༺ Caroline Augustus Milverton (3) ༻
“Yes, that’s better now.”
“… Ahem.”
Once Milverton returned from taking a bath, in the bathroom of the boarding house of Baker Street, Charlotte greeted her with a handshake before sitting down, muttering in a calm voice once she was properly seated.
“I apologize for earlier. I had a slightly unpleasant experience on my way here…”
“Let’s skip the pleasantries and get to the point shall we?”
Charlotte immediately interrupted Milverton’s monologue, a gleam brimming in her eyes.
“Do you realize that you are currently committing a grave offense against the royal family?”
“Oh… I wonder what I’ve done now.”
Milverton’s eyes also started to shine lightly in response to Charlotte’s words.
“I now understand why the world-renowned detective wanted to see me so eagerly.”
“What do you want?”
“… Nothing in particular, if I have to be honest.”
A slight frown etched on Charlotte’s face at Milverton’s blunt response.
“I apologize, but there are certain things that I value far more than money.”
“Such as?”
“The omnipotent power of being able to control the life of the Prince of England at my whims, I guess?”
“… That’s quite a dangerous thing to say there.”
The corners of Milverton’s lips curled up ever so slightly after hearing her response.
“The more dangerous it is, the more thrilling it would make you feel.”
“Hmm…”
“However, I do think I may have crossed the line a bit recently.”
With that, she crossed her legs and made her offer.
“100,000 pounds. For that sum, I’ll burn the letters I have received from the cute prince and leave for America.”
“……….”
“I plan to start anew there after laundering my identity. I’m only asking for the minimum amount of money I need to do that. Isn’t that quite conscientious of me?”
Charlotte, with a hardened expression, quietly started tapping her finger on the table as she heard Milverton’s request.
“… 20,000 pounds.”
“What?”
“20,000 pounds is my limit.”
An incredulous look pervaded Milverton’s face once she heard the words leaking out of Charlotte’s mouth.
“You have cut the money by 80% out of the blue and expect me to accept that? I am at a loss for words, truly.”
“……….”
“It seems the prince’s life only amounts to that much for the royal family.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I’ve heard there’s a very important engagement between nations that is supposed to be held recently.
“And I’m well aware that the prince is one of the parties involved in that engagement.
“In that case, should you really be slashing the price so aggressively as you have?”
“Let me be clear, that’s the maximum amount I can offer at the moment.”
Charlotte then lifted her head, a serious expression plastered on her face.
“The royal family has already conveyed that they cannot contribute a single penny to this matter. You probably won’t even get one pound from this affair if you were to take this matter to them.”
“………..”
“So why don’t you take the 20,000 pounds I’ve prepared for you? If it were me, I’d take it and live the rest of my life comfortably in America.”
“… So, you’re saying that even though you’ve taken on the commission from the royal family, you would rather pay me the funds to get rid of me? That’s too suspicious; enough to make me unwilling to take the money from you. Anyone would think the same in my position, don’t you think?”
Charlotte sighed in response to Milverton’s words.
“If 20,000 pounds can get me what I want the most in life, then it’s a good deal for me.”
“……?”
“So what will it be? 20,000 pounds, or a life of being chased like a dog by the royal family of Britain?”
Charlotte’s ultimatum continued, but Milverton didn’t even blink; a smile hung on her lips as she responded.
“I’m not interested in anything less than 100,000 pounds, unfortunately.”
As Milverton stood up resolutely after making such a statement, black mana began seeping out of the heavily frowning Charlotte.
– Swoosh…
Simultaneously, Watson quietly rose from her seat and picked up a chair with her hands, readying herself for a fight.
– Click…
“I was expecting a more refined approach from you.”
However, Milverton, her head turned slightly to the side, was one step ahead and was already pointing a gun towards them, making a subtle gesture on the side.
– Gooooooooooooo…
Picking up the signal, the calm maid, standing by her side, began emitting a terrifying wave of murderous aura from her body, directed towards Charlotte and Watson.
“… Do maids nowadays use aura too?”
“Well, it’s only natural when there are so many people like you after me. Hehe…”
Milverton, smiling with a glint in her eyes, lightly stepped towards the exit of the boarding house.
“Deposit 100,000 pounds into my account within a week.”
“……….”
“Otherwise, Britain is going to suffer quite a massive scandal in the coming days.”
As her voice finally reached their ears, the door closed behind Milverton and Charlotte quietly retracted her mana.
“… We’ve been had.”
Watson, awkwardly holding the chair still, muttered as she scratched her head, prompting Charlotte to quietly rise from her seat to respond.
“Not at all.”
“Huh?”
“The trap was set the moment I invited that woman here.”
Tilting her head, Watson looked at her in silent puzzlement at that remark.
“When I shook hands with her, I secretly attached some powdered mana stones to her hand without her noticing.”
“… Powdered Mana Stones?”
“It’s only a tiny amount, but it’s of such high quality that the small quantity won’t interfere with my plans.”
Hearing Charlotte’s calm explanation, Watson’s eyes narrowed.
“What exactly are you planning…?”
“A secret.”
“What?”
Charlotte’s lips stretched to form a playful smile.
“It’s a secret.”
“What kind of scheme are you concocting now…”
“I’m going to be lost in thought for a bit, Watson.”
However, Charlotte’s expression morphed into seriousness as she began blankly staring into the nearby hearth.
“Sigh—”
Knowing better than anyone that Charlotte wouldn’t be able to listen to a word once she was in that state, Watson quietly stood up and made her way out of the room.
“I’ll be back in a bit, Charlotte…”
“………”
And then, she couldn’t help but bite her lips, frowning.
– Zzzing…
‘Again?’
It was because Isaac Adler’s golden seal, which he had engraved not long ago, was now pulsing in Watson’s lower abdomen, summoning her to someplace.
.
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Several minutes later, at a coffee house near Baker Street.
“We’re going to rob Milverton’s house.”
“… I beg your pardon?”
Watson, facing Isaac Adler, cloaked in a robe, couldn’t help but ask; her eyes opened wide in bewilderment.
“What the hell are you talking about now?”
“The letter can’t be anywhere else. If it were, the British royal family would have secured it by now. It’s definitely in her room.”
“No, that’s not the problem here… Why are you planning to break into her house?”
Adler, with a cheerful expression on his face, promptly answered her question.
“Didn’t you hear about the wager?”
“… Ah.”
Immediately, Watson remembered the wager surrounding Adler that Charlotte had mentioned to her.
“You’re in it too?”
“Honestly, I must win the wager. The moment I lose, I’m tacitly giving ownership over me to one of the two.”
“So, what does that have to do with me?”
With a chilly voice, Watson asked the question and Adler merely leaned towards her in response, a soft smile hanging on his lips.
“Because you’re the only person I can use right now.”
“………”
“The organization that I had built with so much effort has been taken by the professor, and Charlotte is participating in the bet too. Moreover, I can’t use Miss Lestrade, who is more or less useless when a matter doesn’t revolve around justice, for such illegal affairs.”
“You’re out of your mind, really…”
“Even if you dislike it, you have no choice. You belong to me now, and you must obey my commands…”
“Let’s just do it already.”
“… What?”
But to Adler’s surprise, Watson responded in a calm tone.
“Let’s rob Milverton’s house together.”
“Uh, well…”
“What? Did you think I won’t do it?”
A chilly smile began manifesting on Watson’s lips.
“… There’s no reason for me to refuse if you’re walking into danger willingly now, is there? I’ll make sure to hinder you as much as possible.”
“That would be impossible due to my orders.”
“We won’t know until we try now, would we?”
As her lips twisted bitterly, Adler quietly tilted his head.
“Something’s off…”
“So, when do we set off?”
However, once Watson asked so nonchalantly, Adler, even though still puzzled by this whole circumstance, couldn’t help but answer.
“Three days from now, at the quiet hours of the night. No matter how much we hurry, we’ll need that much time at least.”
“… Three days later, at night.”
Upon hearing his response, Watson’s eyes began to sparkle once more, filled with a blazing heat.
“Then we should start preparing from now.”
“…….?”
Adler watched her sudden enthusiastic demeanor with a hint of skepticism, then stood from his seat.
“… I should start preparing too.”
His gaze shifted towards a woman who was lingering near the entrance of the coffee house.
“What kind of preparations?”
“… A preliminary survey, if you will.”
A maid, caressing a scar by her eye, caught sight of Adler and started to look down shyly, a bashful expression adorning her face.
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Several days later…
“… Huh.”
Watson arrived at the same coffee house they had visited a few days earlier, summoned once again by Adler, and began to chuckle wryly at the sight before her.
“Ha…”
– Shiver…
The stern-faced maid, who had threatened both her and Charlotte with her murderous aura just a few days ago, was now getting her neck licked by Adler, blushing all the way up to her ear.
“What are you doing now?”
“… A neck kiss.”
Watson looked on with a dazed expression at the maid, who was submissively accepting the act with her head bowed low, and then casually asked.
“It’s elder sister’s favorite.”
“… Call me by my name.”
“It’s Alice’s favorite.”
“Thank you…”
Watson frowned at the scene, before speaking once more.
“So, what’s all this about?”
“Don’t you see?”
Adler, after casually kissing the maid’s cheek, responded to her in a bright voice.
“She’s a new ally.”
“………”
“Let’s go rob the mansion now.”
“… Sigh.”
Watson, with a heavy sigh, stepped back and pulled out a small typewriter from her belongings.
– I’m sorry, darling.
– I don’t think I’ll see you tonight…
And then, she began to type with a gloomy expression on her face.
– Zzzing…!
But at that very moment, when she sent the message,
“… Huh?”
The sound of a message being received was heard close by.
“Neville!?”
Anxiously, Watson turned towards the source of the sound, her eyes narrowing.
“… What’s going on?”
Isaac Adler, sitting on the maid’s lap, looked up with a cheerful expression, tilting his head…
“………”
… Quite awkwardly, with his arms crossed behind his back for some reason.
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