Hella Osenfurt was not joking when she said she wanted to use Shad as a model for an oil painting. After the maid brought the painting supplies, she really set up the easel and let Shad stand next to the flower beds and bushes in the snow.
As a painting model, you can move, but not too much. In the following boring hour or so, the noble lady, who was still wearing a veil and concentrating on painting, no longer spoke to Shade, and the maid standing behind Hela Osenfurt had no intention of talking to Shade.
By the time the painting was finished and only needed to be colored, it was already noon. The old butler came from the front yard of the manor and handed a letter to Shade:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Watson, the master has something to do at noon and can't come back."
It was a letter from Stone Oxenfurt sent from the city. He was invited to have lunch with Prince William of Anjou, and the two of them were going to a local club together in the afternoon, so they couldn't go back to the manor today.
Ossenfurt did not express much apology in the letter, but just told Shade to make an appointment for another time. He knew that Shade must have found at least one of the three items when he came to his house, but he still looked like he didn't care, which made him look a little strange.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Watson."
Hela Osenfurt apologized to Shade on behalf of her husband, and Shade shook his head:
"In addition to returning an item, I came to visit for another purpose. I am looking for a statue that is very important to me. It took me a long time to find out that the statue is in the hands of Mr. Oxenfurt."
Then he took out the photo of the statue he got from Cassandra Auction House and handed it to the woman:
"Ma'am, since Mr. Oxenfurt is not here, I wonder if you could take the initiative and sell it to me?"
But the woman shook her head slightly:
"My husband once bought a lot of statues. He has his own special room to store them. No one can handle these statues without his permission. However, I can take you to see and confirm whether the statue is here."
The maid and the butler listened to the conversation in silence. Xia De nodded:
"Then thank you very much. Since Mr. Oxenfurt is not here, I will leave after viewing the statue. I will find time to visit again later."
The mansion of Oxenfurt Manor has three floors. The top floor is the living and resting area for the owners of the manor, and the first floor is the play area for Stone Oxenfurt and his "friends". The room for collecting statues is on the second floor, just like the reception room. The former is located in a relatively remote corner. Hela Oxenfurt doesn't even have the key to the room, and has to ask the old butler to open the door.
When the old butler took the key from the keychain, Shad noticed that the metal door handle of this room was darker than the door handle of any other room in the house. This was a sign of frequent friction, indicating that the room was used quite frequently.
After the door was opened, Hela Osenfurt led Shade in, while the housekeeper and maid waited outside. Unlike what Shade had imagined, this was not a collection room, but more like a stonemason's workshop. The statues purchased by Stone Osenfurt were densely placed in the display cabinets against the wall, while the middle of the room was a little empty.
In the middle of the floor, there was an unfinished full-length statue of a tall woman. The work was only a rough draft, and the tools for carving were placed on a cart beside it.
"Men like engraving, women like painting... Old Harker, who attacked Prince William, said that Stone Oxenfurt also learned his trade in the Stonemasons Guild."
He thought in his heart and asked:
"Madam, does your husband like carving?"
"When he's at home, if his friends don't come with him, he'll stay here alone for a long time, locking himself in his room."
The woman said indifferently, pointing her fingers to the side:
"Is this what you are looking for?"
On the cabinet in the southeast corner, there is a bust protected by a glass case. The glass case is locked, so Shade cannot touch it directly.
"Yes, that's it."
Xia De looked closer and saw a golden plaque nailed to the cabinet under the statue:
May the earth be with you and me - Edward Marcus.
The rumored "Edward Marcus" founded the city of Randall Valley and was the first monarch of Randall Valley. According to local Miss Lathers, the history represented by the name "Edward Marcus" can be traced back to the dark and chaotic era of the Fourth Epoch, and it is even difficult to say whether it is this name.
According to local legends, Edward Marcus discovered gold in the area and was blessed by the earth. With his wealth and power, he established a human settlement in the river valley, which was once a primeval forest. Until around 1000 AD, there was a festival in commemoration of this man, but not many people know about these traditions today.
It is because of this legend that Ms. Shad and Ms. Benanis believe that this object is related to the "Heart of the Earth".
The statue in front of us is a work from around 500 years ago. Although it is relatively well preserved, the surface of the stone has inevitably shown signs of vicissitudes and erosion over the years.
Of course, what Shade was most interested in was not the statue, but this room. Just as he entered the room, he felt extremely strong and malicious elements. Even without the Demon Seal and Night Watch, he was sure that the power of the devil was everywhere here.
He used the magic of sight again, and this time he saw large patches of dirty marks all over the room, and the point where all the dirty marks converged was the unfinished statue. The statue was greatly infected by the power of the devil, and Shade even believed that once the statue was completed, it would come alive.
"Is this statue the real body of that unknown demon?"
Xia De had doubts in his heart, but he did nothing. After all, if he disturbed the demon and let it escape, things would become very troublesome. His only advantage now was that the demon didn't know his purpose. He remembered everything in front of him firmly and planned to discuss it with Dr. Schneider after returning.
As for Shade's target this time, the antique statue of Edward Marcus, it seemed to be just an ordinary antique just by looking at it with the eyes and feeling it from a distance. If there was no possibility of a demon hiding here, Shade could have come to check it out quietly at night, but the current situation did not allow him to do so:
"Madam, is your husband the only one who has the key? It's a pity that I can't even touch it even though I've found it."
Shade spoke to Hela Osenfurt again, and the lady remained silent. When the two of them left the room and returned to the corridor, the old butler suggested to Shade:
"Perhaps you could go directly to the city and find the owner, sir. If you can get a message from him, or return with the key and credentials, you can take it."
"That's a good idea."
Xia De smiled and nodded, and after saying goodbye to the mistress of the manor, he followed the butler to the backyard to get his horse back. Along the way, he tried to ask the old butler about his personal information, such as what he did before and whether he was a local, but the old butler evaded the question with clever words.
When Shad led the horse out of the manor gate, he climbed on the horse and watched the butler lock the gate again. Then he used the magic of visual magic for the last time.
The butler turned around and walked towards the interior of the manor, his body wrapped in black fog, and there were dense scarlet eyes blinking in the black fog. Sitting on the horse's back, he raised his vision to look at the entire old manor standing next to the dock. The black fog was lingering above the manor, like a ferocious giant hand, covering the top of the manor.
I have to admit that at least the visual effect of the magic of sight is still very good.
It was already 11 o'clock in the morning. If he hurried, Shade might be able to have lunch when he returned his horse to the Wilde Opera House. But he was not in a hurry to return to the city. The last time he looked through the Golden Dawn's "Sublimation Code", he found the sublimation words "The shadow of the silver moon guides the final direction". Miss Lathers said that this sublimation word had a special origin and was drawn from the land of the Randall River Valley (Chapter 1266).
The location recorded in the "Book of Sublimation" is not far from the Oxenfurt Mansion, so Shad wanted to stop by and take a look.
After riding through the forest, he did not cross the bridge, but rode into the depths of the forest and continued eastward. Soon, he entered the transition area between the river valley plain and the hilly area at the edge of the forest. Due to the complex terrain, it was not convenient to ride a horse, so Shade led the horse forward instead.
Fortunately, the destination was not far away. Soon, we found a ruined wall in the forest. A simple low stone fence surrounded the area, and a rusty metal sign was hung on the tree next to it:
Ancient Moon Worship Site, Grade II Cultural Relics Protection Area of the United Kingdom of Carsenrick, Forest Rangers, Hunters and Travelers are not allowed to enter. This area is under the jurisdiction of the Church of the Sun, and illegal entry is at your own risk.
The time written on the back is "1803 in the Common Calendar".
The so-called "cultural relics protection areas" are divided into four levels, and the rating standard is not based on importance, but on the degree of danger. Generally speaking, "level one cultural relics protection area" means historical relics from the sixth era, "level two" means historical relics before the sixth era that are largely incomplete and basically worthless, "level three" means historical relics before the sixth era that are relatively complete and valuable, and "level four" means historical relics before the sixth era that are extremely dangerous.
For example, the Karas Mountain Tower that collapsed last spring and is suspected to be related to the foreigner's body's past is a Class IV cultural relic protection area.