บท 65: Third Floor
The administrator's official residence was originally the castle of the Dariège nobles, with defense being the top priority. The windows were narrow and high up, making the lighting poor even during the day. However, to make it suitable for living, the owner had installed many new glass windows on the ground floor later on.
Lumian peered through the patterned glass and saw that the banquet hall was empty and deserted.
"There are very few servants…" Leah sighed softly.
With many open windows during the day, fresh air mixed with the fragrance of flowers flowed in, creating excellent conditions for Lumian and the others to infiltrate.
Taking advantage of the lack of servants on the first floor, the four of them climbed into the hall one after another. However, they didn't rush to go deeper and instead found a hiding spot nearby.
Leah turned her head towards Valentine, who was clinging close behind an ornamental pillar, and said, "I'll scout ahead; make preparations."
"Okay," Valentine nodded coldly.
Lumian was squatting behind a stone platform with a porcelain vase. When he heard this, he stuck his head out and reminded them,
"There's no need to explore the first floor.
"It's often used to entertain guests, so there's nothing unusual."
Ever since Administrator Béost and Madame Pualis moved in, his sister Aurore would visit the castle occasionally as a guest or borrow a pony. A few times, Lumian took the opportunity to follow her and freeload on cakes, bread, and drinks.
When the administrator and Madame Pualis were out, he would occasionally look for Louis Lund, the butler, and tour the first floor with him.
"I'll head straight to the stairs," Leah said, understanding.
She didn't attempt to walk in a straight line through the empty banquet hall. Instead, she hugged the wall and circled around towards the stairs.
The four silver bells remained eerily silent.
As she passed by one of the rooms, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from very close to the door.
Lumian, in a prime position, even caught a glimpse of a male servant in a red shirt and white pants, about to collide head-on with Leah. She had no cover in sight!
Leah didn't panic. She turned around, placed her hand on the wall, and scaled the oil painting hanging two meters above the ground.
Then, she stood on her tiptoes and stepped onto the frame. She stood firmly with her back against the wall without letting the oil painting drop.
Lumian wanted to applaud because it reminded him of an acrobatic performance he had seen in Dariège last year at a circus.
The male servant left the room and instinctively looked around before walking towards the kitchen.
Just as he took a few steps forward, Leah slid soundlessly to the ground against the oil painting. Then, she rolled twice and hid behind a pillar. After the male servant disappeared from the banquet hall, she leaned against the wall again. Finally, she arrived at the staircase and confirmed that everything was clear.
Upon seeing this, Lumian darted out of the stone platform and ran over in a straight line.
He was so fast that he reached Leah in less than three seconds.
However, he wasn't the fastest. Ryan completed the journey in just the time it took to take one breath.
Valentine wasn't slow either. His physique was clearly stronger than ordinary people.
Without another word, Leah took the lead and the four of them hurriedly entered the stairs, arriving at the second floor of the residence.
There were closed rooms on both sides of the corridor, with two rooms having light shine in through the windows at the end of the corridor. The overall environment was abnormally dark.
"Let us split up and search different rooms. This will save time and make it easier to hide. However, we must remain no more than one room apart from each other, in case something happens and we cannot save each other in time," Ryan suggested, surveying their surroundings.
Leah and the others nodded in agreement.
Lumian promptly approached the nearest room, pressing his ear to the door to listen for any movement inside. After a moment, he deftly turned the handle and slipped inside.
The room belonged to a maid.
He searched for a while, but found no clues. He moved on to the next room.
In this way, the four of them carefully avoided the servants and explored most of the second floor.
Towards the end of their search, Lumian arrived at the door of the room that had traumatized him: Louis Lund's bedroom!
According to the historical sequence of events, this butler should have given birth yesterday.
His stomach had been torn open and, even with sutures, he would not recover quickly. He must be recuperating in bed… Lumian thought to himself, contemplating whether to push the door open and have a "chat" with Louis Lund.
As someone who had personally experienced bizarre phenomena, this male butler undoubtedly knew a great deal.
However, this would contradict their principle of observation and exploration. Lumian couldn't guarantee that Louis Lund wouldn't reveal his presence to Madame Pualis.
The fact that he had given birth to the other party's child meant there were no secrets between them.
Silencing him would only confirm Madame Pualis's suspicions.
What a pity. If only I knew something about hypnosis… Lumian sighed inwardly. He habitually pressed his ear to the door, listening for any sound.
Nothing.
As a Hunter, Lumian's hearing was acute enough to detect breathing from two to three meters away even with a barrier in between.
No one? Louis Lund has just given birth. Where can he go? Lumian turned the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open, peering inside.
The room was clean and free of the bloodstains he had seen before. Louis Lund was nowhere to be found.
Lumian furrowed his brow and stepped inside.
The signs of a recent human presence were evident: a blanket rumpled on the bed, a cigarette butt on the nightstand, a black coat hung on the chair, and faint footprints on the floor. In addition, there were blood stains on the edge of the bed that had not been cleaned.
Apart from this, Lumian also saw some blood stains that hadn't been wiped off from the edge of the bed.
Lumian nodded to himself. He had indeed given birth here yesterday…
Suddenly, faint voices outside the window caught his attention.
He hurried to the glass window, turned his body, and peered out.
In the stables, Louis Lund—black-haired, blue-eyed, and dressed in a white shirt, black suit, dark pants, and leather shoes—conversed with the carriage driver, Sewell, who had sent the siblings to Paramita.
Lumian was taken aback by Louis Lund's healthy and steady appearance.
Is this the person who had just given birth yesterday?
And it was a C-section!
Lumian suppressed the shock in his heart and listened carefully to what Louis Lund and Sewell were saying.
Unexpectedly, these two fellows were only exchanging experiences in gardening.
"What's the matter?" With Lumian inside the room for so long, Ryan, donning a dark bowler hat, pushed open the door and entered the room followed by Leah and Valentine.
Lumian quickly filled them in on Louis Lund's situation.
Ryan pondered for a moment before asking, "Have you heard of Earth Mother?"
The Dariège region had a border with the Feynapotter kingdom. Shepherds often went there. Coupled with his sister's basic education, Lumian was no stranger to this.
"Yes, the deity that Feynapotter believes in."
Ryan nodded and said, "Earth Mother is associated with fertility, healing, and life. These domains are reflected in the Beyonder powers of the corresponding pathway. While I'm not saying that Louis Lund's situation is related to the Earth Mother, it's possible that his ability to give birth and quick recovery are linked to these domains."
"Is that so…" Lumian found this plausible after some thought.
After all, men were already capable of giving birth. What was so strange about them being out and about after a C-section?
"Did you find anything?" Lumian asked Ryan and the others.
Ryan shook his head.
"They were all normal servant's quarters. We may have to check the third floor."
Lumian felt a sense of unease wash over him.
Madame Pualis and Administrator Béost's quarters comprised a bedroom, study, solarium, and activity room, all located on the third floor.
This posed a significant risk.
"Very well," Ryan replied without hesitation.
The four of them proceeded to sneak up to the third floor.
Many of the doors were ajar, and the corridor was brightly lit.
Lumian made a beeline for the bedroom, which was adorned with a light-colored velvet blanket on the bed, a small bookshelf stocked with bedtime reading materials, a capacious cloakroom brimming with a variety of clothes, a safe containing precious collections, a set of plush beige sofas, a table displaying five photo frames and documents, and a fluffy white carpet covering the entire room…
Lumian and company surveyed the room and simultaneously headed towards the table.
The books on the table were mostly popular novels, including Fors Wall's masterpiece, "The Adventurer 5: Vice Admiral Ailment," and Aurore's latest work, "The Substitute Detective." The documents pertained mainly to various matters in the Dariège area. As for the five photos displayed in the frames, four were of Madame Pualis, and one belonged to a man Lumian did not recognize.
"No photo of the administrator?" he exclaimed, surprised.
Madame Pualis was the sole subject of the four photos, each depicting her in different clothing and poses. The male photo was not of Administrator Béost, who, after all, was the male owner of the house. Wasn't this peculiar?
Leah nodded thoughtfully.
"Perhaps the administrator's status in this family is akin to that of a butler. Have you ever seen a butler's photograph displayed in someone's home?"
"Then who is this man?" Lumian inquired, pointing to the photo frame on the side.
The frame contained a color photograph of a man in his late twenties. He was wearing a red shirt, a black velvet coat, and dark pants with tassels. He sported a pair of short lace-up boots and was dressed very fashionably.
He bore a striking resemblance to Madame Pualis, with light eyebrows, bright brown eyes, and brown hair parted in an exaggerated 7-3 style. His lips were curled up, giving him the air of a hooligan who frequented high society.
All in all, this man's facial features were not extraordinary, but they were pleasing to the eye.
"Madame Pualis's brother?" Lumian hazarded a guess based on his appearance.
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