When Ryan and Sulia rode their pure-blooded elven warhorses to the commercial street of Nurr's wealthy district, it was about an hour before the "afternoon tea" time every day.
The entire wealthy district was bustling with activity. Almost every noble mansion had luxuriously decorated carriages that were decorated with flowers, portraits, and fine silk. The carriages were shuttling back and forth on the streets. Each carriage carried a gorgeously dressed noble lady or young lady. Most of them were wearing fox fur coats or sleeveless sleeves, low-cut silk dresses, wide-brimmed hats with many plumes, silk stockings, and high heels. The bustling scene was indeed refreshing, if not for the many guards and servants following behind the carriages.
Just based on this point alone, Noor was different from Brunswick. Brunswick was relatively crowded. Even if it was a wealthy district, it was still very crowded. If the noble ladies and young ladies did this, it would easily obstruct traffic and attract the attention of the capital's army and the Emperor. To the nobles of the Empire who had military merits, they were rather annoyed by this. Naturally, the noble ladies and young ladies wouldn't dare to make such a big fuss and would rarely have a large gathering.
Nur was different. First, the ruler of Nur was the Schroder family who ruled as the regent. Later on, the ruler was Emmanuelle, Duchess of the Empire. They weren't very strict in this aspect. After all, Emmanuelle, also known as Emilia, was also a woman. She didn't participate much, but she could understand.
Second, Nur's streets were much wider than Brunswick's, and there was a sense of order. It was hard to get stuck in traffic.
Therefore, the noblewomen in the city had a certain degree of autonomy. They held all sorts of activities to pass the time.
In Nur, the noblewomen's entertainment life was very rich. There were all sorts of art gatherings, Nur University activities, reading sessions, dinner parties, horse riding picnics, watching all sorts of competitions in the city, shopping, and the most important traditional afternoon tea party in Nur.
A large group of noblewomen's carriages headed directly to Nur University. It seemed like there was a reading session today where they could listen to lectures, socialize, and finish their afternoon tea at the same time.
This was a circle that countless women wanted to enter. Whenever the women of the Old World talked about the exquisite lives of the noblewomen in Nur, they would always be fascinated. It would always take a long time for them to wake up from their dreams.
It was because of this that Laing never blamed the waitress in the Magritte State Guesthouse. One had to have dreams. What if it came true?
In this way, Duchess Suria riding a pure-blooded Elven warhorse was rather unique.
Suria also felt this. Today, the female knight was wearing a silk mocha calico shirt, a vintage cherry wine-red evening coat, and a white lace striped skirt. Her slender legs were wrapped in thick black opaque pantyhose and a pair of black high-heeled boots. The hem of her skirt fluttered slightly with the movement of the pure-blooded Elven warhorse.
Even if Suria was not wearing a noble's dress, no one would doubt that this beautiful female knight was a real female noble. This was because her temperament was too outstanding. No one could perfectly combine the heroism, nobility, intelligence, and motherhood of a woman like Suria. Her appearance had even attracted the attention of some male nobles in the wealthy district. However, seeing that the Holy Grail Knight beside her was obviously her husband, they did not dare to take the initiative to talk to her.
Suria's fair and charming face had a hint of redness. She rode the pure-blooded Elven warhorse and said to her husband, "Think about it, Laing. We really don't have many opportunities to go out alone like this. The most interesting time I remember was at the mill and windmill in Culona. Unfortunately, we didn't spend much time alone before Matthew Bard and Fiona interrupted us. Now, we even have Devenhill …"
"Why, madam, do you want to have an afternoon tea too?" Laing's answer seemed to imply something.
"Laing, you know that's not what I want." Suria pulled the reins and gestured for Richter to slow down. She complained, "You did it on purpose!"
"Hahaha …" Laing looked at the other end of the clean and tidy stone street and sighed slightly. "I have too many things to do … and too many women. I didn't spend enough time with you. This is my fault."
"This is a common problem for good men, Laing." Suria shook her head. "Father is the same. When he's busy, he rarely has time to accompany mother. But this is the hero in my heart."
After that, Suria seemed to have thought of something. She quickly said, "Alright, let's not talk about this. Laing, what do you plan to do next?"
"Let's go to the Von Rak family's mansion and see if there are any clues." Laing nodded and said, "Then you arrange it. We can also talk about what to do next."
"Go to the Rak family's mansion now?" Suria thought for a moment, and the female knight quickly agreed with her husband. She continued, "Then we can go to the famous coffee shop in Nur. I also heard that there's an event in Nur University tonight. How about we have dinner outside? "
"Of course, my dear. I'll listen to you." Laing nodded with a smile.
Without further ado, the two of them rode their pure-blooded elven steeds towards the Von Rak family's mansion.
The family's mansion was located at the edge of Nur's wealthy district. Although it was called a mansion, it was actually only a three-story house with a basement and a small garden. There were only five rooms in the house, and the building was very narrow. The floor area of each floor was only seventy to eighty square meters.
But such a small house was valued at five thousand gold marks. If an ordinary farmer in the Empire earned fifteen gold marks a year, he would have to starve for three hundred years to save enough money to buy a house.
Laing had a feeling that everything was the same.
After the tragedy of Baron Werner, the mansion fell into a serious dispute. Two members of the Von Rak family fought over the right to inherit the mansion. So far, they had gone to the Nur court and the city council. Everyone was waiting for Emilia to make a decision.
Because of this, the door of the small house was currently locked, and no one visited it. The tall, black ticket had the words "6 Reuben Street" and "Von Rak" written on it.
Nur was still very cold in February. Laing walked to his wife and helped her off the horse. Then he knocked on the door. "Is anyone there?"
Knock, knock, knock.
"Is anyone home?" Ryan continued to knock on the door, but no one answered.
Suria reached for the Sword of Lyonassi at her waist and nodded at Laing.
Laing asked again, "Is anyone there?"
After waiting for a minute, Laing gave up. He took out the key he got from Emilia and opened the door. "Sorry to disturb you."
The small courtyard was only about forty square meters in size. There were some simple flowers and plants planted in it. Laing and Suria led the pure-blooded elven horse into the courtyard. The tall wall immediately blocked their view.
A lot of snow had fallen in the courtyard. It was obvious that no one had cleaned it for a long time.
The couple stepped into the courtyard. Suria let go of the reins of her horse, Maricht. The pure-blooded elven horse was obviously dissatisfied with the small courtyard. It snorted and shook its head, expressing its displeasure to its owner through body language.
Laing's mount, Grape, did the same. It raised its hoof and pointed at the wall, indicating that Laing should push it down. Otherwise, it would be difficult to take a walk.
Laing had no choice but to communicate with Grape using Elvish and Psionic. He signaled Grape to calm down. Sorry to have to trouble you and your wife to stay here for a while. They would go in and take a look.
Indeed, Laing's horse, Grape, and Suria's horse, Maricht, had already given birth to several pure-blooded elven horses.
The two pure-blooded Elven warhorses finally calmed down after they were fed with carrots, soybeans, black beans, peas, honey, and corn. Grape snorted again and raised her hooves, indicating that they would be waiting for her here.
"According to your calculations, this courtyard costs a thousand gold marks. That's enough to buy a pure-blooded elven horse in Brittany." Suria stood on the stairs. She had obviously thought of many things. "I think the price of this city is enough to buy half of Brittany."
"Ha, that's why the export of pure-blooded elven horses is prohibited." Laing let go of the reins and walked up the stairs. He held his wife's hand and said gently, "I'm sure you know that the price of the land is fake, but the price of the goods is real. If we really let it go, the Nur people will buy all the pure-blooded elven horses in Brittany tomorrow. Then, we will only get a few useless pieces of land."
With Suria's intelligence, she was well aware of the impact of the high price of land in Nur.
The impact on the economy of Brittany's manors and taxes would be devastating.
"But why is the price of land in Nur so expensive?" The female knight was still puzzled by the price of land in Nur.
"What's so hard to understand?" Laing smiled. "The development of industry and commerce has caused the price of land to naturally rise. The Chamber of Commerce and the steel guilds in Nur have already reached various conditions with the local nobles. As time passes, the price of land will naturally continue to rise. Both Brunswick and Nur are important cities that radiate to the entire Empire. They also receive resources from the entire Empire. Don't forget that these two cities are the only ones in the Empire that have military factories."
"Apart from that, safety is also a very important factor. Nur's military and city defenses are too strong. Living here makes people feel safe, which is very important to the Empire."
"Yes, the citizens and nobles are also conflicted about this. For the citizens and nobles who own land, the increase in land prices is something that benefits them. These people occupy the majority of the land in Nur City, so even if there are voices of opposition, they can't do anything about it. As for your little maid, she is the biggest landlord in the entire Nur City, so she naturally won't oppose it. They like the increase in land prices, or at least not the decrease in land prices, and they will even use their power to prevent the decrease in land prices." Suria immediately figured it out. The female knight shook her head helplessly. "I have a feeling that you're thinking the same in Muxilon."
"You're really smart, my wife." Laing held his wife's small hand and smiled. "When the time comes, I'll be the biggest landowner in Muxilon. You'll be the landowner's wife, and Devonshire will be the small landowner."
"Who wants to be your landowner's wife? What a terrible title! " Suria blushed. She suddenly lowered her head and muttered to herself, "I used to think that I'd be a countess or a duchess in the future, but I didn't expect …"
"Isn't that good?" Laing smiled and placed Suria's small hand on his own. He said seriously, "You deserve the best in the world, my wife."
"Laing …" In the cold February weather, Suria looked at her husband affectionately, her face flushed.
Until Mr. Grape snorted.
Mr. Grape whinnied and pointed with his hoof, indicating that they should go in. Why are you standing at the door? We're waiting for you!
Laing and his wife were a little embarrassed. Duke Muxilon quickly reached out and pressed his hand on the door of the mansion. As blue psionic energy seeped into the door, there was the sound of a spring behind the door, and the door opened.
A gust of hot wind blew in their faces. Laing and Suria's expressions changed immediately. Laing held Mjolnir in one hand, and Suria immediately unsheathed the Sword of Léonard. Platinum flames burned on the sword. The two carefully stepped into the mansion without taking off their shoes.
Just as mentioned before, the mansion was very narrow. There was only a dining room and a kitchen on the first floor. The floor was covered with high-quality carpets, and the decorations were similar to the antique style of Brunswick. Many of the steel and gunpowder elements of Nurr were added, as well as some cannons and golden griffins.
"There are traces of a fire in the kitchen, but it didn't happen recently." Laing checked the kitchen. As the windows were open, a thin layer of dust had accumulated in the kitchen. "Strange. Normally, even if Baron Werner and his men died in Brunswick, the mansion in Nur shouldn't be unmaintained. If no one lives in this kind of mansion, it will age very quickly. "
"Is it because of the fight for the inheritance that caused the temporary neglect?" Suria moved her long black legs to check the dining room. The female knight carefully looked at the silver tableware and some red wine in the cupboard. "No outsiders have come in here. These are good red wine. If I were a thief, I wouldn't let these go."
"What if they don't know the value of the wine?" Laing carefully checked the interior of the dining room. When he heard Suria's opinion, he smiled casually. "Not every thief knows wine like my wife."
"But they have no reason not to take the silver tableware." Sulia picked up a small silver spoon and waved it in front of Ryan's eyes. "This thing is easy to get rid of. It can be collected anywhere. If you put it in the furnace and recast it, no one will be able to recognize the original owner."
"Hahaha, obviously, my wife has convinced me." Laing immediately said playfully. "Well, let's go to the second floor."
The couple did not find anything on the first floor, so they decided to go upstairs.
When they carefully walked to the door of the second floor, Laing and Suria both frowned when they saw the scene in front of them.
An old man in a butler's tuxedo was dead at the door of the living room on the second floor. There was a purple dagger in his back.
"Looks like we're late." Suria immediately squatted down to check the dead man's body. "He has been dead for a few days. It's just that the cold weather has frozen his flesh, so no one found it."
Laing also squatted down. He carefully checked and soon found something wrong. "Suria, look, he's holding a corner of a square handkerchief."
"Let me see." Laing pulled the square handkerchief out of the dead butler's hand and gently opened it.
There was a special pattern on the square handkerchief. A green siren was in the middle, surrounded by her two forked tails. There were coffee stains on the square handkerchief.
"This is … the siren's pattern?" Suria looked at the pattern and fell into deep thought.
"Wait, this pattern is …?!"
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