Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 617 - 617 136

617: 136.

Princess Roland 617: 136.

Princess Roland Lilia had no idea that the matter had already been resolved.

Still worried that the Hales Gang would come for revenge, she only took all her money, things related to her family, and some clothes before boarding a carriage and leaving.

Although her bloodline hailed from glorious lands, time was enough to erode everything; Lilia was merely a proud old woman inside.

That pride had also ruined her life—her beauty in her younger years had set her sights too high, preventing her from continuing her bloodline.

In the carriage, Lilia spoke reflectively of past stories and showed Lu Li the faded black-and-white photo in the frame she had placed on the dining table earlier, which depicted her own beauty in youth.

Of course, she was now left with age spots, wrinkles, and cloudy eyes.

“Would you still like me if I became old, too?”

Anna’s icy demeanor always melted when it came to matters involving Lu Li.

From outside the carriage curtains, she quietly asked the question to Lu Li sitting beside her.

“You won’t grow old.”

The pale lips beneath the cloak curved: “So, do you like me?”

Lu Li didn’t answer.

Before returning to the inn, they first entered a restaurant.

After Lu Li indicated that he had enough money, Lilia still only ordered a serving of lamb.

Lu Li ordered two more steaks and a vegetable salad.

The latter was even more expensive than the steak and was available in limited supply, with each table of guests allowed only one serving.

“How well-done would you like your steak, sir?

Would you like any seasonings on it?” the waiter asked.

“Well-done.”

If contracting parasites were troublesome—although it’s still uncertain whether the parasites still exist.

Many omnivorous scavengers were still alive, like rats and crows.

“What?”

The waiter was taken aback and, after coming to his senses, apologized and walked away somewhat perplexedly.

The upper class was accustomed to eating undercooked steak, usually between 50 to 70 percent cooked, believing that this made the meat most succulent and delicious.

Let alone the fact that a segment of the nobility always preferred the “original taste” of food, to the point where they wished to barely sear the steak over charcoal before serving it.

The well-done steak would take some time, so the lamb and vegetable salad were served first, with their covers removed.

Rather than the lamb she had ordered, Lilia favored the vegetable salad more, slowing down only after eating nearly half of it, then politely took out her handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth and asked, “Mr.

Exorcist, could you tell me something about Princess Roland?”

“You may call me Lu Li.”

Lu Li replied, calmly stating, “The long years have caused her to lose many memories.

What I know is only her current situation and the cause of her past death.”

The latter was the very spark that ignited the war, and the mystery of Princess Roland’s disappearance.

Historians had analyzed the causes of that war.

Some scholars believed that the opposition within the Arlen Kingdom had ambushed the convoy escorting Princess Roland, while others thought that the people of the Old Duchy of Saint Mark resisted the marriage alliance, so the attendant, who was also dissatisfied with the marriage, had rescued and helped Princess Roland escape.

“Did my ancestor… the Princess disappear because of betrayal by the Arlen Kingdom guards?” Lilia couldn’t help but get excited, drawing the attention of several tables around them.

Lu Li shook his head gently: “She was swallowed by the swamp.”

“The swamp…”

Lilia whispered softly.

She clearly knew that history; Princess Roland had disappeared on her way to the Ailen Peninsula, which happened to be along the Marsh Road…

“Was she harmed by someone?” Lilia asked.

“It was an accident.

She stepped into the marsh while fleeing.”

Lilia lost her appetite again.

If Princess Roland had died accidentally just to avoid a marriage alliance…

the consequence of her willful action was the ruin of her family and nation, with hundreds of thousands dying as a result.

Lilia should resent her.

But paradoxically, she found it difficult to blame Princess Roland for being in the wrong.

As a descendant, she should resent Princess Roland, who had personally led her nation and family to burial; the sufferings borne by later generations all stemmed from the choices of this noble girl.

As a woman, Lilia understood and agreed with Princess Roland’s choice.

If her younger self had been forced to marry a man she did not know, she would have made the same decision.

Was this a stubbornness that came from their bloodline?

Lilia thought complexly.

After a long while, she slowly asked, “You mentioned her domain before, is the princess very powerful now…?”

“She is an Evil God in the bizarre system, the Lord of the Southern Shadow Swamp,” Lu Li said.

“Divinity…”

The title “Evil God” would subconsciously associate them with divinities in the minds of ordinary people.

To some extent, they were similar, only not omniscient and omnipotent like the gods of legend.

And devoid of the gratuitous benevolence towards humanity.

The steak was served at the table, and Lilia, having lost her appetite, just ate a few more pieces of the vegetable salad, leaving the lamb and steak untouched.

After finishing his steak, Lu Li had the remainder packed to take away and took a carriage back to the inn.

After renting the room next door to settle Lilia, Lu Li and Anna returned to their room.

There were five hours left before the evening gathering, and Lu Li casually flipped through a few books that Lilia had previously thrust into his hands.

“The History of the Duchy of Saint Mark,” “Glorious Toya Aargon,” and an ancient book in perfect condition, with the name Duke Adela inscribed.

He turned to the title page, and a line of faded, elegant script emerged.

“Even if the flowers wither, people will remember their beauty—To my beloved daughter, Roland Toya Aargon.”

This book, or journal, was written by Duke Adela after the Mother of the Marsh vanished and the war began.

Turning the pages silently, most of what was recorded inside were memories of the Mother of the Marsh.

Her childhood anecdotes; the first time she went to Arlen Kingdom at the age of thirteen and stunned all the nobility; the precious agate bracelet personally collected and made by the grand craftsman; the streets packed with crowds and flowers whenever she went out…

Princess Roland was indeed the treasure of the entire Duchy of Saint Mark.

After her disappearance, the furious Duke Adela declared war on Arlen Kingdom, and countless civilians, armed with hoes and dry food, voluntarily joined the large army set to attack Arlen Kingdom.

It made Lu Li wonder whether the fact that the Mother of the Marsh became an Evil God and regained her humanity centuries later had anything to do with their contributions—the seed of devotion from millions of countrymen buried deep in the heart of the Mother of the Marsh, awakened by Lu Li.

Duke Adela frequently wrote in the journal.

The progress of the war alternated with memories of his daughter.

What was sad was that history was predetermined.

This journal could more keenly make one feel Duke Adela’s sorrow and despair.

As the pages turned one by one, Duke Adela’s handwriting became increasingly scrawled and disorderly.

The lands initially occupied were taken back by Arlen Kingdom’s allied forces one after another, to the point where the homeland was invaded in a counteroffensive.

The memories of Princess Roland were also pushed forward gradually, until the very last page.

As Arlen Kingdom’s army reached outside the palace, these last memories written by Duke Adela in the last stage of his life also returned to the day Princess Roland was born.

This was the final sentence.

“When she came into this world, the entire Duchy of Saint Mark was shouting her name, Roland…”