In a spacious and bright doctor's office, Merkel sat in front of a chair, looking at Shiller engrossed in writing a medical record across him. He frowned and said:
"...So, are you saying that I'm now in your dream?"
"Exactly, now, can you specifically tell me what exactly is going on?"
Merkel frowned. This young butler, who always seemed mature and steady, exuded a completely different demeanor now.
While serving Shiller at the manor, he seemed composed and modest, often discussing the weather with people, imbued with a unique British sense of humor. In short, any encounter with him would remind you of the most typical British butler.
But now, his frowning and squinting gave off a sharp aura that made it hard not to associate him with professions related to agents or the military.
"If I don't speak, can't I leave here?"
Shiller shook his head and said, "No, you can't stay here for too long. If you stay in a dream for too long, your physical functions will be affected. It's like a vegetative person who has been in a deep sleep for many years; the muscle will atrophy."
"I meant you, would you let me leave?"
Shiller nodded and then looked Merkel in the eye and said, "I hope you'll understand that I spent money and time to find a butler who could manage my manor for me."
"But when I was not at home, you rummaged through my things and ended up here. So, please don't portray me as if I put you in captivity. This is completely your mistake, and I am the victim."
Merkel looked like he wanted to say something, but Shiller continued before he could open his mouth:
"Regardless of your political stance or if you took this job with other intentions, but I hired you and expected you to do your job well."
"I hope I won't have to remind you how many things you have messed up during this time."
Merkel kept frowning. Seeing his utterly helpless expression, Shiller had to say:
"Merkel, you haven't been here for long, but in this short time, you forgot to deliver food to the newspapers boy, ironed two newspapers, lost a button from a tailor-made suit, almost knocked over the ornaments on my table, and pushed a cart that deeply scratched the corner of my mahogany bookshelf. These damages cost three times your commission."
"Consider why, even though I know you're a clumsy Soviet spy, I haven't fired you yet."
Merkel's eyes widened. Indeed, he wanted to ask the same thing.
If, as Shiller said, Shiller had noticed something was wrong when he alighted the train, then why did he still hire him? Especially considering he did not perform well in his job, yet Shiller had not fired him.
It was the winter of 1988. Those familiar with history might know that the situation during the Cold War was very tense. During this period, no sane American would want to associate with the Soviet Union.
"Are you trying to make a statement to me?" Merkel asked.
Shiller held his forehead helplessly and said, "I guess you didn't undergo much training, or maybe you taught yourself."
"I won't mention how you dealt with your cigarette stub in a spy-like manner in front of a smoking boy."
"I can also overlook how you took no action for a long time due to fear of risks after coming to my manor."
"And I can even ignore your decision to open my personal letters without judgment, resulting in failure to obtain any important information."
"However, under these circumstances, you still maintain an aggressive attitude, asking me to explain everything to you. This doesn't add any pressure to me; it only exposes your fears."
With a sigh, Shiller said, "I guess you are a pure Englishman, only that you joined some cause due to certain ideological indoctrination."
"Currently, your mind is still primarily occupied with ideals and struggles. I can't say it's wrong, but obviously, you seem to oversimplify things."
Merkel frowned as he stared at Shiller and said, "No matter how you defame me, I won't waver."
"Alright, let's change the subject. What task are you here to carry out?"
Merkel remained silent.
Shiller leaned on his hand while slightly tilting his head back. He stared into Merkel's eyes and said:
"Previously, at the manor, you didn't like looking me in the eye. Actually, you should know that it is not from courtesy, but because you can't hide something in your eyes."
"This is quite an interesting phenomenon. Every Marxist I've encountered has a different look in their eyes from others."
"You know other Marxists?" Merkel finally couldn't help but ask.
Shiller suddenly changed the topic again and said,
"Since you have come to my dream during this time, it suggests that you started your search from the third floor of the manor and touched the wine bottle on the bookshelf. Besides that, have you discovered anything else?"
"Do you have anything that can be discovered?"
Shiller revealed a somewhat helpless expression as he said, "Your thinking is completely immersed in your work as an agent, to the extent that you don't even realize how awkwardly you are using those lines."
"You need to understand one thing, Merkel, right now you are certainly more troubled than I am. You want to know more than I do, you certainly have more questions to ask than I do."
"If you want answers to these questions, you'll have to answer mine first. Do you think the answers you're seeking are not worth revealing some information in return?"
Merkel stared at Shiller's eyes in silence, seemingly confirming whether this was another trap. But in the end, he spoke, "I can't promise to answer every question."
"Fine, one question for another. If you can't answer, I'll just change to a different one."
Playing with the pen in his hand, Shiller asked, "What did you find in my manor?"
Merkel paused for a moment, the expression on his face became somewhat fascinating, as if he was recalling something unpleasant. He began,
"I understand that for security reasons, you have locked every door in the manor. Alright, I can also comprehend that you have given each door a unique lock for the sake of safety. Different locks corresponding to different keys makes sense…"
"But why on earth would you hide every key in different locations, and create a riddle for each key. Then arrange several clues for the riddle, and to obtain these clues, you would have to decode several encrypted passwords. In order to get these passwords, you had to flip through several books in the library…"
Merkel covered his eyes with his fingers, his tone revealing deep helplessness, "This is why I only arrived in your dreams at this hour. I spent most of the night solving these damned riddles."
"Do... do I have a problem?" Shiller muttered baffledly.
"What?"
"Never mind. Did you solve it?"
Merkel looked at Shiller with a grievance-laden gaze, and said,
"I spent several hours finally managing to open the door, and then the moment I touched the bottle of wine, I ended up here."
"Don't be upset, I've recently updated the riddle database for the rooms on the second floor, because someone recently gifted me a quite pleasant hardcover edition of "The Complete Sherlock Holmes".
"If you were opening the doors from south to north, then you should've at least read the first two cases, which I consider the most brilliant parts. What's your opinion?"
"Does this count as the second question?"
"Oh please, don't be so tedious, this is just common conversation." Shiller waved the pen in his hand, looking down at his own medical record as he spoke:
"At every critical junction, you always try to use an authoritative demeanor to gain the upper hand. This could be because you feel insecure being in this weakened position."
"See, every action you make, every expression you show, reveals a lot of information. It's not just by putting on an aloof face in assertive strength that you can handle me."
Merkel's eyes were fixed on Shiller. He found it strange that the Shiller before him seemed unusually patient.
Actually, Merkel knew that his attitude was not born out of insecurity, it could even be called fear. Throughout the period Merkel worked at Shiller Manor, he was in close daily contact with Shiller, and knew exactly what kind of man he was.
Merkel had never studied psychology, so he didn't know the professional term for certain disorders. All he knew was that Shiller was slightly neurotic, held onto a lot of stubborn and rigid habits, and had a temperament that was somewhat puzzling.
In certain bizarre and meaningless matters, he would invest a lot of energy and time - such as installing different locks on every door, protecting keys with hundreds of puzzles, or spending a huge amount of time polishing up some odd, curious collections like umbrellas, globes, telescopes, glasses and the likes.
Yet, at the same time, when it came to more important matters, he had very little patience - such as reading newspapers at the same time every morning at breakfast. If breakfast or the newspaper arrived late, he would not start.
He strongly resisted disturbing his routine, yet he often went out late at night.
He was always blunt when speaking, hardly ever considering the feelings of the listener. He tended to magnify ordinary interaction to intentionally make people aware that he saw through to their true nature.
This vastly different temperament from ordinary people made Merkel think that he might be a little insane.
And now the Shiller in front of him seemed so normal - too normal.
When Merkel decided to take on a tough attitude, he was no longer expecting to leave this place alive. According to his understanding, his mysterious employer was unlikely to have much patience to go through the typical lines used in agent interrogations.
Merkel did not know how long he could keep this up during their exchange.
Originally, his expectation was that even if he couldn't leave here alive, as long as he didn't let his secrets slip, that would be considered a success. He was completely unprepared for an opportunity to be able to negotiate.
The change in Shiller had absolutely no logical basis whatsoever, so Merkel only felt that Shiller might be in a good mood right now. So, he also relaxed slightly, hoping to use this time to secure a better chance to survive. Ideally, he would also get some more intelligence.
"Alright, it seems you are not in the mood for chatting right now, then you can ask your first question."
Merkel swallowed, he gradually relaxed his body and concentrated on his thoughts. Looking into Shiller's eyes, he asked:
"How on earth did you pull this off?"