Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

Chapter 146: A Case of Identity (9)

As Lupin, holding hands with Watson and Adler, declared with a broad smile, the two quietly stepped back.

"Now, both of you are legally and magically married."

".........."

Along those words, an unnatural silence descended on the church.

"Right?"

Amid the eerie silence, Lupin's eyes, which had been waiting for this very moment throughout the wedding fiasco, subtly began sparkling with an intense light.

"I almost died trying to hold it in."

".......?"

"Then, I suppose it’s time for me to take care of my own business now…”

Just as she was about to reach out to Adler, drooling inwardly at finally receiving her promised reward, a chilling voice echoed out from the nearby pillar.

"In the modern British society, a wedding is merely a formality; the act itself doesn’t serve as a proof for the marriage.”

"What are you talking about?"

"The marriage ceremony is merely a magical act that quite literally binds the groom to his wife, making her his possession. A legal relationship is only established when a marriage certificate is submitted to the town hall."

Hearing the professor’s explanation, Lupin, disguised as a nun, couldn’t help but mutter with disbelief in her voice.

"... What on earth is wrong with Britain?"

"Anyway, what I mean to say is, the act you need to perform to establish the marriage legally has not yet been fully completed."

Ignoring her mutterings, Professor Moriarty continued to explain with a grim look.

"But we've even completed the wedding ceremony..."

"A common-law relationship might be recognised, yes. Perhaps you can even declare that you are the boy’s possession."

"Why are you clenching your teeth while saying that though?"

With an uneasy look, Watson confronted the professor. In response, the professor began glaring at her with a murderous look in her eyes.

"Even going as far as giving me that look… It’s useless though, I'm not scared of someone who lost to Neville..."

"I was merely stating facts."

"Ah, I see."

Watson couldn’t help but recoil at the professor’s fierce demeanour, however, she soon sighed and took out the folded marriage certificate from her pocket.

"So, I just need to submit this to the town hall, right?"

"........"

"Then there's no problem, no? The wedding is over, in both form and substance, so a marital relationship is established anyway, right?"

At her statement, Professor Moriarty maintained her silence for a while.

"... Tch."

".......?"

As her lips twisted into a vague, bitter smile, Watson’s face washed over with confusion at her unexpected reaction.

"Why that look, all of a sudden..."

"You won’t get it."

"Well, never mind then. Come on, darling."

"... Eh?"

Caught off guard by her muttering, Adler agreed with her on reflex but soon tilted his head in surprise.

"We need to go and register our marriage."

"... What?"

"I know it’s only just a matter of submitting the marriage registration form, but it would be more meaningful if we go together, right?"

As Adler was about to nod unconsciously in agreement, a translucent system window popped up in front of his face at that very instant.

『London's Casanova』

– Description: Have Rachel Watson uncover the sham marriage

– Progress: 50% → 74%

"Uh, Rachel..."

"Yes?"

Seeing the change progress of the quest displayed in the system window, Adler instinctively felt a threat to his life.

"Um, I suddenly feel like I have a stomach ache...?"

"You have a stomach ache?"

"Ah, maybe something I ate this morning didn’t sit well with me...?"

As he began to mutter with a pale face, a look of pure concern manifested on Watson's face.

"Come to think of it, you did seem to be in bad shape since this morning."

"Yes, yes. I'm really not feeling well today."

With cold sweat leaking out in droves, Adler took advantage of the opportunity and started dishing out his best act.

"Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"

"... Maybe I should. So, let's postpone submitting the marriage registration form for now."

"No, we can't do that."

However, Watson silently shook her head in response and objected with a firm tone.

"Whenever we've postponed something related to you, it has never ended well."

"........"

"So, we shouldn't postpone this time. With everything I’ve experienced, I'm not foolish enough to keep being deceived."

At her reasonably valid argument, Adler couldn’t help but gaze up at her with a troubled look in his eyes.

"What should we do then..."

"You go to the hospital first."

"... What?"

"I'll submit the marriage registration form at the town hall."

Stunned by her words, Adler cautiously inquired, just to be sure.

"Are you sure it's going to be okay without me there...?"

"Yes, I should be grateful that I’m even having a wedding ceremony with someone who keeps disappearing. What more could I want?"

"... Ah, ah-ha-haha."

Seeing her fiancé leak out an awkward laugh at her jest, a sweet smile bloomed on Watson’s face.

"But, you can't disappear anymore, okay?"

"Haha..."

"We even got married with consent so, if you don’t want to end up with a bullet in your leg, you better start restraining yourself, is that clear?"

At her deadly joke, Adler remembered the new probability shown by the system and subtly shut his mouth, not daring to retort or even leak out a single sound.

"Then, I'll be back, ok?"

Leaving him behind, Rachel Watson turned on her heels and started walking out of the church.

"Holmes, keep an eye on my husband so he doesn’t escape for me."

Watson emphasized the words my husband as she made a request to her best friend, who had been standing still and observing everything all the while, and then added while opening the door of the church.

"I really wish there wouldn't be any need for a demonstration of the newly purchased tranquillizer bullets this time."

As she left, a deep silence ensued in the quiet church.

"""........."""

In that silence, the gazes of Charlotte Holmes, Professor Jane Moriarty, and Lupin began to intersect.

- Bang...!

Amid the palpable tension hanging in the air of the quiet church, the loud echo of an explosion resounded out of the blue.

"Ah, hello."

As their gazes unanimously turned towards the source of the noise, Adler, unable to sustain the depletion of mana any longer, reverted to his original form and spoke, his voice hesitant and trembling.

"What I just did right now, um, it’s like an event of sort you se…”

- Tsssshhh...

At that moment, the professor's restraints began to loosen by themselves.

"... Ah."

- Swoosh...

Adler looked at the scene with a vacant gaze while Lupin positioned herself in front of Adler. With a wave of her hands, she returned to his original form, donned with her characteristic cape and stylish monocle.

- Tsss...

Last but not least, Charlotte Holmes began emitting ominous black smoke from her body, showing a level of skill that said that she had gotten quite adept, almost natural, at utilising her powers.

"... Adler."

"Y, Yes?"

"I shall conduct a detailed inquiry about today's events once we get you out of here."

Professor Moriarty, looking down at the girls with a look of amusement and disdain in her eyes, announced in her characteristic flat tone to Adler. His black tail swayed nervously as he heard her words while seated on the ground.

"Who decided that, I wonder?"

"... There's nothing more pathetic than a dog clinging to its owner after being abandoned."

"At least I'm not treated worse than a dog, unlike someone I know."

Thus, the scene unfolded, now a familiar and nigh daily occurrence.

"I'd rather not hear that from someone that even insignificant dogs can outperform."

"What’s this disgusting smell, oh, yeah… that’s the nasty stench of an old hag."

"Don't try such childish and lowly provocations when you don't even know my real age."

However, there was a slight difference this time; there was one more person involved in the scene.

"A jewel, a treasure… deeply coveted by so many..."

"".........""

"It's the best, isn't it..."

As Lupin began to twist her body with a perverted look in her eyes, two sets of gazes immediately locked in on her.

"Detective Ganimard has recently entered Britain just to arrest you, don’t you know? I hear that the detective is conducting a joint investigation with Inspector Lestrade."

"Ah, of course I know."

Upon hearing Holmes's sharp response, Lupin burst into mirthful laughter.

"But adding zero to zero doesn't make it one now, does it?"

"Such arrogance. If two women set their minds to it, they could sweep away an entire city like nothing."

"You know as well as I do that people who overflow with power often have muscles for brains."

"... That is… true, I can’t deny that."

"Mm-hm, that's why it's quite easy to handle them without someone being in control…”

Suddenly, Lupin stopped talking and started trembling as though she had the chills.

"I suddenly have a bad feeling about this.”

"... You're surprisingly clueless for a thief, aren’t you?"

Charlotte looked at her with an uncharacteristically wicked smile as she spoke in a relaxed voice.

"Well, now that you've noticed... I suppose I should give you a chance."

"Ugh..."

"Leave this place right now. Then you won’t have to face the person you dislike so much..."

"Excuse me."

It was then that Adler's faint voice quietly made itself heard within the church.

"... Is that detective, perchance, a woman too?"

The next moment, a deadly silence settled on the church.

"Suddenly, I'm quite intrigued."

"Adler, you might as well keep hitting me..."

"Please stop increasing the number of potential murderers in London."

Lupin watched in absolute bewilderment as the two women, who had just been exuding powerful killing intent, were subdued by a single sentence and couldn’t help but mutter to herself.

"Hehe, how about no?"

... Can I even take this guy to France in one piece?

.

.

.

.

.

An hour later, at the Town Hall in London.

"... Pardon?"

"So, the mana signature on this report has already been registered."

At those words, Watson, who had submitted the marriage certificate with a fluttering heart, couldn’t help but wear a stunned expression at the clerk’s reply.

"That means, someone else has already registered a marriage with this person."

"That can't be... There must be some mistake..."

"To prevent fraudulent marriages, the mana information of the signatories is recorded on the marriage certificate, so it's definitive."

Hearing her response, Watson's expression grew even more bewildered.

"Shall I direct you to a nearby lawyer’s office?"

She was only able to snap back to reality when the clerk's voice, spoke in a strictly matter-of-fact tone, pierced her ears.

"... I know a better solution, so it's fine."

"Is that so, then..."

- Click...

"Ma’am?