dmims Chapter 193: Contest (2)
Chapter 193: Contest (2)
“Uh, ugh...”
Inspector Lestrade, after noticing Adler unconscious by the roadside, cautiously brought him to her house.
“No, no...”
Even after several hours, as Adler continued to groan in bed without showing signs of waking, she watched him with a worried expression on her face. But soon, she heard faint words escape his lips in his half-sleep.
“No... Don’t... Please don’t...”
“... Mr. Adler?”
“A-At this rate... I’ll really end up broken...”
Gradually, her complexion began to visibly darken.
“Stop... Please stop... It’s my fault... hic.”
“Ugh, hic? Ah, ah...”
Adler, with his eyes closed, began to twitch, and his moaning sounds distinctly pierced her ears.
- Swish...
How long did he continue to groan like that? With a sombre expression, Lestrade began extending her hand forward.
- Grasp...
“Huh?”
As her rugged hand carefully grasped Adler’s, he momentarily ceased convulsing and again mumbled in his sleep with a pale face.
“I... am a married man...”
And with that silence ensued.
“What on earth happened to you?”
In the silence, Lestrade, with a serious look, wiped the cold sweat from Adler’s forehead and soon narrowed her eyes and lowered her head.
Then, slightly blushing, she pressed her head against Adler’s body and began to sniff him like a sniffer dog.
“Ugh...”
Suddenly, she frowned and abruptly jerked her head back, muttering in a cold voice.
“This smell...”
The unpleasant and slightly fishy smell emanating from Adler was something she had never experienced before, rendering her unable to identify it.
However, she could discern a faint sweet smell mixed deeply with the unpleasant one.
“... Holmes.”
Although she lacked the sharpness of certain someone, it was not for nothing that she was called an arresting specialist at such a young age.
Her superior physical abilities were unmatched in combat, and her animal-like senses were second to none.
And those abilities of hers, normally used to track down criminals, were now helping her to pinpoint the owner of that sweet scent on Adelr’s body.
“It’s the scent of Holmes’ childish perfume...”
Muttering under her breath, Lestrade’s hands began to tremble.
“Why...”
Clearly, the man before her was a ruthless criminal; an unrepentant villain who should cease to exist for the peace of London.
In contrast, Charlotte Holmes was London’s guardian of justice— a master detective. Having already received help from her several times, Lestrade had to acknowledge that she was the pride and hope of Britain. Ŕ
Therefore, there must have been a reason why Holmes brought Adler to this state.
Adler, too, deserved whatever he got from her.
“Why did you do this...”
Yet why, when Lestrade imagined what Adler might have suffered at the hands of Charlotte last night, did it make her stomach churn so?
“... Isn’t this clearly too much?”
It did not stop there either. Her heart burned like a fireball, yet her head grew as cold as ice.
“It... It’s a crime...”
As Lestrade murmured, she realised that extreme anger had overtaken her senses.
“Uggh...”
“.....!”
But before she could think about the cause, the heightened senses from her anger soon began to detect another female’s scent emanating from Adler’s body.
“... Professor Moriarty.”
Although fainter than Charlotte’s, it was easier this time to identify the owner.
There was no one else who would have marked every inch of Adler’s body with her scent and mana, as though bolstering to others just who he really belonged to, other than Professor Jane Moriarty.
- Crack...
Suddenly recalling Professor Moriarty’s sexual exploitation of Adler, Lestrade began to grind her teeth with a murderous look in her eyes.
“You’re not their toy...”
Quietly reciting that fact to herself, Lestrade suddenly became aware of her heart beating rapidly and could not help but frown.
“No, this isn’t...”
Then, she murmured to herself, purposely leaning her head close to Adler’s face.
“This is just a coincidence... It has nothing to do with Adler...”
- Thump, thump, thump, thump...
However, as she tentatively moved her head close enough that their lips might touch, her face turned red like a beetroot, and her heartbeat spiralled completely out of control.
“Uh...”
Frozen in that state, Lestrade looked bewildered as she faced Adler for a long time.
“... Do I really like this person?”
Afraid that her ragged breathing might touch him, she covered her mouth with her hand, her face hot and expression blank as she murmured to herself.
- Drrriiing...!
....!!!!
Suddenly, the ringing of the newly installed mechanical telephone in the living room echoed loudly.
“Fuh, Fuhaa...”
“Um...”
“... Hic?”
Startled, she let out a gasp as Adler rolled over with furrowed brows, in response to her ragged breath, and inadvertently wrapped his arm around Lestrade’s waist.
- Tighten...
Then, he held her tightly in his arms and fell back asleep.
“Er, um...”
Panicked, Lestrade tried to get out of his embrace but paused to consider as she saw his face relax.
- Swoosh...
Then, she covered her face with both hands and buried her head in Adler’s embrace.
“We shouldn’t be doing this...”
They looked too innocent right now for a couple that was just for show. However, this tender moment did not last for long.
- Drrriiing, drrriiing...!!!
“Ugh...”
The telephone in the living room rang again, causing Adler to roll over again and naturally loosen their embrace.
“... Haaa.”
As Adler turned his back to her, a sigh escaped Lestrade’s lips as she was left alone in the corner of the bed.
.
.
.
.
.
“Yes, hello.”
- Inspector Lestrade? It’s Holmes speaking.
About a minute later.
- But I’m not sure if this is the right number? Is this the inspector’s residence...
“It is, so just get to the point.”
- Ah, yes. The thing is...
With a dark expression, Lestrade emerged into the living room, irritably responding to the call from 221B Baker Street.
- I’m just asking in case, but is Adler ther...
“No.”
- Pardon?
Even before Charlotte could finish her question, Lestrade immediately responded.
“Adler isn’t here.”
- Really...?
And her trademark pure white eyes slowly began to shift in colour.
“... Why would I lie to you?”