The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 775: A New Conspiracy

The music faded, and the dancing aristocrats in the hall stopped, staring in bewilderment at the uninvited guests and the news they had brought.

"An impostor? Ienard Metyus, what are you talking about?" Tur Lange shot a furtive glance at Lu Li, his brow furrowed in a frown.

"The riddle is solved," Ienard said, looking at Lu Li with an expression of regret.

"It was actually quite pleasant conversing with you, aside from your reticence. I suppose you were afraid of being exposed and hid behind silence?"

Whispers rose from the onlookers.

Everyone remembered Lu Li's detached demeanor.

"I don't know who you are, or why you're impersonating the missing exorcist. But now that your scheme has been exposed, it's all over."

Ienard Metyus gestured for the knights of his escort to seize Lu Li.

"Are you truly human?" Lu Li asked suddenly.

His expression remained calm, so calm that it was unsettling."What do you mean?" Ienard raised an eyebrow slightly.

"The handshake at the mayor's reception." Lu Li's mesmerizing black eyes were fixed on Ienard.

"For certain reasons, my left hand has the ability to harm anomalies."

A brief silence followed. Ienard waved a hand dismissively. "Enough of these pathetic tricks, which only earn my contempt. Your excuses are useless here. Knights, take him..."

"Ienard Metyus," Tur Lange interjected, his voice cold, "despite your high standing, are you not being too dismissive of the Lange family, attempting to slander my guest and take him away?"

It seemed he was merely looking for a pretext. The arrival of the City Watch knights suggested that Ienard was most likely correct.

But allowing men from the mayor's office to storm a Lange family reception and drag away their guest would be a serious blow to his authority.

Tur Lange could not simply let them take Lu Li, even if Ienard was right.

"I meant no offense, but I believe these City Watch knights are proof enough of my authority. As you know, those from the Great Tree always remain neutral." Ienard had no intention of giving him an opening, his tone turning cold.

"Take him away," he ordered, turning his head.

"Master of the house..." the butler whispered to Tur Lange.

Tur Lange gave a slight shake of his head, watching the scene unfold with a grim expression.

The knights in dark-gold armor closed in on Lu Li.

Lu Li remained motionless as they advanced.

Even with his enhanced physical abilities, Lu Li could not stand against a dozen armed knights, who seemed to have other secrets up their sleeves.

The knights were not rough with Lu Li. They simply fastened a pair of rune-etched manacles onto his wrists, draped a cloak bearing similar runes over his shoulders, and then led him out of the hushed hall.

"The mayor's office does not wish to cause a commotion over this affair, so we hope you will remain silent about the impostor's capture and not spread word of it."

Ienard Metyus swept his gaze over the assembled guests and began to withdraw.

He did not forget to give Tur Lange a farewell wave.

"My apologies for the disturbance, little Tur. Do carry on with your reception."

The City Watch knights filed out of the hall one by one, and the tense atmosphere began to slowly dissipate, though it never vanished completely.

Tur Lange stared at the figures disappearing through the doorway, his expression so grim it looked like a storm cloud about to burst.

...

Deprived of his freedom and his senses, all Lu Li could perceive was the jostling of a carriage.

He had no way of seeing Ienard Metyus, who had likely taken a separate carriage.

As he was transported to an unknown destination, Lu Li, shrouded in darkness, calmly considered his situation.

A conspiracy? A misunderstanding?

At the moment, the obvious conclusion was this: Ienard Metyus had reacted to the touch of Lu Li's left hand. His mind was likely contaminated by an anomaly, and he was transitioning into something other than human. He had realized that Lu Li's very existence threatened his plans, so he had slandered him as an impostor.

Clearly, with his status and connections, he wielded far more influence than Lu Li.

But the City Watch answered only to the true University of Claire on the Great Tree; they were not part of the mayor's office...

Internal strife within the Great Tree?

Or had the Great Tree and the mayor's office reached some sort of agreement?

And why had they arrested him at the reception?

Lu Li's mind drifted back to the previous evening, after his return to the University of Claire.

"You met Ienard Metyus! Is he just like the legends say?" Prusius chirped, tilting his head back and hopping excitedly around Lu Li's feet.

"What legends?" Lu Li asked, taking off his overcoat and hanging it on a rack.

"Well... brave, cheerful, friendly, down-to-earth..."

"For the most part."

The only thing missing from that description of Ienard Metyus was the word "talkative."

Soon after, Dean Rolens arrived and informed Lu Li of the Lange family's invitation.

"Decline it for me, please."

Lu Li had no desire to waste time on pointless receptions.

All he wanted was to find Anna and the Merchant.

But Dean Rolens explained the current political landscape in Midnite: the standoff between the mayor's office and the aristocracy, led by the Lange family, with the church and the Great Tree maintaining their neutrality.

"You attended the reception at the mayor's office. If you refuse the Lange family's invitation, they may mistakenly believe you are a supporter of the mayor, which would create certain problems. If you go, however, it will signal your neutrality, and you will gain certain advantages."

"What kind of advantages?"

"One more friend, one less enemy," Dean Rolens answered. Seeing that Lu Li was unmoved, he added:

"The Lange family also has an extensive network of informants. If you establish a good relationship with them, you will surely find the answers you seek more quickly."

...

The carriage came to a halt.

Lu Li was led from the carriage.

Two knights seized him by the arms, lifting him so his feet dangled in the air. He could no longer sense his direction; all he could hear was the muffled sound of footsteps.

Lu Li continued to ponder the situation.

Dean Rolens was not the issue; he, more than anyone, feared that Lu Li was an impostor.

Was he being used as a weapon against the Lange family?

Would they really go so far, sacrificing an exorcist just to eliminate their rivals?

Could this be a spectacle staged by the Lange family to discredit the mayor's office? Such behavior was not out of character for the aristocracy, but the church and the Great Tree would never tolerate it.

After considering all the possibilities, Lu Li concluded that Ienard Metyus himself was the most likely reason.

But that only led to a greater mystery.

How had Ienard Metyus, a man whose own nature was now in question, managed to convince both the mayor's office and the Great Tree that Lu Li was an impostor and secure a warrant for his arrest?

Suddenly, Lu Li's feet touched the ground.

They set him down.

Pulled from his thoughts, he heard the heavy grinding of stone. Then, he was ushered into a space behind the stone wall.

The sound of a stone door grinding shut echoed behind him.

Once the door was fully shut, all sound vanished.

Silence enveloped Lu Li. It seemed he was utterly alone.

After waiting for a few minutes, Lu Li removed the cloak.

Before him was a windowless study with walls of solid stone.

He had been imprisoned in this room, with no way of knowing whether it was above or below ground, inside the city or beyond its walls.