Magic candles burned on the candlestick. Instead of flames on their wicks, there were floating white orbs of light.
Knight Eugene sat at his desk with a golden bird perched on his shoulder. Eugene scratched the bird's feathers with a faint smile on his face.
"Captain… Sir Eugene, are you listening?"
"Of course," Eugene replied.
The knight reporting sighed. "Upon investigation, the son of Chef Gbagbo Kurt, apprentice Daniel Kurt, disappeared twenty-three days ago. His last sighting was delivering food to the City Lord of Whitebird City."
"The meal was a blueberry cheesecake tart from the Egret Restaurant, reserved in the name of Margaret Swain. Miss Swain specifically requested thick cheese and honey instead of sugar. According to the restaurant, only Lord Swain eats like this."
"What did Swain say?"
"He claimed he never received the meal and never saw anyone from the Egret Restaurant," the knight responded. "He seemed distressed and kept asking if we had new leads."
"Guilty or not, he'd act like that." Eugene smiled. "Don't be deceived."
"Yes!"
They were lucky, Eugene thought. Just yesterday, Chef Kurt came to them—the grieving father arrived at the church requesting the highest requiem ceremony.
The top requiem ceremony cost sixty gold wheels. The church priest would place the deceased's bones into a silver vase engraved with divine symbols and pray for them. Afterwards, a relative of the deceased would choose a gold wheel and engrave the exact time of death on it.
The gold wheel symbolized the sun. It was believed that by engraving the exact moment of passing on the sun, the soul would never fall into darkness.
For this, the priest would perform the "Bone Questioning" technique to get the exact time of death, down to the second. The technique was very intricate, making the high-level requiem so expensive.
When the results came out, there was an uproar.
The time of Young Kurt's death had been revised. On the day he died, the last person he sought was the City Lord. This was intriguing.
"Have you brought up the reason for revisiting Young Kurt's case to the City Lord?" Eugene asked.
"We informed the City Lord that there was an issue with the time of death, and it needed further investigation."
"Good job. People make mistakes under pressure. Make sure to strengthen surveillance on the City Lord's mansion. And don't relax the investigation on the Mad Monk."
Eugene dismissed the knight.
Looking back, the clues about Young Kurt's case were too coincidental.
Without the Bone Questioning, they wouldn't have revisited Young Kurt's whereabouts. Only the top requiem ceremony used the technique. It was so expensive, few commoners would apply for it.
According to Kurt, he had mortgaged his property at a low price, and with the ten gold wheels given by the City Lord, he barely had enough money.
As for why he suddenly wanted to hold the requiem ceremony for his son, Kurt claimed his son appeared in his dreams, and given his recent streak of good luck, he wanted the best for his son.
While it wasn't uncommon for parents and children to have mysterious connections, Eugene had his doubts…
The gold bird suddenly cried out and circled in the air, creating a ring of light. A letter appeared out of thin air.
Eugene swiftly opened the letter, quickly scanning its contents before placing it on the table.
Under the bright light, the black text stood out—
[Before Gbagbo Kurt came to the church, he had a brief conversation with Nol and Teest in the market area. Their behavior was normal. A stray child ran away from the scene but had no contact with the three.]
[Detailed report:]
[The identities of Nol and Teest are unclear, but they are not part of the "Saints". They have been touring Whitebird City, spending lavishly and politely, without any suspicious behavior.]
[The two always travel together and are intimate. More than twenty young women tried to approach them but were rejected. According to hotel staff, they might be in a same-sex relationship.]
[Current speculation: Judging by their appearance and behavior, Teest might be the illegitimate child of Duke Alva and therefore doesn't have a surname; Nol is his commoner lover, and they are on a journey.]
[These two don't seem very suspicious. Suggesting to suspend the investigation.]
Eugene stood up, leisurely walking to the window. The gold bird returned to his shoulder. Through the night, he looked in the direction of the City Lord's mansion.
"A noble illegitimate child and his lover? Hmm… It doesn't feel like it."
...
The City Lord's mansion, main residence.
Nol never imagined that he would become a double-door refrigerator one day.
Before setting out, Teest thought it was also inappropriate to expose his height and build. He tore up a pile of bed sheets and wrapped Nol so tightly that one could ride a horse on his shoulders. Teest even lovingly modified Nol's boots, so that when worn, Nol stood nearly two meters tall.
Finally, donning an extended, decayed black robe and wearing a goat-bone mask, Nol looked like a genuine monster… even though he already was one.
Nol had to admit that this appearance was indeed more intimidating—
Upon seeing him, Lord Swain instinctively took a half-step back.
"May everything be eternal," Nol said in a raspy voice from a corner of the City Lord's reception room. "You're late, Swain."
At this moment, the clock had just passed midnight. Teest, hidden by invisibility magic, vanished his presence and stood right behind the doubled-sized Nol.
"May everything be eternal. I was startled to find a note on the table… I thought…" Lord Swain, gazing at the blue flames in the mask's eyeholes, spoke with an unstable tone.
It was a bone hand that Nol had sent to write the note. It was a convenient method, albeit with ugly handwriting. But did it matter? Would Lord Swain dare to complain?
"I've never heard of this form of contact before." The City Lord exhaled slowly, regaining his composure quickly. "I need to verify your identity."
"Sure, verify my identity," Nol responded sarcastically. "Consider who is speaking—nine days ago, you assured us in the name of the Great Eternal Son that the plan was foolproof. And now? To date, no one has discovered the so-called death scene you mentioned, and you're even posting notices all over the city."
Nol's tone was casual, but he was extremely cautious. With limited information, he needed to control the conversation's direction— better to accuse than to be accused.
Then, Nol noticed Teest behind him, trembling slightly. That kid was probably holding back his laughter, which was quite annoying.
On the other side, Lord Swain didn't suspect anything amiss. Sweat formed on his brow. "I'm sorry, My Lord. It's just the protocol… No one informed me…"
"I didn't come here to listen to your explanations," Nol growled, recalling typical lines from game villains. "If you must ramble, I'd rather hear an explanation about another matter."
Now, quickly explain about Margaret's case and discuss that mysterious plan.
However, Lord Swain's face turned pale in an instant. He drew a circle on his chest and slightly bent his back.
"Ever since the Investigation Knights arrived, I haven't been in contact with any followers in the city, nor have I contacted the Demon Lord again."
With a dry throat, the City Lord continued, "I don't know where the leak is, but the Investigation Knight came to me today… I swear, I never meant to hide anything. I just didn't expect you to come so quickly."
After a moment of silence, Nol scoffed. "Where's your reflection on this?"
Hurry up and explain in detail. He had no idea about this matter.
Teest seemed interested too, standing straight up and sneakily peeking over Nol's shoulder. The two were so close that Nol could feel Teest's warm breath.
Lord Swain gritted his teeth. "I shouldn't have given that fatso those gold wheels! For some unknown reason, he insisted on holding the most expensive requiem ceremony for his son. Damn it, aren't they in need of money?"
"They found out that the time of death didn't match," Nol whispered.
He wasn't sure about the details of the requiem ceremony, but given the one problem with Young Kurt's death, it wasn't hard to guess.
"Yes, I somehow fooled them for now, but that Eugene will definitely become suspicious," the City Lord replied.
With a bitter tone, Lord Swain continued, "Margaret's remains are also missing, and they won't leave anytime soon. My Lord, for the sake of our plan, I need…"
"You need our help," Nol sneered. "How incompetent."
At the same time, his mind raced, quickly deciding on the most suitable plan to discreetly hand the City Lord over to the Temple of Life.
The City Lord, who was about to be ensnared, held his breath, and the invisible Teest also leaned forward eagerly. It was hard to say whose anticipation was more palpable.
"Since you've caught the attention of Eugene Malloy, don't contact the Eternal Church anymore. From now on, you can only wait for us to contact you," Nol drawled, having already chosen his scheme.
"As for how to clear the suspicion, it's simple. Before Margaret 'disappeared', she said she met a Mad Monk, so this case was done by the Mad Monk."
It was just a matter of shifting the blame onto a colleague. After all, they were all from the dark side, so there shouldn't be any conscience issues. If the Mad Monk became furious and exposed himself, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
Teest went into vibration mode, trying to suppress his laughter again. [Wow, you're really cunning.] He sent his thoughts through with a tone full of admiration.
Lord Swain paused for a full half-minute. "You mean…"
"You've kept so many children's remains. Just take one out and handle it properly, pretending it's Margaret. The temple hasn't caught the 'Mad Monk' for so long. One more time won't make a difference. As long as you make it convincing, they won't stay here for long."
"..." Lord Swain frowned, seemingly considering the feasibility.
"I believe our Mad Monk wouldn't mind." Nol fanned the flames. "Even if there's an issue, the church will back you up."
Lord Swain pressed his lips together. "What if someone takes advantage of this to present the actual body? My Lord, I'm worried someone is deliberately opposing us."
Congratulations, you're right. There are many opposing you—Teest and I, Witch Lynn, the Investigation Knights, just to name a few.
"So, do you need me to chew your food and feed you too? One must face God's trials on their own. Swain, you're really not up to the task." Nol took two steps towards the City Lord, his tone as cold as ice. "Of course, you can be hesitant and do nothing… Remember, the entire church is waiting with you."
The muscles on the side of Swain's face twitched, and his expression darkened.
Manipulating a cult member using modern workplace tactics shouldn't be an issue, right? Nol felt a bit guilty, thinking he had turned into the kind of boss he loathed.
However, as long as he could incite Swain to act on his own, there would be plenty of evidence for the knights to seize—even if they didn't, Nol had countless ways to make it apparent. As for the church's plan, it was better left to the professionals.
With this, both he and Teest could just pull the strings from the shadows and remain uninvolved.
Nol clenched his fist under his sleeve. If he had a physical body, his palms would be sweaty.
"I…"
Just as Lord Swain began to speak, the bell in the meeting room suddenly rang. Lord Swain gave a slight bow to Nol, placing his left hand over his heart. About two seconds later, he put the inverted bell back in place.
"My Lord, we caught a little girl lurking around the mansion." The copper tongue inside the bell seemed to have turned into an actual one, moving softly. "How would you like to handle it?"
After glancing at Nol in the corner, Lord Swain suddenly smiled. "Bring her here. I can make use of her."
After saying this, he flipped the bell back. With his left hand still on his chest, his smile looked somewhat twisted.
"My Lord," he whispered. "Why didn't you respond with the church's greeting?"
The author has something to say:
Theatrical awakening moment! Applause (…
Nol: Damn, why does this guy get work calls in the middle of the night?
Teest: I knew we couldn't slack off until the end…
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Official seal of the Temple, GET√.