Chapter 77

Because his sister needed to rest, Lumian couldn't learn new Hermes and ancient Hermes words, so he could only reinforce what he had already mastered. Around ten o'clock, he went out and headed straight for the old tavern.

He wanted to see if the mysterious lady would appear after he became a "dancer" and provide some more knowledge. Secondly, Lia and the other outsiders were staying there, and after yesterday's incident, they might not go out today.

Entering the old tavern, Lumian quickly looked around and was quite disappointed to find that the lady's usual seat was empty, with no one there.

He slowly exhaled, walked to the bar, and planned to ask if the three outsiders were there.

At this moment, the tavern owner, Maurice Bene, seemed to have just woken up, clearly not in high spirits, with a red nose, and was talking to a customer in front of the bar.

The customer was very agitated, gesturing with both hands and making "ah ah" sounds, but couldn't speak.

A mute? Lumian curiously approached and found that the customer was not one of the two mutes in the village, but Jean Mori, the husband of Sybil Berry.

Sybil was the mistress of the parish priest, Guillaume Bene, the sister of shepherd Pierre Berry, and a member of that small group.

Jean Mori isn't a mute... Lumian looked at the middle-aged man with confusion.

He had messy black hair, an unclean-shaven face, and eyes filled with anger and fear.

Unlike his usual gloomy state, he was now very agitated, constantly gesturing and trying to tell the tavern owner something with "ah ah ah" sounds.

Lumian thought to himself, "Strange," and came to the front of the bar, smiling and tapping the table:

"Hey, what's going on?

"Maurice, did you sell him fake wine? Look at how angry he is, he can't even speak."

"What does it have to do with me?" Maurice Bene quickly distanced himself from responsibility, "He's mute on his own."

Jean Mori stopped, looked at Lumian, and returned to his usual gloomy state.

He then turned and walked out of the old tavern.

After he disappeared at the door, Lumian lowered his voice and asked:

"What's wrong with him?"

Maurice Bene glanced outside and similarly lowered his voice:

"Apparently, he saw Sybil and the parish priest in bed last night, which made him so angry that he became mute. Today, he's been gesturing to people about this, but he doesn't dare to report it to Dijon. What a coward, he deserves it!"

Lumian was both bewildered and shocked.

If he remembered correctly, Jean Mori knew about his wife Sybil's relationship with the parish priest and had long accepted it. He just didn't want Sybil to hook up with other men. How could he become mute over something he was already prepared for?

There must be something wrong here!

Moreover, in the previous cycle, Jean Mori didn't become mute. Otherwise, Lumian wouldn't have known.

In Cordu village, this would be top news, spreading very quickly.

Could it be that our investigations have caused disturbances, leading to Jean Mori encountering something he wouldn't have otherwise? Lumian speculated, showing an excited expression:

"Really?

"Then I have to ask him properly!"

The tavern owner, Maurice Bene, wasn't surprised by his eagerness to join in, even thinking it was expected.

He laughed and scolded:

"Brat, behave yourself and don't further upset that poor man.

"Besides, he's mute and can't write words. How can he tell you what happened?"

Lumian chuckled:

"Can't he use gestures?"

He then raised his hands, making a fist with his left hand and lightly tapping it against his right palm.

In the Dijon region and even in southern Intis, this was a universal gesture meaning the intimate act between a man and a woman.

Maurice Bene scolded with a bad temper:

"I hope you still have a bit of kindness and don't play tricks on that poor man."

"Don't worry, I just want to 'listen' to the story." Lumian waved his hand and ran out of the old tavern, looking for Jean Mori.

But the man had disappeared, no longer gesturing to the villagers about his encounter. Lumian searched all over Cordu but couldn't find him.

Finally, he went to Jean Mori's house.

At the door, Sybil Berry, wearing a grayish-white dress, was handling a few potatoes with bad spots.

"Is there something you need?" The woman looked up at Lumian.

She had blue eyes like Pierre Berry, and her black hair flowed smoothly behind her, unlike other married women who always kept it up.

Lumian answered frankly:

"I'm looking for Jean Mori?"

The plump-cheeked, soft-featured Sybil replied calmly:

"He's not home."

"Do you know where he went?" Lumian asked.

Sybil said calmly:

"We had a fight last night. He might have left Cordu and doesn't want to come back for a while."

This made Lumian's eyebrows twitch, sensing something bad had happened.

Clearly, Jean Mori couldn't leave Cordu village, as it would trigger the cycle and cause a restart!

As he thought, Lumian put on a playful expression:

"Why did you fight? I heard it was because of you and the parish priest..."

He didn't use words to describe it but hit his right palm with his left fist.

Sybil's expression turned cold, and she scolded:

"Get out!

"Get out of my house!"

Lumian clicked his tongue and left Jean Mori's house.

After walking a distance, the smile on his face instantly disappeared.

Actually, he didn't want to ask about Sybil and the parish priest's affair. He had even seen the parish priest and Mrs. Poullais naked. What was there to ask?

But not asking wouldn't fit his image in the villagers' eyes. If he visited and didn't upset the female owner, he wouldn't be the prankster of Cordu village.

So, Lumian had to ask, or he might be suspected.

A fixed character image can sometimes be useful, but sometimes it can also cause trouble.

Considering the parish priest's behavior and the information he had, Lumian suspected that Jean Mori didn't become mute because he caught the affair but because he discovered something else.

He was likely poisoned to become mute!

He needed to find that guy quickly. If he kept complaining to people, he might die like the previous one, no, he had already disappeared... The more Lumian thought, the more he felt that something had happened to Jean Mori.

The villager who reported to Dijon last time had already died mysteriously!

As Lumian made a final effort to find Jean Mori, he encountered Lian, Lia, and Valentine "loafing" around the village.

They were still wearing their original clothes.

"Good morning, my cabbages." Lumian smiled and approached.

As soon as they got close, he immediately asked in a low voice:

"Nothing happened yesterday, right?"

Lia smiled and replied:

"The lady doesn't seem to want to pursue it, and she didn't show up."

Indeed... Lumian looked around, seeing no one nearby, and then told the three official investigators about his sister's theory regarding Mrs. Poullais and her suspicions about Prit's identity.

Valentine's face turned extremely grim, while Lia was quite excited.

Lian recalled and said:

"Lesdon Province rarely has witches, so we lack information on this, but the higher-ups should be well-informed. I'll send a telegram to report Mrs. Poullais's situation, yes, only mentioning that there's a photo of Prit in her room, and the Rochefort family has no one named Poullais."

Seeing Lumian's puzzled look, Lian added:

"In Intis, witch-related incidents often occur."

So, the "pen pal" of his sister is also in Intis? Lumian nodded and then said:

"From what we can see, Mrs. Poullais doesn't seem to be involved in the cycle, and she seems to have some awareness of it, which might be why she didn't pursue our search of the castle.

"Is it possible that we are, to some extent, working with her?"

Valentine immediately blurted out:

"How can we cooperate with such an evil and filthy person, more terrifying than the devil?"

Lumian didn't even look at him, turning his gaze to Lian and Lia.

Seeing their hesitation, he sincerely persuaded:

"Cooperation within limits, only within the cycle.

"Once this damned cycle is broken, you can deal with her however you want!

"You can even tell her this directly; I believe she can understand and accept it."

Lian thought for a few seconds, patted Valentine's shoulder, and said to Lumian:

"Indeed, the most important thing now is to break this cycle, but we can't determine the lady's attitude and don't dare to approach her directly. We might need you or your sister to communicate with her."

"Okay." Lumian immediately agreed.

He planned to go himself.

After discovering that Mrs. Poullais might have an abnormal, twisted affection for his sister, he didn't want his sister to be alone with her.

Listening to their conversation, Valentine kept a straight face, neither agreeing nor opposing.

Lumian looked around again:

"There are three more leads..."

He detailed Raymond's situation, Jean Mori's condition, and the owl that flew into the "crypt."

This surprised Lia:

"How could you get so many leads so quickly?"

She even suspected that this guy or his sister might be involved, making everything around them abnormal and full of clues.

Who is the professional investigator here? Why didn't we find anything?

"It's because you didn't retain the memories from the previous two cycles." Lumian smiled and shrugged.

Lia nodded, accepting this explanation.

Lian considered for a few seconds and said in a serious tone:

"Then we need to investigate the church's basement as soon as possible.

"Yes, it might be dangerous. You should contact Mrs. Poullais first. If she joins, it will increase our chances of success."

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