95 – A young man carrying a cream tart (3)
Holmes and Watson take their gaze away from the suspicious young man with an impressive mole on his forehead who invites them to try a cream tart, and a voice briefly interrupts them. I turned my head in the direction I heard.
The drunkard must have come to the table next to them at some point, and he was sitting there alone, glaring at the young man holding the cream tart with an attitude that seemed to contain all sorts of curses.
His mustache made him look significantly older, but he still looked like he had not yet turned 30, and overall he was rather handsome.
It was quite large, and more than anything, Watson couldn’t help but feel uneasy as he was glaring in their direction while drunk.
There was no way a fight would break out in a third-rate tavern in a restaurant like this, but just in case, I had to quickly shake off the food still left on my plate.
On the other hand, unlike Watson, Holmes could not help but be quite surprised as he observed the drunkard.
Watson didn’t seem to notice, but Holmes, who was good at makeup, could tell right away that the man was wearing a fake mustache.
A person who cannot show his face in public.
However, due to some emotional changes recently, mistakes in not dressing up properly could be found here and there.
He was a man who tried to decorate himself in a shabby way, but was unable to properly hide the fact that his clothes were actually made in Austria.
If you look at each item, you can see shoes and hats made in Bohemia.
Lastly, you may not notice it at first glance, but it is a gold ring with a small emblem of the Ormstein family of Bohemia engraved on it.
Above all, if Holmes herself had not heard the news in advance from her Mycroft brother, she would not have been able to come to a conclusion right away.
But Holmes had to accept that the Duke of Bohemia, who had caused so much trouble for his brother, was a drunkard. Thinking that he might get into trouble, he frowned a little without realizing it and opened his mouth to the Duke of Bohemia, pretending not to know.
“Excuse me, sir, what’s going on, sir?”
“I’m saying this for the ladies. I… “That man is a stooge who lures people into his evil den!”
“You seem to be very drunk, sir. Would you like some cream tart?”
The Duke raised his voice and pointed his finger at the young man who offered him a cream tart. He felt like a fight was going to break out at any moment.
However, Holmes had to admit that the young man who offered to sample the cream tart was definitely suspicious.
Although he was a handsome man with an impressive mole on his forehead, he held out a basket full of cream tarts to the duke who was angry with him, as if mocking him.
Of course, upon seeing this, the Duke blushed and raised his body halfway from his seat. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be so angry that he lost his temper, or he seemed to have forgotten the important premise of hiding his identity.
“It’s unfortunate. See you next time, ladies.”
Perhaps he sensed the attention of the people in the restaurant, the young man who was offering tarts gave a brief greeting to Holmes and Watson with a suspicious smile until the end, and then disappeared.
Then, as if they had made a promise, the people in the restaurant began to focus on their own meals, and the uncomfortable silence was replaced by the noise of everyday life.
But Holmes felt that all of this was like someone’s evil play. Above all, I couldn’t help but sigh a little at Watson’s tactless behavior.
“A little more… “Is it okay if I order it, Holmes?”
“Ha, Watson.”
“Ah… No, I haven’t even had dessert yet—”
“Do you mind if I complain for a moment, ladies?”
And it was clear that Watson and Holmes themselves were caught up in some kind of commotion.
The Duke of Bohemia, who was at the next table, quietly moved to the table where the two people were sitting, as if he needed someone to complain to, like all drunk people do.
At first, he thought it was simply a nuisance, but Holmes nodded because he instinctively knew that something unusual was involved. Of course, Watson’s opinion was not asked.
“There might be people around listening, is that okay?”
“Everyone will think it’s a drunkard’s nonsense anyway. Above all, even when I complained about this problem to anyone here, no one seemed to listen. It made me wonder if I had gone crazy!”
Then, the Duke waved his drunken and trembling hand and called the waiter, who soon brought champagne and other drinks to the table according to his order.
Of course, glasses were also placed in front of Holmes and Watson. It seems like it’s the price of listening to one’s drunkenness.
Naturally, Watson, who was initially trying to whisper to Holmes about the suspicious drunkard’s intervention, blinked his eyes and prepared to listen.
Watson was very simple and thought that he would be happy, but Holmes also focused on the Duke’s words. In order to do detective work in the future, I had to listen to the extraordinary stories that any kind of customer would bring.
“I am called Florizel von Ormstein, ladies. He is also the Duke of Bohemia.”
“hahahaha, you are a fun person! “I am Jane Watson, Duke of London.”
“This is Sherlock Holmes, Your Majesty. And Watson, this is no joke. He is the younger brother of the current Archduke of Bohemia.”
“Huh?”
Watson also made a joke to respond to the story of a drunkard who introduced himself as a royal.
As if such a reaction was amusing, the Duke of Florizel smiled and tried to sip his drink.
However, in response to Holmes’s confident answer, Watson opened his mouth like an idiot and let out a sound, and the Duke of Florizel had no choice but to stop taking a sip of his drink.
“Ji… really? Ah… No, why are you like that… No, is that person here? Paddle… “You’re kidding, right?”
“Watson, don’t talk, it makes you look stupid.”
“It’s too much!”
“How did you know?”
No matter how drunk I was, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t make basic distinctions. That is why the Duke of Florizel was able to confidently confess his identity to the ladies in front of him. Because I was looking forward to the reaction of the lady called Watson.
A person with common sense would have taken what he said as just drunkenness.
Right now, when drunkards in London get drunk, they become the Prince of Wales, the King of England, and the Kaiser of Germany.
However, the words of the woman called Holmes, whose eyes were so sharp that even people like herself could not help but flinch at her spirit for a moment, were filled with confidence.
At that moment, Duke Florizel felt in danger as all kinds of thoughts ran through his mind, but Holmes smiled triumphantly at the Duke and opened his mouth.
It was the same for Watson, but in fact, Holmes clearly enjoyed the reactions of such people without even knowing it.
“The makeup was sloppy, perhaps because he was in a state of confusion. What would I do if I wore her mustache? “She advertises with every fiber of her being that she is from Austria.”
“Huh? Was her mustache fake, Holmes? Oh… “Austria?”
“Ha, Watson. Why do you have eyes? No matter how much you can’t see under your feet, it’s useless if you can’t even see what’s visible. Look, everything from shoes to hats to suits are from famous Austrian manufacturers.”
“… “Even with the clothes, you could probably just assume that you’re from Austria, right?”
“You forgot your ring and didn’t take it off. It’s impossible not to notice that the coat of arms of the Archduke Ormstein family is engraved on it. Well, my brother is a civil servant with a lot of information, so he knew that Duke Florizel von Ormstein was actually staying in London.”
Hearing Holmes’ words, the duke smiled wryly as he fiddled with his ring.
“I just wanted to lament about my situation, but it seems like I met a great person. Ha… …. “But when I think of this terrible thing that has happened to me, all I can do now is drink, Miss Holmes.”
“So what got you involved with the person carrying that cream tart?”
In response to Holmes’ question, the Duke of Florizel emptied his glass and set it down, his eyes burning as he opened his mouth. There was a mixture of resentment.
“That guy is like a stooge who tricks people into inviting them. Thanks to that, a few days ago, me and my good friend Geraldine… “I got hit.”
“An invitation?”
“Watson, when I ask you a question, you just quietly make exclamations, which is a distraction.”
“You… That’s too much, Holmes! “What do you think of me?”
The Duke of Florizel smiled bitterly as he looked at Holmes, who was wondering whether Watson would cry even if he said it as it was, and Watson, who was crying.
“You two get along well. I did the same with Geraldine. But I lost that friend because of my foolishness and recklessness.”
From noble mtl dot com
“… You mean in London? “Excuse me, but considering his status, I guess it’s impossible, right?”
More than anything, if something had happened to the friend who went with the Duke of Bohemia, there was no way Mycroft would have been so idle.
Instantly, Holmes thought of someone. If that person was involved, it wouldn’t have been impossible.
And the story that came out of Duke Florizel’s mouth proved that hypothesis.
“He’s like a bait to lead people to the suicide club. And there to that horrible demon…… Geraldine…… My… my friend!”
“The devil?”
“M. That’s what they called the devil. Or, a professor.”
