Chapter 116: Lanevus’s Child

Chapter One Hundred Sixteen
Lanevus’s Child

Christina did not notice the diviner’s momentary blankness. She glanced toward the reception desk where Angelica stood, lowered her voice, and said, “I mean Lanevus’s child.”

She pointed toward the young woman beside her, the one wearing a lotus-leaf hat.

“This is my niece, Megose. Her mother is my elder sister. I am deeply regretful and terribly sorry. Back then, I truly believed Lanevus was an outstanding, remarkable young man, and so I introduced Megose to him while he was still unmarried. I watched them become lovers.

“Megose’s parents were once very satisfied with Lanevus too. They had planned to invest all their savings into his steel company after the engagement. Fortunately, before that could happen, Lanevus fled. Their family did not suffer a fatal financial blow. Unfortunately, my sister and brother-in-law now have to explain to relatives and friends why the engagement ceremony has been canceled, and they must worry over the child in Megose’s belly.

“We all believe in the God of Steam and Machinery. We are not followers of the Lord of Storms, and we do not think lovers must remain chaste before marriage. We do not blame Megose. We even sympathize with her. But whether the child should be kept is indeed a difficult matter—especially when he has a father like that.”

So he cheated people out of both money and affection…

Klein looked toward Megose, who stood quietly beside them, and discovered that the young woman was quite exceptionally beautiful.

She had a smooth forehead, long golden hair, and a pair of large eyes rather similar to Christina’s. At this moment, those eyes looked melancholy and calm. Her lips were pressed tightly together.

What an infuriating fraudster. And he actually managed to run away…

Klein cursed Lanevus inwardly. After thinking for a moment, he said, “If the child had already been born, I would indeed have ways of using the child to divine Lanevus’s approximate whereabouts. But unfortunately, that would require waiting several months. Mm, perhaps this is precisely what the previous divination result showed: endure, wait, persist, do not be greedy, and then a turning point will arrive, and sunlight will be seen.”

“Several months…”

Christina shook her head faintly.

“No. After that much time, even if Lanevus is found, the money will no longer be recovered…”

She turned toward the golden-haired, blue-eyed Megose. Her voice involuntarily sank.

“Do you have any object Lanevus once carried on his person?”

“No,” Megose answered in a thin, soft voice. “Does the ring he gave me count?”

“It must be an object he carried for a long period of time,” Klein denied with a shake of his head.

Christina fell silent for several seconds, then looked at Megose and said, “You must make a decision. I believe keeping this child will make the rest of your life difficult, full of thorns. Are you going to tell him that his father was a fraudster who cheated many people—including his mother?

“It is time to visit a clinic or a hospital. And doing so can also help us find Lanevus and recover what was lost.”

Hey, would using that for divination be a little too heavy-tasting?

Klein had no place interfering in another family’s affairs. He could only wait patiently at the side, occasionally muttering inwardly.

Megose lowered her head, eyes drooping, and did not speak for a very long time.

After a while, she finally touched her lower abdomen. A gentle smile surfaced on her face.

“He is not the same as his father. He is a very considerate, very lovable child.

“Every day, he gently kicks me and tells me how he feels. He hums songs too, and whistles. He uses music to help me fall asleep…”

As Klein listened, he suddenly felt something was not right.

The first half of Megose’s words belonged to a common reaction, but the latter half was almost like delirium. She was describing things that were not realistic.

Did the blow damage her mind?

Klein raised his right hand toward the space between his brows, attempting to disguise the motion as rubbing away fatigue.

At that moment, however, Megose abruptly turned around and strode toward the door, leaving only one sentence behind.

“Perhaps his father will secretly return because of his birth. Perhaps he has kept some wealth for him…”

Klein had not expected such a reaction. He froze for a moment and forgot to activate spirit vision. He could only watch Megose leave the club and descend the stairs with quick taps of her shoes.

Christina inhaled deeply and calmed herself over several seconds.

“I am sorry, Mr. Moretti. We have disturbed you. We will work hard to find an object Lanevus carried with him.”

Klein nodded almost imperceptibly, watching her go downstairs as well. Then he sighed and shook his head.

…

The next morning, Klein had only just entered Blackthorn Security Company and greeted Rozanne when he asked, “Where are today’s newspapers?”

The sweet-looking, brown-haired Rozanne examined him with some puzzlement.

“Klein, you are acting strange.”

“Why?” Klein asked back with a smile, as though he had expected this.

Rozanne rolled her eyes.

“Before, you only read the newspapers during lunch break, because you had mysticism lessons in the morning. Hm, Old Neil is already waiting for you in the armory!”

“I happen to know in advance that a certain case will have a reward, so I wanted to flip through the papers and remember the criminal’s appearance. Perhaps I might run into him someday,” Klein explained with a smile.

“Really?”

Rozanne curiously picked up the day’s newspapers and began rapidly flipping through them.

“Wanted notice… Lanevus, right?”

Klein answered immediately, “Yes.”

“…That hateful fraudster! He actually cheated people of more than ten thousand pounds!”

After studying it for a dozen seconds, Rozanne suddenly spoke in indignation.

Klein shared the same feeling and joined the condemnation.

“He really is vile. I almost want to proactively apply to take over this case!”

Rozanne read for another dozen seconds, then shook her head regretfully.

“This case does not seem to involve supernatural factors. And even if it does, it will be handed over to the Mandated Punishers of the Lord of Storms.”

Klein did not immediately understand what Rozanne meant. But after accepting the newspaper and flipping through it, he gave a regretful sigh.

“That is true. With so many people tricked, believers of all three Churches must certainly be included. And Lanevus Steel Company was located in the South Borough.”

If a case involving supernatural factors implicated the followers of one particular deity, it would be handed to the corresponding team. But if followers of the Evernight Goddess, the Lord of Storms, and the God of Steam and Machinery were all involved, then jurisdiction would be divided by district: the Golden Indus Borough, North Borough, and West Borough belonged to the Nighthawks; East Borough, South Borough, and the docks district belonged to the Mandated Punishers; the university district and the suburbs belonged to the Machinery Hivemind.

While looking through the paper, Klein also memorized Lanevus’s appearance.

He had a full forehead, black hair, brown eyes, and a pair of almost round spectacles. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, as though mocking everyone.

Aside from those glasses, Lanevus had no obvious defining traits. He looked extremely ordinary.

After exchanging a few more casual words with Rozanne, Klein passed through the partition, preparing to head underground.

At that moment, he saw the pale-skinned, cold-tempered Corpse Collector Frye and the white-haired, black-eyed “writer,” Miss Siga Teon, walk out of the entertainment room together and turn toward him.

After a brief greeting, Klein watched his two teammates leave and noticed Dunn Smith, dressed in a black windbreaker, open his office door and stand nearby.

“A case?” Klein asked curiously.

At this hour, two Nighthawks would not go out together without reason.

Dunn’s gray eyes swept over him. He nodded and smiled.

“Something suspected of being a haunting has appeared in the West Borough. I am having Siga and Frye take a look. But you do not need to concern yourself with such matters. Until you have preliminarily mastered combat techniques, I do not plan to let you participate in any further missions. I must be responsible for my team members.”

Captain, you truly are a good person. Aside from having a high hairline and poor memory, you have practically no flaws…

Klein inwardly praised him, then asked as though confirming, “In other words, I only need to attend mysticism lessons and undergo combat training, make no contribution at all, and I can still receive my salary?”

“This is only temporary,” Dunn confirmed.

Only needing to “attend class” and “exercise” to receive a full and generous salary—thinking about it, that is actually rather wonderful…

Klein thought happily.

I hope there are no more coincidences!

He prayed silently.

…

That calm, peaceful life, devoid of waves, lasted until Friday. After completing his combat training, Klein took a carriage to Bessik Street.

Outside Henry Private Detective Agency, he looked left and right. After confirming that no one was paying attention to him, he put on his gauze mask, raised the collar of his windbreaker, and quickly entered the stairwell.

He knocked open the door and once again saw Detective Henry, who looked like a hard-boiled middle-aged man.

“Good afternoon, sir. One of your commissions has produced results.”

Detective Henry’s dark-blue eyes looked at him as he spoke in his smoke-and-liquor voice.

Klein deliberately made his voice rough and hoarse.

“Is it information on the gentleman who appears at the Dragon Bar?”

The gentleman who bought the supplementary ingredients for the Spectator potion…

“Yes.”

Henry lifted the pipe in his hand.

Then he said nothing more, merely smiling at Klein.

Klein understood what he meant. With heartache, he took out four one-pound notes and handed them over.

“This is the second payment.”

He paused, then added, “Write me a receipt.”

His private savings had now fallen below one pound…

“No problem.”

Henry coughed twice. While inspecting the anti-counterfeit marks on the notes, he instructed an employee to bring paper and a fountain pen.

After that, he invited Klein to the sofa area, quickly wrote the receipt, and stamped it.

Once everything was finished, Henry took a puff from his pipe and said, “According to your description, my assistant and I waited at the Dragon Bar for three days. At last, we encountered that gentleman.

“He is indeed a fairly vigilant gentleman, and very skilled at observation. Fortunately, I am a veteran in that regard…

“His name is Daxter Guderian. He is a doctor at Greenhull Asylum.”