“What exactly is it?” Lumian sounded excited but also a little worried.
After taking a sip of the special drink "Venus Holy Oil", the lady replied at a moderate speed:
“You need to ask yourself this.”
After saying that, she lowered her head slightly, concentrated on enjoying her breakfast, and acted as if she would no longer communicate.
Really, why do you always say half the answer and hide the other half... Wait until next time to answer? Isn't this a waste of everyone's time? At this moment, Lumian actually felt that he couldn't compare to the other person in terms of angering people.
He controlled his breathing, smiled, stood up, said goodbye and left.
For the rest of the day, Lumian stayed at home quietly and did not go out.
It wasn't that he was so afraid of the owl that he didn't dare go out during the day, nor was it that he had nothing to do, but he was performing for someone.
—He was very curious about the letter of help in the hands of Leah and others, and wanted to find out what was written and who wrote it. The best way to start the investigation was to find an opportunity to look through every little blue book in the village and find the one with some words cut out. As a villager, Lumian was definitely more suitable for doing this than Ryan, Leah and Valentine, but he was worried that if he started to investigate right after talking to the three outsiders, it would attract the attention of some people and cause unnecessary attacks.
This kind of thing may involve life and death, existence and destruction. Even with Aurore's protection, Lumian can't guarantee that the other party will not take any risky actions against him.
In the past two years, he has become better and better at grasping the appropriate limits when it comes to "pranks".
This comes with rich experience.
He planned to "visit" every household in a few days, after Lent began, under the pretext of searching for legends related to the celebration.
When it was dark and after dinner, Aurore returned to her bedroom to work on a long-overdue manuscript.
Lumian went into the study, intending to find some books related to "dreams", hoping to gain some special inspiration from his dreams.
Because there was only one battery-powered desk lamp in the house, which was now requisitioned by Aurore, he could only light the kerosene lamp, which had a strong smell and not very good lighting.
Holding a kerosene lamp that emitted a dim light, Lumian's other hand quickly moved across the spines of the books, occasionally pulling out a volume and tucking it under his armpit.
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After a while, he returned to the table with the three books he had selected.
As soon as he put down the things in his hands, Lumian saw the little blue book at home.
It was quietly placed in a corner of the desk as usual, and there seemed to be a little dust on the gray-blue cover.
When Lumian saw the little blue book, he instantly thought of the one he had obtained in the ruins of his dream, and the one in which someone had cut out words and spelled out a letter for help.
He then reached out his hand and picked up the small blue book in front of him, intending to flip through the contents to see which words were suitable to be cut out and could be spelled into useful sentences.
After just turning a few pages, Lumian's gaze froze.
There is a glaring gap in the explanatory words that follow this current calendar page.
A word was cut out!
“No way…” Lumian was extremely shocked.
He quickly flipped through the small blue book in his hand and found traces of more than a dozen words that had been cut out.
“No way…” Lumian whispered again, with almost the same reaction as before.
The little blue book that Ryan, Leah, Valentine and others were looking for, which was a letter for help, turned out to be the one in their own home!
Not to mention them, even Lumian himself did not expect such a development!
Never thought about it!
Lumian frowned with indescribable complex emotions:
“Could it be a letter from Aurore asking for help
"Why did she ask for help, for help from the authorities? Why didn't she tell me?"
From the details such as the behavior style of Leah and others and their habitual choice to consult the parish priest as soon as they arrived, he preliminarily judged that they should be official people, perhaps from the government, or perhaps belonging to the "Eternal Sun" Church or the "God of Steam and Machinery" Church in the Dariege area.
Lumian hesitated, his expression changing constantly.
Finally, he made up his mind, took the little blue book, walked out of the study and came to the outside of Auror's bedroom.
He planned to ask directly.
He chose to believe Aurore.
Knock, knock, knock. Lumian bent his fingers and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Aurora's voice came out.
Lumian turned the handle and pushed the door open. Under the bright light of the desk lamp, he saw Aurore, wearing two-piece cotton pajamas with her blonde hair tied up with a headband, concentrating on writing a story.
"Did you cut this off?" Without waiting for his sister to ask, Lumian walked over.
"Ah?" Aurore turned around in confusion, her eyes blank and detached, as if she was still immersed in the story.
Lumian handed over the small blue book with the corresponding page, staring into Aurore's eyes and said:
"You didn't cut this?"
Aurore looked carefully for a few seconds, then raised her head in amusement:
“How could I be so boring and childish
"I, your sister, am steady, mature, and generous, unlike you."
Aurore's reaction was very natural... She didn't seem surprised or flustered by having her secret exposed. She didn't... Lumian didn't hide his doubts and asked:
"But who can cut out the words in the little blue book?"
"Isn't it you?" Aurore looked at her brother. "After reading my novel, you planned to imitate the content of it, cutting out words from books and newspapers, spelling out kidnapping letters, and playing a big prank in the village. But before that, you wanted to see if you could fool me first? Are you testing my reasoning ability?"
It doesn't look like Aurore did that... Lumian kept his eyes on Aurore's face, not missing any subtle changes in her expression, but his sister acted like there was nothing wrong with her.
"It wasn't me." Lumian frowned. "Who could have done it?"
Aurore smiled.
"You can play the reasoning game first, I still have to finish my manuscript.
"If I'm free tomorrow, I'll help you restore the truth."
Use extraordinary means? Lumian said "hmm" and stopped disturbing his sister's creation.
He took the little blue book and went straight back to his unlit room, where he sat on the chair behind the desk.
"Who is the one?"
Under the shining red moon in the sky, Lumian once again began to wonder.
He tried to reason:
"There are only two of us in our family, and Aurore is a wizard with extraordinary powers. She won't let anyone mess up our home...
"If it really wasn't her, then according to what she said, eliminating all the impossible, the remaining one is the truth no matter how unbelievable it is.
"So, in a choice between the two, I actually did it?"
For a moment, Lumian felt it was both absurd and funny.
It turns out that the "criminal" is me
I do not know how
He couldn't help but turn his body and look at the full-length mirror attached to the wardrobe.
In the crimson moonlight, Lumian in the mirror was wearing a linen shirt and brown trousers. His handsome features did not show a single smile, and his expression was extremely heavy.
He was very sure that he had not done anything to cut out the contents of the little blue book.
To this end, he even recalled his experiences over the past month.
Although many details have become blurred, he is still very sure about what was done generally.
Bathed in the red moonlight that seeped in through the window, Lumian muttered silently to himself:
"Did I do it when I was unconscious
"While having that dream, I was sleepwalking in reality
"No, that's impossible. Aurore said she would keep an eye on me. If I really cut the little blue book in my sleep, she would have pointed it out. Besides, the letters must be sent during the day, and I am awake at those times."
Lumian ruled himself out and thought about other possibilities:
“Maybe someone else who’s been in the house?”
Although they don't usually have many guests, it doesn't mean there are none at all.
First, poorer neighbors would come to borrow their stoves and ovens to smoke meat or make bread;
Secondly, Lumian's friends would come to his house from time to time, go to the study to find some novels with simple words to read, or listen to his stories;
Finally, a few ladies, such as Naaraiza and Mrs. Pualis, would occasionally come to visit and chat with Auror. Among them, Mrs. Pualis came the most often and would even lend Auror a pony so that Auror could run freely in the mountains. The two had a good relationship.
After all, in a rural village like Cordu, only writers like Aurore are worthy of Mrs. Puaris's association.
However, Mrs. Pualis appeared to be very friendly. She would often sit with the women of Naroka in the sun and chat, and even help them catch lice. She had a very good reputation in the village.
Although Mrs. Puaris and Aurore were barely friends, Lumian didn't like her at all because she would often introduce one of her relatives to Aurore and persuade her to get married and have children as soon as possible.
It would be fine if Madame Puaris's relatives were good people, but every time Lumian went to Darriège to inquire, he found that his targets were either of bad character or had no ability and were almost reduced to the poverty class. None of them were good.
It might be a coincidence once, but if it happened every time, Lumian would hate Mrs. Pualis.
"It's impossible for them to come to smoke meat and bake bread. There are always people watching them and they won't be allowed to go upstairs... Raymond and Ava can't do that either. I'm with them the whole time... Mrs. Pualis and Naalaiza have a certain chance. Every time they come, Aurore will let them read in the study and prepare snacks...
"If Mrs. Pualis is really a witch, then it is understandable that she needs to conceal her identity when seeking help from the authorities. Moreover, she is very careful to use other people's little blue books to avoid being traced back to herself...
"Did she discover something during her affair with the parish priest that she had to protect herself in this way?"
The more Lumian thought about it, the more excited he became. He felt like he was about to lock on to a suspect.
He stood up, paced a few steps, and suddenly walked downstairs.
He did not intend to question Mrs. Puaris, nor did he plan to spy on her actions right now. Instead, he planned to find Raymond or little Guillaume from the Berry family and borrow their little blue book to make a comparison, to restore which words had been cut out and what kind of sentences could be formed.
In this way, Lumian will most likely be able to restore the specific content of the letter for help.
He walked downstairs, passed the kitchen, and opened the front door.
The crimson-tinged darkness outside rushed in, instantly calming him.
“Well, my sister said that we shouldn’t go out after dark until we figure out what’s going on with the owl…” Lumian muttered, took two steps back and closed the door.
Anyway, there is no rush to borrow the little blue book, it will be more natural to do it tomorrow.
After stretching his body, Lumian walked towards the stairs.
Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling.
Someone rang the doorbell and the sound echoed.
"Who is it?" Lumian turned around and asked in confusion as he walked towards the door.
A soft and slightly magnetic female voice sounded outside the door:
"It is I, Puaris de Roquefort."