Chapter 108: Proposal |
“Please sign here.”
“But, Inspector…”
“Just write your name and it’s done.”
“I know that much…..”
Staring at the marriage registration form that had been pushed in front of him, Adler started sweating profusely. Soon, he looked at Gia Lestrade with a forced smile on his face.
“This is a marriage registration form…”
“So?”
“If I sign here, you and I will officially be married.”
Lestrade merely tilted her head as if to say, “Isn’t that obvious?”
“Um, you do know what marriage is, right?”
“Of course, I know. That’s why I proposed, didn’t I?”
A determined look could be seen on her face as she spoke those words.
“As I said before, to be honest, I don’t have any confidence that I can beat you.”
“Why do you think that?”
“There’s no one in the London Metropolitan Police Department more competent and talented than Charlotte Holmes. But even she seems to be a mere plaything to you, isn’t that so?”
“I think you’ve been exposed to some exaggerated information…”
“It doesn’t seem like the person who used Charlotte Holmes as a mere tool in this incident has the right to speak those words.”
At those words, Adler was unable to retort for a moment. Seeing Adler in such a state, Lestrade looked at him with an I knew it expression plastered on her face.
“I had my doubts, but Charlotte Holmes’ speculation was correct after all. You are indeed a very frightening person.”
“Silence doesn’t imply consent. You, of all people, should know about that clearly, Inspector.”
“You’re right. As a police officer, I can easily distinguish what someone’s silence can imply, Isaac Adler.”
“… Hmm.”
“Frankly, I was expecting that you would be dying soon, but Dr. Rachel Watson mentioned that you have the means to restore your lifespan. To be able to obtain even the extinct Dragon’s Tears, you truly are remarkable.”
“………”
Not backing down, she continued the conversation, pressing Adler further. However, upon hearing her mention the conversation he had with Dr. Watson regarding his lifespan, Adler’s gaze lowered unconsciously… which elicited Lestrade to don a puzzled look on her face.
“… Isn’t it? I’m sure that’s what the doctor said in the room.”
“… Yes.”
“Hmm.”
But when Adler nodded nonchalantly in response to her probing, her demeanor returned to its original frigid state.
“Anyway, I’ve been thinking long and hard about this matter… and there seems to be only one way to legally bind someone like you before it’s too late.”
“… And that would be marriage?”
“Precisely. It’s the only way I can legally bind you— someone who manipulates the British legal system as you wish.”
With a pale look plastered on his face, Adler started to speak in an urgent tone upon seeing the resolve on Lestrade’s face.
“But, if you marry me, your last name will change and you’ll become Gia Adler. You can no longer be called Lestrade; from now on, you will be called by my surname.”
“I wasn’t exactly the top of my class, but I’m aware still of that much common sense.”
“Uh… And that’s not all. After changing your name, you’ll have to live with me in the same house.”
“I would imagine so.”
“And you’ll have to put on an apron and cook for me every morning. But can someone like you really accept that?”
“Why don’t I just work and earn money, and you wear the apron and do the cooking?”
“Uh, that’s…..”
However, at Lestrade’s sharp response, Adler was left momentarily speechless; even his face went blank and donned an expression of utter perplexion at her reply.
“Well, if you don’t want to, I’ll just take on the cooking as well.”
“………”
“If you wish, I’ll do the laundry and the dishes too.”
Finally, Gia Lestrade, who had made an offer to him that nearly every man in London desired, pointed to the corner of the registration paper once more.
“So, sign it.”
“… You’ll have to share a bed with me, though.”
Gently, Adler lowered the pen and tried his best to dissuade her once last time.
“Sharing a bed is a marital duty. If that’s troubling for you, I can’t help but…”
“I will.”
“… Pardon?”
However, Lestrade only replied in a calm voice after gazing at him for a few moments. Hearing her reply, Adler who was about to quickly end the conversation with a regretful look in his eyes couldn’t help but doubt his own ears.
“I will share a bed with you.”
“………”
“It would be ridiculous not to fulfill the marital duty when I was the one who proposed first.”
Lestrade’s expression was unwavering as she spoke those words, only leaking a faint sigh at the end.
“Inspector, do you understand the meaning of what you have just said?”
“What meaning are you talking about? It’s just simply sharing the same bed, right?”
“I’ll be direct.”
After hesitating for a while, Adler finally opened his mouth with a look of determination in his eyes.
“Can you have a child with me, Inspector?”
With those words, silence befell between the two.
“If your proposal just now was not merely a jest, eventually you will have to carry our child in your womb.”
“………”
“Inspector. Can you truly intertwine with me and bear our child? A child who may have my blonde hair and your silver eyes? Can you really do it?”
For the first time today, Gia Lestrade’s calm face began to gradually contort horribly.
“You will have to breastfeed that child and love it with all your heart. Without a mother’s love, a child cannot grow up properly.”
“…….”
“For your information, I like twins. It would be nice if the daughter had silver hair and golden eyes.”
Having spoken those words, Adler quietly leaned in towards Lestrade – the inspector was already looking down while biting her lips hard, her mind in turmoil – and whispered a question.
“For the cause of protecting London from me, can you handle that?”
“………”
“… As expected, that’s impossible for you.”
However, as her body started to tremble visibly, showing a visceral rejection to such a scenario, and no answer came back, Adler started murmuring in a low voice as though he knew something like this was bound to happen.
“Let’s consider today’s offer null and void. Inspector, in the future, such decisions should be made carefully…”
“… I will.”
“Pardon?”
As he quietly turned to leave, walking down the corridor with Moran – who had been standing beside him with a dazed expression on her cute face – he couldn’t help but turn his head swiftly as he heard the determined voice creeping in from behind.
“What did you say…?”
“I will do it.”
And then, Gia Lestrade looked at his eyes and spoke in a far clearer voice that left nothing for one to question.
“I will make a child with you.”
“……….”
“That’s what marriage is, after all.”
At her resolute answer, Adler’s mind once again turned as white as a snowfield.
“I’m not sure how to make a child, but you probably know about it, so let’s move on. I’ll carry the child we make in my belly and give birth.”
“………”
“Of course, I’ll breastfeed and love the child sincerely. Not only that, I’ll take on the duty of the overall childcare. I’m confident in that aspect since I’ve taken care of my siblings as a parental figure from a young age.”
Gia Lestrade quietly drove a wedge into his thoughts with her words.
“Do you really have to go that far…?”
“If that’s what it takes to protect London from you, my greatest and worst enemy, I’m willing to endure even more.”
“But…”
“Are you feeling guilty now, Isaac Adler?”
As Adler stuttered in response to her question, Lestrade tilted her head and muttered in a mocking voice.
“Isn’t it too late for you to feel that?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“You’re such a sorry excuse for a person.”
“Are you really willing to sacrifice your entire life just to stop me?”
Having heard those words, Lestrade stared intently into Adler’s eyes.
“I have no choice.”
Half in clear disgust and moral obligation, but the other half tinged with a feeling even she couldn’t quite understand, she looked at Adler for a long time before finally answering in a low and calm voice.
“… Because I love you.”
With those words, she handed over the marriage registration form to Adler and turned to leave.
“It seems difficult to get an answer right away, so I’ll give you some time.”
“……..”
“Please make up your mind by our regular date next weekend.”
She muttered those words and then calmly started walking away down the corridor, her steps measured.
“Inspector…”
“……….”
“You do realize that we haven’t even kissed once, right?”
However, she soon halted in her tracks, startled by Adler’s exasperated voice from behind.
“For now, shouldn’t we get used to physical contact first…”
“Don’t say things that make me feel sick.”
With those words, she cut off any chance for Adler to speak and quietly disappeared beyond the corridor.
“What does making a child even have to do with kissing…”
And thus, silence ensued in the corridor once more.
“Phew…”
“Dad, I don’t want a mean stepmom.”
In that silence, Celestia Moran, who had been quietly observing the situation all the while, whispered in a small voice to Adler. Hearing her words, he couldn’t help but sigh once more.
“… Just live with me.”
Gently stroking her head, Adler replied to her in a faint voice.
“I wish I could.”
“………”
Caught up with thoughts of Lestrade, he inadvertently missed the brief flash of eerie darkness in Moran’s eyes as he quietly began to move.
“Miss Moran, please wait here for a moment.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just to the restroom.”
He replied, and his gaze briefly drifted towards the office of Rachel Watson in the neighboring building.
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at that moment…
“… Hehe.”
Rachel Watson, having finished her consultation with Professor Moriarty, had returned to her office. For some reason, instead of her usual tired expression, her cheeks were flushed as she hummed an elegant tune and fondled the pocket inside her coat.
“I’ve received the engagement ring…”
– Swoosh…
“… So now, it’s my turn to give the wedding ring.”
In a few minutes, her fiancé, whom she felt as if she hadn’t met for months already, would enter her office. The surprise engagement ring she was about to present to the love of her life sparkled enchantingly in her hand.
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