The severed meridian brings silver hair without the passage of time.

–British Proverb

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The next moment, Watson quickly stepped back to create distance.

A speed reminiscent of a cockroach.

I understood the surprise, but it was a shame that her innate dignity was rendered pointless by that movement.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Watson was panting heavily, having moved recklessly without considering the condition of her legs.

“Rest assured. The maid has gone out shopping, and Mrs. Hudson is knitting while playing music on the phonograph on the first floor. I’ve also locked the door beforehand.”

“……”

Watson glared at me cautiously for a while, but eventually spoke again, seemingly resigned.

“…Since when did you know?”

“From the first day we met. But for now, please have a seat. You seem quite flustered, seeing as even your face-changing technique has unraveled.”

As I spoke, Watson looked at the nearby mirror and made a startled expression.

“Sigh…”

Watson sank back into the sofa, burying that small frame.

Her face, now stripped of the fake mustache, was unmistakably that of a mysterious young woman.

“I’m not sure where to begin explaining…”

It wasn’t my place to reveal a secret as sensitive as a lady’s age, but this time there was truly no other choice.

We had to live together in this boarding house, and keeping secrets from each other was not ideal.

Most importantly, without discussing this issue together in advance, I couldn’t defuse the bomb Watson was holding.

“There’s no need to explain. I can roughly guess the circumstances.”

Watson looked at me with wide eyes.

“Even though it’s a rare symptom, when half of your hair turns silver at that age, there’s only one answer.”

I hesitated to say this but decided to speak again.

“You are suffering from Nine Yin-Qi Nails.”

Nine Yin-Qi Nails is a unique condition where strong Yin energy congeals like thick nails, obstructing the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Those born with this condition often don’t live long and die prematurely.

“You must have studied medicine to somehow fix your short-lived constitution. Joining the army, was it your parents’ wishes too?

Being among men full of Yang energy must have been seen as a way to slow the progression of the condition.”

Watson was dumbfounded for a while, then slowly nodded.

“…There was no other way. To treat Nine Yin-Qi Nails, you need an elixir with strong Yang energy, but our family wasn’t wealthy enough to afford that.”

Indeed, this explains why Watson showed such a deep interest in elixirs.

“But how did you find out so much about me? Did you investigate me behind my back?”

“Of course not. I figured it out through observation and deduction, as usual.”

Watson remained steadfast, maintaining the composed demeanor of a British gentleman even when her true gender was revealed.

I, too, regarded her as a colleague rather than the opposite sex, maintaining my usual demeanor.

“Haha… If anyone other than you had said that, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“I’m honored. Can I take it as a sign of trust?”

“…For now, you may think so.”

As expected, Watson did not pursue the matter of me leaving her on the roof overnight any further.

Of course, that wasn’t the sole purpose of bringing it up, but it was time to move on to the next topic.

“So, why did you bring it up? If you knew from the start, you could have continued pretending not to know.”

A voice tinged with resentment and embarrassment.

I had to make it clear that I had no intention of mocking her.

“There is a reason, of course.”

“…Tell me what you plan to do with me.”

“Goodness. Didn’t you just say you trust me?”

“I didn’t know you were a man who couldn’t understand jokes.”

Watson replied quite cunningly and continued speaking.

“Treat me as a man, as you always have. It’s all to improve this cursed meridian deficiency.”

“Of course, I plan to do that. So, the reason I talked about your secret today is—”

I removed the letter envelope I had kept in my pocket and handed it to Watson.

“It’s because of this invitation.”

“This is…”

Watson picked up a letter opener and carefully opened the envelope.

The moment she took out the invitation and checked it, a question mark appeared on her face.

“A masquerade ball?”

“That’s exactly it.”

Watson tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what I was thinking.

“Why a ball all of a sudden?”

“If you look at the seal, you’ll see that what you’re holding is an invitation to a masquerade ball sponsored by the Wenham Lake Ice Company.”

“I’ve heard of it. Isn’t it the place where the young successors of each sect and prestigious families make their debut in society?”

This ball, sponsored by the Wenham Company and The Royal Combat Society, is a historic gathering where the young successors of each sect and clan meet, interact, and find partners.

The gathering was more commonly known as the Debutante Ball.

“What does this have to do with me, to cause such a fuss?”

“Read the invitation to the end.”

I snatched the invitation from Watson’s still puzzled hands and held it up to her face.

“…Select the most outstanding man and woman at the ball to receive the inner core of the Unicorn Salamander—”

Watson grabbed the invitation back from my hand and read the last line repeatedly.

“It’s the Ultimate Steroid1 that you need.”

The Unicorn Salamander is a mythical reptile with a horn on its head, and its inner core contains potent Yang energy.

In other words, attending the ball meant Watson could obtain the elixir she so desperately desired.

“Then to get this…”

A face full of hope.

Now that she knows this, she will surely accept any difficult request I make.

“I’m sorry to ask such a favor just after promising to treat you as a gentleman, but there’s no other way, so please understand.”

With the most serious expression I could muster, I gazed into Watson’s eyes and continued.

“Would you be my partner and attend the ball with me?”

Watson sat down with a reluctant expression.

“You want me to attend the Debutante Ball? As your partner?”

“Exactly.”

“…Would you give me a moment to think, Holmes?”

“Take all the time you need.”

Watson’s expression was as serious as could be.

It seemed she was quite shocked by the fact that I had noticed her gender.

“A ball, you say? I’ve never attended one in my life.”

Ah, it wasn’t that; she was nervous at the thought of attending a ball for the first time.

A relief. I half expected her to storm out of the boarding house the moment her secret was uncovered.

“Everyone has a first time.”

“…You seem to be enjoying this.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Just in case, I turned my head for a moment and saw my face in the mirror, showing a calm expression.

“If you obtain the internal core as a gift, you can partially cure your meridian blockage.”

“Is that…really true?”

Watson still seemed doubtful.

I understood her feelings. Treating Nine Yin-Qi Nails wasn’t something that could be done with just any elixir containing Yang energy.

The treatment of the meridian blockage requires a completely different method of breath control, and if the person leading the True energy infusion lacks proper knowledge, it could hasten the patient’s demise.

Watson is a doctor.

Even if I claimed to know more about Nine Yin-Qi Nails than she does, it would be hard for her to believe since my specialty is not medicine.

But seeing is believing.

Once she receives the treatment, she will eventually trust me.

“Do I look like someone who would joke with your life?”

“Hmm…”

“My goodness. What have you thought of me until now?”

“Rest assured, I’ve never once thought that. I was just marveling at the depth and breadth of your knowledge.”

Watson is an excellent doctor who honed her medical skills in hospitals and on the battlefield, but when it comes to meridian blockage, there’s no one in London who can match me.

The same year I published a paper on 140 types of tobacco ash, I began writing a paper on meridian blockage.

And earlier this year, I uncovered the truth behind a murder case disguised as a meridian blockage seizure.

If the knowledge I obtained through my master’s manuscripts is combined with the actual experience of treating Watson, it will be possible to publish a paper by the time the meridian disorder is completely cured.

“In that case, would you mind telling me what is making you so anxious?”

“…It’s embarrassing, but ever since I joined the military, I’ve not worn a dress or any women’s clothing.”

“Aha. You’re worried that your body measurements might have changed due to repeated training.”

It was a quite normal concern.

As a gentleman, it seems necessary to reassure Watson.

“Don’t worry, your height and build are smaller and slimmer than the average London lady, so there’s no need to worry that the clothes won’t fit―”

-Thud!

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Then what are you so worried about?”

“Never mind. I’d rather die than explain to you.”

“Die? Is that something a meridian disorder patient should be saying?”

“That is…”

Watson sharply turned her head, seemingly unable to find a counterargument.

Seeing her extremely white nape blushing, she seemed aware of how foolish her words just were.

“Anyway, if we miss this opportunity, there won’t be any way to obtain an elixir of that caliber for a while.”

“I suppose so…”

Although Watson’s meridian disorder treatment was cited as the reason, if things go smoothly, there will be two inner cores obtainable from the Debutante Ball.

If I consume one of them, it will significantly help in regaining the power slumbering in the Mind Palace.

I’ve already experienced how the cases solved before the regression have evolved in London Murim, threatening both Watson and myself.

As long as the criminals in this world use martial arts, I cannot stop pursuing a higher level in order to capture them.

From my observations so far, in this world, social status and martial arts skills often correlate. Much as how Her Majesty the Queen is a master in the Unrestrained realm.

Of course, this is speculation, and there are exceptions everywhere.

There may be those with strong power despite low status, and conversely, those of high status who cannot handle martial arts.

However, as someone contributing to maintaining order in London and as a time-traveling returnee, I needed to consider the worst-case scenario.

What if Professor James Moriarty, the top figure in the European crime world and my arch-nemesis, is a peerless master with power befitting his influence?

Can I defeat him with the half-baked power I currently possess?

“I know it’s a rare opportunity. But no matter how much so, I need to prepare myself. Me, attending a ball… Good heavens”

“I understand how you feel.”

If I push too hard, it might burden Watson.

In a few days, she will come to the right decision.

If not, it means I was expecting too much from the Watson in this world.

“And Holmes, although it’s unrelated to the ball, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

Watson paused briefly before continuing.

1. TL/N: Ultimate Steroid refers to the ultimate Yang item ️