Chapter 107: Last Resort

“Both of you, please, you shouldn’t fight in the hospital.”

“………”

“It’s common sense.”

Adler – cold sweat running down his forehead – intervened between Celestia Moran and Lestrade— their heads practically glued to each other as they faced off, and separated the two.

“You heard him, hot-tempered elder sister.”

“Haah…”

Of course, these girls, who would be contending for the position of London’s greatest armed combatant, wouldn’t have been swayed by Adler’s physical strength. However, surprising as it may seem, as soon as Adler stepped in between them to mitigate the situation… they drifted away from each other without him having to exert any force at all.

“Fighting is not allowed.”

“……..”

The icy stares of the two girls crossed for a brief instant.

“Inspector. Please, hold back, Inspector. I will follow you…”

As the atmosphere once again started growing tense with each passing secon, Adler hurriedly moved to walk alongside Lestrade as she demanded.

“… Dad.”

“……..!”

However, Adler froze in place once he heard Moran’s voice came from behind. It sounded eerily similar to Professor Moriarty’s voice which only made his freeze further.

“There’s somewhere you need to go first.”

However, Celestia Moran, looking up at him with pure eyes, merely extended her hand out toward her like usual.

“Dad…?”

“Inspector. I don’t know what you may be thinking but…”

Adler, now donning a grave expression as he looked at Lestrade – looking at him with an expression of utter disbelief and shock on her face – and hastily began explaining himself.

“It’s just a title. As you know, she’s a child I’m raising so…”

“Are you going to leave me again?”

“… Oh, dear…”

Moran, who had toddled over to his side, took his hand and gazed up at his eyes as she spoke those words. Looking at her eyes, Adler ultimately gave up making excuses and wore a liberated expression on his face, as though he had finally come to terms with something.

“……….”

And an awkward silence thus descended among them.

“To start, as Miss Moran has already spoken, I have a place I need to go urgently.”

“………”

“I’ll stop by there first and then accompany you. Is that okay with you, Inspector?”

Adler, heaving deep tired sighs, eventually broke the silence himself and quietly started moving forward.

“Savage elder sister.”

Moran’s voice, as petite as her stature, came from beside Lestrade as she was about to follow behind Adler.

“Be careful on your way at night, okay?”

Turning her head, Lestrade saw the visage of baring her teeth at her, her eyes brimming with murderous intent. Seeing her act this way, utterly incomparable to how she had been in front of Adler, Lestrade couldn’t help but let out a faint chuckle.

“And you know. If you try to mess with Dad, then I’ll kill you without even giving you any warning.”

“… Hmm.”

Of course, it was an act that Gia Lestrade herself would have done as well if she were to be in little Moran’s position.

“You talk so adorably, runt.”

– Adeuk…

“You’re a bit too short. Unfortunately, I wasn’t even able to hear half of what you said.”

As a result of moving ahead of the two enraged women and leaving them in each other’s direct contact, Isaac Adler was now forced to throw himself into the fray and break up the commotion once again. It had only been a few seconds but the silent hallway of the hospital had once again been on the verge of a heated commotion.

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“Is this business of yours… to meet with a patient admitted to this hospital?”

“… I have someone that I need to meet personally.”

Caught between the two unruly women, Isaac Adler moved with uneasy steps until he finally stopped in front of a hospital room. Seeing such a scene, Gia Lestrade quietly tilted her head to pose the question.

“Could you please wait outside, Inspector?”

After Adler made the request, Lestrade unexpectedly nodded her head in agreement without saying a single word.

“Thank you, Inspector.”

“What about me, Dad?”

“… You may come in with me, Miss Moran”

As Adler was about to enter the room quietly, he couldn’t help but flinch ever so slightly at Moran’s question. Soon, however, he just took her hand and stepped inside the room with the little girl.

– Creeeak…

Thankfully, they were able to enter the room without any other incident or commotion. It was good that he had separated the two violent women.

“It’s you.”

As they moved forward, a visitor sitting in a chair by the hospital bed bowed his head and spoke in a low voice.

“Ah…”

“Shh~”

Saying those words, Adler gently placed a finger on Moran’s lips as her eyes widened in realization. Then, he shifted his gaze and eyed Neria Garrideb, who was lying peacefully on the bed.

“Isn’t that right, Miss Garrideb?”

“………”

“… I knew from the start that you were awake.”

As all color drained from her face at those words, Adler began to whisper in her ear with a voice tinged with mirth.

“And by the way, you’re quite lucky. Thanks to you consistently consuming my flesh over the past few days, the essence of life in your body, which had practically emptied, has been fully recharged with my blood.”

“……..!”

“… Originally, I was planning to kill you where no one would know, to avoid any aftermath, you see…”

Adler then glanced at Moran, who was blinking her eyes innocently beside him, and murmured.

“But, as you can see, my daughter pities you.”

“… Uh.”

“So, disappear from London. If not, I will have no choice but to kill you.”

After delivering those words, Adler gently pinched Moran’s soft cheek and pulled something out of his pocket.

“It’s not the inheritance, but consider it a small gift.”

Adler then placed a check with an amount sufficient for a woman to live alone for decades in front of her and rose from his seat.

“From now on, Neria Garrideb is dead. Live the rest of your life with freedom.”

“…… Uuuh.”

“Goodbye.”

Unable to hold herself back any longer, Neria Garrideb silently burst into tears as Adler quietly left the hospital room with Moran.

“Ahhhhhhh…..”

Thus, the official conclusion of the Three Garridebs case later published by Watson was reached.

Of course, the records did not include information regarding the sudden decrease in organized attempts to kidnap Isaac Adler after the incident. Nor did they include the rumors of the silhouette of an unidentified girl seen at the window of the house where Adler would usually stay during stormy nights.

Those in the know, except for Isaac Adler of course, called that shadow Adler’s Sentinel.

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– Probability of being Kidnapped — 40% → 15%

Warning!

– Probability of being Stalked — 100%

“… Huh.”

Isaac Adler, confronted with probabilities that could only be said to be contradictory to each other, wore a puzzled expression as he closed the door of the hospital room.

“………?”

He quietly tilted his head as he saw Gia Lestrade, covered in dust, walking towards him from the window rather than the door.

“… By any chance, did you climb the wall outside to eavesdrop on the conversation?”

“………”

“How much did you hear, Inspector?”

After posing the question with a look of anticipation on his face, Adler caught sight of Lestrade’s eyes filled with disappointment and disgust and couldn’t help but let out a bitter smirk.

“Well, I get the general picture.”

“Isaac Adler.”

“What did you expect, then? Your boyfriend is just that kind of man, Inspector.”

Watching her approach with an aura that was as frigid as the color of her hair and eyes, Adler looked on with a resigned expression on his face. Reaching him, Lestrade pulled something out of her shirt’s pocket and handed it over to him.

“What’s this?”

“… Sign it.”

“A consent form for the investigation, I presume?”

Muttering so, Adler reached into his pocket for a pen.

“Even so, you won’t be able to arrest me for this case. There are no material evidence or victims left, rig…?”

However, his words trailed off as he suddenly widened his eyes in shock and bewilderment.

“… I’ve realized that with my insignificant abilities alone, I cannot protect London from you.”

As he watched her silently, Lestrade pointed to the bottom corner of the paper she had handed to him with a calm voice.

“So, I have no choice but to bet it all on my last resort.”

As she murmured in a frigid tone, urging him to sign the papers, Adler’s thoughts came to a complete halt.

“But this is…”

“Let’s get married, Isaac Adler.”

“… What!?”

What Gia Lestrade had handed to him was not a consent form for the investigation as he had presumed… but a marriage registration form that had been already signed by her.