Seeing that Xia De indeed stopped inquiring about the will, the maid breathed a sigh of relief:
"I have been working here for more than ten years and I know a lot about this street."
"Does Miss Black appear here often?"
"Not really, she just comes for vacation every Summer. I don't know what her specific job is, but she is very rich, and sometimes she talks about antiques with Mr. Simier Pasolo, which is how we became familiar with her. She is a very knowledgeable lady."
"Hmm?"
Xia De raised an eyebrow. Sparrow Detective's records clearly stated that Miss Grace White and Miss Helen Black were both residents of Tobesk.
"Then do you know her elder sister, Miss Grace White?"
"Yes, I know, but I only know of this lady. In the first year or two after I started working here, Miss Grace White would bring Miss Helen Black, who was only eight or nine years old at the time."
"Wait!"
Xia De interrupted her, somewhat surprised:
"Are you saying that Miss Helen Black and Miss Grace White are not the same age?"
Sparrow Detective's records clearly stated that the two were twin sisters.
"Yes."
The maid was very surprised by Xia De's astonishment, while Tifa looked at him curiously.
"Miss Helen Black is about ten years older than Miss Grace White, and she is also a very wealthy and knowledgeable lady who often came here for vacation in the Summer, but that was many years ago. When Miss Grace White passed away, it was..."
The maid frowned slightly, recalling the past:
"This year is 1853, yes, last year was exactly the tenth year. Miss Grace White passed away in the autumn of 1842. I remember it very clearly; that year, this house was just installing brand new gas lamps. My husband and I found out about it when we wrote to Middelburg to greet Miss Grace White the following spring. My husband regretted it for a long time... But now that I think about it, Miss Helen Black, whom I saw this Summer, really looks a lot like Miss Grace White from back then. However, Miss Helen Black likes to wear Black dresses, while Miss Grace White liked to wear white dresses."
Xia De was even more surprised. Sparrow Detective had no reason to lie about this matter, so there was a big question now about who the "Miss Grace White" that Mr. Sparrow Detective saw actually was:
"Writing to Middelburg to greet... I didn't expect that among the four commissions left by Sparrow Detective, only Mia's was a normal one."
Xia De wanted to know more about Miss Helen Black and the deceased Miss Grace White, but the maid shook her head slightly. After all, she was just a maid, so she couldn't provide more information.
Xia De nodded slowly. At this moment, Tifa, who was beside him, asked softly:
"Are White and Black last names or first names? I noticed that you have been using these two appellations."
She also thought it was strange for the two sisters to have different last names, so she thought they were first names.
"They are last names."
Xia De said, recalling the content of the commission:
"The missing Miss Helen Black to be searched for, her full name is Helen Black."
Sparrow Detective needed to find someone, so of course he would know the full name, but in that commission, there was no mention of the client's name, and even the signed contract only had the seal of the last name "White" without a first name.
"However, Helen?"
This name was very common, even very common in the current era, but Xia De's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
The two ladies in front of him both saw the surprised expression on his face. Xia De hesitated for a moment:
"Excuse me, what was the full name of Miss Grace White who passed away eleven years ago?"
"I know that. I delivered letters to her. That was more than ten years ago. The full name is..."
The maid frowned in recollection. Xia De asked, somewhat incredulously:
"It wouldn't be Grace, would it? Grace White."
"Oh, yes, after all this time, I had almost forgotten that name."
The maid immediately nodded.
Xia De looked at Tifa with some disbelief. Tifa felt bewildered but didn't ask about his thoughts. Xia De then looked out the window, at the misty Tobesk, and for a moment, he even felt a little confused about the current era.
"This is a sign of losing control."
"She" whispered softly in his ear. Xia De, for some reason, recalled the scene where her arm was wrapped around his neck in front of the Death Door:
"Am I losing control? Aren't you the one who knows best?"
Xia De retorted in his mind.
"These are indeed their names, and they also said that in order to show their determination to separate from the family, they would abandon their original last names. Could my client be... them?"
"Isn't everything just speculation now?"
"Yes."
Xia De nodded:
"I originally thought that the fourth time key would finally not connect 'now' with 'past,' but I didn't expect this situation to still occur. But how is this possible? How could they... Didn't God personally say that they were all dead?"
"Outsider, since you consider yourself a spectator, then there must be a reason why Tree Father allowed a 'spectator' like you to witness scenes from the past."
"So every time key must be related to the present?"
"Cannot answer."
"Yes."
Xia De pursed his lips, his surprised expression disappearing, and a smile reappeared:
"This is good too. The party indeed has a follow-up. I still have a chance to understand their story. This is really good, yes, very good. Haven't I, an Outsider, always been witnessing various stories? And this story is getting more and more interesting."
With the payment and goods settled, Xia De, with the help of Mr. Simier Pasolo, who was wearing glasses, transferred the antiques to the waiting carriage outside. But he didn't leave the street immediately. Instead, he walked with Tifa along the street to the other end, wanting to ask some questions to the old gentleman who walked his dog and delivered Miss Helen Black's letter to him last time.
"However, some of what the maid named Lina said just now was a lie."
Xia De, who was deep in thought, suddenly said. Tifa was not walking shoulder to shoulder with him, but a step behind:
"Yes, I also saw that she was lying; it was too obvious. As soon as we mentioned the will, she would get very nervous. I'm afraid there are other issues with the inheritance."
The carriage followed behind the two of them. Since the destination was only half a street away from Simier Pasolo's house, Xia De wanted to think as he walked:
"But it doesn't matter. Mr. Simier Pasolo just died two days ago, and his body has been embalmed. I can commune with him later."
A smile appeared on Tifa's face:
"Are you going to dig up his grave?"
"Oh, Tifa, don't you have that thought?"
Xia De looked at the Black-haired girl beside him:
"That stone golem is in the graveyard. Although I don't want to disturb the deceased, this is necessary. And as compensation, we can help him deal with the will and even supervise the reasonable distribution of the inheritance. If the communion is successful, then apologizing in person is also acceptable."
This was Xia De's idea.
"I always thought you were a knight in the standard sense."
Tifa said.
"Knight?"
Xia De smiled:
"I am a Detective and a Knight."
