Chapter 69

Looking at the man in the photo, Lya seemed to be thinking as she said:

"We set out two days after receiving the plea for help to gather relevant information.

"Mrs. Pualis's full name is Pualis de Rochefort, right?"

She paused for a moment before continuing:

"We investigated the Rochefort family in Darije and found no one named Pualis."

In Intis, women can keep their maiden names after marriage, especially if their name contains 'de,' which indicates a noble background.

— 'De' in Intis means 'from,' and the surname that follows is the original fief.

"None?" Lumian was quite surprised.

He knew there was something wrong with Mrs. Pualis, and it was a big issue, but he didn't expect her identity to be fake!

Lain nodded:

"In Darije, the Rochefort family is a large one with many members, even producing a provincial councilor. We were in a hurry and didn't have time for a more detailed investigation. We could only preliminarily confirm that there is no one named Pualis. However, there is a man named Prit who has been missing for over a year."

"Prit?" Lumian asked, "What's his relationship with Mrs. Pualis? I think they sound similar."

Lain shook his head:

"Lack of sufficient information makes it impossible to make a guess.

"We know that Prit de Rochefort was a follower of the popular 'Dandyism' in Trier, had many illegitimate children, and was hated and despised by many. This might be the reason he had to leave or was forced to leave Darije."

"Dandyism?" Lumian was unfamiliar with the term.

The magazines and newspapers Aurore subscribed to were either female-oriented, story-oriented, or focused on national events, with a few supernatural reads mixed in, but they didn't cover men's fashion trends much.

Lya laughed and said:

"In simple terms, it means being a fashionable, elegant, and promiscuous playboy."

"The Trier people really know how to have fun, turning infidelity into a philosophy, a movement, and a trend." Lumian sighed, adding a bit of sarcasm.

When it comes to the self-cultivation of infidelity, the Trier people are always the experts. What are the parish priests compared to them? They are just children.

...

"In the past year, Trier has built many arcades." Inside the semi-underground two-story building, Aurore sipped her marquis red tea and talked to Mrs. Pualis, Nalaliza, and others about the latest trends. "What are arcades? They are streets enclosed with glass roofs and marble floors, lined with elegant and luxurious shops. During the day, light shines down from above, and at night, gas lamps are used. No carriages are allowed to enter. The most famous one is the Opera Arcade..."

Mrs. Pualis held a white-glazed porcelain cup of red tea, her bright brown eyes fixed on Aurore, smiling as she listened.

"It sounds so desirable..." Nalaliza sighed.

It gave a direct sense of elegance, fashion, cleanliness, and brightness.

Learning about the latest trends in Intis from Aurore was the main reason they were willing to be invited for afternoon tea.

After a while, the conversation turned to Aurore's works, focusing on the emotional aspects.

"Love is truly unpredictable and hard to grasp..." Mrs. Pualis seemed to be speaking from experience.

So, this is why you have love affairs with many men? Aurore couldn't help but comment sarcastically in her mind.

Mrs. Pualis looked at her, a faint smile on her lips, and said with a sigh:

"Sometimes, I get angry when he makes a mistake, wishing to kill him and send him to his death. But when he faces death, I can't help but save him and don't want to tell him. Perhaps this is love..."

...

In the administrator's residence, in the master bedroom.

"Perhaps Mrs. Pualis once fell in love with Prit, a follower of 'Dandyism,' and had a forbidden affair, which is why she is no longer mentioned by the family. She might have married someone randomly and used her family's connections to secure the position of administrator for him in Cordu village." Lumian, combining the stories and plots written by his sister, made a certain guess.

This could explain why the administrator Beostr has a lower status in the family.

"Possible." Lain responded simply, then said, "Continue the search, but don't try to open safes or similar things to avoid triggering any alarms."

Lumian and the others immediately dispersed to search other areas.

With the keen observational skills of a "Hunter," Lumian still found nothing.

Lya and the others were the same.

Unable to help it, they moved to the study and other places, patiently continuing their search.

Time passed, and the four of them reached the end of the corridor, where there was a closed room. Opposite was an open sunroom, and next to it was a staircase leading to one of the towers.

Lain, who had finished searching the sunroom, turned his gaze to Lya.

Lya raised her hand to touch the silver bells hanging from her veil, and walked toward the opposite closed wooden door, muttering to herself.

This time, the four bells did not ring.

Lya sighed in relief, gripped the handle, and gently pushed the wooden door open.

It was a spacious room with a cradle in the center.

The cradle was made of brown wood, installed in a wooden frame, and lined with clean but slightly old white cotton swaddling clothes. It was empty.

If this was the nursery where Mrs. Pualis's two children once slept, there were no toys in the room, only a few grains of wheat, barley, rice, rye, and oats scattered on the floor, which looked quite eerie.

Moreover, these grains were well-preserved, as if they had been brought in just a few days ago.

Valentine was enveloped in a faint light, entered the room, and walked around.

Soon, he returned to the doorway and shook his head at Lain and Lya:

"No evil aura."

"Alright." Lya looked at Lumian, "Next, the tower?"

Lumian had always been curious about the two towers of the castle and didn't expect to have the chance to "visit" them today.

Valentine left the strange nursery, and Lain gripped the handle, intending to close the wooden door and restore the original state.

At this moment, Lumian instinctively glanced inside again.

The brown wooden cradle began to sway gently!

But the windows of the room and the sliding doors of the opposite sunroom were tightly closed, and there was no wind in the corridor!

"This..." Lumian's pupils dilated.

Noticing his abnormality, Lya also turned her body and cast her gaze inside.

The cradle continued to sway gently, as if an invisible, intangible baby was lying in the white cotton swaddling clothes.

Instinctively, Lya raised her right hand and pinched her brow, as if trying to relieve eye fatigue.

She was preparing to activate her spiritual vision to see what was there.

At this moment, the four silver bells on her veil and boots jingled intensely, as if about to explode!

Lain's expression hardened, and he immediately shouted:

"Leave here!"

As he spoke, he ran into the sunroom and turned his body to crash into the sliding doors.

He was trying to create a direct exit from the castle!

Bang!

Lain hit the sliding doors, but there was no sound of glass breaking.

The windows displayed the transparent faces of small children, some of whom were still infants.

Their faces were pale and greenish, terrifying to behold.

After being "hit" by Lain, they opened their mouths and cried out.

With these cries, the third floor of the castle became extremely dark, and the transparent faces of children appeared on different walls and glass.

Some were crying, some were turning their eyes, and they stared at Lumian, Lya, Valentine, and Lain with a wooden gaze.

Just being stared at, Lumian felt his body turn cold, and he began to tremble involuntarily, his heart filled with fear.

The next second, a dark golden light enveloped Valentine.

The light spread out like water in a ring, quickly enveloping Lumian, Lya, and Valentine.

A warm feeling rose, and the coldness in Lumian's body instantly dissipated.

He stopped trembling, his heart filled with courage, and he drew the iron-black axe with his hand.

At the same time, Lain seemed to grow taller, his clothes bulging.

A faint light like dawn appeared around him, quickly forming a silver-white full-body armor on his body and a large, heavy sword of light in his hands.

Lain raised the sword high and, like a giant, swung it at the sliding doors.

The pale green faces of the children let out screams and quickly turned into smoke under the sword of light.

But the glass did not break, and more transparent faces appeared, their sharp cries torturing the ears and hearts of Lumian and the others.

"Who has intruded into the castle?"

A high-pitched female voice echoed, layer upon layer.

Almost simultaneously, Lumian saw a figure appear on the other side of the corridor, coming from the second floor.

She was in her forties, with brown hair and brown eyes, a decent appearance, and no wrinkles. She was the woman who had "delivered" Louis Londe.

At this moment, she was wearing a gray-white dress and holding a large pair of scissors that could cut off a human head, as if she had just returned from trimming branches in the garden.

She looked at Lumian and the others and said in a deep voice:

"You shall die!"

...

Inside the semi-underground two-story building.

Mrs. Pualis suddenly paused, her expression changing slightly.

She then put down the white-glazed porcelain tea cup and smiled at Aurore:

"I'm truly sorry, but I suddenly remembered something at home that I need to attend to immediately."

"Oh?" Aurore was startled.

Mrs. Pualis, with a regretful look, stood up:

"I had planned to stay after afternoon tea and continue discussing your works and the beautiful and radiant love stories within them."

"I welcome that." Aurore immediately responded.

"No, I can't." Mrs. Pualis shook her head, "It's related to my children."

PS: Vote for the monthly ticket!