Stop trying to control me, Miss Moriarty!

Chapter 5 The Scandal in Bohemia

"what!"

The young, dark-haired nun rushed into the crowd and was slashed by a dagger. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground, blood streaming down her face.

"What are you doing?!"

It was probably some of Adler's servants who noticed the commotion outside and rushed over from the direction of the mansion.

"Damn it! Let's get out of here!" the lead homeless man growled, and immediately led his men like a swarm of rats into the depths of the alley.

"May the Lord have mercy on me..." the young nun murmured softly, her head tilting limply to one side as if she had completely lost consciousness.

An unsuspecting passerby who witnessed this scene would undoubtedly praise the nun's courage and piety; if a poet were present, he would probably compose a sonnet for her on the spot.

But Erin's feelings were quite complicated.

Without a doubt, the story of "A Scandal in Bohemia" has already begun, with Holmes accepting the Queen of Bohemia's commission to steal that hot potato photograph.

Those poorly acting homeless men were obviously shills she had hired.

But for him, a loyal fan of the Sherlock Holmes series, this hasty turn of events was somewhat disappointing.

Putting aside the fact that he is a magician, dealing with a few homeless people is not a difficult task for him at all.

Furthermore, given Erin Adler's notorious reputation, Holmes was dressed in a revealing nun's habit, which only made her less conspicuous due to her slender figure.

He bent down, pretending to check on Holmes's condition, and lightly dipped his fingertip into the blood on the ground.

It's genuine blood plasma, not dye, which is commendable.

He tentatively poked her soft cheek again, but she didn't react at all. He was acting quite well.

Although the game doesn't include this content, the current development is basically consistent with the original work.

In other words, you can easily pass the test by simply leveraging your familiarity with the original text, since this is the chapter where Holmes first suffered a defeat.

Once this is settled, I can finally relax and take the ship to America.

"Lord Adler!"

"I'm so glad you're alright..."

An older head maid led several younger maids forward hastily and bowed their heads before Erin:

"I'm so sorry, we should have come out to greet you sooner. Please forgive us."

Erin keenly noticed that their faces showed more fear than worry.

Furthermore, despite the maid's attire, one could still vaguely see the old and new bruises and faint scars on the young maids' necks and wrists.

No wonder the students at the academy looked at him like that; Erin Adler was indeed an absolute scumbag.

"I'm fine," he stood up, his tone indifferent. "How are you, Miss Sister?"

The maids whispered among themselves, "Hmm, it seems pretty serious."

"She doesn't seem to be breathing anymore... Could she be dead?"

The head maid quickly stepped forward, lifted her skirt, and knelt beside the nun. She checked the nun's breathing and pulse. "She's still breathing, but her injuries are very serious."

As she spoke, she looked up, her voice earnest: "This nun is very brave. Although you wouldn't be in any danger without her, it's really wrong to just leave her by the roadside. Could you please take her back to the manor for some basic treatment?"

Erin silently gave her a thumbs up.

He was just thinking about how to bring Holmes home while staying true to his character when the head maid kindly offered him a way out.

"Then let's carry her to the living room."

He calmly issued the order and began to mentally reenact the original plot.

After bringing Holmes home, Watson will stage a fake fire as planned, while Holmes uses the opportunity to investigate his own whereabouts and the location of the photograph...

It's mostly fine, but the ending could be changed a little.

"Welcome back, Lord Adler!"

The moment he stepped through the gates of the mansion, a uniform greeting interrupted his thoughts.

His eyes widened.

About thirty young maids lined up in front of the mansion, bowing to welcome their master's return.

For a fleeting and absurd moment, Erin had the thought of staying in London.

.

.

.

"Asha, since he needs the photos next Monday, they must be hidden in that mansion."

"But hasn't the Queen already sent thieves to search the place twice?"

"Hmph! Those laymen don't understand at all."

"So how do you plan to find it?"

"I don't even need to look for it; it will come out on its own."

"How is that possible?"

"It's very simple." Charlotte exhaled a smoke ring and explained to Asha, "When faced with a desperate situation, humans will instinctively try to save what they cherish most; it's one of the instincts of human nature. I used this in both the Arneworth Castle case and the Darlington substitution case."

"Obviously, Erin Adler would absolutely ensure the safety of that photo in a situation like this."

That makes sense.

Having experienced the battlefield, Aysa couldn't completely agree with Charlotte's earlier views, but she accepted that Erin Adler, London's number one scoundrel, would do such a thing.

"What do I need to do?"

"Once we're inside the mansion, I'll try to distract the others and open the windows. You'll find an opportunity to throw the smokestack into the room and yell 'Fire!' to cause a commotion."

Recalling yesterday's conversation, Aysa, who had been observing the situation from behind a pile of debris in the alley, couldn't help but praise it.

"As expected of Charlotte, everything is going according to plan."

At this moment, the maids were carefully carrying Holmes into the beautiful and magnificent mansion.

With her doctor's instincts, Aya immediately noticed that the maids, who were about her age, all bore marks that could only be formed through long-term abuse.

She clenched her fists.

"An incorrigible scoundrel!"

Anger surged within Asha, and a flame of justice ignited in her eyes.

Once the photos are successfully retrieved, we must request the Queen to severely punish this scumbag and save these poor, innocent girls.

No... the Queen doesn't seem like a reliable candidate.

wow-

The sound of a window being pushed open rang out.

Asha immediately looked up and saw a slender arm reaching out from the window and waving gently in her direction—it was the agreed-upon signal.

She quickly took out a cigarette lighter from under her trench coat and lit a match.

Boom!!!

A deafening explosion shattered the tranquility of dusk without warning.

The next moment, the entire mansion trembled violently, like a stone giant in mythology whose heart has been pierced, letting out a dying wail.

Immediately, a blast of hot air burst through the third-floor window, carrying glass shards, wood chips, and bricks, which rained down in all directions!

Years of battlefield experience made Aysa instinctively protect her head and face, and she rolled backward twice.

"Cough cough... Damn it!"

She felt a sharp, throbbing pain in her arms and body. She struggled to lift her head, her pupils contracting sharply in horror.

The once magnificent mansion now resembles a giant, burning torch, its intense flames leaping and spreading, piercing through the thin mist and turning the sky a hazy red.

All she could hear was the crackling of burning wood and the sound of the house collapsing.

"Fire!"

"Call the police immediately!"

And screams and commotion from the nearby streets.

"How could this be...?"

Aysa murmured incredulously, staggering to her feet: "Oh no—Charlotte!"