novelraw Chapter 88 : Baskerville Manor
Chapter 88 : Baskerville Manor
Chapter 88: Baskerville Manor
“Then, Director McMillan, what is your preliminary judgment regarding this case?”
Levi withdrew his gaze from the corpse and asked, while Director McMillan coughed lightly and gave his own deduction.
“We believe the murderer must harbor a very deep hatred toward the Baskerville family. Their motive is not money, but revenge. They may have even disguised themselves as Baskerville servants to infiltrate, create disappearances, and use rumors to spread panic.”
“What about the motive then?”
“Perhaps to drive the Baskerville family away from this land, to atone for what they call their sins.”
“Sins?”
“You don’t know? About the curse of the Baskerville Hound?”
“I only know that because of this curse, every head of the Baskerville family mysteriously disappears on the day of his thirty-eighth birthday. But I don’t know the details of the curse.”
“In the Delicat Region, this is common knowledge. Even children know this story.”
Director McMillan paused before speaking again.
“Legend has it that in the deep mountains of Delicat, there exists a king ruling over all the wolves—we call it the Wolf King. Its age is as old as the Delicat Region itself. They say the Wolf King can transform into a human and walk among men. On nights of the full moon, wolf howls can be heard echoing through the mountains of Delicat. People believe that is the Wolf King proclaiming its existence and authority.”
This did not seem to have much to do with the Baskerville family.
Levi listened quietly without interrupting.
“And then, during the time of the Baskerville patriarch three generations ago—no, actually, four generations ago—they angered the Wolf King.”
“Angered?”
“Yes.
The Baskerville family had a tradition of going hunting in the forest after the patriarch’s birthday.
At that time, Sir Baskerville organized a hunt, and his trap caught a white wolf.
The wolf’s entire body was as pure white as snow, with eyes as red as blood.
The baronet liked this prey very much and planned to make a specimen out of it to boast of his valor.
But the accompanying hunters warned him that this white wolf was the Wolf King’s mate.
If he killed her, he would provoke the Wolf King’s wrath.”
Hmm.
And as a typical victim in a horror tale, this baronet surely ignored the warning.
Levi could already guess how the story would go, and sure enough, Director McMillan soon confirmed his thoughts.
“But the baronet dismissed the warning.
He believed the Baskerville family were the true rulers of the Delicat Region, not some Wolf King.
So, before everyone’s eyes, he slew the white wolf with a single sword strike.
He even declared that as ruler of Delicat, he had the right to dispose of anything that belonged to him! They say that before dying, the white wolf let out a heart-rending howl that echoed through the Delicat mountains.
Soon after, from deep within the mountains, an enraged howl of another wolf resounded.”
“And then?”
“Yes. Everyone was shocked, and the baronet’s horse panicked and bolted, carrying him deep into the forest. Soon, the others regained their senses and rushed to chase after him. But in the end, they found only the baronet’s horse by a stream—he himself was gone without a trace. Back then, people simply said Sir Baskerville had angered the Wolf King and was taken away.”
“As a story, it is rather interesting.”
Levi nodded.
“And what about the slain white wolf?”
“They say that when everyone returned later, the body of the white wolf had vanished. Everyone was terrified, and the forest was filled with wolf howls. In the end, they had no choice but to flee the forest. Everyone thought the matter was over—but clearly… it was not.”
As he spoke, Director McMillan produced a stack of documents.
“This is the investigation record from the case of young Sir Baskerville.”
Levi flipped through the files.
He found they were almost identical to the current case.
After his birthday banquet, young Sir Baskerville saw off his guests, then returned to his room with his wife.
The next morning, when the servant came to wake him, they found his wife dead in bed.
The cause of death was similar to that of the two police officers: her body torn apart by what seemed to be a sharp object.
Only in her case, her chest had been ripped open directly… Hmm, that made Levi recall the man and woman from Wolf Head Village…
“From then on, people began to say the Baskerville family was cursed. Because the very first victim—the baronet—had gone hunting after his thirty-eighth birthday and then vanished. So everyone believed the Wolf King had indeed cursed the Baskerville family, so that every family head would die on their thirty-eighth birthday.”
“What if there were a successor already in his forties?”
“The Baskerville line only passes down through a single heir. If they had relatives, perhaps the curse would have been broken already.”
“They could also wait until after turning forty to inherit the title.”
Levi made a casual joke, though he knew it was impossible.
A family head was not just an honorary title—he was responsible for all decisions regarding the territory.
Not to mention, though the Delicat Region seemed remote and backward, it was an important grain-producing area.
How could there not be someone in charge?
“I have another question, Director McMillan. I wonder if you can answer it.”
“What question?”
“Listening to the whole story, it is all about the feud between the Baskerville family and the Wolf King, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is the curse called the Baskerville Hound?”
Levi fixed his gaze on Director McMillan, gesturing slightly.
“A wolf and a dog are different, aren’t they? And from what I’ve heard, there wasn’t a single dog in this whole story.”
This was clearly a case of hanging a dog’s head but selling wolf meat.
“This……………”
Faced with Levi’s peculiar line of thought, Director McMillan also frowned.
“Now that you mention it, it is indeed odd… Perhaps because wolves cannot easily slip in, but dogs can? And I heard the Baskerville family also used to keep dogs… Very strange, why is it called the Baskerville Hound?”
Director McMillan muttered to himself, frowning, while Levi stared at him.
“I want you to find the officer who handled the disappearance case of young Sir Baskerville back then and ask about the details. Since the rumor spread after his disappearance, I don’t believe it is entirely baseless. Perhaps the clues to the case are hidden within it.”
“I understand.”
Director McMillan came back to his senses, nodding gravely.
“I will send someone to find the officer in charge back then.”
“Good.”
Levi cast another glance at the corpse before covering it with the white cloth.
“Let us head to Baskerville Manor.”
The Delicat Region was an important grain-producing area of the Empire, with much of its harvest sent to Mist City.
From the royal family down to the poor, most people lived off the crops grown here—mainly wheat.
Because of this, the environment here was far better than the perpetually foggy Mist City.
At least one could see blue skies and white clouds.
Fields of wheat stretched like waves in the wind.
Driving along the country road, Levi looked out upon a pastoral scene of stability and peace.
“Actually, regarding the Baskerville family’s fate, there is another version of the story told in private.”
Seated in the back, Director McMillan withdrew his curious gaze from observing the surroundings and spoke.
Originally, he could have just sent any officer to guide Levi, but it seemed Director McMillan was also quite interested in this car, so he took the excuse of guiding the way to ride along.
Levi did not particularly care about this.
“Another version?”
“Yes.”
Director McMillan lowered his voice slightly.
“These words I can only say here, never elsewhere. In fact, since the time of young Sir Baskerville, they had been devoted to promoting agricultural steam-mechanical automation. They wanted to replace the current farming methods with steam harvesters and seeders, to increase agricultural output and shorten the time for harvesting and planting.”
“Let me guess, many opposed it?”
“Quite a few opposed.”
Director McMillan grew solemn.
“Many claimed this method would cause severe damage to the land, leaving it unable to produce crops the following year. Others said those machines were poisonous, that the grain harvested with them was unfit for consumption, and so on……… Though the Baskerville family had high local prestige, due to the immense resistance among the people, they were never able to implement it.”
At this point, Director McMillan lowered his voice again.
“So, we have always suspected—could it be the work of those Luddites.”
For Luddites in this world, hating machines was almost instinctive.
Put another way—if they could smash machines and burn factories, then killing a person would hardly be an issue.
“But you found no clues, correct.”
Levi naturally understood why Director McMillan confided this to him.
“No, we investigated secretly, but found nothing. Actually, in this region……… sigh………”
Director McMillan said no more, but Levi understood his meaning.
Delicat was a grain-producing region, with high mountains and clear waters—virtually the dreamland of the Luddites.
It could even be said that most of the populace here was likely supportive of Luddism.
People were like this: once accustomed to their life, they refused to change.
From Levi’s perspective, introducing agricultural mechanization was the trend of the times, an inevitable step.
For the Baskerville family to have thought of this, they could be considered competent leaders.
But if the people beneath were unwilling……… that was another matter.
“Up ahead is Baskerville Manor.”
Finishing his hushed words, Director McMillan changed the subject.
Levi lifted his gaze toward the front, and soon saw the gates of a manor appear at the end of the road.
The entire Baskerville Manor occupied an immense area.
Its ivy-covered high walls stretched almost endlessly into the distant fields.
Even after Levi’s steam car passed through the open gates, it still took another ten minutes before they arrived at the main entrance of the Baskerville residence.
These wealthy folk, with nothing better to do, really had to make their homes so absurdly vast.
Levi grumbled inwardly, though no expression showed on his face, as he followed Director McMillan out of the car.
At that moment, officers were still on guard.
Upon seeing the two appear, they visibly sighed in relief.
One hurried forward to appeal to Director McMillan.
“Director, you’re finally here, thank goodness! We can hardly hold out any longer, please help us talk sense into that young lady……….”
“What is going on?”
Hearing his subordinate’s complaint, Director McMillan frowned.
But before the officer could reply, the tightly shut doors opened, and a fierce voice rang out.
“We are not prisoners! Or do you intend to treat me as a criminal and arrest me!?”
Levi lifted his head toward the doorway, and saw a young and beautiful woman storming out.
She looked about eighteen or nineteen, with dazzling waist-length golden hair, fair skin, and sapphire-blue eyes.
A standard image of a southerner of the Empire.
The woman wore equestrian riding clothes, the currently fashionable athletic attire for Imperial women.
The tight-fitting jacket and trousers outlined her striking curves clearly.
Her golden hair was coiled into waves with the Empire’s most fashionable hair band, looking quite trendy.
At a ball, such a graceful figure and lovely appearance would surely attract everyone’s attention.
Even now, she did.
“Director McMillan!”
The blonde woman stormed down the steps, coming before Director McMillan, glaring at him.
“What do you mean by this!? If you intend to confine us for questioning, then you might as well throw us straight into prison!”
“We only wish to ensure your personal safety……….”
Facing this fiery young woman, a helpless grimace appeared on Director McMillan’s face.
But soon, he turned and gestured toward Levi.
“Please rest assured, however—the investigation expert from Mist City has arrived. I believe he will certainly solve this case.”
“Investigation expert?”
The woman frowned, following his gesture to look at Levi.
Levi seized the moment to remove his top hat and bowed politely to her.
“Hello, I am Levi, special consultant of Mist City Police, here to investigate the disappearance case of Sir Baskerville.”
“………………………”
The woman glared at Levi.
Gradually, her stern expression softened, and then she nodded.
“Hello, I am Aurelia Baskerville. Welcome to this manor……… I hope you can provide me with a satisfactory answer.”
With those words, the woman named Aurelia turned and left.
Seeing this, relief appeared in the eyes of the surrounding policemen.
As local officers, they had long been troubled by this unruly young lady.
This was the first time they had ever seen her act so obediently.
Hmm…………… Director McMillan glanced at Levi, then at Aurelia’s retreating figure, nodding thoughtfully.
Well, perhaps this was not surprising either.