a special relationship, don’t you think?”
She added with a slightly sorrowful tone, not missing the faint tremor in the colonel’s hand as he read the letter.
“Well, now that both of them have passed away, it’s become a promise that they can’t fulfill.”
“……….”
“So, as her younger sister, shouldn’t I fulfill that dream on their behalf?”
“That’s… certainly…”
Just as the colonel was about to nod in agreement.
“My, that’s quite a contrived justification, is it not?”
Charlotte, who had been silently folding her arms while standing still, started to interject with a sharp voice from behind.
“Or perhaps it’s actually fabricated…”
“Are you insulting my lineage?”
“Compared to such a vague reason, I have a very solid justification.”
Ignoring the unexpectedly sharp response from Professor Moriarty, Charlotte looked directly at Colonel Hayter.
“Rachel Watson saved your life, didn’t she?”
“… That’s right. She was a military doctor and she saved me when I was in a critical condition.”
“And she is one of my very few friends.”
Charlotte, who had given a sidelong glance to Moriarty for previously teasing her for her lack of friends, concluded quietly.
“Whose request should you honor? That of the life-saver or the presumptuous demand of a guest whose true intentions aren’t even clear?”
Thus, silence ensued in the room for some time.
“I’m also considering paying.”
“Excuse me?”
Caught off guard by Moriarty’s comment amid the silence, Colonel Hayter looked quite a bit flustered.
“I noticed that this mansion is up for sale. Isn’t it bothersome to have an uninvited guest over? If you let me stay here for a few weeks, I’ll pay the monthly rent.”
“I can pay as well.”
“I’ll pay double of what that young lady offers.”
“… I’ll pay double of that double.”
Just as another heated argument between the two women was about to erupt.
“Excuse me…”
Suddenly, the mansion’s door opened.
“I’ve heard that Miss Charlotte Holmes of Baker Street is here…”
“… What’s the matter?”
Seeing the uniform, it was clear that the newcomer was a Police Inspector. Charlotte’s eyes immediately sharpened once she deduced their identity.
“It’s a murder case.”
And then, the Inspector’s voice echoed through the mansion.
– Zing…!
At that very moment, as if waiting for this very event, golden letters appeared on the palms of the two women.
｢Time for a new riddle!｣
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you assist us?”
Both Charlotte and Professor Moriarty rose from their seats, their eyes shining in a dark hue.
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“… Mr. Adler.”
“Mr. Adler?”
The two women soon arrived at the crime scene under the guidance of the Inspector— one as an investigative advisor and the other as a teacher at the August Detective Academy respectively…
“Hello.”
For some reason, they began to blankly stare at Isaac Adler, who was inside the Cunningham Mansion, arrested and in handcuffs at the crime scene.
“Well, they said I was a suspect in the murder that took place in this mansion.”
“… A suspect?”
“It’s quite a troublesome situation. An upstanding citizen like me is being accused of committing murder. It’s simply outrageous.”
Instead of responding to the question, Adler winked at the ladies and continued speaking nonchalantly.
“”……….””
The Cunningham sisters were standing behind him, exchanging anxious glances with each other.
“The summary of the incident is as follows…”
The Inspector cleared her throat, thus beginning her explanation.
“Last night, the two sisters, who were sleeping in the mansion, heard a strange noise coming from the garden.”
“A strange noise?”
“Yes. The two sisters, who had recently lost their parents, had no choice but to check outside for the disturbance with a lamp in their hands since the butler, the only adult present in the house, had been unresponsive no matter how much they called him.”
Charlotte and Moriarty’s gazes began to gleam subtly as the Inspector continued her explanation.
“Then they saw a shadowy figure hastily jumping over the fence, they went after him and subsequently found the body of the butler lying in the garden.”
“”……….””
“The cause of the butler’s death was a gunshot wound. He was shot directly in the center of his head and thus died instantly.”
Their gaze shifted to the younger Cunningham sister, whose complexion had paled upon hearing the condition of the butler.
“In a panic, the two sisters locked themselves in the mansion, trembling in fear. It was only early in the morning that they ventured out to report the incident.”
“After so long…?”
“They probably had no other choice. There were no adults in the mansion, and they didn’t know when the perpetrator might return.”
The atmosphere turned a bit tense, but the Inspector, seemingly oblivious to the change, continued her explanation.
“I was dispatched after receiving the report and rushed to the scene. I found this suspicious young man lurking around the mansion and arrested him on the spot. He is currently under temporary detainment.”
“Well, I’m not a suspicious person.”
As the Inspector poked Adler’s head, he murmured in a low voice.
“I was merely conducting a personal investigation…”
“Quiet down, boy.”
Watching the scene silently, Charlotte finally asked in a soft voice.
“Was there anything else out of the ordinary?”
“The living room of the mansion was slightly disheveled.”
The Inspector, who was reporting with a salute, took out a torn piece of paper from her pocket and showed it to them.
“Also, this note was found clenched in the butler’s hand.”
A sudden silence ensued for some time as everyone focused on the note.
“… Hmm?”
Unlike Charlotte, who was quietly observing the note, Professor Moriarty furrowed her brows and turned her head slightly to the side.
“Based on our investigation so far, we suspect it might be related to the recent theft at the Axton Mansion.”
Seeing the silence stretch without end, the Inspector tentatively offered her own opinion.
“It’s possible that the thief from the other day, thinking the Cunningham Mansion would be an easier target, broke in, got caught by the butler, and then killed him before fleeing…”
“… Excuse me, then why was I arrested?”
“Isn’t that thief you?”
She looked accusingly at Isaac Adler, who was grimacing in handcuffs.
“Do you really think I would stoop to such petty thievery?”
“… Who are you exactly?”
In response to his question, Adler just smirked and shook his head.
“You seem to be quite unaware of the outside world.”
“…….?”
“… Inspector Forrester.”
At the moment when the Inspector looked puzzled and was lost as to who Isaac Adler was, which was rare among the British populace, Professor Moriarty stepped forward and began to whisper with a smile on her face.
“We’ll take it from here.”
“Ah, right!”
After hearing those words, the Inspector corrected her posture and saluted them both.
“Can you focus on finding any form of evidence that might have been missed in the preliminary investigation?”
“Understood!”
As she energetically acknowledged and left the room, Professor Moriarty’s gaze briefly landed on Adler.
“You all…”
And a moment later, her gaze shifted to the Cunningham sisters, who were fidgeting in the background.
“Come here. I need to speak with you.”
“Yes?”
“Wh, why…”
“It’ll only take a moment.”
The eldest, with a slightly defiant expression, and the youngest, who was about to ask a timid question, closed their mouths and nodded at the professor’s cool demeanor.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
As Moriarty led them out of the living room, a heavy silence filled the room.
“… Miss Holmes.”
Amidst the silence, Isaac Adler began to whisper to Charlotte in a velvety voice.
“I’m truly disappointed.”
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“I never imagined you would do such a thing to me.”
“……..”
“You really are a beast.”
As Adler’s cold criticism flew out of his lips, Charlotte’s eyes flickered ever so slightly.
“But if I had let you go, you would have disappeared to commit more misdeeds, wouldn’t you?”
Soon, Charlotte clenched her fist and continued her explanation.
“I couldn’t help it. I was worried that Professor Moriarty might come looking for you.”
“………”
“And she indeed did.”
With that, she headed toward the room where Moriarty had taken the Cunningham sisters.
Given the suspicious circumstances, she wanted to check on things herself.
“Regardless, that doesn’t concern me.”
However, from behind her, Isaac Adler’s voice rang out.
“Miss Perverted Detective.”
“……….”
“The wrong you’ve done to me this time will come back to haunt you.”
For some reason, his voice, colder than usual, echoed in her ears.
“The curse placed upon me is no joke…”
‘… I had no choice.’
Hearing his words, Charlotte halted, closed her eyes, and got lost in her own thoughts.
‘Just seeing you with another woman now…’
– Zzzzz…
‘… My eyes can’t help but be dyed with your color…’
She had tried hard for several hours to revert them, but now her eyes were helplessly turning golden once more.
‘… No.’
Charlotte, now accustomed to this sensation, silently accepted it and shook her head from side to side while muttering to herself…
‘It’s not love, after all.’
Then, an empty voice echoed in her heart.
‘It’s impossible for me to fall victim to such an inefficient emotion…’
As that voice began to slowly lose its strength inside her…
‘It’s just…’
“Miss Holmes.”
‘… Just…’
“Still, it’s okay…”
Once again, a gentle voice came from behind her.
“… Be quiet.”
But Charlotte murmured with a stern expression and kept walking forward.
“No matter how disappointed I am in you…”
It was just the soulless flirting Isaac Adler did with her all the time.
“No matter how many mistakes you make…”
He would undoubtedly whisper the same insincere words to other women besides her too.
“I still love Miss Holmes, until the very end…”
So, she had repeatedly vowed to herself that she should reconsider her feelings toward Isaac Adler from now on…
“I can handle whatever happens in the future.”
‘I won’t fall for it anymore, Adler.’
He was an enemy who had to be defeated.
‘That’s why…’
As a detective, she shouldn’t have been swayed by him in the first place.
‘With my own hands, I will…’
This had been Charlotte’s final conclusion, after having tied Adler to a chair and conversing with him for several hours.
“Do you know something…?”
However, the conclusion she had reached…
“That… if you truly love someone…”
– Crash…!
… With the deafening sound of something breaking, it quietly shattered into pieces.
“… You can even sacrifice your life.”
“……..!”
What came into Charlotte’s view as she turned her head with wide-open eyes was…
“… I love you.”
Isaac Adler, murmuring those words, then collapsed onto the floor, vomiting blood with a pale face.
“……..”
It was like that day at the racetrack…
“… You.”
And only then, Charlotte Holmes realized.
“You told me, you wouldn’t…”
A month ago, Isaac Adler’s lifespan shortened due to her…
“… You said you wouldn’t die.”
And she was able to realize that he didn’t have much time left…
“You said you’d devour me.”
Charlotte Holmes’s eyes began to quiver.
“… Of course.”
Because she was finally certain of the nature of the curse he had mentioned.
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‘So, that’s how it was.’
The moment the mug on the table shattered and my body started to sway, I had a clear understanding of the case’s conclusion.
‘Charlotte could’ve died if I hadn’t been careful.’
However, I couldn’t let Charlotte Holmes or Professor Moriarty know that right now.
So, pretending to have unintentionally fallen and broken the mug, I continued to act weak and collapsed onto the floor, maintaining my feigned frailty.
“Would you confine a sick person?”
This was the so-called Feigning Illness strategy.
At least while feigning illness, one could avoid being imprisoned.
It was such a simple thought that led to this event.
“Ugh….”
As he sat silently on the floor, expectedly, blood began to flow from his mouth.
Of course, his current body didn’t feel pain very well, so it didn’t matter much.
Rather, being optimized for feigning illness was quite advantageous for him.
“Is it because of me?”
While he was coughing blood with a triumphant smile inwardly, Charlotte approached with a dazed look on her face.
“Did this happen because of me?”
“……..?”
As she uttered words he couldn’t comprehend, tilting his head in confusion, she knelt in front of him and whispered her question.
“Was that your curse?”
“… What are you saying?”
Although he didn’t understand, he had to continue the act. So, feigning a dying voice with a slight smile on his lips, he noticed her eyes losing their light.
– Drip…
“… Huh?”
The next moment, something unbelievable began to happen.
“Miss Holmes?”
Tears streamed from her golden eyes.
And simultaneously, a dreadful message appeared before him.
‘… I didn’t intend to break her down.’
“Oh no.”
This was truly a disaster.
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