Flotz, located in the central-northern part of Faloro.
It was still cold in January, and under the cloudy sky, weak sunlight shone down on the buildings of the huge city. A gentle breeze blew through the streets and alleys, eventually converging on the large square in the city center.
Surrounded by countless orderly buildings, the city center revealed a wide and spacious square. Large areas of neat flagstones were laid together, stretching into the vast distance. Green spaces with low shrubs and lawns dotted the area, and countless citizens came and went.
On the northern edge of the square, a tall Church building stood prominently. The outer walls of the Church were adorned with more intricate carvings than those of churches in other countries. In the center of the square was a bronze statue of a young girl, tens of meters high, dressed in simple clothes, holding a long sword, barefoot and smiling, with long hair flowing as she danced gracefully. Throughout the entire square, this bronze statue seemed to be the most prominent and eye-catching, appearing to be the landmark of the area.
"This… is the so-called Statue of the Dance of Victory? Seeing it up close for the first time, it's quite magnificent…"
In front of the large bronze statue in the center of the square, Dorothy, dressed in a black and gray trench coat, wearing a small Madam's hat, and with her silver-white long hair neatly tied up, stood there, looking up at the majestic building before her and couldn't help but exclaim. Beside her, Adele, also wearing a trench coat for warmth and sunglasses, slowly spoke as if explaining.
"The Statue of the Dance of Victory… was erected by the Bourbons Dynasty to commemorate the miraculous great victory against the Prit army in the Battle of the Black Forest during the War of Succession. It is said that at that time, King Henry, who was still the Bourbons Duke, lost his way while marching with his troops in the forest. Then, while lost, he encountered a young girl dancer, who guided the lost King Henry with her dance, allowing them not only to get out of the forest but also miraculously appear behind the Prit army. King Henry did not miss the opportunity and led his troops to launch a surprise attack on the enemy, winning a great victory."
"Afterward, King Henry widely publicized this event, and after gaining the support of the Church, he declared that the girl was an envoy sent by the Three Saints to save Faloro. After the Bourbons Dynasty was established, various symbols and signs related to the Dance of Victory began to become popular in Faloro. This Statue of the Dance of Victory is the largest among them, built by King Robert the Greed King's father, 'King of Splendor' Xia Er. The Bourbons Dynasty during his reign ushered in its final period of glory."
While recalling, Adele recounted the origin of the huge bronze statue before them. Listening to Adele's words beside her, Dorothy also nodded with interest.
"So… in a sense, this thing is a witness to the final glory of the Bourbons Dynasty? Interesting…"
Dorothy said this, then shifted her gaze to the distance. At another spot at the foot of the Statue of the Dance of Victory, a large group of figures was gathered. Someone had used wooden boxes to set up a small platform and was standing on it. More people surrounded the edge of the wooden platform, and the old man standing on the wooden platform was excitedly raising his arms and shouting to the crowd around him.
"Compatriots! Flesh and blood! Please listen to me! We Faloro have gone through countless trials and tribulations to get to where we are today. Suffering and sacrifice are the backbone of our nation's memorial! Heroes who dedicated and struggled have written epic after epic for our nation…"
"Ah… the Dance of Victory! This is the national dance of Faloro! It is the dazzling spark that erupted from the difficult plight of our martyrs a hundred years ago, a glorious witness to our head-on blow against the Prit fellows! It is the indomitable glory of all Faloro! Every Faloro person is born hearing the story of the divine dance guiding King Henry, this is our shared memory…"
"And now… someone actually wants to destroy this memory! Those scoundrels hidden in the Council, attempting to deny it, to deny the spirit of Faloro! This is something we absolutely cannot tolerate! That group of dog thieves led by Sansone! They are Prit stock! They are attempting to destroy our country…"
On the wooden platform, the thin old man repeatedly shouted with excitement, giving a passionate speech to the citizens and audience below the stage. Many of his audience were also very indignant, occasionally shouting in response to the old man's words, with applause rising and falling.
"What are they doing?"
Looking at the scene in the distance, Dorothy couldn't help but ask curiously, and Adele beside her responded lightly after seeing it.
"It's just a street political speech. It's very common in Faloro, after all, everyone's spirits are quite good, so you don't need to worry about it~"
"Oh…"
Listening to Adele's words, Dorothy nodded in response. Then she looked up at the sky, reached into her pocket, took out a pocket watch, opened it to check the time, and then spoke again.
"It's getting late now. We've looked around enough, it's time to get down to business."
"Oh dear~ Time flies so fast, let's go then."
Saying softly, Adele slowly walked away with Dorothy, leaving the tall Statue of the Dance of Victory and walking towards the edge of the square.
After walking a few steps, Dorothy and Adele reached the edge of the square. At this time, a group of simply dressed young men were gathered at the foot of the building by the roadside. When they saw Dorothy and Adele approaching, they immediately came over, smiling and taking out some small gifts and trinkets.
"Oh… please wait a moment, two beautiful Misses. You are tourists from out of town, right? Are you interested in buying some souvenirs?"
"Look at me, look at me, two Misses. Our shop here cooperates with the Church. Every souvenir you buy is a donation of love to poor homeless children. Have some mercy!"
Amidst the chattering, several groups of young men selling souvenirs slowly surrounded Dorothy and Adele, seemingly not intending to let them go without selling something. Facing this situation, Dorothy sighed slightly, while Adele smiled slightly and then spoke.
"These things… the craftsmanship is quite exquisite, not bad. It's rare to come to Flotz, so it's not bad to buy some back as souvenirs, but there are a bit too many here, I can't buy so many at once, so what should I choose? It's really a headache…"
After glancing at the goods being promoted by these men, Adele spoke in fluent Faloro, showing a hint of desire but also hesitation in her words. Her eyes seemed to possess some kind of magic, immediately stirring the nerves of the several groups of men present.
"Mine, mine, buy mine, Miss. That guy's are all cheap fakes, not worth anything."
"What! You fake charity guy have the nerve to talk about me?!"
"You guys get lost, this area is my territory!"
Suddenly, several men selling things started arguing with each other. Their words became increasingly heated during the argument, and eventually escalated directly into physical conflict, fighting each other fiercely, and the scene was once very chaotic.
As the thugs fought fiercely, Adele, the culprit, smiled slightly, then took Dorothy and left the scene. After looking back at the group fight behind them, Dorothy also spoke calmly.
"I always feel that there are more scammers in Flotz than in Tivian…"
"Heh… actually, it's not just that there are more scammers, there are also quite a few who directly engage in robbery. The reason we haven't encountered any so far is just that I made those who were interested in us calm down a bit. It's rare to travel with the little Detective, I don't want to spoil the fun~" Adele adjusted her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose and continued to say to Dorothy, and Dorothy replied frankly.
"It seems… in terms of public security, Prit is better than Faloro. This might be due to national characteristics. How should I say it, Faloro people are usually more 'straightforward and impulsive', and it's easier for them to do whatever they think of."
As they spoke, Dorothy and Adele walked to the roadside of the square. Here, they got into a carriage that had been waiting for a long time. After getting into the carriage, the coachman began to drive the horses forward, entering the street and moving away from the square.
Not long after the New Year in Tivian, Dorothy and Adele left Prit and came to Flotz, the capital of Faloro. According to the letter Adele had received earlier, on January 18th, Mr. F would hold a gathering in Flotz to host the remaining members of the Bourbons Royal Family he had contacted, to discuss matters of finding the Bourbons treasure together.
Because the Bourbons Dynasty had deeply researched The Path of Depravity, Adele wanted to find clues for her advancement from its remnants, so she accepted the invitation in the letter and came to Faloro. To be on the safe side, she hired Dorothy to accompany her, citing the reason of employing a Detective to protect herself and assist in the investigation.
The main reason Dorothy agreed to accompany Adele was that Adele had helped Dorothy a lot before, and Dorothy had unknowingly owed her some favors. This time, accompanying Adele was to repay the favor. Another reason was a point Adele had mentioned earlier, that Faloro was the largest colonial power in North Wu, and a large number of First Dynasty relics plundered from North Wu were stored in Flotz. Among the major powers on the Main Continent, Faloro had the deepest research on the First Dynasty, so Dorothy might have a chance to find some clues for her advancement here.
Today was Dorothy and Adele's first day in Flotz. They arrived by train in the morning and first settled into their hotel, then spent the rest of the day sightseeing in Flotz while waiting for the time of the so-called Mr. F's gathering. And now they were on their way to the location Mr. F had arranged.
Sitting inside the carriage, Dorothy was reading the latest local newspaper. Unlike some newspapers in other places that mainly focus on news, Faloro's newspapers devoted a huge amount of space to discussions and reports related to politics. From every debated issue in the Council to the political views of different council members, the newspaper published it all. The number of professional political commentators and the articles they wrote were quite large, and different newspapers had clearly different political leanings, with fierce verbal battles between them. In Dorothy's opinion, it seemed that the Faloro people's enthusiasm for politics was higher than that of the citizens of other countries.
"The remarks made by Governor Legoff Sansone have recently been a subject of continuous debate. People from all walks of life have different opinions on whether to continue further clearing the Bourbons traces. Supporters of Governor Sansone claim that the symbols of decadent monarchy should not remain in the new republic and breed unhealthy ideas. Many opponents believe that many of the Bourbons legacies embody the national spirit of Faloro and should not be arbitrarily stripped away. Governor Chevalier has also publicly stated that Legoff Sansone's remarks are inappropriate."
"It is reported that the remarks made by Governor Sansone in public about the Dance of Victory at the end of last year are still fermenting…"
'Sansone…'
On the slightly swaying carriage, Dorothy gazed at the report in the newspaper. The name Sansone particularly caught her attention. Earlier, when visiting the Statue of the Dance of Victory, the person giving the street speech had also mentioned this name.
With a hint of curiosity, Dorothy began to read the various newspapers she had bought in the carriage more carefully, thoroughly understanding the relevant events and controversies. In a short while, she had a general idea.
This Legoff Sansone is one of the five Governors of Faloro, the most recently elected of the four Deputy Governors, the youngest among the five Governors, and also an energetic reformist.
Since taking office, Governor Sansone has been committed to promoting various reform measures, striving to break the old system of Faloro in many aspects such as medical education and culture, and complete reforms. Each of his reform actions is significant, such as promoting compulsory secondary education, and while gaining a lot of support, he also faces immense pressure.
This Sansone is a reformist and is very much at odds with the conservatives in Faloro's political arena. It seems that when he was young, he started accumulating political capital by criticizing and opposing the royalists, and his recent controversy stems from some seemingly casual remarks he made in public.
"Although the Dance of Victory is considered a symbol of Flotz, ultimately it is a Bourbons thing, a symbol of evil monarchy built by the Bourbons at the expense of the people and regardless of everything. The people of Faloro do not need this kind of thing to commemorate the great victory of the Black Forest, it should be torn down."
As soon as this statement was made, it immediately caused a strong stir in Faloro's political arena. Countless critics believed that Sansone was attempting to crush the national spirit of Faloro, and some even launched an investigation into him on the grounds that Sansone might be a traitor to Faloro. The whole country was buzzing with excitement, and even now, Sansone is still a hot topic in Faloro, with constant arguments everywhere, and even street speeches have emerged in some places.
'Good heavens, this one sentence has caused such a big controversy. As a public figure, this guy should be more careful with his words.'
Looking at the report in the newspaper, Dorothy thought to herself. As time passed, the carriage they were in had reached its destination.
"Falling Flowers Hotel… this is it, stop the carriage."
Looking at the scene outside the window, Adele said directly. After hearing Adele's words, Dorothy put down the newspaper from her hand, controlled the Corpse Puppet coachman to stop the carriage, and parked it in front of a tall building.
"I'll go up myself. The invitation didn't say I could bring anyone else."
Sitting in the carriage seat, Adele said directly to Dorothy in front of her, and Dorothy replied calmly.
"Go ahead, it's fine. Chant the name of Aka, and I will watch over you."
"I know that, little Detective~"
Smiling, Adele said to Dorothy, then she opened the car door and got out. Standing at the bottom of the tall hotel, she looked up.
After taking a slight breath, Adele quickly walked forward. After going up a series of steps, she entered the hotel lobby, then she went to the front desk to inquire.
"Excuse me, where is meeting room 0417?"
"Here, esteemed Miss."
Just as the hotel staff at the front desk were about to answer Adele's words, a voice answered first. Adele turned around and saw a mysterious man standing there, dressed in a black cloak, wearing a top hat and a half mask.
"I have been waiting for you for a long time, distinguished guest from afar. Please allow me to show you the way."
…