༺ The Blooming Detective ༻
A few days after Charlotte Holmes had collapsed in her boarding house…
“… Hmm.”
“Miss Holmes?”
For some reason, they were still in the boarding house, not the hospital, and Isaac Adler was holding her in his arms and lying on the same bed as hers.
“Have you come to your senses?”
He heard a dazed voice near his ear and quickly checked Charlotte’s condition, who had been nestled in his arms all the while.
“Hehe…”
Charlotte Holmes, with her eyes open, was smiling widely while gently clasping his hand in hers.
“You’re by my side today.”
“… Yes, I am.”
“That’s a relief.”
She stared at Adler for a long time in that state and then delivered those words before nestling into his embrace once more.
“I was unable to open my eyes for 30 minutes, fearing that you might not be in front of me once I did.”
“But didn’t I hold you all throughout yesterday, as you were going through such a chaotic and precarious condition?”
“Still, there’s only a 50% chance it would be you, right?”
“… Why do you think that to be the case?”
From within Adler’s embrace, her small but confident voice began to flow out at a steady rate.
“Just think about it… When I open my eyes, there are two possibilities— you’re holding me or it’s someone else.”
“…”
“So, it’s 50-50. A 50% probability, right?”
With a confident look, Charlotte finished her somewhat illogical explanation and then looked up at me with a calm gaze.
“But now that I think about it, 50% is a perfectly balanced probability, don’t you think? It’s very stable.”
“Miss Holmes.”
“Mr. Adler, a human is all about balance as well. So, you should draw a line in the middle of your body in advance.”
Not just her forehead, but she was sweating coldly all over, and her condition seemed quite serious as she rambled on some nonsensical remarks.
“It’ll be easier to maintain the body’s stability this way. You can even use it as a guideline if need be…”
“Please, I beg you…”
Isaac Adler, watching her ramble on like a deranged lunatic with a devastated expression on his face, clenched his eyes shut and spoke in a pitiful tone.
“Let’s admit you to a hospital now.”
“A hospital?”
Hearing that pitiful voice of his, Charlotte seemed to have snapped back to reality, away from her delusions, and gently tilted her head.
“It’s no use.”
“But…”
“As you can see, the outcome is already evident.”
And then, she gave him a pained smile, filled with resignation.
“What was in that box wasn’t magic, but something called Sorcery. It’s a uniquely researched form of magic, also known as witchcraft, in parts of India and the East, one of the most difficult to execute.”
“……….”
“And Watson had already informed me… The mana circuits that make up my body have been damaged beyond repair by the sorcery already.”
As she spoke with great effort after a laborious breath, Isaac Adler’s expression hardened in real-time.
“It’s all over for me now, Mr. Adler.”
“……..”
“Our adventures together, the mysteries we have solved… Everything’s over, Adler.”
As she caressed his cheek, Charlotte spoke to him in a calm voice.
“… I’m truly saddened beyond what words could convey.”
She whispered in a faint voice, her gaze lowered and pained.
“It was fun while it lasted.”
Upon hearing those words, filled with regret, Adler unknowingly tightened his hold on her and bowed his head as well.
“……….”
Silence filled the room for a brief moment.
“Hey…”
Some time had passed in the meantime…
“Since I feel a bit more lucid now…”
Charlotte, who had been sweating profusely and panting heavily, lifted Adler’s head and began to whisper, locking eyes with him.
“… Let me give you the proposal I have thought up.”
“…….?”
“Take my soul.”
Upon hearing those words, a stunned expression began to form on Adler’s face.
“What are you saying…”
“I actually already know, you know?”
Charlotte, placing a finger on his lips, began to speak with a frail smile adorning her pale lips.
“That you don’t have much time left.”
“That is…”
“We’re both terminally ill. Let’s stop with all the farce already.”
With that, the color began to drain from Isaac Adler’s face.
“That body of yours doesn’t have much time left to tread on this Earth.”
“……….”
“So, you’re searching for a way to extend your life.”
Struck by the truth in her words, Adler was left speechless, quietly gazing at Charlotte with astonishment in his eyes.
“I was recently investigating a case that involved traces of sorcery, so I did some research, you know?”
“Charlotte.”
“In most books on Sorcery, it’s common to extend one’s life by taking another’s soul.”
Charlotte’s gaze shone with a gentle hue.
“So, devour my soul… please…”
“Do you even realize what you’re saying right now?”
“I’m offering you my soul, for your sake, of course…”
“Putting aside the ramifications that Miss Holmes would have to face, do you, the most rational being that I have had the pleasure to witness, really believe in such occult tales?”
“In a world nearing the turn of a century — where the existence of magic that only existed in fairy tales and fantasies has revealed its existence, and all manner of bizarre phenomena, sorceries, and curses appear everywhere — do you think it’s time to be skeptical?”
Caught off guard by her subsequent words, Adler found himself silenced, unable to retort.
“… Either way, I don’t know how to take your soul even if I wanted to.”
“Heh.”
“What’s so funny?”
In response to his words, Charlotte burst out laughing, lifting her sweat-drenched head.
“Out of everyone, how is it possible that you don’t know how to do that?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve gone through countless papers, but there’s never been a precedent for a vampire with a tail.”
Her pupils momentarily reverted to their original sharp light as she delivered her next line.
“You wield contract magic suspiciously well and possess an odd allure that can immediately enchant any woman, cursed or not.”
“……..?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know your true nature?”
Her voice, although soft, was filled with conviction and confidence at her deduction.
“Little Devil, sir?”
“… Sigh.”
Adler, who had been quietly looking down at Charlotte, soon let out a deep sigh of regret…
“… For a moment, since you seemed a bit clearer, I thought your condition had miraculously improved.”
Then, as he gently stroked her back, Adler murmured with a voice full of emotion.
“It seems you’re still not well, spouting such illogical nonsense.”
“……….?”
“It’s all my fault. If only I had arrived at the boarding house a bit earlier…”
As he hugged her with a sincerely regretful expression, Charlotte, for a moment, gave a doubtful look but soon turned her gaze distant.
“… What I wanted to say is—”
Then, she began to gently stroke his cheek again.
“You must survive, at any cost.”
“… Miss Holmes.”
“Though my mana circuit is damaged beyond repair, it’s entirely possible to partially transplant it into your body.”
Her voice started to darken at the end of her speech.
“And even if you don’t use me, perhaps your curse might be lifted this way?”
“Pardon?”
“I have a rough idea. A way to break the curse you’re entangled with.”
It was at that very moment…
Among the countless endings, one that had a fraction of a probability to be achieved, and one that wasn’t so bad even from Adler’s perspective, came to his mind.
“It’s okay if I lose to you and the professor.”
“What are you even talking abo…”
“It’s a simple thing. I just need to die…”
As Charlotte perceived his intent, her voice began to tremble ever so slightly.
“Let’s be honest. You never really liked me, did you?”
“……….”
“The one you truly took a liking to was the professor all along. That’s why you approached her first, and why you’re acting as her assistant instead of mine.”
“I…”
“But…”
Then, she paused for a moment, taking a deep breath.
“… I’m still okay with that.”
Soon after, her slightly cracked voice resonated in Adler’s ears.
“Though it was brief, the time I spent with you was genuinely blissful.”
A contented smile appeared on Charlotte’s lips.
“… Mr. Adler.”
After a long while, as Adler watched her with a crumbling expression on the verge of despair and agony, Charlotte began to speak, her face looking paler than ever before.
“Do you know what my curse was?”
Though her voice was so weak that it was hard to believe it was coming from Charlotte herself, it was still crystal clear to Adler, who was listening more intently than ever.
“It was a curse that prevented me from loving anything in this world.”
Upon hearing those words, Adler’s thoughts came to a halt.
“Except, of course, for the concept of a riddle. A mystery.”
Staring deeply into his eyes, Charlotte whispered in a soft and dreamy voice,
“Perhaps that’s why. I opened my heart to you, who presented me with riddles and mysteries of the likes I’d never seen before. Someone… that was a riddle in and of itself.”
“………”
“But seeing that my heart is still open to you even now, as I’ve come to somewhat understand you and the mystery surrounding you…”
She paused momentarily, looking like the mere act of speaking was unbearably painful, and soon continued with a slightly choked voice,
“… It might be that my curse has already been lifted.”
Adler’s eyes were shaking violently at her last remark.
“Because of your very existence…”
Watching him with a gentle smile, Charlotte slowly closed her eyes.
“… Whatever it may be, it’s now my turn to give back.”
She finalized her statement with a resolute look.
“Use me as a sacrifice to grow your professor and your kingdom of crime.”
“………”
“I’ll die without any resistance.”
Cold sweat began to flow from Adler’s forehead after hearing her words.
“In doing so, perhaps the curse that binds your life will be lifted as well…”
Charlotte, too, was dripping with sweat, seemingly from the boiling heat that was engulfing her entire body.
“… You must live… You must live a happy life…”
She whispered in an eerily determined voice as if she had already decided on that fact.
“If there’s such a thing as the concept of a soul, then I’ll drop by your wedding with the professor in the form of a lingering soul or perhaps a ghost.”
“Miss Holmes.”
“So please…”
“Charlotte.”
However, before she could finish her words, Adler covered her mouth.
“……..?”
He looked at her, who was tilting her head in confusion, and began to rise from the bed.
“… Indeed, you’re not in the right state of mind.”
Upon hearing those words, Charlotte struggled to sit up on the bed.
“Since I can see that that brilliant mind of yours is not functioning properly.”
In her field of vision came Adler’s face, more serious than she had ever seen…
“Do you think I don’t love you?”
… Along with his blue eyes, which were slowly turning into the same shade as her hair. The ominous shade of raven black…
“You’re welcome.”
Their eyes, stained with each other’s colors, looked at each other deeply.
“… I will definitely save you.”
She knew, without having to confirm, that this wasn’t the usual deceit Adler displayed to her to avoid certain situations.
“Even if it means my death.”
For the first time, there wasn’t a hint of the usual deception in his voice as he spoke.
“That was the deal, wasn’t it?”
Tears began to fill Charlotte’s golden eyes as she lowered her head.
“I have a rough idea of someone who can fix your condition.”
Then Adler gently wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up from the bed.
“So just wait for me.”
Wrapping her with his overcoat, he began moving towards the exit.
“Even if I have to sell my body and soul, I’ll definitely bring them here.”
And soon after, the door to the boarding house quietly closed.
“”…………””
After that, a heavy silence filled the room.
.
.
.
.
.
“… What?”
The profound silence that lingered in the room for quite some time was, surprisingly, broken by a third figure.
“The turn of events is completely different from what we expected… right?”
It was none other than Rachel Watson who had been hiding behind the bed with a miniature recording device that was running on mana stones and her favorite pistol tucked in her arms.
“What’s going on, Holmes?”
She asked, looking completely bewildered, Charlotte who was still lying on the bed.
“………”
For some reason, Charlotte remained silent and didn’t answer back.
“… Holmes?”
Watson got up from her hiding spot and quietly bowed her head to check on her condition, but soon, her face donned an expression of utter astonishment and bewilderment at the scene she witnessed…
“Watson.”
“You…”
Though Charlotte still looked somewhat pale, her overall state was noticeably better. However, the real surprise was the genuine tears that were streaming down her eyes.
“… I think I have no choice but to admit it now.”
Despite the smile on her face, words that one couldn’t have imagined coming from her lips even in their wildest dreams… emerged with notes of conviction and resolution.
“My curse has finally been lifted…”
At the same time, her eyes, bright and filled with tears, shone with a color that couldn’t be changed even by magic any longer.
“By the man named Isaac Adler.”
In the heart of the girl, a heart that was fated to remain cold and frigid for her entire life, a golden spring had now bloomed.
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