"Hello."
"…..?"
With an anxious look, the Queen, who had been waiting for Holmes and Watson, turned her head slightly at the voice that came from the side.
"You, you are…!"
And soon, her eyes widened in surprise and shock.
"Should I say it's been a long time?"
When the nurse in front of her removed her nursing uniform and brushed her hair back, a presence she feared so much that her soul would shiver in fright appeared right before her.
"Ah, Isaac."
Isaac Adler. A boy who, even if considered a childhood mischief, had left a deep mark on the Queen was now standing right in front of her.
"How, how did you come here…?"
"I've sent Holmes and her assistant away. I wanted to talk with you, just the two of us, I mean."
Seemingly something caught inside, Adler, who had momentarily picked his ear, soon took a seat opposite the Queen.
"…What?"
"Did you think I wouldn't know?"
Adler's cold gaze pierced the Queen.
"In the end, Your Majesty, you went on to disappoint me to the very end."
The Queen, with a terrified expression on her face, looked at Adler.
"Why, why are you doing this?"
She then, with trembling hands, posed her question to him in a hurt voice.
"Why are you putting me through such trials?"
The always dignified and majestic demeanor was nowhere to be seen at this instant.
"You mean to give me unbearable pain…"
All that was in front of him was a young woman in her early twenties, naive to the ways of the world, caught in the trap meticulously laid out by the man before her for a long, long time.
"…It's simple."
If Adler had even been the slightest bit sarcastic or oppressive at that moment, the Bohemian kingdom might have lost its current Queen forever.
"I did it out of jealousy."
However, oddly enough, instead of his usual malicious demeanor, a rather blunt statement came from the lips of the boy as he nonchalantly glanced outside the window.
"…What?"
The Queen, with tears pooling in her eyes, tilted her head in confusion.
"I wanted to stop Your Majesty's marriage," Adler confessed to her at that moment.
"What does that…"
"As you know, I've had experiences with numerous women in my lifetime."
Adler started, gazing intently at the Queen.
"But the only person I truly loved was you and only you."
"Lies!"
"It's not a lie, Your Majesty."
Then, Isaac pulled out something from his possession.
"That's why, when I heard the news of Your Majesty's engagement to the second prince of Scandinavia, I couldn't contain my dismay."
"...…"
"Thinking about what might happen if you married that old man who's a full 30 years your senior, I felt I had to do something."
"It was for the national interest. What would you know…"
Murmuring thus, the Queen nonchalantly took the documents that Adler handed to her and began to skim through them. Her demeanor immediately stiffened once she looked at the content within.
"What is all this?"
"These are hard-earned pieces of evidence recording the misdeeds of the Scandinavian prince."
The Queen scrutinized the documents with an incredulous look on her face.
"According to these documents, the prince uses drugs in bed."
"This is a fabrication. You think I'll be swayed by such forged evidence…"
"He's been divorced three times, and the reason for those divorces being his spouses' drug addiction is already a publicly known fact."
With that piece of fact, her gaze began to waver ever so slightly.
"If you say it's a forgery, I have nothing to say in response. But did you really want to marry that old man, who's 30 years your senior in the first place?"
"For the nation's…"
"Don't give me that nation's interest crap. Tell me what you truly desire."
Hearing that, the Queen took a while before she could respond. Seeing this, Adler heaved a deep sigh.
"Well, it seems my role here is done."
"...."
"My threats seem to have reached their limit as well."
"…What?"
Suddenly, Adler pulled out a familiar photo from his pocket and placed it on the desk.
"Uh-oh."
Upon seeing the photograph of herself sprawled out as if she were a dog and stripped bare, the Queen swiftly snatched it and clutched it near her chest.
"Now that I've handed over the evidence, there's no need for further threats."
"You…."
"Whether you break off the engagement with that information is up to you, but please, take a look at this."
Adler, a smirk quietly gracing his features, yet again pulled something out from his belongings.
"That is…"
From several years ago, back when she was still naïve and immature, the slave contract she had drunkenly handwritten while in Adler's embrace was laid out on the table before her.
"Your Majesty, if you're alright with it, would you please sign this contract?"
"You call that a request?"
"It's the last wish of my life, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing his words, the Queen's face turned ashen. But as she processed what he said, her expression took on a bewildered look.
"As you know, in my attempt to protect you, I recklessly gathered evidence, making me a target to countless enemies."
"Is that… is that true?"
"I doubt that I'd last long if I went to the August Academy. So, before it's too late, I wish to receive one last gift from the only one I've ever loved."
Hearing his words, the Queen's gaze wavered once again.
"…After all, it's entirely possible to forge a signature, so you could at least do that much for me."
It was then that the Queen truly noticed the burn scars covering the entirety of Adler's body.
"Well, if you don't want to, that's fine."
"...…"
"Even without that, the fact that Miss Lillia loved me will forever remain in this world."
Yet, when the Queen hesitated, Adler, a bitter smile marring his face, stood up from his seat and began to whisper in a sorrowful tone.
"That's enough for me."
"Wa… Wait…"
"If only there were no difference in our status, I would have wanted to spend my entire life with you."
And with that, Adler quietly left his seat.
"Wa… Wait a minute!"
It was at that exact moment that the desperate voice of the Queen echoed inside the hospital lobby.
"Just wait a moment, Isaac!"
Hearing her voice, Isaac momentarily halted his steps and turned around. The Queen, her eyes filled with immeasurable guilt, gazed at him and spoke.
"I have something to give you."
Then, the Queen pulled out a pen from her belongings and began signing the contract.
"…I'll cancel the engagement with the prince."
Once upon a time, they had made that slave contract as a jest, but now she had etched her signature onto it. Approaching Adler, she handed the document to him and whispered softly.
"Isaac. How wonderful would it have been if we had the same status?"
"...…"
"But as the ruler of a nation, this is the only thing I can offer you."
As Adler accepted the contract, the Queen hesitated for a moment before embracing him.
"Isaac. Although this is merely a symbolic document, I…"
Just as she was about to murmur something with her eyes firmly closed…
"Kneel."
Adler whispered the command softly into her ear.
"…Huh!?"
Almost instantly, she began to feel a chilling sensation coursing through her body. Before she knew it, the Queen found herself involuntarily kneeling, laying down at Adler's feet.
"What… What have you done?"
"It's simple. I've placed a spell on the contract."
"What does that…"
"People's hearts can change at any moment."
As the cold sensation from the floor seeped into her, the trembling Queen's eyes widened in realization upon hearing his words.
"In this perilous world where even the few mages of Europe are subjected to daylight terror, shouldn't one at the very least have some reliable means of self-defense?"
Adler's exclusive seal, now engraved on the lower abdomen of the Queen, illuminated the hospital floor with its ominous glow.
"I hope you'll forgive my rudeness."
The dazed Queen, staring blankly at the scene before her, began to chuckle softly when Adler started to stroke her head.
"Ha, haha."
Only now did she realize the futility of her efforts to escape from him.
The situation had become even graver than before. As the ruler who should have all of Bohemia under her feet, she had now become Isaac's eternal slave.
"Hahahaha…"
But now, it somehow felt right.
With the guilt of not being able to offer him anything more than this meaningless contract now gone, her face strangely flushed, and her heart raced even faster than it had ever before.
"Whichever prince I marry, my child will surely have blonde hair…"
It was the moment when the sun of Bohemia had completely set beyond the horizon, darkening the skies.
.
.
.
.
.
To Miss Charlotte Holmes.
From the moment you threw yourself at the church in the guise of a young nun, seeking salvation, I had somewhat suspected that you were Miss Charlotte Holmes.
Who would save a notorious scum like me in London? Not to mention, I've been warned multiple times by those around me to be wary of London's genius girl.
Hence, upon waking in the hospital at dawn, I resolved to verify this fact with my own two eyes.
Acquiring a nurse's uniform discreetly was easy. Lengthening and shortening my hair was also a piece of cake for a mana user like me.
Disguised as a nurse, I sneaked down to the hospital lobby at dawn and saw a young girl, nodding off on a sofa with sleepy eyes.
Having witnessed with my own eyes that I was being pursued by London's most competent detective, I realized that I stood no chance.
Therefore, I've decided to move my residence to the August Detective Academy's dormitory from now on.
Even the genius girl of London, Charlotte Holmes, won't be able to enter the August Academy without mana.
However, I will hand over the photograph, which was my target, to the client before leaving this hospital.
In truth, I had planned to use it as a more definite method.
But from now on, it will be used for self-defense purposes rather than a threat, based on mutual agreement.
Being targeted by London's best detective, I shouldn't cross any further lines, should I?
Well, I wish a good day to you, Miss Holmes.
After reading Adler's letter over and over, Holmes closed her eyes for a moment and gently placed it on the table.
"He's truly an exceptional man, isn't he?"
Next to her, the Queen, with her face still flushed, continued to mumble.
"If only we were of the same status, I would have done anything to have him by my side…"
"In my opinion, Mr. Adler seems to belong to an entirely different class than Your Majesty."
"Is that so? Do you see it that way as well?"
Holmes said sarcastically, but the Queen only agreed even more fervently.
She looked just like a teenage girl smitten with love.
"I wonder what kind of conversation you had with Adler to react in such a way."
"Sometimes, Watson, ignorance can be bliss."
In response to Watson's muttered question, Holmes quietly answered and then slightly bowed her head toward the Queen.
"I deeply apologize for not satisfyingly resolving the matter you entrusted to me."
"That's not true. You did your best."
However, the Queen shook her head vehemently, seemingly trying to reassure Holmes of her effort.
"So, what do you wish as your compensation?"
"…Compensation? I hadn't thought I was entitled to one."
"You worked your best for me. And it's also the cost of asking to collaborate on this matter. Please feel free to say what you wish."
With her kind smile, as she articulated those words, Holmes seemed lost in thought for a while.
'I just can't understand.'
According to the letter, Isaac Adler knew her identity from the very beginning.
A detective employed by the queen, who was eagerly trying to get hold of her lifeline.
A threatening entity, to the point that he felt the need to move his residence to the August Detective Academy.
To him, someone like her would have been quite uncomfortable to bear, an existence that needed to be excluded from his life at all costs.
'Why did he save me back then?'
Why on earth did he risk his life to save someone like her?
According to the servants, the path to her room was particularly perilous.
It was so dangerous that the servants who had come to save her from her room had given up and turned back to save their own lives.
Yet, Isaac Adler endured the flames for a whole ten minutes to rescue her.
And if you exclude the servants who managed to escape the mansion with Isaac's help, he was the very first to do so.
Unless Holmes herself was Adler's most valuable possession, it was an act that couldn't be explained.
'I don't know.'
It was a first in her life.
In front of her, who had always treated every event in the world merely as a pastime puzzle, an inscrutable enigma had appeared.
"If you can't decide, how about the ring I'm wearing? If this ring speaks to you…"
"Your Majesty possesses something more valuable than that ring."
Holmes, who had been engrossed in that unsolvable puzzle for a while, piled one thought on top of another.
"…And what might that be?"
"The photograph that was our target."
"What?"
With that, she suddenly began to request the photograph as compensation for the assignment.
"Are you out of your mind? Of course, this won't do."
"Didn't you say you could give half of your kingdom?"
"That's mine."
But, naturally, the queen fervently refused.
"Is it because the photo has you in it?"
"Well, of course. No matter how much I trust you, that's a bit…"
"Then, let's do it this way."
"…Huh?"
Before the queen could react, Holmes swiftly snatched the photograph from her grasp and, without hesitation, tore it in half.
"I don't need this."
"...…."
Holmes then handed back to the queen the part of the photograph with her image lying on the floor.
"This should resolve any issues."
"You want Adler's part of the photograph? May I ask the reason why…?"
"Watson's hobby is writing and publishing novels about the cases we've encountered, Your Majesty."
"…Ah, I see."
With a slightly reproachful look, the queen, who had been staring at Holmes, cleared her throat and rose from her seat upon hearing Holmes' meaningful statement.
"If that's what you truly desire…"
"Also, I have a personal favor to ask."
"…A personal favor?"
Holmes, likewise rising from her seat, added to her statement.
"Could you write a recommendation letter for the August Detective Academy?"
"What are you talking about, Holmes?"
Watson, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, widened her eyes in surprise and questioned Holmes.
"Just a few months ago, you were harshly criticizing them, saying you wouldn't associate with such people. Why the sudden interest in going to that place?"
Holmes, whose gaze had been fixed on the photograph in her hand, responded in a soft voice.
"The mystery I need to solve has fled to that place, after all."
Reflected in her deep grey eyes was the image of Isaac Adler, looking down from the window in the photograph.