Northern Faloro, Flotz.
At night, in the southern suburbs of Flotz, the exquisite and magnificent Temple of Beauty was still brightly lit. Nighttime banquets and dances were currently taking place throughout the palace. Although the era had long since changed, the Temple of Beauty remained the best place for the upper-class dignitaries and nobles of Flotz to socialize and enjoy themselves.
In the Temple of Beauty at this time, gentlemen and Madam were either holding private conversations in the salons or dancing on the dance floor. The scene was filled with a sense of peace and harmony.
Compared to the liveliness within the Temple of Beauty, the Captain Church on the other side of Huashui Lake, located at the edge of the Temple of Beauty, was relatively deserted. At this time, a few individuals were praying in this not-so-large Church, and among them was an old man.
That was an old gentleman with white hair and beard, wearing thick glasses and a cotton hat, holding a cane. He was currently sitting inside the chapel, on a long bench at the back edge. Although he appeared to be praying, his gaze was more focused on the Church's stained glass, intently observing every detail.
Just as the old gentleman was intently focusing on a stained glass window depicting a woman tied to a stake and being burned, a figure silently approached him from elsewhere, came to his side, and made a pleasant sound when he didn't notice.
"Oh... isn't this Mr. Martin? Are Captain looking for clues here?"
Hearing this voice, the old gentleman called Martin was slightly startled. He then turned his head to look at where the sound came from, and what he saw was a beautiful and familiar figure. After looking for a moment, a look of vigilance immediately appeared on his face.
"You are... that Brillez? Are you also here to look for clues?" Looking at Adele wearing a masquerade mask in front of him, Martin said cautiously, while Adele responded in a rather relaxed tone.
"What else? Could it be to pray? Isn't the purpose of us all coming here the same?" Sitting not far from Martin, Adele continued to speak casually, while Martin replied without changing his tone.
"In a sense... we are in a competitive relationship, Miss Brillez. Do you think I would easily share the clues I know with you?"
"Competitive relationship? No, no, no... The so-called competition only happens when the final treasure can be found. At that time, it's inevitable that there will be disputes when everyone divides the wealth. But the current situation is that everyone has been searching for almost a day, and almost no one has made any substantial progress. Those so-called lotus mark Shadow are nowhere to be seen. If this continues, it's estimated that there will be no results tomorrow. By the time this banquet is over, we will have worked in vain."
Adele said this. Hearing her words, Martin couldn't help but fall silent. Seeing this, Adele then spoke again.
"So, instead of everyone ending up with nothing in the end, why not exchange our respective findings now? Perhaps by pooling our wisdom, we can find some blind spots that were previously overlooked?"
Adele said softly to Martin. Her words seemed to carry a certain magic, subtly eliciting Martin's trust. After only a moment's consideration, Martin replied.
"Well... what you said does make some sense. For us, the top priority is still to find the treasure first, and then discuss the distribution..." While saying this, Martin turned his gaze to the Church's stained glass, and after scanning the countless intricate patterns on it, he slowly spoke.
"I came here to look at these stained glass windows on the Church, hoping to find out if there were any hidden lotus patterns on them, but unfortunately, I didn't find any. However, I did make some other discoveries."
"Oh... what discoveries?"
"Do you see the paintings on these stained glass windows? I'm in the antique business, so I can distinguish the age of some objects. In my opinion, most of the mosaic glass paintings in this Church are from the same era, at least about two hundred years old. But that mosaic glass painting depicting a witch being burned is clearly newer; it was replaced later. I don't know if the original painting was damaged or for other reasons." Looking at the mosaic glass painting on the side window of the Church, which depicted a witch being painfully burned to death, he said this, and Adele also turned her gaze and asked curiously.
"Bewitching witch? I remember this also recounts the story of Duke Bourbons..."
"Yes, legend has it that during the War of Succession, Bourbons was once bewitched by a witch and nearly went down the evil path of betraying the Lord. Finally, under the guidance of the Church's Archbishop, he woke up. After that, Duke Bourbons angrily burned the witch, swearing to sever ties with his past self."
"That's the story... Mosaic paintings about this story are found in many Churches in Faloro. Although its appearance here is not strange, the obvious signs of renovation have always made me feel that there might be some secret hidden on it, but after analyzing and observing for a long time, I couldn't figure it out..." With a slight sigh, Martin said this. Hearing his words, Adele nodded slightly and then spoke again.
"It seems... Mr. Martin, Captain know quite a bit about the history of Bourbons."
"Of course, after all, I also have the bloodline of Bourbons, and I'm in the antique business, so knowing a bit more about these things is normal." Martin continued to speak indifferently, while Adele changed the subject again.
"So, this time, have you ever heard of this treasure of the Adorned King that we are looking for? Do you think someone deliberately fabricated such a lie to specifically gather us together?"
With a hint of playfulness in her expression, Adele looked at Martin and asked. After a slight pause, Martin thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Captain seem to be suspecting that Mr. F is a liar? Heh... Although his behavior is indeed suspicious, the story he told about the treasure of Adorned King Xia Er is not groundless. There are many rumors about the Adorned King among the common people of Faloro, and stories about the treasure are endless. In many stories, the Adorned King buried the treasure in the Temple of Beauty, and there are indeed similar claims about three stages."
"Based on my observation, that Mr. F has definitely studied the Adorned King, otherwise he wouldn't have chosen these two days to gather us at the Temple of Beauty for exploration."
Martin said this seriously. Listening to his words, Adele raised her eyebrows slightly and spoke again.
"These two days... Do these two days have any special significance?"
"Of course. Captain might not know this, but this New Year's gathering currently being held in the Temple of Beauty has a tradition. This tradition dates back to shortly after the Temple of Beauty was built during Xia Er's reign. From that time on, Xia Er would hold a large gathering on these two days in late January every year. The purpose of the gathering was to invite the noble lords from all over the country who had just finished celebrating the New Year in their own territories to come to Flotz to have an audience with him and strengthen his rule. Therefore, this banquet is also called the Audience Banquet."
"The Audience Banquet is the most important annual banquet held at the Temple of Beauty, unless there are special circumstances. The banquet lasts for two days, and the second day is the main event. By then, the lords from all over Faloro will have almost all arrived to have a unified audience with Xia Er at the Temple of Beauty. While Xia Er hosts them with a grand banquet, he will also personally perform on stage at the Hall of Singing at dusk. It is said that after every such Audience Banquet, the lords from various regions become more loyal to Xiaer King."
While looking around the surroundings, Martin explained to Adele quite seriously. After listening to his words, Adele nodded silently and then spoke again.
"So, in that case, the holding of this current banquet is the present regime continuing the tradition created by Xiaer King?"
"Captain can say that. Because the Audience Banquet had a great influence, the current Faloro government also continued this tradition in a refined manner after it was established, becoming the type of banquet being held today. Although the scale is no longer as grand as during Xiaer King's time, some high-ranking important figures will still attend."
Martin continued to respond to Adele's words. After hearing him, Adele continued to ask curiously.
"High-ranking important figures? That is, high officials of the current government? I didn't see any very famous high-ranking people appearing in the Temple of Beauty today?"
"Heh heh… that's just because the time hasn't come yet. Wait until tomorrow… especially tomorrow afternoon, when the big figures will attend. This also corresponds to the highlight of the traditional audience banquet, the Xia Er King's performance moment. In short, these two days are among the particularly important special moments in the annual tradition of the Temple of Beauty. If there are any mechanisms in this palace that can only be triggered at specific times, it's probably during these two days. That's why I said that Mr. F understands the logic behind this… He's definitely not some ordinary charlatan…"
Waving his hand, Martin said this to Adele, who nodded thoughtfully after listening.
"Oh… so there are these details. Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Martin. However… I'm still a little uneasy about that Mr. F. I want to start investigating him."
"You're still not at ease with him? Heh… suit yourself, but how do you plan to investigate him?" Listening to Adele's words, Martin chuckled and said. Then Adele continued.
"Nothing much, I just want to borrow the letter Mr. F wrote to you and take a look. I've studied some handwriting analysis before. If there are enough samples, I might be able to see some clues from his notes." Adele then suggested to Martin, who nodded silently after a moment of thought.
"Hmm… if it helps you, then take it." Saying this, Martin pulled out an envelope from his clothes and handed it to Adele next to him. Adele smiled as she took it, opening it as she spoke.
"Thank you~"
At this moment, in another corner of this small Church, a pair of eyes was tightly fixed on Adele and Martin's actions, monitoring everything that had just happened.
…
At night, in the Hall of Singing of the Temple of Beauty, on the large circular stage, several dancers were gracefully dancing to the melodious music. On a certain level of the viewing stand around the stage, a slightly overweight man in a ordinary suit was standing there, leaning against the railing, enjoying a cup of red wine while watching the performance below, and constantly chatting with another man beside him.
Suddenly, at the other end of the viewing stand, a young man dressed as a waiter walked quickly towards the overweight man. After arriving beside him, he bowed respectfully and spoke.
"Mr. Fernan…"
The overweight man called Mr. Fernan paused slightly after hearing the waiter's words, then turned his face to look at the man he was talking to earlier, and said.
Sorry, I'll leave for a moment, and we'll continue later."
"Okay."
After receiving the other party's reply, Mr. Fernan followed the waiter to a quiet corner in the corridor outside the venue. It was here that the waiter respectfully reported to Mr. Fernan.
"Mr. Fernan, Adele. Brillez has made abnormal movements. She has started contacting other 'treasure hunters' more frequently, asking about their results and expressing her distrust of you during the exchanges."
"Oh… distrust of Mr. F? So is she preparing to unite with others to try and drive me out of the treasure hunt… or persuading people to leave the Temple of Beauty?"
Listening to his subordinate's report, Mr. Fernan spoke thoughtfully, while the waiter shook his head and replied.
"Neither. Although Adele expressed her distrust of you to others, she did not directly incite others to oppose you. She only asked them to help her investigate you, using methods such as obtaining your letters to analyze the handwriting…"
"Heh… she's even studying handwriting…" Listening to the waiter's words, Mr. Fernan couldn't help but shake his head with a smile, then continued speaking to the waiter.
"Continue to monitor closely. As long as they don't leave the Temple of Beauty, they can do whatever they want. Adele is still a key focus. If her abnormal actions escalate further, report it immediately."
"Yes…"
After giving Mr. Fernan a respectful bow, the waiter withdrew again, leaving the scene and returning to the railing where he was before, continuing to enjoy the performance below the viewing stand. At this moment, the man who had been talking to Mr. Fernan earlier returned to his side.
"What were you talking about just now? Mr. Fernan." After arriving beside Mr. Fernan, the man asked him curiously, and Mr. Fernan waved his hand in response.
"Nothing, just a key figure I was monitoring showed a slight abnormality, nothing major."
"Oh… I see. Then let's continue our previous topic. By the way, Mr. Fernan, what organization do you belong to? Is your family really a Royalist party in Faloro, always dedicated to protecting the remnants of Bourbons?" Looking at Mr. Fernan in front of him, the man asked, and the other party answered without hesitation.
"Of course not. My family is not some Royalist party. The organization I belong to is the Guards, and it has nothing to do with the Royalist party."
"Guards? What kind of organization is that?" Listening to Mr. Fernan's words, the man asked curiously, and the other party continued to answer.
"On the surface, it's a civilian social organization on the streets of Flotz, with a certain degree of secrecy, but in reality, I was recruited long ago by a big figure in the government and became his black hand for doing some less-than-savory things. He gives me money and extraordinary benefits, and I also lead my brothers to work for him."
"A big figure in the government… who is that?" Listening to Mr. Fernan's words, the man frowned slightly and asked again, while Mr. Fernan shook his head and replied.
"I don't know. I only know he has great power and influence, capable of clearing any official relationships for us. No matter what we do, even if we're locked up in the Anti-Magic Guard's prison, we can be bailed out. He's generous, and working under him is great."
"So… what is your mission this time?" The man continued to ask Mr. Fernan seriously, and he answered leisurely after taking a sip of red wine.
"The mission is, according to the information they provided, to contact a group of Bourbons remnants to gather in Flotz, and then use the excuse of treasure hunting to send them to the Temple of Beauty today and tomorrow, and then monitor them continuously, making them stay until tomorrow evening."
"Monitor them until tomorrow evening… just like that? Nothing else?"
"Yes, just like that. They will inform me about what happens next later. Before tomorrow evening, my mission is just to keep an eye on this group of people… Oh, they said before that there is a female celebrity named Adele among them who needs special care, and I should try to stay away from her myself unless necessary."
Mr. Fernan continued to say this. Listening to his words, the thin-faced, deep-eyed, hooked-nosed man beside him couldn't help but rub his chin thoughtfully.
"So… the whole truth will only be revealed tomorrow evening?" As he said this, Ed lowered his head and looked at the intricate and complex floor tiles on the circular stage below.
"If your mission is just to lead Adele and the others to the Temple of Beauty and monitor them until tomorrow evening, then the so-called puzzle of Xia Er being three stages that you mentioned before… is all fake?"
Ed continued to ask Mr. Fernan, who shook his head again and replied.
"No, no, no… this puzzle is not fake, it's real. After all, among those Bourbons remnants, there are quite a few who understand history and occultism, and many who have studied the Temple of Beauty and the Xia Er King. Purely fabricating a completely fake puzzle would easily expose it, and it wouldn't fool people."
"So, the puzzle that big figure gave me is real, it was left by the real Xia Er King. It's just that the original full puzzle contained a bit of Spirit Sight. When I told it to them, I omitted a little and added a little of my own."