The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 559: Princess Rolan

Lilia had no idea her problem had already been resolved.

Still terrified of retaliation from the Harless Gang, she had hastily packed all her money, family documents, and a few changes of clothes before climbing into a carriage and fleeing.

Though she was descended from a glorious line, time had a way of erasing all traces of the past. Now, Lilia was merely an elderly woman, her pride the only thing that remained intact within her. That same pride had brought her no small amount of trouble. In her youth, her great beauty had led her to look down on every suitor, and as a result, she had never married or had children.

Inside the carriage, Lilia recounted stories of her past with a tinge of regret. She showed Lu Li a photograph she had taken from her dining table—a faded black-and-white image of a stunningly beautiful young woman, Lilia in her prime. Now, all that remained of that beauty were age spots, wrinkles, and eyes that had lost their youthful clarity.

Anna's icy reserve inevitably melted when it came to Lu Li. "If I grow old, will you still love me?" she murmured to Lu Li, who sat beside her.

"You won't grow old."

A faint smile touched her lips, hidden in the shadows of her hood. "So, you do love me?"

Lu Li did not answer.

Before heading back to the hotel, they stopped at a restaurant. Although Lu Li made it clear he had plenty of money, Lilia ordered only a single serving of lamb.

Lu Li ordered two steaks and a vegetable salad. The salad, surprisingly, cost more than the steak and was in short supply; the restaurant limited each table to a single order."How would you like your steak cooked, sir? Any sauce or spices with that?" the waiter inquired.

"Well-done."

A parasitic infection would be a serious complication, though it was uncertain if such things even existed in the world anymore.

Omnivores and scavengers like mice and crows were still common enough.

"Pardon?"

The waiter looked baffled for a moment but quickly regained his composure, departing with a faint air of bewilderment.

It was customary in aristocratic circles to order meat medium-rare, as that was believed to be when it was most flavorful and juicy.

Some even argued that the meat's true flavor could only be appreciated when the steak was barely seared.

A well-done steak took longer to prepare, so the lamb and the salad arrived first. The waiter lifted the silver cloches covering the plates.

Lilia seemed to enjoy the salad even more than her own meal. She ate nearly half of it before her pace slowed. Dabbing her lips with a handkerchief, she asked politely:

"Mr. Exorcist, would you be willing to tell me anything about Princess Rolan?"

"You can just call me Lu Li."

Lu Li answered calmly:

"Too many years have passed; the details have faded from her memory... I only know what she has become, and the cause of her human death."

That last part was the very spark that ignited the war—the mystery of Princess Rolan's disappearance.

Historians have long debated the cause of the war. Some theorized that political opponents in the Kingdom of Ellen ambushed Rolan's escort. Others believed the people of the Principality of Saint Mark disapproved of the marriage, and that the princess, equally unhappy with the arrangement, escaped with the help of her servants.

"Why... why did she disappear? Was she truly betrayed by the soldiers from Ellen?!" Lilia exclaimed, her voice trembling with emotion and drawing glances from the other diners.

Lu Li gently shook his head. "She was consumed by the swamp."

"The swamp..."

Lilia whispered the word, her mind racing back to the history she knew. Princess Rolan had vanished on her way to the Allen Peninsula—precisely where the great swamp began...

"Was she murdered?" Lilia asked.

"It was an accident. She was fleeing and stepped into the mire."

Lilia lost all appetite.

If Rolan had died simply because she desperately wanted to avoid an arranged marriage... then her single act had led to the ruin of her family, the fall of her country, and the deaths of thousands...

Lilia felt she ought to be angry at the princess. But it was more complicated than that; she couldn't bring herself to condemn Rolan's choice as a mistake.

As a descendant, Lilia had every right to blame her. The sorrow and suffering of her entire family line stemmed from the choice that one young princess had made.

Yet, as a woman, she understood and even respected it. Had she been forced into a marriage with a stranger in her youth, she would have done the very same thing.

Was it a flaw, then? A stubborn streak that ran through the women of her family?

The thought crossed her mind.

After a long silence, she asked quietly, "You spoke of her domain earlier... Is the princess... powerful now?"

"She is what is known as an Evil God, the sovereign ruler of the Shadow Swamp," Lu Li explained.

"A goddess..."

To ordinary people, the term "Evil God" conjured images of divinity. This was partly true, but they were not like the gods of legend; they were neither omniscient nor omnipotent.

Nor did they possess any unearned benevolence toward humankind.

When the steaks arrived, Lilia only picked at her salad, ignoring the lamb completely. Soon, she put down her fork, her appetite gone.

Lu Li finished his steak and had the leftovers packed to go. Then they climbed back into the carriage and returned to the hotel.

He rented a separate, adjacent room for Lilia, then returned to his own with Anna.

They still had five hours before the evening gathering. Lu Li picked up the books Lilia had given him earlier.

One was titled *A History of the Mores of the Principality of Saint Mark*, the second *The Glory of the House of Toyalagon*, and the third was a beautifully preserved antique volume signed by Duke Aeddar himself.

An inscription was written on the title page:

"Even when the flowers wither, their beauty is remembered. For my dearest daughter, Rolan Toyalagon"

It appeared to be Duke Aeddar's diary, written after the disappearance of his daughter—who would become the Mother of the Swamp—and the subsequent outbreak of war.

As he turned the pages, Lu Li saw that nearly every entry was about Rolan.

He read amusing stories of her childhood; of her first trip to the Kingdom of Ellen at thirteen, where she had dazzled the court; of the master artisan who had handcrafted her favorite fire agate bracelet; of the adoring crowds and flowers that greeted her wherever she traveled...

Rolan truly had been the jewel of the Principality of Saint Mark. After she vanished, an enraged Duke Aeddar declared war on the Kingdom of Ellen. Thousands of common people, armed with little more than farm tools and their own provisions, flocked to join the army, eager for revenge.

Lu Li mused that perhaps the love of millions had planted a seed of humanity within the Mother of the Swamp—a seed that, centuries later, had finally begun to sprout thanks to him.

The duke's diary alternated between grim updates on the war's progress and fond reminiscences of his daughter.

But the story was heading towards its inevitable end.

As Lu Li continued to read, he noticed the handwriting growing more erratic and disjointed. Accounts of territories once captured by the duke's army gave way to descriptions of their recapture, and finally, to the invasion of his own lands.

The memories of his daughter, too, regressed, reaching further and further back in time until they settled on the day of her birth.

And then came the final entry:

"The day she was born, the entire Principality of Saint Mark cried out her name in celebration: Rolan..."