Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 346 Before Breakfast (The Next Day)
"……………Why?"

Everyone outside was stunned by Li Wei's words.

"Wait, are you kidding me? The old man..."

"My lord, he..."

Everyone present was somewhat incredulous at Li Wei's answer. Li Wei then walked to the door, gesturing for them not to approach.

"In short, all we can do right now is to temporarily seal off this area and wait for the doctor to arrive."

"Wait, wait a minute, is the old man really dead?"

Gladys quickly interrupted Levi.

"Could he be unconscious or something...?"

"There was no heartbeat or breathing, and his body was cold and stiff. From what I can see, he has been gone for some time."

"Then, what was the cause of death?"

"There are no visible external injuries or signs of poisoning on the skin. We'll have to wait for the doctor to conduct tests to determine the exact cause."

Li Wei closed the door again, then looked at the old butler, whose face was tense and who seemed to be thinking about something.

"Just in case, let's lock this room for now."

As he spoke, Li Wei turned to look at the others.

“There are ladies downstairs. To avoid causing them panic, I suggest we temporarily conceal the news of the old count’s death and only say that he caught a cold and is feeling unwell.”

"Yes, I think that's better too."

Richard and Gladys nodded with complicated expressions, while Isaac hurriedly spoke up.

"I'll contact the doctor now."

With that, the boy turned and quickly walked down the stairs. The others exchanged glances, and then the old butler sighed.

"Please wait while I fix the lock... I really didn't expect that the master would..."

As he spoke, the old butler walked down the stairs, intending to go about his own business.

"Sir Levy, is this really not murder?"

Gladys grabbed Levi and glared at him angrily.

"Based on the current situation, it seems more like an accidental death."

"But the old man has always been in good health!"

“He was quite old, so it’s not surprising that an elderly person would suddenly fall ill and die at night. And fortunately, at least from the outside, he passed away peacefully without any pain.”

"That's what they say..."

"Of course, ultimately we still have to see the doctor's diagnosis."

As they spoke, the old butler returned with his toolbox. He knelt down and replaced the damaged lock with a new one. No one spoke. Richard stood in the hallway, gripping the railing tightly. Gladys, meanwhile, frowned deeply, remaining silent.

Li Wei stood to the side, watching the old butler change the lock and then lock the door again.

"There's only one key, and it's with me right now."

The old butler took out the key, locked the door, and then looked at everyone. Richard sighed and reached out to take it, but at that moment, Gladys spoke up.

"Sir Levi, please keep this key safe."

"Gladis?"

Richard, who was about to pick up the keys, looked at Gladys and frowned angrily, while Gladys looked at his brother with displeasure.

“Brother, the cause of the old man’s death has not yet been determined. What if he was poisoned and murdered? I think it would be better to let Sir Levi keep the key.”

"But Sir Levy is an outsider...! Please forgive my rudeness, Sir Levy, but this is a family matter of the Cromwell family!"

"Right now, the people I trust the least are the Cromwells!"

Gladys stared at his brother and they started arguing loudly.

"If the old man's death was truly an accident, that's one thing, but what if he was murdered? Brother? Don't you want to think about why he was killed? Why are we here? What was the old man originally planning to do? Don't tell me you've forgotten! To be honest, I don't trust any of the Cromwell family anymore! On the contrary, Sir Levi is an earl appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, a Knight of the Thistle, and a famous detective. It's precisely because he has no vested interests with our Cromwell family that I feel comfortable handing him the key."

"…………………"

"No matter what, Sir Levi can't possibly become the head of House Cromwell."

"...Okay, I understand."

Richard seemed to have been persuaded by his brother. He sighed wearily, then looked at Levi and handed him the keys.

"May I entrust this to you, Sir Levi?"

"No problem, leave it to me."

Li Wei took the key and put it in his pocket. Then he turned his head and glanced at the door, which was now tightly closed again.

"Let's go down as soon as possible; the ladies must be getting impatient."

When everyone returned to the restaurant, as expected, those who remained there all wore uneasy expressions.

"Sir Levy, what has happened?"

Bianca sat next to Ms. Ava, looking somewhat uneasy.

"Was it the Earl, my grandfather...?"

"The Earl of Cromwell is ill."

Li Wei glanced at the crowd around him and then spoke, and everyone was somewhat surprised by his answer.

"Sick?" "Yes, he probably caught a chill last night and has a fever. He's taken his medicine and is resting. But we still plan to have a doctor examine Earl Cromwell..."

"call……………"

Hearing this, most people breathed a sigh of relief, but just then, another voice came.

"The communication device cannot be reached."

Li Wei turned his head and saw Isaac standing panting at the restaurant entrance, looking at everyone.

"I can't get in touch with anyone else."

"Could there be a problem with the line?"

The old butler then spoke up.

"There was a thunderstorm last night, which may have caused a line malfunction."

"Then I'll drive over and fetch a doctor."

Li Wei spoke first.

“I will go with you, Sir Levi.”

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, Isaac hurriedly spoke up.

"I know a doctor who is very prestigious and exceptionally capable..."

“We Cromwells have our own doctor.”

Gladys interrupted Isaac and spoke up.

“He was supposed to be in charge of serving the old man, but he had to go home for the past few days. It’s time for him to come back… I’ll take you to find him.”

As she spoke, Gladys glanced at Isaac. If this were a comic book, there would already be sparks flying between their eyes at this moment.

However, Li Wei clearly had no interest in this.

"We can think about this on the way. Let's go, time waits for no one."

With that, Li Wei took the coat handed to him by the servant and walked out of the dining room. Seeing Li Wei leave, the other two stopped arguing and hurriedly followed behind him.

The rain continued to fall, perhaps all day, maybe even longer. Li Wei stepped out the door, looked up, and saw that the thick, dark clouds looked like a huge black pot over their heads, with large raindrops pouring down, enveloping the whole world in a noisy cacophony of rain.

Meanwhile, Li Wei's Phantom remained stationary, its entire body thoroughly cleaned by the downpour, as if it had been to a car wash.

"Okay, let's go."

Soon, the three of them got into the car, and then Li Wei started the Phantom and drove out.

"………………………"

The car was silent, save for the sound of raindrops and the engine. Neither Isaac in the back nor Gladys in the passenger seat spoke. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, but that didn't bother Levi; he simply drove on.

Finally, Gladys broke the silence.

"Sir Levy, you will go to see our family doctor, won't you?"

“If he were here, it would be even better; he would surely be more familiar with Earl Cromwell’s physical condition than anyone else.”

"Of course, I think so too. Actually, when he was alive, the old man's health wasn't a big problem... sigh..."

At this point, Gladys let out a long sigh, then looked out the window. Raindrops pounded against the windowpane, blurring the view outside as if shrouded in mist.

"The weather was just like this the day Brother Andrei had his accident..."

Gladys murmured to himself, as if lost in memories.

"———————!"

But just then, Levi suddenly slammed on the brakes, and the Phantom came to a screeching halt, leaving a long trail in the muddy ground. Gladys and Isaac, caught off guard, lost their balance and crashed headfirst into the side of the carriage.

"Whoa... What's wrong, Mr. Levi?"

"It seems this path is blocked."

Li Wei gripped the steering wheel and gestured with his chin towards the road ahead. Gladys looked ahead and saw that the road was completely buried by a large amount of trees and soil that had cascaded down from the mountain.

"Mudslide? Damn it..."

Gladys frowned and gritted his teeth.

"Mudslides rarely happen in this area, how could this be...?"

"It seems we are unlucky."

Li Wei shrugged, appearing rather calm.

"Is there any other way to go?"

"Nothing."

Gladys shook his head.

"This is terrible. We can't get out, and people outside can't get in. But we should have some guests tomorrow. They'll probably find someone to open up this road then... Sigh, we can't get through on the radio either. This is the worst it's ever been. Even before... it was just heavy rain, there were no road blockages."

"That will take quite a bit of time."

Li Wei glanced at the road ahead again, then squinted. From his perspective, the road was almost completely blocked. And now, he didn't know when the rain would stop, and even when it did, he didn't know when the road would reopen…

Well, this is indeed an unexpected problem.

"It seems we have no choice but to go back."

Then, he spoke.

(End of this chapter)