“What is it specifically?” Lumian was both excited and worried.
After the lady took a sip of the special drink of “Venus Holy Oil”, she replied in an unhurried manner:
“That needs to be asked of yourself.”
After finishing speaking, she lowered her head slightly, concentrated on enjoying her breakfast, and made the gesture of no longer communicating.
Really, why do you always say half hide, half wait until next time to answer? Isn’t this a waste of everyone’s time? At this moment, Lumian actually felt that he was inferior to the other party for provoking anger.
He controlled his breathing rate, stood up with a smile, said goodbye, and left.
For the next whole day, Lumian stayed at home peacefully and did not go out.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of the owl or that he didn’t have anything to do, but that he was performing for some people.
—— He was very curious about the help letter in the hands of Liya and others and wanted to find out what was written in it and who wrote it. Books: find the one with some words cut off. As a villager in this village, Lumian is definitely more suitable for doing these things than Ryan, Lia, and Valentine, but he is worried that he will start doing some research right after talking with the three outlanders, which will attract some attention and lead to unnecessary blows.
This kind of matter is likely to involve life and death, existence and extinction. Even with Aurora’s protection, Lumian can’t guarantee that the other party will not take any risky actions against him.
In the past two years, he has become more and more able to grasp the corresponding scale in “pranks”.
This comes from a wealth of experience.
He planned to spend a few days after the start of Lent and then use the pretext of pursuing the legends related to the celebration to “visit” every household.
When it was dark after dinner, Aurora went back to her bedroom to write a long-delayed manuscript.
Lumian went into the study, intending to find some books related to “dreams”, hoping to get some special inspiration for himself in the dream.
Because there is only one battery-powered desk lamp in the house, which is now requisitioned by Aurora, he can only light kerosene lamps that smell heavy and are not good for lighting.
Holding the kerosene lamp emitting a dim yellow light, Lumian quickly slid across the backs of books with his other hand and sometimes took out a book and put it under his armpit.
After a while, he returned to the table with the three selected books.
Just as he put away his things, Lumian saw the little blue book at home.
It was quietly placed on the corner of the desk as usual, and there seemed to be a bit of dust on the grey-blue cover.
Seeing the little blue book, Lumian instantly thought of the one he got in the ruins of the dream, the one where the words were cut out and put together into a letter for help.
He immediately stretched out his palm, picked up the little blue book in front of him, and planned to flip through the contents to see which words were suitable for cutting out and spelling into useful sentences.
After turning a few pages, Lumian’s eyes froze.
There is a glaring void in the explanatory words attached to the current calendar page.
A word was cut off!
“No way…” Lumian was extremely shocked.
He quickly flipped through the little blue book in his hand and found the traces left after a dozen or twenty words were cut out.
“No way…” Lumian whispered again, almost with the same reaction as before.
The little blue book that Ryan, Leah, Valentine, and the others were looking for was actually the one in their own home!
Not to mention them, even Lumian himself didn’t expect such a development!
Never thought about it!
Amidst the indescribable complexity of emotions, Lumian frowned:
“Could it be the letter for help written by Aurora?
“Why did she ask for help? Why did she ask the authorities for help? Why didn’t she tell me?”
He preliminarily judged from details such as the behaviour style of Liya and the others, their habitual choice of consulting with the priest of the church when they first arrived, that they should be official people, perhaps from the government, or perhaps belonged to the “Eternal Blazing Sun” church in the Darliege area. Or the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.
Lumian hesitated, his expression constantly changing.
Finally, he made up his mind, took the little blue book, walked out of the study, and went outside Aurora’s bedroom.
He was going to ask directly.
He chose to believe in Aurora.
Dong, dong, dong, Lumian bent his fingers and knocked on the door.
“Please come in.” Aurora’s voice came out.
Lumian turned the handle, pushed the door open, and entered. He saw Aurora in two-piece cotton pyjamas wearing a headband with her blond hair tied up under the bright light of the desk lamp, writing a story.
“Did you cut this out?” Lumian walked over without waiting for her sister to ask.
“Huh?” Aurora turned around suspiciously; her eyes were dazed and drawn away, as if she were still a little immersed in the story.
Lumian handed over the little blue book that had been turned to the corresponding page number, stared into Aurora’s eyes, and said:
“Didn’t you cut this?”
Aurora looked carefully for a few seconds, then raised her head laughingly.
“I would be so boring and childish?
“Your sister, I am stable, mature, and generous, which is different from you.”
Aurora’s reaction was very natural. There was no surprise or panic when the secret was suddenly exposed, not at all. Lumian didn’t hide his doubts and asked:
“But who will cut the words on the little blue book?”
“Isn’t it you?” Aurora looked at his younger brother and said, “After reading my novel, I plan to imitate the content on it, cut out words from books and newspapers, spell them into kidnapping letters, and play a big prank in the village. Before that, try to see if you can fool me. Are you testing my reasoning ability, sister?”
It’s really not like what Auror did… Lumian’s gaze was on Auror’s face all the time, not letting go of any slight changes in expression, and her sister showed no problem at all.
“It’s not me.” Lumian frowned. “Who would have done it?”
Aurora smiled:
“You play the reasoning game first; I still have to rush the draught.
“If I’m free tomorrow, I’ll help you restore the truth.”
With extraordinary means? Lumian let out a “hmm” and stopped disturbing her sister’s creation.
He took the little blue book, went straight back to his unlit room, and sat down on the chair behind the desk.
“Who is the one?”
Under the light of the red moon in the sky, Lumian muttered again.
He tries to reason:
“There are only two of us in our family, and Aurora is still a wizard with extraordinary abilities, and she won’t let others make trouble at home…
“If it’s really not her, according to what she said, after eliminating all the impossible, what remains is the truth, no matter how unbelievable it is.
“So, in the case of choosing one of the two, I actually did this?”
All of a sudden, Lumian found it ridiculous and amusing.
So the “criminal” is myself?
I do not know how.
He couldn’t help turning his body sideways, looking at the full-length mirror attached to the wardrobe.
In the crimson moonlight, Lumian in the mirror was wearing a linen shirt and brown trousers. His handsome features didn’t show the slightest smile, and his expression was extremely heavy.
He was pretty sure that he hadn’t done anything to cut out the contents of the little blue book.
To this end, he even recalled his own experience in the past month.
Although many details have been blurred, he is still very sure about what he did in general.
Bathed in the light of the red moon seeping through the window, Lumian said silently to himself:
“Did I do it when I was unconscious?
“While having that dream, the real me can sleepwalk.”
“No, it’s impossible. Aurora said that she would look at me. If I really want to sleepwalk and cut the little blue book, she will point it out right now. Moreover, the letter must be sent during the day. I was very awake at those times.”
Lumian ruled himself out and thought about other possibilities.
“Maybe someone else from the family?”
Although there are usually no guests in their house, that does not mean that there are no guests at all.
First of all, there will be poorer neighbours around to borrow stoves, bake bacon, or make bread.
Secondly, Lumian’s friends would come to his house from time to time, go to the study to find some novels with simple words to read, or listen to him tell stories.
In the end, the few ladies, Naaraiza and Mrs. Pouaris, occasionally came to visit and chat with Aurora. Among them, Mrs. Pouaris came the most and lent a pony to Aurora. So that Auror can run freely in the mountains, the relationship between the two is considered good.
After all, in a country like Kordu Village, only writers like Aurora are worthy of Mrs. Puares’ association.
However, Mrs. Pouaris is very friendly on the surface. She often sits and chats with the women of Naroka in the sun, and she even helps them catch lice. She has a pretty good reputation in the village.
Although Mrs. Puares and Aurora are barely friends, Lumian doesn’t like her at all because she often introduces one of her relatives to Aurora and persuades her to get married and have children early.
Mrs. Puares’s relatives are fine if they are good people, but every time Lumian goes to Da Liege to inquire, he can find that the target is either misbehaving or incapable, and they are almost reduced to the poor class. There is no one who is good.
It may have been a coincidence once, but every time it happened, Lumián hated Mrs. Puares.
“It’s definitely impossible for those who come to bacon and bake bread. They are watched every time, and they won’t be allowed to go up to the second floor. Raymond, Ava, and the others are also impossible. I will accompany you all the way. Mrs. Pouaris These ladies, Nalayiza, have a certain chance. Every time she comes, Auror will leave them to read in the study and prepare snacks by herself.
“If Mrs. Pouaris is really a witch, then it is understandable that she needs to conceal her identity when she seeks help from the authorities. Moreover, she is very cautious when using other people’s little blue books so as not to be traced back to herself.
“What did she discover when she was having an affair with the priest, and she must protect herself in this way?”
The more Lumian thought about it, the more excited he became, and he felt like he was about to lock down the suspect.
He stood up, paced a few steps, and suddenly walked downstairs.
He didn’t intend to question Mrs. Pouaris, nor did he intend to spy on the other party’s actions now, but he was going to find Raymond or the little Guillaume of the Berry family and borrow their little blue book for comparison. Restore which words were cut off and what kinds of sentences can be spelled.
In this way, Lumian is likely to restore the specific content of the help letter.
He stomped downstairs, through the kitchen, and opened the door.
The crimson darkness outside poured in, making him calm down instantly.
“Uh, my sister said, don’t go out after dark until you find out what’s going on with that owl.” Lumian mumbled, took two steps back, and closed the door.
Anyway, there is no rush to borrow the little blue book; it will be more natural to do it tomorrow.
After moving his body, Lumian walked towards the stairs.
Jingle bell, jingle bell.
The doorbell rang, and the sound echoed.
“Who is it?” Lumian turned around and asked doubtfully as he walked towards the gate.
There was a slightly soft, magnetic voice from outside the door:
“It is I, Puaris de Roquefort.”