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As soon as they returned to the Aurora Society's base, the attendant came up to them eagerly, "The lady is still waiting for you in the living room. I have the most complete book in the book city?"

"Miss?"

Edward asked, "When did she come, and how long had she been waiting?"

"Almost five hours."

Edward washed his hands in the basin as usual, then picked up the dry towel brought by the servant and walked towards the living room while wiping his hands. As soon as he reached the door, he saw a woman in a skirt and a gauze hat sitting on the sofa inside.

He quickly recalled Mr. F's memory and confirmed that this was the first time he had seen this person.

"Excuse me, ma'am, what can I do for you?"

As they were talking, he sat down opposite her. The moment he saw the other person's stunning face through the gauze, Edward concluded that this woman was most likely a witch.

So, you are here for the witch from before?

"I'm Lina's sister."

The woman's voice was so soft as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Lina, who is it?"

It's not that Edward was pretending to be confused, but Mr. F really didn't know the name of the witch who issued the commission.

"She is the girl who commissioned you to assassinate Earl Clear."

"Oh, her?"

Edward leaned back with his index fingers crossed. "Where's she? I've already done everything. Should I give her the remaining money?"

The woman put a bag full of money on the table. "She couldn't come because of something. This is the final payment. Where are the things?"

"What?"

Edward was puzzled. "You are not talking about the head of Earl Clear? I didn't have it. I only said that I killed him."

"…"

The woman looked at him quietly. "The things in the basement of Villa No. 7, Rose Street."

"Oh. - San Ye, Wu_ - Zui? Xin` Zhang¨ Jie/埂￠ Xin? Kuai."

Edward reached under the coffee table and pulled out a brass stick. "This one?"

The woman was obviously stunned: This thing has been hidden under the coffee table in front of me all the time? Then what have I been doing for the past few hours?

She reached out to take it, but Edward dodged her, "First, the money you pay now is only to buy Clear's life. Second, I need to know what this thing is used for."

"I can give you more money, but this thing... I don't know what it's for."

Edward's face fell, "Are you kidding me?"

"No!"

The woman said seriously, "I only know that my enemy needs it. In that case, it doesn't matter what it is used for. What matters is that my enemy loses it."

Enemy?

etc!

Why did things develop differently from what I expected?

Wasn't this woman sent by Intis to carry out the task of killing Count Cleary at the Twilight Hermitage? And to retrieve the brass stick in the basement of the villa.

How...did this brass stick become her enemy?

Edward stretched out his hand to the attendant, who immediately poured a glass of wine and handed it to him. Edward tapped the wall of the glass to cool the red wine in it, and then took a sip slowly.

The woman didn't seem to be in a hurry anymore and just looked at him through the gauze.

"I suddenly became curious."

Edward chuckled and said, "Why did you ask me to kill Earl Clear?"

"Someone wanted him dead, so I found you."

"who?"

"Many people, many people have benefited from the invention of the Son of Steam, including... Roselle Gustav himself."

Edward raised the corner of his mouth, "You mean, it was the Son of Steam who asked you to entrust me to kill Earl Clear?"

"You can think of it that way. The first time you read a book, you will find the latest chapter."

"interesting."

Edward suddenly threw the brass stick over and said, "Give me the money."

The woman seemed to have been prepared. She took out a blood-red gem and placed it on the coffee table. "Happy cooperation."

Then he stood up and walked outside.

"see a visitor out."

After the servant led the woman out of the living room, Edward flicked out the gold coins and said, "Tsk, you really don't tell the truth."

Edward put on an invisibility cloak and transformed into a spirit. He then activated the [Hide] effect and left the house, following the carriage that the witch was riding in.

The carriage went north across the iron bridge, arrived at the observatory area, and then passed through two busy neighborhoods. The carriage never stopped from beginning to end, but Edward knew that the witch quietly changed carriages when she passed a carriage traveling in the opposite direction.

She was indeed on guard against others following her.

Edward watched her performance quietly. After she changed the first car, she changed the second car, then entered the sewer, and made a big circle to an ordinary duplex in the Memorial Hall area.

As soon as she entered the house, she immediately went into the bathroom, obviously unable to bear the stench from the sewer. Half an hour later, she sat at the dressing table in the room in a bathrobe, staring at the beautiful face in the mirror, stroking it gently with her fingers from time to time, as if she was fascinated by herself.

I admit that you witches are beautiful, but there's no need to be so vain, right?

At this time, she opened a drawer of the dressing table, took out a human skin mask and put it on her face. The bright and beautiful face of a witch suddenly disappeared, and she turned into a middle-aged woman in her thirties who was good-looking but had heavy makeup.

When Edward saw this face, he was shocked: Isn't this Ms. Marcia who rented Emerald No. 28 to him?

She is actually a witch?

At this moment Edward deeply realized how terrifying the Faceless Man was. In this mysterious worldview, except for the audience, other extraordinary people, whether they were demigods or angels, could not tell that someone around them was someone else pretending to be someone else (of course, there are many ways to check who the Faceless Man is, but the premise is that you have to doubt first and then check).

The good news is that I am more shameless than the Faceless Man.

I just don't know whether this Ms. Marcia was disguised as a witch with the faceless man's extraordinary items, or whether she was replaced in the middle.

If it is the former,

Hey! Dubois has enjoyed the taste of the witch, and she is worthy of being Russell's true love.

Since Marcia is a witch and has some kind of relationship with "Intis", then renting the house to me...isn't it no coincidence?

Thinking of this, Edward no longer hid and suddenly appeared in the room.

Marcia's attack came almost instantly. Sharp spider silk instantly spread throughout the house, strangling Edward.

Black flames and ice appeared simultaneously, and germs invisible to the naked eye spread throughout the entire room.

But the next second, all the attacks disappeared, and Marcia found herself still sitting in front of the dressing table, as if what had just happened was just an illusion.

Pop.

A dry hand suddenly pressed on her shoulder. Through the reflection of the mirror, she saw an old man with a beard and wearing a black robe with a hood behind her.

Then, she felt her body go numb, her consciousness quickly faded, and she collapsed powerlessly.

"The ability [Degeneration] is really a magical skill for bullying weaklings. Anyone below the level of a demigod can be easily degraded by two ranks, and then be easily killed by magic or extraordinary abilities."

However, Edward did not kill her.

Unlike Mr. F of the Aurora Society, Mr. F simply does things for money. If he is alive, there will just be one more terrorist. If he dies, all of Trier's Aurora Society will belong to Edward.

Edward quickly arranged the ceremony and began to channel the spirit: "Your name, your real name."

Marcia replied dully, "Marcia."

"Your identity is."

"I am a member of the Witch Church."

"Why do you have to send someone to No. 7 Rose Street to get the brass stick?"

"For my Lord."

Hmm? Why is it related to Chick... Oh, yes, Chick also needs the Beyonder characteristic of the Conqueror!

However, isn't it a bit of a joke to leave such a big thing to a Sequence 5 Witch of Pain?

"What is the purpose of this brass rod, your Lord?"

"I have no idea."

"Once you have the stick, what are you going to do with it?"

"Wait for the Messenger of the Lord."

"When will the messenger come?"

"I have no idea."

Edward folded his hands, thought for a moment, and asked again, "Why did you issue a commission to the Aurora Society to assassinate Earl Clear?"

"I'm just helping others post commissions."

Hey, there is a new discovery!

"who?"

"Tariq?"

"Who is Tariq?"

"He is a palace guard of Intis, working for an important figure in Intis."

"Why would Tariq ask you to do this?"

"He said it was inconvenient for him, but he didn't say the specific reason."

"How did you come to collaborate?"

"He and the big guy behind him have always been cooperating with the Witch Church. The previous witch who was in charge of contacting him happened to be killed, so I took over the liaison position."

"Tell me where Tariq lives."

"I don't know. He doesn't trust me. I'm not even sure if Tariq is his real name.

Edward couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

After a moment, he asked again: "The witch who killed people at the banquet at Roselle Gustav's house last time, is she your person?"

"Yes."

"Why did she go and kill someone then?"

"Commit multiple murders at the same time, and take advantage of the chaos to kill Klein Sparrow, who was renting at 7 Rose Street, and prevent anyone from linking his death to the 'haunted house' at 7 Rose Street."

This answer really surprised Edward. He never thought that the witch at that time was actually coming for him.

"Why kill Crane Sparrow?"

"On the surface, it was to 'help' Tariq get rid of the resident of No. 7 Rose Street, but in reality, it was to deliberately draw other people's attention, forcing Tariq to move the thing and try to find where the other things were hidden."

"He doesn't realize your true intentions?"

"In his eyes, I am just a madman who will do anything for the Lord."

Edward suddenly discovered a blind spot: "Wait, since Tariq and the 'big shot' behind him don't want anyone to live in 7 Rose Street anymore, why don't they buy or rent it themselves? It's impossible that they don't even have this little money, right?"

"Tariq said that doing so would draw attention to certain people and would be counterproductive."

"Which ones?"

"have no idea."

After walking back and forth for a while, Edward found that he had asked all the questions he needed to ask. Some questions had been answered, but there were still more questions for which he had no answers.

He performed another dream divination and found out what the "Tariq" looked like - a blond man with ordinary looks and wearing knight's clothes.

The next thing is how to deal with this Marcia.

Of course I won't kill her. After all, I'm still counting on her to provide more clues later.

Edward hesitated whether to erase her memory of tonight or keep her memory of meeting "Zaratul".

The former is to do it step by step, while the latter would be like alerting the enemy - I don't believe that when you know that you are being targeted by an old bastard like Zaratul, you will remain indifferent and do nothing.

Looking at it this way, it seems there is no need to worry about it anymore.

Zaratul vs Intis, it would be best if the Aurora Society is involved.

I want to see rivers of blood!

Chapter 509 Two Daughter Slaves

In the next few days, Edward asked the Aurora Society to help find "Tariq", while he also had people secretly keep an eye on Marcia.

That night, after Marcia regained consciousness, she was obviously very frightened. She huddled in her residence like a quail, not going anywhere and never contacted the outside world again.

As for Edward himself, he was an honest rich man. He took walks every day and went to some clubs and salons. If Edward's real purpose was just to integrate into the Trier aristocratic circle, then his current progress was undoubtedly quite smooth.

Originally, a party was supposed to be held to celebrate the move into the new house, but Roselle had already arrived in advance, so Edward canceled the original plan and just had a feast with the servants and slaves in the house.

Originally, according to Du Bois, he should at least get acquainted with the neighbors on both sides. However, the owner of the villa on the left seemed to have gone on vacation to the south, and the one on the right was an elderly couple who did not like socializing, so he had to give up.

In this way, time unknowingly came to the day when Russell went out to sea.

Although Edward was somewhat unhappy, he also remembered that Russell had clearly mentioned his seafaring experience in his diary, which was part of history.

The night before, Edward came to visit alone. Roselle was as enthusiastic as ever, "Klein, are you here to see me off? I will officially depart from the port of Trier at 10 am tomorrow. Remember to come."

"must!"

The two of them sat down in the living room. Russell held the wine and said, "I really hope you can come with me this time. With an old hand like you, it will definitely save a lot of time and trouble. ·x\4/0\0?t!x·t*.?c`o,m′"

Edward smiled and said, "But isn't it more interesting to explore the unknown? If you are prepared for everything and know everything in advance, wouldn't it be less interesting?"

"Hahaha, that's true."

"Hey, where's Bernadette?"

"She has been angry since she found out that I didn't take her with me when I went out to sea. Matilda is trying to coax her. I just coaxed her casually at your house last time, but the child took it seriously." Roselle spread his hands. "Although I am reluctant to let her go, she is only 6 years old now. How can I dare to take her out on an adventure?"

"In that case, why do we have to go out to sea?"

Roselle thought for a moment and said seriously, "Because... the sea is there."

Edward was stunned, realizing that he had paraphrased a classic quote from his previous life: "Why climb the mountain? Because the mountain is there."

"Oh, you understand what I mean?"

Russell was quite surprised and immediately clinked glasses with Edward, "Hey, if only I had met you earlier! It's hard to find a true friend."

"Don't forget, I am your predecessor when it comes to the sea. I have also experienced your thoughts."

"That's true!"

At this time, Russell leaned back and said with a smile, "Okay, Klein, tell me, what is the matter that brought you to see me today?"

Edward pretended to be embarrassed: "You figured it out."

"Yeah, it's all written on your face."

"It's like this, Roselle, there's something... could you please do me a favor?"

"Tell me, I will help if I can."

"I don't know if Bernadette has told you that I also have a daughter, but she got lost with me."

The smile on Russell's face disappeared, and he frowned and asked, "How did she get lost?" - Since becoming a father, he has been very sensitive to matters in this regard, and he was quite unhappy in his heart: he was such a dereliction of duty as a father to let his daughter get lost!

Edward's words were half true and half false, but his emotions were genuine: "At that time... I was being hunted by my enemies, and I had no choice but to lead them away alone. Afterwards... we completely lost contact."

"I have been looking for her all these years. The reason I came to Trier was to integrate into the aristocratic circle. I also wanted to meet some 'big shots' and hope to use them to help me."

"Oh, am I now what you call a 'big shot'?" Roselle nodded. "No problem. Give me her information and portrait. At least within the scope of Intis, I will do my best."

"I've been looking for her for years."

Edward's face was gloomy. "Sometimes I wonder if she has already..."

Russell said in a deep voice: "No."

"I kept telling myself this over and over again. Then I thought, since ordinary methods can't find her, can I try some special methods?"

Edward looked at him steadily. "To be honest, during the years I have been making a living on the sea, I also know about the existence of Extraordinary People."

Russell raised his eyebrows, but he was not too surprised.

He immediately thought of Zaratul, "I know someone who is good at finding people..."

Edward's eyes lit up and he asked excitedly, "Really? Where is he? What do I need to pay him to help?"

"this..."

After Zaratul was scared away last time, there was no news. He was always elusive, and Roselle didn't know where he was now. "That person... I may not be able to contact him in the short term."

"Is that so?"

Seeing the hope in Edward's eyes extinguished again, Russell frowned and thought for a while, "Don't worry, there is another way."

Without Edward's deliberate reminder, he quickly thought of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery. There must be some sealed objects in the church that can be used to find people, right?

Coincidentally, the evil god also asked me to take out a sealed object from the church, so I killed two birds with one stone.

Russell lowered his head and thought for a moment, "I... will help you think of a solution."

"Thank you so much, Russell."

Russell smiled calmly: "You sacrificed your life to save my daughter, and I helped you find your daughter. This is the real evenness, right?"

He previously thought that helping Edward twice was already a favor, but now that he knew that Edward had been looking for his daughter, he didn't want to be so fussy about it for the moment. This was empathy as a father.

So he stood up and patted Edward on the shoulder, "Don't worry, we will definitely find her."

"Um."

...

It was just past 8 o'clock when we returned to 28 Emerald Street.

Although Roselle had agreed to help, and had obviously thought of borrowing the seal from the church, the probability of finding Arrodes was still quite small.

However, at least progress has taken a big step forward.

If it doesn't work this time, it will be almost certain to work next time.

The only pity is that next time... I might have to wait until Roselle returns from the sea.

"Boss, you're back."

Dubois stood at the door, seemingly waiting for a long time. "I asked Endili to prepare some soup to sober you up."

"No, I didn't drink much."

"Boss, did things go well tonight?"

Edward looked over and said jokingly, "Are you asking this question because you care about me or Russell?"

"Of course it's you."

Edward sat down on the sofa. "It went smoothly, but...smoothly doesn't mean successful."

DuBois opened his mouth, as if hesitating whether to ask more questions.

"You are a smart man and have helped me a lot during this period, so I won't hide some of my words from you." Edward said frankly, "I did come here for Russell in the beginning, but I hope to use him to do me a favor."

"What?"

"Find my daughter."

DuBois was shocked: "You have a daughter?!"

"For some reason, we got separated. As you know, the world is so big, conventional methods are definitely useless, so I want to use some special methods."

"I see."

DuBois was visibly relieved.

...