Mystery: The Ultimate Tarot

Chapter 5 Earl Hall's Methods

Raphael sat down in the chair, crossed his legs, took out a metal cigarette case from his jacket pocket, and took out a cigarette.

Carter, the subordinate, took out a match and went forward to light it for his boss.

When Audrey knocked on the door, she genuinely felt that the two kidnappers in front of her were bastards. Under their coercion, the disabled owner of the apartment, Markle, had no choice but to agree to use his home as a hideout for the kidnappers.

But when the kidnappers ordered Markle to buy food, Audrey observed that Markle did not seem forced or unwilling, and the two kidnappers felt comfortable letting Markle go out to buy food by herself.

Audrey suspected that Markle was likely one of their accomplices.

……

Downsend Street.

Oliver, the Night Watchman, is investigating the primary crime scene.

By this time, the horses and the coachman had all regained consciousness. The coachman, having eaten a lot of tree bark, was vomiting in a corner.

However, more than the pain in his abdomen, the driver was worried about whether he could keep his job.

At that moment, a carriage bearing the Hall family insignia arrived and stopped in front of the scene. Several men and women dressed in formal attire stepped out of it.

Leading the way was a man who looked to be in his thirties with a cold expression.

This is Noel, the extraordinary head of the Household's bodyguards.

When he saw Senior Deacon Oliver, a slight smile appeared on his face: "Any progress?"

"My colleagues have already taken the sketch and tracked them down," Oliver replied. "But in the alleys of Morning Street, they found their carriage, along with their clothes, fake beards, and other items, leading them to believe they had disguised themselves and escaped."

Moreover, Miss Audrey's dress was found in that taxi.

Noel frowned and said, "What a bunch of lunatics, daring to commit such a crime in Backlund."

He then glanced at the other two Night Watch members not far away and said to Oliver, "May I have a word with you in private?"

The two men walked a short distance away from the scene. Noel took an envelope from his pocket containing a thin layer of paper and handed it to Oliver: "The Earl wishes this matter to be kept secret."

"He will announce publicly that Miss Audrey has had urgent business to attend to in her fiefdom in East Chestershire."

Oliver nudged the envelope and said, "Don't worry, the Night Watchers aren't reporters, we'll keep it a secret."

Noel handed the envelope over again: "Inside the envelope is a letter of recommendation from Earl Hall to Worthton Grammar School."

Oliver paused for a moment. Worth Shield Grammar School was a famous private school with very strict requirements for students. His child had failed the entrance exam twice.

If you have a letter of recommendation from a school board member, you can be admitted to the school without taking an exam.

Earl Hall was one of the school's board members.

Oliver took a deep breath before taking the envelope, saying, "We will not divulge a single word to anyone!"

He had just put away the envelope when a carriage bearing the "Dark Emblem" sped up. The door opened, and Eugenia, a female Night Watch member in her twenties, said, "Deacon, all my 'divinations' have failed. I need to request the use of a sealed artifact for further investigation."

This was a member of the "Diviner" path. She glanced at Noel beside her but did not mention the number of the sealed artifact.

Oliver knew which sealed artifact the other party intended to use. He took off his hat to bid farewell to Noel and then handed the scene over to a Night Watch captain.

Oliver boarded the carriage and returned with Eugenia to the Night Watch headquarters. After submitting his application to the Archbishop, he and another bishop, accompanied by a bishop, obtained the "1-46" Mystic Puppet Pendant they needed from behind the Charnis Gate.

This sealed artifact is a pendant that keeps changing its shape. One moment it looks like it's inlaid with gemstones, and the next it's a gold pendant. One moment it's in the style of Rune, and the next it's in the style of the Southern Continent.

All divinations must be completed within 15 seconds, and the pendant must be resealed, or it will become the doll of this sealed object.

Eugenia took out Miss Audrey's jewelry, which she had found in the carriage where the crime occurred, and used it to divine the noblewoman's current location. Instead, she saw a rolling gray mist.

Eugenia was taken aback, but she quickly took out the clothes left behind by the bandits and tried to divine their location, but all she saw was a rolling gray mist.

Subsequently, the Night Watchers concluded that members of a high-sequence clandestine organization must have been involved in this case; otherwise, it would have been impossible for even a demigod-level divination to fail to predict anything.

……

In the bridge area, in a dilapidated apartment building.

Raphael was cooking, while Carter was washing the dishes and utensils, then carefully wiping them and placing them on the table.

Markle wanted to help, but didn't know what to do, so he looked like he was just wandering around the room.

Audrey, sitting in the chair, was a little puzzled and confused as to why the leader of the kidnappers would cook for himself.

This is mainly because Raphael had certain requirements regarding food.

After transmigrating to this world, what he found most difficult to adapt to, besides the lack of the internet and electronic products, was the food.

He discovered that the world's diet seemed to have two extremes: the food of nobles and the wealthy was very refined and delicious, while the food of ordinary people was very coarse.

The bread wasn't as soft as I remembered; it was hard and dry. The dishes I usually ate were either very oily or very bland, with no concept of a balanced diet of meat and vegetables.

If Raphael wanted a more satisfying meal, he would have to go to a hotel and order a set menu with appetizers and main courses, but that kind of meal wouldn't be cheap.

So Raphael started cooking himself. Carter knew his boss's habits, so he just helped out and looked forward to the food his boss would cook.

Raphael first cooked the noodles, then poured a little oil into the pot and stir-fried the garlic slices and cabbage.

As for bean sprouts, Raphael had never managed to buy any in Backlund in the three months he had been traveling through the land.

After the cabbage has softened, add the cooled noodles. It's a pity there's nowhere to buy fresh noodles in Backlund, otherwise it would taste even better.

Then add salt and soy sauce to taste, and sprinkle some cumin on top when it's done. The aroma was so enticing that even the top noblewoman Audrey couldn't help but take a second look.

Raphael cooked enough noodles for four people in two batches. After serving the noodles, Carter and Markle immediately began to wolf them down.

Audrey didn't want to eat it; to her, a dinner without even soup or an aperitif was far too meager.

But the noodles on her plate smelled really good, so she picked up a little bit with her fork and put it in her mouth. A little bit of noodle soup perfectly combined the aroma of cumin with the other seasonings on the noodles.

Taking a bite of the chewy noodles, the complex yet perfectly balanced flavor explodes on the tongue, a completely different experience from eating Fennebot stir-fried noodles.

Raphael, who was adding some vinegar to the noodles, noticed Audrey's somewhat surprised expression. He thought to himself: "The food for nobles is pretty mediocre. She's in her twenties and has never even had a decent stir-fried noodle dish."