Chapter 214 Case File 3: Twin Butterflies Dance at Rose Villa (2)
Winston remembered this; when Valentine had accosted him, he had seen the grey-haired historian, his face flushed and his spirits high, talking with Lord Chandler.
"Baron Chandler knows a lot of interesting historical materials!" the historian said excitedly. "There is a lot of content worth studying carefully. Yes, yes! It is worth studying carefully!"
He repeated his words excitedly, "Baron Chand said these historical materials all came from the notebook left by his father, which made me very curious about the notebook. I asked him the price, but his offer was too high! Five hundred thousand gold coins! Why doesn't he just rob it!"
Winston noticed that when the historian said this, Madame Butterfly nodded with a sense of sympathy.
Winston: "..." That's outrageous. They agreed to spend a fortune to get clues about the royal descendants. Why did Madame Butterfly back down after only offering 500,000 gold coins?
"So, our conversation this morning ended on a sour note. I'm just a historian, not some wealthy nobleman. Besides, even if that notebook contained valuable historical material that would allow me to write a book that would shock the entire historical community, all I'd gain would be fame, not money. I have no chance of raising such a large sum of money, let alone spending it on this notebook."
Gently took a breath. "Besides, Baron Chandler's notes aren't my only option. Coming to Rose Hill feels like stepping into that period of history! Given enough time, I'll surely uncover more of the stories this hill has to tell! I don't need some impoverished nobleman demanding exorbitant prices to take advantage of my misfortune and mislead my research!"
"How can you talk like that!" Baroness Chandler slammed the table, her eyes suddenly turned red and tears flowed again.
The historian shrank back, his momentum suddenly weakening. "Anyway, after lunch, Ceylon and I wandered around the villa, searching for books, artifacts, and anything else that could explain that period of history. We originally wanted to go to the library, but on the way, Ceylon noticed a secret door."
"Secret door?" Winston perked up.
"Yes, there are many secret passages in this villa." Magician Ceylon said, "I often go to historical sites with Daskus, so I have a lot of experience in exploring secret passages and traps.
"During my exploration this afternoon, I discovered numerous secret passages. Judging from their design, the builders must have created numerous separate passages for servants, allowing them to quickly navigate various areas and appear in every corner of the villa unnoticed by the owner or guests.
"That way, the servants can quietly and unnoticed complete their work of cleaning, serving tea and water, and delivering items, without the nobles seeing their brooms, buckets, and rags and dirtying the eyes of the masters and ladies."
Many nobles of the Delman dynasty had this kind of particularity, and the guests present nodded in understanding.
Gently took over the conversation and continued his eloquent narration, "Of course, many aristocratic homes also have this kind of special 'servant passage,' but I guarantee that none of the guests present have ever seen a design comparable to this villa! We discovered that this villa is built on a cliff, and within the cliff is a natural cave!
"When the original architects built this villa, they took the cave into consideration. They excavated, reinforced, and transformed the natural cave into a part of the villa! The cave not only has stairs leading down, but also a natural icehouse that keeps it warm in winter and cool in summer. Even the underground river that originally existed in the cave has been converted into a natural water supply for the fish pond!
"What we discovered was a secret door leading into an underground cave! This is a truly earth-shattering discovery! We immediately decided not to go to the library and explore this underground passage first!"
The finished soup was removed, and side dishes such as golden thread rolls, braised platter, and stir-fried octopus tentacles with lychee meat and celery were placed in front of the nobles one by one. Accompanied by the adventure stories of the historian and the magician, the guests ate them with relish. When the main courses of grilled lamprey and tender grilled beef ribs were served, the two scholars finally ended their exaggerated performance.
Andre briefly summarized the content in his mind: the two scholars were amazed all the way, and were surprised for a long time when they saw a staircase, an ice cellar, and a fish pond. They studied it for a while, and finally walked to the end of the stairs at the bottom of the cliff, only to find that there was dark sea water in front of them.
They had no choice but to turn back, but as expected, they lost their way in the darkness. They didn't know if there were other creatures hiding in the dark cave, or if it was the wind howling in from the cracks in the mountains. The lantern light was reflected on the ceiling by the water in the cave, making the shadows even more hazy and terrifying... In short, they heard terrifying howling sounds, saw strange lights and shadows, even heard the sound of running footsteps, and saw illusory figures...
Finally, the two scholars were trembling all over and were carried out of the cave by a puppet maid. They saw the light again... When Andre heard that the maid went to the cave to feed the fresh fish that the chef did not need temporarily, he knew the identity of the maid - it was Leila.
After the two scholars were dragged out by Leila, they were placed in the living room to rest. They were frightened a lot in the dark cave - of course, it was mainly because they scared themselves - which caused them to completely miss the noise and death outside... They didn't hear about Baron Chand's death until seven o'clock.
Winston: "..." The two scholars' stories were completely useless. Even their styles were different from everyone else's! Although they were of no help to the case, they were still interesting enough to accompany a meal.
...Oh, he was definitely not saying that there was anything wrong with tonight's dinner. No, given how delicious tonight's dinner was, it didn't need any story to accompany it.
The waiters took away the clean plates and brought the last two desserts: chocolate spider cookies and bloody tea jelly.
The people of this world have already invented chocolate and have developed a special fondness for this bitter substance. Of course, since the raw material, cocoa beans, must be shipped from Southeast Asia and a large amount of sugar must be added to make it into a delicious dessert, it is still a top-notch delicacy that only the nobility can enjoy.
It is hard to say whether other nobles can afford it, but at the parties hosted by Madame Butterfly, you can basically see exquisite desserts made with chocolate.
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