Bailonz Street 13

Chapter 162. Home (2)

“Are you planning to make my sister a widow?”

“That would be rather nice.”

I was horrified.

“Jonathan, are you mad?!”

‘Rather nice,’ he says. No, it’s not. Not at all nice.

But my opinion didn’t seem to matter much.

Of course, Jonathan probably wasn’t really thinking of making me a widow. Being a man of the 19th century, he believed that marriage and building a family was the path to ‘true happiness’.

So Jonathan’s fierce opposition wasn’t about ‘my marriage’ per se. It was about the fact that my groom would be William Schofield Moore.

“Anyone else would do. But not you.”

“Brother-in-law, your sister has already agreed to this.”

“I never said you could call me ‘brother-in-law’, William Schofield Moore.”

I’d just returned from the brink of death, and now… this? I wanted to shout, ‘Did you really have to fight… Did that make you feel better?!’ but honestly, I didn’t even have the energy for that.

I felt like fainting. I’d been holding myself together throughout the funeral, and now with the relief of being home, my eyelids had been growing heavy.

Firmly suppressing my rising irritation and nausea, I stepped between the two men. More precisely, I placed myself in front of the gun barrel.

I saw Jonathan recoil in horror and quickly back away. Though he’d always been the type to avoid pointing guns at people, strangely, his gun barrel showed no mercy only towards Liam.

Jonathan protested.

“Sister! Knowing how he made you suffer!”

“Jonathan Osmond.”

“…”

Jonathan clamped his mouth shut.

Taking advantage of the moment, I looked him over, and he seemed better than expected. If anyone looked disheveled and ragged, it was Plurititas. He was enjoying our conversation like an entertaining play. He’s even clapping. Must be having a grand time.

“I’m really tired, you know.”

“Yes…”

“If you make a fuss, I might have to hang both of you outside the window.”

“Yes…”

“And put away the weapon, you’re frightening the child.”

Only then did Jonathan notice Lawrence. His eyes trembled when he realized he’d threatened an adult with a gun in front of a child.

I stumbled into my room. The bed had returned. The bedding showed no signs of having been soaked in water.

Leaving behind that awkward combination of Herschel, Plurititas, Jonathan, and Lawrence, I collapsed onto the bed and fell into sleep.

* * *

I opened my eyes after an unknown number of hours had passed. My body felt refreshed. It was quiet outside.

I peeked out slightly but quickly closed the door again due to the stifling atmosphere—the scene outside was even more intense than last night’s London.

‘Why are there so many people?’

Several people had joined the previous group (Lawrence was not visible, presumably having gone to sleep). Inspector Tobias Jefferson and Detective Henry Brixon, and Mary.

What’s this? Had they convened some sort of group hearing?

I briefly examined my appearance. My tattered shoulder had recovered, but my clothes were still a ghastly mess of dried blood. If the police and former police saw these brown bloodstains, it would upset the barely settled atmosphere.

I rummaged through the wardrobe and changed into the cleanest indoor clothes I could find, then put on a gown over them before stepping outside.

All eyes turned to me at once.

“…What is it?”

“Jefferson says he has business.”

When I naturally sat down beside Liam, he wrapped one arm around my waist. Inspector Jefferson, who didn’t yet know about our marriage, raised his eyebrows at our familiar pose.

“What’s this?”

“What’s what?”

Liam blinked his eyes innocently.

“You two. Since when have you been…”

Ah, that’s a long story. Should I say we grew close after surviving life-and-death ordeals together?

Liam just smiled mysteriously. Only Jonathan cleared his throat disapprovingly.

“Ahem.”

“First… Inspector, please tell us what brings you here.”

“It’s not something that needs immediate attention, but… opium addiction seems to have gotten out of hand recently. There are people reporting large-scale hallucinations and delusions, and it seems even some officials and nobles are connected to opium dens.”

In other words, a new case. For someone like me who needed to leave London quickly, it couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time.

They want us to clean up opium dens? My heart fluttered at the prospect of handling a normal criminal case instead of strange and bizarre ones for a change.

“We’re trying to root out the opium, but it’s not easy. Once they learned the Yard was tracking them, they went even deeper into hiding.”

Considering that drug problems persist worldwide even in the 21st century, I think it’ll be difficult to completely eliminate. Though I plan to do my best until I leave, I’m prepared for the possibility that we won’t solve it entirely.

“I’ll take the case.”

I answered. Liam complained, though his expression clearly showed excitement about having a case after so long.

“What a lovely wedding present you’ve brought us, Jefferson.”

Clang.

As our attention turned to the sound, Detective Brixon, his face bright red, repeatedly apologized while picking up the dropped teaspoon. Inspector Jefferson asked in surprise.

“Wedding? You’re getting married?”

“Yes.”

“There’s actually a woman willing to take you?!”

“That’s rather hurtful to hear.”

I casually raised my hand.

“We’re getting married. Probably soon.”

Mary, who had been sitting quietly until now, cried out almost like a scream.

“Why are you marrying Mr. Moore, miss?!”

Jonathan chimed in, seemingly aggrieved.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”

Why are they suddenly so in sync? Hadn’t they only met a few times?

Damn, why is Liam Moore’s notorious reputation always like this? When I say ‘I’m marrying Liam,’ people should offer congratulations, but instead, they’re all doubting my choice. I’m not even surprised anymore at people questioning why, of all the available people, I chose Liam Moore.

Liam calmly sipped his tea. His attitude was defiant, as if saying ‘Whether you approve or not, we’re getting married.’

Surprisingly, it was ‘that’ Plurititas who stopped Jonathan from falling backward clutching his neck. Looking at this chaotic scene, I wanted to chase everyone out.

But let’s keep those thoughts to myself for now.

“I’ve accepted the case, and I’ll submit a request for all expenses including future costs along with the fee.”

“Please be reasonable, Miss Jane.”

“My goodness. Weddings require quite a bit of money, you know.”

I smiled slightly.

“The wedding… how…”

Henry Brixon belatedly stammered, and I answered him.

“We’ll send telegrams once the date is set.”

The two police officers shuffled awkwardly before leaving.

Now only three residents of 13 Bailonz Street and two guests remained. Mary kept tilting her head in confusion as she looked between Liam and me.

“Mary, you’ll be a bridesmaid, won’t you?”

Mary hesitated before nodding.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It occurred to me belatedly that the wedding might not be entirely joyful for Mary. But perhaps because she knew this wouldn’t be like what happened at that mansion, her expression was rather excited. Though she seemed to think I was too good for him, her face still showed anticipation.

After sending Mary away as well, only two people remained. Plurititas and Jonathan.

How long are they planning to occupy our sofa? I gave them pointed looks.

“Please return to Halleden quickly. We’ve had an exhausting day and need some rest too.”

“Sister…”

“You don’t want to come to your sister’s wedding? Don’t want an invitation?”

Jonathan flinched at the threat.

“I… want one…”

“Don’t you want to see your sister in a wedding dress?”

“I do…”

“And you’ll need to walk me down the aisle instead of that man!”

Jonathan’s expression wavered.

By this point, Jonathan and I were thinking of the same person. There weren’t many people that both Jane Osmond and Jonathan Osmond despised, and in this context, it usually pointed to just one person. I’d rather not talk about who that person is.

“What will you do after the marriage?”

A question that hit right at the core.

Well. I’m not sure. It wouldn’t do any good for me to stay here long. Though they said they’d closed it leaving just enough gap for me to pass through, if luck was really bad, someone else might cross over. That would be like creating a mouse hole in the passage we’d just managed to close. In other words, the longer I stayed here, the more dangerous it became.

“I’ll have to go back. I have my own home, after all.”

Ah, Jonathan muttered quietly while fidgeting with his fingers. Then he carefully voiced the curiosity he must have been holding inside all this time.

“…What happens to the sister who remains?”