Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

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 come in.”

As someone 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 me here, wasn’t it…”

Then, as the door opened and someone 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 smell.”

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 momentary killing intent that had sneaked into her eyes.

“… Why are you making that face?”

“Because I find it lamentable that London’s hope, the greatest detective in the world, is committing adultery.”

“What are you talking about…”

“Currently, Adler’s legal wife is me. Are you aware of that?”

Unable to manage her expression, she stepped forward with a menacing look, while Charlotte watched Lestrade quietly and sighed.

“You’re a contract couple.”

“You might not know this, but all marriages are formed by contract. As far as I know, no such contracts were made between you and Adler.”

“Ah, I meant an actual contractual marriage devoid of any love, only formed 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 moment, 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 comment, 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 seemed 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 some papers scattered on the desk.

“Anyway, let’s get to the point. Could you perhaps tell me 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 time, I was nursing Adler at home, 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 home. It would have been terrible if someone 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 memories.

“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 something. Was there nobody around when you opened the door?”

“That’s correct, but…”

At that moment, 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 immediately dove into the nearby bushes. Everyone there saw it.”

“Hmm…”

Charlotte tilted her head for a moment and then frowned as she posed another question.

“… Why would they use such an unconventional method?”

“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 countermeasure 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 some hesitation, soon cleared her throat and resumed 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.”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Is there something you suspect?”

As she hastily posed the question, Charlotte began flipping through the documents 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 department, how do you know…?”

“That’s why the British police are ineffective. It’s time to stop making foolish blunders just to prevent immediate 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 seemed to have been burnt into her shoulder. Seems like it was made during the attack.”

“… Unfortunately, that’s not new to me.”

“But now that I think about it… I ignored it at the time due to the circumstances, but the envelope I received had something similar drawn on it.”

“What was it? It was an initial made of alphabets…”

As she tried hard to recall a memory she wished to erase, gripping her hands tightly, it was exactly that moment,

“… 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 America known for its human supremacy, anti-minority, anti-Christianity, anti-Catholicism tendencies.”

“… Most of its members 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, melon seeds, or orange seeds…”

“… You can guess where things are going, right?”

Charlotte stared intently at her, then quietly stood up.

“Now it’s time 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 someone else behind it, right?”

And that was also evident to Lestrade, who was silently listening.

“What should I do?”

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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 abdomen, she murmured in a cold voice.

“Eavesdropping is quite fun, isn’t it?”

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“… Busted.”

After Charlotte’s final words, her voice abruptly cut off. I scratched my head for a moment, then quietly sighed and began focusing on the situation in front of me.

“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 me with pale faces.

“Then let’s start with the shoulders, Moran.”

“… Yes.”