Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 362 - 73 Telephone_1

Chapter 362: Chapter 73 Telephone_1

"Quite impatient, aren’t we, Lord Cruel?" A soothing, elegant voice echoed, soon after Lord Cruel announced the start. "Didn’t you want to wait for everyone to assemble first?"

The guests, who had sworn numerous times that they would never be surprised again, were caught off guard once more. Not because of the sudden voice, but because it had risen from the center of the gathering area. As the voice echoed in the crowd, a small cluster quickly dispersed, revealing the person who had spoken from the center.

The speaker was a middle-aged nobleman wearing a pair of black boots polished to a mirror-like shine. His black trousers, embroidered with golden stripes along the sides, were met at the top by a black, long-tailed coat, its lapel and cuffs adorned with golden buttons. A blooming black Mandarava Flower was pinned on his chest, and underneath his coat, he wore a white shirt, ensuring that the purple tie around his neck stood out. A black top hat sat on his head, a pair of pure white gloves covered his hands, one grasping a cane with a metallic top. The nobleman walked past the crowd in a relaxed yet deliberate pace, characteristic of the nobility, leaving behind a few shocked companions who had shared a friendship of at least five years with him. These companions had come to the City of Innocence with their trusting friend to enjoy life, but they could not comprehend how their companion’s identities had dramatically changed since their last merry conversation.

The nobleman walked up to the oval dining table, pulled out a chair with a warm smile, delicately wiped it with a light blue silk handkerchief, then carefully placed another one on the seat before leisurely sitting down. Maintaining an elegant posture, he murmured in a measured tone: "It’s been a while, esteemed Captains."

"So, Lord Elegance is here too," Mad, his right elbow resting on the table and his hand supporting his chin, responded, his gaze directed at Elegance. "What a surprise."

"Why would I miss such an important event?" Every gesture, every syllable from Elegance was drenched in elegance. "My sincerest apologies for the delay. But, according to the time stated in my invitation, which is ten o’clock, I arrived right on the stroke of ten. As punctuality is the virtue of a gentleman, I believe I am not late."

Each time Elegance would speak, the pupils of every single captain would shrink marginally. To a thief, mystery is the biggest adversary. An enemy with a known identity and perceived strengths and weaknesses can be targeted, but one whose identity or extent of power is unknown is an exercise in futility.

"Has Lord Suspicion still not arrived?" Elegance inquired, appearing unaware of the undercurrents.

"We’re assuming Lord Suspicion will not be attending," replied a few captains who, though cautious of Elegance, were not swayed by his presence, given their legendary status. While Elegance’s sophistication had seemingly inflected the other guests, these captains remained unaffected. Indulgence was still cuddling with Amorous, quietly suggesting, "So, I think we can pretty much start now."

"Alright, if that’s what Lord Indulgence insists on." Elegance nodded gracefully, maintaining the same amplitude with each nod as if measured with a ruler, "Then I shall await your performance."

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"Elegance has indeed made an appearance," Suspicion, with a twitch in the corner of his eyes, murmured, " So everyone indeed made it."

"Would you guys stop messing with that for now?" Pannis requested, pinching his nose bridge in frustration, "Focus on the content first."

"But this thing... it can transmit sound," Lina responded, curiosity gleaming in her eyes, "What is this exactly?"

"It’s a communication device," Vivian explained, "an invention of the goblins. The material in the interior structure is extremely rare and not replicable. Some of its parts are fragile and can only preserve under a specific environment. We only knew about three sets of the device, and we have found the fourth set here."

"Shh!" Catherine seized the device and held it in her hand while rushing towards the meeting place. While listening to the sounds coming through, she suggested, "The sound quality isn’t very good, so try not to talk and listen closely. I can’t figure out why Indulgence and Passion prepared this device."

"My name is Joseph, and I belonged to Lord Suspicion. Three months ago, Lord Suspicion instructed me to start assembling basic necessities in a designated spot outside the guild’s underground base," a voice came through.

"Knowing they’d go for you first is why you were so eager to hide." Outside the meeting place, several people halted and looked at Suspicion, "Are we going in now?"

"No rush." Suspicion’s expression remained inscrutable as he shook his head, "Let’s listen first."

"That’s why, when I couldn’t find any trace of the cult, I started suspecting the place where I was accumulating the supplies." Over the communicator, Joseph’s voice maintained steady, revealing countless rehearsals, "I should not have doubted Lord Suspicion, but this matter was too suspicious. A month and a half ago, a new batch of supplies needed to be delivered. I followed the transporters into the sewer and, sure enough, spotted the cult members receiving the supplies and them silencing the transporters."

"Everyone here knows that I was a member of the Guild, with fairly reliable professional skills, and by chance, I wasn’t discovered by those cultists. After I returned, I thought it over for a while and felt that I couldn’t keep it a secret anymore, so I decided to report this to the Guild leaders."

"Why?" Passion’s response was very brief, and the remaining part was supplemented by Indulgence, "She’s asking why you feel you cannot keep this a secret anymore? What made you betray those who protected you?"

"Because I want to survive, I’ve just turned sixty-seven, I haven’t lived enough." Even through the very poor quality of the call, Joseph’s sincerity could be heard, "If this continues, after the incident is over, Lord Suspicion will definitely want to silence me, I can only save myself."

"A reasonable decision." Elegance’s voice, full of charm and grace, came from the call, "Completely understandable."

"But, the timing is off." A voice for the first time spoke up, a very ordinary voice, as unremarkable as a passerby, "If we go by what you said, this meeting should have been a month and a half ago, what made you delay until now?"

"That is Curiosity." Outside the meeting room, Suspicion explained, "He seems like an innocent and curious child, but in fact, he understands all this. Besides Elegance, whose strength is unknown, he is the most powerful among us in combat, be careful if you have to confront him."

"I really don’t know why." Joseph’s voice remained steady, speaking without panic, "In order to survive, I reported these pieces of information to the two lords responsible for investigating this matter at the earliest possible time, both of whom promised me they would ensure my safety and investigate the matter. But not long after, I realized something was wrong. Lord Suspicion seemed to know about my betrayal, and began to deliberately undermine my power in the gambling sector, and several of his underlings who were closer to me have gone missing."

"As expected, the next step is to launch an attack on the two of them." Suspicion looked at the dark call device and sneered, "Unexpectedly, the ordinarily mild-mannered Joseph is quite brave."

"Perhaps that’s because he has others backing him up." Catherine, who had been waiting impatiently outside the venue, was naturally repulsed by this kind of deception and trickery, though she understood it somewhat due to her education. She very much wanted to stay away from it, "Can’t we go in yet?"

"If you truly don’t mind being used by the two of them and don’t want to disrupt their plans, then keep waiting outside." Suspicion answered, "If you want to take this opportunity to take revenge on them, go in right now."

"I do mind," Catherine said, "but, I’m not up to the point of seeking revenge on them."

"Then let’s wait a little longer." Pannis comforted Catherine, "Since Indulgence and Passion gave us this thing to listen to, they’d probably left the timing of our entry to us. Hehe, it’s quite unthinkable for the leader of the Shadow Hand to leave victory or defeat to you."

"You don’t need to pacify me." Catherine scoffed, "I know those two guys are trying to curry favor. I..."

Before Catherine could finish her sentence, the call came back on.

"The implication in your words, are you accusing us two?" Indulgence’s voice still sounds as tantalising as ever, but there’s a chilling murderous intent hidden beneath the charm, "What you’re saying is, we suppressed the news and revealed it to Suspicion? Or are you trying to say, we’ve been in league with Suspicion from the beginning, consorting with the cultists?"

"Why in such a hurry, Lady Indulgence." Lord Cruel’s voice audibly reveling in the scandal, "The fact that there hasn’t been any progress in your two’s investigation over the last month speaks for itself."

"Is that so, you think?" The voice of Indulgence was full of provocation, "It’s a pity, we two have been casting our net, and very soon it’ll be time to pull it in."

"Who will prove it?" Lord Cruel’s voice didn’t betray any hint of anger, "Take your word for it?"

"That is indeed an interesting question," Indulgence laughed behind her hand, feigning surprise, "When has proof become a standard in City of Innocence?"

"Haha, there’s no need for proof." Lord Cruel’s laughter took on a sinister turn, his voice dropped to a deep timbre, "Forgot to tell you something, you know the thing in the sewer known as Nightmare Puppet, right? Someone activated it, and by chance, one of my underlings ran into it. He had to run for days to barely escape from it. Oh, forgot to mention, while escaping the puppet, he thought he saw the Nightmare Puppet chasing after a four-person team in the distance. I’m unsure if that small team could survive under the puppet’s attack." (To be continued. If you like this story, I invite you to come to qidian.com and cast your recommendation vote, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read on m.qidian.com.)