Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability
Chapter 266: Side Story: The Adventures of Isaac Adler (4)

“… Well, anyway, Gia really is kind-hearted. Don’t you think so?”

“……”

“Moran?”

“Ah, yes.”

Celestia Moran, who had been silently seated and staring at Adler for a while, responded a beat late to the soft-spoken voice that broke the silence, nodding her head slightly.

“Yes, Miss Gia is indeed kind.”

“Right, right. Honestly, I didn’t think she’d actually step aside so willingly. What a relief.”

Adler, seated in the first-class cabin of the smuggling ship he’d bribed his way onto, was flanked by Princess Clay and Silver Blaze. Wearing a pleased smile, he idly rolled his glass of liquor in his hand, nodding in agreement with Moran’s words.

“In any case, the threats are gone now, so there was no reason for all of you to come along this far.”

He spoke while deliberately ignoring the piercing gazes of the three women who had been staring daggers at him since earlier.

“Especially you, Moran. You’re still young— what if you get hurt and end up with a scar on that pretty face of yours?”

At his absurd remark, Moran’s lips curled up slightly, while the eyes of Princess Clay – who had been massaging his shoulders – momentarily sharpened like a blade.

“I got a scar on my face because of you…”

“Ah, but scars suit you, my fair lady. You’re the vampiric sovereign who commands blood itself, after all.”

“… H-Hmph.”

At his follow-up comment, she let out a deflated huff, her face reddening as she turned her head to the side.

“… You haven’t been fucked thoroughly yet, have you?”

“Ah, but looking at you like this, Moran, you’ve really grown up.”

Moran muttered coldly under her breath at the Princess’ suggestive remark, but Adler paid no mind, his voice dropping to a mischievous whisper as he continued.

“… At this point, you’re old enough to play with me.”

And with that cheeky joke slipping from his lips, a brief silence settled around them.

“Did you mean that seriously?”

“… Hm?”

“I’m asking if you were serious just now.”

Amid the silence, Moran’s eyes widened in disbelief before she quickly shot out a question.

“No, of course, it’s a joke…?”

“Why?”

“Well, Moran, you’re still just a kid and…”

But when Adler answered her with a detached expression, Moran’s complexion visibly darkened in an instant.

“… Do you even know how old I am?”

“Good question. How old are you, anyway?”

“You little…!”

Just as Moran was on the verge of exploding at Adler’s genuinely curious response, it happened.

- Pat, pat…

“You’re such a good girl, my little Moran…”

Adler began patting her head, his voice dropping into a low, teasing whisper.

“If you just keep doing as you’re told, I’ll take proper care of you.”

“……..”

“I mean, I’d love to start taking care of you right now, but dealing with the professor, Charlotte, and Gia is already more than enough to handle.”

Moran, who had been glaring daggers at him, suddenly tilted her head slightly as she listened to his words.

“Especially Gia. Honestly, no matter how sweet she is otherwise, the moment she gets on the bed…”

“Yesterday?”

“Yeah, yesterday, she even choked me while she was at it. I swear, every single time, she’s ridiculously rough…”

“But yesterday was your only day off, wasn’t it?”

At Moran’s genuinely puzzled expression and question, Adler scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“… Since when have I had days off?”

“Every Sunday, sir.”

“Then what’s this? Look at these— handprints and bite marks, clear as day…”

As he partially unbuttoned his shirt to reveal the unmistakable evidence left on him from the previous day, it happened.

- Sniff, sniff.

Silver Blaze, who had been quietly nuzzling her head into a corner of the room, suddenly leaned in and started sniffing around the nape of Adler’s neck.

“This smells like the little Lestrade though.”

“… What did you just say?”

At her words, for the first time in his life, Adler’s drunk poker face visibly cracked.

“You know, Gia’s younger sister.”

“… Gina Lestrade?”

“Yeah, it’s her scent.”

And once again, silence fell over the cabin.

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And as time passed, with the sun setting and the day growing darker…

“… Master. We’re almost there.”

“……”

“Master?”

As the indistinct silhouette of a harbour began to emerge in the distance, Moran, who had been standing quietly by the window, turned and began shaking Adler, who had been sprawled lazily on the bed for some time.

“Utterly humiliating…”

“It’s not like getting raped is anything new for you. Now get up.”

At her blunt and cutting remark, Adler shifted his gaze toward Moran, muttering in mock hurt.

“Your tone’s been a bit harsh, hasn’t it?”

“You won’t even remember it once you sober up, anyway.”

“… Do you really think that?”

At his teasing response, Moran finally lost her patience and began to show her true colours, causing Adler to slowly sit up, narrowing his eyes.

“You know, I might just be pretending to be drunk right now… Hah!”

“Enough of that. Let’s just get moving. Once we dock, there’ll be inspections, and we need to slip out before that happens.”

“Ouch.”

“Ha, there’s no point in trying to put up a front now. You won’t remember any of this once you’re sober, and you know it…”

However, when Moran, without hesitation, reached out and yanked the tail that had somehow slipped into view, Adler, feigning a pained expression, let out a small wince.

“Why the rush to disembark, Moran?”

“… Ah?!”

“There’s still time.”

Suddenly, Adler grabbed her arm and pulled. Whether it was due to her momentary lapse in focus or Adler’s surprisingly strong grip, Moran’s body fell forward, landing directly on the bed he’d been lying on.

“Still upset about the joke I made earlier, are you?”

“… Urgh.”

“You know, Moran, when I look at you like this, I can’t help but think you’re quite innocent.”

Adler gently began stroking Moran’s hair, she became momentarily stunned and wide-eyed.

“Didn’t think you’d miss the signals even when I blatantly sent them.”

“…….”

“A kid is still a kid, huh?”

As he leaned over her, whispering into her ear, Moran’s entire face, along with her neck, flushed a deep crimson. In a panic, she turned her head sharply to the side.

“Still, you’ve grown up quite a bit.”

“Hmph.”

The weight of Adler pressing down on her felt oddly pleasant, his scent filling her nostrils, intoxicating her senses. Her heart pounded violently within her chest, as though it might burst.

“… I… waited for so long.”

In a situation she had only ever dreamt of, despite having the strength to push him off, Moran found herself lying helplessly beneath him, whispering in a crawling voice.

“Do you have any idea… how many years I waited for you to finally touch me?”

She whispered to Adler, her voice trembling as she gazed at him with a look of deep yearning and desperation.

“If… if you had waited just one day later, I might have… I might have been the one to pounce first… Hic.”

But before she could finish, something pressed against her lips, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut.

Ah…

Her first kiss had the faint, bitter taste of tobacco.

“……?”

No, to be more precise, what she thought was her first kiss tasted like tobacco.

… But Adler doesn’t smoke?

Feeling that something was amiss, she opened her eyes. What she saw in her line of sight wasn’t Adler leaning in to kiss her tenderly.

“Good girl. You’re doing well.”

“……???”

Adler was smirking, holding a cigarette pipe between his lips, the faint curl of smoke trailing up from it.

“What is this…?”

“It’s a modified version of the Devil’s Foot, invented by the professor. No toxins or side effects, just optimised for calming nerves and inducing sleep.”

“Hrk…!?”

Moran, who had been listening to him in a daze, suddenly found her vision blurring.

“Its effects are strong enough to put an elephant to sleep, so you’re no exception, Moran.”

“Wait…”

“Sleep tight, my sweet little Moran.”

As she struggled against the strange sensation overwhelming her body, Moran’s gaze shifted, and she caught sight of Princess Clay and Silver Blaze already slumped lifelessly over a desk in the corner of the room.

“This… this can’t… be… no… please…”

Finally realising what had transpired, Moran flailed desperately to rise, but it was already too late.

Her body had grown so numb that even Adler’s sober grip was enough to completely overpower her.

“You… you can’t just play with someone’s feelings like this…”

“Ah, Moran, that’s just because you’re still so young. Do you know how big the age gap between us is?”

As she clung to her remaining shreds of willpower to keep her eyes open, her voice heavy with emotion, Adler gave a faint, exasperated sigh and muttered softly.

“Hah… What’s so great about an old man like me…”

“I… I don’t… care!!!”

“… Hmm.”

However, when Moran, hearing his words, seemed to rally her strength and thrash about even more wildly, Adler finally shook his head with a resigned sigh, leaning in slightly closer.

“… But Moran, your chest is smaller than Charlotte’s, isn’t it?”

The words Adler whispered mercilessly pierced through her like a dagger.

“I’m not into kids, you know.”

“You son of a b…”

And that final blow seemed to be too much for the little Moran to bear. Eyes wide, she tried to curse him, but her strength gave out, and her eyes fluttered shut as she finally succumbed.

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A few hours later. Somewhere in a dark alley, now fully blanketed by night,

“Your Majesty, the wedding is just a few days away. Such escapades are…”

“… Shh.”

The Queen of Bohemia, seated in a carriage and nervously biting her nails, flanked by an unusually well-armed entourage, suddenly opened her half-lidded eyes and stood up.

“Your Majesty… sniffle.”

“Ah, ah…”

Illuminated faintly by the pale moonlight, a figure appeared at the far end of the alley. It was none other than a boy draped in a shabby robe.

“Who is that? Who goes there?”

“W-We should drive him away imme— Your Majesty?!”

“N-No, you mustn’t!”

The Queen leapt out of the carriage before the guards could stop her, her eyes wide as she rushed to grab the boy’s hand.

“For heaven’s sake, Adler. What on earth has happened to you…”

“Sniffle, so many terrible things have happened to me.”

The boy’s body was covered in crude, fresh wounds and dirt, as though he had just escaped some harrowing ordeal. However, in the Queen’s mind, a vivid narrative of a daring escape from captivity had already begun to unfold.

“I don’t have anywhere to go right now. Could you hide me for a while…?”

“Ah. Of course…”

The boy’s pitiful expression and quiet plea almost had her nodding immediately. However, the Queen soon faltered, her words trailing off.

“Of course……”

The wedding, just days away, was an event of monumental importance— one that could determine the fate of an entire nation.

Naturally, any potential disruptions to the union had to be eliminated, emotions be damned.

No matter how dire the situation of a former lover, as a Queen – and now the Empress of an Empire – she could not afford to let personal feelings dictate her actions.

“… You’ll hide me, won’t you, Lilia?”

“Yes!”

And yet, she could. She was a hopeless romantic after all.

***

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