Chapter 2348: Noble Crimson

Chapter 2348: Chapter 2348: Noble Crimson

For his own life safety, Marquis Mosen felt that a year or two of "calming one’s desires" was certainly not a problem.

Mr. Benhart then signaled to Mr. Albert with his eyes, meaning something like "I told you he is very good at wordplay, right?"

Despite saying no sponsorship, when the three bid farewell to Marquis Mosen approaching eleven o’clock that morning, everyone’s wallet was much thicker.

Besides cash, Mr. Benhart secured a name card signed by the Marquis, allowing them to leverage the Marquis’s name for inconvenient matters during the investigation. This way, Shard wouldn’t always have to think about using Miss Belindel or Margaret’s name for his actions.

Mr. Albert obtained the Marquis Mosen’s medal, with a promise from the Marquis that with this medal, Mr. Albert could get help from the police department at any time. As a coroner, he also counts as part of the police department, so this medal suits him well.

As for Shard, since he had just saved the life of Marquis Mosen, he received a great gift—a relic—even though he wasn’t a Vampire Kind.

The Poet-Level Relic [Noble Crimson], takes the form of a red-painted iron badge. The badge is shaped like a blood droplet, with the word "Noble" painted on the front in gold ink, while the back has an ancient phrase—

[Because of blood, drinking blood, craving blood, born noble.]

"The Marquis says the relic’s effect is that by pressing the badge and giving it spirit, it can be transformed into a small bat. During the bat’s existence, it can share vision to some extent, but the distance cannot be too far, and once the bat is shot down, the relic falls into someone else’s hands."

On the carriage back to the city, Shard was still playing with the metallic badge. Supporting the badge with his right hand, he gently pressed it while giving a touch of spirit with his left, causing the small badge to wriggle and transform in his hand until it became a small black bat.

Shard generally considers bats to be not very cute creatures, but the bat in his palm trying to flap its wings and fly was somewhat cute.

"Because it’s just Poet-Level, the reconnaissance effect is not very outstanding."

The coroner with a satchel reminded.

Shard didn’t intend to keep it long-term; his own perception was very strong, and he was proficient in transformation spell, making the Poet-Level reconnaissance relic of little help to him. Besides, he worried that Mia, his cat, might not accept another suspected "pet" appearing around him.

Of course, it wasn’t that the Outlander overly preferred domestic pet cats; he simply felt this relic, while useful, was not majorly beneficial to him. Keeping it for now could be considered for gifting to someone around him or waiting to trade it to others like the Master Key.

"Let’s get back to business."

Mr. Benhart shifted his gaze from the notebook in his hand:

"According to the information provided by Mr. Watson, after Marquis Mosen encountered this life-threatening crisis, he will soon face a second one. We need to act quickly. If Marquis Mosen dies, any promises he gave will become void."

"But the clues we have are not many."

Mr. Albert also said:

"The Marquis’s dreams are too chaotic; at best we only know that his own evil deeds have led to ’Judgement.’ But I don’t believe Marquis Mosen’s actions warrant sacrificing his life as repayment, just like the corpses I dissected; infidelity and gambling are indeed vices, but not so much as to kill them."

"At least we understand that relic can indeed threaten an Advanced Vampire of Nine Rings."

Shard added:

"When shaking hands earlier, I felt it; the Marquis is very strong. His Nine Ring Level is not due to mere luck; if we really fought, the three of us together might not even defeat him."

Though this was a somewhat exaggerated statement, the local Mr. Albert agreed:

"Therefore, the information you provided, Mr. Watson, is likely correct, and the relic involved is either Sage Level or Angel-Level. But the current issue is, the opposing force doesn’t need to show up to exert powerful influence; how do we locate it?"

"That still requires determining what the opposing party is first, and then formulating a plan based on its traits."

Shard said:

"However, after rescuing another ’patient’ with heart pain last time, I felt my own heart aching too, but since I have heart-strengthening Arcane Technique, I didn’t die. When saving Marquis Mosen just now, I felt that sensation again, yet wasn’t much affected."

We’ll go see Captain Rudolf soon; let’s first observe his situation. If he’s fine, we’ll look for others; after saving a few more, the relic behind it will certainly take more direct action against me, and then there’ll be an opportunity to see it."

"Is this method a bit too aggressive?"

Mr. Benhart frowned:

"Too dangerous for you."

Shard shook his head, wanting to resolve the matter quickly. Not only did he desire the scale in Desire’s hands and the clues Miss Les held about [Sorrow of Blood], but more importantly, he wanted more information from Desire.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he looked out the carriage window at the gloomy sky outside; in the impending storm, relying on himself and that blood-drinking Duke might still not suffice.

Mr. Benhart had mentioned all morning that Captain Rudolf should be on his ship, but when the three traveled by carriage from North City to the Dock Area in South City at noon, they did not see the towering Vampire Kind amidst the bustling crowd at the dock.

While Shard and Mr. Albert chatted on the pier, Mr. Benhart soon came down from the ship looking for him:

"The sailors said that Captain Rudolf thought we would arrive by ten and left to handle his own matters when we didn’t show by eleven-thirty."

"Armand, we indeed delayed too much time at the racecourse."

The sea breeze stirred the coroner’s robe as he looked towards the city:

"But it’s okay, we can go find him. Where has the captain gone now? He should still be in the city, right?"

"Yes, at the Parsifal Club."

After revealing the location, Shard asked in surprise:

"If I remember correctly, isn’t that a famous... club for technical workers in the city? What is Captain Rudolf doing there in broad daylight?"

"No, no, as far as I know, he’s not that kind of person, he probably has other business."

Mr. Albert immediately said, and because Shard and Mr. Benhart, both outsiders, were not familiar with the situation, they didn’t say anything more:

"Do we need to have lunch first? It’s already noon."

"Let’s go to the club first, I’m worried the captain might leave there for somewhere else, or he might suddenly have a heart attack, and we can’t catch up."

Mr. Benhart said, holding his forehead, and Shard and the coroner nodded. Whether or not to have lunch was up to them, but what they had to do was evidently more important.

So the three set off again, and by the time they arrived at the entrance of Parsifal Club, it was already close to one-thirty in the afternoon. This time, Shard paid for the fare, and after getting the change, he turned to look at the high-end leisure establishment hidden behind a flower-covered wall. To their surprise, all the doors of Parsifal Club were closed, and there weren’t as many people inside the windows as usual.

All three of them were somewhat puzzled. After walking up to knock on the door, a man’s head, appearing like a bodyguard, poked out from the gap:

"The club is not open today, please leave, all three of you."

He was about to close the door, but Mr. Benhart quickly grabbed it:

"Please wait, what’s going on here?"

The man inside tried several times but couldn’t close the door, so he had no choice but to say:

"Sir, are you always this curious?

Mrs. Frei got hold of a very expensive Roder Card and invited the city’s Roder Card experts for a competition, with that card as the prize. She said it could raise the club’s reputation and maybe even expand Roder Card gambling in the future... Can you let go of the door? The club will reopen after the competition concludes this evening."

"I’m a friend of Mrs. Frei."

Shard spoke up, and his two companions looked at him in surprise.

"Just tell her you are a friend introduced by the ’Boatman’, she’ll understand."

So Mr. Benhart finally let go, and the man inside closed the door and went to report to Mrs. Frei.

"I wouldn’t play around in a place like this, it’s only for investigation purposes that I’m here."

Shard explained to his two companions outside, thankfully they didn’t misunderstand him.

"Oh~ look who it is."

After a while, the door of the club’s first floor opened again, and a flamboyantly dressed woman, holding a feather fan, appeared at the entrance.

"Madam, do you remember me?"

"Of course I remember, how could I forget such a handsome young man like you? It’s just a pity that the more handsome a man is, the more fickle he tends to be. Look at you, how long has it been since you visited our girls?"

She laughed, covering her mouth with her fan, glancing at the two men behind Shard:

"How come a busy man like you has time to visit me?"

"I’m looking for Captain Rudolf."

Shard said softly, to which Mrs. Frei laughed:

"That captain is indeed here, and he’s all set to win that Roder Card."

"So, can we go in and talk to the captain...?"

"That’s not possible, the competition is about to start. To prevent any accidents, everyone must remain inside afterward. I’m sorry, but if you’re looking for the captain, you can come back in two hours."

But by then, it would be past three o’clock, and during that time, the captain could very well have a "heart attack" from winning or losing a card game.

"Can we participate in the competition?"

Suddenly, Mr. Albert asked, and Mrs. Frei gave him another look, continuing to hide her face with the feather fan, showing only her smiling eyes.