Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

Chapter 121: The Hound of the Baskervilles (9)

"... This is."

"Uhm."

Having subdued the werewolves Charlotte and Lestrade left the estate in search of Adler.

"".........""

The women, following footsteps presumed to be Adler's, soon began to frown silently as they stepped into the wilderness.

"Isn't this Adler's clothes... This."

"No need to spell it out loud. I already know, Inspector."

Amid the rain-soaked moor lay Adler's usually worn coat, now drenched and cast aside.

"Th, t-t-t-there, look over there, Holmes…!"

As the two women observed the unnerving sight with an undeniable chill in their eyes, a voice, trembling in trepid fear and horror, emerged from behind the duo.

"I, I, It’s those same gleaming eyes again…!”

Watson, who had been shivering still in the estate’s lobby and had no desire to be left alone, chose to follow Lestrade and Charlotte. And here she was now, pointing towards the distant hill ahead with an absolutely horrified expression plastered on her pale and trembling face.

- Grrrrgrrr...

Following that gesture, Charlotte and Lestrade came face to face with a sight that had become somewhat familiar to them at this point.

"... It's that monster again, huh…"

"Tch."

Amidst the howling storm, a mysterious monstrous entity with its eyes shining ominously in a piercing blue gleam was staring at them, its gaze intense and eerie.

- Click...

"Don't provoke it for no reason."

This time, Lestrade was undeterred as she glared fiercely at the mysterious creature in utter solemnity; just as she was about to draw her firearm to deal with the bizarre monstrosity, however, Charlotte quietly extended her hand to restrain her.

"With my curse, I should be able to immobilise it before it can attack."

"That's not the issue. Look closely at it."

Puzzlement spread across the inspector’s face as she scrutinized the mysterious being carefully after hearing Charlotte's words.

"... Doesn't it seem like it's not trying to attack us but rather keeping a watch from a distance?”

The moment those words ended, the creature quietly turned its back and began heading into the storm.

"D, Don’t go, Holmes..."

As Charlotte was about to move forward, Watson, with a tearful expression, grabbed her arm.

"I, It's obviously luring us in as prey... If we go, we'll surely be devoured..."

"... Calm down for a moment, Watson."

"B, But Holmes, just look at this."

With her trembling hand, she pointed to Adler's coat which was lying down below.

"Adler's coat is torn to shreds. It's clear that he must have been attacked by that monster..."

"... That's hardly the case, Watson."

But Charlotte immediately countered with a logical rebuttal.

"Even if it were Isaac Adler, he wouldn't nearly be raped by a puppy, would he?"

"What?"

"Look closely."

Watson and Lestrade concentrated their gaze, and something they hadn’t seen before, covered by Adler’s vest, came into their view.

"Women's... underwear?"

"There's also the female butler's white gloves and Adler's belt. Less significant than the underwear, of course, but still important."

Watson looked bewildered, while Lestrade's expression instantly turned icier than glacial snow.

"So... was Isaac Adler sexually assaulted by the culprit here?"

"Sexual assault. Although it's not under my jurisdiction as I specialize in murder cases, I'm aware it's a crime just as heinous as murder, as it causes severe psychological trauma to the victim."

The gazes of the two women started growing unprecedentedly solemn with each passing second.

"Now that I look at it, there are several indentations in the surrounding ground, telltale signs of a violent struggle, a particularly severe one too."

"There's also some saliva belonging to someone... I'm not sure exactly what it indicates, but perhaps given the context..."

As the women continued to analyze the crime scene, Charlotte suddenly spoke up once again.

"You'll agree now that the demonic hound isn't the culprit, right?"

"But I think the problem now is another matter altogether..."

"We don't know what terrible things might have happened here, but we must start searching immediately. I'll go to the right, and you should..."

"Let me say it again, please calm down. Both of you."

She muttered softly, her eyes shining with a glint in the dark.

"Did you already forget that I said it was an attempted crime?"

"Ah..."

"Indeed, if Adler had truly been assaulted, by now you'd be in the restroom..."

"... Shut your mouth, Watson."

At that moment, Charlotte coldly interrupted Watson mid-sentence, stopping her ridicule before she could deliver it.

"But, what evidence do you have that it was only an attempt? From what I see, there are traces that suggest he was already brutally assaulted."

Lestrade's question came from the side in the next moment.

"Looking at the indented ground, I can picture the situation in my head. Gloria Mortimer¹ must have furiously struggled against Adler, tearing his coat with her sharp nails, and then forced him to the ground."

"........."

"She probably began to unbuckle Adler's belt after pulling down her own underwear. Since there's no blood to be seen, it really seems that her sole intention was to rape him."

However, Charlotte ignored her question, casting her gaze downward as she began to imagine the events.

"But for some reason, the assault stopped the very moment the underwear was pulled down.”

"........?"

"I have no idea how Isaac Adler managed to control a ravenous wolf."

"It still sounds like you have no real evidence to me though."

Lestrade murmured with a slightly worried expression.

"No, there's definitely evidence."

Charlotte confidently replied, focusing her gaze on the palm of her hand that lay open below.

｢It seems you've already found the answer.｣

｢I wonder if this mystery was too easy for you?｣

A familiar golden message started manifesting in her hand just then.

｢But you know, the answer’s still a little lacking.｣

｢The real culprit of this case is someone else.｣

Charlotte's expression sharpened as she read through the message.

｢You have only one chance to satisfy me.｣

｢I'll be waiting for a satisfactory answer, Miss Holmes.｣

"I'm not sure what kind of absurdity he’s planning, but at the very least, it's certain that Isaac Adler successfully recruited Gloria Mortimer into his plan."

Charlotte murmured, resting her chin on her hand and slowly sinking into thought.

"The real question is, just what did he say to persuade the hostile werewolf in such a critical situation..."

And with that, silence drenched the scene.

"There she goes again..."

"What's the matter?"

"Just leave her be."

Watson realized that her partner had entered a trance after a long time and diverted Lestrade's attention towards her.

"It happens sometimes when the case is nearing its conclusion, or when all the information is gathered but a conclusion has not yet been reached."

"I had only heard about this phenomenon, but seeing it with my own eyes is a first."

"I still find it fascinating, although the problem is the excessive consumption of cigarettes and coffee that soon follow once she's in that state..."

Then, a bit farther away from the tranced detective, they began to whisper and murmur to themselves.

"... Speaking of fascinating things, he really is something, huh?"

"Are you talking about Adler?"

"Yes, if you think about it, didn't he ultimately end up seducing that vicious werewolf, just like Charlotte said?"

In the midst of their mingling, Watson began to voice a thought that suddenly came to her mind.

"I suppose that's true. That's why Adler is my responsibility after all..."

"But if you look at it, Isaac Adler is quite pitiful too."

"Pitiful?"

"Like Inspector and Charlotte, he's also under a curse, right? So I thought maybe there's an element of inevitability to it, things that are beyond his control..."

"What are you talking about?"

However, Lestrade's face only showed puzzlement as she continued listening to her.

"The curse on Isaac Adler is a very mysterious curse. However, what’s for certain is that… it has nothing to do with women."

"........?"

"Miss Mycrony told me that it's a curse that attracts all the oddities of the world to him, a complete antithesis to my own."

Hearing those words, Watson murmured with a look of horror on her face.

"You mean to say that all his female-related troubles aren't because of the curse...?"

"......."

"Madness. It's beyond human capacity, this..."

At that very instant…

"... Ha."

Suddenly, Charlotte, with a smile stretching her lips, let out a cold breath.

"I was thinking in circles over something so simple."

"... Should we keep our voices down, Holmes?"

"No, it's fine."

Watson, observing her in silence, widened her eyes upon seeing Charlotte's relaxed face, which she only showed when the case was solved.

"From now on, you can be a bit louder in the future.”

Charlotte whispered softly to her.

"... That conversation just now helped me organize my thoughts a bit."

"W, Where are you going, Holmes?"

As Charlotte began walking in the direction the demonic hound had vanished, Watson urgently called out to her in a tense voice.

"... To get married."

However, after leaving those ambiguous words behind, Charlotte Holmes suddenly dashed forward at a great speed, cutting through the raging storm.

"..... Tsk."

"L, Let's go together!!"

Lestrade, with a cold expression, began to chase after her at a furious pace, and Watson, pale-faced, also started to run through the wilderness behind them.

.

.

.

.

.

"Ugh..."

Meanwhile, at that moment…

"..... Uh?"

Helen Baskerville, feeling a throbbing pain in her head as she opened her eyes, began wearing a dazed expression at the sight unfolding before her.

"Have you come to your senses?"

"Wh-What is this? And where are we...?"

It was because Adler, who was now changing his dirt-covered shirt inside a dimly lit cabin, was looking at her with a gentle smile. Ironically, she was now tied up in a chair, just as he had been some minutes before.

"... Who knows?"

".... Ugh."

Quietly approaching her, Adler gently strokes her chin, causing Helen to look at him with a shiver of fear and shrink back.

"Please, help me! Is there anyone out there..."

"........"

"... M, Mortimer?"

Then, just as she was about to raise her voice in fear, she looked on with wide-opened eyes at Mortimer, who had appeared beside Adler.

"Please, help me. Adler has me..."

Urgently, Helen began calling out for help as soon as she spotted the female butler.

- Swish... Swoosh...

"... Huh?"

However, to her astonishment, the faithful dog of the Baskerville family, whom she had trusted without doubt, now obediently gazed at Adler with submissive eyes and started rubbing her cheek against his.

"........"

Helen Baskerville watched the unbelievable scene in stunned silence for a long while.

"It was getting boring waiting for Charlotte to arrive, so this is just what I needed.”

Adler, gazing down at her, whispered with a smile in his eyes.

"... I'll make you just like her too."

"Ugh, uh..."

Shortly after, the room began echoing with the sounds of heavy /genesisforsaken

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