Chapter 8 Letter
It was not until the sky turned white and the warm sunlight replaced the cold red moonlight that Angel, with a tired face, raised his head and threw away the pen that was almost out of ink.
In front of him were two pages of notes filled with words, which detailed the experience of "Angel Granger" coming from Sivellas County to Tingen City in Ahowa County.
There are also future plans and how to deal with unexpected events.
After memorizing the results of his all-night work, Angel tore off the two pages of notes, but felt unsure, so he tore off a few extra pages on both sides, burned them all to ashes on the stove, and flushed them down the sewer to destroy the evidence.
Looking at the time, it was almost eight o'clock in the morning. She went to the bathroom and simply washed her face to make herself look less tired.
As the clock pointed to eight o'clock, the church bells outside the window rang out, followed by a crisp knock on the door.
“Dongdongdong——”
Cole Granger, who lived alone, hired a handyman from a housekeeping company. The handyman came to his house every Monday and Friday morning to do laundry and clean, and also came to collect the clothes that were hung out to dry the next afternoon. Cole paid 1 soli per week for this.
Angel did a rough calculation and found that even if a female worker had a full schedule and worked from morning to night seven days a week, she could only earn less than 10 soli. But this was already a good job among the lower class people. It did not require any knowledge or special abilities. As long as you were willing to work, you would have income. As the saying goes, "as long as you have hands, you can do it."
Now is the time for her to come.
Putting on a natural smile in front of the mirror, Angel said to himself, "From now on, you are Angel Granger, Cole Granger's distant cousin."
She repeated it three times as if hypnotizing herself before she walked out of the bathroom.
When the front door was opened, the noise from the street immediately poured into the living room. Standing at the door was a short woman with brown curly hair barely held straight by a headband. She was wearing a cheap linen skirt and holding a wooden bucket full of tools in one hand. The other hand was raised, ready to continue knocking on the door.
Seeing the door open, she greeted happily: "Hello, Mr. Granger..." But when she realized that the person in front of her was not her employer, but a strange girl, she swallowed the rest of the greeting.
She first looked around to make sure she had walked into the right door, then greeted again, "Hello, beautiful lady, is Mr. Granger home?"
"Are you the maid hired by your cousin? He is not at home now, so just come in and clean." Angel answered with a smile and made room for the door.
"Oh, okay!" The female worker showed an expression of sudden realization. She took the tools and went into the house swiftly, closing the door casually.
This was also part of Angel's plan. She wanted to get in touch with as many people around her as possible and leave an impression on them. In this way, even if the police doubted the authenticity of her identity and conducted an investigation around her, they would get the conclusion she wanted.
Also spread the word that Cole Granger is missing.
"I'm Angel Granger. I just arrived in Tingen this week and am staying here temporarily. Your name is... Tromi, right? Cole mentioned you before." Angel pretended to think for a moment before calling out the worker's name. Seeing Tromi nod, she continued, "He said he had something urgent to do in the middle of the night before yesterday, and he left with a briefcase. He hasn't come back yet."
At this point, Angel made a worried expression.
This emotion successfully infected the kind-hearted Tromi, and the female worker also expressed her concern for Cole Granger's safety. After the two discussed Cole's whereabouts, Tromi began to work today.
Very good, this lays the groundwork. When Tromi comes again on Monday morning, I can naturally bring up the matter of calling the police.
Looking at the busy female worker, Angel smiled.
…
As planned, Angel visited almost every place Cole had visited around Daffodil Street during these two days.
Restaurants, libraries, bakeries, vegetable markets, and even the weapons store that Cole had only visited twice, spread the news that "Cole Granger had disappeared for several days" while dining or buying things, and at the same time reminded them of this distant relative from out of town who cared about his cousin.
On Saturday evening, Angel returned home. When he went out at noon, the second-floor balcony was still full of clothes hanging out to dry, but now they had been put away by the maid Tromi.
"This guy Cole actually gave a key to the female worker. He seems to trust Tromi." Before leaving, Angel hid the revolver, cash and other valuables in the secret compartment of the study table. But in her memory, Cole often forgot to lock the study door. Either this guy was too careless, or he trusted the female worker named Tromi very much.
Since Tromi has been working here for quite some time, Angel has no plans to replace him for the time being, but she will carefully keep the valuables instead of testing people's nature.
Just as she was about to step into the house, a corner of an envelope sticking out of the mailbox at the door caught her attention.
Could it be something Tromi left behind? Or maybe a gas bill or something?
Angel took out the letter curiously. There was no name of the sender or recipient on the envelope, and there was no stamp. It seemed that it did not come from the postal system.
She tore open the envelope, pulled out the thin letter inside, took a look at it, put it back into the envelope, opened the door and walked into the living room.
A moment later, Angel, dressed in light clothes and a cloak, took all the cash and weapons with him and slipped out the back door.
She was ready to run away.
…
It was not until he got on the stagecoach that Angel calmed down a little.
She thought back to the letter she had just received. The few numbers on it had made her fall into the worst-case scenario she had anticipated.
"Meet at the usual place tomorrow night at 8 o'clock."
There was no signature, but the handwriting was beautiful and calm. It was a letter from Sharon Hoy.
In the eyes of most people in Tingen, Mrs. Sharon was an unattainable socialite. After the death of her husband, Baron Hoy, she continued to be active in Tingen, maintaining the network of political and business connections left by the baron. There were even rumors that she had an ambiguous relationship with her stepson, the current Baron Hoy.
Cole, who is deeply attracted by Mrs. Sharon's charm, is undoubtedly one of her loyal lickers. Like other suitors, he obeys her words and responds to her requests.
But from Angel's perspective, who was able to step back and observe the past, this Lady Sharon was one of the most terrifying people in Tingen City.
She possessed strength far exceeding that of a Sequence 7 "Witch" and had likely already reached the level of Sequence 6. The extraordinary abilities that Cole had seen alone included attacks with frost and black flames and invisible spider silk that could bind others.
If the dark vision and light steps of the "Assassin" can only be regarded as "the limit of what a normal person can achieve", then Mrs. Sharon's various abilities can be regarded as a true "extraordinary person". Even in Angel's original world, such a person can be regarded as a top combat force.
Of course, Madam Sharon probably hasn't discovered that this Cole is not that Cole yet, but Angel doesn't have the confidence to hide his situation in front of a Sequence 7 or even stronger Beyonder. Even if he has obtained most of Cole's memories, he can't play another person completely flawlessly.
Besides, what if Madam Sharon asked her to use her newly acquired extraordinary abilities?
If you can't beat them and don't want to join, then you can only run away.
In Angel's original plan, she did take Mrs. Sharon into consideration as an important factor, but she planned to face this former "mentor" only after making sufficient preparations and laying the groundwork. By then, whether it was deception or a breakup, she was confident that she could do better.
I just didn't expect Mrs. Sharon's invitation to come so soon.
After all, Cole was one of Madam Sharon's "bedmates," so it was normal for her to invite him to the "old place" for a reunion after he was promoted to Sequence 7. However, for Angel, this was undoubtedly a death warrant.
She had not completed all the preparations and faced Madam Sharon, so she had almost no chance of survival.
"Maybe I can get something with a full-strength attack from an 'assassin'?" This lucky thought was quickly suppressed by Angel. The other party was also an 'assassin', so how could it be that easy?
"We've arrived at Red Moon Street." The driver outside the carriage announced the stop.
Several people in the carriage moved to the door, ready to get off. This was also Angel's first stop on her escape. After the others got off, she followed them down.
The sound of horse hooves and wheels faded away. Angel stood on the bustling Red Moon Street, looking towards her destination, the Tingen City Police Headquarters.
This is a six-story building with a courtyard surrounded by high walls in the land-scarce northern district of Tingen. The main entrance is large enough for four carriages to pass through. It is after get off work and most of the lights inside have been turned off, but the diligent guards at the door are still standing upright.
She pulled a thick envelope from under her cloak and walked towards the reporting mailbox by the main entrance. It was a red mailbox half a person's height, set up specifically for citizens to make anonymous or named reports. It was supposed to be managed by the city hall, but they found that most anonymous reports involved criminal behavior, so they simply handed the matter over to the police.
The envelope Angel held contained some of Cole Granger's notebooks and diaries, as well as correspondence between him and Mrs. Sharon. With this evidence, the police could easily determine that Cole had committed most of the crimes. Although Mrs. Sharon didn't sign her correspondence, Cole Granger's unilateral records alone would likely force her to be investigated. Even if she had escaped legal punishment through her connections, she would have to restrain herself for a while.
When dealing with an opponent with such a strong network of relationships, the best option is to kill first and report later, but unfortunately, I can no longer do that.
Angel sighed and stuffed the envelope into the mailbox. There was a "bang" sound from inside the mailbox, and it seemed that there were already quite a few letters inside.
"By the time Madam Sharon discovers Cole Granger's broken promise tomorrow night, I'll probably already be in Backlund. Even with all the connections in Tingen, there's nothing she can do to me, right?"
Angel returned to the street and waited for the stagecoach to arrive.
The next step was to leave Tingen City. Due to lighting restrictions, there were no trains running in Tingen City at night. Angel planned to go to the dock to hire a boat and go down the river to Backlund, the capital of the Kingdom of Loen. He would first find Cole's sister, Lily Granger, and remind her that it would be best for her to accept the protection of the official Beyonders to avoid retaliation from Madam Sharon. Then, he would set sail from Pritz Harbor next to Backlund.
As for whether to settle in the islands near the Kingdom of Loen or head to Balam in the southern continent, it would depend on the specific circumstances.
At this moment, the hourly bell, which she had become quite familiar with since she traveled through time, rang again. The sound was quite close to her. The ethereal bell sounded as if it was striking directly at her heart, causing Angel to look in the direction of the bell.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, the bell tower of St. Selina Church that reaches into the sky is reflecting golden light.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
