The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 557: The Last Blood of the Mother of the Swamp

The hunter and his son disappeared into the crowd.

Lu Li thoughtfully averted his gaze, watching the clerks and guards emerging from the city hall. Once his identity was confirmed, they politely inquired if he needed any assistance.

"Are there any descendants of Duke Aeddar left?" Lu Li asked.

"Duke Aeddar... from the Principality of Saint Mark?" a mustached official clarified uncertainly. After receiving Lu Li's affirmation, he grew thoughtful. "Of course, we have an archive on the Principality of Saint Mark. Let me think... Mike might know more. Please, follow me. I'll take you to him."

Lu Li shook his head, lightly tapping his fingers on the armrest of his wheelchair. "I'll wait here."

The official apologized and was about to leave, but then, as if remembering something, he turned back. "May I ask, is this related to anomalies?"

"Yes."

After all, he was asking about the descendants of the Mother of the Swamp.

"Very well, we'll be as quick as possible," he promised, starting back up the steps. But before he went inside, he turned around one more time. "You can wait in the café across the street. Searching the archives will take some time."

"Alright."With a nod, Lu Li waited until the official disappeared behind the city hall doors before turning his wheelchair toward the street.

Crossing the bustling road seemed risky, but before he had even made it halfway, Lu Li saw Anna hurry back to him. She gently took hold of the wheelchair and helped him navigate the rest of the way into the café.

Sitting down across from Lu Li, Anna pushed a cup of freshly poured, hot coffee toward him.

"Did you find out anything?"

"No, they're looking for the right documents. We'll have to wait a bit."

Anna nodded slightly, the slender, pale curve of her neck visible beneath her hood. She asked softly, "Are you hungry?"

It was less than an hour until noon.

"Not very, but I could eat something."

By the fourth day in the shelter, there were no fresh vegetables left among the supplies Anna had gathered. Everything except the potatoes had long since spoiled and rotted.

The meat had lasted a little longer—it spoiled more slowly in the cool cellar—but two days before they left, it had gone completely bad. Even the intense heat of the fire couldn't mask the smell.

Fortunately, Anna had found enough canned food, potatoes, dried meat and fish, as well as some spices. Even without touching their old stores, these provisions would have been enough to last them a month or two.

But even the most delicious meal loses its appeal when eaten over and over, and they were dealing with the most basic of foods.

"A glass of milk and an extra empty glass, please," Lu Li said quietly to a passing waiter.

The waiter nodded and walked away.

"Once we're finished with this business for the Mother of the Swamp, should we go get a proper meal?" Anna suggested in a low voice.

"Yes."

Lu Li had a little over two thousand shillings left in his wallet; it was smarter to spend them before they became completely worthless.

Soon, the milk and the empty glass arrived. Lu Li tasted the drink: a dry, not-quite-fresh sweetness was mixed with hints of hay, cheap syrup, and a faint aftertaste of preservatives.

It was probably reconstituted powdered milk, but now wasn't the time to complain.

He picked up the coffee cup and began to slowly pour it into the empty glass, but an awkward movement caused some of the liquid to spill onto the table.

"Let me help," Anna murmured, reaching out to gently take the cup from him. She carefully divided the coffee between the two glasses, then added milk to both.

The aroma of the coffee was strong enough to mask the unpleasant taste of the milk.

"Do you want me to help you drink?" Anna asked with a smile, holding a glass closer to Lu Li's lips.

He refused, slowly taking a few sips of the drink, which was no longer scalding hot.

Just as he finished the first glass, he saw the agitated official from the city hall dash out the doors. The man quickly scanned the street before hurrying across the road and straight into the café.

After scanning the room, he spotted Lu Li, his face lit up with joy, and he placed several sheets of paper on the table. "You're an exorcist, right? Here's the information you need. Please, I beg you, rid us of this scourge!"

He had clearly assumed this was a supernatural investigation.

The official's enthusiastic voice was so loud that the other café patrons couldn't help but turn to look.

Lu Li didn't bother to explain, simply offering a grateful nod as he took the papers.

They contained information on the descendants of Duke Aeddar.

Thanks to Duke Aeddar's reputation, and because the era of all-out war was ending and the time of exorcist-peacemakers was on the horizon, his family had been spared. However, they were relocated to Ellen Royal City and stripped of their entire fortune.

Although the Ellen authorities had shown mercy, nobles accustomed to privilege could hardly resign themselves to the daily life of commoners and poverty.

Duke Aeddar's son, Prince Charley, squandered what was left of the family's assets in a failed business venture, driving the family to ruin. Aside from Aeddar's direct line, the other branches scattered—some vanished, while others faded away over time, lost among the common folk.

Perhaps some of the descendants truly did blend in with the townspeople... perhaps...

Therefore, from a certain point on, the document only recorded the descendants of Prince Charley and their children.

"Are any of the descendants still alive?"

The last page of the file mentioned a woman named Lilia. She was listed as Duke Aeddar's last direct heir, if she was even still alive—she would be fifty-eight now. It was possible she was the sole survivor of the direct bloodline.

According to the family tree, she was the Mother of the Swamp's grandniece, though the connection was through a third cousin and spanned nine generations.

The official, peering over Lu Li's shoulder, glanced at the papers and immediately confirmed, "She's the only one left."

"Where does she live?"

"Uh... I'll have to check on that. I'll find out."

Lu Li handed the file back to him. "Thank you."

"It's nothing..." The young clerk seemed a little embarrassed. He smiled and hurried toward the exit. Through the window, Lu Li could see him nearly run under the hooves of a horse passing on the street.

Lu Li shifted his gaze from the window to the café owner who had approached their table.

The man respectfully offered to cover the exorcist's bill, on the house. After he left, Lu Li noticed the stares of the other patrons—some were watching him intently.

One boy, at a signal from his mother, brought a plate of cookies to his table.

Lu Li felt a bit awkward, like an exhibit at a zoo, but the gazes were more kind and curious than wary.

If this had been happening on the Allen Peninsula, such a reception would have been impossible.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, the interest died down. It was only when the official entered again that all the patrons turned in unison once more.

This time, he brought Lilia's address—on the outskirts of the royal city, between the commoners' district and the slums.

The fate of Duke Aeddar's descendants had not been an easy one.

With the address in hand, Lu Li and Anna left the café.

The journey from the city hall to Lilia's house was nearly across the entire city—a walk that would have taken about two hours. Anna preferred strolling through the streets while pushing the wheelchair, but that would take far too long.

So, they hired a carriage from a nearby office and set off directly for their destination.