The doorbell had barely rung when the door opened.
An elderly man who looked like a butler came out. He saw the group and asked with a smile, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Hello, we're looking for Miss Julie."
The butler looked them up and down. “Alright, please come in. I’ll go tell Miss Julie.”
"Um."
Phil Gray and the others sat down in the living room, where maids brought fruit, tea, and other refreshments.
A moment later, a woman came down the stairs.
She looked somewhat haggard, with redness around her eyes. She was wearing a black dress and had a bow hair clip in her short blonde hair.
"Hello." Her voice was a little hoarse, suggesting she had cried for a long time because of her lover's disappearance and her father's pressure to get married.
"Hello, Miss Julie!"
Before Phil Gray could even greet her, the nobleman stood up and extended his hand to Miss Julie.
"Hello, who are you?" Miss Julie did not offer her hand to the nobleman but sat down on the sofa opposite them.
“Miss Julie, I am Caesar Isaiah from the last Gathering of Celebrations of Life…” The nobleman had barely finished speaking when Patrick stared at him, and he immediately dared not speak again.
Miss Julie returned his smile with a polite smile.
“Miss Julie, we saw the quest you posted in the Hall of the Chosen Ones. Could you provide more details about the carpenter? This will help us find him,” Phil Gray said.
“Of course. I met him about two weeks ago. My bed had a corner damaged because of rats, so my father asked him to make a new wooden bed for me.” Miss Julie gradually drifted into her memories.
"He had an extremely handsome face, short brown hair, and eyes as captivating as sapphires. He was full of life and energy. He asked me what style I liked and offered to make me a unique bed. He was also very polite, only willing to stay in the same room as me in the presence of the servants."
As she spoke, a fascinated smile appeared on her face.
Phil Gray felt for some reason that the smile looked a little strange.
“We got to know each other after a while. I learned his name was Peter, and he lived in a small town called Keton, not far from Duer City. Because his parents had died, he could only make a living by his carpentry skills. But he was so hardworking. He made furniture for nobles and saved up several hundred gold coins. He said he would open a carpentry shop in Duer City, and I would watch the shop while he went to their homes to complete the business.” Miss Julie said shyly, “On the fifth day, he made a bed for me, and after that, we would meet in the castle every night after my father fell asleep.”
“He and I looked at the unchanging gray brick walls of this castle for hundreds of years, at the twinkling stars in the night sky, and talked about our longing and love for each other. But one night, my father found him. He threw Peter out of the castle, forbade me to see him again, and forced me to marry the Marquis of Colin. He never came to the castle again. I sent the maid out to look for him, but there was no news.” Miss Julie began to sob softly again.
“Oh, okay, then let’s go to that town you mentioned…” Phil Gray hadn’t finished speaking when he heard footsteps, followed by a man’s angry voice, “Take her back to her room!”
“No, Father, why did you come back so suddenly?” Miss Julie shook her head. The two maids pulled her toward the stairs, but she struggled incessantly. “No, I need to find my Peter!”
“Count Tours, how could you treat Miss Julie like this!” The nobleman named Caesar stood up and angrily questioned.
"Oh? Not treat her like that? Let her continue telling you her love story with the carpenter? Tell you I broke them up, and then make you search for a fictional character that only exists in a young girl's mind?"
Phil Gray turned around to see Earl Tours leaning on his cane, his dignified face bearing a hint of anger.
“Fictional characters? What do you mean?” Phil Gray asked.
Count Tours' eyes darkened, he sighed, and sat down on the sofa helplessly. "Oh, what carpenter? I've never hired a carpenter to come to my house."
"Huh?" Patrick's eyes widened in surprise.
"What?" Xize exclaimed in disbelief.
Eli's hand, which had been casually waving the flowers, also stopped.
"So, the carpenter Miss Julie mentioned doesn't exist at all, and it's all just her imagination?" Phil Gray asked again.
This is truly unexpected. For the sake of an imaginary lover, she actually posted this task in the Hall of the Gods' Chosen. Her mental state may be somewhat problematic.
“Yes, for the past two weeks, she has been crying and shouting every day that she wants me to return her little carpenter, I think his name is Peter, but where am I supposed to find such a person for her?”
“But she said she goes on dates with that little carpenter every night.” Phil Gray asked again, somewhat uncertainly, wondering to himself, could it be that the Earl was deliberately saying the little carpenter didn’t exist?
“No, she sleeps soundly every night, sometimes even the maids can’t wake her up, so what kind of date would she have?” Count Tulls shook his head. “You’re all from the Hall of the Chosen Ones, aren’t you? I heard she even spent 500 gold coins to hire someone to help her, how ridiculous.”
It seems the Earl already knew his daughter had issued this task; no wonder he rushed back this afternoon—he probably knew someone had accepted it.
“As for the veracity of what I said, you’ll know once you see this.” Count Tours gestured to the butler, who then pulled a book from his pocket.
The book cover features a picture of a very handsome young man and a beautiful young lady. In the center of the cover is the book's title, "Peter and Anna," and below it are the words: "A noble lady and her carpenter lover, a poignant love story."
"This... could it be that Miss Julie read this book and that's why she fantasized about having a lover?" Patrick was somewhat speechless.
Phil Gray picked up the book and flipped through it casually. The contents were similar to Miss Julie's description: the noblewoman Anna's bed broke, and her father hired a carpenter to make a new one. Anna fell in love with the carpenter, but her father disapproved.
Turning to the ending, Anna was forced to marry someone else and leave her city. Twenty years later, her husband died, and she returned to the carpenter's city. He opened a carpentry shop and remained unmarried, waiting for her. They lived happily ever after.
“Indeed, as Miss Julie said, we have disturbed you. However, Miss Julie may have some mental health issues. Your Excellency should have a professional examine her.” Phil Gray stood up and suggested. Since the mission was like this, they were simply unable to complete it and should take their leave.
“Alright, thank you for your trouble.” Count Turs also stood up, and the butler took out a bag of gold coins. “I will have them cancel the quest for 500 gold coins. Please accept these.”
“Very well, Earl of Tours, we’ll take our leave now. Goodbye.” Phil Gray accepted the gold coins and led the group out the door.
Only Xize still looked reluctant to leave.
Once on the carriage, Patrick exclaimed, "I never expected it to turn out like this."
Looking at the bag in his hand, she asked, "How many gold coins did the Earl give us?"
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