Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery.

Chapter 150 A Village of Tombs

Lord Brad Kerry's manor was located right next to the Balkis Mountains in western Backlund. The main building was a tall castle built on a small hill.

Hundreds of years ago, nobles had the habit of building castles in the wilderness. Some of them did so because the nobles’ castle was the only decent building in the entire fiefdom, and it looked as if the castle was built in the wilderness.

Some were built for hunting or holding banquets.

The castle that Brad bought was originally used for hunting and banquets, because the Frank family was quite wealthy at that time.

When we arrived at the main gate of the castle, the steward of the manor led the servants to greet us.

Brad got off the carriage and introduced Odysseus to everyone, saying that this was a friend of his who came to help him find out some things and asked everyone to cooperate.

When entering the castle, it is not as damp and dark as imagined. It is obvious that it has undergone considerable renovation. There are huge gas lamps to illuminate the originally dim interior of the castle, and the floor and wall tiles have also been treated with moisture-proof treatment.

Although it has the appearance of a castle, the interior decoration is no different from that of a modern house.

Because it was already past noon, Brad invited Odysseus to have lunch first.

While drinking tea and chatting after lunch, Brad began to look out at the lakeshore constantly, which made Odysseus feel more and more that Brad must have been bewitched or influenced in some way.

This is also the reason why he was unwilling to report what happened here to the Orthodox Church, because he knew that doing so would hurt Miss Eleanor, and the impact on him would make him reluctant to do anything that would hurt Miss Eleanor.

But his desire to survive made him think that he had to conduct some investigations, so he found Odysseus, a wizard who had just arrived in Backlund and had gained some fame.

As his thoughts raced, Odysseus said to Brad, "Find someone to show me around. Don't worry about me. Just go about your business."

"Okay, okay." Brad immediately called the head butler in the manor and asked him to take Odysseus around.

Then Brad headed to the lakeshore somewhat anxiously to meet Miss Eleanor.

While drinking tea, Odysseus asked the head servant, "Do you know where the village where the descendants of the Frank family once lived was destroyed by a fire twenty years ago?"

The head butler nodded. "I know. I was the one who investigated that place before. I asked many people and it took me half a day to find it."

Odysseus said, "Hmm," and said, "Take me there to have a look."

The head male servant asked, "Can you ride a horse?"

Odysseus nodded: "I've learned it before."

The original owner had memories of horse riding skills. At that time, he was the son of a small farmer, and horses were the most common means of transportation on the farm.

So the wizard, holding his staff in one hand and the reins in the other, rode behind the head butler.

As soon as he left the castle, Odysseus saw Brad walking and talking with a woman on the lakeshore from afar.

Odysseus did not rush over to alert the enemy. Instead, he planned to go and take a look at the village that was destroyed twenty years ago.

The manor was surrounded by mountain paths with trees on both sides, so it was soon impossible to see what was happening on Brad's side. However, they had talked about it many times before, so they believed that nothing unexpected would happen for a while.

After walking along the mountain road for about an hour and circling the mountain behind the castle, we finally arrived at the ruins of the village.

This place is covered with vegetation and looks like an ordinary wilderness.

Only a few black walls stood there, indicating that people had once lived here.

Odysseus looked around and asked, "Where have all the villagers gone?"

Theoretically, there should be survivors. After all, this is a village, not a cage or a prison. Someone will definitely be able to escape from the fire.

The head butler replied, "I don't know."

"Don't you know?" Odysseus asked again, "You didn't ask."

The head male servant laughed bitterly and said, "I asked around and someone said that everyone here was burned to death."

Odysseus smiled and said, "At least Miss Eleanor was not burned to death, nor was she burned, right?"

The head butler did not answer. Odysseus looked back and saw that the other person had a strange expression on his face, as if he had something to say but was afraid to.

Odysseus didn't take it too seriously. After all, in the servants' view, this was the lord's business, and they should avoid discussing it if possible.

He then asked, "Where is the village where Miss Eleanor lives now?"

"On the top of the mountain over there." The head butler pointed in a direction.

Odysseus took a look and saw that there seemed to be a few houses on the mountain.

He asked again, “Have you ever been there?”

"No," the head butler said, "The Lord once ordered me to deliver something to that village, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't enter the village."

"Can't enter?" Odysseus was a little surprised.

He had always been the one to play tricks on others, but this was the first time he had encountered someone playing tricks on him. "Yes," the head butler said confidently, "from a distance, you can indeed see the village, but you can't get close to it."

Odysseus nodded and said, "Wait here for a moment. I'll go take a look."

As he spoke, he sprinkled a handful of "flying powder", took a few quick steps and flew into the air.

Amid the chief servant's exclamation, Odysseus rushed from the treetops to the top of the mountain.

When the "flying technique" was about to end, Odysseus sprinkled a handful of "flying powder" and continued to fly forward.

Perhaps because he was flying and did not pass through the dense forest, he did not get lost and reached the top of the mountain after two "flights".

After landing on the ground, Odysseus' spirit immediately sensed that there was a very evil force spreading here.

And this is not a village at all, but a cemetery!
Everywhere you look, there are graves of all sizes, new and old, some with tombstones and some without.

All the graves were clean, without any weeds or even a rock around them.

There is an open space in the middle of the cemetery with several thatched huts. From a distance, they do look a bit like residential houses.

In the middle of the straw hut is a three-tiered altar with a strange symbol painted in the center.

Odysseus did not dare to look closely at the symbol, but he was sure that it was not the symbol representing the Orthodox Church.

Odysseus did not observe in more detail. His spiritual sense felt that the atmosphere here was very strange and it would be dangerous to stay here for too long.

So Odysseus used the "flying technique" to leave here. As he flew down the mountain, he thought: What is happening here has far exceeded my original expectations, and I must report it to the church immediately.

Originally, Odysseus thought that Eleanor might be an evil spirit in a strange state, but now it seems that the other party's state is definitely not as simple as an evil spirit. Odysseus suddenly lost his confidence.

After flying down the mountain, Odysseus said to the chief servant, "I have looked, and there is no village there."

The head male servant was slightly stunned: "What's there?"

"Nothing." Odysseus smiled and said, "Maybe I haven't found the village either."

The head butler was stunned again. He clearly saw the wizard landing in the village.

"Let's go back." Odysseus smiled and said without waiting for the other party to continue asking questions: "It seems that I was overthinking it. There is no problem here."

When they were about to return to the manor, Odysseus suddenly said that he wanted to ride around on horseback. As the lord's guest, the head butler certainly would not stop him.

Odysseus advanced slowly at first, but when he left the castle he set his horse to a gallop.

He was not trying to escape, but to inform the "Mechanical Heart" as soon as possible.

On the way here, Odysseus noticed that there was a small town seven or eight kilometers away from the manor. When he arrived in this town, he found the telegraph office there.

So he quickly sent an urgent message to the "Mechanical Heart", asking them to notify the "Nightwatchers" and send people to support them as soon as possible.

The reason for notifying the Nighthawks was because Brad was a believer in the Church of the Evernight Goddess. According to official Beyonder practice, the Nighthawks should actually be responsible for this case.

It’s just that Odysseus has already joined the case, so the "Mechanical Heart" also has the opportunity to participate in the investigation.

After sending the telegram, Odysseus rode back slowly. Although it was a little dangerous to go back, if he left suddenly it would arouse the other party's suspicion. It was very likely that by the time the official Beyonder arrived, Miss Eleanor would have already run away.

However, in order to deal with possible dangers, Odysseus took a cloth bag from the "Wilderness of Knowledge" and put several extraordinary weapons in it.

So Odysseus returned to the castle with his staff in hand and his backpack on his back. He asked the butler where the accommodation he had arranged for him was. He put his backpack in the accommodation in advance to avoid being seen by Brad.

It was already past four in the afternoon. Odysseus estimated that the "Mechanical Heart" should be dispatching personnel and contacting the "Nightwatchers". They should not be able to set off until after five o'clock.

So it would take at least seven in the evening to get here.

As long as I can handle dinner later, I should be able to hold on until after seven.

Odysseus sat in the room prepared for himself, staring blankly at the beautiful sunset outside.

The scenery here is really nice. Under the setting sun, the surface of the lake is also dyed the color of the sunset. A breeze blows, as if the sunset is rising and falling.

While he was enjoying the beautiful scenery, the housekeeper came to invite him to dinner.

Odysseus came to the first-floor lobby and saw Brad and a young lady already seated.

The young lady was very beautiful, and even Odysseus felt that her appearance met all his aesthetic standards, especially her eyes, which seemed to be able to speak. When Odysseus saw her, he felt his heartbeat quicken.

"Mr. Wizard, let me introduce you. This is Miss Eleanor I told you about." Brad stood up and said enthusiastically.

Odysseus nodded slowly: "Hello."

Eleanor smiled and said, "I know this wizard. He came to my house this afternoon and took a look at the altar I set up."

(End of this chapter)