Late-Night Tram

11:55 p.m.

There were five minutes until midnight. The Inner District's bustle was beginning to die down, with fewer pedestrians on the streets. Mounted police patrolled their designated routes, Iron Whistles between their teeth and rifles at their sides.

Though the liveliness was fading, singing could still be heard drifting between the buildings. The intoxicating scent of alcohol made even the air seem sweet. Thick white fog slowly rose—steam from underground. But unlike the crude, forceful emissions of the Outer District, it silently seeped from cracks in the ground, shrouding everything beneath it.

Eve rarely saw the Inner District this late at night. Normally, she would already be curled up in her soft bed instead of wandering around with a lunatic detective.

Glancing to the side, she saw Lorenzo repeatedly checking his pocket watch, as though he were waiting for something.

Ever since they had left the restaurant, Lorenzo had been like this. The great detective kept watching the time and scanning their surroundings as if searching for something. He did not say a word, and Eve could only keep following him.

The fog swallowed everything. Viewed from the Zeppelin high above the night sky, the city looked like a white sea. Spires and clock towers rose from the gray mist, while electric lights dotted it like fireflies.

"We're here."

Lorenzo suddenly said this and led Eve to the roadside.

"Here?"

Eve did not understand. They stood on a platform, a stop for the Steam Tram. Yet according to the sign, the final train had stopped running two hours ago.

Hazy gray fog filled the surroundings. Scalding steam warmed the night breeze as it brushed against Eve's face. The warmth felt like the breath of some monster lurking behind the mist.

The girl instinctively clutched her skirt. Hidden beneath it were not lovely thighs, but dangerous weapons.

"Yes, here."

Lorenzo spoke faintly, his gaze fixed beyond the fog.

"Old Dunling's Steam Tram has always operated at a loss. Passenger fares simply cannot cover the costs, and it has always been supported by taxes from major industrialists. So, to ease the burden, the Steam Tram also rents and sells its services.

His gaze shifted below the platform. Light gleamed on the metal tracks, but beneath Lorenzo's stare, that gleam began to tremble.

"This is something nobles like you should have access to. The company rents or sells carriages to private individuals. Whenever they need to travel, they simply summon an engine to pull them. The Phoenix family is more powerful, though—you people got yourselves an entire train.

Nobles usually decorate their carriages lavishly, like miniature traveling palaces. Whenever there is a banquet, this mobile palace stops outside a guest's home. Servants bow in greeting and wait for them to attend."

Lorenzo spoke of things Eve had never known.

"But they have other uses too. Take a certain earl, for example. He would embrace his mistress inside a carriage. The carriage would be completely isolated from the driver's cabin, so the driver would have no idea what was happening behind him. They would travel along Old Dunling's rails until the earl decided it was time to go home."

Eve frowned slightly, looking somewhat disgusted.

"How would you know that?"

"Because that earl's wife was my client. Believe it or not, wealthy married women are quite fond of me."

Lorenzo spoke with great animation.

After his first mistress case ended, that lady introduced Lorenzo to more noblewomen troubled by the same problem. They greatly appreciated his brutal yet satisfying methods, and for a time, a detective known as the "Mistress Killer" became famous in upper-class social circles.

The earl's case had been the pinnacle of Lorenzo's career catching mistresses. His employer knew what her husband was doing but could never catch him. She eventually hired Lorenzo, and after following the earl for a long time, Lorenzo discovered that the man had actually bought a carriage to serve as a traveling palace.

In the end, Lorenzo gave the client a location and staged a tram derailment there.

"You can never imagine the expressions on their faces when those two naked people went flying out of the carriage!"

Seeing Lorenzo's excited expression, Eve was at a loss for words. This detective's problem went far beyond merely having a terrible personality.

"Then why did you stop doing it?"

"It's bad for one's character. You're bound to get stabbed sooner or later."

Lorenzo put on a noble expression, but the real answer was that the earl had spent three months in therapy. After all, no one could withstand the shock of suddenly standing naked before a crowd. Once he recovered, the first thing he did was put a price on Lorenzo's head. Because of that, Lorenzo had hidden out with Shrike for nearly a month.

Lorenzo's nonsense livened up the atmosphere considerably, and the damp chill receded a little.

"Do you have any room left down there?"

Pointing beneath Eve's skirt, Lorenzo suddenly asked, utterly unaware of how improper he was being.

"Y-You... what are you going to do?"

Eve's cheeks reddened. This detective really was insane. You never knew what he might do the next second.

Lorenzo somehow produced a silver-white revolver. Demons and gods were engraved on its cylinder. It was heavy, and fully loaded.

"I need you to hide this for me. Sabo may be a crude Viking, but after being steeped in Old Dunling culture, he has at least learned some manners. If you attend his ball, he'll thoroughly search every man. Even hiding a blade between your buttocks won't help. But he would never disrespect a lady."

Handing the revolver to Eve, Lorenzo stood beside her. He carefully straightened his clothes. The main event was next, and he needed to be serious.

Eve did not understand, but she obediently tied the revolver to a ribbon. Beneath her long dress were no pale, bare thighs, but fitted combat clothes. If Eve needed to, she could tear off the dress and enter battle at once.

Daggers and guns—Eve had never been an ordinary noble girl. Other nobles might have been born with silver spoons in their mouths, but Eve had been born biting a bullet.

The Phoenix family was an immortal bird that had risen from the ruins of the Glorious War. Even as the immortal bird's princess, Eve still carried that pungent scent of sulfur, an imprint carved into her blood.

"It's time."

Lorenzo suddenly spoke. Eve still had no idea what was happening. Ever since she and Lorenzo had left the restaurant, she had not understood the situation at all. Then, the bells began to ring.

It was a long, deep peal from the tallest building in the Inner District. The low hum that followed drifted back and forth through the streets and alleys like a ghost unwilling to disperse.

A strange feeling welled up inside Eve. Suddenly, she was afraid.

Cold seeped through her thin long dress, icy as ghostly claws brushing against her waist.

Somehow, she and Lorenzo were the only ones left on the street. Soft hoofbeats came from afar—the mounted police patrolling the night. Yet beneath the thick fog, Eve could see nothing. Only the streetlamps scattered into great halos of light, like the glowing eyes of monsters behind the gray mist.

An icy wind brushed Eve's cheek.

When she turned around, Eve felt as though she could barely breathe.

A black Steam Tram had somehow stopped before the platform. Thick fog concealed its arrival. It had made no sound and had not even turned on its lights. Only the steam it had just released warmed the surrounding air, like a ghost that had traveled from afar.

At this hour, no Steam Trams should have been running. Yet this eerie tram stood before her. It had no number, no markings, and even its windshield was pitch-black. Eve did not even dare to be certain there was anyone inside.

"Take my arm. Tonight's script says we're a couple."

Lorenzo's voice came from beside her. He raised his arm, offering it to Eve.

"A couple?"

Eve immediately wanted to pull out her gun and shoot this damned detective. Her nerves were already stretched to the limit, but the suddenly opening door interrupted her thoughts.

A servant dressed in black stood there. He gave Lorenzo a slight nod, while Lorenzo skillfully took out two coins and handed them over.

Instead of lions, the coins bore the engraving of a Shrike Bird holding thorns in its beak. They seemed to serve as some sort of pass. The servant stepped aside and opened the way for them to board. Beyond the carriage door was complete darkness. Nothing could be seen, as if it led into a bottomless abyss.

"Lorenzo..."

Eve wanted to say something else. Unease kept clawing at her heart, and she had always trusted her instincts. But Lorenzo gave her no chance to speak. Smiling, he took her arm and led her onto the Steam Tram.

The Steam Tram slowly began to move. Without making a sound, it slipped into the gray fog as though it had never appeared at all.