"Is there such a thing? Don't worry, I just want to return the ring."
He told about his search for the "Water Monkey" yesterday afternoon and ended up picking up a pile of rags. Miss Lassers didn't see Shad last night, so she didn't know about it:
"Then Mr. Stone Oxenfurt, is he just an ordinary person?"
Before leaving, Miss Lassus nodded:
"Yes, at least I think so."
Riding horses without a license is not allowed in the core area of the city near the Wilde Opera House, so Shade led the horse and left the neighborhood first, and then walked through the city to the northern suburbs of the city.
After getting used to riding horses in the snow, it was quite interesting to walk alone in the snow. During the trip, Shade suddenly had an idea and wanted to know if he could make the horses run faster if he used his [Puppetry] to control the horses.
So Shade, who was very experimental, put his hand on the horse's head while it was galloping in the snow.
The spirit turned into silk threads to control the puppet, and the [Puppetry Technique] was almost immediately successful. Then, the horse that could not control its limbs stopped suddenly, and then Shade and the horse fell into the snow together.
Fortunately, the snow was very thick and the horse's limbs were not injured. This experiment told Shade that it was best not to use thaumaturgy indiscriminately.
Although he knew from the map in advance that Oxenfurt Manor was very remote, when he actually went there by himself, Shade found that the place was too remote.
After he left the city, he first passed a small village attached to the city, and then passed through a large beekeeper's field on a snowy country road. Then he passed an apple orchard that was bare in winter, and then passed a wasteland.
After stopping the horse to avoid two rabbits that came out of nowhere, we crossed a short wooden bridge and entered the forest path. After leaving the forest, we saw the manor standing in the distance, but when we really arrived
Outside the manor, another ten minutes were spent.
According to Miss Lassers, this large manor is the old home of the Oxenfurt family. After the family's decline a hundred years ago, it was transferred many times as a deduction for accounts, so when Shade got close to it,
, and I did find that although it has been repaired, it still looks old.
There is a forest outside the manor, and the manor itself is wrapped by a square white low wall. Some withered vines are clinging to the outside of the low wall. On the low wall, barbed wire and broken glass can be seen shining in the sun.
But Xia De was not surprised by this. After all, this place is somewhat remote, and these measures are necessary for safety.
Oxenfurt Manor is adjacent to the Elrond River, and not far from the manor is the dock. It was still the Ice Age at this time, so there were no workers on the dock, only some stacked boxes. The whole manor looked very quiet, and Shade was at the manor.
When I dismounted in front of the black iron fence gate, I could see that the courtyard was well kept and even a small flowerbed surrounded by white stones, but there was no one in the entire courtyard.
He pulled the bell towards the door and waited with peace of mind. After a moment of hesitation, he reached into the fence again:
"There is no problem with Madlands."
He waited for a long time, and finally an old man in a black coat walked out of the mansion in the distance. From his appearance, he knew he was the housekeeper.
When the old man approached the gate, Shade also introduced his identity and claimed that he wanted to discuss the topic of Rhodes cards with Mr. Oxenfurt. He did not tell about the ring. After all, the ring fell off.
Entering the river, there must be a story behind it, and letting others know about it rashly may cause family conflicts.
Sure enough, Mr. Oxenfurt had already mentioned Shad's matter in his own home, and the old housekeeper also knew the name of "John Watson", so he opened the gate and led Shad's horse away.
Come in.
However, Mr. Stone Oxenfurt is not in the manor now, but in the city discussing business with people, but he will definitely be back before three o'clock in the afternoon, so Shade can wait, after all, it is almost two o'clock now
Already.
Just as Shade thought, even though Oxenfurt Manor has been repaired in recent years, its appearance is still very worrying. It is completely different from the noble manors he visited before. It is obviously being used but it looks very dilapidated.
No other place Shade had ever seen.
Not only was the courtyard dilapidated, but after entering the mansion, it was obvious that the floor was clean, the walls were well painted, and the oil paintings and ancient armor decorations were consistent with the status of a wealthy businessman, but Shade still felt that this place was a bit too old.
The mansion was also very deserted. When the old housekeeper took Sha De all the way to the reception room on the second floor, they did not meet a third person, and there was not even the sound of other servants moving. This made Sha De think that this
There were only two of them in the house.
But this idea was soon overturned, because Mrs. Oxenfurt, the owner of the ring, Helena Oxenfurt, brought her maid to the reception room to temporarily entertain the guests for her husband.
The maid prepared tea for the two of them with a trolley. She was not very old. Shade also took a look at the maid's skirt. Because of his familiarity with Tifa, Shade was familiar with the shape, color and upper body of the maid's skirt.
The method has been deeply studied, and although the style of the maid skirt worn by Mrs. Oxenfurt's maid is a bit old, there is no big problem. It's just the color of the white part of the skirt and hair band that looks different no matter how you look at it.
There is some yellowing, and Xia De is not sure whether it is because it has not been washed thoroughly.
As for Mrs. Helena Oxenfurt, she is a very typical housewife who looks to be in her thirties. She has beautiful curly long black hair, blue eyes, a high nose, and three-dimensional facial features.
She wears a black veil when she is a guest, and wears a red and black high-collar floral dress at home. She is very tall, and is only inferior to most of the witches Shade knows. Except for Miss Troy, whom Xueshan knows, her skin is surprisingly white.
The face behind the veil looked a little melancholy, but she still maintained the dignity of a hostess and received Shade.
After the maid brought the black tea, she exited the study and let Shade talk to Mrs. Oxenfurt. In Shade's opinion, this was completely against the rules. A stranger like him came to visit and could be alone in a room with the hostess.
, this is the kind of treatment only "thieves" can have.
Probably seeing Shade's doubts, Mrs. Oxenfurt said softly:
"Something happened some time ago. My husband fired his previous servants. We haven't had time to find new servants yet. There are a few people at home. I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter."
Shade was sitting on the small sofa beside the coffee table, opposite the window. As he was talking, he saw it was snowing outside. The weather was quite good when he came in:
"This time I said I came to visit Mr. Oxenfurt, but actually it wasn't just for the Rhodes cards."
He took out the ring box from his pocket. The box was prepared by himself. The girls around him said many times that jewelry should not be placed directly in the pocket:
"When I was fishing on the ice a few days ago, I found this from the belly of the fish. This should belong to you, right?"
He opened the box and handed it to the tall woman in front of him. The latter looked at the ring and was slightly surprised. She looked at Xia De again before taking it:
"Yes."
[Her body temperature is a little low, but it is still within the normal range. 】
The voice of "her" came to his ears. Shade did not have direct contact with the woman in front of him, but he was close enough when he handed over the ring just now.
"Although I don't know why it ended up in the belly of the fish, I can consider it returning to its original owner. After a while, Mr. Oxenfurt will come back. Can I mention this matter to him?"
Shade asked again, then picked up the teacup in front of him.
The pale black-haired woman held the box and shook her head slightly:
"No need to mention it. I can offer you a reward, Mr. Watson."
"No, no, you don't need to pay me anything, I just have nothing to do. If my 'date time' with that young and beautiful seventeen-year-old girl was in the afternoon instead of in the evening, I wouldn't have sent it back."
Shade said with a smile, and then took a sip of black tea.
【no problem.】
Since he entered the manor, he has always been vigilant, and this manor is full of weirdness. But at least so far, he has not noticed traces of the elements. Of course, this does not mean that it is definitely normal here. After all, Shade is also
Don't be arrogant and think that your perception is completely correct.
If his perception was omnipotent, the problem at No. 6 Saint Teresa Square would not pop up every few months.
He wanted to talk to the woman in front of him about her marital problems and find out why the ring fell into the river, but it seemed that Helena Oxenfurt was unwilling to speak, which made Shade unable to bring up the topic.
So Shade changed the topic:
"This manor is really remote. I might not have been able to find it on my way here if I hadn't been pointed out by someone from Offee Village."
"Yes, but this is an ancestral home, and we cannot move it away easily. Although it is a bit more open, and the gas and steam pipes are not convenient, it will not have a big impact on our lives."
The woman spoke softly again, her voice always very soft.
Shade nodded. Because it is far away from the city, the mansion does not even have gas pipes installed. But there are steam pipes here, and the mansions are equipped with steam engines and even underground steam boilers. Just now, in the corridor, it felt a little dark inside the building, also because
There are kerosene lamps hanging on the walls instead of the new gas lamps:
"Does Mr. Oxenfurt like Rhodes very much? I am a foreigner and I just heard about Mr. Oxenfurt not long ago. He is really a very powerful local player."
"Yes, he likes Rhodes very much. Before losing to you, he hadn't lost for a long time."
This topic finally made Haila Oxenfurt willing to take the initiative to say a few more words:
"Not only in Rhodes, but also in other aspects, my husband rarely loses. In business, relationships, and betting, he always wins, and he wins completely."