The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 441: If We Survive

Lu Li listened in silence. He never voiced opinions on matters he didn't understand, and in this case, there was no need.

However, his presence compelled the ten other guests to cast frequent glances his way, their expressions a mixture of emotions.

The negotiations were brief, concluding in just fifteen minutes. The smile on Aileen’s beautiful, if slightly weary, face declared her the victor.

As for the others, some faces were grim, while some held forced smiles. A thick layer of makeup barely concealed Aunt Mary’s anxiety.

Whatever the outcome, the assembled aristocrats maintained their composure, allowing no breach of decorum that might compromise their standing.

Then came the time for a lavish dinner.

One of the courses, presented on an enormous platter, was set in the center of the table. The chef lifted the silver cloche, releasing a cloud of fragrant steam. Beneath it lay a whole roasted lamb. With a deft flick of his knife, the chef slit open the lamb’s belly, and from within, carrying an even richer aroma, emerged a roasted swan.

The chef carved a piece of swan, its juices dripping onto the platter below. He then reached into the swan’s cavity and produced a whole cooked fish. Carefully slicing it open, the chef extracted twelve eggs, each one infused with the combined aromas of the dish’s many layers. He then placed an egg on the plate before each of the seated guests.

In the face of such a spectacle, even the exquisite black caviar, roasted lamb ribs, and crystal goblets of wine seemed utterly mundane.

No one paid any mind to the three culinary "shells" left on the central platter. With refined etiquette, the aristocrats used small silver spoons to crack the eggshells, savoring the contents—as if they were genuinely delicious, and not merely presented in a "delicious" fashion through an overwrought procedure.“You’re not fond of it?” Aileen asked quietly, leaning toward Lu Li when she noticed he hadn’t picked up his spoon.

“Do you find it delicious?” Lu Li countered.

A few glances darted in their direction, but Aileen seemed utterly unfazed.

She whispered in Lu Li's ear, “I’ll let you in on a secret: not in the slightest. But these so-called aristocrats, in their desperate need to distinguish themselves from common folk, have invented a mountain of complex rituals, postures, and manners... as if any of it makes them superior. Just look at this: a lamb stuffed with a swan, a swan with a fish, a fish with eggs... Such an exquisite and complicated dish! It’s exactly the sort of thing they adore.”

Lu Li knew nothing of Baroness Joseph’s past, but she was clearly unlike the other aristocrats.

“None of it will go to waste,” she added. “At most aristocratic banquets, the remains of a dish like this are either given to the servants or simply thrown out. But I’ll have this distributed to the poor.”

Lu Li nodded but still made no move to touch the fragrant egg before him.

“Good that you’re not eating. Let them puzzle over it a little longer,” Baroness Joseph said, leaning back in her chair and resuming her usual lazy, imperious expression.

Lu Li once again became the focus of intense scrutiny. The guests wondered just who this stranger was, this man with whom Baroness Joseph was acting so familiar.

“Are you sure they won’t start investigating me after this?” Lu Li asked quietly.

Without changing her expression, Aileen took a small sip of wine and replied in a voice meant only for him, “They wouldn’t dare. Besides, you’re planning to leave the Allen Peninsula soon anyway, aren’t you?”

Lu Li did not reply.

The dinner continued for some time before Baroness Joseph announced she had matters to discuss with an important guest. The butler pushed her wheelchair, and together with Lu Li, they departed the dining hall.

The door closed behind them, shutting out the mixed emotions that hung in the air.

Smiling and nodding to the guests, Baroness Joseph left the banquet hall and proceeded to the rooftop terrace.

Lu Li gazed out at the placid surface of Agate Lake and the mist-shrouded city of Belfast below. Aileen turned to her butler and winked. “Lulu, I believe you had some business to attend to?”

“I believe it is you who has a memory problem, miss. And you keep winking. Is there something wrong with your eye?” the butler’s cool voice replied.

“Er... no,” Aileen stopped winking. “Someone is needed in the banquet hall to maintain order. You should go.”

“The head maid is there. She will see to everything.”

“...And those fellows in the drawing room! You had best go keep an eye on them now!” A dangerous glint flashed in Baroness Joseph’s eyes. It was unclear whether her threat was aimed at the men in the drawing room, or at someone else...

The butler seemed to finally grasp the baroness’s hint, or perhaps she simply decided it was indeed wise to keep an eye on those men. She turned to Lu Li. “Mister Lu Li, would you mind watching over the miss for a moment?”

“Yes,” Lu Li nodded.

The butler left the terrace.

Aileen leaned back in her wheelchair and looked at Lu Li with narrowed eyes. “Could you wheel me closer to the edge?”

Lu Li nodded and was about to step forward, but Anna appeared beside the wheelchair. As she pushed it forward, she replied, “You’re welcome.”

...

Aileen was silent for a long time.

“Why did you decide to go to the shelter?” Lu Li’s calm voice broke the silence on the terrace, a quiet space where only the soft murmur of rain and wind could be heard.

“This place is a better fit for me. The Lennon Archipelago is too far. If I had so much as hinted at my desire to go there, those aristocrats in the drawing room would have torn me to pieces,” Aileen replied slowly.

“Do you still believe the situation can improve?” Anna asked, her gaze directed downward.

“That’s irrelevant,” Aileen said, shaking her head. “The aristocracy only ever cares about itself and the continuation of its bloodline. Even if they knew the world was ending tomorrow, they would still try to preserve some sliver of hope rather than simply give up.”

Lu Li listened to their exchange in silence. The faint sound of ship horns from Moon Bay drifted up to the terrace. The peace and quiet here on the shores of Agate Lake seemed to dissolve the noise and commotion from the banquet hall far below.

“Will we have another chance to meet?” Aileen asked, sensing that Lu Li was preparing to leave.

“If we survive, we will certainly meet again,” Lu Li replied.

“Don’t die.”

“I won’t.”

Lu Li and Anna departed.

Aileen remained at the edge of the terrace, a solitary figure watching as Lu Li climbed into a carriage waiting by the fountain and slowly pulled away.

A figure emerged onto the terrace and approached Aileen.

“Is there still time for me to change my mind and go to the Lennon Archipelago?” she asked, hearing the footsteps behind her.

“No.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“No,” Lulu replied, her tone as impassive as ever. “Your condition would not permit you to reach the Lennon Archipelago.”

Aileen sighed softly. “What a shame.”

She continued to gaze down below. A maid opened the gates, and the carriage departed the estate.

“It seems to me that Mister Lu Li’s words were quite sensible.”

“Which words?”

“‘If we survive, we will certainly meet again.’”

“Yes... yes? Wait, how did you know he said that?”

“You know as well as I do that those gentlemen were hardly going to discuss anything of importance in the drawing room.”

“Ahem...”

A light breeze stirred, toying with the strands of Aileen’s hair. The sound of their conversation gradually faded into the evening air.