Lord of the Mysteries

West Borough, 2 King’s Avenue, Royal Museum.

Although it wasn’t a weekend, there was a long line at the door when Klein arrived.

According to the descriptions in the newspapers and magazines, he knew that the world’s middle class had fewer ways of entertaining themselves. Other than reading newspapers, reading novels, listening to opera concerts, playing tennis and squash, enjoying plays, and holding or attending banquets, there were only three options: going to a park, going to an exhibition, and going on vacation. Due to Emperor Roselle’s influence, annual vacations were already common phenomena.

At nine o’clock sharp, Klein, who was wearing a silk top hat, a black cane, and a long double-breasted frock coat, followed the people in front of him and entered the museum.

There was a split here, and the different guides led a number of visitors down different passages.

Klein and nearly twenty people followed a good-looking woman and listened to her introduction of Roselle’s life.

This was of zero value to Klein, who was half a historian, so he was so bored that he began confirming the location of his wallet.

Since his wealth had soared to 952 pounds, just a step away from a thousand pounds, his wallet could no longer hold so much cash, and he could only carry some of it selectively. As for the rest, Klein didn’t feel at ease to just leave them at home without protection, so he threw them all above the gray fog.

As they walked, they entered the first exhibition hall. The female guide excitedly said, “Ladies and gentlemen, these are the daily necessities of Emperor Roselle.

“Look, that’s his velvet quilt, and that’s the golden glassware he used to drink his wine.

“That’s the toilet he used, the first toilet in the modern sense.”

…

Even a toilet he had used before is being exhibited? Klein suddenly felt some sympathy for Roselle.

Then, he looked at the toilet with a flushing system behind the glass wall and saw that it was shimmering with golden light. It seemed to have a layer of gold foil on its surface, and it was engraved with an exaggerated and artistic pattern.

How extravagant… Klein no longer sympathized with Roselle.

Separated from the toilet by only a glass layer was Roselle’s everyday clothing, including cuffs, a shirt with pleats at the collar, and so on.

It was obvious that the female guide was rather impressed by Intis’s dress culture.

After the Daily Necessities Exhibition Hall, there was a display of the original versions of the important documents which Roselle had issued, including the Civil Code and other extremely valuable historical relics.

At that moment, the female guide pointed at a display cabinet and said, “This is one of the diaries left behind by Emperor Roselle. It uses his self-created mysterious symbols that have yet to be deciphered to date. Many historians and archaeologists believe that these notes contain the least known secrets of Emperor Roselle.

“As a romantic, I have my own guesses. Perhaps these are the symbols he had agreed upon with his most beloved woman. They wrote about each other, but were never able to truly be together.”

You’re suited for writing novels… The corner of Klein’s mouth twitched. His eyes then turned to the notebook that was spread open in the display cabinet. On it were the simplified Chinese he was extremely familiar with.

“6th March. Dammit, I’m almost constipated from eating the food here!”

“17th March. Are the ladies of Intis so open? Did I hit on her, or did she hit on me? I just find it odd.”

“22nd March. It’s time to choose a religion. On one side is the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and on the other is the Church of Craftsmanship.

“My choice is without a doubt. Praise you, God of All Machinery!

“One day, I will make the Church of Craftsmanship change its name to the Church of Machinery.”

… It’s indeed very romantic… Romantic constipation… This should be a diary entry written by Emperor Roselle in his early days. It’s without any valuable information… His handwriting is even uglier than mine… Klein looked away and tsked.

Of course, he only saw the two pages that were spread open. He didn’t know what else was on it.

I wonder how the security measures here are. I wonder if there is a chance of sneaking in and flipping through them… Klein looked around and saw that there were quite a few security personnel on the surface.

Perhaps there are Beyonders from the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery…he muttered under his breath and followed the female guide as he blended in with the crowd. He entered the next exhibition hall which was called “The Gentle Roselle.”

“This is Emperor Roselle’s first love letter. This is his first love poem he created—”When You Are Old ¹ .” The female guide looked at the manuscript in the display cabinet with glimmering eyes.

Shameless! Yeats’s coffin can’t be held shut any longer! Klein couldn’t help but lampoon.

“This is a bracelet he made. This is the original manuscript of his novel… ” The female guide introduced with a tone of extraordinary adoration.

… Klein tried hard not to let his expression change.

Of course, he also believed that Emperor Roselle, who was an Artisan in his Beyonder profession, was definitely very skilled in his craftsmanship.

“This is the basic education textbook that he improved to educate his children. Each word has its own corresponding picture… It was a little game he had invented for his children, similar to Intis chess, but somehow it didn’t become popular… These are the toy blocks he invented; these were also for his children…” the female guide said in a gentle tone without even realizing it.

Isn’t this fucking Chinese Chess… Furthermore, Lego wants to collect the licensing fees from you! Klein could only smirk to hide his other emotions.

With a single glance, he noticed that there was a woman over 1.7 meters tall standing in front of this display cabinet.

The lady had chestnut hair that fell to her waist, and she had a perfectly proportioned figure. She was neither fat nor thin.

She wore a lace dress which had the vibes of a young girl, but she wore a black, out-of-fashion bonnet, and a fishnet veil hung down, concealing her face.

She stood in front of the display cabinet and stared at the items inside for a long time without leaving.

Even when Klein and the others followed the guide to the next exhibition hall, she remained rooted to the spot.

After passing through a few more exhibition halls, the female guide pointed ahead and said, “The next thing you will see is Emperor Roselle’s restored study.

“Of course, it’s only a part of it.”

As she spoke, Klein and the others entered the exhibition hall as the area before them opened up.

It was almost like a library, lined with shelves which were two stories high. There were ladders sitting beneath them and aisles between them leading to a three-dimensional book park.

“You can imagine how the owner of this place had once climbed up and down the ladder in search of the book that he wanted to read…” The guide painted a vivid picture.

No, Roselle would definitely send his servants to seek it out for him. He wouldn’t do it himself… Klein silently refuted.

In the center of the row of bookshelves were desks, chairs, brass lampstands, and the like. They were all protected under the cover of glass and were blocked from making contact with the outside world.

With a single glance, Klein found a stack of manuscripts which were all yellow in color.

The stack of manuscripts weren’t spread out, so one could only see the contents of the first page.

It was a drawing of a rectangular object with a detailed description: “This is a portable, miniaturized application of the telegraph. Through it, one can connect to the person holding the same item and receive and exchange information. You can even converse with them directly.

“This requires better positioning. I think we can boldly cast our sights to the sky. There are no obstructions in the sky, and it would allow for better transmission of signals.”

…

Emperor, you aren’t even letting go of a cell phone… Klein couldn’t help but facepalm.

At that moment, the guide introduced the stack of manuscripts.

“… These record the wonderful ideas of Emperor Roselle. They record inventions which he was unable to turn into reality in time. They record the glory of what our human civilization is capable of!”

Klein didn’t pay any attention to the flattery and instead casually sized up the other things.

Suddenly, he noticed a bookmark in a hardcover book on the desk.

The exposed part of the bookmark depicted a drawing which was randomly drawn by a child.

Emperor Roselle isn’t good at drawing… Just as Klein was mocking inwardly, he suddenly thought of something—Roselle had once disguised a Card of Blasphemy as a bookmark and placed it inside a certain book!

Could it be this one? Klein carefully observed for a few seconds, but he didn’t find anything amiss.

That’s right. He had mentioned before that the Cards of Blasphemy possess anti-divination and anti-prophecy characteristics. Under normal circumstances, there’s no way to discover their uniqueness… If it were so easily recognized, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery would have long taken it away… Klein cast his gaze away and began scrutinizing the other books. He discovered that many of them had a bookmark in them, and all of these bookmarks were of different shapes.

He pondered for a moment, and using his Clown’s ability to control his facial muscles, he curiously asked, “Are these all books that Emperor Roselle has read before?

“Sorry, I mean, are these the original books?”

The female guided nodded firmly.

“Yes, these are all the items from Emperor Roselle’s study from back then. They include, but are not limited to, books, manuscripts, bookmarks, lampstands, ink bottles… But even more were destroyed during the several conflicts.”

Klein nodded slightly and studied the bookmarks again.

Roselle had said in his diary that he was going to put the Card of Blasphemy in a very valuable book so that no one would ever think that the most valuable thing in that book was actually an obscure bookmark… Well, which of these books are valuable?Klein began eliminating books as he recalled the details written in the diary.

“Glorious Era,” doesn’t look like it…

“The History of the Intis Kingdom,” doesn’t look like it…

“Geography of the Northern Continent,” this might be possible, but it isn’t very likely…

“The Improved Principles of Steam Machinery,” just like before…

Klein scanned the books, one by one, when his eyes suddenly came to rest on the first pile of manuscripts he saw.

They were recording objects from Earth objects which Roselle had wanted to invent but lacked the conditions to do so.

There was also a bookmark in it, and on it, there was a depiction of Roselle in royal Emperor clothes.