Isabella's stomach seemed like a bottomless pit, with a huge appetite that far exceeded the butler's expectations. The preparation was inadequate, and the serving pace was intermittent.
It had nothing to do with the kitchen's stock of ingredients. The Landau family was wealthy, and Flah, the butler, hadn't prepared enough chefs. The speed of serving couldn't keep up with Isabella's pace of cleaning her plate, which embarrassed the host.
Flah thought so because of his mistake, failing to properly entertain the guest, leaving the mistress and young master embarrassed.
But Wayne didn't see it that way. He watched Isabella clean her plate throughout the meal, too shocked to focus on anything else.
...
In the living room, Isabella sank into the couch while Wayne, ignoring her demeanor, brought over the investigation report from the Earthheart Sect, along with the pamphlet.
He first explained the identities of the two detectives: "Wesley is from London, a well-known detective commissioned by a certain intelligence department to investigate the Earthheart Sect in Ennold, where he met the local detective, Hood..."
"When Hood contacted me, Wesley had already gone missing, and Hood, realizing he was being followed, hid this document and contacted me..."
"I couldn't reach Hood, and both detectives are missing."
Isabella listened quietly, not uttering a word. After browsing through the investigation report and pamphlet, she furrowed her brows slightly. "Insufficient information. We cannot determine the Earthheart Sect's purpose. We cannot rule out the possibility that the gathering in five days is a diversion. Do you have the addresses of the families of the town hall's high-ranking officials?"
"No addresses. If you want, I can have the butler prepare them for you."
Wayne roughly understood Isabella's intentions. The investigation report made it clear that the Earthheart Sect likely controlled the town hall, freely distributing eggs on the street without opposition. Isabella wanted to find a town official, use a powerful memory recovery spell, and potentially extract more accurate information.
If they didn't get anything, they'd move on to the next one. They would use this method to trace back to some high-ranking member of the Earthheart Sect, befriend them, and find out what the sect was up to. Only by knowing their plans could they intervene and disrupt them; otherwise, they'd be like headless chickens running around.
"Hurry up. I plan to go out tonight." Isabella said.
"So urgent?"
"Yes. The reputation of the intelligence agency of the Kingdom of Windsor is well-known. I've heard many jokes about them in Frankfurt. If they've detected something wrong with the Earthheart Sect, it can only mean one thing: the Earthheart Sect has had issues for a long time." Isabella stated bluntly.
Is there a chance that this is just the stereotype of you Frankfurters about Windsor?
Wayne hesitated, thinking that while Isabella was subjective, she wasn't entirely devoid of objectivity. Windsor's intelligence agency was indeed subpar.
With logic and evidence, there was no rebuttal.
Wayne instructed the butler to gather the addresses of the families of the town hall officials as quickly as possible, making sure not to alert anyone unnecessarily.
At present, the Earthheart Sect only knew that two detectives were investigating them. With Wesley missing, Hood had voluntarily attracted attention, while Wayne and Isabella remained hidden. As long as they didn't reveal themselves, they had the upper hand.
Flah left to start gathering intelligence.
As a Windsor native and a former senior operative of the Windsor intelligence agency, he felt rather neutral towards Isabella.
She was too direct, not very tactful!
In the latter half of the night, Flah brought back five sets of intelligence, including the addresses of five town hall officials, from the mayor to the other high-ranking officials. Everything from home addresses, phone numbers, and mailboxes to the names and occupations of family members was included.
Flah seemed to want to prove something with his thorough preparation.
Isabella quickly skimmed through them, noting down the five addresses, and then expressionlessly said to the butler, "The addresses will do. The intelligence you prepared was too verbose, with large portions of it being meaningless, wasting valuable time."
Flah: (灬)
He didn't like this Frankfurter!
Isabella left the mansion, starting her secret investigation that evening. The disciples of the followers of the goddess of nature had many methods, especially in gathering intelligence. One hallucinogenic spore planted was enough to render ordinary people helpless, making them say anything asked.
Veronica had used this magic before. At that time, her magic power was sealed due to the curse, so she could only produce simple hallucinogenic spores by making mushroom concoctions.
Isabella didn't invite Wayne to join her team. She received two tasks from Sophy over the phone.
Task one: Protect Wayne;
Task two: Investigate the Earthheart Sect, judge the situation independently, destroy the Earthheart Sect, or take Wayne away.
With little time left, Isabella planned to gather intelligence that night, and then, in the morning, investigate the background of the Earthheart Sect's high-ranking members. She would integrate information from all sources and choose how to complete task two accordingly.
Isabella didn't ask, and Wayne wouldn't actively join in. He needed to know his limitations. If he joined the team, he wouldn't be of any help and would only drag Isabella down.
The next day, Wayne rose early, embracing meditation with a full spirit.
Meditation was a dull process, but the journey to becoming stronger was joyful. To make himself happier, Wayne pretended to be a villain, resorting to any means necessary to plunder the four elements.
He found the guides, communicated through the fire element, and located the three elements hidden near the mansion.
Sly in hand, his heart still dirty.
His heart was perfectly fine. "Heart" was a term with a double meaning, referring both to a bodily organ and a derogatory adjective. It wasn't a coincidence that it couldn't be explained away.
This was the wisdom of the ancients. You could always trust the wisdom passed down through history by our ancestors.
Wayne believed in the wisdom of the ancients. Since everyone had a "heart," he decided not to pretend to be a righteous person anymore. He promised the fire element that as long as it led him to the hiding places of the earth, water, and air elements, he would not treat anyone unfairly.
With this approach, the dull meditation immediately became enjoyable.
As for the fire element, it was truly the embodiment of desire. Each one was eager to betray their comrades.
Isabella didn't return the next evening, nor the third day, nor the fourth, nor the fifth...
"Could she have starved to death out there?"
Watching the increasing number of Earthheart Sect followers throwing eggs on the street, and the maids returning with baskets after asking around, Wayne couldn't sit still.
Tomorrow was the day of the Earthheart Sect gathering. Why hadn't Isabella sent any news? With her weight, there should have been some movement by now.
Wayne was uncertain. He called Sister Sophy for advice. Sophy told him to focus on his training and not to doubt Isabella's abilities. As an experienced mage, if she continued to be offline, she must have discovered something and was waiting for the right moment to strike a fatal blow.
Seeing Sophy's confidence in Isabella, Wayne didn't know what else to say. He asked a few questions and continued on his path of meditation.
On April 2nd, the Earthheart Sect held a grand assembly at its headquarters. Ennold's town officials appeared at the ceremony, and the mayor delivered a passionate speech.
Thousands of followers flocked to the streets, with cheers, applause, and cheers echoing back and forth, creating a fervent atmosphere.
Many non-believers in the town also attended the assembly, either to join the crowd or to take advantage of the free egg distribution. The opportunity to get eggs for free attracted many housewives.
It was said that eggs were distributed per person, regardless of age or gender, with each person entitled to five eggs. Many people came in groups with their families.
Outside the crowd, Wayne, wearing a black windbreaker, looked at the bustling Earthheart Sect headquarters, adjusted his hat, and headed towards the town hall.
It was the last day, and he couldn't bear it anymore.
If Isabella had really met with an accident, waiting foolishly would be tantamount to waiting for death.