Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 157
Dwight had just arrived at his residence when he happened to encounter a messenger delivering a new roster along with some small gifts.
Shivers briefly glanced through the gift box, which contained a set of glass snuff bottles, a handmade collapsible portable lantern, and a small box of premium cigarettes. The price wasn’t extraordinarily high, but the items were exquisitely crafted. Considering that every guest traveling to White Bridge received such a gift box, the total expenditure was quite substantial.
“Such generosity, just to adjust a few auction items and some entertainment programs?” Shivers wondered aloud as he browsed through the letter attached to the gift box. It was written in beautiful cursive handwriting, with a lengthy and flowery introduction and conclusion. Only the middle part “sincerely apologized” for the changes in the auction program for the day.
“Although Adan’s warehouse didn’t suffer significant losses, it needs to be sealed off for investigation. The items originally scheduled for today’s auction all need to be replaced. It’s their usual tactic to save the best items for last to keep guests coming back. It’s not easy to quickly find other items of equivalent value,” Dwight said as he skimmed through the catalog. “And they only had a few hours from midnight to now. Achieving this much already is quite impressive.”
“Mr. Louis said the Wolf King himself is taking charge. It seems he’s not too old to still handle things,” Shivers said with a slight frown. From their standpoint, they would have preferred if Khalif were an old man with white hair, no teeth, and had difficulty walking.
Dwight shook his head. “Half the credit goes to Adan, who was nearly killed by Vasilia. Even though he’s down, his pre-planned, effective responses to unexpected situations are essential for organizing such large events. Khalif’s strength doesn’t lie in this area. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have delegated power, at least not for the most lucrative auction.”
“The same goes for Louis. He would never fully delegate the Wolf’s armed forces to anyone but himself. This is why Louis hasn’t found an opportunity to eliminate him since becoming an Elder.” Dwight pondered for a moment. “With the auction’s organizer dead, a high-ranking official with sufficient authority must replace him to face the public. Khalif won’t hastily delegate power again, so he has to take charge himself. Once his attention is diverted, he’s likely to show vulnerabilities.”
Dwight also noticed that today’s description of Astrologer Kurt had been altered in the featured program. Some even exaggeratedly emphasized Kurt’s identity and status, almost depicting him as the only shining star in the universe. Upon confirming, he saw that besides the added and removed auction items, only Kurt’s description had been modified.
This was likely an attempt to raise the price, or perhaps… Khalif had changed his mind.
He realized Kurt’s value was higher than expected, at least more than the potential sale price.
This confirmed that during Kurt’s second meeting with Khalif, he had given the impression of being exceptionally valuable. High-value items sometimes failed to sell, and Khalif was laying the groundwork to keep Kurt.
The problem was that Kurt probably didn’t know that his former landlord Charlie and his brother were Khalif’s long-sought Holy Grail. If Kurt unknowingly made a prophecy pointing directly at the two brothers—
Dwight rubbed his temples, trying to concentrate, but the constant noise was impossible to ignore.
“What are they arguing about?” he asked, unable to bear it any longer. He hadn’t been this frustrated in a long time. He had spent half the night accompanying Rabbit Head to the so-called Paradise Island. Heaven knows, he understood why Priscilla and the knights often whispered about his cleanliness obsession, but if Priscilla had to endure the vast, foul-smelling garbage dump like he did, she would have fainted on the spot.
He couldn’t imagine how anyone could live in such a place long-term. If it hadn’t been the dead of night with limited visibility, he would have probably behaved as weakly as Priscilla, reacting to the maggots and rats in the sewers. Rabbit Head spent half the time comforting him and the other half gloating, thinking the darkness hid his expressions. This especially irritated the Duke, who felt his limits being continuously lowered by the other, yet he was helpless.
The mental torment combined with the physical exhaustion from a sleepless night made him extremely sensitive to noise.
“It sounds like Emerald.” The Knight Commander walked to the door and spoke with someone outside before returning. “Amber came back to see it, and they had a fight.”
Because Emerald was still a fledgling, it wasn’t too wild and uncontrollable. After a few meals, it accepted the Duke’s feeding, finding the human food both abundant and high-quality. Not having to hunt for food itself, it quickly accepted the set-up and enjoyed its meals, becoming quite content.
Well-fed, its temper improved significantly, and it gradually accepted the Duke bringing Amber in front of it. The boy took care of Emerald with genuine concern, treating it like a child with great patience.
Because of this, when the Duke temporarily assigned Amber to Priscilla to help Erica (essentially running errands and passing messages while the adults were busy), Emerald felt neglected. The normally well-fed Pluto Owl was now acting out, throwing tantrums at anyone it saw.
“If its too much trouble, let Amber take it to Erica for a break,” Dwight said, rubbing his head. “Rabbit Head made something to clip onto its wings to slow it down. It’s still a prototype, so we haven’t used it yet.”
The young Pluto Owl was intelligent enough to understand simple human intentions. Animals naturally hated having their freedom restricted, but it was also bored from being caged. Somehow, Amber managed to communicate with it. Once it calmed down, it was let out, happily flying around the room—though much slower than before, like a strange black kite.
Amber had prepared a large bag to carry Emerald, but the newly freed Pluto Owl refused to comply. Though it couldn’t fly fast, it maintained height, making Amber chase it around the room, knocking over decorations, causing more commotion than the earlier argument.
Dwight, desperate for a nap, finally couldn’t stand it and asked Shivers to grab his coat.
Shivers had already instructed the maids to prepare hot water for washing and lit sleep-inducing incense in the bedroom. Seeing the Duke still intending to go out, he worried about his health and personally escorted Amber and Emerald downstairs, urging the Duke to rest.
Although Dwight had inherited the Duke title for several years, he was still growing. Running around the continent during this critical phase of development worried the Knight Commander.
“Two hours of sleep will be enough,” Shivers said softly. “Shiloh is watching over Aquinas, so there won’t be any trouble. As long as that old man, Jason, and the few trade heads are there, Paradise Island is under control. Didn’t Mr. Charlie say Miss Prima might have seen something last night? With Charlie’s list holding Khalif’s attention, we have time before Kurt is taken away tonight.”
That was their plan.
The third basement level where Kurt was held was one of the most heavily guarded places by the Wolf Family. Only Khalif and Adan had the authority to open Kurt’s location. With Adan’s fate unknown, only Khalif could freely enter and exit. Even Louis had never ventured down the stairs to that level. They hadn’t known that every entryway from the first floor down had truth mirrors that could see through disguises and transformations to the bone. If Charlie and Louis hadn’t had almost identical bloodlines, Charlie, disguised as Louis, would have been exposed immediately.
Because of this, Charlie gave up trying to sneak in to meet Kurt, realizing he couldn’t handle Khalif, Xanye, and Adan’s men alone without external support.
Since infiltration was nearly impossible, Charlie planned to follow the carriage when Kurt was taken out of his comfortable prison, waiting for a chance to act. If the escort force was too strong, he’d wait for the handover moment during the auction to strike.
When that happened, the Wolf Family would inevitably react, marking the moment Charlie, Shiloh, and others joined forces with Yitzfa’s undercover agents to test the fruits of their efforts on Paradise Island. Since last night, they had been secretly organizing a strike to protest: their low-wage industries and menial jobs wouldn’t impact the inner city much in the short term, but the inner city’s dazzling auction relied on their more capable brothers and sisters.
When those lords, who only knew how to shout and whip workers, found the lights they relied on were dimmed due to lack of maintenance, the kitchens that should have been producing exquisite dishes were cold with extinguished stoves, and the countless coachmen, gardeners, maids, and laundresses refused to work, just appeasing the angry and dissatisfied guests would consume a large portion of the two families’ resources. Their dependence on these low-status people was even greater than that of the guests.
While military force might be the best way to restore order, as long as Louis was around, Khalif would find those Paradise Island people, whom they always looked down on, even more troublesome than pirates. And several Lions were already watching him closely, waiting for him to expose his neck.
“I have a bad feeling,” Dwight said, looking unwell.
“Everything is still under control—”
No, he thought Rabbit Head might use Louis’s identity to seduce Prima for information. Even though she was likely to reveal everything without that, Rabbit Head was always acting like a peacock, showing off to any woman he met.
He didn’t want to discuss this with Shivers and couldn’t determine if his unease was due to fearing Charlie’s overindulgence, Shiloh losing control, or Khalif learning everything from the astrologer. To him, the entire plan was fraught with potential pitfalls. Any step could trigger an explosion.
But Shivers insisted he rest, arguing that Mr. Charlie’s breakfast meeting with Miss Prima could seem too abrupt if they joined, making her hesitate to speak honestly.
“Make sure Amber knows how to remove the enchanted clasp on Emerald. Once you see Priscilla, don’t leave her side. If anything urgent happens and Erica can’t respond, have Emerald notify me—immediately.”
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