Baekeland, Empress Borough.
Audrey Hall sat on a hanging chair in a shady corner. She looked at the flowers blooming under the sun and thought about the matter that Fors Wall had asked for help.
According to Viscount Glaint's verification, there really was a girl named Xio Derecha locked up in a temporary prison in the North District of Baekeland.
Her crime was to severely injure a respectable gentleman due to a property dispute. The gentleman was still lying in a hospital bed and might never be able to stand up again.
Fors's explanation was that the gentleman wasn't a good person. He was a gang leader in the East District of Baekeland, and he made a living as a loan shark.
The cause of the incident was that a certain borrower realized that the interest was several times higher than he had expected. He wouldn't be able to repay the loan even if he went bankrupt. After negotiating with the gentleman to no avail, he found the famous "arbitrator" Xio Derecha, hoping that she could convince the other party to waive the unreasonable part.
The gentleman didn't comply with Xio Derecha's "ruling." He even threatened to capture the borrower's wife and children that very night. Hence, Xio Derecha changed her persuasion techniques and used physical methods. She accidentally caused serious injury.
Viscount Glaint investigated the incident and confirmed that Fors Wall's description was true. He also confirmed that the gang leader had lost control of his underlings. After a "visit" in the middle of the night, he had waived the borrower's debt and issued a statement to the prosecutor that he had forgiven Xio Derecha. However, serious injury cases didn't mean that the victim wouldn't be prosecuted just because they didn't want to pursue the matter.
"Glaint hopes to resolve this through normal means. He sent someone to consult a lawyer he's familiar with. The lawyer said that he was confident that it would only be a light sentence. However, it would be very difficult to plead not guilty unless the client could obtain a medical certificate stating that they had mental problems or were mentally undeveloped …" Audrey muttered to herself, leaning towards her friend's opinion.
To her, the most important thing was not to have any open relationship with Fors Wall and Xio Derecha. After the "Tarot" incident, Audrey felt that she was no longer a naive and ignorant girl.
"There will be a ball at Earl Wolfe's place tomorrow night. Tell Glaint to act according to the lawyer's advice." Audrey nodded slightly and made her decision.
In the Kingdom of Rouen, lawyers were divided into barristers and solicitors. The latter was responsible for matters that did not need to go to court, such as gathering evidence, talking to clients, helping people draw up wills, supervising the distribution of property, and providing legal consulting services. Of course, they could also represent clients in the most basic security court and defend simple cases.
Barristers were lawyers who studied evidence and defended their clients in court. According to the laws of the Kingdom of Rouen, they had to maintain an objective attitude, so they could not directly contact the client. They could only gather information through their assistants, which were solicitors. Each of them was a true legal expert with outstanding eloquence and a high level of debating.
Audrey, who had regained her relaxed state, hid in the darkness and peeped at the colorful flowers outside. She suddenly thought of something.
"Medical proof of mental problems or mental retardation … Psychiatrist …"
"If Psychological Alchemy has mastered the 'acting method,' does that mean I can look for them in the psychiatrist community?"
At this thought, Audrey felt that her train of thought was on the right track. Her eyes were as bright as resplendent gems.
At that moment, she saw the golden retriever, Susie, sneaking behind the cluster of flowers in a sneaky manner to a place where only the gardener could reach.
"Susie … What is she doing?" Audrey hid in the shadows and watched in a daze.
The golden retriever's sense of smell seemed to be confused by the fragrance of the flowers. She did not notice her master behind her. She opened her mouth and let out a throaty "ah ah ah" and "ah ah ah ah".
Following that, she caused the surrounding air to vibrate, and words that were not mellow enough sounded:
"Hello."
"How are you?"
…
Audrey's mouth opened bit by bit. She had completely forgotten the etiquette that an elegant lady should have. She could not believe the scene she was seeing and the stiff voice she was hearing.
She suddenly stood up and blurted out:
"Susie, you can speak? When did you learn how to speak? "
The golden retriever jumped up in fright as she turned to face her master.
She frantically and quickly wagged her tail. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before vibrating the surrounding air.
"I …"
"I don't know how to explain. After all, I'm just a dog."
Upon hearing this, Audrey was momentarily at a loss for words.
…
On Monday morning, Klein, who was on vacation, followed his plan to revise and consolidate his mysticism knowledge. Then, he took a public carriage to Khoy University.
He wanted to interact more with Mr. Aztec and see what he knew.
In the three-story gray stone building belonging to the History department, Klein and his mentor, Cohen Quentin, chatted for a while. They discussed matters related to the ancient ruins on the main peak of the Hornacis mountain.
Without any additional information, he took advantage of his mentor's absence to enter the office diagonally opposite and walked to Instructor Aztec's desk.
"Mr. Aztec, may I have a chat with you?" He looked at the instructor with bronze skin, gentle facial features, and a small mole below his right ear. He took off his hat and bowed.
Aztec, whose brown eyes hid an indescribable sense of vicissitudes, organized his books and said, "No problem.
Let's take a walk by the Khoy river. "
"Alright." Klein held his cane and followed him out of the three-story gray stone building.
Along the way, the two maintained their silence. Neither of them spoke.
When the flowing river entered their sights, and there were no longer any teachers or students around, Aztec stopped in his tracks. He turned his body halfway and faced Klein.
"Is there something you need from me?"
Klein pondered for a long while. He thought of many tactful methods, but he gave up on them one after another.
Hence, he asked in a frank and direct manner,
"Mr. Aztec, you are a trustworthy and respectable gentleman. I wish to know what you see in me, or should I say, what do you know? I'm referring to the matter from before. You said that there's something amiss in my fate. "
Aztec tapped his cane and sighed with a smile.
"I never expected you to be so direct. I don't know how to answer you."
"To be frank, the incongruity in your fate is the only thing I can see. Apart from that, I don't know anything more than you."
Klein hesitated for a moment before asking,
"But why can you see it? I don't believe that it stems from divination. "
Aztec turned his head to look at the Khoy river, his tone tinged with a hint of bleakness.
"No, Klein, you don't understand. Divination can reach such a level. It just depends on the person doing the divination. Of course, my divination is just an excuse to conceal it."
"… Some people are always special. They are born with some strange abilities, and I should be such a person."
"Should?" Klein acutely grasped the problem with the other party's choice of words.
"Yes, I don't know if I was born with it either. Perhaps the price of such an ability is forgetting myself, forgetting the past, forgetting my parents." Aztec's eyes looked at the river with a hint of sadness.
The more Klein listened, the more confused he became.
"Forgetting the past?"
Azik smiled without a hint of a smile.
"Before I entered Baekeland University's History department, I lost most of my memories. I only remember my name and basic knowledge. Thankfully, I have an identity card; otherwise, I would only be a tramp. All these years, I've searched for my parents using my identity card, but to no avail, even if I could see a corner of my fate."
"And during those few years in university, I gradually discovered that I possess some strange abilities, abilities that exceed the scope of common sense."
Klein listened attentively as he blurted out a question.
He blurted out a question, "Mr. Aztec, why did you lose your memory? No, I mean, did you discover the reason for your amnesia at the scene? "
He suspected that Mr. Aztec was a member of the Life School of Thought who had lost his memory, or even a Mid-Sequence member of high standing. This was the counterpart of Monsters, a secret organization that had produced a Prophet, one that was mainly passed down from master to disciple.
Aztec shook his head heavily.
"No, it's as if I've forgotten the past after a nap."
He took a few more steps forward with his stick in hand, and said as he walked, "Come on.
As he walked, he said, "After leaving Baekeland, I began to dream. I dreamed of many strange things …"
Dream? I'm good at interpreting dreams! Klein, who had entered the field of expertise, immediately asked,
"What kind of dreams?"
Aztec chuckled vaguely.
"Many, many different dreams. Sometimes, I'll dream of the interior of a dark mausoleum. I'll dream of ancient coffins with corpses lying inside with white feathers growing out of their backs. Sometimes, I'll dream that I'm a knight in full armor, charging at the enemy with a three-meter-long spear."
"Sometimes, I'll dream that I'm a lord with a rich manor, a beautiful wife, and three children. Sometimes, I'll dream that I'm a tramp, drenched in the rain, walking on a muddy road, cold and hungry."
"Sometimes, I'll dream that I have a daughter, a daughter different from the previous children. She has soft black hair, likes to sit on the swing I made myself, and always asks me for sweets. Sometimes, I'll dream that I'm standing beside the gallows, coldly looking up at the floating corpses above …"
As he listened to Aztec's ravings, Klein realized that he was unable to interpret his dreams. This was because the symbols of different dreams were opposite and contradictory!
Aztec retracted his gaze, and his voice no longer drifted.
"The Feynapotter Kingdom in the south believes in Mother Earth, and the Church of Mother Earth promotes a concept. They believe that every life is a 'plant' that absorbs nutrients from the earth, slowly growing, flourishing, and declining."
"When they wither, these lives will fall to the earth and return to their mother's embrace. And the next year, they will grow again. Flowers bloom and wither, year after year. It's the same for life, one life after another."
"Sometimes, I'm very willing to believe this theory. I believe that because of my uniqueness, I can dream of my previous life, as well as fragments of the previous life."
Having said that, he looked at Klein and sighed.
"I haven't even told Cohen about these things. The reason why I'm telling you is because I …"
Aztec paused and smiled.
"I'm sorry, my description wasn't accurate enough. The incongruity in your fate isn't the only thing I can see. I've also seen something else."
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