Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 354 Taking a Walk (Day 3)

After several days of torrential rain, the sky outside was unusually clear, as if it had been washed clean, displaying a beautiful blue hue. A few white clouds drifted among them, adding a touch of elegance to this beautiful scene.

Although the maze garden at the back wasn't fully completed yet, the garden in front was still quite beautiful. As Levi and Sophie walked through it, the girl seemed a little uneasy in Levi's presence. She cautiously looked at him, occasionally lowering her head to stare at her toes.

Levi, however, seemed completely oblivious to Sophie's unusual behavior. He simply walked through the garden, leaning on his cane, commenting on the flowers and praising their beauty.

“Earl Cromwell certainly has a good eye. It’s clear these flowers are very well taken care of. Do you like flowers, Miss Sophie?”

"Yes, yes, I love flowers, Lord Li Wei."

Upon hearing Li Wei's question, Sophie quickly nodded and answered in a low voice.

"I like them very much too. They are beautiful. The world would lose a lot of fun if there were no flowers."

As he spoke, Li Wei stopped by the flower bed and looked at a small flower. The flower looked quite delicate, with five small white petals blooming around the stamen, as if it had just opened after the rain.

"This flower is very beautiful."

"This, this is white fragrant orchid, Lord Li Wei."

Sophie began to introduce herself.

"It's a very interesting flower. Although it's not particularly eye-catching, it always stays quietly in a corner. But it can calm people down. I've always liked this flower, and I even made a bookmark with it before..."

At this point, Sophie suddenly stopped and fell silent.

"What's wrong, Miss Sophie?"

"It's nothing, Lord Li Wei."

Sophie shook her head.

"I'm just a little... envious."

"envious?"

"Yes, flowers are just flowers. They only need to bloom and carefree display their beauty. Isn't that a good thing?"

Sophie stared at the flowers in front of her, muttering to herself.

Just then, Sophie felt a hand gently stroking her face. She looked up and saw Levi's incredibly handsome face right before her, his obsidian-like eyes gleaming softly in the sunlight. Just looking at him made Sophie feel weak all over, as if she were about to fall into Levi's arms.

“You are very beautiful too, Miss Sophie.”

Li Wei reached out and touched Sophie's chin, making the girl look up at him.

"So you don't need to belittle yourself at all."

"No... Lord Li Wei, it's not this..."

Sophie opened her mouth, as if to say something, but in the end she said nothing. Just then, Sophie saw Levi pick up the white orchid and tuck it into her hair.

“I think this flower suits you very well, miss.”

"Lord Li Wei..."

Looking at Li Wei, Sophie murmured to herself, feeling somewhat entranced.

Looking at the girl's bewildered face, Li Wei couldn't help but chuckle. In fact, through the doll cat, he could already see a figure standing on the second-floor windowsill, watching this scene with anger. He clenched his teeth, his fists were tightly knit, and his eyes burned with rage.

Unfortunately, there's nothing he can do now; he can only watch.

Li Wei's lips curled up slightly, and then he turned around.

"Alright, Miss Sophie, let's go for a walk over there."

At this moment, Sophie seemed hypnotized, obediently following Levi forward. She followed Levi through the flowerbeds by the wall and along the forest path—at this point, the girl's steps began to become unsteady, even flustered. And when Levi arrived at the stables, the girl involuntarily stopped.

"I'm sorry, Lord Li Wei, I'm a little tired..."

"Indeed, it's getting late."

Li Wei stopped and looked back at Sophie once more.

"Miss Sophie, is there something you want to say to me?"

"Huh? I... um..."

Sophie looked at Levi, opened her mouth as if hesitant, but in the end, she lowered her head.

"No, Lord Li Wei, I have nothing to say."

"Is that so? Let's go back then."

Li Wei didn't mind. He turned around and guided Sophie back the way she came. Sophie watched Li Wei's figure, a complex expression in her eyes.

"By the way, Miss Sophie."

Li Wei walked ahead, seemingly unaware of Sophie's reaction, and then suddenly asked.

"I suddenly thought of a question, well, it might be a little impolite, but I'm really curious about it."

"What's the problem, Lord Li Wei?"

Sophie seemed a little nervous when she heard Li Wei's question.

"If I remember correctly, Mr. Herman changed his name. What was his last name before? Sorry, just a little bit of curiosity."

Upon hearing this question, Sophie placed her hand on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

“His surname is Cohen, Lord Levy. My father’s surname used to be Cohen.”

"oh………"

Li Wei nodded, as if it really was just a trivial matter.

After that, Levi escorted Sophie back home. The two parted ways in the lobby. Sophie gave Levi a slightly shy bow, then turned and walked up the stairs. Levi watched her until she disappeared from sight. Just then, a voice came from behind Levi.

"Oh, Lord Li Wei, you're back from your date."

Li Wei turned his head and saw Bianca looking at him with a grin.

"What? You want to marry her? That child is indeed quite beautiful, but also very pitiful."

"I just accompanied her for a walk; I didn't do anything else."

Li Wei shrugged.

"By the way, Miss Bianca, you're only getting up now?"

"Ugh... because I barely slept last night."

Bianca immediately looked distressed when the topic was brought up.

"The moment I close my eyes, I think of that corpse, and I can't sleep at all. What's worse, I'm still very hungry because I didn't eat dinner..."

"Didn't you go find something to eat?"

"I'm too scared to even get out of bed!"

Bianca sighed in frustration.

"What bad luck! This is the first time I've ever experienced this. Is this what people call insomnia? I've never had it before. I've heard that some people suffer from insomnia, but I never imagined it could be this bad. Luckily, my grandmother was with me, and I finally managed to fall asleep..."

As she spoke, Bianca looked at Levi with a pitiful expression.

"Do you all experience this? I mean, I can't sleep at night after seeing a corpse?"

"Oh, we don't have that kind of free time."

"idle?"

“Yes.” Li Wei nodded.

"Because we have to think about how to find the criminal and then catch him, we don't have time to think about sleeping."

"It seems that being a detective isn't something just anyone can do..."

Li Wei smiled in response to Bianca's sentiments.

“No profession is romantic and fun, Miss Bianca. Even princesses have their troubles. I suggest you go have some tea and dessert now. They should be easier to swallow than food, and sweets will soothe your nerves and help you relax.”

"Very well, thank you for your suggestion, Lord Li Wei. Do you still intend to investigate today?"

"I still have some things to do... You should go and have a good meal first."

"Then I'll go find my grandmother for tea."

After hearing Li Wei's answer, Bianca gave Li Wei a lively bow, then turned and left.

Looking at Bianca, Levi shook his head. She and Sophie were complete opposites. Bianca was energetic and curious. Sophie, on the other hand, gave off a somewhat gloomy and melancholic vibe, just like her mother, as if the withering of a flower was enough to make them feel sentimental.

Speaking of Sophie... it's a real shame, it seems she won't be able to enjoy this birthday party properly.

Thinking of this, Li Wei turned and left. He walked out the door and found the old butler.

What time does the banquet start?

"At two o'clock this afternoon, Lord Li Wei, what are your orders?"

"Oh, after the banquet begins, I hope you can do me a favor."

As he spoke, Li Wei whispered something in the old butler's ear. After hearing it, the latter's eyes widened in surprise. He stared at Li Wei in astonishment, his face filled with disbelief.

"Are you serious, Lord Li Wei?"

"Take a few reliable and courageous servants with you; I know you should be able to find them."

"Of course, I understand what you mean, sir, but what exactly happened...?"

Before the old butler could finish speaking, Li Wei interrupted him with a smile.

"If you're fast enough, you'll find out what's going on."

Time passed by minute by minute.

When Li Wei walked into the restaurant again, it had been completely decorated to resemble a birthday party, though not as luxurious as before, since there weren't as many attendees.

The birthday cake was placed in the center, surrounded by various delicacies. Everyone took their seats, and then came the usual birthday routine: first, everyone wished Sophie a happy birthday, then Sophie closed her eyes to make a wish, blew out the candles, and then everyone gave Sophie birthday gifts.

Ms. Ava gave Sophie a comb adorned with jewels, while Bianca gave her a beautiful crystal ornament, and Richard and Gladys also presented their own gifts.

Li Wei was last in line. He stood up, walked up to Sophie, looked at her, and then sighed.

"First of all, please allow me to wish you a happy birthday, Miss Sophie."

"Thank you, Lord Li Wei."

"You're welcome. I doubt you'll thank me in a moment."

"?"

Sophie looked puzzled at Li Wei's words, while Li Wei glanced at her and then turned to look at the crowd.

"Please forgive me for saying these inappropriate things on this occasion, because I am about to give Miss Sophie a gift, but she may not like it."

"Huh? What gift?"

Hearing this, Bianca asked curiously, and Levi glanced at her.

"A murderer."

“………………………?”

"kill……………?"

"………murderer?"

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, everyone's expression changed, and Sophie's face turned deathly pale.

But Li Wei didn't look at her; instead, he looked at everyone and then spoke.

"First, let's start with a little joke... I think you might not know this, but yesterday I told Miss Bianca a joke: Why is it that when we need to make excuses for not finishing our summer homework, we say that the dog tore it up, instead of the mouse, the cat, or the eagle?"

Li Wei paused for a moment at this point.

"The reason is simple: because we really know there's a dog in the house."

"???"

"That's a lie."

Li Wei spread his hands.

"When a person lies subconsciously, they don't immediately fabricate something out of thin air. Instead, they process it according to their memory. This way, others won't find it fake, and it's easier to deceive themselves."

As he spoke, Li Wei glanced at Isaac, who stood silently to the side.

"I think you all remember what Mr. Isaac said yesterday about the invitations not being sent out. He said that while the servants were unloading the goods, the postman came, and he handed the invitations to him. Then, Miss Sophie in the garden suddenly screamed, so Mr. Isaac went to check, and when he returned, the postman was gone."

"Yes, that's what I heard him say too."

Gladys also crossed his arms and nodded.

As he spoke, Li Wei held up one finger.

"There's a question here: where did the postman go? Why is the mailbag here, but the postman is nowhere to be found? Why would he leave his mailbag behind? The answer is actually quite simple: the postman is here; he didn't leave at all."

"Hey?"

It must be said that everyone was in an uproar upon hearing this answer, with Gladys and Bianca both staring wide-eyed in surprise.

"Didn't leave?"

"The postman? He's always been here? How come we've never seen him before?"

"Please be patient, we will see him soon."

As Li Wei spoke, he looked towards the door. Sure enough, a moment later, accompanied by hurried footsteps, the old butler rushed in, panting heavily.

"Lord Li Wei!"

"Found it? Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, my lord, I'm certain... but why... Holy Lord...!"

"What exactly happened, butler?"

At this moment, Gladys couldn't help but ask.

"What did you find?"

Upon hearing Gladys's question, the old butler turned his head away, his face turning ashen.

"A corpse!"

"what?"

"I followed Lord Li Wei's instructions and dug up the mound next to the labyrinth garden, only to find a corpse buried inside! And it was that postman! Holy Lord, why did this happen..."

At this moment, everyone was stunned.

(End of this chapter)