Chapter 133

"Respected Sir Henry, your family truly is an ancient one. All of this matches my exact impression of an ancient lineage." Luo Hanya gazed at the stained-glass windows of the narrow and ancient casement, which carried a profound sense of history, the exquisitely crafted handcrafted paneling of the rafters, the lion-head specimens and the dog-crest shield hanging on the wall, as well as the grand chandelier in the center of the ceiling emitting a soft radiance, and said to Sir Henry with a smile.

"Indeed, the people of our family have lived here for a full seven hundred years. When I first moved in, I, too, was crushed almost breathless by the oppressive weight of this place," Sir Henry said with considerable pride.

"I have heard that the misfortunes befalling your family are due to a curse?" Luo Hanya probed cautiously.

Sir Henry fell silent for a moment, his emotions turning somewhat agitated. "Do you truly believe that? Could that utter nonsense have killed my uncle and our grand-uncle? And along with them, your six colleagues? This is most certainly murder! It is murder! A conspiracy!"

"Relax, do not be agitated, Sir Henry. Maintain your gentlemanly composure."

Henry fell silent, collapsing into the sofa to smoke the tobacco he had brought back from his life in Africa. Luo Hanya wisely sat beside him without uttering another word.

…………

"My lord, dinner is served," Remo said softly, keeping his head bowed.

"Let us go."

Luo Hanya walked into the dining room and frowned slightly. Very different from the clean and brightly lit dining hall he had imagined, this was a gloomy and somber place.

It was an elongated room, divided in the middle by a short flight of steps into two sections of differing heights. The higher portion served as the dining area for the family, while the lower part was relegated to the servants. At the upper end stood a minstrels' gallery. Blackened timber beams crossed over their heads, and above those lay the soot-stained ceiling. Almost the entire room was dominated by dark tones, radiating only gloom and oppression.

Perhaps only the ignition of two giant braziers could have banished the gloom here, even for a moment. Luo Hanya and Sir Henry sat awkwardly within the small circle of light cast from beneath the lampshades, speaking in low voices about trivial daily matters while feeling an immense weight upon their spirits.

A row of dim, looming portraits of the Bach family ancestors hung along the walls, clad in various strange garments. They stared fixedly with wide eyes at the two men dining, silently accompanying and intimidating them, causing Luo Hanya's scalp to tingle as he felt as though this were the ancestral hall of the Bach family.

"To be honest, I truly do not think this is a place that can make one very happy." Luo Hanya accepted a cigarette handed to him by Sir Henry and sighed.

Sir Henry remarked, "I had hoped I might gradually grow accustomed to such an environment, but now I always feel something is slightly amiss. It is hardly a wonder that this place is so unsettling."

"A place capable of instilling fear in anyone."

"Haha, rest assured! I have decided to install a row of one-thousand-candlepower Edison electric bulbs in the front hall within six months. By then, you will no longer recognize this place."

"Then I shall look forward to seeing this place undergo a dramatic transformation!"

"Provided that both you and I are still alive by then." The gesture of the baronet's finger pointed between himself and Luo Hanya. "The person spreading that absurd curse will most certainly make a move—that maniac."

"With me here, no one can harm you."

"I hope so... Ah, if you are willing, let us retire early tonight. Perhaps in the early morning hours, things will appear somewhat more cheerful."

"I still wish to step outside for another look and will return shortly. For the foreseeable future, I shall stay in that room of yours closest by."

"Remo, accompany Detective Hannya Luo outside to take a look and show him around."

…………

The courtyard consisted essentially of a vast expanse of European-style lawn, dotted with numerous buildings. Under the dim light, one could only discern that the center was a solid edifice, with a protruding corridor at the front.

The facade of the house was blanketed in ivy, trimmed back only around the windows and where the family crests were mounted, resembling patches sewn onto a black mask. Atop the central building rose a pair of ancient towers, pierced with arrow slits and numerous watchtowers. To the left and right of the towers stood newer wings constructed of black granite. A faint, gloomy light filtered through the solid window frames, while a thick column of black smoke billowed from the tall chimneys set into the steep, sloping roof.

"What a bizarre place," Luo Hanya muttered, shaking his head. He had originally intended to explore a bit more. "Remo, is there no one living here?"

"The previous baronet was a hermit-like figure who employed only three servants in total, so one hardly ever sees anyone in such a vast estate..."

"That is practically courting death. Knowing that someone is plotting against you yet having so few people living together—is this artificially increasing the difficulty?" Luo Hanya cursed inwardly while losing any further inclination to explore, turning back toward the interior of the house.

Passing through a square gallery lined with balustrades and ascending a double-flight staircase, Luo Hanya reached a corridor. Two long hallways extended from the central hall straight through the entire structure, with all the bedchambers opening onto them.

His bedchamber and Sir Henry's were on the same side and nearly adjacent. These rooms appeared considerably newer in style than those in the middle of the mansion; the brightly colored wallpaper and the countless lit candles managed to dispel at least a fraction of the gloom left in his mind upon arrival.

Before going to bed, Luo Hanya pulled back the curtains and looked out the window. It faced the lawn in front of the hall, revealing the distant moonlight. Under the desolate moonlight, behind the tree line, came the jagged edges of the hills and the long, low-lying, gently undulating, gloomy moors.

Though fatigued, Luo Hanya found himself unable to sleep. Tossing and turning, the harder he tried to sleep, the more elusive it became. He climbed out of bed with a puzzled expression. "Isn't this script supposed to feature automatic sleep time-skipping? Could there still be tasks at night? Indeed, I haven't encountered the main quest yet, or is it that the higher-ups aren't even bothering to dispatch missions to me anymore?"

The ancient house was enveloped in a dead silence. In the distance, the chiming clock rang out, marking the quarters one by one. But then, suddenly, amidst the profound stillness of the night, a sound penetrated Luo Hanya's eardrums—clear and distinct.

He ceased his musings, retrieved a revolver from his luggage, and cautiously stepped out of the bedroom.

There was no mistaking it: the sound of a woman weeping, resembling the suppressed and choked gasps of someone racked by irrepressible grief. Luo Hanya stepped out of the bedroom, tilting his head to listen with rapt attention. The sound could not possibly be coming from afar; it was certain to be right here within this very house... (To be continued.)