Talking to strangers to find clues isn't something that can be done quickly, so Xia De spent two hours in the afternoon visiting and questioning different members of the Nuo Shan Opera Troupe.
Similar to what the bearded landlord said, the people here also mentioned that Mr. Bondi was very happy for a few days after his eyes were cured three months ago, but then his mood became gloomy, and he gradually became afraid of darkness and being alone.
He became completely neurotic and even made some mistakes during the opera troupe's performances.
However, the people in the opera troupe did not discover the situation of him taking prohibited drugs, which the bearded landlord had mentioned. Their impression of Frank Bondi was that he was a friendly and extremely disciplined person. Mr. Bondi didn't even smoke; he only tried playing rhode cards after his eyes recovered.
As for the suicide note, the musician spent a large portion of it writing about his life and lamenting his existence. The subsequent distribution of his inheritance matched what the bearded landlord had said, and finally, it mentioned the location of the grave the musician had chosen for himself, along with thanks to his neighbors, landlord, and friends from the Nuo Shan Opera Troupe for their care over the years.
The date on the suicide note was the day Mr. Bondi committed suicide. The phrasing in the text was clear, and the arrangements for his property and grave were very orderly. However, the writing style was extremely frantic; the letters looked like terrifying words written by a madman in a frenzy after witnessing an unknowable existence.
Because Mr. Bondi was formerly blind, Xia De specifically asked the troupe leader if he could write normally before, and learned that the musician could write, and his handwriting was quite good.
“Hmm, this is getting more and more strange.”
So Xia De requested the manuscript of the musical score that Mr. Bondi had written after his eyes were cured. After comparing it with the suicide note, the Detective believed that the suicide note was indeed written by Frank Bondi himself. However, the clear writing Ideas and the frantic writing style greatly concerned him.
The musician did not mention the reason for his madness in the suicide note, nor did he write the reason for his suicide, simply writing at the end:
【I was deeply trapped in darkness but never lamented my fate, so why must I see the light now?】
【I am too tired.】
The second to last sentence was largely consistent with what the bearded landlord had said, which made Xia De increasingly suspect that the eye problem led to the musician's suicide.
Frank Bondi also left behind many relics within the orchestra. The troupe leader had someone open the storage room door for Xia De, allowing him to search through the shelves himself.
So Xia De checked the musician's notebooks, personal clothing, water cups, unfinished tea bags, pencil sharpener, and other items one by one, but after looking through them, he did not find a diary in the cardboard box.
Perhaps three short months hadn't been enough for him to develop the good habit of keeping a diary.
Ultimately, only two items caught Xia De's attention: one was a notebook containing Mr. Bondi's own musical compositions, and the other was a flat, round, curved small bottle with a trace of bright yellow, oil-like liquid at the bottom.
The notebook was purchased by Mr. Bondi after his eye condition was cured. Each page had a date, and this musician, after regaining his sight, composed at a rate of almost one piece per week. However, the later the date, the more elongated, sharp, and frantic the musical notes written in black ink became, until on the last page, they were almost identical to the handwriting in the suicide note.
As for the liquid in the bottle, only a layer remained at the bottom. When Xia De carefully poured it onto his fingers, a voice in his ear actually indicated that there were extremely faint traces of spirit in the liquid.
It wasn't the Four Elements, but pure spirit, because the mystical traces were indeed very weak.
“With such a weak content, was it diluted, or just occasionally contaminated with traces of spirit? Can this be considered a potion?”
To be cautious, Xia De informed the opera troupe leader and took away the notebook containing the musical scores and the empty bottle.
Before leaving, Xia De also learned the purpose of those liquids. Many people in the orchestra had seen the musician Mr. Bondi drop those liquids into his eyes, claiming that it was medicine prescribed by an ophthalmologist for him.
“Things are getting more complicated.”
Because he had spent the entire afternoon investigating and questioning at the Nuo Shan Opera Troupe, by the time Xia De left the troupe with the two clues, it was already approaching evening.
Seeing that it was getting late, Xia De had no intention of visiting the ophthalmologist involved in the commission or the client, Mr. Mandis, under the cover of night, nor did he plan to continue his investigation at the Three Cats Inn in St. Anthem Square.
Coincidentally, the Nuo Shan Opera Troupe's station was not far from Miss Jialinna's manor outside the city. Xia De thought for a moment and decided to pay a visit.
He wasn't trying to freeload dinner, but rather wanted to find Miss Jialinna and ask her to arrange for a musician to play the last few tunes from the musical score Xia De had obtained. Xia De wanted to use this to determine the specific mental state of the person during the last period of his life.
He didn't want the professional musicians from the opera troupe to play because Xia De was worried about potential problems affecting ordinary people; it was better to be cautious with such matters.
Although Miss Jialinna's manor was outside the city, because the surrounding area consisted of noble manors, forests, and high-end horse ranches, coachmen from the city were willing to go there. In the carriage, Xia De still thought it was inappropriate to visit empty-handed, but picking a bouquet of wildflowers after getting off seemed even more inappropriate.
So, in the end, he could only get out of the carriage empty-handed at the manor gate. After paying the fare, the manor's housekeeper, who recognized Xia De, had already instructed someone to open the manor gate to welcome Xia De.
“Is Miss Jialinna here? This visit is unannounced. If she has gone to the city, could you arrange a carriage to take me to the city?”
That way, he could save the return fare.
“The Miss is in the manor, but she is currently meeting with an important guest.”
The middle-aged housekeeper said carefully and arranged for Xia De to wait in the lounge. Xia De also had time to examine the notebook with the musical scores more closely, but for him, an Outsider who knew nothing about the music of this world, this score was even more obscure and difficult to understand than ancient texts.
Because at least he could understand ancient texts.
Xia De did not wait long in the manor's reception room on the second floor. The manor's maids brought him tea and snacks, and even asked Xia De if he wanted to have dinner at the manor.
But Xia De still wanted to go home and eat with Mia, so he shook his head and refused.
And when he finally finished looking through the musical score again, Miss Jialinna’s personal maid, Tifa Servett, pushed the door open and walked in. She always seemed to be wearing this maid's uniform; Xia De had never seen her wear anything else since he had known her.
“Mr. Hamilton, Miss will be having dinner with an important guest tonight, so she won't have time to meet with you tonight. She asked me to inquire if you have something important, and if it's not urgent, I can handle it for you.”
Miss Jialinna was a powerful Duchess of the Delarion Kingdom, so of course, she wouldn't be as idle as Xia De every day. Therefore, Xia De didn't expect her to drop important matters to meet with him.
He stood up from the sofa:
“It's nothing important. I’ve obtained a musical score that might be unusual, and I’d like someone to help play it.”
After briefly describing the commission regarding the ophthalmologist, Xia De handed the notebook to Miss Tifa Servett.
She flipped through it from front to back, and when she reached the last page, she indeed frowned. She was a Six-Ring Arcanist, and most likely understood this musical score, so she could see even greater problems:
“It was a very correct idea not to let ordinary people from the Nuo Shan Opera Troupe play it, Mr. Hamilton. Please follow me, I will play it for you.”
As she spoke, she motioned for Xia De to go to the soundproof music room on the second floor of the manor, which was Miss Jialinna's violin practice room.
“Miss Servett, what instruments are you proficient in?”
Xia De asked curiously, walking out the door with her.
“I know a little about both piano and violin.”
She spoke very modestly.
To prevent the musical score left by the blind musician before his death from affecting ordinary people, upon reaching the music room, the maid asked the other servants of the manor to wait outside the music room, leaving only her and Xia De inside the room.
It was Xia De's first time in this room. Compared to the so-called professional music rooms he had seen in his hometown, the decor here was even more... expensive. The floor was covered with a red carpet, the uneven sound-absorbing walls were light yellow, most of the visible instruments were golden, the oil paintings on the walls were probably antiques, and every instrument in the white wood cabinets and glass display cases should be more valuable than Mia.
But at least the piano was black. When the lid was opened, the black and white keys reflected the gaslight in the room, and their neat and cold appearance made Xia De very fond of them.
Although the world was different, the types of musical instruments were quite similar, but for an Outsider, there was actually no difference, because he knew nothing about musical instruments from any world.
After giving Xia De a moment to prepare himself, the black-haired girl carefully held the long skirt fabric behind her body, then sat down in front of the piano. She turned the notebook to the last musical score, propped it up, and those hands that almost always poured tea for Xia De whenever he appeared, flexed nimbly a few times, her ten slender, fair fingers moving up and down, then landing on the keys.
Xia De sat on a high stool with a soft cushion beside her. When the first musical note abruptly sounded, he was still guessing the possible price of this instrument in his mind, and once again tried to measure it in terms of “Mia” as a unit of measurement.
And when the musical notes came streaming into his ears, he initially felt that there was nothing to it, but then his heart grew increasingly agitated, and he couldn't help but frown.
Miss Tifa Servett’s piano technique was quite good. Her fingers danced on the keys, and the frenzied music made Xia De increasingly uncomfortable. Although he didn't understand music, he strongly agreed that brilliant musical scores and performers could express their emotions through melody.
