After carefully examining what seemed to be a cigarette filter, he found that it was a tiny note enclosed in wax.
However, due to the passage of time, the outer layer of wax had turned darker due to oxidation, making it resemble a cigarette filter.
Wearing gloves and using special tools, he carefully peeled the wax off the rolled-up note. Leonard Ethan gently unfolded the note.
Perhaps because of the wax seal, the note had been well-preserved, and the writing on it was very clear, requiring no further processing to read.
The note was written in French, and the slightly messy handwriting and a few holes in the paper suggested that it had been written under some kind of emergency condition.
"Please, whoever sees this note, hand over the things I had previously stored there to the person who came." After reading this line, Leonard Ethan's face showed a puzzled expression.
Since this sentence had no beginning or end, it was impossible to grasp the intended message solely based on the content of the note.
Upon a simple inspection, Leonard Ethan found that the seal ring imprint at the end of the note belonged to King Louis XVI of France, which meant that the note came from the hand of Louis XVI.
However, the intact wax seal clearly indicated that this command had not been delivered to the person who should have received it but had been sealed in wax and preserved until today.
Checking the note back and forth a few times and realizing that there was no more information on it, Leonard Ethan began to search for all the information he could think of using his mobile phone. Soon, he discovered some interesting findings.
According to information found online, the town of Saint Manuel, where they had stopped for lunch and purchased the lock, was actually a historical town and an important transportation hub. French people had even established a post station there hundreds of years ago.
What's more, on June 20-21, 1791, when French King Louis XVI fled the country, he was discovered at the post station in this town and subsequently arrested. This event became a significant turning point in history at that time.
"If this is the case, then this note might be one of the commands issued by the imprisoned French king to the outside world." After reading the information online, Leonard Ethan quickly formed a hypothesis.
Although this hypothesis might not necessarily be the truth, the coincidence of discovering the note at this location made the hypothesis quite possible.
According to historical records, Mary Queen of Scots had secretly transported her clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics out of Paris a month before fleeing, and many of these items fortunately survived into later times.
While the records only mentioned the queen's transfer of wealth, it was certain that in the face of imminent exile and the preparation to regain power, the king too would have moved a considerable amount of things to prepare for their future life in exile or restoration.
At least from this note, it could be seen that Louis XVI had likely moved a lot of things.
However, this note should have been issued together with a command at that time, so it was impossible to determine the situation just by looking at the note itself.
"This is a perfect opportunity to test the new card." After a few seconds of thought, Leonard Ethan suddenly realized that this note would be the ideal subject for testing his new card.
Since the note had a very specific direction, using the card would most likely lead him to the items or important clues related to the incident, without guiding him to useless targets.
After a simple analysis of the pros and cons, Leonard Ethan decided to use the Card. After all, keeping the card wouldn't make a difference, and now this note might lead him to a king's treasure.
Once the decision was made to use the card, the bronze-colored card turned into specks of light. However, unlike before, these lights did not disperse but instead formed a globe made of light points.
On this globe, a light point appeared, and the whole map could be enlarged or reduced according to Leonard's will.
As the map expanded, the location of the light point greatly exceeded Leonard's expectations. Because this location was not in France or even on the European continent, but in Dublin, the capital of Ireland.
"Why would the clue be there?" Leonard frowned. He thought that if the French king had indeed sent something ahead of time, it should naturally be left on the European continent, instead of the unconnected island of Ireland.
"This is good then, I can go home and have a look." After giving a final glance at the globe in his mind, Leonard began to prepare.
At first, he planned to invite Pierce along for treasure hunting. Unfortunately, in the meanwhile, Pierce had accepted a few business deals with excellent profits, so he couldn't spare the time.
Ireland, a country known as the Jade Kingdom or the Emerald Kingdom. As a result, the representative color of this nation is green, and even on St. Patrick's Day, many people would dress in green and wear green hats to celebrate on the streets.
Though Leonard's family had immigrated to this country more than twenty years ago, they only accepted wearing green clothes for the occasion and emphatically refused to wear green hats.
Possibly due to the ocean currents, Ireland experiences a perpetual spring. Cold days aren't too cold, and hot days don't get too hot – one thing Leonard prefers over his hometown in the other world.
Because of these factors, the entire Irish livestock industry has evolved significantly. On the other hand, the agriculture industry is somewhat weak, and the main foods on the island are potatoes, tubers, and potato eggs.
Due to a series of agreements between the United Kingdom and Ireland, crossing the border between the two countries is a simple task for Leonard.
So, at 4 PM the next day, he appeared at the Dublin pier, dragging a large suitcase behind him.
The reasoning behind his choice to take the train from London to Liverpool, then a ship from Liverpool to Dublin instead of flying directly was simple – he needed to bring the Kazzan copper pot back home.
As it turned out, both the train station and the pier security checks weren't very thorough. So, even though the large copper pot filled with various copper and tin vessels inside the suitcase caught some attention, it was soon cleared.
These items were found along with the copper pot previously, and a significant portion had been placed in Pierce's shop for sale. However, some were kept by Leonard to take home as gifts for his parents.
"Welcome to Ireland, dear foreign friend." After leaving the pier area and getting into a taxi, the driver quickly spoke with a thick Irish accent.
It was normal for the driver to think this way because, with the development of China, there are now more and more cross-border travelers. And a young Chinese descendant like Leonard, dragging a large suitcase, would naturally be considered a traveler by taxi drivers.
"To Treasure Sword Town near the airport," Leonard replied with the same accent and then said to the surprised driver. "I grew up there since I was a child. I just happen to be working in the UK now."