Bait

Nothing had been lost; on the contrary, this note had been added.

Lynch bid Mrs. Nightingale a natural farewell and, without changing his pace, headed nonchalantly toward Crown Square.

His steps were steady, but his mind raced, the contents of the note tucked into his pocket flashing through his thoughts repeatedly.

It seemed inexplicable at first, but after a brief analysis, Lynch had already deduced the general situation.

Before leaving home that morning, he had tasked little Martha with monitoring the movements of the Rangers near Charles Square. Now, this group of little thieves had clearly provided feedback, suggesting that the warning on the note likely concerned the Rangers.

The term "black skins" perfectly verified this conclusion; the Rangers' uniforms were all black, and it was quite logical for the wandering children of the Crown District to refer to them as such.

So, what were they being warned about?

Lynch kept walking, pulling the brim of his hat low to conceal his face as he covertly observed his surroundings.

This was one of the busiest places in Rhine City. People came and went, merchants crowded the streets, and carriages flowed in an endless stream. It looked calm and peaceful, just as it always did.

Standing by the roadside, he lit his pipe and took a deep drag, using the herbs to steady his nerves.

Even if everything appeared normal, Lynch remained convinced of his judgment: there was definitely something wrong somewhere.

If it were just a routine report, those children could have waited until he returned home, or at least until he reached the Crown District. There was no need for them to risk coming to the Crown District, a place with some of the best security in the city, to find him. It was far too dangerous for them; the chance of them getting beaten up was nearly one hundred percent.

The only explanation was that while the children were monitoring the Rangers for Lynch, they discovered the Rangers acting abnormally. These actions were related to Lynch and were urgent enough that they could not wait for him to leave the Crown District to notify him.

Furthermore, the children had used such a cryptic method of communication; the need for concealment meant they had a target they needed to hide from, and that they would be discovered if they were not careful.

However, after scanning his surroundings several times, he could not see a single suspicious target, only an intangible malice permeating the air.

With his eyes cast down in thought for a moment, his fingers tightened slowly around his cane. Lynch frowned and resumed his stride, blending into the human tide on the street.

That sense of malice remained like a maggot attached to his bone, refusing to dissipate, leaving Lynch with the constant feeling of being watched. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not find the source of that feeling. Finally, Lynch gave up on searching, suddenly turned, and strode toward the Black Night Cathedral.

The situation was unclear, but as a client, the Black Night Cathedral still held a certain degree of credibility.

The various churches were not far from one another, and Lynch soon arrived at the Black Night Cathedral. The malice and sense of being watched from behind persisted, but Lynch ignored them, following the crowd straight into the cathedral.

It was safe here, and at least there were not so many people soliciting donations at the entrance, which made Lynch feel incredibly relieved.

As soon as he entered the range of the holy emblem—a black background with golden stars—the persistent malice immediately dissipated. The corner of Lynch’s mouth curled up; his suspicion had not been a delusion, and the party behind it was indeed wary of the Black Night Cathedral. This indirectly proved that they were not on the same side, and he had come to the right place.

Carrying the approval document given by Archbishop Trinlais, Lynch went straight into the back hall of the church and entered the finance office, familiar with the route.

How strange. Among the few forces he was most closely associated with, the department he was most familiar with always seemed to be the finance office.

This must be a coincidence. Even in the world of mysteries, there are occasional coincidences. Yes, that is right.

Operating on the principle that he could not return empty-handed, Lynch successfully claimed reimbursement for five pounds this month, covering the mission reward he had given to little Martha that morning, while also killing a fair amount of time. Feeling that it was about time, Lynch counted the five brand-new portraits of Elizabeth and seized the opportunity to slip into the archbishop's lounge while no one was paying attention.

Trinlais was very busy and often had to preside over various church activities, so he was rarely found in his room. But it was now lunchtime, his most important rest period of the day, so he would certainly be in the lounge waiting for Lynch to come and disturb him.

Sure enough, as soon as Lynch slipped into the lounge, he saw the archbishop had just had a servant brew a pot of tea and was sitting comfortably on the sofa. The moment he saw Lynch sneak in, the hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air, followed by a sigh.

"Sit down. Are you in trouble?"

Lynch did not stand on ceremony, sitting directly opposite Trinlais and pouring himself a cup of black tea. It was said to be top-tier black tea costing one pound per gram; those without sufficient status did not even have the qualifications to pay for it. Lynch took a careful sip and his evaluation was... well, it was quite thirst-quenching.

"Must I be in trouble? Can't I just be here to submit a mission report?"

"By sneaking in like a thief?" The archbishop twitched his lips, his heart clearly aching as he moved the teapot to a spot where Lynch could not easily reach it. "Coming in without even announcing yourself—you must be trying to avoid everyone for fear that someone might leak your whereabouts. So, is someone stalking you and looking for trouble?"

"Well, I don't know who it is yet, but I estimate that at least the Rangers and Howard are involved. Whether others are participating is hard to say. As for the reason, you know. You two old foxes pit me against everyone else; such a serious problem, yet you tricked a rookie detective into investigating it. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"Praise the Lord, praise the Holy Spirit, praise the Black Night. Everything I have has been dedicated to the Lord, including my conscience, so it does not hurt." The archbishop traced a few stars on his chest, his expression appearing incomparably holy.

"Tsk, you are even too lazy to deny it."

"I know nothing at all, so what is there to deny? The church has always maintained neutrality, and everything is unrelated to me. I was only helping Vane find a suitable candidate. If you were pitted, you should settle the account with him."

I believe you, you old scoundrel. You are quite the bad one. Lynch rolled his eyes and, as if acting out of spite, downed the expensive black tea in one gulp.

"Besides, the mission was only to ask you to investigate. Who knew you would be able to solve the problem while you were at it? Since you are willing to influence the situation, we certainly cannot dampen your enthusiasm. Anyway, the reward was paid in advance. We are naturally happy to accept it if you are willing to over-fulfill the mission. How can you say we pitted you?"

Lynch pursed his lips, realizing that trying to argue with an old fox was the biggest mistake he had made since transmigrating. These cunning people could always find a way to make their logic sound flawless.

"Haha, I'm just joking. You are someone we trust, and we won't interfere with how you choose to do things. If you can truly solve the problem in the end, Vane will also offer an equivalent reward; you won't be made to work in vain."

The archbishop poured Lynch another cup of black tea, saying with a beaming smile:

"I won't ask about the specific situation; you wouldn't be willing to tell me even if I did. In any case, what do you need my help with this time?"

"If your church won't state its position, asking you to do anything substantive is surely asking for humiliation, so I have no such expectations. My request is simple: just find someone to dress up as me and go out for a stroll. As for me, I need you to provide me with a secret channel so I can leave here discreetly. I mean leaving your lounge."

"It is easy to let you leave, but if someone is watching you, I cannot guarantee that you won't be recognized after you leave."

"Ha, that will be my problem."

"That makes it easy. There is a secret passage under the sofa you are sitting on. The exit leads to the confessional. As long as you are careful when you go out and don't happen to run into someone using it, you won't be discovered. I will go arrange for someone to impersonate you now. You can leave in fifteen minutes. Good luck."

With that, Trinlais did not stand on ceremony with Lynch and turned to leave the lounge.

Thus, fifteen minutes later, a beautiful young lady wearing a unique long dress and holding a round fan to cover her face walked out of the Black Night Cathedral, looking around with a playful, enigmatic smile.

Lynch found it difficult to discover the stalkers in the dark, but what about me? Hehe.

The young lady's eyes were sharp as lightning, and she soon discovered the impersonator Trinlais had helped send out.

And following behind him...

Hehe, I have caught you.