Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability
Chapter 248: The Reunion at the Empty House

“Hah, hah… Haaa…”

Charlotte, sprawled on the floor, drenched in cold sweat and gasping for air, desperately lifted her head.

“W-What… on earth…”

Her usually sharp reasoning and keen insight were failing her, blurring into nothingness.

Her vision had long since abandoned any semblance of normalcy, showing her only phantoms and illusions, while her hearing faltered between whispers and shouts from beings that did not exist.

The smoke that engulfed the room gave her the horrifying sensation that at any moment, something unspeakable would emerge to ensnare her.

It was an indescribable, overwhelming feeling, as if she were being crushed under the presence of something colossal. The overbearing presence was lurking beyond the night sky, just barely peeking out of the universe’s edges.

Every movement in the room felt as though it were ripping her soul to shreds, leaving everyone inside – including Charlotte – unable to even breathe properly.

“Uggghh…”

As she gritted her teeth, struggling to free herself from the oppressive atmosphere, her vision momentarily latched onto something real amidst the maddening chaos.

“G-Get away from meeeee…!”

Watson was thrashing around wildly, her face pale and contorted, as if she were on the verge of suffocating.

“Ugh…”

And Lestrade, though she hadn’t plunged into panic like Watson, was frozen stiff, her face equally ashen as she stood frozen in place.

“… No!”

Seeing them like that, Charlotte’s body suddenly surged with strength, her eyes burning with determination.

“I won’t… lose you too!!!”

With a desperate cry, she rose to her feet, her face etched with anguish and desperation.

“Never… never again!!!”

Unleashing a strength that seemed impossible for a girl her age, she hoisted both Watson and the inspector onto her shoulders and bolted towards the door.

- Bang!

Moments later, the door was kicked open with a loud crash.

“Ugh…”

“Kulluk, kullu…!”

As fresh air rushed in through the open door, Watson and the inspector began to recover slightly, their faces loosening as they coughed and gasped for air.

“Haa… Hah, hah…”

However, Charlotte, having expended so much energy carrying the two of them, was still pale, panting heavily; her body on the verge of collapse.

- Creeeak…

She bit her lip hard, forcing herself to keep moving as she tried to guide them both out of the room, still thick with grey smoke.

- Holmes…

And then, suddenly.

- Miss Holmes…

“… Huh?”

From behind her, a voice rang out. It was far too familiar— a voice she hadn’t heard in two years, yet one she could never forget.

“Ad… ler?”

Charlotte stood frozen at the doorway, her wide eyes fixed in disbelief. Slowly, she turned her head to look behind her, at the figure that had silently appeared in the smoke.

- You’re going to leave me behind…?

“A-Ah…”

- Again…?

Adler stood quietly amidst the swirling smoke, his expression heartbreakingly sorrowful as he whispered to Charlotte.

- For these past two years, I’ve always wanted to see you…

“Th-That… that’s… the same for me too…”

- Then why are you trying to leave me…

“No, no!”

Charlotte, trembling uncontrollably and on the verge of tears as her trauma surged back, raised her voice against Adler’s soft, haunting words.

- Thud…

“I-I’m not leaving… I’ll never leave…”

In her panic, she hastily flung Watson and the inspector off her shoulders and out of the room, her mind spiralling out of control as she slammed the door shut behind her.

“See? See? You see? I’ll always, always stay by your side…”

Turning her head back with a strained, awkward smile, Charlotte’s words trailed off,

“… Adler?”

Her eyes widened in shock as Adler, who had just been standing there with those pitiful eyes, was nowhere to be seen.

“W-Where did you go… Hrk!?”

Charlotte’s gaze darted nervously around the room, searching for Adler, but she suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth and sank to the floor.

“A-ah… Hmnph…”

The grey smoke surged inside the room once more, creeping towards her, suffocating her with its oppressive, smothering presence.

“Where… where are you, Adler…”

Even so, biting her lip hard, Charlotte forced herself to crawl forward, towards the spot where Adler had been standing just moments before.

“I saw you… I know I did… I know I did…”

- Goooooooooooooo…

“You… you were here… you were…”

The terror that clawed at her from all sides brought tears to her eyes, but she refused to stop. She pressed on, crawling with all her might.

“Just once… just once, exactly as you did two years ago…”

- Creak…

“Please… hold me…”

Her trembling fingers gripped the creaking wooden floorboards beneath her, her voice barely a whisper as she pleaded softly.

- Drip, drip…

Suddenly, red droplets began to fall in front of her, staining the floorboards.

“A… ah…?”

Charlotte stared blankly at the crimson drops, her breath hitching. Summoning all her strength, she lifted her head, her pupils dilating in sheer horror.

- But, Holmes…

“……..”

- I’m already dead, you know…

Adler had reappeared before her, but his body was grotesquely twisted, his joints bent at unnatural angles. Blood poured from his entire body, and he wore a chilling, unnatural smile as he stared down at Charlotte.

- There’s no way I could hold you like this…

“A-Agh…”

Charlotte, trembling uncontrollably as she stared at the horrifying sight before her, reached out a hand. Yet her hand passed straight through Adler’s figure as if he weren’t there.

- Are you stupid?

- So stupid, such a fool…

As Charlotte sat there, frozen in disbelief, voices crept in from both sides of her. Figures leaned close to her ears, whispering mockingly.

- Kyaheehee, kyaaa…

- Kyaa…

“………”

Charlotte’s lifeless gaze flickered as the realisation dawned on her— the figures surrounding her were none other than Adler’s children. The same children she had seen in the Professor’s office.

Her pupils began to dull, the light within them fading away entirely.

“”……….””

And then, silence. A cold, dreadful silence.

“… So, what should I do?”

Breaking that silence, Charlotte finally spoke, tears streaming down her face as she cracked a half-insane smile. Her question was directed at the Adler before her.

“What must I do to hold you in my arms again…?”

- Oh dear, poor… Holmes.

Adler’s voice, strangely adopting the Professor’s tone and demeanour, whispered into her ear.

- You already know, don’t you?

“……..”

- The way to be with me again.

Hearing those words, Charlotte’s eyes lost all colour, turning into empty pools of soulless void.

“… Yes. That’s right.”

- Ssshhh…

“I’ve known all along, haven’t I…”

A moment later, her trembling hands reached into her coat, pulling out a small knife.

“I’m sorry… for loving you so… yet never having the courage until now…”

“……..”

“But… n-now, at long last, I’ll come to you…”

The sharp blade, enveloped by her dark mana, found its way to her throat. It hovered over a vital spot— one shallow cut and her life would slip away forever.

“… Please forgive me.”

In that precarious state, Charlotte’s tear-streaked face turned toward Adler, who appeared to be weeping crimson tears of his own. Her voice was barely audible as she spoke.

- Tremble, tremble…

But as she held the knife against her throat, Charlotte’s hand began to shake violently, overwhelmed by the countless, eerie eyes and gazes that had suddenly filled the room.

- What’s wrong?

Adler bent forward, his lips curling into a sinister smile as he queried her.

- Don’t you want to be in my arms?

“No…”

Charlotte’s response came in a whisper, her voice weak but resolute. She squeezed her eyes shut, gripping the knife tighter.

“… I’ll be in your arms now.”

- Shlkk…

The sound of the blade piercing flesh echoed through the room, slicing through the oppressive air.

And then, silence. An agonising, lingering silence.

.

.

.

.

.

An eternity, or perhaps only a heartbeat, had passed since that moment. No one knew.

“……?”

Charlotte, who had been squeezing her eyes shut, continuously driving the blade deeper into her neck, suddenly felt something was amiss. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

“What?”

What greeted her was a scene completely transformed— her surroundings unrecognisable from just moments ago.

“Kulluk, kullu… ugh…!”

“My goodness, what on earth is this…”

“… Open the windows. And the door too, keep them wide open.”

The peculiar sight of Princess Clay donning a strange mask, alongside Silver Blaze, ventilating the room under Moran’s cold and curt orders, filled her vision.

“How… how are you all here…?”

- Shhhk…

“… Hick?”

Charlotte, staring at the scene as if she were seeing ghosts, suddenly flinched when someone draped a coat over her shoulders from behind.

“Miss Holmes.”

And then, a warm voice resonated from behind her.

“…….!”

Though the voice was the same as the one she had heard earlier, this time it was clearer, softer— filled with a warmth that pierced through her frozen, soulless self.

“You asked what you needed to do to find your way back into my arms, didn’t you?”

“…. A-Ah.”

Slowly, she turned her head, her expression filled with disbelief, as if she couldn’t dare hope for what she might see.

“That’s quite an intriguing riddle, isn’t it?”

“Aaaah…”

Her trembling eyes locked onto the face before her— the face that had once stolen her heart and innocence with its gentle and kind smile. And now, there it was again, as if no time had passed.

“Shall I solve it for you?”

“Isaac…?”

The mana that had once surrounded him was gone, but there was no mistaking him. Standing right before her, unmistakably, was the person she had yearned for all these years.

“The answer is… you don’t have to do anything.”

His right hand, bloodied and gravely injured from stopping her knife with all his strength, trembled slightly as he spoke.

“… Because, I’ve already come back to you.”

Charlotte, whose mind had gone utterly blank for what felt like the first time in her life, stood frozen, her expression dazed. Isaac Adler, without hesitation, extended his arms and pulled her into a tender embrace.

“There’s no need to do anything at all…”

Hearing those words, Charlotte’s eyes welled up with hot tears.

“A-Aaaaah… Isaac…”

“……..”

“Isaac, Isaac, Isaac, Isaac, Isaac…”

Her tears, which had been cold and lifeless for the past two years, now glimmered with golden hues once more.

“I… missed you.”

“… Me too.”

With tears streaming down her face, Charlotte pressed her forehead against his, her voice trembling with emotion. And then, as his gentle whisper reached her ears, she closed her eyes tightly and pressed her lips to his.

How pure and lovely.

“”……….””

Through the now-opened window, unusually bright sunlight poured into the room, illuminating the two of them as if the world itself had finally begun to heal.

***

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