Chapter 1001 First Movement
When the Wraith in front of him was gone, Emlyn White retracted his gaze, untied the thread on the dossier, and pulled out the documents inside.
As he read through them, Emlyn had a rough idea of Ernes Boyar’s routine.
This Sanguine Viscount had a routine which was rather random-staying at home, out visiting exhibitions, partaking in wine tasting at manors in the city outskirts, shopping at department stores with female companions, or sketching female models. He was like the typical wealthy man.
However, Ernes had recently been visiting St. George Borough every other day to monitor the renovations of the furniture factory he had invested in. It was a bid to ensure that it could quickly resume work.
This way, the Sanguine Viscount’s lifestyle became repetitive. The places he visited, the paths he took, and the places he had lunch were repeated every other day.
Emlyn pressed down on his temples, seriously filtering out three venues which were suitable for the operation.
The first was inside or at the entrance of the furniture factory owned by Ernes Boyar. The second was Saint Hierländ Square where he stopped along the way home for a meal and to feed birds. The third place was Backlund Bridge. Unless Ernes was willing to take a huge detour, he had to pass by this area when traveling between his home and St. George Borough.
These three spots meet the requirement of having plenty of people, making it chaotic. However, Backlund Bridge has too few entrances and exits. With the two ends locked down, one can only leave by jumping into the river, an act only chosen by idiots… Saint Hierländ Square comes under Saint Hierländ Cathedral, core to the Church of Steam in Backlund, and even the entirety of Loen. It’s akin to the second Holy See. It meets Mr. Hanged Man’s suggestion. It can effectively prevent conflicts from escalating, and it can interfere with any subsequent divination and investigations… Emlyn gradually had an inclination.
And once a living being had an inclination, they would unknowingly seek more reasons to affirm their choice, and Emlyn was no exception, without a doubt. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Saint Hierländ Square met almost all the requirements.
First, Ernes wouldn’t stay in the area for too long. He would have lunch at a restaurant with Sivellaus cuisine since he was born in Sivellaus County.
Secondly, there were several tracked carriage stops in the vicinity, making the area filled with traffic on foot. With most of them being people from the lower or middle class, accidents often happened.
Thirdly, with it as the origin, one would enter the area south of the Bridge if one didn’t head to the Backlund Bridge. It would then be closeby to the Harvest Church.
Finally, at noon, the Saint Hierländ Cathedral would spew steam, turn its levers, and chime a clock. It was inevitable for everyone’s attention to be attracted.
It’s confirmed… Emlyn quickly made up his mind. Raising his right hand and adjusting his bow tie, his red eyes were filled with anticipation.
At this moment, he suddenly frowned, sensing that something wasn’t right.
Saint Hierländ Square was just perfect for the job!
It was so suitable that almost all the conditions were met!
Will Ernes be wary against my revenge? Why would he allow himself to stay in such an environment for such long periods of time? Even if he’s stupid enough to not realize it, wouldn’t the earls warn him? The corners of Emlyn’s mouth curled up slightly as he understood the reason.
Saint Hierländ Square was the venue the Sanguine upper echelons had designated “for him”!
Heh… Emlyn chuckled, keeping his mouth curled.
He decided to request Mr. Fool to have a gathering for the few members and also invite Mr. Hanged Man to discuss the plan in detail!
This was different from the framework that they had previously decided upon. They needed to consider every detail and consider every problem!
At fifteen minutes to twelve, St. George Borough, Saint Hierländ Square.
In a private room on the third story of a restaurant northwest of the square.
A figure stood in front of the window, holding a cup filled with scarlet blood-like liquid. He was leisurely looking at the fountain nearby and the crowds that came and went.
He was a lanky person, wearing a formal suit meant for banquets. His light-colored hair that was nearly silver and his bright red eyes combined together to give him a sense of coquettish handsomeness. There was a constant faint smile lining his lips.
“My lord, will it really be fine? Emlyn seems to be different from before. This can be seen from his recent hunt of the Primordial Moon believers.” A middle-aged man in a dark suit walked to the window and said with some hint of worry.
The man who had been politely addressed cast his gaze at the square where Emlyn White stood. He was listening to a violinist busking on the street as he chuckled.
“Our preparations are enough even against a demigod, much less a kid who hasn’t even become a viscount.
“Besides, we don’t really plan on doing anything serious. Our only goal is to identify and make confirmations. This is a lot simpler than preventing certain people from escaping.”
As he spoke, the man with the light hair and bright red eyes raised his right hand slightly, rotating the ring on his left ring finger.
The ring was made of silver, and embedded in it was a strange gem with a ghostly-blue hue.
On a carriage driving towards Saint Hierländ Square, Ernes Boyar had his right hand over his left. He naturally rotated the ring on his ring finger that had a ghostly-blue gem embedded in it.
He casually looked out the window and saw a trackless carriage slowly drive over from afar. A paperboy slightly taller than 160 centimeters had a sling bag across his chest as he peddled his papers along the street. Quite a number of bicycles had replaced the carriages that were often seen last year. They darted through the crowds in St. George Borough.
Here, the number of workers wearing light blue or grayish-blue uniforms with hats had far exceeded the number of people in formal suits and top hats.
Ernes retracted his gaze as he chuckled. He had no fear about what would happen next. He even looked forward to
it.
He believed that he had made enough preparations.
He wore Oath of Rose on his left hand. It allowed him to share what he saw, heard, and smelled with Earl Mistral from a distance away. It made sure that nothing would go wrong while ensuring that their objective was met.
In his inner pocket where his silver pocket watch was, there was a Moon Paper Figurine. These could suffer a single lethal blow or an attack that targeted his Soul Body. It ensured that he wouldn’t suffer any serious injuries or death within a short span of time.
He also wore Alcohol Nemesis, a diamond brooch. It kept him brimming with energy with lucidity in his thoughts. It raised his resistance against spells that acted on the Body of Heart and Mind.
By his waist was a belt named Moonlight Sash. It could effectively reduce Sun and Lightning damage.
These mystical items were the accumulation of Ernes’s wealth or were bestowed by Earl Mistral. It made sure that Ernes was a “target” that could hardly be quickly finished off or controlled.
With the Sanguine Viscount’s natural resistance against Nightmare-type influences, Ernes was nearly without weakness. Even against a demigod, he could put up a fight as long as the latter didn’t reveal their Mythical Creature form.
The only problem is that the negative effects of all these mystical items are quite excessive… Ernes’s facial muscles twitched, but he quickly composed himself.
The Oath of Rose would make his thoughts appear in Earl Mistral’s mind from time to time. And if he kept wearing it for a week without removing it, the pair who had the matching rings might very well end up in love, regardless of gender or race.
Moon Paper Figurine was an expendable item. It had nearly zero side effects apart from making the body slightly cold.
The Alcohol Nemesis brooch’s problem was that it would deal continuous damage to one’s liver and brain. If it was worn for excessively long periods of time, it might result in one losing one’s thoughts and logical reasoning. Therefore, one had to take it off for fifteen minutes after every half an hour of equipping it.
Once Moonlight Sash was worn, it made all senses much sharper, making it easy for one to see and hear things one shouldn’t see or hear. At the same time, the wearer would feel itchy at intermittent intervals.
Let’s hope they don’t cower in fear and that this doesn’t drag on… Ernes Boyar checked on his condition once again, casting his gaze of anticipation at the Saint Hierländ Square’s entrance nearby.
On the other end of Saint Hierländ Square, Emlyn White, who was taking in the sights of the buskers on the streets, suddenly looked up at a bird that flew over.
Following that, he raised his hand to press down on his top hat. Bowing his head slightly, he briskly walked to the middle of the square, approaching the fountain.
In this process, Emlyn’s figure kept moving as he mixed into the crowd.
However, this failed to avoid Earl Mistral’s tracking.
This Sanguine Earl with silver hair rotated the ghostly-blue gem ring on his left ring finger and coldly said, “Take note.”
At the entrance of Saint Hierländ Square, Ernes Boyar grew increasingly pumped. He knew that the operation was about to come-finally.
Emlyn still chose Saint Hierländ Square after all… Ernes cast his gaze out the window once more, warily watching the pedestrians on the street, the trackless public carriages that were about to pass him, the ordinary paperboy who was peddling his papers, and the elegant windows of the surrounding houses and shops.
He didn’t believe that Emlyn’s potential partners were hiding in there, because there were even more, better spots in Saint Hierländ Square that made it conducive to take action. However, he still kept up the required level of wariness.
Suddenly, his body lunged forward slightly as he nearly got out of his seat.
The carriage he was on had stopped without any warning!
Right on the heels of that, the horses that pulled the carriage seemed to be in a nightmare as they raised their front hooves, struggling wildly, flipping the carriage to the ground.
During this process, Ernes Boyar actually had ample space, time, and strength to help the carriage driver control the berserk horse. However, he didn’t do so, because he saw a transparent wolf-shaped specter jump over from outside the window. It had thrown a rose within its body.
A rose!
Ernes Boyar’s eyes widened as the carriage toppled.
He hurriedly jumped to the side and out the carriage as he made an illusory and incorporeal black chain extend out of the void. It wrapped around the wolf-shape specter!
With a soft poof, the wolf-shaped specter dissipated without a struggle.
And when Ernes Boyar found his footing, he stood there motionless, his eyes turbid.
He had already been pulled into a deep sleep.
In a trackless public carriage that passed him by, a black-haired, green-eyed young man wore a thin trench coat. His back was facing the middle of the street as he focused on reading a notebook with a green-bronze hardcover.
Around him, the other passengers were either reading the papers or chatting. Some were looking out only to see the berserk horse quickly recover.
With a whoosh, the black-haired, green-eyed man flipped the page of the notebook.
The trackless carriage continued forward and gradually distanced itself.
