Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 461 Extremely Strange

To be honest, it felt a little strange to have someone who had been lying on the morgue bed standing right in front of him. Fortunately, Li Wei was a veteran of many battles and had seen it all. So, Li Wei's expression didn't change; he simply looked at the latter and stood up.

"May I ask who you are...?"

“I am Harbert Hanklis.”

Baron Hanklis introduced himself, and Levi immediately activated [Soul Vision] to carefully scan the other party.

Yes, a living person, a normal person, white aura, nothing wrong.

This is very abnormal.

"Sir Levy, what brings you here to see me today?"

Baron Hanklis also looked at Levi with some nervousness and unease. He knew that not long ago, Her Majesty the Queen, under the pretext of investigating the Eites, had wielded the sword against many nobles, resulting in a bloodbath. For a time, the other nobles were also gripped by fear, seeing threats everywhere, and were terrified.

Baron Hanklis was also terrified, as his son had previously been in a relationship with a woman from the Et tribe. The two were deeply in love, and she had stated that she wasn't after his wealth, but rather he was a person she admired.

However, Baron Hanklis was ultimately an old-fashioned nobleman who did not approve of intermarriage between people of different social classes. To put it bluntly, he preferred that his son marry a nobleman of the same class rather than a merchant's daughter. So, he ultimately separated the couple and sent his son to study in the foggy city.

When Baron Hanklis saw Levi come knocking on his door, he was startled. Could it be that his good-for-nothing son had gotten into trouble with that woman in the City of Fog again, and Her Majesty the Queen had sent Sir Levi to come and demand an explanation?
Could my house be raided too...?

Levi, of course, had no idea what Sir Hanklis was thinking; he simply asked Sir Hanklis questions at his own pace.

"Sir Hanklis, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Yes, of course!"

Upon hearing Levi's question, Baron Hanklis was so frightened that his soul almost jumped out of his skin.

This is standard interrogation procedure, and it's this Imperial Knight asking the questions. Could it be that his good-for-nothing son has really caused trouble?!

Do you have any siblings?

"Huh? Me, me?"

Baron Hanklis was taken aback by Levi's question.

"Strictly speaking, I don't have any brothers..."

"Strictly speaking, what does that mean?"

"Because I did have a younger brother."

Baron Hanklis sighed and decided that no matter what the other party asked, he would just tell the truth and hope that the other party would leave some valuables for his family in consideration of his attitude.

"Yes?"

"Yes, my younger brother was born... but because he was very weak, he didn't grow up. So, to me, I did have a younger brother, but he died young, so..."

"I see."

Upon hearing Baron Hanklis's reply, Levi pondered for a moment.

"May I ask about your itinerary for the past two weeks?"

"For the past two weeks, I've mostly been working from home, occasionally having tea parties or playing sports."

"You haven't left this place?"

"No."

"Who can prove it?"

"this……………"

Baron Hanklis looked completely bewildered when asked by Levi.

"My servants can vouch for me, right? As for the others... I did recently attend a charity auction with Police Chief Meccaford. Does that count?"

Where did you go?

"Jiavis nearby."

"Um……………"

As Li Wei listened to Baron Hanklis's reply, he carefully observed him. The latter's expression held a hint of doubt, but there was no sign of concealment or nervousness. In other words, he was very likely telling the truth, not lying.

That would make the problem even more serious.

Li Wei thought for a moment and then continued to ask questions.

"Then, may I ask if anything strange has happened at your residence recently?"

"Something strange?"

"Yes, anything strange is fine."

"This... I really don't know what strange things are happening in my house."

Baron Hanklis pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"However, perhaps my butler can provide you with some clues."

As he spoke, Hanklis picked up the bell on the table and shook it. A moment later, the butler came in.

"Master, what can I do for you?"

"Has anything strange happened at home lately? Sir Levi wants to know, but I don't recall anything strange happening at home."

"Um……………"

Faced with Baron Hanklis's question, the butler fell into deep thought. Levi noticed that the butler looked at him and then at Baron Hanklis.

"Can I say anything, Master?"

“Of course, anything.” “Okay, then please forgive my bluntness, but something strange has indeed happened.”

"what's up?"

“A corpse, to be precise, a man’s corpse. He was wearing a mask, and I didn’t recognize him. The maid, Hel, found it this morning when she came to clean the lounge. She screamed, and I heard the scream and came here, and then I saw the corpse.”

"Is that so? Why didn't you tell me?"

Upon hearing this, Baron Hanklis was also greatly shocked.

"Someone in my family died, and I didn't even know? Who died?"

“I don’t know, Master, he was wearing a mask.”

"But you should be able to take off the mask and see what he looks like, right? And where's the body? Don't tell me you dumped it in some ravine?"

Baron Hanklis glared at his butler, clearly displeased that such a serious matter had occurred in his household, yet the butler remained silent. However, the butler could only helplessly continue speaking to Baron Hanklis.

"It's gone."

What does it mean that it's gone?

"Like I said, I heard Hel's scream, then came here, and then saw the body lying on the ground. Hel was clinging to me, crying incessantly, making it almost impossible for me to breathe. After I calmed her down, I looked back at that spot and was surprised to find that the body was gone."

"……………that's all?"

"Yes, I was surprised at the time too. I suspected that I might have seen things wrong, so Hel and I checked the place very carefully. But we found nothing. It was empty, there was nothing there. So we thought that we might have seen things wrong and were hallucinating, so I thought this matter should not bother you."

"Ah, um..."

Baron Hanklis was at a loss for words, while Levi stared at the butler.

"Could you please call that maid over?"

"of course."

Soon, a red-haired maid in her early twenties walked in nervously. Although facing Li Wei made her very nervous, she quickly told him what she had seen after being reassured by him.

"I was getting ready for work, and I planned to start cleaning the break room. So I opened the door and went in... It was still dark, so I turned on the light and took a step forward. Then I tripped. I was wondering what had tripped me. I knew this place very well and knew there shouldn't be anything there. But when I turned around, I saw a person lying there... Oh my god, he was wearing a mask and lying motionless on the floor. I was terrified..."

At this point, the maid seemed to recall the situation, and her whole body trembled again.

“I was so scared I almost collapsed to the ground, and then Mr. Raymond came. I heard his voice and rushed over to him… I don’t mean to do anything, I just felt that I shouldn’t be with a corpse. Then Mr. Raymond comforted me, and I finally managed to calm down, but when I turned around again, I found that there was nothing on the carpet.”

"Could it be your illusion?"

Li Wei looked at the carpet under his feet. It was soft and comfortable, decorated with geometric patterns that could indeed create an illusion.

"Of course, sir, perhaps I misjudged, or maybe my foot slipped and I fell... but I just feel like things shouldn't be like this..."

Upon hearing the maid's reply, Li Wei wrote something in his notebook, then looked up at the two of them.

"One last question. You all say that the corpse was wearing a mask. Can you tell me what the mask looked like?"

The two looked at each other.

"It's a regular mask, for adults, white, with two small holes for the eyes."

"OK, thanks."

After answering Levi's question, the two took their leave, while Baron Hanklis looked at Levi with a puzzled expression.

"Sir Levy, what exactly do you want to know?"

"What do you think of what they just said, Baron Hanklis?"

"As I see it... I don't think they would secretly dispose of the body without my knowledge or anything like that. There's no need for them to do that. If it was a masked, uninvited intruder, then I have nothing to hide, and besides, I wasn't even home that day..."

"This is where the problem lies."

Levi looked at Baron Hanklis and spoke.

“In fact, you contacted me a week ago.”

"Me? Looking for you? In Chongqing?"

"Yes, you said you were reading a novel in the lounge, then fell asleep, and when you woke up, you found a masked man attacking you, so you pulled out a gun and killed him. At the time, you thought it was just a dream, but when you woke up again, you found the body was still there, and strangely, no one else could see the body except you. You suspected it was some kind of strange event, so you came to me for help."

"This is...this is absolutely absurd!"

After hearing Li Wei's explanation, Baron Hanklis looked completely bewildered and shouted loudly.

"I had no idea about this. During this time, I've been staying in my territory, handling affairs... So you mean, someone impersonated me and came to cause you trouble?"

"I'm not sure if it was an imposter."

Levi glanced at Baron Hanklis once more.

"At least to me, he looks almost exactly like you."

"I think this must be some kind of prank. Maybe someone is impersonating me? Anyway, please bring him here. I want to see why this guy would impersonate me and do such a strange thing!"

"That's why I'm here; he's dead."

"…Dead?"

Baron Hanklis looked as if he had been struck on the head with a blunt object. He stared wide-eyed at Levi, almost unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Yes, so, Baron Hanklis, would you mind meeting him?"

Li Wei looked at the baron before him and extended an invitation with a smile.

"I imagine you wouldn't want to see Baron Habert Hanklis's obituary in the newspapers, would you?"

(End of this chapter)