My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 164 Reunion
dong dong dong.

There was a sudden knock on the office door.

"Mr. Holmes, may I come in?"

The greeting was very gentle, yet it gave Ram a slightly eerie feeling.

Ram closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down.

He tried hard to recall Mr. Holmes's instructions:
"If someone comes to visit, you may talk to them through the door, but you must never allow them to enter."

He opened his eyes, looked towards the doorway, and his voice sounded slightly strange:

"No need, let's just talk like this."

This is the voice he imitated under Holmes's guidance, and it is seven or eight parts similar to Holmes's voice, making it even more difficult to distinguish through the door.

After a moment of silence, the voice outside said:
"Mr. Holmes, what's your opinion on our previous request?"

“No need. I don’t want to get involved in the conflict between the two princes,” Ram replied, following Holmes’s instructions.

"What?" The voice outside suddenly became urgent. "Why? Is it because the conditions are not right?"

Ram said calmly:

"I have no interest in getting involved in the power struggles in London. You should find someone else."

The outside world fell silent for a moment, then suddenly erupted in a furious roar without warning:
"Holmes, this is an order, not a request for your opinion!"

What followed was a screeching sound.

Ram felt a chill run down his spine, but he still forced a smile and said:
"Your Excellency should understand that some things cannot be done in the open—taking a step back is better for all of us."

"Hehe, now that you put it that way, I understand." The voice outside suddenly became calm.

Then, casually, he asked:
"Well, we have some other cases that require your attention. They have nothing to do with the royal family, but they concern innocent lives. May I come in and talk to you about them?"

These words seemed to carry a kind of supernatural inducement and suggestion, making Ram almost subconsciously agree to talk to the other party.

But the lantern in his hand, which had been dim, suddenly lit up, making his eyes much clearer.

Ram gripped the lantern tightly, forcing himself to remain calm.

The allure of the voice almost made him lose his senses, but the light of the lantern brought him back to his senses.

He took a deep breath and spoke firmly:
"No need. All cases can be discussed outside."

A low chuckle came from outside the door, tinged with a chilling undertone:
“Mr. Holmes, you are very cautious. But some things cannot be discussed behind closed doors, such as… the safety of an innocent life, can you bear to stand idly by?”

Ram felt a strange pressure, as if someone was whispering in his ear, urging him to nod.

He gritted his teeth, his fingers almost digging into the metal handle of the lantern:

"I said, let's talk outside the door."

"Stubborn."

The voice suddenly turned low, carrying a hint of impatience:
"Do you really think a door can stop me? Just say 'come in,' and everything is negotiable."

Ram's heart raced, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

Although I don't know what's outside that door, judging from how much it wants me to let it in, it's definitely not something normal!
From the legends he had heard, those with similar characteristics were generally "vampires"—also known as bloodlines.

They cannot enter the house without the owner's permission.

Ram stared intently at the door and answered, word by word:
"I won't let you in."

There was a dead silence.

Then, a low growl came from outside the door, like a wild beast suppressing its rage.

Then, the voice rang out again, with a deliberate gentleness:
“Alright, Mr. Holmes, I respect your choice. But you might consider this: if I leave, those innocent lives… tsk tsk, no one will be able to save them.”

Ram remained unmoved and coldly replied:
"Let's go, don't waste time."

Suddenly, a furious roar came from outside the door, as if the disguise had been completely torn off:

"You will regret this!"

Then came a series of rapid scraping sounds, like fingernails frantically scratching at a wooden door.

Ram took a step back, her heart pounding, but the door remained unmoved.

After a while, the sound disappeared, and the office fell into dead silence.

Ram pressed his ear against the door to confirm that the other person was really gone, then he let out a long sigh of relief, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

"They're finally gone..."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, thinking that perhaps the other party had finally given up.

Ram turned around and went back to the table to start tidying up her things, but suddenly felt a chill.

He instinctively looked up—in the window, a pale face was pressed tightly against the glass, and scarlet eyes stared straight at him.

The face was bloodless, the corners of the mouth were stretched open to reveal a pair of sharp fangs, and the eyes were filled with the purest malice, no different from the stereotypical vampire.

"Ah!" Ram cried out in surprise, staggering backward and nearly dropping the lantern in her hand.

The vampire raised a hand, his well-defined fingers slowly tapping on the glass, producing a crisp "tap-tap" sound.

"So Mr. Holmes isn't here..."

He chuckled, not forgetting to maintain his so-called "aristocratic demeanor" even at this moment.

Ram forced himself to look directly at the vampire and said:
"If there's anything you need, please come another time. We can skip it today."

The vampire's cold eyes stared at Ram, and he suddenly said:

“That’s easy. Just give me back the key on the table, and I’ll leave immediately.”

A key? Ram was taken aback. Mr. Holmes didn't seem to have mentioned this before.

He turned his head and saw a key next to the envelope on the table.

At this moment, the vampire showed no trace of his previous ferocity; instead, he was all smiles.
"Yes, that's it. Just pass it to me through the crack in the window."

The lantern in Ram's hand suddenly emitted light again, setting off alarm bells in his mind.

"This monster is tempting me again..."

He tried to ignore the vampire's voice and instead examined the letter.

Seeing Ram go to look at the letter, the vampire immediately panicked:

"This is a confidential letter concerning His Highness the Prince. How dare you read it? You deserve to die!"

He frantically tried to interfere with Ram using his abilities, but to no avail.

Protected by the lights, Ram was unaffected and instead focused intently on reading the letter.

"So... in exchange for helping investigate the Prince of Wales's murder, Mr. Holmes will be given the key to see the bride?"

The letter stated that, given Mr. Holmes' past relationship with the bride, permission was granted for both parties to meet.

Ram was somewhat puzzled—putting aside the murder case, if someone wanted to meet with someone, wouldn't the prince just nod? Why did he need to give him a key?

When he looked up again, the vampire's face had returned to its cold indifference:

"It seems Mr. Holmes is refusing to cooperate. Very well."

"His Highness will make Mr. Holmes understand that the Prince of Wales was absolutely the wrong choice."

His face gradually disappeared into the darkness, and although Ram felt uneasy, he still breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if it sounds like there's big trouble ahead, at least the immediate trouble is over.

However, just as the vampire's figure completely disappeared into the darkness, a sudden change occurred—a blinding light flashed by, causing Ram to involuntarily close his eyes.

The piercing screams echoed outside, then faded into silence along with the bright light.

“Well done,” the door suddenly opened, and Holmes walked in, pipe in hand, followed by two figures, one tall and one short. “From now on, this place is no longer safe to stay in.”

Two figures came into Ram's view, which immediately stunned him.

“Lina…?” he asked, trembling.

The tall figure emerged from the darkness—it was Jules.

He smiled and looked to his side, saying:
"Say hello to your brother."

The short figure emerged from the darkness and said cautiously:

"……elder brother?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, tears instantly streamed down Ram's face.

"Lina, you're back..."

He rushed over and hugged Lina tightly, then started sobbing like a child.

Holmes had left sometime earlier, but returned a while later with a pinch of ash in his hand, saying:

"That vampire is probably just a gofer—at most, he's only at the second tier."

Jules pondered for a moment and said:
"Why don't we move to the Prince of Wales' estate first? That would make it easier to discuss important matters."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Holmes nodded. "Get ready, we're about to officially break ties with Prince Dole."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Jules again.

“But you are different. He probably doesn’t know about your collaboration with the Prince of Wales yet, so we can only rely on you.”

Jules nodded heavily.

Instead of disturbing Ram and Lina's reunion, the two of them tacitly began to tidy up the detective agency, which had not been open for long.

"Here you take this key." Holmes tossed a key to Jules.

"What is this?" Jules asked, somewhat puzzled.

Holmes stared into Jules' eyes:
"The letter said this was the key to meeting the bride at the wedding—I didn't believe it at first, but..."

He glanced at the opened envelope and said:
"The item has been moved, so the vampire was probably trying to get it back, so it's probably real."

Ram also stopped sobbing, wiped away her tears, and said:
"Yes, that vampire did ask me for it, I don't know why."

Jules toyed with the metallic key in his hand and chuckled:

"Aren't you afraid that Ram will really give the key away?"

Holmes shook his head:
"Of course I tampered with it. Any vampire that dares to touch it will instantly turn to ashes—such pathetic creatures that can only survive in the shadows are naturally powerless against the radiance."

These words slightly changed Jules's view of the principle of the lamp—it seemed that the principle was not entirely without combat capability at the lower levels.

However, they might prefer things that require prior preparation or rituals.

The group quickly packed up, took some important items, and left before dawn.

On the way, Ram couldn't help but ask:

"How come you two are here so quickly?"

He knew how powerful the Cavendish family was; did these two really just treat the place like their own backyard?
Holmes didn't reply, but Jules smiled and said:
"It's very simple. Lina's so-called 'master' is just an ordinary person, so we took him away secretly without much effort."

There were indeed extraordinary individuals hidden within the Cavendish family, but they were not guarding the baron who bought Lina.

The most troublesome part of the whole process was actually getting Lina out, because Lina was, after all, a living person.

At this point, Uriel's note came in handy—the gatekeeper assumed it was another nobleman who had retrieved the person, so he didn't stop them, and the three of them left smoothly.

By the time the Cavendish family realized what was happening, the three had already made their escape.

"You've suffered a lot during this time..."

Ram tenderly tended to Lina's injuries, her eyes filled with guilt.

Lina's smile was somewhat forced, but she instead comforted Ram:
"It's okay, I know, my brother won't abandon me..."

Seeing the two comforting each other, Jules was both amused and exasperated, but ultimately sighed.

Holmes seemed to read Jules's mind and spoke in a low voice:
"The damage Lina suffered is already done, you don't need to be sad."

Jules shook his head without replying, but the murderous intent in his eyes intensified.

All of this originated with Prince Dorr.

So let's start by killing the prince's dog, and then continue down to the prince himself.

……

By then, dawn had broken.

The Prince of Wales prepared a simple breakfast for Jules and Holmes, and sitting opposite them, he sincerely praised them:

"Your efficiency is truly incredible."

Holmes adjusted his hat:
"Your Highness is too kind. This is my job."

Jules didn't say anything, he just smiled and said:
"I never expected that the detective you hired would be my friend."

The Prince of Wales took a sip of tea and said calmly:

"Within London, the only detective with this ability and the convenience to act is Mr. Holmes."

"However, now that you're here, you must have completely rejected cooperation with Prince Dorr, right?"

Beneath the calm words, however, lurked an undercurrent.

Holmes simply swallowed the food in his mouth and calmly asked in return:
"I'm already sitting at the same table as you, don't you think?"

After saying that, the three of them looked at each other and smiled.

The rest of the breakfast time was spent in a relatively quiet meal.

After the meal, Holmes said he needed to rest for a while. As a psychic of the lamp, he needed to dream frequently to maintain his power at its peak.

Jules was just about to go find the Prince of Wales when he was stopped by someone.

"Now that this matter is settled, let's talk about the centipede who was imprisoned for discovering the secret of the 'worm'."

Inside the study, the Prince of Wales no longer drank tea, but simply placed a bottle of ink on the desk, swaying it gently.

"Currently, there should be no immortals in London, so you can rest assured about that."

Yule raised his eyebrows and said:

What did they all go about?

The Prince of Wales hesitated for a moment, then said:
"The ceremony should be held in Ireland."

Ireland……

Jules paused, then thought of everything he had experienced in Innsmouth, Ireland.

I wonder how things are there now?
"I don't know Her Majesty's thoughts now, but since she hasn't expressed any explicit opposition to anyone, it means she tacitly approves of our conflict."

The Prince of Wales held up the bottle of ink that shimmered with a blue-silver hue and said calmly:
"This bottle of ink you brought can just help you save that 'centipede'."

(End of this chapter)