Awakening

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking interrupted Lynch's train of thought. As Mrs. Maggie brought two men inside, he pressed a hand to his forehead, realizing his guess had been spot-on.

Trouble had indeed come knocking.

Entering the room were two middle-aged men in formal suits. One was short and chubby with a handlebar mustache that curled upward at the ends, while the other was tall and thin with deep, dark circles under his eyes.

They were none other than Inspector Bruno and Inspector Walter from the Hall of Order.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Lynch quickly shoved the rest of his bread into his mouth and waved the invitation letter at the two inspectors, shooting them an inquiring look. When both men nodded, Lynch had no choice but to gulp down his coffee and motion for them to go upstairs to talk in detail.

Only after Lynch closed the door to the second-floor living room and the two inspectors glanced out the window to make sure no one was eavesdropping did they finally relax and sit down on the sofa.

Wiping sweat from his brow, the tall, thin Inspector Bruno smiled wryly. “I’m truly sorry, Mr. Detective. Your broken leg has barely healed, and here we are bothering you again. But you simply must help us, or the entire Hall of Order will lose its honor.”

“What? Is Flaming Red Lips—the very gem intended to be shown off at the ball—really missing?” Lynch pointed at the report in the Rhine City Investigator.

Both inspectors nodded with looks of admiration. “Your judgment is spot-on, Mr. Detective. This matter—”

“Stop. I have no interest in getting involved with something this troublesome.” Lynch held up a finger to shush him. “Didn’t I recommend Officer Walker from the Rangers to you?”

Bruno explained with a forced smile, “Officer Walker and his men don't have any leads either. Mr. Detective, you were the first to come across this case, and you clearly know some inside details—otherwise, you wouldn't have told me to contact Officer Walker in the first place. Please, give us a hand. If this goes wrong, losing face for the Hall of Order will be the least of our worries. The entirety of Rhine City—even the entire Kingdom of Lande—will be affected. If that happens, we won't just be reassigned to patrol duty in the Green Wheat District.”

“Tsk, is that princess of such high status, or is she just that powerful?”

The moment the question left his mouth, Lynch immediately regretted it and wanted to slap himself. Unfortunately, it was too late to back out, and Bruno quickly explained:

“The banking sector in the Kingdom of Salter is exceptionally developed, and twenty percent of the funding for the Norin-Rhine Railway comes from loans provided by banks in Salter. Princess Chloe is backed by several prominent bankers. If she’s angered, those banks might withdraw their capital. If construction grinds to a halt, we’ll become sinners in the eyes of all Lande. I’m certain His Majesty the King and His Excellency the Governor would gladly hang the two of us up in Crown Square to bake in the wind for half a month. Mayor Hoffman even believes that the thief's goal might not be Flaming Red Lips at all, but rather to provoke Princess Chloe into indirectly sabotaging the Norin-Rhine Railway project.”

Hmm? It's connected to the railway project?

Lynch’s expression turned solemn. If this were merely an ordinary mystery-related theft, he would naturally stay out of it. However, if it was tied to the railway incident, he had to consider it carefully. After all, he was currently at a loss for where to begin and could only wait for the Watchers' files; having more information was always a good thing.

Besides, the matter itself was quite intriguing. What if... he just listened first? Simply listening shouldn't deepen his mystery connection, right?

【Heh.】

‘Don't laugh like that. I know I'm comforting myself, but being tormented by curiosity can drive a man mad. That's why people say curiosity killed the cat.’

【So that is how humans explain that phrase.】

‘Yeah, exactly.’

Lynch sighed, knowing he had already lost to mystery resonance. He said helplessly, “Fine. For His Majesty the King, and for Lande, tell me—what exactly happened?”

The two inspectors exchanged a glance, their tense expressions relaxing significantly. The short, chubby Inspector Walter smiled and explained, “Flaming Red Lips is one of Salter's treasures. It is immensely valuable in its own right, and it is said to possess another, special significance.”

“Hmm? What kind of significance?”

“Apologies, Mr. Detective,” Inspector Walter said sheepishly. “That is Princess Chloe's secret. If you wish to know, you would have to ask Her Royal Highness directly. All we know is that it might possess a special function that can help locate a legendary item, though what that item is, we have no idea.”

Lynch frowned and asked, “If something is that important, why would she carry it around on her travels?”

“Those are legends from centuries or even millennia ago—nobody knows if they're true. In reality, it's just a very expensive gemstone. No one really cares if it carries any symbolic meaning, unless that symbolism makes it worth even more money.”

Lynch offered a noncommittal smile and gestured for him to continue.

“To ensure the gemstone's safety, Princess Chloe secretly had it delivered to the vault of Rhine's largest bank, Edmond Douglas Bank, for safekeeping. This was done in complete secrecy, so no one should have known it was held there, and Mr. Douglas himself was unaware of its significance. Everything went smoothly for several months—until the gemstone was stolen on the fifth.”

Bruno chimed in immediately: “After you left that day, we thoroughly interrogated Mr. Douglas, but couldn't get any useful clues. Although suspicion fell on the viscount who withdrew the funds, that viscount is actually still in Friedman and hasn't set foot in Lande at all. The person Mr. Douglas met was an imposter. Considering that you are a special advisor to the Governor's Guard and had close contact with the suspect, we were hoping you could join the investigation and help recover the gemstone as quickly as possible.”

It suddenly dawned on Lynch why the Hall of Order had come to him for help. The responsibility tied to this matter was immense; if mishandled, the fallout would be endless. They were afraid they couldn't bear such a heavy burden alone, whereas Lynch held the title of advisor to Duke Vane. By pulling him into the fray, there would be one more person to share the blame.

Lynch didn't particularly mind this. With a half-smile, he waved the invitation in his hand. “It seems you’ve already discussed your idea with Princess Chloe, and this letter is her response.”

“Indeed. This matter must be conducted in secret. Princess Chloe cannot possibly visit this place or the Hall of Order, so if you wish to ask her anything, your only chance is to speak with her privately at the ball. That is why the invitation was sent. Fearing you might refuse the commission, we made a point to come ahead of time to explain the situation to you.”

“It's too early to say whether I'll accept the commission.” Lynch hesitated for a moment, but caution ultimately won out. “However, I'll accept the ball invitation. Tomorrow, I'll speak with the princess. As for whether I'll take the case, I'll decide after I learn more details tomorrow.”

The two inspectors showed no sign of disappointment. Instead, they grabbed their white birch canes and hurried off, as if terrified that Lynch would change his mind if they lingered any longer. This left Lynch somewhat suspicious, feeling as though they simply wanted him to accept the invitation. However, after mulling it over a few times, he concluded there shouldn't be any danger involved, so he said nothing more and personally saw them to the door.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw a plain, understated black carriage parked right in front of the apartment. An old woman poked her head out of the carriage window, bestowing a warm, kindly smile upon Lynch.

Seeing her, Lynch felt his blood pulse faster, a surge of excitement making him want to cheer out loud.

Because from her, he sensed a familiar impression.

【Karina's Exquisite Makeup.】

Miss Diana de Valente had finally awakened from her half-month coma, arriving at 221 Villa Avenue at the very first opportunity.