Chapter 104: The Roselle Memorial Exhibition

Chapter One Hundred Four
The Roselle Memorial Exhibition

West Borough, 2 King’s Avenue, Kingdom Museum.

Although it was not the weekend, by the time Klein arrived, a long line had already formed at the entrance.

From descriptions in newspapers and magazines, he knew that the middle class of this world had relatively few forms of entertainment. Apart from reading newspapers and novels, listening to operas and concerts, playing tennis and squash, appreciating various plays, and holding or attending banquets and balls, the only options left were visiting parks, viewing exhibitions, and going on vacations. And due to Emperor Roselle’s influence, annual leave was already a fairly common phenomenon among that class.

At nine o’clock sharp, Klein, wearing a silk half top hat, carrying a black cane, and dressed in a double-breasted wool frock coat, held his ticket and followed the people ahead of him step by step into the museum.

There was a division of routes inside. Different guides each led a portion of visitors down different passages.

Klein, together with a dozen or twenty people, followed behind a rather pretty female guide and listened as she introduced Roselle’s life.

To Klein, who could be considered half a historian, none of this had any meaning. Bored, he checked the position of his wallet.

Because his wealth had risen sharply to 952 pounds—only a step away from 1,000 pounds—his wallet could no longer hold so much cash. He had chosen to carry only part of it. As for the rest, Klein did not trust leaving it at home unprotected, so he had thrown all of it above the gray fog.

As they walked, they entered the first exhibition hall. The female guide spoke in an excited tone:

“Ladies and gentlemen, these are all daily-use items once belonging to Emperor Roselle.

“Look, that is the velvet quilt he slept beneath. That is the gold-inlaid glassware he used to drink wine.

“And that is the flush toilet he used—the first flush toilet in the modern sense.”

…

Even a toilet he used is being exhibited?

Klein suddenly felt a little sympathy for Roselle.

Immediately afterward, he looked toward the toilet behind the glass wall and discovered that it was flashing with golden light. Its surface seemed to have been covered with a layer of gold foil and carved with intricate, flamboyant, highly artistic patterns.

How extravagant…

Klein stopped sympathizing with Roselle.

Separated from the flush toilet by only one layer of glass were Roselle’s daily clothes, including shirts with pleated decorations at the cuffs and collar.

It could be seen that the female guide greatly admired Intis clothing culture.

After the “Daily Life Exhibition Hall” came the original drafts of the important documents Roselle had promulgated, including the Civil Code and other highly valuable historical artifacts.

Just then, the female guide pointed toward one display case and said, “This is one of the notebooks left behind by Emperor Roselle. It uses the mysterious symbols he created himself, which even today have never been deciphered. Many historians and archaeologists believe that these notebooks should record Emperor Roselle’s deepest secrets.

“As a romantic, I have my own guess. Perhaps these were the symbols Emperor Roselle agreed upon with the woman he loved most. They recorded each other, yet could never truly be together.”

You are very suited to writing novels…

The corner of Klein’s mouth twitched. His gaze then turned toward the notebook spread open inside the display case. On it was simplified Chinese so familiar to him it could not be any more familiar:

“March 6th. Damn it, the food here is making me so constipated I could die!”

“March 17th. Are all Intis madams this open? Did I do her, or did she do me? It somehow feels a little strange.”

“March 22nd. It is time to choose a faith. On one side is the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and on the other is the Church of Craftsmanship.

“My choice is beyond doubt. Praise you, God of Machines!

“One day, I will make the Church of Craftsmanship change its name to the Church of the Machine God.”

…

As expected, very romantic… romantically constipated… This should be a diary from the Emperor Roselle’s early transmigration days. Not one bit of valuable information… And his handwriting is even uglier than mine…

Klein withdrew his gaze and clicked his tongue inwardly.

Of course, he had only seen the two pages opened before him. He had no way of knowing what else the notebook contained.

I wonder what the security measures here are like, and whether there might be a chance to secretly slip in and flip through everything…

Klein looked around and discovered that there were quite a lot of visible security personnel.

There may also be Beyonders from the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery…

He muttered, followed the female guide, mixed among the crowd, and entered the next exhibition hall. It was titled “Tender Roselle.”

“This is the first love letter Emperor Roselle wrote. This is the first love poem he created, ‘When You Are Old’…”

The female guide pointed at the manuscripts in the display case with shining eyes.

Shameless! Yeats’s coffin lid is about to fail to hold him down!

Klein could not help silently criticizing him.

“This is a bracelet he made himself… This is the original manuscript of the novel he wrote…”

The female guide introduced the items in an extremely admiring tone.

…

Klein worked hard not to let his expression change in the slightest.

Of course, he also believed that Emperor Roselle, whose Beyonder profession included the title “Artisan,” must have possessed very strong handicraft skills.

“This is the basic education textbook he improved for his children. Every word has a corresponding picture… This is a small game he invented for his children. It is similar to Intis chess, but for some unknown reason, the way to play it never spread… These are building-block toys he invented, also for his children…”

The female guide’s voice unconsciously gained a trace of warmth.

Is that not just Chinese chess… Also, LEGO would like to charge you copyright fees!

Klein could only curve the corners of his mouth upward, using that to hide his other emotions.

His gaze swept past and found, before that display case, a woman standing there who was over 1.7 meters tall.

This lady had chestnut hair that reached her waist. Her figure was extremely well proportioned, neither plump nor thin.

She wore a youthful yellow layered dress, yet on her head was an old-fashioned black soft hat. A fine thin veil hung down, covering her face.

She stood before the display case, staring at the items inside for a very long time without leaving.

Even after Klein and the others followed the guide into the next exhibition hall, she still had not changed her posture.

After several more exhibition halls, the female guide pointed ahead and said, “Next, you will see a reconstruction of Emperor Roselle’s study.

“Of course, only part of it.”

As she spoke, Klein and the others entered the exhibition hall, and their vision abruptly opened wide.

This place had practically become a library. All around stood row after row of bookshelves, bookshelves that rose as high as two stories. Beneath them were staircases, and between them were passages, forming a three-dimensional paradise of books.

“One can imagine how the owner of this place once climbed up and down the stairs, searching for the book he wished to read…”

The guide described a vivid scene.

No, Roselle would definitely have had servants look for it, rather than do it himself…

Klein silently refuted her.

At the center of the rows of bookshelves stood a desk, chair, brass lamp stand, and other objects. All of them were covered by glass cases, preventing contact with the outside world.

With one glance, Klein discovered a stack of manuscripts—a stack whose paper had yellowed with age.

The manuscripts were not spread open, allowing visitors to see only the contents of the first page.

Drawn there was a rectangular object, accompanied by a detailed explanation:

“This is a portable, miniaturized application of the telegraph. Through it, one can connect with people holding the same object, send and receive messages one wishes to exchange, and even converse directly.

“This requires better positioning. I believe we can boldly turn our gaze toward the sky. There are no obstacles there, and signals can be transmitted better.”

…

Emperor, you did not even spare the mobile phone…

Klein could not help raising a hand to cover his face briefly.

At that moment, the guide began introducing that stack of manuscripts.

“…They record Emperor Roselle’s wondrous ideas. They record inventions he did not yet have time to turn into reality. They record the glory of our human civilization!”

Klein did not listen carefully to the praise. He casually looked at the other items.

Suddenly, he noticed a bookmark tucked inside a hardcover book on the desk.

The exposed portion of the bookmark had an image drawn on it, like something a child had casually scribbled.

Emperor Roselle really was not good at drawing…

Klein had only just mocked him inwardly when he suddenly remembered something.

Roselle had once disguised a Card of Blasphemy as a bookmark and placed it inside a certain book!

Could it be this one?

Klein carefully observed it for several seconds without leaving a trace, but he discovered no clues.

Of course. The Emperor said that the Card of Blasphemy resisted divination and prophecy, and that under normal circumstances one could not discover anything special about it… If it were that easy to recognize, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery would have taken it away long ago…

Klein shifted his gaze away and examined the other books. He discovered that quite a few books also had bookmarks inside, and the bookmarks were all different in form.

After considering briefly, he used the Clown’s ability to control his facial muscles and asked curiously, “Were these all books Emperor Roselle read?

“My apologies. What I mean is, are all of these the original books?”

The female guide nodded with certainty.

“Yes. These are all objects from Emperor Roselle’s study at the time, including but not limited to books, manuscripts, bookmarks, lamp stands, ink bottles… However, more items were destroyed in several conflicts.”

Klein nodded lightly and once more examined those bookmarks.

Roselle had mentioned in his diary that he intended to place that Card of Blasphemy inside a very valuable book, making it impossible for anyone to imagine that the most valuable thing in that book was actually an inconspicuous bookmark… Mm, then which of these books is very valuable?

Klein recalled the details of the diary entry and used them to eliminate possibilities.

The Glorious Era—unlikely…

History of the Intis Kingdom—unlikely…

Geography of the Northern Continent—somewhat possible, but not very likely…

Principles for the Improvement of Steam Machinery—same…

Klein swept his gaze across them one by one. Suddenly, his eyes stopped on the stack of manuscripts he had first seen.

Those manuscripts recorded Earth objects that Roselle had wanted to invent but had lacked the conditions to create.

There was likewise a bookmark tucked inside them, and on it was drawn Roselle wearing imperial robes.