“Good morning, Tifa.”
Seeing the Black-haired Miss Tifa, Xia De also smiled. After accepting the invitation to board the carriage, he realized that Miss Jialinna was not inside, but there were three other ladies.
One looked slightly younger and was one of Miss Jialinna’s personal maids, but an ordinary person. The other two were Sorceresses by Miss Jialinna’s side, both Middle-Ring. Because they all knew Xia De and also knew the relationship between Xia De and Miss Jialinna, they all nodded to him reservedly.
“Tifa, why are you here? Are you helping Miss Jialinna with something?”
This was Xia De’s question.
“Miss sent me to acquire an antique. Because it’s very important, it must be me….”
Tifa said as the carriage continued to move slowly forward:
“The council has been searching for that antique for a long time, and only recently found its whereabouts. What about you, Xia De? What are you doing here? A Detective commission?”
“No, no, it’s not a commission, it’s for a stone figurine. You’re not here for that too, are you?”
Although Miss Tifa was slightly surprised, she still smiled sweetly:
“The previous two were related to you, this cannot be a coincidence, so Miss believes that one day we will find that the third one must also be related to you. See, you indeed came for this stone figurine as well. However, that stone figurine cannot be given to you; Miss instructed me to definitely bring it back.”
“I don’t want that stone figurine, I just want to take a look.”
“Alright, then Miss won’t need to find someone specifically to translate. The ancient emperors liked to write poems in even older characters, which made translation a big trouble.”
Xia De had told Miss Jialinna that he could understand most ancient texts.
Since Tifa was present, there was no need for Xia De to sneak in. The Duchess’s methods were astonishing. Tifa and her party had a real transaction document in their hands. The deceased Simier Pasolo had promised to sell dozens of antiques, including that stone figurine, to Miss Jialinna. So, Xia De just needed to follow Tifa.
The carriage stopped in the middle of the street, and Xia De got out first. He walked up the steps, intending to knock on the apartment door, but as soon as he raised his hand, he heard arguing from inside.
It was a man roaring, and because he spoke too fast and was separated by the door, Xia De could only hear words like “property.”
Although he didn’t understand what was happening, he still reached out and knocked heavily on the door a few times.
The arguing immediately stopped. After more than ten seconds, footsteps were heard from inside the door, and then the door opened. The person who opened the door was a slightly tall maid in an apron, who looked to be in her thirties.
She lowered her head and asked about the purpose of Xia De and Tifa, who was getting out of the carriage behind him. Her tone indicated that she had just been crying.
“What happened here?”
Although he was very curious, Xia De first introduced himself:
“I am Hamilton of Leijiede, and this is Miss Tifa, Miss Servite, and Miss Luvia, personal maids of Duchess Jialinna Cavendish of Saladill.”
Tifa, who had already gotten out of the carriage, nodded slightly, followed by the younger maid. The two Middle-Ring Sorceresses, who were probably sent to prevent other situations, did not get out of the carriage; they would wait nearby.
“Good day, ladies!”
The maid who opened the door immediately wiped her eyes with her sleeve:
“May I ask what you need?”
Tifa gestured for Xia De to speak, so Xia De cleared his throat:
“The Duchess, through an intermediary, once had an agreement with Mr. Simier Pasolo that Mr. Simier Pasolo would sell a batch of antiques to Miss Jialinna.”
Xia De took out the agreement. After the maid received and checked it, she invited the three of them inside to talk.
There were two other people in the living room: a man in his forties with gold-rimmed glasses who looked quite refined, and a woman of about the same age as the former, with thick makeup on her face and a somewhat plump figure.
The maid introduced the three newcomers to these two, and then introduced them to Xia De and his companions. They were the children of the deceased Mr. Simier Pasolo. The older one was Bill Pasolo, who was already married, and the one after him, who was two years younger, was Jenny Pasolo, still unmarried.
Both Pasolos were well-dressed and seemed to have at least not fallen in social status from their original family background.
Xia De and they sat on the sofa, while Tifa and the other Miss Tifa stood behind him.
“So, we came this time hoping to take those antiques. Of course, we also brought the pounds from the contract.”
That box of money was now being carried by Miss Tifa.
“The contract is fine, and we are also honored to trade with the Duchess of Saladill, but…”
Bill Pasolo showed some difficulty on his face:
“But due to inheritance disposal issues, everything left by father cannot be moved right now.”
“What does that mean? Excuse me, who is the heir? We can talk to him, pounds are not an issue.”
Xia De said.
“The heirs are, of course, my sister and I!”
Bill Pasolo’s voice suddenly rose, then he realized it was impolite and immediately apologized.
“Oh?”
Xia De looked at him suspiciously:
“Since it’s you, then why… Is there no specific will?”
“Yes, but in the will, father left most of his property to her!”
Jenny Pasolo suppressed her anger and pointed to the maid who had opened the door for the three of them. She was carrying a tea tray and wanted to walk over, but seeing herself mentioned, she stood there at a loss, her face flushed, not knowing what to say.
Now Xia De understood why he had heard the roaring before knocking on the door.
“Hmm, this maid must have taken care of Mr. Pasolo for a long time, right?”
“Ten years.”
The maid, still wearing an apron, said softly.
“You two, probably didn’t visit Mr. Simier Pasolo often, did you?”
Xia De asked again. Luvia had just mentioned this point.
Bill Pasolo, wearing glasses, did not deny it:
“We don’t live in Tobesk, and we only come to visit father in Summer and Winter each year. Jenny and I are very grateful to Lina for being able to take care of father for so long. If father had only left part of his property to her, we would not object. But, but…”
He couldn’t suppress his anger again:
“In his will, father gave about eighty percent of his property to her!”
After speaking, he apologized again for his loud voice.
“I see, so you haven’t clarified the ownership of these assets, and therefore cannot hand over those antiques for now?”
Xia De summarized. The two Pasolos and the maid named “Lina” all nodded.
“Jenny and I are negotiating with Lina, hoping to properly dispose of the inheritance distribution. If there’s no result, we will resolve it through legal means. The inheritance law of the Delarion Kingdom might help us.”
But in Xia De’s view, since there was a will, the maid Lina would certainly hold the legal right. However, the problem was that if it really came to legal action, it would not be easy for an ordinary maid with no power or influence to defeat the two Pasolos, who were above middle class.
Xia De had no intention of getting involved in other people’s family affairs, but he also didn’t want to waste too much time here:
“If there’s a will, things should be done according to the will.”
He said simply. Seeing Tifa behind him nod carefully, he added:
“If the three of you need a lawyer, Miss Jialinna will not be stingy in helping to uphold justice.”
The maid Lina looked gratefully at Xia De, while the two Pasolos had somewhat ugly expressions:
“Mr. Hamilton, do you mean…”
“Whatever the will says, that’s what should be done. Where is the will, please? To whom did Mr. Simier Pasolo leave these antiques?”
“No, no, actually it’s not right for the Mister to leave so much money to me, I only took care of him for a period.”
The maid said softly. Bill Pasolo and Jenny Pasolo, seeing that there was still room for negotiation, immediately smoothed things over and promised that the antiques could be handed over today.
After all, no matter whose inheritance it was, it belonged to the three people present. As long as all three agreed to convert the antiques from the asset division into cash, the trade contract could be fulfilled.
It seemed that Mr. Bill Pasolo was truly afraid that Miss Jialinna would hire a lawyer for the maid.
The rest was simple. The antiques collected by Mr. Simier Pasolo had not been touched since his death and were all in the collection room on the third floor. The five people went upstairs together to check and count the items on the list.
But to Xia De’s surprise, all the antiques were there, except for the stone figurine with the fragmented poem, which was missing.
“That small stone figurine, it seems, was buried with Mr. Pasolo as a funerary object.”
The maid recalled for a long time before saying this:
“This was the Mister’s decision before he died. He chose six antiques to be buried with him.”
Bill Pasolo and Jenny Pasolo also knew this. There was a list of funerary objects, so there would be no falsification.
Xia De then quietly asked for Tifa’s opinion before saying:
“If that’s the case, it’s truly a pity, but since it is, Miss Jialinna can only have one less collection.”
They completed the handover of the antiques on the list, which were only listed as a cover, on the third floor. Before leaving, Xia De made a new request:
“I’d like to speak with Miss Lina alone and ask some questions about Miss Black, who lives on this street.”
He introduced himself as a Detective, so the Pasolos temporarily excused themselves.
Xia De and Tifa spoke with the maid in the living room, but this time it was Tifa who spoke:
“Although Hamilton threatened them just now, I’m afraid that will won’t be acknowledged after we leave.”
The maid, in her thirties, nodded a little awkwardly:
“It’s okay, I also know it’s hard for them to accept this. I’m willing to give up some of the property, but it’s impossible to completely abandon this gift.”
“If you need anything, you can write to me; I can help you.”
Tifa said again, and Xia De also nodded:
“Besides this matter, talking to you alone, I genuinely wanted to ask about Miss Black. You live on the same street, so do you know her?”
“Yes, on this street, perhaps Mister and I are the most familiar with her. What would you like to know?”
