Hitzfeld tried not to discern the shyness in his tone.
"Is it?"
Xia Yibing refused to give in.
"What about just arriving in town?"
"So I can sleep a little longer..."
"I...I plan to ask Villefort about the file when I get back!"
Hitzfeld began to change the subject.
The turn was so stiff and the technique so clumsy that Xia Yibing almost laughed out loud.
"If he still has Heidegger's files as you said, there might be records about Heidegger's wife in them."
"Another point - we need to understand in detail the composition and distribution of the old royal party."
"What do you want to say?" Xia Yibing frowned.
The topic gradually became serious, and she certainly wouldn't continue to act weird.
But can the old royal party be understood just by saying it is understood?
When Captain Red left, he lamented that those people were hiding too deeply. You know they exist, and you know they are most likely hiding among the nobles, but you just don't have evidence, so you can't arrest them rashly.
Once this happens, the royal power will immediately become the target of public criticism. Not only will the nobles rebel, but the tree people may also choose to wait and see because of the original covenant.
According to Pippen's description, the tree people should have supported the old king at first.
But something happened that forced them to agree to a change of dynasty, on the condition that the bloodline of the old king would still be preserved and King Torredo would not kill all these people.
At first, Xia Yibing also felt that entering the kingdom's political arena was an experience of walking on thin ice. But after all, she was not interested in politics. Thinking about how she had been doing this for so many years and how the royal power had been smoothly passed down for so many generations, she didn't care too much about it.
The old royal party may have mastered the natural disaster weapon called the Death Tree.
As a deterrent, he is coveting his return.
But the fact that the royal power has been able to suppress them for so many years is enough to show that in the shadows that she cannot see, in real face-to-face confrontations, this side still has the upper hand.
"I don't think so."
Hitzfeld whispered.
"I feel like this time the 'dead woodland' isn't over yet."
"Maybe not, but it's not our responsibility." Xia Yibing shook her head.
"You are right. We should indeed focus on arresting the old royal party... but not from this case, but relying on your ability."
"I?"
"Yes." He continued nodding, "Your eyes, your ability to see nightmares... and why that thing caught fire when it got close to you... Once we study these things and use your power, we may be able to catch them directly."
"And it can also help Ethan. This is the most efficient solution, isn't it?"
That makes sense.
Hitzfeld nodded.
It was not just Villefort.
The Devourer...it involves this special profession, or rather race...I must talk to Annual Ring about it after I return.
After several hours of travel, the train arrived at the station.
A group of people got off the bus, most of them with heavy expressions.
Ethan had been taken away by Knight Red in advance.
They couldn't let him move freely until his suspicion was cleared.
And Herm is dead.
Although they had only been together for a short time, he was still a recognized companion.
"Dear Miss Esun-Hitzfeld."
As soon as he jumped down, Hitzfeld saw a servant approaching.
He bent over and handed over a letter with both hands.
"His Royal Highness formally invites you."
"Please, come to the dinner tonight."
Chapter 61 A Snowy Day
After sending the servant away, Hitzfeld looked back at the others.
"What do you think of this invitation?"
"You've finally attracted some people's attention." Darent raised the brim of his hat slightly, and his wrinkled face could be vaguely seen. "Congratulations, this opportunity is quite rare..."
"My suggestion is that you can go." Xia Yibing said, and then continued without waiting for the girl to refute: "Now is different from then. If we want to catch those bastards and find out what happened to Ethan's father's case, there are some procedures... In short, the more people who are willing to help us, the better."
Judging from the fact that Prince Berentin was willing to deliver the letter before Hitzfeld's return, he at least intended to win her over.
This is a force that can unite people, and she feels they should not miss it.
"It's still early." Hitzfeld took out his pocket watch and found that the time was just six in the morning.
The sky was still dark on Wednesday. The nights are long in winter, and there would be no morning light until at least seven o'clock.
She decided to go back to the headquarters with them first, report to Villefort - and talk about the details of the case from more than 40 years ago, and then apply to return to the house on Iris Street under the supervision of the detectives, so that she would still have time to attend the dinner.
"Dinners without special notice usually start at around 7 or 8 in the evening." Xia Yibing nodded, "Okay, there's plenty of time."
After leaving the station and getting on the train, they took the underground tunnel to the underground headquarters of the Security Bureau. Hitzfeld first accompanied Xia Yibing to the Intelligence Mission Department to hand in the task and make a record. Then, according to the commissioner's request, he went to the Internal Audit Department and repeated the above process.
"Thank you for your cooperation." The recorder finally stood up and thanked them. "Originally, there was no such procedure, but Mr. Vista specifically requested..."
"It's nothing. I understand." Xia Yibing knew that these were just polite words, so she picked up the coat on the hanger and prepared to leave.
"Are you going to see the director?" The young agent stopped her. "If so, you can go back and rest. The director is not here today and there is no one in the office."
"Not here?" The woman paused and looked back, "Where did he go?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't just be here taking notes." The agent spread his hands and gave a helpless expression.
"Then...what if I want to take her out?" Xia Yibing frowned and asked, "It shouldn't require any additional approval procedures..."
She thought back to the bad things that happened the last time she took Hitzfeld to the museum.
She didn't want to see Clenamis, that Shiba Inu, again, no matter whether he was loyal to the king or not.
"Let me think about it. It might be a bit troublesome without the director's approval..." The agent raised his eyebrows and flipped through his notebook quickly.
"Follow their instructions... If it involves Miss Hitzfeld's outing... You must first go to the Mission Department to register for a mission, then come here to file a report, and select no less than eight agents from here to accompany you."
"Is that all?"
"Also - the trip time must not exceed 50 minutes, and she is forbidden to be exposed to the sun at will."
What the hell?
Hitzfeld frowned deeply as he listened nearby.
50 minutes. What can you do in 50 minutes with the current traffic efficiency?
And she wasn’t allowed to be exposed to the sunlight… They might as well just write that she wasn’t allowed to get out of the car!
"What if we're going to a banquet?" she asked.
"Going to a banquet?"
"Look at this."
She directly handed both letters to the other party, and the agent broke out in a cold sweat after reading them.
This... if it was just an ordinary invitation, it would be fine, but it involves a prince... he doesn't have the power to decide whether to release someone.
"Uh... I'm sorry..."
"No, you don't have to apologize. It has nothing to do with you." Hitzfeld stopped the other party from apologizing. "The banquet will be in the evening. You can discuss it with them. That's it. Then... you can help to transfer those eight people first."
Rules are rules, even if there are some unreasonable aspects, but she doesn't intend to make any exceptions now.
The young agent looked at Xia Yibing, and the woman nodded to him.
After coming out, they went to the director's office worriedly and found that there was really no one inside.
"It must be the aftermath of Ernak." Xia Yibing confirmed, "He either went to the White Shadow Palace, or is a guest at the mansion of a great noble."
Wherever he was, it looked like he was gone today.
They returned to the intelligence hall and waited there for a while, then Zafira and several others quickly arrived.
"Have you dealt with your own affairs?"
"All right."
"Where's Mapus?" He looked at the wooden man again, "Your skin..."
"It's a sequelae." Darent said, "There's no cure. It will heal on its own in ten days or half a month."
"Then you can only keep your hat on these days." Zafira raised the corner of his mouth.
Looking at the other person's face now, some people would believe that he is evil.
"I'll give you fried cheese pork chops if you agree when we get back."
Hitzfeld pursed his lips.
Although Darent arrived a little late, he did play a decisive role.
If it weren't for him, Ethan would have been burned to death by the molten steel.
No one answered.
The atmosphere fell into silence for a moment.
"It seems...we are all worried about someone."
Pippen broke the silence.
He must take on this responsibility, otherwise he is afraid that these people will get stuck in a rut and put the blame on him.
After all, strictly speaking, he is also a "traitor" of some size.
Based on his understanding of Zafira and Xia Yibing, the latter might not kill him, but there was a more than 90% chance that they would find an opportunity to beat him up to vent their anger.
"Alex." Xia Yibing ignored him and looked at Grimm, "Did Wilfor really not tell you anything more?"
To this day, she still believes that Grimm knows more information.
It's just that he forgot.
He himself could not have come up with these things.
Grimm still shook his head.
"I want to help, Captain, but..."
"Okay, I get it." He stopped him immediately, "Pay more attention and think about it. You know how important these things are."
"Alex." Zafira frowned and stared at him, and suddenly asked: "How did you get amnesia?"
"Ah, I can't remember this..."
"Is it incurable?"
“Those physical therapists can’t help it.”
Zafira frowned as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
He actually wanted to ask the other party what his nightmare was, but this involved the biggest secret of a Shadow Lion agent. Asking rashly would not only be rude, but also violate the regulations of the bureau.
"So many people died in this town, and it involved the Death Tree. They won't let him go easily."
Darent really is a man who talks about things that are not related to the topic, and he always picks out things that other people are worried about.
"I wanted to go to that hotel to eat three-fresh bean soup, but the owner was gone. What a mess..."
Is old Sig dead too?
