The carriage came to a stop after a slight jolt. The coachman hopped down deftly and opened the door for the three passengers inside.
Yu Xing stepped out first. The cool night breeze brushed his face, carrying the distinctive damp scent of plants. He looked up. Though he had expected something impressive, the sheer scale of the place still made his eyebrows rise.
This was no ordinary "villa."
It stood on the quiet outskirts of town, surrounded by vast stretches of untended woodland and wasteland that looked pitch-black in the night, lending the grounds an almost desolate privacy.
That was precisely what allowed the estate to sprawl without restraint. A tall wrought-iron fence enclosed the broad grounds. Through the gaps, he could make out the main house in the distance: a hulking structure built of warm-colored stone, with steep roofs, countless chimneys, and wings of varying heights. Under the faint moonlight, it cast vast, somber shadows.
It was less a residence than a small private estate, equipped with everything one could need.
"No wonder..." Yu Xing murmured. Seeing the size of the estate, he instantly understood part of Professor Anthony's reasoning.
In a place this vast, as long as a husband and wife didn't stay together every moment of the day, hiding secrets would be all too easy.
The countless rooms, corridors, separate sitting rooms, and even side parlors all offered natural cover for secret trysts.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Carlos said from beside him. Clearly, this wasn't his first time here; he seemed quite unfazed by its grandeur. "The first time Madam Funair invited me here to investigate, it took me ages just to figure out the layout and all the likely places for 'secret meetings.'"
The maid Masha was already waiting impatiently by the estate's great iron gate, which