"Wake up?" Hitzfeld thought.
Could it be that Grace's absence in reality was not his subjective will, but that his body was too tired and needed rest?
It didn't seem completely unreasonable. After all, if he was really that strong, his spirit must have surpassed the limit of what the human body could bear, and he had remained awake even though his body couldn't keep up with his physical training...
Is it possible that his head will explode?
Hitzfeld was just guessing, but she felt it was likely that this was the case.
Villefort had already answered the phone. He handed the receiver to Hitzfeld, who immediately ran over and described everything in a nervous and hurried voice.
"Don't worry, Hitzfeld." Grester's old voice came from the microphone, "Villefort had already sent Sixus to 28 Yongen Street before finding you. She should be able to keep things stable there. I'll be there soon."
"Huh~" Hitzfeld finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"You have nothing else to say?"
"Professor... Professor." Hitzfeld immediately remembered the betrayal of Prince Tenize. She glanced at Villefort and described what she had encountered at the Ice Dragon Stadium as carefully as possible.
Of course, she skipped the vision of Ouniya being coerced.
"So you think that Ogna didn't make the mistake because of Ferdinand."
"Yes!"
"You think all this is related to the Victory Bonds, and the one behind all this is the Sara Sports and Athletic Union. Behind the union stands Prince Tenize."
"Yes!"
Hitzfeld felt that there was no other possibility. After all, the pocket watch was in the prince's pocket, and he himself liked to play victory bonds - didn't this mean that they were in collusion?
"If you only investigated these things," Grace paused, "you can only conclude that their methods were problematic, but you can't directly link the whole thing to the evil organization."
"But there is no reason for Ognia Folland to touch the Victory Bonds...!"
"So many things happen for no reason, Hitzfeld." The voice on the other end remained calm.
"Some smoked hemp, went to the streets of pleasure, and even studied evil spirits in private. Some merged the remains of monsters to gain vitality and strength... Some of them were in high positions, even higher than Flanders had been at the beginning, but they still did it."
"But... Professor—"
"Human nature is hard to explain. What's even more terrifying is that people themselves are also growing and changing. Do you understand what I mean, Hitzfeld? This is like a nightmare, like a gray fog. You never know what is lurking in the dream world today."
"Are you trying to say that I don't know enough about Ognia Folland to make such a judgment?"
"That's what I mean, Hitzfeld."
"Then I have nothing more to say." Hitzfeld handed the microphone back to Villefort, his expression looking somewhat grim.
Grace...this man's stubbornness is beyond imagination!
Although what he said makes sense and sounds plausible, theory is theory and reality is reality!
From what she saw, Oenya must have been coerced. And isn't the Eclipse Church the only one with such power and means?
Hitzfeld felt that she was right in her judgment, but Grace didn't believe it, and there was nothing she could do.
"Ahem!" Villefort hung up the phone and tried to smooth things over: "I don't think there's anything wrong with it... Nothing can be done in one go. You have to give him a process of acceptance."
"Does M. de Villefort think I am exaggerating?"
"Not entirely." Villefort shook his head. "I will investigate according to your hypothesis. After all, my position requires me to not let go of any possibility... But this matter is very complicated. It involves a prince, a prince who may ascend the throne..."
"I did not understand."
"We are not blind, Hitzfeld." Villefort's tone was a little lower. "Some of the things you can see, we can certainly see as well."
"Victory bonds... organizations amassing wealth... countless people have lost their homes... this situation has already occurred. But apart from official legislation that defined victory bonds as 'illegal', you see... we did not continue to target them."
"Why? Is it because we don't want to? Or is there some more important reason or difficulty?"
He nodded: "You need to think about this carefully."
A chill ran down Hitzfeld's back.
Today's experience completely changed her view of Villefort.
It is always the hardest to help someone when he or she is in need.
He was able to come and help when everyone else was avoiding him, and it looked like he hadn't even changed his clothes or shaved... It was obvious that he still had Ferdinand in his heart.
He didn't hate him as much as he said, maybe he hadn't forgotten their friendship.
With this understanding, she was able to listen to Villefort's words, which might be a little preachy.
But what does he mean?
What is he hinting at?
Does this mean that the royal family already knew about this?
Or... could the royal family itself be infiltrated by evil?
When he thought of the key point, Hitzfeld felt his scalp tingling.
She felt as if she had accidentally lifted a corner of the tablecloth, and saw a thick gray fog in the hole in the table. In the gray fog, the annual rings and her wooden people flashed by, and sometimes the profile of Tenize flashed by. These things were looming in the fog, and she was hesitating whether to crawl under the table.
Villefort warned me with good intentions.
Hitzfeld said in his mind.
Even Grace is like this... From this point of view, he doesn't necessarily not believe it? But if I tell these things, I might be in danger?
"Don't think about it for now."
Villefort led her out of the office and into the auditorium.
"Actually, at the end of the phone call just now, Grace made a request to me. I didn't agree rashly because I must get your consent for this matter."
“… Thank you, M. de Villefort.”
Hitzfeld felt even more resentful towards the old man, but she was also very curious about what the request was.
"I will definitely go there later... Yes, to Yongen Street. After all, the root of his illness is still in reality... I have to go see him, in case... Well, in case anything unexpected happens."
"He asked me to take you with me then."
Hitzfeld was stunned for a moment.
"To be honest, I don't understand what he means, but it is Grace after all...so I still have to ask you--"
"Will you go?"
In fact, Villefort was also a little puzzled.
As one of the insiders, he knew very well how troublesome Ferdinand's illness was.
Human nature is fickle? Many people avoid it?
It’s normal… too normal!
In his opinion, those people were able to maintain a certain degree of restraint and did not demand Ferdinand's immediate execution, which was already very considerate of past friendship.
It’s really hard to blame anyone anymore.
But what to say...
Now, because of an accident, Aisuen Hitzfeld was also involved.
She is Lilith's student, and according to Xiasha's report, she is very interested in solving cases. In Villefort's view, she is almost the future of Shadow Lion.
He was more inclined to protect these young seedlings that had not yet fully grown, rather than just casually entrusting them with too much trust, as Grace had done.
but……
Grace, after all, is Grace.
The wooden people don't move, he is the strongest in Sara.
It's his decision, he has no right to criticize it.
Chapter 57 Ferdinand's Illness
Half an hour later, a heavier vintage Beetle sedan stopped steadily in front of No. 28 Yong'en Street.
Hitzfeld was still dressed the same as he had been on his "date" with Xia Yibing—he didn't even take off the hat with the fake flowers on it. When he got out of the car, he saw police patrolling everywhere on the streets.
Oh, not just the police.
The police were all dressed in black. They were either on guard on the roadside or sitting in open jeeps. Each of them was holding a long-barreled gun. In Hitzfeld's opinion, this was a sufficient measure to deal with war.
What’s even more exaggerated is that she also saw a... different kind of truck.
Very big, very long, and very thick.
It looked a bit like a tanker truck, but there were many holes in the truck. From each hole, a dark gun barrel extended out. Judging from the thickness of the iron sheet of the truck and the horsepower of the huge front, it was a war fortress.
“M. de Villefort. What is it——”
Seeing fully armed knights wearing heavy armor like tin cans jumping out of the fortress carriage from time to time, Hitzfeld was completely stunned.
There are electricity and telephones, and she even suspects that there are probably airplanes as well.
In an era like this, she actually saw a heavily armored knight?
They all know to replace horses with oil-burning carriages, but they are still obsessed with heavy armor?
Not to mention that the things those people were holding were long-handled hammers... This looked too outrageous!
"Oh!" Villefort turned around and saw this scene, with a slight smile on his face.
"This is indeed a secret of the cult... It is not allowed to be recorded in any written document. It is normal that you don't know it."
"I can't answer you directly, but don't underestimate them. Anyone who thinks they are clumsy and outdated will suffer."
This is just great.
Hitzfeld sighed inwardly.
The honest Batti Villefort also became a riddle man.
But Villefort didn't explain, and she couldn't pull out a gun and force him to explain. After the two passed through layers of guards and entered the house at 28 Yongen Street, Hitzfeld breathed a sigh of relief.
A bit exaggerated.
The situation here is much more severe than the last time she came.
That kind of guarding situation made her feel as if the person lying in the room was not a patient, but a monster or a ferocious beast that could go berserk at any time.
"Should I change my shoes?"
"No, Hitzfeld. No one knows if the situation will get worse. Wear it. Maybe you'll need it to help you run faster later."
"...σ(°дφ;)???"
Hitzfeld was surprised.
Hitzfeld was puzzled.
She might have understood something terrible from this warning, but she did not show it, and followed Villefort into the corridor that she had never been to before.
Ferdinand had walked in here to retrieve the code book, so she guessed that there should be a room there - or at least a room leading to such a room, and that was where Ferdinand rested.
It was obviously rude for an outsider to approach such a place, but the Madam's teachings were still working. So she didn't even think about approaching.
Now, she had a legitimate reason to take this route. Of course, she would not let go of the opportunity and was observing carefully along the way.
There are four paintings hanging on the wall of the corridor.
It’s all lines and blocks of color, stacked very neatly, with a bit of the flavor of a long summer Picasso.
There is a window just down the corridor.
There is a door next to the window.
Inside the doorway is a spiral staircase.
Villefort led her upstairs.
But the moment he entered the doorway, Hitzfeld paused slightly.
She smelled a foul odor.
There was a familiar smell of corpse.
I went upstairs and entered the corridor on the second floor. I came to a door and pushed it open. The stench suddenly became much stronger.
