Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 343 Dinner Party
The restaurant was already full of people, all waiting for the final host to arrive.

Although the crowd brought some liveliness to the restaurant, the atmosphere was far from peaceful.

"I wonder what delicious food we'll have for dinner tonight. My stomach is growling."

A man dressed in a white suit, with a somewhat frivolous air, leaned back in his chair with a chuckle and reached out to rub his stomach.

A man next to him, who looked similar but was older, glanced at him indifferently.

"You're not a child anymore, don't you know how to be polite?"

“This is our own home, bro.”

However, the man in the white suit did not restrain himself; he just chuckled.

“We are members of the Cromwell family. In the Cromwell’s house, of course we can do whatever we want. Unlike some outsiders, we won’t be kicked out if we don’t put on a show all day.”

As he spoke, the man in the white suit glanced at the portly, brown-haired man sitting not far away, who was engrossed in his newspaper and seemed oblivious to what was happening. The woman sitting next to the brown-haired man simply looked up, glanced at the man in the white suit, and then looked away, speaking softly to her daughter.

Instead, the young man sitting on the other side of the brown-haired man looked up at the man in the white suit.

“Uncle, you’re wrong. We Cromwell are a military family, and discipline is part of our family tradition.”

"Oh? Do you intend to control what we wear and where we sit after you become the head of the family?"

The man in the white suit leaned back in his chair, smiling at the young man, who met his gaze with neither arrogance nor servility.

“That’s not what I meant. I just hope that you, Uncle, can show more respect to Grandpa.”

"Respect isn't something you can just talk about, kid."

The man in the white suit pursed his lips.

"Only the poor flaunt their wealth, because they're terrified of others knowing they're broke. There's a saying: the more you emphasize something, the more you lack it. You don't actually think you're just putting on an act..."

"Shut up."

The man next to him in the white suit interrupted his speech.

"We're not here to argue with people."

"Brother, you're not... I didn't say I wasn't!"

The man in the white suit chuckled, but when he looked at the other man, he found that the young man had already turned his head away and was no longer paying attention to him, which made him feel bored. So he shifted his gaze to an old woman and her granddaughter sitting not far away.

"Hey, little girl, I have something to tell you."

"what's up?"

The young girl who was chatting with the old woman turned her head and looked at the man in the white suit.

"You're not going to tell some weird story again, are you?"

"It's more interesting than that, you know what? We have new guests coming tonight."

"A new guest?"

Sure enough, upon hearing this topic, the girl's eyes lit up, and she curiously leaned closer.

"who is it?"

"I don't know about that, but I just saw a car parked in the parking lot."

"But isn't the birthday party starting the day after tomorrow? Could it be the person who's preparing the party?"

"I don't think so..."

Just as the man in the white suit and the girl were whispering to each other, the restaurant doors suddenly opened. Instantly, the noisy chatter around them disappeared, and everyone sat down. Even the man in the white suit, who had been leaning back in his chair, now sat up straight.

Then, everyone saw Earl Cromwell walk into the dining room, leaning on his cane. He remained serious, his eyes sharp. Earl Cromwell glanced around, then smiled and nodded at the old woman before speaking.

"Before dinner begins, I want to tell you that I have invited a guest. Please come in."

As Earl Cromwell spoke, Levi entered the dining room, smiled slightly at everyone, and nodded. Looking at Levi, some people looked puzzled, some were somewhat confused, and others showed surprise.

"This is Earl Levy. I invited him to his birthday banquet the day after tomorrow, but I wrote the date wrong, so he's a day early. Haha, I'm so sorry, Sir Levy."

"It's nothing, Sir Cromwell. It's an honor to be able to attend this banquet."

Levi smiled at Earl Cromwell, who then adopted a serious expression.

"Now, let me introduce everyone here to you."

Next, through the Earl of Cromwell's introduction, Levi also learned the names of the other people.

The second oldest woman in the restaurant was Eva Cromwell, the sister of Earl Cromwell. Beside her was her granddaughter, Bianca Cromwell.

Ava Cromwell was a kind-faced old lady who smiled and nodded at Levi, looking like the kind of gentle old woman who would sit by the fireplace knitting with a cat on her lap. Bianca Cromwell, on the other hand, looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, a lively and cheerful age. Upon seeing Levi, she blushed with excitement, covering her mouth with her hands, just like a fan seeing a celebrity.

Next were the brothers Richard Cromwell and Gladys Cromwell, the children of the Earl's younger brother, who had died in the war, so the Earl of Cromwell raised them as his own.

Richard Cromwell gave off the impression of a serious, unsmiling soldier, and he saluted Levi, just like an officer in the military. And the old man said that both of them did indeed serve in the military.

Gladys Cromwell, however, was quite different from his brother. He appeared somewhat lethargic, and his rather flamboyant white suit made him stand out against the predominantly black and gray attire of the crowd. Unlike Richard, who respectfully saluted Levi, Gladys greeted him rather casually.

Next up are the main guests of this banquet, the old count's daughter and her family.

First was the old Earl's daughter, Marilyn Cromwell—she gave Levi a feeling somewhat similar to Lin Daiyu, a delicate and fragile woman who seemed like she could be blown away by a gust of wind, with sorrow in her eyes and brows, as if she were filled with sadness.

However, she is indeed a beauty. Although she is already a mother of two, she still has a charm and allure that blends girlishness and maturity.

Then came Marilyn's son, Isaac Cromwell. The young man looked only a year or two younger than Levi, and was handsome and dashing, with impeccable manners. Although he greeted Levi with a smile, Levi clearly didn't miss the wariness and unease in his eyes.

Next up is the star of this birthday party, Sophie Cromwell. She's about the same age as Bianca, but their personalities are completely different. Bianca is cheerful and lively, while Sophie is quiet and reserved; she seemed a little shy when greeting everyone.

Finally, there's the target of Levi's investigation—Herman Cromwell.

The old count held him in utter contempt. On the way there, he had told Livy several things. First, after his eldest son's unexpected death, his daughter returned home to visit him. At the time, the old count was quite happy, but later his daughter told him that it was Hermann who had persuaded her to come back and visit him.

At that time, the old count began to have doubts about Hermann.

Not only that, but in order to return to the Cromwell family, Herman even changed his own surname—according to imperial custom, women usually take their husband's surname after marriage, as was the case with Marilyn. Now, to return to the Cromwell family, Herman even changed both his and Marilyn's surnames to Cromwell.

Marilyn was overjoyed and told the Earl that this was Herman expressing his determination, but the Earl didn't see it that way. This man was even willing to change his surname to marry into the Cromwell family, which in modern terms is basically equivalent to the concept of marrying into the family.

Moreover, Hermann was not the kind of desperate poor boy; he was a wealthy businessman. So why did he change his surname?
What does he want to do?
But it was all for naught. Marilyn was love-struck, and faced with the old count's questions, she felt wronged. "My husband even changed his surname to gain your approval, and you still suspect him of having ulterior motives?"
That's outrageous! Can't you just trust him?
Of course I can't!

When the old count told Livy about this, he was so angry that he almost raised both hands to shout.

"Why can women be so stupid!"

Li Wei could only say that having a daughter obsessed with romance is indeed a source of despair.

The merchant who had the old Earl's daughter completely infatuated was of average appearance. Unlike the rest of the Cromwell family, he was pot-bellied and clearly lacked exercise. He did, however, wear the typical smile of a businessman. Levi also noticed that only he and his son Isaac had different hair colors from the others.

Almost everyone in the Cromwell family was blond, including Marilyn's daughter Sophie. Only Herman and his son Isaac had brown hair.

And strangely enough, unlike the seating arrangements in most homes, in this family of four, Herman and Marilyn sat in the middle, their son Isaac sat on Herman's side, and their daughter Sophie sat on Marilyn's side...

Levi's arrival naturally caused an uproar among the Cromwell family members. After all, this Thistle Knight had become incredibly popular in the empire in the past two years, and few people were unaware of his existence. However, the fact that Earl Cromwell would actually invite Levi to the banquet was indeed unexpected for everyone.

Seeing everyone's reactions, Li Wei smiled but didn't say anything more.

Clearly, from a family and bloodline perspective, just as Earl Cromwell said, everyone present was qualified to inherit the position of head of the Cromwell family.

Moreover, judging from their initial meeting, these people all behaved in accordance with the temperament and etiquette of nobility. However, these external things were clearly not important; otherwise, Earl Cromwell would not have invited him.

Well, let him see for himself what secrets these people are hiding.

The real joy of being a detective is to strip away the layers of clothing from the goddess of secrets, revealing the allure of truth to yourself.

(End of this chapter)