Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 634 - Red Butterfly in the Rain
Chapter 634: Chapter 634: Red Butterfly in the Rain
Chapter 634: Chapter 634: Red Butterfly in the Rain
By Thursday morning, Shard had woken up to the sound of rain tapping against the windows. Wearing his slippers, he pulled open the curtains to see the calm Tobesk morning now draped in a light rain:
“Autumn rain, looks like it’s going to get cooler.”
Compared to the relatively prolonged summer, Tobesk’s autumn was quite brief. Once the Month of Harvest passed, it felt as though half of autumn had passed too. The countryside folks would think about storing food for the winter and consider their income sources during the colder season, while city-dwelling detectives would have to give some thought to whether or not to use the fireplace in the living room on the second floor.
Though the residents of Saint Delan Square enjoyed centralized steam heating, a fireplace was still essential for a comfortable winter.
“However, I need to install an iron fence in front of the fireplace, or it would be disastrous if Mia ran into it.”
Thinking this, he touched the cat cradled in his arms, which was lazily sprawled in Shard’s embrace. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but Shard always felt that the cats just out of sleep were softer than usual.
With this in mind, he poked Mia’s belly, which caused the cat to ignore Shard for the entirety of breakfast.
Shard had no plans to visit Midshire Fort this morning. After breakfast, he took his umbrella, and with a reluctant Mia, left home for Feather Quill Street.
After knocking on Dorothy’s rented apartment’s door, the landlady reluctantly let him in only after seeing Mia wrapped in a coat with only her head exposed to protect her from the rain.
Shard also politely packed away his umbrella, placed it in the stand behind the door, wiped his shoes clean on the mat, and then climbed the stairs.
“Oh, Shard, good morning, I hope you’re not bringing bad news with your early visit this time,” Dorothy teased with a smile—she appeared to have no intention of leaving home today, thus wore her casual clothes.
She was in a blue fabric dress that resembled the attire of a noble family’s governess. On the front of the upper half, there were two rows of decorative silver buttons arranged vertically, which must have been the style for this fall.
“I heard that Lecia visited you yesterday morning?”
“Yes, she took the opportunity of Princess Angelina going out and came to my place. We talked about the ‘Sleeping’ Spirit Rune.”
Shard sat on the couch, accepting the teacup the blonde girl offered, who then took a seat on the couch opposite him:
“Angelina went to the palace? I didn’t know about this, I just heard Lecia mention she’d be coming over to see you on Tuesday morning.”
“Lecia and Angelina seem to have a good relationship, almost seeming closer than with her other siblings.”
“There’s a reason for that.”
Dorothy winked at Shard but didn’t expound on the specific reason:
“So, Detective, what did you come here for? Is there some trouble you need to sort out?”
Shard took out the brass butterfly pendant from his pocket, split it into two parts, and explained what he knew about the “Twin Gods” rumors and his experiences in Midshire Fort.
This was quite a lengthy tale, and Shard tried to keep it concise, discussing everything from the Bard at Sicarl Inn up to Professor Manning last night, which took a good ten minutes.
Meanwhile, Dorothy examined the two halves of the Red Butterfly Pendant, only laughing and shaking her head after Shard finished,
“Lecia and I have thought of many methods, but none can solve our problem of not seeing each other. Yes, we truly tried everything.”
She didn’t seem to believe that their issue could be easily resolved:
“At first, after swapping bodies, we communicated through diaries. Later, as our curiosity towards each other grew, we decided that we had to meet at least once… Though it feels not long ago, it also seems such a distant memory.”
She spoke with a hint of melancholy.
“So, have you ever sought the help of the Old God ‘Twin Gods’?”
“No.”
The blonde girl shook her head.
“Well, let’s try it. I’ll soon find the address Lecia left me, and have Princess Angelina’s Maid take half of the Red Butterfly to Yordle Palace. At ten, you and I will head there with an umbrella, and Luviya can stand at the window looking at us. Then, you two can try making eye contact to see if it works.”
Shard, having taken the Red Butterfly that Dorothy put back together, separated it again and handed half to her, placing the other half in his own pocket:
“Don’t refuse now, I need to tell Lecia the results of the investigation she entrusted me with in Midshire Fort, and I’ll send the letter and this half of the Red Butterfly with it.”
Seeing Shard insisting, Dorothy gave him a tender smile:
“Alright then.”
She seemed not particularly enthusiastic, and Shard understood, likely because all previous attempts had failed, and she was weary of further disappointment.
“Let’s go back to Saint Delan Square together. I’ll deliver the letter while you keep an eye on Mia at my place; then we can head to Silver Cross Avenue when it’s time.”
Shard handed Dorothy the cat curled up in his arms.
“Why did you bring her out?”
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Mia looked pitifully at Shard from Dorothy’s arms, evidently unwilling to leave him while outside the house.
“Always staying home, it’s good to get out once in a while; I’m planning on taking it to the mountains after the situation in Midshire Fort stabilizes. This cat always likes to bully its own kind; maybe I can find a tiger in the mountains to adjust its temper.”
“I bet you wouldn’t dare let Mia get eaten by a tiger,”
Dorothy said with a smile, holding the cat that didn’t want to leave Shard:
“Speaking of which, why haven’t you bought it from your client yet?”
“Miss Gawder is seriously ill; how could I possibly bring it up?”
Shard sighed:
“Let’s wish her health. If she really is seriously ill, after the affairs in Midshire Fort are settled, I’ll personally make a trip to her hometown. Taking the train from Midshire Fort is much faster than from Tobesk.”
“Why wait for the affairs in Midshire Fort to be settled?”
Dorothy asked suspiciously:
“I’ve heard you say there are big troubles in Midshire Fort, but what does that have to do with you… wait a minute, Shard, you’re not going to do something dangerous again, are you?”
Shard hurriedly shook his head:
“Don’t worry, I’m just investigating some matters there. At least for now, I have no specific plans in mind.”
“That’s for the best, although I hope you can become the so-called hero…”
This was the first time she had addressed Shard in such a manner.
“…but I wouldn’t want to hear in a few days that you have also solved the problems in Midshire Fort City.”
“Those matters there, I’m afraid, won’t be settled in just a few days.”
Shard murmured to himself, then heard her light laughter once more.
The rain was not heavy, but it seemed like it would continue all day. Dorothy, holding Mia, went first to No. 6 Saint Delan Square, while Shard, with an umbrella, stepped through the mud puddles on his way to “Mary Jane’s Flower Shop” along Silver Cross Avenue.
Although it was his first visit, someone greeted him as soon as he walked in:
“Mr. Hamilton.”
After confirming the other party was Princess Angelina’s maid, Shard gave her the letter and the half butterfly, and the maid immediately got changed to go into Yordle Palace.
Shard later found out that actually everyone in the entire flower shop was Princess Angelina’s maid.
It was nearly ten o’clock when Shard went home, had a cup of tea, and chatted with Dorothy about her “Hamilton Detective Stories.” She mentioned wanting to adapt his investigation from yesterday’s murder case at the Academy into a story, and then they went out again.
This time, Mia had hidden earlier on top of the wardrobe in the bedroom; no matter how Shard called, it wouldn’t come down. The cat already hated going out, especially in the rain. Having been tempted by bacon meat in the morning, then caught and taken outside, it would likely think twice before snatching food from Shard’s hand for a long time.
According to Shard’s understanding of the cat, “a long time” would probably last an entire afternoon.
Dorothy was still not in high spirits, and she chatted intermittently with Shard as they walked with umbrellas along Silver Cross Avenue.
The rain drizzled down, leaving the normally bustling Silver Cross Avenue with few pedestrians. Only when carriages rushed by did they splash little splashes of water towards the sidewalk.
Because they timed it well, when the two crossed the street opposite Yordle Palace around ten o’clock, Shard and Dorothy lifted their umbrellas slightly backwards, and turned their heads towards the tallest building in Yordle Palace.
The main building of Yordle Palace was a distance from the street, and looking through the rain curtain towards the windows was a bit blurry. But both were accurately able to spot the striking red hair at the window on the third floor on the left; Shard squinted and faintly noticed another shorter redhead next to her.
“How is it?”
Shard asked Dorothy eagerly, but didn’t expect the blond Miss Writer to freeze there, keeping her head turned towards the rain curtain.
“What’s wrong?”
Dorothy shook her head, her left hand tightly clutching the Red Butterfly Pendant with only half a wing, and tossed her umbrella to the ground.
She turned around, lifted her head, her eyes slightly red, standing blankly in the rain looking towards the window of Yordle Palace. The rain soaked her blond hair and shoulders, water sliding down her pale cheeks.
Shard was not sure if it was the rain or tears.
Avoiding a fast-moving rental carriage, when its splashes hit Shard’s boots, he bent down to pick up the umbrella nearly blown away by the wind, then stood behind Dorothy to shield her from the rain, staring together at Yordle Palace under the gloomy sky.
The rainy day in Tobesk seemed like a faded oil painting, left only with black and grey. But those Red Butterfly Pendants, with only half a wing, seemed like the only color in this monochrome scene.
He understood now, the Red Butterfly Pendant that Old John randomly made based on that folk song or poem was effective.
He understood even more, in that building in the distance, by the window, another girl was watching them, watching Dorothy, also shedding tears.
“Joy? Relief? Or some other emotion?”
Shard didn’t know and couldn’t guess. He felt good at the moment, quietly standing behind Dorothy with an umbrella, only thinking that folklore and history are really interesting.
