My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 36 Infiltration and Investigation

"puff--"

The tea in Yule's mouth suddenly spurted out, and his words were a little stuck:

"You, you mean Rose Manor?"

Holmes looked at Jules strangely:

"According to the intelligence I have, that place belongs to the Wellington family, and Carl Hockley has lived there for a long time. It is also very likely a hidden lair of the esoteric cultists."

"Could it be that you have some information that I don't know?"

"It's not that you don't know..." Yule wiped the tea on his trouser legs and the table and chairs, and said:
"It just happened to be something related to Rose Manor. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence."

Holmes pursed his lips and said:

"Jules, if you have any thoughts about that place, I would like to remind you not to act rashly. I have been there before as a mortal detective, and the biggest feeling I had there was one of 'repression' and 'indulgence'."

Repression and indulgence? These two contradictory feelings combined together, and Jules immediately thought of the corresponding possibility -

The rule of the cup.

For some believers of the cup, at some point, repression is only to indulge more wantonly.

After thinking for a while, he frowned and said:
"If there are many esoteric believers who follow the principles of the cup, such a situation is not impossible."

Holmes nodded slightly.

"No matter what, we must be careful. Let me first tell you the results of my investigations over the past few days."

The two men walked to the case where the evidence was placed, and then Holmes picked up the magnifying glass and handed it to Jules.

"My friend, take a closer look at this strand of human hair that has been classified as 'food residue'."

Jules took the magnifying glass and adjusted its angle so that the light focused on the fiber that once belonged to a living person.

He slowly moved closer to observe.

This hair is not of ordinary color, but half of it is covered with a strange color.

It was like... dried blood, but it seemed to be mixed with something else.

After thinking for a while, he slowly said:

"Can I smell it?"

Holmes smiled when he heard his request.
"please."

When Jules placed the hair under his nostrils, a strange fragrance entered his nasal cavity in a distorted way.

It was stained with the scent of perfume commonly used by aristocratic women. Although no one knew how many days had passed, the scent had become very faint.

However, what attracted Jules' attention most was another fragrance mixed in with it.

After his physical fitness was strengthened by the [Heart of the Wave], his sensitivity to these perceptions also greatly increased.

The fragrance did not make him feel relaxed and happy, but instead gave him a sudden appetite.

"Kind of like...the spices I use in cooking?"

Yule thought about the background of this case being called the "Cannibal Case" and said in a deep voice:

"Is this hair stained with spices and perfume besides blood?"

"That's right," Holmes snapped his fingers. "That's why I like dealing with clever people like you."

He took the magnifying glass and the hair from Jules and said calmly:
"According to my analysis, the perfume on the hair should be 'Green Fir in the Forest', a perfume commonly used by noble ladies. We can hardly find any clues from it."

At this point, Holmes's mouth curled up slightly:
"However, I have made a different discovery regarding the 'spices' used to aid eating."

"A rare spice has appeared on this hair, but it comes from a distant river basin, and even in its place of origin, its production is limited. In London today, it is more valuable than gold, and the number of nobles who have been lucky enough to enjoy it is probably countless."

"But, as luck would have it, the Wellington family happens to be involved in ocean navigation and colonization, and they also have a stake in the East River Company."

Jules frowned:

"But this alone is hardly conclusive evidence."

Holmes chuckled and said:

"It's a small breakthrough, but it's just a small one. We first need to narrow down the suspects in the cannibalism case to Rose Manor. This way, we can conduct the investigation more easily. Otherwise, they can simply use the excuse of 'defamation' to forcibly reject our investigation. You know, at least on the surface, they are staying out of it now."

He stretched and said:
"To prevent them from destroying evidence, we can't investigate openly. So, get ready. Tomorrow night, we'll sneak into Rose Manor and look for evidence."

"My dear Jules, I'm relying on you this time. If anything goes wrong, I won't be able to fight directly."

……

East End of London.

In an ordinary office building.

In the conference room, the Suppression and Prevention Bureau was holding an important high-level meeting.

"Who told you to investigate?! I've already told you, this kind of thing happens every day, it's just one or two times now and then. Do you want all our agents from the Suppression Bureau to go home empty-handed?"

The speaker was a fat, middle-aged man with big ears. At this moment, he was slamming the table with anger on his face.

"Sir, please calm down," one of the subordinates said, trying to appease the man. He then turned to look at another man and said, "Sir, do you have anything to say?"

The other man, dressed in gentleman's clothes and with sunken eyes, said sarcastically:
"Why, you can't survive without the nobles' money? You're just afraid they'll stop providing financial support."

"How can you say that! I'm doing this for the sake of the development of the Suppression Bureau!"

The two groups argued for a long time, and finally, a loud shout rang out:
"Alright, stop making such a fuss! You're all the best of the empire's elite, can't you even handle such a small matter?!"

The face of the man in the main seat was hidden in the shadows, but one could tell from his tone that he was filled with anger.

Both sides were silent for a moment, and after a while, someone spoke cautiously:
"But, sir, we must give an explanation to the people on this matter, and the Church of Steam..."

"Ah..." The host shook his head and waved his hand.
"Let the new agent handle this himself. If he's capable, we'll help him. If he's not, just die. That'll be one less person drawing a salary without doing anything. That's all. Dismiss."

He was obviously fed up with the endless bickering and simply stood up and left the meeting room, leaving everyone in the room looking at each other in bewilderment.

The fat, middle-aged man who saw him leave hesitated for a moment and whispered to his subordinate beside him:
"Have you arranged the people?"

The subordinate understood and handed over a piece of paper which read:

"The investigation will officially begin in two days. When we start, we will disguise it as an unexpected attack by the esoteric cultists."

Seeing that his subordinates had already made arrangements, he raised his head and gave a hidden sneer.

"I've said it so many times, the nobility are the foundation of the country, and the common people are just appendages..."

……

Late at night, outside Rose Manor.

The moonlight fell on the carefully trimmed bushes, giving the green ocean a silver sheen.

The lights around are like stars, each emitting a soft and mysterious light, making the outline of the manor seem dreamy and unreal.

Jules and Holmes hid in a dark place that they had found with great difficulty, looking around vigilantly.

At this moment, many guards were wandering around the manor, as if they knew they were coming, and they guarded the entire manor tightly.

Jules didn't dare to gamble with his moth cloak - you know, this kind of place is not like the Titanic, the security is much tighter.

The moth cloak only confuses the senses, it is not really invisible. This is why Steel, a second-level player, failed to discover it before, but Jules, a mortal, found clues instead.

He whispered:

“It’s not easy to get in…”

Holmes narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’ve specially noted down the pattern of their shift changes.

When the second and third hours meet in the early morning of the next day, it will be time for us to act."

Click.

Seeing the guards begin to take turns, Jules gently opened his pocket watch.

"The time has come."

(End of this chapter)