Stop trying to control me, Miss Moriarty!

Chapter 38 Illusion

According to intelligence provided by Lady Burts and others, the warehouse managed by Archie Brooks was located on Barks Street, adjacent to the High Street, at most a mile from the mansion.

Why does this short distance feel so long?

The journey was so long that Erin sighed wearily.

He now even suspects that, although the rewards from "Apocalypse" haven't been issued yet, he's already starting to enjoy the side effects ahead of time.

Otherwise, why have I never met a normal woman other than Asha H. Watson?

For example, the Queen of Bohemia, without giving any order, inexplicably started licking his shoes and asked, "When shall we produce an heir?"

Duchess Bourges's condition was clearly more serious...

"Madeline, is that enough?" Erin's tone was full of helplessness.

Lady Burtis was lying on the ground, on all fours, like an obedient Pomeranian.

"Woof...woof woof woof—"

Speak like a human.

She looked up, her eyes filled with grievance: "Lord Adler, I'm a puppy now, how can I use human language? And can't we continue a little longer?"

Erin looked at her and took a deep breath: "We've arrived."

"All right."

Duchess Burtis looked around and saw that she could indeed vaguely see the outline of a row of low warehouses not far ahead.

She reluctantly got up from the ground, removed the collar, carefully rolled up the rope, and put it away in a close-fitting place.

Erin looked away.

Once out of the game mode, Duchess Burtis reverted to her usual arrogance and haughtiness. She unleashed her magic recklessly, raising dust, bending the surrounding weeds, and causing the windows of the distant warehouse to tremble.

This is how she greets people.

—To inform the master of this place that his godmother has arrived.

There was no grand welcoming ceremony like at the mansion.

After sensing the magical fluctuations, a few magical lamps in one of the warehouses lit up for a moment, barely illuminating a small area of ​​darkness, while most of the area remained shrouded in night.

Only a solitary footstep approached.

As the door was pushed open, a young, dark-haired Lupo man stepped out.

"Godmother, what brings you here?"

Upon recognizing the person, his voice held no flattery, but rather carried a hint of surprise and astonishment.

Young Rupert's ears twitched slightly, and his tail wagged happily behind him, as if he were genuinely delighted by the arrival of the person before him.

Those eyes were completely pure, and she looked incredibly innocent, giving off an inexplicable sense of trust.

The acting was pretty good.

Erin thought to himself.

"I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd drop by," Duchess Burtis replied casually, glancing around as she asked, "Archie, are you all alone at night?"

Archie nodded, placing his hands in front of him in a natural and obedient manner: "All the goods destined for Jinqueting and other places have been shipped out today, so I let them go home first. Anyway, I'll be here to guard this place."

Erin noticed that his expression seemed hesitant, and his thumbs were constantly tapping together, a subconscious action that people do when they are nervous.

Then, as if he had made up his mind, Archie bent his knees and knelt heavily on the ground.

He raised his head, his pure eyes filled with shame: "Godmother, I need to confess to you."

Duchess Burtis was somewhat surprised. She did not respond immediately, but instead subtly cast an inquiring glance at Erin.

"Just play normally, and don't arouse his suspicion."

Erin issued the command using the "telepathic" magic invented by Moriarty.

Lady Burtis understood.

She stepped forward and patted Archie's head, the gesture still like petting a pet: "Archie, you've always been my favorite child, smart and capable. What happened?"

They even say almost the same things.

Archie lowered his head, his wolf ears drooping completely, like a black rag.

"Godmother, I'm sorry, I couldn't stop Tao. He defied your will and engaged in human trafficking, and I was involved in it."

Duchess Burtis had never expected things to develop this way and was somewhat unsure of what to do next.

Erin's voice rang out again.

"Just ask him directly, and say... never mind, just repeat what I say next, and make sure to add the corresponding facial expressions and body language."

Duchess Burtis frowned, a look of confusion and displeasure on her face: "Oh?"

Her voice turned cold: "This is the complete opposite of what I heard from Taona. He said that you forced him."

Archie suddenly raised his head.

Two glistening tears slid down his cheeks from the corners of his eyes, then fell to the ground and shattered into countless pieces.

"No! Please don't listen to his nonsense. The reason I'm involved..."

His eyes were filled with pain, and his voice trembled: "It's because my niece was also kidnapped by him. She's my only relative in this world. For the safety of that poor child, I had no choice but to pretend to be involved, to act like a greedy villain willing to betray you for profit, and to gain his trust."

"After that, I proposed that I take charge of all the demi-human races. Tao agreed, because it would save him a lot of trouble."

Duchess Burtis looked at him, her gaze icy: "If that's the case, why didn't you inform me?"

Archie's face showed even deeper guilt.

It didn't seem like he was faking it; it was as if he genuinely hated his own powerlessness.

"I originally intended to inform you, but Tao doesn't seem to fully trust me. He's been keeping an eye on me and this place. As you know, I'm slightly stronger than him because of our race, but only to a limited extent. And he has far more men under his command than I do."

He lowered his head even further: "For the child's safety, I really dare not take the risk."

Duchess Burtis's voice remained icy: "Then why is the warehouse so quiet? It doesn't look like it's holding a large number of slaves."

Archie finally looked up, a perfectly timed look of relief in his eyes. "That's because just a short while ago, Tao's eyeliner suddenly disappeared."

His voice was filled with confusion, as if he didn't understand why: "I took this opportunity to release all the demi-humans and entrusted my niece to one of the trustworthy ones. They all left through the back door and scattered to escape, so that even if someone was caught, it wouldn't implicate the others. And just as I was about to report to you, you appeared here."

Forced into participating under duress, in order to save their loved ones, they gained trust and fought for custody...

At first glance, Archie's logic and actions seem to be without any problems, and even the emotions he expresses are spot on.

Unfortunately.

Erin's gaze silently swept over one of the warehouses.

Clearly, this was a flaw that even Archie himself hadn't noticed.

He once again commanded Lady Burtis:

"In that case, take us to the warehouse. I can't determine who's lying between you and Tao, so we'll have to let the facts speak for themselves."

"No problem, Godmother, this way please!" Archie agreed almost without hesitation.

Then, his gaze fell on Erin, as if he had just noticed him, and he asked curiously, "And you are?"

Erin's voice was deep: "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am the lady's lover."

"Well……"

Archie's face showed astonishment, and even at this moment, his expression was perfectly timed.

He scratched his ear, looking a little embarrassed. "Uh, is that so? Would you like to join us?"

The warehouses on Bacchus Street were only a small part of the many properties owned by Lady Burtis, and therefore did not occupy a large area.

A few rows of factory buildings with corrugated iron roofs were crammed into a barren open space, and that was all.

Archie walked ahead, his steps light and quick, his tail wagging slightly.

Erin and Lady Burtis followed behind.

They quickly toured several of the warehouses.

It was filled with wooden crates, sacks, iron drums, some packaged goods, and other odds and ends.

Everything was as Archie had said; it looked orderly and like a normal warehouse, with no trace of human trafficking whatsoever.

Based on the footsteps and echoes, Erin was also able to determine that there were no hidden facilities such as basements or cellars beneath these warehouses.

Soon, they arrived at the last warehouse.

This is the innermost one, slightly smaller than the other warehouses, and the paint on the door is peeling off more badly.

Archie unlocked the door and walked in as before, beginning to introduce the two: "This is the last room, mainly used to store some of the raw materials for making potions."

Erin followed Archie, her heels hitting the ground again and again.

Until, an extremely faint echo came.

"Madeline, subdue him."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Lady Burtis moved.

She moved swiftly, her magic flowing, and instantly appeared behind Archie, locking his trachea with her right hand, gripping his right arm with her left, and pressing her knee against his lower back.

A very standard three-point grappling technique.

Archie didn't even have time to react before he was pinned to the ground.

"Godmother! What are you doing?!"

Duchess Burtis did not answer; she looked at Erin, awaiting further instructions.

"Your acting is very good, really very good. I almost fell for it."

As Erin spoke, he walked around the warehouse, seemingly looking for something.

Archie's eyes widened: "I don't know what you're talking about—"

"But there is a fatal problem."

Erin interrupted him directly, squatted down, and began to feel around on the ground.

A few seconds later, he touched a crack, then forcefully lifted the floorboards and pressed the button hidden underneath.

The sound of machinery whirring filled the air, and the floor in the corner of the warehouse slowly cracked open, revealing a huge iron cage rising from the darkness.

The iron cage was covered by a black cloth, so you couldn't see what was inside; you could only smell a foul stench mixed with excrement.

"You may not have noticed, but there are still traces of blood on your cuff."

Erin stepped forward and ripped off the black cloth.

Inside the cage, three small figures huddled together, two girls and one boy, all of whom were Rupo, and looked to be only six or seven years old, with drooping ears and their tails tucked tightly between their legs.

The moment they saw the light, they simultaneously covered their eyes.

Only three?

Erin frowned and turned to Archie: "Where are the others?!"

Archie's face was still pressed to the ground, but his voice had changed, carrying a hint of smugness: "I told you, I released all the demi-humans, but they are relatives of the traitor, so they are an exception."

traitor?

What does that mean?

In the next instant, Duchess Burtis, who should have had an absolute advantage, suddenly let out a cry of surprise.

She shuddered, her hand gripping Archie loosened involuntarily, and she staggered backward, her face filled with disbelief.

She quickly retreated to Erin's side, shielding him behind her: "Lord Adler, something's wrong! My magic is fading! Run!"

Archie stood up, dusted himself off, and turned to the two of them: "Adler? So you're that Erin Adler, hahaha—"

He laughed loudly, his laughter unrestrained and arrogant, echoing through the empty warehouse.

"Awooo—" He even let out a wolf howl due to excessive excitement, his eyes flashing with a piercing cold light: "You're really amazing, Adler, you can even notice such a small detail."

"Well, actually I was lying. I didn't see any blood at all. Next time, please try to develop the good habit of sticking to your goals."

"..." Archie's smile froze instantly.

After a while, he raised his hand and pointed to the four corners of the warehouse, each of which was flashing with light.

"Madam, and you over there, my lover, I regret to inform you that this is a trap. It's a fifth-tier area-of-effect 'Magic Seal' spell; I spent five years' worth of savings to have it set up!"

He looked at Duchess Burtis and licked his lips. "Madam, you shouldn't be able to use any magic at all now, right? In that case, you seem no different from an ordinary person?"

Lady Burtis turned pale.

She was still trying to mobilize the magic within her body, but the power that she usually had at her fingertips had completely subsided.

Archie continued, his voice brimming with smugness: "Including these three brats, everything tonight was my scheme! Sure enough, you came here willingly, Madam. After all, having grown up as a slave, you hate child trafficking more than anything, don't you?"

"May I ask what the first half of your plan specifically entails?"

Erin's face was filled with fear and panic.

Of course, it was an act.

He was overjoyed at that moment.

"Um?"

Archie, seeing his pitiful state, grinned even wider: "Me and Tao..."

"Um," Erin interrupted, "I'd like to know how you plan to let Madeline know about this discreetly. Can we skip the irrelevant parts?"

Archie instinctively replied, "Then of course we'd send an anonymous letter directly to Surrey..."

"well--"

Erin sighed in disappointment.

He even thought that Mr. St. Clair's impersonation, eavesdropping, escape, and Holmes's involvement were all orchestrated by this guy.

Is that all?

It turns out that without me, this plan wouldn't have been able to proceed at all.

"Excuse my intrusion, but are you aware that the Goldfinch watchtower has informants within the Surrey police station?"

"...?"

Clearly, this guy knows nothing about it.

Erin thought she had accidentally gotten a high-quality SSR-level character from the pity system, but it turned out to be just a random character she found on the street.

"Excuse me for disturbing you, please continue."

Lady Burtis and Archie both looked at him with suspicion.

In the end, Archie regained his earlier arrogance: "Madam, you've enjoyed peace for far too long, and have lost all vigilance! You've actually come to believe I'm truly a loyal dog!"

He stared intently at Lady Burtis, his gaze like that of a venomous snake, scrutinizing her body from head to toe: "Madeline, for the sake of your one-eighth Rupert blood, I can give you a chance—kneel at my feet and serve me well, and I will spare your life."

"As for Erin Adler, you must die!"

The warehouse was deathly silent.

Only the faint sobs of the three children in the cage echoed.

Duchess Burtis was deathly pale. She looked at Erin, her lips moving as if she wanted to speak.

However, faced with this seemingly unsolvable situation, Erin simply smiled and then gave the order: "Madeline, crouch down."

Duchess Burtis paused, then unusually refused him: "Lord Adler, it's best not to provoke him now..."

"I said, squat down!" Erin commanded again.

Lady Burtis's abdomen lit up with patterns symbolizing domination; she had no control over her body and squatted down next to Erin.

"Lord Adler, now really—" she still wanted to persuade him.

However, Erin held up a finger and waved it in front of her eyes: "Madeline, how can you use human language? You should say 'woof,' come on, repeat after me, woof~"

"Woof...woof woof—"

"Good boy, good boy~"

Erin looked satisfied, stroking Duchess Burtis's head while feeding her a biscuit: "Good girl, sweetie."

"Woof~"

Duchess Burtis's face flushed crimson. Her mind went blank as she listened to that bewitching voice. She stuck out her tongue, rolled up the biscuit, and began to rub it against Erin's hand.

what--

Lord Adler's eyes were so incredibly gentle.

As I savored the sweetness of the biscuits on my tongue, I also felt a warm touch on my head, like a fireplace in winter.

That's fantastic.

It's surprisingly comfortable.

She experienced a kind of almost liquefied pleasure.

In this unexpected pet game, her rationality was completely captured by the feeling of happiness.

--already.

—It doesn't matter anymore.

Archie looked at them with a look of astonishment.

His expression shifted from confusion to disbelief, until the ensuing rage consumed everything.

"You brat! You're asking for it!"

He stared at Erin, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and squeezed out those words through clenched teeth.

Erin tilted her head: "So what?"

He thought about the adjectives.

"You wretched dog."