Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 346: A Visit on a Rainy Day

Princess Lecia was well-prepared for the joint action planned for Wednesday. She had arranged a special carriage and coachman in advance and had created a convenient false identity for herself to move around with ease.

Even now, Shard remained a secret agent of MI6 operating covertly in Coldwater Port, while Lecia posed as an active contributor to the local "Tuna Arts Newspaper" at the Coldwater Port Dock. She had a full set of credentials, and unless someone recognized her face directly, her identity would not be easily uncovered.

"Do you often do this? I mean, when in Tobesk, you also move around under a false identity?"

Upon boarding the carriage, Shard inquired with curiosity.

"Before I met Dorothy, I did it quite often. After all, my father was very strict, and nobody at home dared to defy his wishes. Even as an adult princess like me, or my brothers with children of their own, unless we were prepared to give up our titles, there was no hope for freedom. But after I got to know Dorothy, things got much better. I would occasionally request to use her body to move around, which was truly fun."

It sounded like the present King of Draleon was quite harsh on his children.

"Is this ’Tuna Arts Newspaper’ a real publication?"

Shard took an interest in her reporter credentials once more.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"Of course."

The Princess said as the carriage started moving, and she asked the Maid inside to help pour tea. The carriage looked ordinary from the outside, but was fully equipped on the inside with fixed tables, tea sets, and incense. Shard even found a rifle hidden in a secret compartment under the carriage seat.

"This identity does exist."

"Did you bribe the local newspaper?"

"Of course not, the ’Tuna Arts Newspaper’ is actually my property."

Shard immediately showed an expression of realization. Outlanders might claim to be worldly, but their imagination about the wealthy certainly fell short.

Their destination was located where the run-down old city area in the southern part of Coldwater Port City met the Dock Area. It was the site of the city before the discovery of the New World. However, as the exploration of the New World went deeper, the center of Coldwater Port gradually shifted towards the northern part of the city, which was more suitable for the construction of deep-water docks, resulting in the large-scale abandonment of the old city area in the south.

There were still residents there, but most of them were local elderly clinging to memories of bygone days, or the poor who couldn’t afford to rent houses in the city. Explore more at novelbuddy

The carriage took them both, and at eleven in the morning, they arrived at the ancient street called Kazem Lane. This street was the boundary between the Coastal Dock Area and the old southern district of Coldwater Port. Looking eastward along the alley, one could vaguely see the spire of the Peace Church’s old classical-style church. The aged church, with its nine hundred years of history and numerous reconstructions, represented the Peace Church as the first among the Church of the Five Gods to take root in Coldwater Port.

The rain was still falling, and green moss covered the corners of the walls. There was almost no one on the street. The deserted aspect of the old alley was not just because of the rain; judging from the boarded-up windows, the wide open doors of empty shops, and the broken cobblestone pavement worn by years of neglect, even on sunny days, the streets of the old city district were likely to be scarcely populated.

When moving around the nearby area, it was best not to be too conspicuous, especially east of Kazem Lane in the old city district. It wasn’t that Shard looked down on the lower-class citizens who clung to the past, but in this port city, residents cooped up in these damp and gloomy old districts were often sullen and hostile to outsiders.

On the way here, Lecia had mentioned to Shard that the vicinity was one of the areas in Coldwater Port where disappearances of outsiders were most frequent.

The Circle Sorcerer, who claimed to have eliminated the Mermaid’s Curse, lived right in the ancient street ahead of them. Shard and Princess Lecia got out of the carriage at the entrance of the street, each holding an umbrella as they approached the alley. They had skillfully applied makeup in the carriage; in this era, where photographic technology was primitive, and there weren’t many sophisticated ways to record people’s appearances, such disguises were adequate.

Interestingly, as the two got out of the carriage, another rental carriage stopped at the entrance to the street. Shard and the red-haired girl looked curiously and saw two men stepping out, both holding notebooks and wearing glasses.

The older one was dressed in a white shirt with an old-fashioned brown double-breasted vest worn over it, a black fountain pen tucked in his pocket. He was about fifty years old. The younger man appeared to be five or six years older than Shard’s appearance. His hair was neatly combed, and he looked around with curiosity after getting off.

Both men held umbrellas, their chests adorned with the same style of badge, and the older one also carried a walking stick. Shard glanced at the Princess, who quietly explained to him:

"That’s the badge of a local university in Coldwater Port. I remember it being... Coldwater Port’s Third Mechanical Institute. Those two must be academics from the school."

The academics who got out of the carriage also noticed Shard and his company but, as there was no intersection of paths, each side simply nodded through the rain as a greeting since they were dressed respectably.

However, as the four of them walked along the street, Shard unexpectedly discovered that their movements seemed to coincide with his own.

"Excuse me, are you also here to visit Mr. Jude, the antique collector?"

The young academic approached a bit closer and quietly asked by the side of the street. Seeing the unfamiliar man approach, Lecia stepped back to avoid him, while Shard slowed his pace and began to converse with him:

"Yes, this lady is a reporter from the Tuna Arts Newspaper, and I’m her assistant, as well as her bodyguard. May I ask who you are..."

Although the social climate of this era is relatively open, and it’s normal for women to work outside, female journalists who operate alone usually have a male assistant for safety reasons.

Princess Lecia gave a rather cool nod to the young scholar who, captivated by the pretty girl’s face, whispered in explanation:

"This is my teacher, Professor Katja. I am Lim Scott. We are here to visit Mr. Jude for our research topic."

Professor Katja gave a kindly nod to the striking redhead and Shard.

"You are scholars?"

Shard asked again.

"Yes, folklore scholars."

Princess Lecia showed no reaction, but Shard blinked. According to the classic horror novel tropes he had read about, visiting such a secluded part of the old quarter, with most information about the person of interest unknown, the presence of a journalist, a detective, and folklore scholars among the party of four was a very ominous sign.

"My teacher and I are working on a project in the southern old quarter of Coldwater Port, and Mr. Jude who lives here has some data that we are very interested in," the young scholar continued, and Shard also explained that he and the lady with him had come to collect information for a special feature on the redevelopment of the southern old quarter.

Since both parties wished to visit the same person, the four of them walked together. With the cover of the two folklore scholars, Shard and Princess Lecia’s visit also seemed more natural.

However, when the group arrived at the foot of the stone building that had withstood several hundred years, Shard looked at the rainwater sliding down the wall and had a feeling that this visit would not be so straightforward.

Most of the buildings in the southern old quarter of Coldwater Port are old houses from a century ago. Perhaps because of local customs, the houses are mostly made of gray stone and are not painted.

After ringing the somewhat rusty iron doorbell, it took quite a while for someone to open the door. The person behind was a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression, heavy bags under his eyes, and sallow skin. He was wearing a leather apron with specks of white marks that looked like flour:

"Good morning, sir. We are reporters from the Tuna Arts Newspaper, and these two are folklore scholars from Coldwater Port’s Third Mechanical Engineering Academy. We have all come to visit Mr. Jude."

Shard and the young Mr. Scott handed over the reporter and professor’s business cards, representing the status of the two groups.

The middle-aged man took the cards, glanced at them with slightly protruding eyes, then sized up the four people standing at the door with their umbrellas. His complexion was very poor, and he spoke with an odd accent, occasionally making gurgling noises from his throat:

"Good morning, gentlemen and lady. Please come in and wait in the hall. The gentleman is upstairs in his study reading. I’ll notify him, but please do not wander off."

The men let the reporter miss enter first, and then, one after another, they wiped their feet clean on the doormat at the entrance and placed their dripping umbrellas on the wooden umbrella stand by the door.

Without the permission of the host, the four stood temporarily in the hall. Fortunately, this well-aged building was even larger than Shard’s No. 6, Saint Delan Square, and could well be called a mansion, so it didn’t seem crowded.

Perhaps due to today’s heavy rain, the interior of the stone building was just as damp as the outside.

For some reason, there were no lights on indoors. On this rainy morning, the entire house was extremely dim. Of course, the hall had no windows, and the light from the living room thrown by the rainy day created large patches of shadows throughout the interior.

On the hall’s wall hung a cold-toned oil painting depicting a stormy sea, with even capsized fishing boats in the tempest.

Thus, the four guests stood in the dark, looking at this somewhat terrifying painting, listening to the increasingly violent rain outside. The strange atmosphere inside the room led them to involuntarily imagine what kind of person Mr. Jude might be.

Faded and peeling wallpaper hung on the walls, revealing moldy walls behind. This house had stood since the olden days, witnessing the changes of Coldwater Port through countless days and nights. To study local folklore, the house itself held the greatest value.

If Dorothy wished to seek inspiration, a visit inside the house would surely provide numerous new ideas. The peculiar atmosphere within also suited the Circle Sorcerer’s identity.

Shard was just curious whether the still unseen Mr. Jude might have developed rheumatism from living in such a place year-round.