The Wind in the Crowd

Old Dunling, outskirts, Phoenix Territory.

As a family that had rendered distinguished service to the nation during the Glorious War, this land near Old Dunling had been granted to the Phoenix Family by the Queen. After generations of development, it had become a hidden and magnificent castle.

For ease of travel, a railway line ran directly to the heart of Old Dunling. Armored trains modified by the Mechanical Institute traveled along it. This was the Phoenix Family's exclusive express train; despite the great distance between the two places, it could arrive in half an hour.

The man stood at the edge of the balcony, gazing toward the horizon with a faint sigh.

He was a typical Inverwig man. His hair had gone gray, but it was combed immaculately. He wore a classic mustache that now seemed somewhat outdated. In his youth, he must have been a gentleman who captivated countless women. Sadly, time had not spared him either, and wrinkles covered his once-handsome face.

When the Phoenix Family had first obtained this land, it had merely been intended as a place to retire. The Duke at the time was not only advanced in age, but his body had also worsened by the day due to wounds from the war. He did not wish to leave Inverwig's center of power, yet he also wanted to find a patch of peaceful land. That was why he had chosen this place.

It truly was a fine place. Unlike Old Dunling, where dark clouds blotted out the sun, this place enjoyed rare sunlight. There were none of the fumes released by burning coal, and the air was fresh. Compared to Old Dunling, it was practically a fairy-tale sanctuary.

Yet as Old Dunling continued to expand over the years, the man could now see the towering Steam Towers at the edge of his sight from the balcony.

That was no good thing. Perhaps in a few decades, those damned dark clouds would cover this land as well.

The man liked sunlight. The longer he stayed in Old Dunling, the more precious something as simple as sunbathing became. And with age, he wanted even more for his descendants to bask beneath this sunlight as well.

In Duke Phoenix's eyes, the longer one remained in Old Dunling, the more one became damp and rotten, until one eventually blended into that gray-white city.

"What a headache..."

Evra Phoenix, the current master of the Phoenix Family and its reigning Duke, let out a weary sigh.

"Where's Eve? Has she finally settled down?"

"Miss is still in her room. This may have truly dealt her a severe blow."

The butler at his side answered the Duke's question at the right moment.

"I think the harder the blow, the better. She refuses to attend university properly and insists on becoming a detective. If this makes her give up after all this, that would be best."

Clearly, this father strongly opposed Eve's dream of becoming a detective.

"Perhaps Miss simply admires you and wishes to follow your path?"

The butler seemed not to have expected such a strong response from the Duke. His affection for Eve over the years made him instinctively speak in her defense.

"My path? You mean becoming a soldier? The Glorious War is already over. The Phoenix Family lost too many people to that war."

Evra lowered his gaze, his expression grave.

"War, soldiers, detectives... anything involving weapons is no good. She should simply be the princess of the Phoenix Family, marry someone who loves her, and live out her life. I've even saved enough money to buy her an island as a dowry. She could take her children and fall asleep peacefully by the sea at sunset, without roaring steam engines, deadly plagues, or air thick with soot. It would be as beautiful as paradise."

Although he vehemently opposed his daughter's dream, the indulgent affection in his words was unmistakable.

"That is Eve's proper path in life, not mixing with Old Dunling's riffraff."

Evra spoke viciously.

"Why do you think the Phoenix Family is called the Phoenix Family? It's only because we survived the Glorious War. Only those who survive are entitled to glory. The dead are simply dead. They are nothing."

The Glorious War had taken too many lives. Evra's siblings, father, and grandfather—only by piling up the corpses of every Phoenix had the Phoenix Family of today been built. Whenever Evra recalled it all, he could not restrain his anger.

"Notify Suaran Hall. I'm giving them one month to find a way to make her give up the idea of becoming a detective."

Old Dunling had now entered autumn, and cold winter was on its way.

Yellowing leaves covered the road, turning it into a Golden Road beneath the sunlight. Such a sight was rare in Old Dunling. Eve's mood improved for once when she saw it. Wearing a pale yellow lace-trimmed dress, she kicked at the leaves like a child, sending them dancing on the wind.

She was the ruby of the Phoenix Family, the brightest scarlet feather upon the wings of the phoenix, a light that illuminated Old Dunling's gloom.

Yet this princess was not especially happy right now. Though the golden carpet of fallen leaves was beautiful, that joy was fleeting. She touched her bare neck, unable to shake the indescribable irritation in her heart.

The lost necklace was important—at least, it meant a great deal to Eve. It had originally belonged to her mother, a gift Duke Evra had given when he married her. After Eve's mother died of illness, Duke Evra had personally placed it around her neck on the day Eve came of age.

Fortunately, Evra disapproved of Eve becoming a detective. The two had been locked in a cold war for some time and had not met, so Evra had yet to notice that something was missing from Eve's neck.

Phoenix Manor was truly enormous—so large that two people living there day and night could go nearly a month without seeing one another.

Her thoughts were already a complete mess. After thinking for a long time, Eve finally guessed that she had lost it in the Lower District. But if it had been lost there, it was basically impossible to recover. Perhaps that necklace had already been dismantled and reassembled into a brand-new ornament, sitting in some display case in the Outer District.

Her thoughts had sunk into utter despair when a clattering bell rang out. Not far away, a train slowly came to a stop at the small platform outside the manor gates. Guards gathered nearby and stood watch.

This was the Phoenix Family's exclusive express train, specifically used to transport things related to the Phoenix Family. The maids usually took it out to make large purchases of ingredients, and some guests arriving from afar also came by it, though the passenger cars were far more luxurious than this one.

It was one of the important links between Phoenix Territory and Old Dunling. It could transport daily supplies, but it could also transport those with ill intentions. That was why the guards grew tense whenever the train arrived.

Amid the billowing steam, supplies and ingredients for the coming month were unloaded from the platform. Kept back by the guards, the workers could only look at this legendary territory from afar. They envied its beauty, but they also felt reverence.

The crowd bustled about, and the empty manor suddenly became crowded. Everyone was busy, after all. Behind the grandeur of the Phoenix Family was the diligent work of nearly a hundred ordinary people, and they needed to eat too.

Eve watched from afar, but at some point, someone had already come to stand beside her. He carried a folded ladder, wore a dark green gardener's uniform, and had a pair of large shears tucked at his waist.

His head was lowered. Leaves and twigs clung all over him, and sweat had soaked the hems of his clothes.

He was the most ordinary-looking person imaginable. Eve did not even pay him any attention until that familiar voice rang out.

"Did you know? I once conducted an experiment. As long as you're carrying a ladder, you can enter most places in Old Dunling whenever you want."

The gardener suddenly stood beside Eve, removed his stifling hat, and spoke as though to himself.

"I've successfully entered Suaran Hall, City Hall, cinemas, and more while carrying a ladder. And now Phoenix Manor has been added to the list. They all assumed I was there to fix something."

Beneath his short pale golden hair was a somewhat pallid face. He looked at Eve with a smile.

"This was something I learned at the Royal Academy of Arts. People usually ignore those they're accustomed to seeing. For example, if a window is open and a cup falls to the ground, you would instinctively assume the wind knocked it over. Your subconscious will offer explanations for such 'abnormalities.'

"That is the principle. The people you are used to seeing in daily life become the 'wind.' As long as I carry a ladder and some shears, you'll assume I'm a gardener. No explanation is needed; your brain will explain my presence for you. As long as I'm dressed appropriately and the setting is right, there won't be a single flaw."

The sweat stains had simply been dabbed on with water, and the leaves and twigs on his body had come from rolling around on the ground.

The girl's expression gradually turned terrified, but then she seemed to realize something. She forced herself to calm down, lifted her pale yellow dress, and, to the gardener's bewilderment, removed a pistol from the ribbon strapped tightly around her thigh.

"Did you account for this?"

Eve's face was stern. She was the princess of the Phoenix Family, but that did not mean she was some obedient decorative flower. This was Phoenix Manor—her territory. If Eve fired a single shot, eight thousand blade-wielding guards would rush out and chop this damned gardener into mincemeat.

"To be honest, in my not-so-long detective career, I've seen people hide stolen money beneath long skirts, but I've never seen anyone hide a pistol there... You've given me some new ideas for my career."

Before he could take another look at the beauty beneath her skirt, the gardener wisely raised both hands.

"Then you've seen it now, Mr. Lorenzo Holmes."

Looking into those gray-blue eyes, Eve felt that her precarious detective career was finally about to take a turn for the better.