After sharing some interesting stories and the gossip among the nobles, Audrey stopped her writing and assumed a serious look as if she was recalling something carefully.
Using the excellent memory of the "audience", Audrey sorted out the fragments of her father, Earl Holbergh, and his occasional teachings, as well as the news she had heard at banquets, balls, and salons, and organized them into paragraphs.
After formulating her thoughts, Audrey began to write:
"Regarding the political situation in Berklund that you inquired about, it is not within my interest. I can only describe the details I happened to know based on my impression."
"Just a few weeks ago, my father told me that after the repeal of the Grain Act, grain prices plummeted, and the rental standards for fields and pastures dropped sharply. I don't know the exact extent, but I can give you an example to help you understand."
"You know, Duke Nigen is the noble with the largest land holdings outside the royal family, claiming to have over 12 million pounds of land, pastures, and forests. Last year, his rental income reached an all-time high of 1.3 million pounds, and this year, the projected total rental income is 850,000 pounds, a reduction of a whopping 450,000 pounds, which exceeds the entire property I can inherit."
"Without my needing more explanations, my dear brother, you surely understand the characteristics of most old-fashioned nobles. They are proud of owning land, rely mainly on rental income, and consider dignity above all else. Even if they are in debt, they must maintain a lifestyle commensurate with their status, with annual castle maintenance costs in the tens of thousands of pounds, clothing and jewelry expenses in the thousands or tens of thousands of pounds, and persistent hunting activities, social banquets, occasional grand weddings, and extravagant funerals, and so on and so forth."
"Due to the severe decline in rental income, I know that some nobles have encountered financial difficulties. As a result, Earl Wolf sold 840,000 acres of land in the countryside for 290,000 pounds, and Conrad Viscount sold a collection worth 550,000 pounds to the National Art Gallery."
"Except for a few bold nobles who have already shifted their focus to industries such as steel, coal, railways, banks, and rubber, the rest have suffered severe damage in this Grain Act turmoil. Let's praise our dear Earl Holbergh here!"
"My father told me that the financial difficulties will cause the control of the party political power over the seats in the House of Commons to decline. You can imagine that the number of members from land-owning nobles will decrease significantly in the next election."
"The Conservative Party and the New Party have promised to grant titles to anyone who donates enough money without a criminal record. Of course, the prerequisite is that the gentleman has the minimum land area required for the title."
"An example is that wealthy Mr. Sindras purchased the minimum 600,000 acres of land needed for a baron title and donated 100,000 pounds to the Carlton Club, 400,000 pounds to the Conservative Party, and made cumulative donations of 300,000 pounds for charitable activities, eventually being granted the King's title by His Majesty and becoming a noble gentleman. In this regard, I heard there is a price list, from 300,000 pounds for a baron, 70 to 100 million pounds for a hereditary baron, no clear answer for viscount and earl, but I think it's definitely exaggerated."
...
"During this year, many noble families that were facing financial problems began to seriously consider the possibility of marrying into wealthy families. Within just two months, there were three such marriages, and the dowries of the brides were extremely attractive."
"Moreover, those workers who had protested against the 'Grain Act' during the march did indeed receive a reduction in food prices, but their quality of life did not improve; instead, it even deteriorated because bankrupt farmers entered the cities and competed for jobs with low salaries, causing the wages of the working class to plummet rapidly."
"I remember that after I finished telling these things, my father once asked me, 'In your opinion, who were the winners of this 'Grain Act' incident?'"
"Dear Alfred, you must know the answer. You are sure to be able to obtain a hereditary title through your own efforts." ......
Having received Audrey's reply, Hugh Dillcha and Fors Wall were riding in a carriage back to the Beckland Bridge area.
With messy blonde hair, Hugh gazed out of the window, his eyes shining brightly as if two flames were burning within.
She kept repeating the word "450 pounds", as if reciting a spell, and each time she said it, her courage and strength grew.
"Darkholm hasn't come to see us today. Tell us the latest investigation situation. Let's go directly to his house!" Suddenly, Hugh turned his head towards Fors.
Darkholm was the leader of a gang in the eastern part of Beckland, controlling many beggars and thieves.
Although he always had a kind appearance and a warm smile always on his round face, Hugh knew that he was a cruel and vicious villain. He once broke the hand of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old thief just because the other person had hidden the spoils.
If it weren't inevitable, Hugh wouldn't even want to see Darkholm, but he was one of the people who knew the homeless people in this city best.
Fors pushed her curly brown hair behind her ear and said:
"As long as it doesn't delay my lunch."
"No problem! Maybe after this week, I'll invite you to have a feast at the Tindis restaurant!" Hugh promised with a sense of great self-satisfaction.
"Should I thank God for this?" Fors asked with a smile.
She was different from Hugh. She was a shallow believer of the God of Steam and Machinery.
While talking, the two girls changed to another public carriage and arrived in the eastern part of Beckland, finding Darkholm's house.
It was a row house located in a narrow alley, with green plants growing on the walls, and the outside environment was rather messy.
Hugh walked to the door, raised his right hand, and gently tapped the door a few times with a unique rhythm.
With a creak, the door that wasn't closed opened backward with her knocking.
Hugh's confused expression instantly turned serious, like a furious lion.
She drew out the three-pronged thorn she carried with her and carefully pushed the door, slowly entering.
Fors also changed from her casual state and somehow found a dagger from somewhere.
Neither of them smelled any strange odor, but their rich experience made them keenly aware of something was wrong.
One step, two steps, three steps, Hugh and Fors entered Darkholm's house.
Then they saw the pale broken arm hanging on the gas lamp, the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney on the coffee table, and strips of flesh and blood scattered on the floor and on the coat rack!
The bones were neatly shaved clean and piled up disorderly in front of the door.
And among the bones, there was a head with empty eyes, exactly Darkholm.
His round face still maintained a kind smile, as if everything was normal, and the interior of the house didn't have the slightest smell of blood, not even a trace.
As a former clinic doctor, later a best-selling author, and a 9th-level exceptional individual, Fors had seen more disgusting death scenes than this. She patted the tense and about-to-vomit Hugh, looked around, and said in a low voice:
"Zilinger? 'The Hurricane Commander' Zilinger?"
"He found Darkholm investigating the missing homeless, so he followed in reverse and directly came to the door?"
"Or did Darkholm find his whereabouts and he discovered it?""
Hugh held back the nausea and solemnly nodded:
"Indeed, he is a notorious pirate general known for his viciousness and cunning... and the strangeness here matches the performance of his magical item."
"Cunning... " Fors suddenly gasped and blurted out, "Could he still be waiting nearby, trying to ambush and investigate his master's messenger?""
Hugh was stunned for a moment, then replied somewhat nervously:
"Very likely!"
This was the 6th-level "Wind Guardian", a great pirate who controlled a magical item, while the two of them were only 9th-level!
This was a very simple and easy comparison! ...
Inside the house opposite the Dachholm residence, a man in his thirties with a distinctive wide jaw and dark green eyes stood by the window, coldly observing as Hugh and Fors pushed open the door and slowly entered.
This was "The Hurricane Commander" Zilinger!
The black glove on his left hand suddenly began to twitch as if it had life of its own, revealing a layer of dark golden fine scales on its surface.
Zilinger showed a cruel and delighted expression, and his dark green eyes then turned into pale golden, heartless slits. ...
Fol quickly turned her head and hurriedly pulled Hugh to the other side, avoiding the area directly facing the door.
Immediately after that, she bit her white teeth and removed the string of bracelets hidden by the frilly cuffs.
This silver bracelet had three dark bluish rough stones on it. The surface of the stones was covered with burning marks and was uneven.
Fol snapped off a stone and shouted in the ancient Hermes language:
"Door!"
She firmly held Hugh Dillard and watched as the stone emitted a faint blue light.
The figures of the two ladies blurred and became almost invisible.
They saw various unidentifiable forms, even transparent things that seemed to not exist, saw a series of different colors of clear, infinite-knowledge-containing bright light, and they entered the mysterious spiritual realm.
In that strange, higher-than-reality world, Fol pulled Hugh in a certain direction and took a step.
After three breaths, they left the state of transparency and illusion and returned to reality, back to Beckland.
However, the place they were in was no longer Dakhom's home, but an empty cemetery. ...
Zilinger, wearing thin-gloved hands, quietly appeared at the door of Dakhholm, his cold gaze sweeping inside.
He froze for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows, and muttered to himself:
"'The Traveler'?" ......
In the cemetery.
"Then what should we do?" Forseth gasped, feeling both worried and frightened.
That bracelet was another magical item she obtained during that strange encounter to acquire the "Apprentice" formula and materials. Apart from the fact that it would allow her to hear some strange and vague murmurs every month during the full moon, there were no other dangers.
Originally, the bracelet had five stones that could help her travel through the spirit world and perform things like teleportation. But now, only two remained.
Hugh calmed his mind and spirit, and nodded emphatically:
"First, inform Miss Audrey. Then, then call the police!"