- Knock, knock, knock…
Several days had passed since Isaac Adler left the hospital with an expression that could chill anyone to the bones.
“… I don’t know who it is, but co in.”
As soone knocked on the door of the boarding house at 221B Baker Street, where a chilling atmosphere lingered unlike usual, Charlotte, sitting quietly in an armchair, spoke in a low voice.
- Creak…
“It was you who called here, wasn’t it…”
Then, as the door opened and soone entered, Gia Lestrade replied in an equally subdued voice.
“… That aside, it’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“It’s quite surprising that even after such a big event, no syringes are rolling around on the desk, nor is there even a hint of tobacco sll.”
“… There’s a reason for that.”
Hearing her words, Charlotte, worn out, slightly lifted the corners of her mouth while gently stroking her stomach.
“Drugs and tobacco are harmful to the child.”
- Grind…
At her nonchalant reply, Inspector Lestrade gritted her teeth, unable to hide the montary killing intent that had sneaked into her eyes.
“… Why are you making that face?”
“Because I find it lantable that London’s hope, the greatest detective in the world, is committing adultery.”
“What are you talking about…”
“Currently, Adler’s legal wife is . Are you aware of that?”
Unable to manage her expression, she stepped forward with a nacing look, while Charlotte watched Lestrade quietly and sighed.
“You’re a contract couple.”
“You might not know this, but all marriages are ford by contract. As far as I know, no such contracts were made between you and Adler.”
“Ah, I ant an actual contractual marriage devoid of any love, only ford out of necessity.”
At those words, Lestrade stopped walking and her expression hardened as her eyes grew several orders of magnitude colder than before.
“On what grounds are you saying such blasphemous things…”
“Why are you acting this way all of a sudden, Inspector? I really don’t understand you.”
“Do you like Adler?”
Charlotte, throwing a direct question, quietly tilted her head to the side.
“… No.”
Then, after hesitating for a mont, the inspector gave an answer that was quite different from what she once used to say.
“That’s strange…”
“… What is strange?”
“That you used to always say you liked him, but now you are suddenly saying that you don’t.”
Hearing that, Charlotte narrowed her eyes and looked drowsily at the inspector while muttering.
“It’s as if there’s been a change of heart.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions… Huh?”
Lestrade, who’d been raising his voice in irritation at that comnt, suddenly wore a puzzled expression and shook her head.
“W-What are you doing?”
“Hmm…”
Charlotte had risen from her seat and abruptly leaned in close to observe her face intently.
“… Hah.”
Soon after, a sneer appeared on Charlotte’s lips.
At her sneer, Lestrade’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“What on earth is it?”
“Let’s drop this conversation.”
“Everything always has to be your way, huh…”
“I didn’t call you here to fight.”
As the situation seed to grow tenser, Charlotte spoke in a low voice and sat down again.
“… Adulteress.”
“… What did you just say?”
“Nothing. I’m not here to fight either, so please speak your mind.”
Looking down at her, Lestrade murmured in a low voice and then cracked a slight smile.
And then, a very brief silence ensued.
“… Getting angry isn’t good for the fetus.”
Charlotte, staring intently back at the inspector’s eyes, sighed and began organising so papers scattered on the desk.
“Anyway, let’s get to the point. Could you perhaps tell in detail about the situation during the explosion accident that occurred that day?”
“… It was just a few days ago.”
At her increasingly polite tone, Lestrade quietly began the explanation.
“At the ti, I was nursing Adler at ho, who was suffering from amnesia.”
“… Amnesia?”
But just as she began her explanation, Charlotte abruptly interjected.
“Yes, you should be aware of what that is. The last incident ended unresolved because of that too.”
“… Look at this.”
Then, with a slightly annoyed expression, she began tapping her fingers on the desk.
“Anyway, I thought it was better to protect Adler at ho. It would have been terrible if soone had seduced my poor amnesiac husband and raped him.”
“… I thought I said no fighting.”
“Just like usual… I was nursing him that day.”
Ignoring Charlotte’s muttering, Lestrade’s voice started to quiver as she recalled those horrific mories.
“The doorbell rang, and when I went to the living room… there was a parcel waiting.”
“… That was a bomb, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, and… there was an envelope placed on top of it.”
“Hold on, before we move on, let’s clarify sothing. Was there nobody around when you opened the door?”
“That’s correct, but…”
At that mont, Charlotte’s eyes slightly sparkled with curiosity.
“You went for the door as soon as the doorbell rang, right?”
“… I think so, but the perpetrator dropped the parcel and imdiately dove into the nearby bushes. Everyone there saw it.”
“Hmm…”
Charlotte tilted her head for a mont and then frowned as she posed another question.
“… Why would they use such an unconventional thod?”
“What?”
“Now that I think about it, there have been many attacks on the house, but its defences have never been breached. Your presence in the house didn’t really matter.”
“Could there be a way to neutralize all the supernatural abilities around the house without your presence, Inspector?”
“… Do I really need to answer that question?”
Then, biting her lip, Lestrade asked uncomfortably.
“Well, depending on the answer… it could be a very important clue that determines the truth of the case.”
“… Then, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
She sighed and gave the answer Charlotte demanded.
“That’s because of my younger sister, Gina Lestrade’s ability.”
“… Does your sister also have a curse?”
“Yes, it’s similar yet different to mine, much like you and your sister.”
“Could you explain a bit more?”
“… If my ability neutralizes all supernatural abilities targeted at myself, my sister’s, on the other hand, neutralizes all abilities around her, except those targeted at her.”
Upon hearing those words, Charlotte’s lips began to curl into a smile.
“While I have to touch the target or use a weapon to activate my ability, my sister’s ability is always active automatically. Fortunately, after long practice, she can control the range of her ability, so it doesn’t interfere much with daily life…”
“So, that’s why I wasn’t able to eavesdrop after the first day…”
“… What?”
“I thought Adler had figured out a counterasure but that doesn’t seem to be the case…”
“What did you just say?”
“Never mind that. Now that my question has been answered, let’s move on.”
Lestrade, observing Charlotte’s sinister smile with so hesitation, soon cleared her throat and resud talking.
“Anyway, when I opened the envelope that was placed on top of the parcel…”
“… There were seeds inside, right?”
“H-How did you even know that?”
But again, Lestrade was surprised by Charlotte’s interruption.
“They were orange seeds, to be exact. There were five of them.”
“… I figured as much.”
“Is there sothing you suspect?”
As she hastily posed the question, Charlotte began flipping through the docunts she was holding.
“… Before I reply, I have another question.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the recent attempted murder case of Silver Blaze. Any new updates?”
At Charlotte’s seemingly casual remark, Lestrade stiffened.
“That case is highly confidential within the police departnt, how do you know…?”
“That’s why the British police are ineffective. It’s ti to stop making foolish blunders just to prevent imdiate social repercussions.”
“So, any updates?”
Lestrade hesitated under Charlotte’s persistent questioning, then spoke in a low voice.
“According to Watson, who is in charge of Silver Blaze, there’s an initial that seed to have been burnt into her shoulder. Seems like it was made during the attack.”
“… Unfortunately, that’s not new to .”
“But now that I think about it… I ignored it at the ti due to the circumstances, but the envelope I received had sothing similar drawn on it.”
“What was it? It was an initial made of alphabets…”
As she tried hard to recall a mory she wished to erase, gripping her hands tightly, it was exactly that mont,
“… K.K.K”
“Ah, yes! There were definitely three Ks…”
The initials she had been desperately trying to recall spilt out of Charlotte’s mouth in a chilling voice.
“How do you know that…?”
“Specifically, the Ku Klux Klan. A secret society from Arica known for its human supremacy, anti-minority, anti-Christianity, anti-Catholicism tendencies.”
“… Most of its mbers are mana users, especially the leader is said to be an Archmage.”
As she continued, Lestrade’s complexion grew even darker.
“And interestingly, they send warnings using oak branches, lon seeds, or orange seeds…”
“… You can guess where things are going, right?”
Charlotte stared intently at her, then quietly stood up.
“Now it’s ti to find who’s behind moving these fellows.”
“Behind them…?”
“Well, according to my mind palace, which is a collection of random data I have gathered over the years and neatly filed away to optimize my brain activity, the Ku Klux Klan was already disbanded once.”
“If such an organization is operating so systematically in a foreign country…”
A gleam flashed in her eyes as she spoke.
“… Surely, there must be soone else behind it, right?”
And that was also evident to Lestrade, who was silently listening.
“What should I do?”
.
.
.
.
.
A few minutes later,
“… I’ll move as you instructed.”
- Creak…
“Well, please take care of yourself.”
As Gia Lestrade was about to leave the boarding house at Charlotte’s request, she looked back slightly and muttered in a soft voice before disappearing into the streets.
“….. Haaaaah.”
In the ensuing silence, Charlotte let out a deep sigh.
“You think I can’t tell that you’ve hidden the colour of your eyes with coloured lenses?”
Soon after, she got up from her seat, put on her coat, and began preparations to leave the house.
“… There are more and more obstacles.”
- Crack… Crackle…
“Isn’t that right, Adler?”
Wrapped in black mana everywhere but her abdon, she murmured in a cold voice.
“Eavesdropping is quite fun, isn’t it?”
.
.
.
.
.
“… Busted.”
After Charlotte’s final words, her voice abruptly cut off. I scratched my head for a mont, then quietly sighed and began focusing on the situation in front of .
“Mmph, mmph…”
“… At this rate, we’ll need to move faster.”
The culprits behind the attack on Silver Blaze, secretly spirited away from the police station to our hidden stronghold, were looking at with pale faces.
“Then let’s start with the shoulders, Moran.”
“… Yes.”
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