Chapter 33: A Strange Omen

Chapter Thirty-Three
A Strange Omen

After Alan and Talim each filled out the recommendation forms, they left Cragg Club. It was not the weekend. One of them still had two surgeries that afternoon, while the other had to teach the youngest son of Viscount Conrad horsemanship, doing everything possible to ensure that the newly adult young man would not lose face during Backlund’s social season in the second half of the year.

Klein watched the footmen in red waistcoats and the lovely maids in fine dresses come and go several times before he finally received his own proof of membership and a badge engraved with the symbol of the White Frost constellation.

“The initiation fee is fifty pounds. Since there are three and a half months left this year, the annual fee is four pounds,” the footman in the red waistcoat said, pushing the two items in front of Klein.

Klein took out the fifty-seven pounds in cash Mary Gale had given him and counted fifty-four pounds for the other party.

The amount beyond the initiation and annual fees was the first payment Mary had given him. She was very satisfied that Klein had so quickly learned who Dragor Gale’s mistress was and even taken a photograph of her.

A fifty-pound initiation fee… Madam Mary really is a generous lady.

As Klein watched the footman and maid verify the authenticity of the notes and confirm the total, he thought of what Stelyn Sammer had told him privately.

Mary’s father had been one of the co-founders of Cowim Company and held twenty percent of its shares. Originally, it had been only a small company, barely earning any money. But as Backlund’s pollution worsened, demand for smokeless coal and charcoal grew, and Cowim Company rapidly expanded and became one of the top ten companies in that industry in the capital region. Mary’s net worth had soared with it.

The only problem was that when she married Dragor Gale, the company had still been obscure. When her father made the shares part of her dowry, he had not attached great importance to them. He had not used “property-gift protection,” instead adopting the more popular method of “testamentary return.”

The former meant that the dowry existed as independent and separate property belonging to the woman. Ownership did not belong to the man, and even usage rights depended on the woman’s mood. The latter folded the dowry into the family’s total property, but required the man to establish a valid will. If he died before his spouse, then when the estate was divided, his wife would first be paid benefits equal to two to four times the value of her dowry before the normal laws of inheritance were applied. This effectively guaranteed a widow’s livelihood.

If Mary sued for divorce before obtaining evidence that Dragor had betrayed the marriage, Cowim Company’s shares would be divided equally between both parties.

Klein remembered that Stelyn had said with unconcealed envy at the time, “Those shares alone are currently worth close to twenty thousand gold pounds. Add in her other properties, and Mary is a genuinely wealthy lady. Once she divorces, she will absolutely become the object of pursuit for many men in Backlund. Among them, perhaps even some nobles will be included.”

That amount is only enough for Miss Justice to assassinate Ambassador Bakerland twice…

Klein suddenly drew that association, then saw the red-waistcoated footman and the rather good-looking maid bow to him.

“Mr. Moriarty, welcome to Cragg Club.”

Only after hearing those words did Klein pick up the membership proof and the White Frost badge before him.

The former was made of stiff paper with excellent elasticity, like a card. It bore Klein’s name and the date of membership.

Once he pressed the print of his index finger onto it, this membership proof could officially be used.

The latter was Cragg Club’s unique badge. Since the club had been founded at the beginning of November, it corresponded to the White Frost constellation. The front bore the constellation’s symbol and the number “192,” while the back was engraved with “Sherlock Moriarty.”

“Does the club now have one hundred and ninety-two members?” Klein casually asked.

“Yes. Our club does not accept anyone without recommendations,” the red-waistcoated footman introduced with a broad smile. “The first floor has a buffet restaurant, a bar, a library, a squash room, meeting halls, and card rooms. All of them may be used free of charge. Food and alcohol may also be enjoyed free of charge. On the second floor, there are sixteen lounges and two small meeting rooms. Those are also free to use as long as they are available.”

The attractive maid pointed toward the back and said, “There are two tennis courts on the lawn, completely free to use. Underground, there are two shooting ranges. You only need to pay according to the rental fee for the equipment.

“If you are not satisfied with the simple buffet, you may order dishes separately. We have dedicated chefs, and you need pay only for the ingredients.”

Food included, lodging included, entertainment included… As expected of a high-end club…

Klein sincerely thanked Madam Mary in his heart.

He smiled mildly.

“Have someone show me around and familiarize me with the environment. After that, give me a lounge where I may nap.”

“Certainly.”

The red-waistcoated footman made an inviting gesture.

Once he had familiarized himself with Cragg Club’s layout, Klein entered a lounge and carefully studied its arrangement. He discovered that it was close to hotel rooms of later generations, supposedly in the Intis style.

I need to consider how to obtain evidence of Dragor’s affair tomorrow. That camera’s flash is simply impossible to hide… In other words, I have only one chance for a photograph… And doing it that way will definitely get me expelled from the club… I need to think of a safer method… Later, I should go read the newspapers and try to judge the progress of Ian’s incident from the news, then determine which three days require protection…

Klein paced back and forth, sinking into thought.

At that moment, his heart suddenly tightened. His entire body went taut.

Is this the Clown’s premonition? But there are no images in my mind…

Klein felt the air around him grow heavy and stagnant, as though a storm were brewing.

Very quickly, that feeling vanished, as though nothing had happened.

Does this mean danger is about to arrive? But when Meursault attacked me earlier, nothing similar appeared…

Confused, Klein took out a coin and divined whether he would encounter an attack over the next few days.

The answer was negative.

After thinking for several seconds, Klein drew the curtains together, pretended to nap, took four steps counterclockwise, and entered above the gray fog.

He sat down and considered for a long time before silently reciting in a low voice:

“I will encounter great danger in the next few days.”

…

Amid repeated murmuring, he flicked the coin again and watched the brass-colored object tumble through the air before landing in his spread palm.

This time, the king’s portrait faced up.

That meant affirmation.

My reaction just now really was an omen of approaching danger…

Klein narrowed his eyes slightly and leaned back against the chair.

He was quite puzzled by the matter.

Whether as a Seer or as a Clown, his abilities had never displayed anything like this before. Even when he could foresee danger, it had always been because the target was directly before him or nearby.

There was no one around me…

Judging from the fact that my divination results were interfered with and misled, this matter definitely involves a comparatively high-Sequence individual. There is a great chance it is Bakerland’s assistant… Yet in the end, it instead triggered my foresight? That is not scientific—no, that is not mystical…

There must be some other factor hidden here, only I cannot yet figure out what it is…

Klein looked around. All he saw was boundless gray fog, silent crimson stars, and the ancient palace that seemed unchanged since time immemorial.

He restrained his doubts and temporarily stopped thinking about the reason. Instead, he focused his attention on the attack that was about to come.

After several more rounds of divination, Klein discovered that he could only confirm that great danger would arrive within the next few days. He could not narrow it down to within three days, within two days, or within five hours.

In other words, he could obtain only a comparatively vague revelation.

In dream divination, he saw Ian. Ian in his old coat, standing on a street, with an elegant gas streetlamp and a blurred red moon behind him.

Apart from that image, there was nothing.

“How should this be interpreted?”

Klein thought for a while and could only believe that it was the prelude to danger.

He did not delay. He immediately returned to the real world, left Cragg Club, and hurried to the nearby Hillston Borough branch of Backlund Bank. There, he withdrew the remaining one hundred gold pounds from his account.

The thousand pounds from Justice had not yet passed through clearing and reconciliation. The corresponding information had not been sent down, and the account situation had not been synchronized. In theory, this created a loophole: Klein could withdraw one hundred pounds, switch to another branch, and withdraw again by taking advantage of the time difference before account synchronization.

But that was only in theory. To prevent such behavior, banks had many regulations concerning anonymous accounts. First, they strengthened communication of similar information within the same city. Second, they limited the size of a single withdrawal, with the maximum not exceeding five hundred pounds. Third, if the last withdrawal record was not local, a telegram had to be sent to inquire. This was precisely the situation Klein encountered today.

After putting away the notes, he took a carriage to the Backlund Bridge area and entered Bravehearts Bar.

Guided by Kaspars, he saw Maric seated inside a card room. The other man’s side was still empty and deserted, with no living corpses surrounding him.

Klein withdrew the thought of wrapping Azik’s copper whistle with spirituality. He slapped the one hundred pounds in cash onto the table and said to the pale-faced Maric, “I agree to the transaction.

“I will pay one hundred pounds in advance. After that, for every day I am protected, I will pay another three hundred pounds.

“The protection begins now.”

Maric’s gaze moved past him to something behind him. He nodded slightly and said, “Fine. She agrees.”

Ah?

Klein turned around in astonishment. He saw only the door, only empty air.

He quietly activated spirit vision, but still discovered nothing.

Maric put the one hundred pounds into his pocket and said indifferently, “You may go back. She has already begun protecting you, in a hidden manner.”

If I had not divined it beforehand, I would definitely think you two were scammers…

Klein looked around, then put on an expression of gritting his teeth and leaving.

Along the way, he sometimes activated spirit vision, sometimes closed it, constantly observing outside the carriage window. Yet he still could not find his so-called bodyguard.

Returning to 15 Minsk Street, Klein closed the door, entered the washroom, turned on the faucet, and washed his hands.

When the splashing water stopped, he shook off the droplets, dried his hands with a towel, and lifted his head to look into the wash mirror, examining his present appearance.

Just then, he saw his reflection suddenly ripple and transform into a woman wearing a black court dress.

The woman had pale-golden hair, blue eyes, an exquisitely beautiful face, and an abnormally pale complexion.

She wore a small black soft hat, lifted the hem of her skirt, bent slightly, and gave Klein a curtsy.

This…

Klein did not conceal his astonishment. He deliberately retreated several steps until his back pressed against the wall.

He had already realized that this might be the bodyguard he had hired for one thousand pounds.

The image in the mirror swiftly darkened. Klein saw himself again, and everything returned to normal.