Becoming Professor Moriarty's Probability-Chapter 237: The Detective’s Sorrow (2)

“… Ugh.”

“Holmes.”

As Charlotte stumbled, losing her balance while walking with her usual emotionless expression, Watson, who had been eyeing her with concern, quickly rushed to support her.

“… Are you sure you’re okay? Shouldn’t I call for a carriage?”

“No…”

Charlotte’s body was in an appalling state, damaged to a severe degree after a year of excessive drug abuse. Yet, she dismissed Watson’s suggestion with a weak wave of her hand and resumed her unsteady steps.

“It’s not the kind of place I want to go to with such casual ease.”

“What does that even—“

“Because I want to savour every step, no matter how painful. Please, just let me.”

Watson noticed the murderous resolve in Charlotte’s eyes, a gaze so sharp it was suffocating. Reluctantly lowering her head, Watson silently fell in step behind her.

- Swish…

“… Holmes, no. Don’t.”

Even so, Watson couldn’t just stand by when Charlotte, her hands trembling violently, pulled out a syringe from her coat.

“Are you seriously planning to shoot up 1 in broad daylight, on the street? For God’s sake, get a grip.”

“This isn’t drugs. It’s a nutrient injection.”

“Haah…”

“I’m serious! Look, here… Ah?”

Before Charlotte could finish, Watson snatched the syringe from her shaky grasp and hurled it to the ground.

- Crack!

“… This isn’t a joke.”

Watson’s serious expression hardened as she crushed the syringe under her heel, her voice cold as ice as she whispered to Charlotte.

“If you take even one more dose of drugs, we’re done. I’ll cut ties with you then and there.”

“…….!”

Charlotte’s eyes widened in shock, her body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

“Ah, okay! I get it, I get it, so…!”

Her voice suddenly rose as she gripped Watson’s arm with hands damp with cold sweat.

“Please, please… don’t leave me…”

Her voice lowered again, trembling with fear, her expression desperate as she muttered.

“If you leave too… I… I’ll…”

“… Holmes.”

“Ah, ahhh… Ugh…”

Charlotte began to show signs of another fit, and Watson, her own eyes weary and drained, could only look at her in silence.

“I’m not leaving, okay? Let’s calm down, yeah?”

“Ugh, ahh, uggghgh…”

“We’re friends, aren’t we? The kind of friends who’d risk their lives for each other…”

Watson knelt slightly, her actions deliberate and soothing, as though she was tending to a traumatised soldier suffering from war flashbacks.

“But…”

“…….?”

“Adler said… the same thing…”

Charlotte’s usual composed and intellectual demeanour had completely crumbled, leaving behind a frightened girl’s expression that seemed out of place for her age. Her words struck Watson silent, leaving her unable to respond.

“That’s…”

“What… what am I supposed to believe in?”

“……”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore… Watson…”

Watson sat silently, holding Charlotte’s trembling hands, enduring the stares of passers-by for what felt like an eternity.

“… Let’s go.”

“W-Where to?”

“You said it yourself.”

As Watson gritted her teeth and stood up, the vacant-eyed Charlotte asked hesitantly.

“To the professor’s study.”

“… Ah.”

But the moment Watson mentioned the professor’s study, Charlotte’s sharp gaze returned instantly.

“Right… I did.”

Holding her forehead as if dizzy, Charlotte staggered slightly before muttering in her usual voice.

“That’s right… after ten months… I was going to see the professor…”

“…….”

“… Sorry, Watson. For showing you such a disgraceful appearance.”

Then, still unsteady, she began walking forward once more.

“Hey, but—“

“……?”

“What are you planning to do there?”

As Watson asked this while gripping Charlotte’s shoulder, Charlotte whispered in a low voice.

“… Wait for me at the entrance.”

“Holmes.”

Watson, however, shook her head, replying firmly.

“I brought my revolver too.”

“…….”

“You said we’re friends who’d risk our lives for each other, didn’t you? You’re not thinking of excluding me now, are you?”

At those words, Charlotte gave a faint, crooked smile and resumed walking silently.

“We might end up sharing a cell.”

“… Well, that might not be so bad.”

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An unknown amount of time later,

“”………””

After much difficulty, Charlotte finally obtained a visitor’s pass to the academy. Walking through the corridor alongside Watson, both wore expressions tense with anticipation.

“We’re almost there.”

“… I know.”

“Just through there… the professor should be inside.”

After repeating such words for several minutes, they at last reached Professor Moriarty’s study.

“So, what’s the plan? Are we barging straight in?”

“Shh… wait a moment.”

Charlotte gestured for Watson to stay quiet, leaning her head towards the crack of the door.

“She might not even be inside, so let’s check first.”

- Swish…

Using her mana, Charlotte slightly ground down the tightly sealed gap in the door, just enough to peer through.

“……..”

Without hesitation, she peeked inside with a grim look on her face.

“… So, what do you see?”

Watson, glancing around nervously, asked in a hushed tone.

“……….”

Yet, for some reason, Charlotte remained frozen, almost paralysed.

“… Holmes?”

And oddly enough, her face had grown several shades paler than before.

“What the hell is happening in there…?”

Curious, Watson tilted her head before leaning in herself to peek through the narrow opening.

“”……..””

Moments later, both women fell into a stunned silence.

- Rub rub…

Inside, Professor Moriarty, of all people, was seen with a radiant smile, gently pressing her cheek against the plump, cherubic cheeks of two babies cradled lovingly in her arms.

“Whiiing…”

“Waaah…”

Though the babies didn’t seem particularly pleased with the attention, the professor’s expression was unmistakably overflowing with maternal affection, something anyone could recognise.

- Grit, gnash…

“……..”

Charlotte, who had been staring intently at the sight, clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned dangerously white, her teeth grinding audibly. Meanwhile, Watson simply hung her head low in silence.

“Even if dirt gets in my eyes… I can’t endure seeing this…”

As this situation unfolded, Charlotte, her eyes bloodshot with rage, reached out her trembling hand towards the doorknob.

“… Ah?”

However, at that precise moment, a startled sound emerged from the professor.

“”……..?””

Startled by the unusually flustered exclamation, the two women instinctively snapped their heads back to look inside.

“”……….!?””

Their eyes widened, disbelief etched across their faces.

- Drip…

Tears were streaming down the professor’s face as she unwrapped a gift box.

“Ah… ahhh….”

“”……….””

“A… ahhh… ahhhhh….”

As the professor’s tears turned into full-blown sobs, Charlotte and Watson’s expressions grew darker and darker.

“No… that’s…”

“……”

“That’s fake… it has to be…”

Even so, Charlotte gritted her teeth and reached out for the doorknob once more.

“I miss you… Adler…”

Yet, the professor’s heartfelt, tearful voice spilt through the crack in the door, causing Charlotte’s hand to falter and hover uncertainly in midair.

“… Just once, even if it’s only once.”

“Waaaaah…”

“Whiiiiiing…”

“I want to see you again, my beloved…”

As both the professor and the infants burst into tears simultaneously, Charlotte’s hand dropped lifelessly to her side.

“… Holmes.”

When Charlotte, her head bowed, began trembling in silence, Watson placed a hand on her shoulder, her gaze troubled.

“… Let’s just leave for today.”

“…….”

“We’ll come back next time when the children aren’t here. Alright?”

Judging instinctively that they couldn’t proceed any further like this, Watson gently suggested. Charlotte, hot tears streaming down her face, nodded silently before turning away.

“”………””

Without another word, the two women began retracing their steps back down the corridor.

“… You know, Watson.”

It was Charlotte who broke the silence first.

“Those children… It’s the first time I’ve seen them in person, not just in photos…”

“……..”

“… What am I supposed to do?”

Her voice trembled, showing signs that her trauma was threatening to resurface. Watson turned her gaze towards her silently.

“The faces I’ve longed to see so desperately… the faces I’ve dreamed of in my sleep, were right there in front of me…”

Charlotte muttered, her face pale and stricken.

“… But on those faces, I could see traces of the woman I hate most in this world.”

This time, Watson had no response, no solution to offer. Neither did the detective.

“What… what should I do now?”

Because, to begin with, it was a question without an answer.

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A few days later. The professor’s study, which had remained closed for some time.

- Knock, knock, knock!

“… Mmm.”

Inside, Professor Moriarty, who had finally stopped crying after days and was tenderly nursing her children with care, hurriedly adjusted her appearance at the sudden sound of knocking.

“… Come in.”

With a single command, she dispelled the locking spell that had been placed on the door.

“If you have a business, please make it quick. The children are…”

“… It’s me.”

“……..!”

She froze in shock as Charlotte Holmes, accompanied by Watson, stood at the doorway of her study once again after days of absence. Instinctively, she clutched the children tightly to her chest.

“The children are off-limits!!!”

Immediately, she exuded a menacing aura, her voice sharp and defensive.

“You promised…”

“………”

“Ten months ago… to end all of this yourself.”

At Charlotte’s cold and emotionless voice, Moriarty averted her gaze, her tone quieter as she answered.

“… Something came up that made it impossible.”

“The children?”

“Don’t come any closer!!!”

As Charlotte took a step forward, Moriarty raised her voice, casting a binding spell in desperation.

“You never intended to keep that promise, did you?”

“Think what you will. Call me a coward if you like. I don’t care.”

Charlotte’s face twisted in discomfort at the paralysing feeling that gripped her body, her voice icy as she questioned Moriarty. The professor, however, only clutched the children even more tightly, her response resolute.

“But now, I have a reason to live.”

“Don’t lie…”

Charlotte snarled, her gaze burning with fury as she glared at Moriarty.

“It’s just like what you did to Adler, isn’t it!?”

Her voice rose, almost a scream, as her composure began to slip entirely.

“That selfish, pathetic possessiveness! There’s no way I’m leaving Adler’s children in the hands of someone like you!”

- Swish…

“But still…! Wha—?”

Charlotte’s words were abruptly cut off as the professor raised her head and fixed her gaze directly on her. At that moment, Charlotte froze in place.

“I’m sorry.”

It was then that she noticed— the professor’s once arrogant, steely grey eyes had transformed into a radiant, golden hue.

“… For realising it too late.”

When Moriarty’s voice, laced with anguish and guilt, finally faded, a heavy silence settled over the study, enveloping them all.

Footnotes

1. It can mean the act or instance of injecting drugs into one’s bloodstream. Usually, it is heroin but can be any drug that can be administered via syringe.

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