92 – Adventure of an Empty House (4)
In the winter in London, the sun sets earlier than in other areas, so it was already dark everywhere by the time dinner was served. It was.
When Moriarty and his group entered the empty house around 10 p.M., They literally couldn’t see an inch in front of them.
However, due to the purpose of infiltrating, they were unable to turn on the lights and had to remain silent and walk around the empty house.
Of course, it was not a big problem for Moran or Holmes, who have good night vision. Moriarty himself was soon able to move easily as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
“I will help you, master.”
However, Moran quietly approached Moriarty and whispered in his ear. Before I could hear any answer, I immediately wrapped my arms around him, pretending to support him, and started walking together like lovers enjoying a night walk.
For a moment, Moriarty thought about stopping Moran’s unexpected behavior as the owner, but Moriarty was led by Moran and began to calmly walk up the stairs to the upper floor.
Porok’s warning was not completely ignored, so he was treating Moran as usual for the past few days, but he judged that a brief deviation would not be a problem.
It was Moriarty himself who realized Moran’s feelings and tried to take advantage of them, so it was not efficient to coldly draw his line now.
Of course, since he did not completely forget his position as the owner, he did not forget to warn Peony, who was humming as if she was in a good mood, by silently putting his finger to her mouth.
Moran’s wolf ears perked at his own mistake, and even in the dark, he could tell just by looking at the seal.
Of course, as if trying to make up for his mistake, Moran subtly moved closer to him, making it a little uncomfortable for him to walk.
From behind her, she could hear Holmes clicking his tongue as if he was in awe of her ungainly appearance, so as soon as he got upstairs to her, Moriarty subtly tapped Moran’s right arm as she was hugging her. I had no choice but to separate her.
Her peony’s regretful sigh could be heard for a moment, but more important than that was the device she saw before her eyes.
“It’s a magic lantern, it’s really cliché.”
“Originally, all the criminals in London are boring guys. “It’s Phantasmagoria. Professor Dodgson would be happy to know.”
The device seen in front of them was a projector called a magic lantern. It was a device that displayed the shapes of various paintings, commonly called phantasmagoria, by projecting them on the wall.
Even today, there are some people who collect money from bored people in London by showing them ghosts and other images and scaring them, so it was a familiar figure to those living in the Victorian era.
As Moriarty said, a few years ago Professor Dodgson published a collection of poems titled Phantasmagoria, and strangely enough, Dodgson, who felt a strange affinity for Moriarty, personally gave Moriarty a copy of the first edition. Because I did it.
And the device was facing out the window, and although it was covered by a curtain, it was clearly pointed towards Mrs. Hudson’s house, which Moriarty and his group had confirmed was haunted.
I had only vaguely expected it, but Holmes let out a small sigh as if it was really boring. This was possible because no one had yet come to cause a ghostly commotion through that device.
“I heard that some people scam people by claiming to summon ghosts or spirits in this way, but why do people really get fooled? “Why is everyone living such a stupid life?”
For Holmes, it was truly one of the mysteries that people could live with such brains. There were too many idiots who couldn’t distinguish between obvious tricks.
It was a time when there were a lot of idiots who believed that the photos that anyone could see were the truth, insisting that the paper cut out was a lost fairy. There were as many people as eels in the Thames River who believed that the impossible scams of necromancy and summoning ghosts were real.
I wondered if it was possible, but all I could do was sigh when faced with the truth that the ghost commotion was really caused by projecting ghosts or various images on the wall through a magic lantern in the middle of the night.
Even though he was a villain, it was comfortable to be with a smart person. If Watson, who has a brain comparable to that of a goldfish, had been here, it was clear that he would have been scared out of his wits at the mere mention of a ghost.
Moriarty opened her mouth, touching her magic lantern with her finger.
“Well, isn’t it because everyone’s life is boring, Holmes?”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s not my major, but since it’s my job, I often talk to professors. A professor who studies the Middle Ages said that. There are many things that are hard to believe just by looking at the records. For example, there is a record of thousands of spectators crying just as a famous priest gave a sermon. Are the records all false? I think that because life is so boring, we overreact to even mild stimuli. “More than anything, if you were Mrs. Hudson’s guest, there would be a high possibility that you would have been drugged and fell asleep in the middle of the night.”
“They provide room and medicine together. Well, it’s not a bad choice.”
“Is medicine important? ….”
Moran was opposed to waiting in this empty house to catch Moriarty’s killer due to Moriarty’s health, but due to Moriarty’s insistence, the three men and women quietly sat together in a corner of the room where the magic lantern was installed and stayed up all night. It started.
Of course, no one could be sure whether the culprit would really show up tonight. With no clues, neither Moriarty nor Holmes could be sure.
But because this undercover investigation itself was fun, Moriarty had no choice but to be a little stubborn.
As he said to Holmes, she had no choice but to react to the slightest stimulus in her boring life.
And so the three men and women began their all-night work. Of course, the empty house was still quiet, and there was no sign of anyone coming to visit, so they had no choice but to focus on their conversation despite whispering.
“The distance from the building on the other side is exquisite, so it would be suitable for sniping.”
“I guess that’s why we were able to cause such a ghostly commotion, Moran. Well, was there a reason for wanting to buy that house? Or is he just an ordinary real estate fraudster? I guess I’ll have to catch it to find out. Still, waiting like this makes me feel like a Scotland Yard officer.”
“… “It would be the most suitable job for a teacher.”
Holmes was sarcastic for a moment, as if Moriarty’s laughing words were a bad joke. Moran, who could not tolerate the arrogant attitude towards her master under any circumstances, growled briefly for a moment, but Moriarty was silent for a moment.
But she was happy, so she gave a short answer to her beloved student.
“Well, maybe that’s the case. Then she corrects me by saying I feel like a detective. “You’re not actually wrong, are you, Holmes?”
For some reason, Holmes was unable to answer that question. When his student did not respond, Moriarty assumed she was just ignoring her and did not say anything to her.
Just as silence comes suddenly at times, at the end of the conversation, silence settled between the three men and women for a moment. Since it was an empty house where even the fireplace was cold, the winter cold was still felt, and naturally the three men and women had no choice but to sit closer together.
Of course, like Peony, there were cases where she actually buried her body in the name of intentionally keeping her master warm.
However, Holmes still had no choice but to keep his distance a little.
Around 2 o’clock, Holmes spoke again.
“Teacher… “Why are you doing this?”
From noble mtl dot com
“Holmes, I always say this, but when I speak—”
“Good, good. Let’s just make an assumption. The assumption is that Mr. Moriarty is a villain. How…… “Why are you doing this?”
After speaking for a moment, Holmes could not help but be a little surprised at himself. Because it was a rare emotional question for her.
It didn’t really matter to her why her criminal committed her crime. What was important to investigative advisors was catching criminals and solving their riddles.
But she had to admit that, without realizing it, she had become emotional because the night was deep. Maybe she did it because she was doing detective work with Mr. Moriarty.
Suddenly, I remembered something from 10 years ago. At the time, Holmes herself was very naive, and she vaguely dreamed that one day, when she became an investigative consultant, she would hire her teacher as an assistant.
Now I know very well that it was an impossible dream, no, it was an impossible dream from the beginning.
But when I realized that the dream of those days had come true, even if only for a moment, like a fantasy, I couldn’t help but ask.
It’s impossible, but is it possible to turn everything back?
It was a question worthy of ridicule. Perhaps the teacher also knew what that meant. Because she is too smart and cold-hearted.
However, Moriarty, who was in an unusually good mood, answered obediently.
“Because I was bored. Holmes, you should know better, right? “Isn’t that right?”
“…… Okay.”
The conversation was short.
But she was able to be confident and promise once again.
She cannot walk down the same path as him, and she must stop him.
“Shh, it’s coming, master.”
The conversation could no longer continue because Peony was secretly whispering to her.
It wasn’t until long after Peony spoke that she could sense that someone had entered the empty house where they were waiting.
Because her senses were as developed as those of a wild wolf, she had no choice but to notice in advance.
I could vaguely see in the darkness that he was a middle-aged man with a somewhat built figure. But it was clear that he was a dull person.
Without noticing that a man and a woman were watching everything from a corner, she secretly opened the curtain and tried to operate the magic lantern.
There was nothing more to see, so Moriarty silently pointed with his finger. Of course, he didn’t need to move.
In an instant, Moran approached the man faster than Holmes, who was also running towards him, and knocked him to the ground, knocking him out.
The adventure in the empty house, which lasted until late at night, came to a dull end.
