My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 159 Encountering Investigation
From Rutos, Jules learned that the centipede's current location was quite special.

In a sense, it is located in the "Wandering Abode," only connected to the waking world by a road.

“That’s all I know,” Rutos said, sounding quite frustrated. “Their purpose in doing this is completely unknown.”

Jules, however, fell into deep thought.

All the immortals are dead, so there's no reason for the centipede to remain unaffected.

Therefore, the centipede, who stumbled upon the royal family's biggest secret, should not have been left alive.

But since it remained, it means there must be some hidden story that hasn't been discovered yet.

"Don't be so discouraged, at least you're alive," Jules comforted her.

After the two chatted for a while, Rutos suddenly said:
Do you remember Matilda?

Yule's eyes flickered:

"Of course I remember, she brought Lolita back to London, so what?"

Rutos said in a muffled voice:

"Then you know about weddings..."

Jules interrupted Rutos:
“I know, Holmes told me all of that.”

Upon hearing this, Rutos remained silent for a moment, then said:

"So what are your plans?"

When he saw the royal insignia on the envelope in Jules' hand, his expression changed instantly.

Where did you get this invitation?

The question was similar to that of Sherlock Holmes, but the tone and expression were quite different, as if he suspected that the man had strangled some nobleman and taken it from him.

He believed that Jules was absolutely capable of doing such a thing!

Jules was somewhat amused and exasperated, and said:

"Don't worry, it wasn't obtained by murder or robbery, it was acquired through legitimate channels—however, there are some things to be aware of."

He briefly explained to Rutos his plan to impersonate a count.

"This method does have some merit, after all, there aren't many people in London who have seen you in person."

Rutos glanced at Jules a few times, then suddenly frowned and said:

"But that would pose a problem for the Anti-Suppression Bureau."

His implication was simple—there were quite a few people in the anti-suppression bureau who had seen Jules.

Jules nodded slightly:

"Therefore, I should try to avoid coming into contact with them—and if necessary, get rid of any survivors who have seen me."

He spoke in a light tone, but the murderous intent behind it sent a chill down Lutos's spine.

"I have important matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

After speaking with Rutos, Jules gained a clearer understanding of the current situation in London.

Outside the door, Ram saw Jules come out and went to greet him in a low voice:

"Sir, are you done talking?"

"Let's go, it's getting late, let's find a place to stay first."

Jules continued walking straight toward the street without stopping, with Ram following closely behind, looking like a servant.

It must be said that Holmes's advice was useful—Ram was now behaving much more convincingly than before.

London at night, the streets were still shrouded in a thin mist.

The carriages rumbled along, and passersby hurried by, but the crowds were much thinner than Jules remembered at night.

Even the pedestrians looked somewhat uneasy, walking on the road as if they were doing something wrong.

"It seems the lockdown order has had quite a significant impact..."

Jules didn't linger and crossed the street with Ram to an inconspicuous hotel.

The owner behind the counter glanced at them and said lazily:
"A hotel room? One pound a night."

Upon hearing the price, before Jules could even react, Lahm's brow immediately furrowed.

"One pound? You think our master is easy to fleece?"

Upon hearing Ram's address to Le, the boss's lazy expression finally softened somewhat. He gave the two of them a serious look and gave a polite, fake smile.

“You two must understand that a comfortable house is in short supply in London these days – many people are stuck in London and can’t leave.”

Clearly, he was determined to take this opportunity to rip off a bunch of "outsiders".

Lam was about to argue when Jules simply waved his hand and said calmly:
"It's only a pound; there's no need to get angry about it."

He casually tossed a coin:
"One room, please be quiet."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he stuffed the coins into his pocket, turning around to say:

"Come with me."

Business has been tough since London went into lockdown, but being able to rip off some out-of-towners has at least lifted my spirits a bit.

"May I ask what your name is?"

“You may call me Baron Blanccourt,” Jules said calmly.

So he's a minor nobleman with a title... no wonder he's so generous.

The boss's eyes flickered slightly, but his expression remained unchanged. He smiled and led the two into the room.

Soon, the two settled into the room.

After tidying up briefly, Ram said with some worry:

"Sir, no, Mr. Jules, when can we go see Uriel?"

He was always afraid that Jules would change his mind.

Jules gazed at the blue-silver ink in his hand and said calmly:

"Tomorrow—after we've met with Uriel and the others, we'll go and meet the Prince of Wales."

……

Outside the room, the owner walked downstairs, happily playing with the pounds in his hand.

Although a pound wasn't a lot of money for him, making money always brought him joy.

After a while, seeing that it was getting late, the owner got up to close the shop.

But just as I got up, the doorbell rang.

The door was pushed open, and three police officers in dark uniforms walked in.

Seeing this, the boss quickly put on a fawning smile, rubbed his hands together, and said:
"Is this another routine inspection? Has your workload been a bit lighter lately?"

The lead officer ignored his pleasantries, pulled a booklet from his pocket, opened it, and asked directly:
"Have any people who look like they're from out of town moved in recently?"

The boss paused for a moment, and the image of the two people who had just come upstairs immediately flashed into his mind.

He dared not be negligent and replied with a smile:

"Yes, two people just arrived. They seem to be from out of town. They looked like a master and servant, and they were quite generous, giving us pounds without haggling."

"Master and servant?"

The officer raised an eyebrow, his tone tinged with wariness:

Surname? Origin?

The boss scratched his head and thought for a moment:
"The gentleman introduced himself as Baron Blankog, but didn't go into details. I noticed his distinguished demeanor, so I didn't ask any further questions."

"Baron Blanccourt?" The lead officer frowned; he had never heard of the name Blanccourt before.

He winked at his companion beside him and said:

"Are there any nobles like this in London?"

Another officer shook his head and whispered:
"Never heard of it, but I do remember a place called Blancco Island. Maybe it comes from there."

The lead officer closed the booklet, turned his gaze to the stairs, and said in a deep voice:

"Take us to their rooms."

The shop owner felt a chill run down his spine, vaguely sensing that something was amiss, but the officer's tone left no room for argument, so he had no choice but to nod.

"Okay, okay, officer, this way please."

The officers' boots clattered heavily on the wooden stairs.

The lead officer, named Carter, is a squad leader in a patrol unit under the Anti-Corruption Bureau. He was recently tasked with investigating suspicious individuals who had infiltrated London during the lockdown.

With the port just reopened, various forces are stirring, and the royal wedding is just around the corner. The Anti-Suppression Bureau's order is to rather arrest the innocent than let the guilty go free.

Carter walked at the front, his hand on the gun at his waist, his mind racing. Baron Blanker? It sounded like a fabricated identity.

Even when traveling in a low-key manner, nobles should still have attendants and identification documents.

According to the boss's description, this "earl" only had one servant and acted unusually discreetly.

Aside from his extravagant spending, he had absolutely nothing to do with nobility.

If I could actually catch someone who was planning to infiltrate London and cause trouble, then I would have accomplished something great.

At the end of the stairs, the owner stopped in front of a door and knocked cautiously.

"Guests? Are you asleep? A few police officers have some questions for us."

There was no response from the room.

Carter frowned, gestured for his boss to step back, raised his hand and knocked hard on the door, his voice low and deep:
"Open the door, routine check."

Still silent.

Carter's patience wore thin, and he gave a wink to the officers behind him:

"Prepare to break down the door."

Just then, a soft footstep sound came from inside the door, and then the door slowly opened.

Jules stood in the doorway, wearing a bathrobe, his hair slightly disheveled, as if he had just gotten out of bed.

He yawned, his tone calm:
"Officers, what brings you here so late?"

Carter looked Jules up and down, his eyes sharp, trying to find some flaws in his face.

But Jules was already prepared, his expression calm and composed, showing no sign of panic, and even a touch of aristocratic arrogance.

“We’ve been ordered to screen any suspicious outsiders,” Carter said coldly. “Since you call yourself a baron, do you have any documents to prove your identity?”

Jules smiled slightly and said calmly:
"Of course."

He turned and walked deeper into the room, and Carter immediately followed, pressing his pistol harder.

Jules casually took out the envelope and handed it over.

"Whether it's true or false, you'll know at a glance."

Carter took the envelope and his eyes narrowed when he saw the emblem on it.

"An invitation from the royal family?"

He touched the envelope and frowned, saying:
What was the content of the letter?

Jules stared at Carter and said:

"Officer, are you sure you want to see this?"

He casually took out the folded letter and waved it in front of Carter.

"There are some things that it's better for you not to know—this is for your own good. Of course, if you want to see them, I won't stop you."

Jules' tone was very calm, and there was not even a hint of threat in it.

But when it reached Carter's ears, it made him swallow hard.

His hand, which had been reaching for the letter, hesitated. After a long pause, he managed to utter a single sentence:

"You...you weren't invited to the wedding?"

Jules said calmly:
"More than one invitation, isn't that normal?"

Carter was initially very confident, but now he's having second thoughts.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and said:

"No, that's the rule. We must show you the contents of the letter."

Jules chuckled:
"Then take a look."

Carter unfolded the letter and read it quickly.

As he watched, his forehead became covered with fine beads of sweat.

Upon reaching the end, he suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, saying:
"It was my fault for being so blind and offending Your Excellency!"

The other two officers looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

What's wrong with his own superior? He's just a baron, it doesn't have to be like this, does it?
Even the boss was stunned and stammered:

"This, this, Officer, you..."

"You two, get down on your knees right now!" Carter suddenly roared in fury.

The other two officers immediately knelt down, wondering what had happened.

Jules looked down at the three of them and said calmly:
"Officer, now you should believe me, right?"

"Believe, believe," Carter said, somewhat apprehensive.

He never expected that the baron before him would be someone the prince would personally write a letter to!

"I don't want a third person to know about this. Otherwise, even if I can spare you, the person who wrote the letter won't, understand?"

"understand!"

Carter quickly pulled out a booklet, scribbled something in it, and handed it to Jules with a fawning smile.

"Could you please check if there are any problems with what I wrote?"

Jules picked it up and glanced at it—it turned out to be a register, specifically for recording various outsiders.

His information was clearly recorded, but he was classified as "not a suspect".

“Yes,” Jules nodded, pointing to Ram behind him. “This is my servant. Write him down too. His name is Ram.”

Ram didn't seem to mind revealing his name—there were at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, people in London with that name.

"Ram? Okay, okay..." Carter knelt on the ground and wrote furiously. For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was a little strange.

After a while, once Jules had finished his inspection, Carter wiped the sweat from his brow, carefully put the booklet away, and still dared not look directly at Jules when he stood up.

He said repeatedly:

"I apologize for disturbing you, Baron."

Jules waved his hand, his tone indifferent:
"Go, and remember what you said."

Carter nodded repeatedly and hurriedly retreated with two officers, his boots clicking on the stairs in a flustered and urgent sound.

The boss stood there, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but seeing Jules give him a cold glance, he swallowed his words and followed the police officer downstairs with an awkward smile.

Walking down the street, the other two officers couldn't help but ask Carter:
"Officer, what exactly did you see in that letter?"

Carter glared at the two of them:
"Don't know things you shouldn't know!"

Before seeing it with his own eyes, he never imagined that the signature on it would be the Prince of Wales!

Although theoretically he was working for Prince Dorr by investigating the suspects, he was no fool.

The two princes were locked in a power struggle, and if either of them exerted even the slightest force, he would become the victim.

……

The next day, early morning.

The sky over London was still overcast, the streets were sparsely populated, and the air was thick with the smell of coal smoke.

Jules and Ram left the hotel early, avoiding the main road, and took a horse-drawn carriage to Matilda's antique shop.

Although Matilda's antique shop had been shut down, he still wanted to take a look first.

Last night, we even encountered people being checked for suspicious individuals, which shows that the situation in London has indeed become serious recently.

But he felt that this probably had nothing to do with the closure of Matilda's antique shop.

He couldn't help but think of what the pirate captain had said earlier: "The royal family is collecting antiques."

Could it be that they've set their sights on Matilda's antique inventory?

After several months of arduous travel, Jules finally stood once again before Matilda's villa.

However, now it is nothing but decay.

Broken branches and decaying leaves, covered in a thick layer of dust.

"Sir, this looks like just an abandoned villa. Is there anything noteworthy about it?" Ram asked, somewhat puzzled.

Jules shook his head, not answering, but saying:
"Let's go in and take a look first."

The main gate was closed, but that didn't stop him and Ram. They quickly found a side wall and climbed over.

Upon entering the courtyard, Jules suddenly felt something and looked in one direction from the villa.

It was as if something there was calling to him.

(End of this chapter)